A Tangled Empire
Ah, damn it. Did I mess up?
I massaged my aching body as I walked.
Damn this Qi Sensing.
I couldn't control it to the very end.
Granted, I actually got nervous at the end and made a mistake, but I really couldn't understand what happened at the beginning.
The moment the doors to the Golden Hall opened, my Qi Sensing had flared out like a declaration of war.
I was worried someone might have died on the spot.
I really hadn't been nervous at all...
Sure, they were "noble lords" to everyone else, but to me, they were just a bunch of middle-aged men.
When I was dragged before the Emperor, I didn't know any better, but now I wasn't that ignorant anymore. I thought I'd be fine... or so I thought.
Well, it didn't matter now.
No one would remember such a minor slip-up anyway.
Especially since I had unleashed it so openly at the end.
"Phew..."
I tried to clean up the mess in my own way, but I wasn't sure if it worked.
Judging by the Emperor's expression, it seemed to have ended on a good note, but... who knew?
My head throbbed.
For now, let's go back to my room.
He did tell me to reflect on my actions, after all.
With that thought, I headed toward the detached palace.
The scene there was just as crowded as before—no, even more crowded.
But... wasn't the atmosphere completely different?
"Hahaha, indeed. As capital nobles, we have the honor of serving His Majesty from the closest proximity..."
"No, it is the nobles guarding the borders who fulfill the true duty of lords, defending the realm from foreign enemies and expanding our territory..."
"My lady, I heard the news. You have established an orphanage for homeless half-elves..."
All nobles of Count rank and above were currently in the Grand Council.
To be precise, that meant all the heads of the families.
Perhaps that was why the crowd looked so youthful.
Beautiful and handsome noble children were busy socializing...
It was a very familiar sight.
A sense of déjà vu washed over me.
Giggling and flirting, court romance... I had definitely seen this trope somewhere before.
"Ah, Lord Eisenhardt!"
"?"
I turned my head to see the pink-haired girl from before. What was her name again...?
"Anne of Viscounty Kirsch greets you!"
Right, that was it.
She was still surrounded by a crowd.
One of the men standing next to Anne stepped forward and bowed with rigid posture.
"I greet the Sword of the Empire, the Subduer of Calamities, Lord Eisenhardt."
It was a greeting close to a knight's etiquette, but a noble's greeting immediately followed.
"Dietrich of Marquisate Boehlo, at your service."
Hearing his introduction made me even more curious about this woman named Anne.
How was she walking around with the heir of a Marquisate at her side?
The only reason I remembered the name Dietrich was simple.
He was one of the nobles Luniere had told me to keep in mind.
He was the heir to a historic knightly family in the north.
His martial prowess was so outstanding that the position of family head was practically guaranteed to him.
And yet, at this very moment, with so many influential families gathered around, he was sticking close to a mere viscount's daughter?
I didn't know much about politics, and even less about the politics of this world, but surely this wasn't normal?
I thought he would be busy rubbing shoulders with other powerful nobles.
...There must be a reason.
Since I had no intention of playing detective here, I gave them a brief nod and went on my way.
Come to think of it, everyone around here was young.
I often forgot, but I was old.
It was incredibly unfair, but it was time for me to exit the stage.
If I wanted to know the details, I could just ask Luniere or Cien later.
The supreme Emperor had ordered me to reflect, so I had to obey.
I'd get to slack off for at least a week.
This time, I would definitely succeed in controlling my Qi Sensing.
At that time, I didn't know.
That three days later, I would be standing atop the snowy northern wall.
If I had known, I wouldn't have been chuckling to myself back then.
"Count Eisenhardt."
"...Why do you call for me?"
"I wanted to speak with you now, in case any misunderstandings arose from the recent dispatch to the east. I truly had no ill intentions. I merely thought of it as a light stroll. Normally, I would have visited you personally to apologize, but since things turned out this way, I am saying it now."
And this was on the northern border wall, facing hundreds of thousands of barbarians.
"It feels strange to stand on the same battlefield after so long. I feel quite young again. Haha, perhaps that wasn't the right thing to say in front of you, Count Eisenhardt."
Shut up for a second, I'm trying to think.
Going back in time, to the night after the first day of the Grand Council.
The nobles, who had been thoroughly crushed by Eisenhardt's overwhelming political pressure and the Emperor's brilliant quick-wittedness, naturally gathered in private to plot.
"This has become troublesome..."
"I honestly thought I was going to die. What kind of pressure was that...?"
"Didn't I tell you? The rumors that Count Eisenhardt had regained his senses were widespread."
They were chatting in a slightly more relaxed manner, shedding the refined masks they wore in the imperial palace.
"Rumors, my foot. All they had to go on was that he had a private audience with His Majesty."
"That's more than enough. Would the Emperor really summon a mentally unstable Sword Saint to his side?"
"...I suppose you have a point. My apologies."
The topic of conversation was, of course, Eisenhardt.
The nobles were utterly bewildered by the grand return of the man they had once mocked as a toothless Sword Saint.
They had even cross-referenced the information, so falling for this felt downright unfair.
He suddenly locks himself in his room, and then strange rumors start circulating.
Wasn't that a dead giveaway?
The noble who had actually witnessed the hallway of the detached palace splitting into sixteen paths had cried tears of sheer frustration.
Although the Emperor and the officials of the Imperial Household Department had done their best to control the information, they couldn't completely hide Eisenhardt's condition.
News that the Sword Saint had suffered a Heart Demon spread rapidly through high society.
Since the Sword Saint had not shown himself since then, it was practically treated as fact.
That was why they had brought that agenda to this Grand Council.
Using the crisis in the east as an excuse, they had tried to mobilize the Capital Defense Knights—essentially the Emperor's personal knights.
If they succeeded, it would undermine the Emperor's authority and set a favorable precedent for the nobility. They believed this was their only chance.
With the Emperor's sword, Eisenhardt, in poor health, now was the time to strike.
"We got what we wanted, but it feels hollow."
"What do you mean we got it? We ended up in debt instead. I'm already terrified of what he'll demand later..."
"Still, the situation in the east will improve. The Capital Defense Knights are deploying, after all."
"Tsk... We paid far more than the fair price. At least the people of our territories will be somewhat relieved."
"Though they will end up praising His Majesty in the end."
"We were completely outplayed."
Everyone looked grim, but the eastern nobles looked the worst.
The reasons were exactly what they had just discussed.
They failed to chip away at the Emperor's authority, and instead, they had accumulated debt by accepting his "consideration."
While the situation in the east would improve, the commoners would undoubtedly praise the Emperor rather than their own lords.
No matter how they looked at it, it was a bitter pill to swallow.
Meanwhile, in the area where the northern nobles—rather than the eastern ones—gathered, a different conversation was taking place.
"Still, it is a relief. The Sword Saint is in good health."
"How can you say that so easily after what we were subjected to?"
"Honestly, the eastern nobles crossed the line first this time. Touching His Majesty's personal troops? Talk about bold."
"Well, that is true, but..."
"And if Lord Eisenhardt hadn't overcome his Heart Demon, wouldn't it have been a loss for the entire Aurium Empire? The north, sharing a border with the barbarians, would have taken a fatal blow."
"...Ugh. Let's drop it."
"Besides, now that a precedent has been set, the Capital Defense Knights might be dispatched in the future as well. That is good news for us."
"Hearing you say it, I suppose so. But in the end, His Majesty's authority and power have grown too strong..."
"True, but from the Emperor's perspective, we are the moderates. We should look to benefit from this instead..."
The northern faction was showing a relatively favorable stance.
The opposite was true elsewhere.
"We're done for. We'll have to keep our heads down for a while."
"Let's stay quiet for now. If we catch his eye for the wrong reasons, he'll order us to push our people into the erosion zones again."
This was the sentiment in the south, where conflict with the Emperor was just as severe as in the east.
The west was also displeased with today's failure.
"Sigh... He's going to nag us again."
"He won't try to raise the tax on salt, will he?"
"That would be pushing it. At most, he'll send the tax auditors. Everyone, watch your step. If you get caught, I can't help you."
"I don't know why he's so eager to squeeze us dry. What's the point of the calamities being quiet if the Emperor is the one breathing down our necks?"
When it came to imperial interference, the west bore the brunt of it.
They dreaded the Emperor, who was constantly looking for something to exploit.
Except for the north, all regions maintained a distinct anti-imperial stance.
As for the four Dukes representing each region...
"He has grown stronger. That man."
"I know. I saw it with my own eyes, so how could I not?"
"Sigh..."
"Well... what can we do? Deep down, we all knew, didn't we? Eisenhardt isn't a man who would break so easily."
Their reactions were similar.
Duke Hartenfeld remained indifferent, while the others sighed heavily.
Where was the remaining one?
"You have worked hard, Father."
"Nonsense. I did nothing today."
Duke Ulrich von Sachsen, who ruled the central region near the capital, had already returned home.
The Emperor's first—no, second sword could not possibly associate with those half-baked fools.
He was celebrating Lord Eisenhardt's return in the capital villa gifted to him by His Majesty.
"It was just as you said. He has become even sharper."
"Indeed."
Duke Sachsen patted the shoulder of his son, Moritz von Sachsen, a few times before heading to his study.
As the only one among the five Dukes classified as part of the imperial faction, his steps were light.
The sharpest sword of the imperial faction had returned.
How anxious he had been when the rumors of the Heart Demon first surfaced.
Unlike the other nobles who remained skeptical until the end, Ulrich knew for certain that it was true.
After all, it had been hidden even from him.
That alone was enough to convey the gravity of the situation.
But seeing Eisenhardt return after triumphantly overcoming his Heart Demon filled his heart with reassurance.
It was like gaining a million-strong army.
Duke Sachsen smiled once more as he recalled the squashed-tomato faces of the other nobles.
He felt like drinking a bit too much tonight.
He hummed to himself, quickening his pace toward the study.
It was best not to ask why he was heading to the study while thinking of alcohol.
At that same hour, Eisenhardt was meeting with Luniere.
The topic of discussion was, naturally...
The empire's tangled web.
The way things were going felt less like politics and more like a chaotic circus. The relations between the factions were exceptionally bad.
Luniere had paid me a visit as soon as the Grand Council ended.
Since she had come in person, I had no choice but to ask.
About the relationship between the nobles and the Emperor.
Honestly, they were fighting far too seriously.
"Not getting along" didn't even begin to describe it.
Summarizing her rather lengthy explanation, it boiled down to this:
"So, in short, they're practically at each other's throats."
It was a grand battle of egos between the nobles, who insisted on managing their own territories, and the Emperor, who wanted to bring everything under his direct control.
I got the feeling she was hiding something more, but for now, I decided to just listen quietly.
"The west is desperate to lower their tax rates, while the south and east simply detest the Emperor," she said.
"What about the north?"
"Those folks are still too busy trying to survive."
"Hmm..."
Naturally, I didn't believe everything Luniere said.
The bond we had built so far only amounted to hanging out for a few days.
It wasn't enough to trust her blindly.
Perhaps my skepticism showed, because Luniere added another word.
"You'll see for yourself soon enough."
I checked the mirror once more.
...I really didn't think it showed on my face.
"I believe you."
"Really?"
"No."
"Hey!"
She lightly nudged my shoulder.
For some reason, that familiar gesture made me reminisce about the past, and I soon recalled it.
Ah, right. It was the number one move of tomboyish girls that led guys on.
Laughing while nudging or resting a hand on the shoulder.
I remembered it because I had been fooled by it before and ended up in a tight spot.
But now, I was an old man.
I was past the age of being ruled by testosterone.
I wouldn't be swayed by something like this.
...Though now that I think about it, that's not really something to brag about.
Anyway, my mind was as clear as a polished mirror.
"I believe about half of it. After all, we're in the same boat now."
This judgment was also made with a clear mind.
At this point, excluding Luniere, I had no reliable allies—
"Oh, in the same boat? I'm not part of the imperial faction, you know."
Huh?
She wasn't?