The Art of Buying Time
I sat in my room, reading the reports. News had arrived that the Emperor Faction was hastily gathering their forces. What worried me was that the scale of their mobilization was far from ordinary.
"Sigh... Even the Neutral Faction has sided with the Emperor Faction..." It was an event that had already occurred in the original novel. I had expected as much.
Fortunately, the imperial capital, Roman, was protected by a triple-layered wall and a wide, sweeping river. Moreover, because of the massive water wall built directly over the river, landing by boat was no easy feat. Breaching the thick, triple-layered walls was nigh impossible, no matter how vast the enemy's numbers. For now, this place would be safe.
"But..." I wanted to avoid bloodshed as much as possible. To fight the Demon Worshippers lurking in the shadows, waiting for any chance to resurrect the Demon King—and to eventually face the resurrected Demon King and his minions—I had to prevent unnecessary sacrifices at all costs.
"Your Grace, the members of Parliament have arrived." I replied to the guard's voice outside. "Bring them in."
With a soft creak of the door, three men entered my room. Speaker Charles, representing the Rwanda Duchy. Representative Pompeius of the capital, Roman. Representative Alexander, representing the eastern Nicaea Kingdom. All three were highly prestigious members of Parliament and loyal retainers of the late Emperor. Knowing they were as cunning as serpents, I spoke with caution. "Welcome, gentlemen."
As I gestured toward the chairs in front of my desk, the three representatives took their seats with cautious expressions. "Ahem... I heard there was a grave incident yesterday." Speaker Charles opened the conversation. I needed to distance myself from Valorang as much as possible here. If I didn't... any hope of negotiating with the Emperor Faction would go down the drain. Even if our position was secure, we needed to meet their minimum conditions to negotiate. And their absolute minimum condition was that I must not be complicit in the treason committed by Valorang.
"An incident... It is difficult to call the death of the wicked Valorang a mere incident." Thus, I spoke with deliberate severity.
"Is that so? I fail to see why Grand Duke Valorang was wicked." Speaker Charles was testing me. Since I had to secure an alliance with the Emperor Faction they belonged to...
"First, he murdered the benevolent late Emperor, undermined and mocked the laws of the Empire, and persecuted the imperial family to usurp the throne." I paused to catch my breath before delivering the most crucial point. "And he colluded with the Demon Worshippers to summon the Demon King to this land."
"W-what did you say?!" "Y-young master—no, Your Grace. Is what you are saying true?" I nodded at the representatives' shocked reactions. The former points were common knowledge to anyone living in the Empire. But the part about attempting to summon the Demon King... was a secret known only to Agrippa and me.
"Here, look at this." I handed them a sheet of white paper covered in mysterious symbols, along with a decryption key. "Th-this is...?" As they stared at the documents, I explained, "It is a letter proving his collusion with the Demon Worshippers. Furthermore, Valorang's body will bear the brand that the Demon Worshippers carve into themselves. You may verify it for yourselves after we finish here."
Pompeius stopped reading and looked up at me. "So... what does Your Grace intend to do now? Will you return to the Grand Duchy of Francesco?" Representative Pompeius. Originally a commoner, he had achieved great military distinction in war and won the support of the citizens of Roman to become a member of Parliament. He was a man of steel by nature, valuing honor above death. That was likely why he spoke so bluntly, completely devoid of fear.
"No. If I withdraw now... the Emperor Faction will certainly not leave me in peace." Grand Duke Valorang had devastated Roman with his underhanded tricks and assassinated the Emperor. Even though I was the one who killed Valorang, the Empire would inevitably view me and the Grand Duchy as enemies, to some degree. Moreover, to purge the Demon Worshippers scattered across the Empire, it was far more advantageous to hold the reins of imperial power. I had no intention of returning to the Grand Duchy.
However, Pompeius seemed to interpret my words differently. He nodded, his eyes turning cold. "Then it sounds as though Grand Duke Valorang, who trampled the Empire, has died only for Grand Duke Deviang to take his place and continue the devastation. This has been a waste of time." I shrugged at his words. "I am no fool. I know all too well that the Empire and the imperial court will use any means necessary to eliminate me and my Grand Duchy. I have a duty to protect the safety of those who believe in and follow me."
But Pompeius had already tuned me out. "Yes, yes, of course you do. I won't waste any more of my precious time. I shall take my leave." With that, he walked out. Well... I had expected this to some extent. The unyielding Pompeius would always speak his mind directly. He lacked a deep understanding of politics. A seasoned politician would never lay their cards on the table so bluntly. They would hide their true intentions like sly serpents, making their opponents anxious to extract the maximum possible concessions.
The reason I had invited Pompeius, who was far removed from such underhanded political maneuvering, was twofold: to make them believe I was a political novice, and... "Ahem... Young master, then how about this?" Representative Alexander spoke up, a broad smile spreading across his face. "If you were to marry into the imperial family, wouldn't that dispel all suspicion?" ...to bait this master politician. I put on an intrigued expression. "If you mean the imperial family..." Representative Alexander nodded. "Princess Joy is renowned for her beauty and benevolence... and she is well-known as the beloved younger sister of Her Imperial Highness Crown Princess Theodora, the next Empress, is she not?"
Ugh... I wasn't aiming for Joy. Princess Joy was second in line to the imperial throne, and unlike Theodora, she was a gentle and kind-hearted princess. True, if I married her, Theodora might hesitate to kill me out of a desire not to make her beloved sister a widow. No... knowing Theodora's personality, she would absolutely try to kill me anyway. She would just do it in a way that left no trace. Perhaps through poison. In any case, I had to refuse.
"To think there was such an excellent solution. Representative Alexander, could you perhaps act as a mediator with the imperial court?" "Bwahaha! Of course! I shall personally convey Your Grace's intentions to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager." I nodded, letting a flicker of anxiety show on my face. "However, Princess Joy alone does not put my mind at ease. The world is far too turbulent these days, you see."
Joy was certainly kind and beautiful. Moreover, on a personal level, I wanted her to live a happy life. In the original novel, she was the princess who had suffered under Valorang in place of Theodora, who had successfully fled, only to ultimately become a living sacrifice for the Demon King. Because of that... I did not want to drag her into this chaotic political struggle. Besides, right now, Theodora held the immense legitimacy of being the Crown Princess of the Empire. I had to secure Theodora.
Perhaps sensing my true intentions, Speaker Charles asked with a grimace, "Th-then...?" "I would prefer something... a bit more secure." At my words, the faces of Speaker Charles and Representative Alexander hardened. "Surely you don't mean..." "Are you... thinking of Her Imperial Highness the Crown Princess?" I offered them a bright, innocent smile. "Yes. I have admired her from afar for a very long time."
Admired her, my foot. I had only seen her face twice in my entire life. And the second time I saw her, she had practically become my prospective stepmother. "Th-that is preposterous! Your Grace, have you no shame?" Speaker Charles spoke with rising anger, but I merely tilted my head as if wondering what the issue was. "Whatever do you mean?" "Do not play innocent with us! Are you not trying to usurp the Empire by marrying the Crown Princess?" "Not at all. We would simply be married. I have no desire for the throne."
At that moment, Representative Alexander leaned in and began to whisper in Speaker Charles's ear. "Ahem... Excuse us for a moment. We shall step outside to discuss this briefly." With a soft click of the door, the two of them left the room. Yes... what are they thinking? Will they head in the direction Valorang anticipated? Whatever choice they made... if it didn't align with my desired path, things would get complicated. Time... I must buy time. I had to appear like an ambitious but naive greenhorn to the Emperor Faction so they would underestimate me and grant me time. But by then, their power would already be slowly dying, like frogs in a gradually heating pot.
How much time had passed? I was reviewing the troop deployment charts in case a decisive battle with the Emperor Faction broke out when the door creaked open again. Representative Alexander and Speaker Charles walked back in. "Ahem... Your Grace, we believe your concerns are reasonable. We shall speak with Her Majesty the Empress Dowager and arrange the marriage."
Things were falling into place almost too easily. Were they ultimately just corrupt politicians who valued nothing but their own lives? At that moment, Speaker Charles's eyes gleamed. "On one condition: Your Grace must enter the marriage as a matrilocal husband to Crown Princess Theodora."
A matrilocal husband... Simply put, it meant I had to change my family name, Lyon, to the imperial family name, Augustus. As for the reason... "Only then can the offspring of Your Grace and the Crown Princess smoothly ascend as the next Emperor." Since the imperial law dictated that only members of the Augustus family could become Emperor, this was entirely expected.
In truth, this scenario had originally been conceived by Valorang. Having read the original novel, I knew of his plans, and I intended to exploit the very scheme Valorang had devised to commit treason and usurp the Empire. "That is preposterous. I have saved the Empire from the hands of the wicked demons. And you ask me to do something only fit for women?"
In this world, when a man and a woman married, the woman took the man's surname. The only exception was a matrilocal marriage, where the husband married into the wife's family. In reality, it carried the stigma that the man was inferior to the woman, unable to pass down his own name to his children. Therefore, I had to act furious here. I must not laugh. No matter how perfectly things are going, do not smile. I repeatedly reminded myself, suppressing my amusement and letting a wave of anger wash over my face. "Do you take me for a fool? Does the great House of Lyon look like a joke to you?"
The two men did not flinch in the slightest. They had likely expected that I would fly into a rage and abandon the idea of marrying Theodora upon hearing this condition. Seeing that everything was proceeding exactly as anticipated, I pressed on. "Furthermore, your words make it sound as though the House of Augustus intends to seize our Grand Duchy of Francesco!"
The two of them nodded as if it were only natural, and Charles stepped forward. "We have never looked down on the House of Lyon. However, if a woman ascends the throne as Empress, it is the sacred law of the Empire that her spouse must abandon his surname." "Indeed. Not even the Emperor can stand above the laws of the Empire."
There were two scenarios they anticipated. First, if I meekly complied with their demands and changed my surname to Augustus, any child born between Theodora and me would bear the Augustus name. Then, the next Emperor born of our union would inherit both the Grand Duchy of Francesco and the Empire. In such a scenario, even Theodora might be satisfied. Though difficult at first, once a child was born and I passed away, she could rule the Grand Duchy of Francesco as regent on behalf of her young child, and the next Emperor would acquire a vast amount of territory.
But they did not know that I had already promised to pass the Grand Duchy to Mary's children upon my death. That was why they felt confident making such a proposal. The second scenario was that I would find this condition unacceptable and quietly give up on marrying Theodora. This, too, was a favorable outcome for them. In the end, I would have no justification to keep my army stationed in Roman and would be forced to withdraw my troops. Even if I refused to leave, I would have no choice but to watch the Emperor Faction trample the Grand Duchy of Francesco. Losing the Grand Duchy, the very foundation of my power, would make it impossible to govern the Empire in the future, so I had to prevent that at all costs. If I withdrew from Roman to save the Grand Duchy... they would stabilize the political situation using the authority of the Emperor and the Imperial Parliament. In short, as long as I backed down, everything would go exactly as they wished.
For me, striking a moderate deal with them to ensure my safety was the most realistic path... but unfortunately, I had no intention of doing so. When I read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in the past, I always thought Cao Cao was a villain—a cunning hero of chaotic times who oppressed Emperor Xian to lay the foundation for unifying the land. He wasn't a character I particularly liked, yet at this very moment, I had become just like him. A bitter taste lingered in my mouth at the realization of how unpredictable life could be.
I was the only one who knew that the Demon Worshippers would resurrect the Demon King. And to stop them, I needed the authority of the Emperor. Therefore, I could not back down. The choice I would make was...
"Ha! I cannot accept such an absurd law. How about this instead? I am aware of the imperial law stating that only those of the House of Augustus may become Emperor." Charles nodded as if it were obvious. "That is correct, Grand Duke... Unfortunately, if Your Grace wishes to marry Her Imperial Highness..." I cut Charles off before he could finish. "Then, we shall combine the names of the House of Lyon and the House of Augustus to establish the House of Augustus-Lyon. Our descendants will belong to this new house."
At my words, the two of them stared at me as if I were speaking gibberish. "Good grief, Grand Duke, you must be too young to understand. This is a sacred law that our Empire has upheld for two thousand years." "Indeed. To change that overnight..." I cut them off swiftly. "There is no need to follow a flawed law. And whether a law is flawed or not... is for the Supreme Court to decide."
When laws are created, they sometimes conflict with other laws. The authority to resolve such contradictions by striking down and ruling on flawed laws belonged solely to the Supreme Court. And... they had no idea that Valorang had already bought off the Chief Justice to overcome this exact obstacle. "Grand Duke, you are far too naive about the ways of the world. Do you truly believe the justices of the Supreme Court will accept such an argument?" I smiled and nodded. "We shall see, won't we?" "Ugh... Grand Duke! Before the Supreme Court can even issue a ruling, the Emperor Faction will lay siege to Roman. By then, there will be no turning back." Did they think I was a fool? "Well, I shall handle that myself."
Knock, knock. Someone tapped on the door. "Your Grace, Lord Agrippa has arrived." I replied, "Send him in." With a creak of the door, Agrippa entered. Seeing him, I turned back to Charles and Alexander. "Then let us conclude our discussion for today. I shall contact you with good news shortly." They nodded in reluctant agreement and took their leave.
Once he confirmed they had left, Agrippa spoke. "Your Grace, we have recovered the bodies of the late Emperor and the imperial family." A bitter taste filled my mouth at his words. "I see... Then prepare the funerals in accordance with imperial etiquette..." I owed a debt to the late Emperor, and I felt a deep sense of remorse for his death. "Understood. I shall see to it." After giving Agrippa his instructions, I officially began my administrative duties for the day.