Btw, didnt conrad go batshit crazy in his tower?
Hmm... He wasnt traitor at first, right?
Im interested now, gonna read some fluff about it.
To sum up :
He got used as a tool of death by the Emperor.
The Emperor knew how he was doing the "job" and he let him doing it.
Then, when the dirty job has been done, some voice from the Imperial authority started to yell & repport how brutal Konrad Curze was.
Konrad got called by the Emperor and then has been humiliated in public. And went back to his palace.
Konrad had a special "skill" he has visions. With the time, the visions started to ruin his life. Especially because of one always poping up.
The one where the Emperor kills him.
He already escaped to many tries of assassins.
Bored, sad, and harassed by his visions (its much more complicated but well...) he decided to let the next assassin finish him.
A bit before that, he called all his captains, and gave the crown to his favorite son and explained that he will die this night. And no one should intervene.
(The captains had enormous different point of views on everythings) => very important when they will become "renegade" because some will completly fall in the corruption of chaos, when others will stay "pure" and fight for their "justice"