With Kaiser's Palace on the background, Antony takes off his battle gear, revealing that he was actually wearing formal civilian clothes underneath. The palace staff takes to the entrance a casket, with Kaiser's covered body in full view (only his head was made visible so the viewers can confirm that it really is the late dictator). Lepidov and the soldiers line up on Antony's sides. Antony speaks to the public for the first time since Kaiser's death, and he delivers his speech on national television, simulcast on radio.

"Friends, Russians, countrymen! Lend me your ears. I am here to bury Kaiser, not to praise him. The evil people do lives beyond them, the good are often forgotten. Let it be so with Kaiser. The honorable Barotov has told you Kaiser was ambitious. If so, it was his great fault, and sadly, he got his fair share. Barotov is a respectable man. The Liberators are all honorable men!"

Antony paused as he tried stopping tears from falling, which nevertheless kept flowing down his eyes.

"Enough! I speak today at Kaiser's funeral! He was my friend, faithful and just, a brother born for adversity. Barotov says he loves Kaiser, but he also says Kaiser was ambitious. Tell me, which of these show ambition? He brought glory back to Russia! He was conqueror of America! His estate he did not waste. Our treasury achieved a stable state. When the poor is in need, Kaiser heeds. I thrice proposed to him a crown deserving of a king, and thrice he refused, for he is no king! Kaiser once said, 'Kings live in palaces. I am no king. I wonder why they think so still.' Friends, where is ambition? I don't seek to disprove Barotov, but I speak of what I know. You, my countrymen, also loved him and his vision. Has his death caused you to mourn, or to lose your reason? My heart..."

Antony pauses again, his tears seemingly dried up and his eyes flaming red because of it. This time, he steps closer to Kaiser's casket and examines his bare face. Then, he looks back at the camera.

"Oh, my heart doesn't understand! My mind says this, my heart learns another. A few days past, Kaiser's word moves the world. Now, he is gone, and revering him there is none... Friends, I have here Kaiser's will. I dare not to read it publicly, but I am confident, for Kaiser only has our people in his heart. I do not pray to fuel your rage, but I pray only for your homage. Honor and respect the Liberators deserve, but who is so kind to keep even a little for Kaiser?"

He raised up his clenched fist, holding Kaiser's will still enclosed in an envelope.

"Kaiser stood against the world for your sake! He may lie in state, but now the Republic is at stake! The decision we shall make, may our nation never regret to take."

"And... cut!", someone shouted behind the camera.

The cameraman turned his head and asked, "Good take, director?"

"Of course! Now, take the tape to the TV stations. I want it airing within the hour! Ta-tah!", the director answered with a clap.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Lepidov approached Antony, who still gazes at Kaiser's face.

He said as he taps Antony's shoulder, "Nice acting out there, brother in arms."

Antony sniffed, and turned at Lepidov, "It's not acting Lepidov!"

"Now, now. Let's get back to the palace."

"The will?"

"Yes."

"Well then. Keep your troops on high alert, but do not attack the Capitol. As master's top lieutenants, we're the only ones who can keep the Populists at bay."

"Hmm. Planning to reconvene the Senate?"

"Of course. You're a senator, too, Lepidov."

Lepidov let that one slide and just laughed. Despite his military capabilities, Lepidov was one of the senators with the most absences. Of course, due to the civil war initiated by Kaiser after his return from America, the sessions of the Senate are not as regular as it should be on paper. Soon, the two were inside Kaiser's Palace. They join some two hundred more senators who temporarily assembled in the palace as the Capitol remained occupied by the Liberators.

"Shh! Here comes Antony," one senator whispers. A lot of murmuring reigned in the air thereafter.

"Friends, Russians, countrymen!", Antony opened.

"Yeah, yeah. We heard that already. Let's, let's do this," Tullini Ciceron interrupted. Ever since Kaiser was made dictator, Cicerov proved to be one of the more outspoken opponents of Kaiser, rising to become Senate President.

Another senator spoke, "That's right! Get to the brass tacks, Antony!"

"Well then. Get this pleb a seat, Lepidov."

"Fine. Everybody calm down. This is what you all want, right?!", Lepidov shouted as he raised the envelope containing Kaiser's will.

As everybody tried to calm themselves and take their respective seats (the Republicans and the Populists occupied separate parts of the conference room), Antony, who remained standing by a podium, thought to himself, "Of course. Who would not want to know what happens to Kaiser's vast estate?"

When Krassa died, Kaiser may well be considered as Russia's wealthiest person. After acquiring what was left of the Paramount Triad's assets, Kaiser was estimated to have accumulated as much as 9 million aurei, more than double that of which Krassa was credited with. Of course, Kaiser did double wages across the board without devaluing the aureus. Minimum wage for a single day, at least in the four years before Kaiser's death, remained two denarii, the highest it has been in a century. While in normal circumstances, it must have caused inflation so severe, the Russian economy must have collapsed, the influx of additional resources and the availability of additional land in newly acquired territories temporarily allowed Kaiser's economic policy to go on.

"Here goes," Antony said as broke the seal put by Kaiser himself, and then slowly opened the envelope containing the late dictator's will. However, as his eyes browsed the document, he seemed to have not believed it, and he kept quiet for a number of minutes.

Ciceron stood up from the Republican side of the senators and declared, "Hmph! This Antony is a phony! He's only doing this for his political expediency. Kaiser didn't leave any will. Why would he, when he was so confident of his invincibility? Doesn't Perpetual Dictator ring a bell?"

"Shut up, Tullini!", Lepidov said as he pointed at Ciceron.

"Fellow senators, would we still allow Antony to fool us?! Kaiser charades himself as the champion of the masses, but what has his disastrous economic policy done is to hand our souls to Hades! Indeed, self-aggrandizement is the epitome of a dictator! I therefore forward to the Senate a proposal to seize Kaiser's assets!"

In mythology, Hades is the ruler of the underworld and personified with death itself. With Ciceron's famous rhetoric taking action, some of the senators began talking with each other, while others seem to approve of Ciceron's message as they voice their support of the motion. What does the will of the dictator contain? Will Ciceron's suspicions be proven to have basis?