The Calm Before the Gale
King Yohanes of Nicaea had been in an exceptionally good mood lately, with many things going his way. Sitting at a massive, ornate dining table, he carefully clipped the end of a luxurious cigar, slipped it between his lips, and lit it. He took a deep drag, savoring the rich flavor and aroma, before exhaling a thick cloud of white smoke.
"Sigh... Right. So, how much is he taking?"
"From Epirus, ten tons of gold. From Egypt, nearly thirty tons of flour..."
Thud!
"That wretched lion cub!"
Yohanes roared, slamming his fist onto the table. His aide, breaking into a cold sweat, quickly tried to placate him.
"Y-Your Majesty, please, calm yourself."
At those words, Yohanes took another aggressive drag of his cigar.
That absolute bastard. I knew he would find a way to make trouble, but to be this flagrant about it...
Although Yohanes had managed to seize control of Epirus and Egypt to some extent, his position was not yet strong enough to completely overwhelm the Emperor Faction. He had plenty of gold and food, but he still lacked the military force required to openly challenge them.
Time... I still need more time.
Realizing he needed to buy time before the inevitable final showdown with the Emperor Faction, Yohanes forced himself to calm down and spoke in a measured tone.
"Whew... Yes. I must stay calm. It's not as if we can refuse to hand it over right now anyway, is it?"
"Indeed, Your Majesty... We cannot risk the Emperor Faction finding out that you have seized control of Epirus and Egypt just yet."
Yohanes trembled slightly at the reminder.
It is humiliating, but I have no choice. Still... don't think you'll get everything you want so easily, boy.
"Savinelli. What do you think?"
Yohanes addressed the man standing quietly behind his aide. A young man stepped forward. It was Savinelli.
"For now, we have no choice but to hand it over. If we violate the imperial decree, some clueless inspector might be sent here, and rumors will spread across the entire empire."
"I know that," Yohanes replied. "But it is incredibly frustrating to lose so much gold and food. Is there no way to deal a blow to that young lion?"
Savinelli let out a subtle smile.
"Of course there is."
Yohanes's face brightened instantly.
"And what would that be?"
Seeing Yohanes's eager expression, Savinelli glanced at the aide. Yohanes immediately caught the hint.
"Dismissed. Leave us."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Once the aide had scurried out of the room, Savinelli spoke.
"The Grand Duke will soon have to deal with the fractured Anti-Emperor Faction."
Yohanes nodded in agreement.
"I thought so too... but he hasn't made a move yet. Normally, he should be rushing to win over the breakaway members of the Anti-Emperor Faction."
"The Grand Duke has no intention of winning them over."
Yohanes looked surprised.
"Then... is he planning to subjugate them through war?"
Savinelli nodded firmly.
"Almost certainly. Otherwise, there is no reason for him to ignore the breakaway factions that have been practically begging for his attention for so long."
Yohanes scoffed, finding it absurd.
"Even without Valorang around, a victory is far from guaranteed. Why would he wage a war he might lose? He didn't strike me as that foolish."
"I agree," Savinelli said, nodding. "But he must have something up his sleeve. According to intelligence gathered from the Five Ministries in Roman, he has been making various preparations."
Yohanes's interest was piqued.
"Preparations? Don't tell me it's that Information Department business?"
The Information Department was the new branch Deviang was personally trying to establish.
But surely it's impossible for that department to play any meaningful role in this upcoming war?
Establishing an espionage network required an immense amount of preparation. Yohanes had managed to obtain a copy of the proposal the Grand Duke had submitted to the Five Ministries through his own contacts. When he first read the proposal written by that snake of a Grand Duke, he had thought it was a brilliant idea, but estimated it would take at least a year to set up, even by the most optimistic calculations.
As if reading Yohanes's thoughts, Savinelli continued.
"I believe the Information Department is merely his first move to keep us in check after he wins. In other words, the Grand Duke does not even entertain the possibility of defeat in this war. He must possess a hidden trump card that gives him such absolute confidence."
Yohanes stroked his chin, falling into deep thought.
"Hmm... But no one can ever guarantee absolute victory in war."
History was filled with instances where armies of hundreds of thousands fell to a mere tens of thousands, or where great lords were defeated by minor barons from the fringes. In war, there was no such thing as a certainty.
Unless he is a complete fool, he must have a specific strategy in mind.
"Exactly," Savinelli said. "So, let me ask you this: what could we do that would annoy the Grand Duke the most?"
Yohanes's eyes gleamed as he caught on.
"Ah... We must intervene in that war."
Savinelli nodded.
"Indeed. But we must not make our involvement too obvious. If the Grand Duke decides to drag us down with him in a desperate double suicide, we won't escape unscathed either."
"Bwahaha! Excellent... Truly excellent! So, how do we make him swallow this bitter pill?"
Savinelli wore a sinister smile.
"In times like this, throwing money around is the best course of action."
"Money?"
"If we distribute our gold coins to the breakaway members of the Anti-Emperor Faction, won't they be able to hire far more mercenaries? That alone will inflict significant damage on the Grand Duchy. At the very least, it will drag the war out."
Yohanes's mood soared. There were already rumors circulating that the empire was facing a gold shortage, prompting the Grand Duchy to sell a massive amount of gold to the imperial treasury. Therefore, if the war dragged on, the Grand Duchy would inevitably suffer a devastating financial blow.
"Bwahaha! That's it! That's perfect!"
Yohanes laughed heartily, delighted by the prospect of returning the humiliation he had suffered several times over.
Today, as always, I arrived at my office for work.
"Huh?"
I noticed two letters sitting on my desk. The sender of the first one was... Yohanes. What did this old man want now?
I broke the wax seal and unfurled the parchment.
To the Dear Grand Duke of Francesco,
I wish to express my gratitude to you for handing over Epirus and Egypt as promised.
However, I must question your order to transport a massive quantity of gold and grain from Epirus and Egypt to Roman.
Out of consideration for our friendship, I shall overlook it this once, but I trust such an incident will not occur again.
— Your Friend, Yohanes
"Pfft..."
Dear, my foot. And what could you possibly do if you didn't 'overlook' it?
Currently, the fact that Yohanes had swallowed Epirus and Egypt was a closely guarded secret. If it became known that those territories—which technically belonged to the crown—had defied imperial orders, the Emperor Faction would immediately dispatch inspectors, and Yohanes would be torn to shreds by the other nobles. He had no choice but to hand over the money and food and shut his mouth. Sending a letter like this was just his way of venting his toothless frustration.
Well... he would probably try to pull some petty tricks. At most, he'd probably just throw some money around.
With that thought, I picked up the second letter. It was from the Grand Duchy. The sender was Mary.
I broke the red wax seal bearing the Grand Duchy's crest and read the contents.
Brother,
My betrothal to Agrippa has been successfully concluded.
The flowers will bloom soon.
When the wind blows, do what you must do.
— Mary
It was a short letter, its meaning obscure to anyone else. It was a coded message that only I, Mary, and Agrippa could understand.
"Hmm... But Mary's handwriting has gotten surprisingly neat since I last saw it."
She used to have terrible handwriting.
Holding the letters, I stepped over to the fireplace and tossed a few logs inside. Then, channeling my mana, I conjured a small flame at the tip of my finger and ignited the wood.
Crackle... Crackle!
I tossed the letters into the dancing flames atop the logs and prepared to begin my day.
"It's almost time... for war."
I needed to draft the declaration of war. Agrippa and I had already finalized the timing. It had been a week since the betrothal ceremony. In other words, today was the day we had agreed to release the declaration of war.
It was going to be another busy day.
"Sigh..."
Letting out a sigh, I stepped out of my office and headed toward the breakroom. On the way, I spotted a familiar brown-haired man and called out to him.
"You're early today, Lucius."
It was Slave Number Four, whom I had purchased with a hefty salary... No, rather, my highly capable aide, Lucius.
"Haha... Did you sleep well, Your Grace?"
Seeing the deep dark circles under Lucius's eyes, I asked out of genuine concern.
"I slept fine. But what brings you here so early in the morning?"
Lucius took off his coat, moving sluggishly like a zombie.
"I couldn't finish all of yesterday's work, so I came in early today."
Worried by his exhausted state, I spoke carefully.
"You look like you didn't sleep a wink. Why don't you just live at the Imperial Palace?"
At my suggestion, Lucius shook his head violently, his face pale with panic.
"N-No, thank you!"
I clicked my tongue in disappointment.
"Tsk. And here I thought I could work you even harder."
Lucius stared at me, his face completely drained of color.
"Are you truly a demon, Your Grace?"
"I'm paying you a fortune, so you'd better work for it."
Lucius was paid exceptionally well for a public servant. In modern Earth terms, his annual salary would easily exceed two hundred million won. While it might seem expensive, it was still far less than what the high nobility received. However, seeing how Lucius had been hesitating and weighing his options back then, I had simply thrown out a massive number to secure him, and now I was making sure to get my money's worth.
I still remembered how hilarious he looked, standing there with his mouth agape like an idiot when I first offered him the job.
Ah, as a side note, there was no such thing as labor laws in this world. Working overtime every day was perfectly legal, and I had no obligation to pay him extra. Just in case he ever thought of running away, I had sneakily inserted a clause in his appointment letter stating that his resignation would require the explicit consent of the Empire.
He had hesitated at first, but when I flattered him by saying, "I simply cannot risk losing a talent like you to another kingdom," his nostrils flared with pride, and he happily signed the contract.
Tsk, tsk... So simple-minded.
"Anyway, I have work to do, so I'll be going."
With that, I turned and headed back to my office.