A Divided Empire
If he knew me this well, there was no longer any reason to hide it. No matter what I said, this man would not change his mind.
"Whew... How did you know?" I asked. King Yohanes smirked at my question.
"Well, as a condition for peace, did you not demand to place all government agencies under your direct control?" Ha... Just because of that?
"Furthermore, you weakened the crown by handing over the Emperor's direct territories to us. And finally, you forged this peace treaty to eventually seize the Empire for yourself—all while pocketing every ounce of practical benefit. Am I wrong?"
I smiled and nodded. "You are entirely correct. But isn't the same true for you, King Yohanes? Do you not wish to swallow Epirus and Egypt, which I so graciously handed over, all by yourself?"
He nodded, conceding the point. "Indeed. Once I secure those territories, consolidating my grip on the Emperor Faction will be child's play."
I smiled. "Then I shall deliver those two regions not to the Emperor Faction as a whole, but to you, Your Majesty, personally." This was exactly what I wanted. Internal strife within the Emperor Faction would allow me to easily absorb their fractured remnants. And Yohanes, in all likelihood, was well aware of this.
"Haha! I won't fall for such a shallow trick. You plan to stab me in the back while I am occupied with seizing the Emperor Faction, don't you?" His sharp gaze seemed to pierce right through me. I met his eyes calmly, maintaining my smile. The only reason I could remain so composed under his fierce scrutiny was simple: his assumption was wrong. Thus, I readily laid out my actual plan.
"Not at all. In truth, I find myself in the exact same predicament as you, Your Majesty. I must rebuild the Anti-Emperor Faction." Indeed, so many nobles had defected from our side recently that it was embarrassing to even call us a faction anymore. Yohanes eyed me with deep suspicion. "Is that so?"
I chuckled. "Once the wedding is over, I intend to bring those straying nobles to their knees once again." The Grand Duchy had held the leadership of the Anti-Emperor Faction for over a century by systematically forcing every single noble house to bow and swear fealty. I simply planned to repeat history.
"Oh...? And you think you can manage that?" Yohanes looked genuinely surprised. I shrugged. "You don't have to believe me. But either way, we must put our own house in order first." Go ahead, overcomplicate it. He would have to agonize over my next move—wondering whether I would focus on internal consolidation first or swoop in to absorb his fractured faction. And while he wasted his precious time trying to read me, I would be making my moves.
"Haha! I heard rumors from Alexander, but you truly are something else. You possess a cunning far beyond your years." Yohanes smiled warmly, but in the blink of an eye, his expression turned ice-cold. "Then give me one good reason why I should let you live."
I let out a soft chuckle. Threatening me now? The moment he admitted he wanted the Empire, he had already lost any desire to kill me.
"It is not a question of why you should let me live, but rather why you cannot kill me. If I die, a civil war will erupt within the Emperor Faction for control of the state. And as the King of Nicaea, you currently lack the overwhelming power to suppress the other high nobles on your own, do you not?"
Yohanes burst into laughter, acknowledging the truth of my words. "Spot on. In that case, what must we do to ensure our mutual benefit?"
"We forge a secret alliance. I shall deliver Epirus and Egypt to you, and in return, you shall grant me the time and authority I require."
Clap, clap! He clapped his hands in sheer delight. "Magnificent! Yes, that is precisely why I am handing all the government agencies over to you. A man as wise as you would never dare bare his teeth at me once I have the Emperor Faction completely under my thumb."
No, you are dead wrong. I had absolutely no intention of letting him fully consolidate his grip on the Emperor Faction. Facing an adversary who commanded the entire faction while holding both Epirus and Egypt would be an uphill battle. It wouldn't be impossible to win, but the casualties would be catastrophic, and the political fallout severe.
"Perhaps... but I would like to make an alternative proposal." Yohanes's eyes gleamed with interest. "What kind of proposal?"
"The Empire possesses vast territories—more than enough to satisfy both of our ambitions." Yohanes leaned forward, thoroughly amused. "And what does that mean in practice?"
"How about I take the West, and you take the East?" Yohanes stared at me, his mind visibly working, before he burst into a booming laugh. "Bwahaha! You truly are a genius..."
The eastern half of the Empire was far more developed than the west. Furthermore, the west bordered the United Kingdom, a formidable maritime power. The moment they turned their sights toward the continent, the western territories would inevitably plunge into chaos. However, as long as I was the one ruling the west, that would never happen. The reason was simple.
"The King of the United Kingdom is your maternal uncle, is he not?" Yes, he was my uncle. And I had heard that he deeply cherished my mother. Therefore, I could safely assume that as long as I ruled the western half of the Empire, the likelihood of him launching an invasion was slim to none.
"Splendid! Absolutely splendid!" Once I revealed this piece of my strategy, he lost all restraint. "Bwahaha! You truly are a master of statecraft, aren't you? Very well, I shall agree to your terms. Just imagining the chaotic circus the Imperial Parliament will become already brings a smile to my face! Bwahaha!"
After laughing his fill, Yohanes's expression hardened once more. "However... if I throw my full support behind you like this, and you dare betray me... the Emperor Faction will immediately tear up the peace treaty. We will stop at nothing to utterly destroy you and your house. Do not even dream of betrayal."
I smiled, effortlessly diffusing the tension. "You have nothing to fear. With a hundred and fifty thousand of your troops stationed right here, how could I possibly dare to betray you?" At least, not yet. He still had far too much to offer me. And so, on that very night, we forged a secret alliance. An alliance destined to be short-lived.
Following the signing ceremony, I returned to Roman. "Whew..." I muttered, roughly loosening my tie as I listened to the briefing on recent events. "You're saying we have a spy digging into our affairs?" Agrippa nodded.
"Yes. Ever since you departed Roman, Your Grace, there has been a particular maid who has been desperately trying to uncover your whereabouts." A spy... a persistent headache capable of leaking classified information or, worse, instigating public unrest.
"Then we should have dragged her out and hanged her immediately. Don't tell me you waited all this time just for my return?" I let out a dry, incredulous laugh, but Agrippa merely nodded with a grave expression. "The issue, Your Grace, is that the mastermind behind her is... highly delicate."
My curiosity piqued, I leaned forward. "Who is it?" "It is... Her Imperial Highness, Crown Princess Theodora." The unexpected name made me blink. "What? Theodora still has the resources to pull off something like this?"
As far as I knew, the only notable figure still loyal to her was Speaker Charles. Did she truly possess the influence required to operate an espionage ring? Sensing my skepticism, Agrippa nodded. "While we have seized control of Roman's military forces and administrative bodies, we have yet to fully secure the Imperial Palace itself."
"Ah." The pieces fell into place. "So the palace servants are still loyal to her?" "It is only natural, Your Grace. To the people of Roman, are we not merely foreign invaders?" I nodded slowly. "Fair point. But how did you catch her?"
Agrippa picked up a few sheets of paper from my desk and handed them to me. I quickly flipped through the six-page report. The details were far less dramatic than one might expect. It turned out that many of our Grand Duchy soldiers had been fraternizing with the palace maids. Recently, some soldiers had mentioned in passing that the maids seemed unusually curious about my whereabouts. Agrippa had caught wind of this, fed them false information, and traced the leak directly to Theodora's personal maid, Ipa.
"Hmm..." I murmured, staring at the document as I fell into deep thought. The servants performing menial labor in the Imperial Palace were mostly ordinary citizens of the Empire. Though "imperial citizen" sounded grand, in practical terms, they were no different from commoners. Of course, unlike the peasants depicted in typical novels or movies, they were legally guaranteed a decent array of rights.
"So, what shall we do with the maid?" Agrippa asked. I grimaced, weighing my options. "Hmm... before we decide on that." I proceeded to recount the conversation I had shared with Yohanes during the signing ceremony.
"He is a lunatic," Agrippa remarked flatly. "My thoughts exactly." Yohanes wanted to seize the entire Empire and bring everything to its knees before him. He had agreed to partition the realm, but I knew better. The moment we both finished consolidating our respective territories, he would undoubtedly march against me.
"Still, it is not a bad development. It is a temporary alliance with the de facto leader of the Emperor Faction, after all," Agrippa noted. "Indeed. For starters, we have agreed to cooperate within the Imperial Parliament." Agrippa nodded in understanding, but then raised an eyebrow. "But what does any of this have to do with the spy?"
"It has everything to do with it. If we want to pass our desired reforms, we cannot allow the crown to exercise its veto power, can we?" Agrippa nodded. "Naturally." "Which is why I intend to use this opportunity to strip the imperial family of their remaining authority entirely."
Agrippa looked skeptical. "Do you truly believe Crown Princess Theodora will surrender the crown's prerogatives so easily?" I smirked. "Theodora deeply cherishes her family, does she not?" Agrippa nodded slowly.
I stroked my chin thoughtfully. "Theodora is likely convinced that I wouldn't dare lay a finger on Princess Joy." And in truth, she wasn't entirely wrong. Throwing Joy into a dungeon risked shattering the fragile peace we had just established. However, we couldn't afford to project weakness either. A carefully measured dose of terror would resolve this dilemma perfectly.
"So, how about we play it like this?" "What do you have in mind?" And with that, the two of us began to map out a strategy to turn the tables completely in our favor.