The Weight of an Oath

William, the Commander of the Golden Knights, retrieved ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the letter he had received from the Emperor during his previous intervention in the anti-Emperor faction's civil war. He placed it side-by-side with the new letter to compare the handwriting.

They are identical.

The only difference was the absence of the imperial seal. But if the Empress truly wished to overthrow the Grand Duke, it was only logical to assume she couldn't use the seal because Deviang had withheld it from her.

"Could Her Majesty... have ordered our intervention in the civil war with this very intention in mind?"

Was she testing his handwriting recognition, signaling him to grasp her true, hidden intentions?

Truth be told, William had never been pleased when the sovereign—the very guardian of imperial law—had abandoned the duty of neutrality explicitly mandated by that law. But if she had been forced to do so under the Grand Duke's coercion, then she had no choice but to comply.

He stared at the letter delivered by the maid, agonizing over its contents.

Attacking Roman was akin to striking a boulder with an egg. Even with a force of a hundred thousand—no, a million—breaching the triple-layered walls of Roman was virtually impossible.

Furthermore, the moment they launched an attack on Roman, the Empress and the imperial family would be placed in mortal peril. That was why William had bided his time until now.

Yet, the Empress was reprimanding his hesitation.

Rather than live a wretched, lingering life as the ruler of a ruined nation, she chooses to risk everything to protect the Empire. Her Majesty has prepared herself for death.

Currently, if both Empress Theodora and Princess Joy were to perish, the throne would pass to the late Emperor's brothers. As far as William knew, they resided in the city of Beiren. If they succeeded, the Grand Duke would find it difficult to play any underhanded tricks.

William fell deep into thought.

Within the imperial palace, everyone knew that the Empress and the Grand Duke shared a close, affectionate relationship. However, William, who had not set foot in Roman since Valorang's assassination, was entirely ignorant of this fact.

To begin with, who would ever believe that two people from mortal enemy houses could actually get along after a forced political marriage?

"I must... uphold the imperial decree."

Convinced by the plausible circumstances, William made his way toward the tent where the maid, Livia, was waiting, completely unaware that the letter was a forgery.

Our group left Win, the seat of the Grand Duchy, and headed toward Hams Port.

To discuss our future plans during the journey, Agrippa and I rode in the same carriage.

"Agrippa. Why is it that you've been looking more and more like a walking corpse ever since you got married?"

I spoke out of genuine concern, looking at his pale, sickly complexion.

"Haha..."

Agrippa could only offer an awkward, strained smile. Watching him, a sudden doubt crossed my mind.

Is it really safe to leave Agrippa like this?

With a war on the horizon, Agrippa needed to lead the Grand Duchy's forces and join me in Roman. I had recently requested my maternal uncle's aid, and the Allied Kingdom had agreed to provide transport ships and escort vessels. Agrippa would be arriving in Roman soon, but...

I was genuinely terrified that he might die of sexual exhaustion before then.

If Agrippa suffered a sudden demise from marital overexertion, it would be an absolute disaster.

I had already put two contingency plans in place to prevent Yohanes from launching a swift maneuver and seizing the kingdoms all at once, but those were merely stalling tactics. To truly defeat him, a full-scale war was inevitable.

"It's just... I've been a bit tired lately," Agrippa muttered.

I let out a sigh. "Once I arrive in Roman, I'll send you some Unicorn's Horn. That should help you recover your strength."

Agrippa's eyes widened in surprise. "You have access to something so incredibly rare? The imperial palace truly is magnificent."

Technically, it didn't belong to the palace, but to my mother-in-law, Eurydice. But that wasn't important right now.

"Yes. And Agrippa, once the war breaks out, make sure to come to Roman just as we discussed yesterday."

Agrippa nodded, though a look of concern clouded his face. "But... is it really wise to bring Mary along as well?"

I nodded firmly. "We have no choice. If the enemy has truly amassed a force exceeding one hundred thousand, we must commit every ounce of our strength."

The Empress's army, the Grand Duchy's forces, and the private armies of various lords—a massive vortex of war was about to sweep across the peaceful continent.

"That may be true, but..."

"Mary is strong. You don't need to worry about her."

Until the Hero made his appearance, Mary was the strongest martial figure among humanity.

"If you say so, Your Grace, then I suppose I have no choice..."

"Besides, I'm assigning Mary to your unit. If you think things are getting too dangerous, you can just order her to retreat, can't you?"

Agrippa was destined to be the Commander-in-Chief of our forces. With Mary by his side, he could deploy her when necessary and pull her back if the situation turned dire.

Agrippa nodded, a wry smile playing on his lips. "I suppose so... but I still can't help but worry about her getting hurt."

"I feel the same way. But we don't have the luxury of playing it safe right now."

The sheer size of Yohanes's forces was highly alarming. Our intelligence on the mercenary market confirmed that Yohanes had already secured contracts with most of the continent's renowned mercenary bands.

Even tracing those contracts back to estimate his numbers, it made no sense. How on earth had he managed to assemble a force of forty to seventy thousand?

"Where could he have gathered so many troops? He couldn't have recruited mercenaries from the Babylon Empire, could he?"

Agrippa shook his head dismissively. "Surely not. Yohanes is far too proud to stoop to that."

Hiring mercenaries from the Babylon Empire—a nation the Empire regarded as mere barbarians—was a terrible political move. Furthermore, Babylon's military doctrine favored overwhelming numbers over quality, making their troops vastly inferior in terms of individual capability.

While the Empire equipped even its lowest-ranking infantry with padded armor, the hot climate of Babylon made armor highly unpopular. While their elite forces wore armor, their regular infantry essentially went into battle unprotected.

Moreover, considering the devastating impact of magic on modern warfare, Babylon's complete lack of mages made their tactics incredibly vulnerable. Facing a battlefield dominated by high-caliber magical bombardment without even basic barrier magic was a suicidal endeavor.

"I tend to agree."

Screeech.

The carriage came to a halt.

"Your Grace, we have arrived at the port."

"Right. Proceed as planned."

With those words, I opened the carriage door and stepped outside.

Meanwhile, the "Three Musketeers" of the Grand Duke's Office were going through absolute hell.

Staring at the parliamentary summons sitting on the desk before them, Victor, Lucius, and Müller exchanged frantic glances, each trying to push the responsibility onto the others.

"Ahem... Lucius, aren't you the most senior member of the Grand Duke's Office? You should go and address the assemblymen's questions."

Lucius immediately waved his hands in frantic refusal. "Absolutely not, Minister Victor! That incident occurred before I even started working here. How could I possibly go?"

An investigation had been launched into the past secret pact between Deviang and the Emperor's Faction, and the Parliament had issued a summons for a representative of the Grand Duke's Office to testify.

Had the Grand Duke been present, he would have exercised his veto power to block it. But with Deviang currently away in the Grand Duchy, there was no one to shield these poor civil servants.

Victor cleared his throat. "Ahem... But the Parliament has issued a formal summons. We have to send someone."

Lucius countered immediately. "Then it should be you, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Minister Victor, as the Grand Duke's official proxy."

Normally, when an administrative department received a parliamentary summons, the Minister or Vice-Minister was expected to attend. It was only natural for the head of the department to answer for matters sensitive enough to warrant a formal summons.

"I... I am merely a temporary regent! Besides, I know absolutely nothing about such a sensitive matter. Since you've been here the longest, Lucius, it only makes sense for you to go!"

Victor, knowing full well that anyone who stepped into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Parliament right now would be torn to shreds by the furious assemblymen, had absolutely no intention of going.

Of course, Lucius was equally determined to avoid that fate. As a commoner, he wouldn't just be grilled; they might find some absurd pretext to throw him in a dungeon. Desperate to escape the trap, he argued back.

"I don't know anything about that pact either! And as far as I know, in cases like this, it is standard protocol for a Minister-level official to represent the department."

Victor shook his head. "The secretaries of the Grand Duke's Office hold authority over all other ministries, which effectively makes them equivalent to Ministers or Vice-Ministers. You can go with a clear conscience."

Under the current imperial administrative framework, it was never explicitly codified whether a secretary of the Grand Duke's Office held Minister-level rank. After all, the department had only recently been established. However, they did frequently interact with Ministers in the course of their duties.

"H-how can you say that? Do you honestly think the assemblymen will buy that excuse?"

"Why wouldn't they? The old Chancellery functioned in a very similar manner to the Grand Duke's Office. Imperial protocol explicitly stated that the Chancellor's secretaries held Minister-level rank. Therefore, you can be considered a Minister-level official as well. Besides, aren't you paid a Minister's salary?"

Lucius turned pale. Realizing he was about to be sent straight into the slaughterhouse, he cried out in panic.

"Wait a moment, Minister Victor! There are currently two secretaries in the Grand Duke's Office—myself and Müller..."

Victor's eyes gleamed. "Müller is a secretary as well?"

Müller, who had been happily eating popcorn while watching the two bicker, suddenly froze as the realization of impending doom dawned on him.

"Wait, why is this suddenly flying my way?!"

Victor declared, "In any case, either Lucius or Müller must answer the parliamentary summons."

Lucius turned to Müller, his expression instantly shifting as he pulled rank.

"Müller? As your senior secretary, I am ordering you. Comply with the parliamentary summons."

"Huh?"

And thus, Müller was chosen to face the Parliament.