The Shadow of Aquitaine #2
The atmosphere was icy.
The frozen Minister of Finance rolled only his eyes, stealing a glance at the head rolling on the floor.
This was a purge that had been prepared for a long time.
The goal was to finish it as cleanly as possible.
There was no benefit in unnecessary commotion.
For that purpose alone, Khalid had delayed this, even though he could have dealt with it much sooner.
And today, right now.
He felt the time had come.
"Letters of consent from the Great Nobles? This is..."
The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry unfolded the letters Lily had brought with trembling hands.
On them were the official seals of twelve high-ranking nobles who ruled over vast territories.
"Starting at midnight today, we are to personally punish the nobles listed in the provided roster...?"
The empire is vast.
No matter how much Lily was the empire's greatest assassin, it was realistically impossible to dispose of purge targets scattered evenly across the entire empire in a single night.
Therefore, Khalid decided to divide the work.
That was exactly what the letters Lily brought contained.
Each was to purge those who needed to be ousted within their own sphere of influence, and even assist in the normalization process afterward.
"What shall we do about these two, Your Majesty?"
There were exceptions.
The two Great Lords who had been targets of the purge and thus met an assassin instead of a letter were the exceptions.
The territories they ruled needed to be handled differently from the others.
"It will cause quite a stir."
As Elizabeth said.
Since the Great Lords who dominated their regions had vanished in a single night, it was bound to cause significant chaos.
"Hehe..."
The Minister of Finance laughed hollowly.
"I suppose I shouldn't even think about leaving work for the next few months."
The Minister of Finance wondered if he might die from overwork at this rate.
The only fortunate thing was that he didn't literally have to handle the chaos of the entire empire alone.
To that end, Khalid had already secured the cooperation of the Great Nobles in advance.
"Is this really alright? Granting new authority in this way to the Great Nobles, who already held powerful influence..."
Feeling a sense of foreboding, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry spoke with concern.
Indeed, they were already people who reigned like kings in their own territories.
Even after two were purged, twelve remained.
Allowing twelve Great Nobles to purge other nobles?
It could be seen as granting them authority beyond imagination.
"Hmm."
"Well."
But no one in this room agreed with the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry's worry.
After all.
"Who would dare to establish their own authority in front of His Majesty?"
"...Ah."
Khalid von Aquitaine.
The absolute ruler of the empire.
Wasn't the living incarnation of martial power their sovereign?
Until recently, ominous rumors had been circulating in the border regions that the Emperor had become weak...
'But they say the Emperor...'
'What? He swatted away divine punishment with his bare hand? My friend, does that make any sense?'
'Well, there might be exaggeration, but wouldn't people be talking about it if there were no truth to it at all?'
'Hoo. As expected of the Emperor.'
Now, even those words had died down.
Even the Holy Kingdom, which would bark like a dog with its eyes rolled back at the slightest hint of blasphemy, only voiced its dissatisfaction in words.
They did not bare their teeth at the empire.
The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry still could not forget the thrill he felt at that moment.
Invisible authority is certainly powerful.
But visible power was even more potent.
As long as Khalid sat upon the throne, no one in the empire would dare to raise a banner of rebellion.
"Since His Majesty is here, that shouldn't be a problem."
The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry felt relieved.
Once he felt relieved, the reality of the situation hit him.
"...Then, really. Are we doing this?"
His hand gripped the roster.
It wasn't just one or two.
Hundreds of names were written there.
To think that all those people were destined to lose their lives tonight.
"Can you not do it?"
"...No, sir."
It would never be a good deed.
No matter how sinful they were, to take hundreds of lives with human hands.
Besides, didn't they also have families and precious people?
If so, this was clearly a sin.
However.
The young official clenched his fist tightly.
"I will see it through."
If he could commit ten thousand sins to set the empire straight and bring happiness to a hundred thousand, a million people.
He would surely do it.
He resolved himself.
Then, Khalid smirked and reached out.
"You're putting too much tension in your shoulders."
He tapped the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry's shoulder lightly and said,
"You have only done as I commanded. There is no need for you to bear the sin."
At those words.
"...!"
The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry's eyes widened.
Not just him, but the Minister of Finance and Elizabeth as well.
No matter how much the Emperor had shown a different side of himself lately.
That was merely doing what was expected 'as an Emperor'.
But.
'There is no need to bear the sin.' It was no different from saying he would shoulder everything himself.
To Khalid, officials like them should have been nothing more than consumables.
"Yo, Your Majesty."
The Minister of Finance, whose tear ducts had grown weak with age, welled up with tears.
"Your Majesty, I will dedicate this body to ensure this great undertaking is achieved."
Even if not to that extent, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, his eyes reddened, pledged before Khalid.
*
Why are they like this?
I'm just going to retire soon anyway.
But it would be a big problem if the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, who has to work for a long time to come, retires out of guilt.
So I just spat out those words randomly.
The effect was too good.
Well, good is good.
It was when I thought that and moved on.
"Your Majesty."
Lily, who had stepped away after handing over the Great Nobles' letters, appeared by my side without a sound.
Clad in her form-fitting suit and black cloak.
There was a fishy scent of blood.
Even though not a single drop of blood was on her body, it was an unmistakable, pungent smell.
"The mission?"
"Your Majesty's command, completed."
Even Lily, who usually narrowed the distance between us with a quiet face, was maintaining an atmosphere as cold as a blade right now.
"I have taken the heads of 171 individuals recorded on the list who were residing within the Imperial Capital."
Lily was speaking calmly, but it was by no means a small number.
Considering that most of those on the list were born with noble bloodlines in their own right.
Even for an Emperor, this crossed the line of what could be tolerated.
No one could blame them if they rose up, calling this an act of tyranny.
"Well done."
So what.
It wasn't as if I needed to have something to say in the first place.
Tell them to speak up if they have complaints.
I pushed ahead with that attitude.
I'll crush any resistance.
Wasn't that the whole point of doing this in the first place?
"Hmm. Because of this, some families will disappear without leaving a trace."
Elizabeth rummaged through the documents as if she found it interesting.
The list distributed to the Great Lords.
And the list of those inside the Imperial Capital handed to Lily.
Among them, there were a few who had been pushed out of their family's succession line and had come to the Imperial Capital to establish themselves.
In other words, the family was scheduled to be wiped out by the Great Lord's hand, and the person themselves had met their end by Lily's hand.
It was as if the lineage had been completely severed.
"Hehe, wouldn't it be quite fun to collect the flags of the families that are about to vanish?"
Elizabeth smiled suggestively.
Now that it's just the two of us, her bad personality is popping out without restraint.
She smiled quite gracefully in front of the two ministers, but she didn't even seem to have the intention of hiding it in front of me.
For reference, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry had returned to their departments to handle the chaos that would follow.
"Shall we take this opportunity to expand Valerian's influence?"
"I can hear everything you're saying."
"Oh my."
Oh my, my foot.
It was obvious she said it on purpose while knowing everything.
"Since the Duke of Valerian signed first, I'll turn a blind eye to you gaining some profit."
As it happens, the territory of the Great Lord whose head had fallen was quite close to Valerian.
It was at a level where they could reach out as much as they wanted.
"...Well, wouldn't Father handle that part himself?"
Elizabeth herself was indifferent.
Normally, she would have been excited and written out all sorts of plans to send to the Duke of Valerian.
"Because right now, I am His Majesty's proxy. I am aware that I am the daughter of Valerian, but at least in a situation like this, I know how to distinguish."
Indeed.
"So you don't want to get on my bad side."
"That's not it! ...No. Well, of course, who would want to get on the bad side of the empire's supreme sun? It's a matter of course."
Elizabeth pouted her lips.
"Once I've taken on the task, I do it properly. It's a job you trusted me with."
"Admirable."
"Mu─."
Certainly, Elizabeth was a character who faithfully repaid as much as she received.
A woman who repays kindness twofold.
And repays enemies a hundredfold.
Because that is Elizabeth von Valerian.
"Elizabeth."
"Yes. I'm listening. What is it?"
"If I hadn't changed, what do you think would have happened to you?"
Elizabeth's hand paused.
And, after silently contemplating, she answered slowly.
"Well. I would have continued to attend the Academy, right?"
"And."
"I would have graduated normally and inherited the family. You're asking something obvious."
No.
In the original work, she does not inherit the family.
She was abandoned by her father, the Duke of Valerian.
Because of the fact that she had been at odds with Theodore and Serena at the Academy.
The tyrant Khalid von Aquitaine had fallen, and the Duke of Valerian had aligned himself with Prince Theodore.
So.
-My beloved father.
-Goodbye.
The villainess, Elizabeth von Valerian, killed her own father and usurped the position of family head.
I still remember.
The sight of her as the Duchess of Valerian, who wouldn't be strange even if called a witch.
"Elise."
"...Every time Your Majesty calls me that, it's usually when you're about to make me do something, so what is it this time?"
I looked at Elizabeth.
Lustrous jet-black hair, purple eyes filled with intelligence.
Even her elegant and dignified posture that seemed so noble.
"...Indeed, you look good right now."
"W, why are you saying that all of a sudden? It's so out of the blue."
Elizabeth cleared her throat.
"Ahem, ahem! ...Your Majesty?"
"What is it."
"I'm asking because it's just the two of us. ...Your Majesty's goal, can't you tell me now?"
Ah, I see.
Come to think of it, I had received the same question before.
Back then, honestly, I deflected because I didn't know what kind of scheme Elizabeth might be plotting behind my back.
But now...
Wouldn't it be okay to tell her?
"It's nothing special. I'm only telling you, so don't go spreading it elsewhere. There is still much to do, so it's not good for confusion to spread."
"I know that much. Don't worry and just tell me."
I spoke slowly.
"After stabilizing the empire, I intend to hand the throne over to Theodore and live quietly."
....
"............What?"