Before long, Prime Minister Honest arrived at his residence with Great General Budo and his men.
By this point, Ogre and the members of the Imperial Capital Guard had already surrounded the estate.
Not even a fly could escape.
The moment Ogre saw Honest return, he hurried over with an ingratiating smile.
"Prime Minister."
Sitting high atop his horse, Honest glanced down at him and gave a faint grunt through his nose.
Rather than feeling insulted, Ogre smiled even more obsequiously.
In his eyes, this was not an insult from the Prime Minister.
It was recognition.
Could anyone else receive such treatment?
As for Great General Budo, he did not acknowledge Ogre at all and treated him like air.
Ogre was not offended.
He knew Budo's strength and status very well. A mere captain of the Imperial Capital Guard like himself had no right to compare himself to the Great General.
Honest looked down at him and asked,
"That man is still inside, correct?"
Ogre nodded and immediately declared that ever since he arrived, he had sealed off every entrance and exit around the entire estate.
Not even a fly had escaped.
"Oh? Good."
Honest gave Ogre an approving glance.
He had not expected this fellow to be somewhat useful.
That single look made Ogre feel as though he were floating through the clouds.
He knew his future was now secure.
He would no longer remain a mere captain of the Imperial Capital Guard.
Perhaps he might even become a noble.
At that thought, Ogre's smile became even brighter and more flattering.
Meanwhile, Honest turned toward Great General Budo.
Budo jumped down from his horse and walked toward the estate.
Honest hurriedly followed him, while the soldiers behind them marched into the Prime Minister's residence in perfect formation.
Just like before, Honest reached the main hall with almost no effort.
It felt as though he were returning to his own home.
Not a single guard dared stop him along the way.
The moment they saw him, everyone stepped aside.
For some reason, this instead gave Honest an ominous feeling.
He touched the gemstone on his forehead, and the Imperial Arm gave him a small measure of comfort.
After entering the main hall, Honest and Budo immediately saw Rowan.
Rowan was still embracing Honest's woman and enjoying himself.
However, unlike last time, Honest had already calmed down.
He did not fly into a rage, turn red-eyed, or lose all reason.
"Why are you here again?"
Rowan pushed the beauty beside him away and looked at Honest with disgust.
"I already spared you last time. Why don't you know what's good for you?"
The muscles on Honest's face twitched.
He genuinely had not expected this man to say something like that.
The bastard truly regarded himself as the master of this estate.
"Great General Budo, this is the man who replaced me."
Budo stared at Honest in confusion, almost laughing from sheer anger.
"Aren't you the thief who tried to impersonate the Prime Minister? You still dare behave so arrogantly here? Do you know the punishment for slandering an imperial minister?"
Honest was instantly dumbfounded.
What did he mean by saying Honest was the thief impersonating the Prime Minister?
He was the damn Prime Minister!
However, when he saw Budo staring at him like a complete stranger, a chill ran through his entire body.
This was bad.
Budo had fallen under the enemy's influence.
How long had they even been inside?
The man had already brainwashed Great General Budo.
What kind of absurd Imperial Arm was this?
After recovering from his shock, Honest shattered the gemstone Imperial Arm on his forehead without hesitation, attempting to destroy whatever Imperial Arm Rowan possessed.
However, after the gemstone shattered, Budo continued staring at him with the same cold and unfamiliar gaze.
Clearly, Budo had not recovered from the brainwashing.
Honest's heart sank.
The worst possible situation had occurred.
His anti-Imperial Arm had already activated, yet Budo remained brainwashed.
That meant the enemy was not an Imperial Arms user at all.
The power that had replaced Honest's identity did not come from an Imperial Arm.
It came from an entirely new ability—
one even Honest knew nothing about.
That meant reclaiming his status might be more difficult than ascending to the heavens.
More importantly, Great General Budo had already been brainwashed and now regarded Honest as an impostor.
That meant Rowan only needed to give one order for Budo to kill him.
At the thought of that possibility, Honest's face turned deathly pale.
Especially when he saw Rowan's amused expression, his entire body began trembling.
He did not want to die.
He truly did not want to die.
He had finally killed the previous emperor, installed the young emperor on the throne, and become a minister who controlled the entire imperial court.
How could Honest possibly accept dying like this?
No.
He could not die.
Absolutely not.
With that thought, Honest dropped to his knees before Rowan with a thud.
"It was my fault! I was blinded by greed and lost my senses. I should never have offended you, my lord!"
At that moment, Honest burst into tears and began begging Rowan for mercy.
He admitted that he had overestimated himself and pleaded for Rowan to spare his life.
Seeing this, Rowan could not help laughing.
"You really know when to bend and when to stand tall."
Honest forced an ingratiating smile onto his face.
"My lord is right. My lord is absolutely right."
Before becoming the most powerful minister in the empire, he had risen through the ranks by flattering and fawning over others.
It could be considered one of his natural talents.
After gaining power, however, no one had remained above him who could force him to behave that way.
But now, he had picked up the old skill he had abandoned.
There was no shame in doing whatever was necessary to survive.
Rowan smiled faintly at the flattering minister.
"How about this? I'll give you a chance. Guards!"
He shouted, summoning several subordinates.
Rowan pointed at Honest, who remained kneeling on the floor.
"Take him outside and give him one hundred military strikes. Hit him hard."
Then he looked at Honest.
"If you can endure all one hundred strikes, I'll spare your life."
After saying that, he ordered his men to drag Honest away.
With Honest's strength, throwing off those guards would have been effortless.
But he did not dare do so.
Because Great General Budo was standing beside him.
The moment Honest attempted anything reckless, Budo would attack without hesitation.
After all, in Budo's eyes, Honest was not the Prime Minister but a criminal attempting to impersonate him.
The man Honest had originally brought as his shield had instead become the blade hanging over his neck.
It was truly an enormous irony.
Before long, dull thuds echoed from outside.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
It was the sound of clubs as thick as fists striking a human body.
The one hundred military strikes were soon completed.
The guards dragged Honest's bloodied and mangled body back into the hall.
Rowan ate grapes while looking down at Honest sprawled across the floor.
There was hardly a single patch of uninjured flesh left on the man's body.
Both his back and buttocks had been beaten into a bloody mess.
His face was so pale that he looked as though he might die on the spot at any moment.
Yet he had survived.
Clearly, this was the result of Honest's years of physical training.
"Alright, throw him out."
Rowan waved his hand and ordered his subordinates.
The guards nodded, dragged the bloodied Honest from the hall all the way to the estate's entrance, and tossed him outside.
Even Honest could no longer endure such punishment.
The instant he struck the ground, his eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness.
Ogre, who had been waiting outside the entire time, was completely dumbfounded by the sight.
Wait—
what had happened?
Why had the Prime Minister been thrown out of his own residence?
Where was Great General Budo?
Why had Budo not stopped them?
For a moment, Ogre's mind became a complete mess.
He could not understand what had happened at all.
However, driven by his desire for promotion, he still ordered his men to carry Honest away and hurriedly retreated from the estate.
Meanwhile,
inside the main hall, Great General Budo looked expressionlessly at Rowan.
"Since you have reclaimed your position, Prime Minister, I should return and report to His Majesty."
Rowan smiled faintly.
"Thank you for your hard work, Great General Budo."
In reality, Rowan had modified Budo's memories the moment the Great General entered the hall.
In Budo's memories, the Prime Minister had brought him to the estate and, after enduring numerous difficulties, successfully reclaimed his position.
The man who had just been thrown outside was not the Prime Minister.
He was the criminal who had stolen the Prime Minister's identity.
Watching Budo leave with his soldiers, Rowan could not help sighing in admiration.
Memory Magic was unbelievably useful!
He could toy with his enemies without making the slightest commotion, holding them completely within the palm of his hand.
They would not even realise anything was wrong.
It was far too convenient.
…
The next morning, Rowan woke up in the Prime Minister's luxurious bed and stretched lazily.
After washing up, he entered the dining room and found that the chefs had already prepared a delicious breakfast.
He glanced at the food and could not help sighing.
The Prime Minister truly ate well.
There was meat first thing in the morning.
And it was meat from a Danger Beast, exceptionally delicious and packed with energy.
No wonder Prime Minister Honest had grown into such an enormous fat man.
How could someone eat this much meat every day and not become fat?
After breakfast, Rowan leisurely left the Prime Minister's residence and headed toward the Imperial Palace.
Since he had already replaced the Prime Minister, he naturally intended to visit the palace and see what the morning court assembly was like.
After entering the Imperial Palace, Rowan quietly altered the memories of the palace guards, making every one of them believe that he was Prime Minister Honest.
Therefore, none of the palace guards attempted to stop him.