Kabanata 698: Undercurrents [2]

'Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait...' 

I had to take a moment to properly process Noel's words as I stared at him in shock. Did he just say he was going to kill the Emperor? 

"What? Why? The Emperor is just a pupp—" 

"That's exactly why, Emmet." 

Noel placed his hand over his face, massaging it slowly while mumbling, "The Emperor is a puppet. He is Toren's puppet."

"That's..." 

"...That's why I'm going to kill him. It is about time that someone replaces him." 

"Replaces him?" 

My eyes widened for a brief moment. 

What could he... 

"Wait, are you saying that you're going to replace the current Emperor? Are you going to pose as the Emperor? But don't you think Sith-No, Toren would notice you? If that's the case, then—" 

"I won't be directly taking over." 

Noel cut me off before I could continue further.