Inevitable Civil War
“Your Highness!”
Theodore burst into Charlotte von Bismarck’s office, panting heavily.
“What is it, Theodore?”
“It’s urgent. It concerns those strange artifacts we confiscated from the merchant guilds last time.”
“I thought the recovery operation was complete.”
“It was! But now, those horrific monsters that previously appeared at the Central Magic Association are showing up in the outer regions of the Empire!”
Charlotte’s brow furrowed sharply. Schwarde, one of the Empire’s generals who had been in the office with her, spoke up.
“Is this report confirmed?”
“Garde delivered it personally.”
Garde. The name of Charlotte’s personal unit. The information they brought had never been wrong. They delivered intelligence only after thorough investigation. If Garde reported it, then it was fact.
“Where exactly did these artifacts circulate? Don’t tell me some were missed during recovery.”
“That’s impossible. We searched every guild without exception and recovered them all. We even forced open their vaults—there’s no way anything could have been hidden.”
Schwarde was right. Charlotte herself had verified it.
Charlotte rested a hand lightly on her chin. “Then someone else must have spread them.”
“Who would do such a thing…?”
“Theodore, who supplied the artifacts to the guilds again?”
“An adventurer named Eli. She was said to be AAA-rank in skill… but after that, she vanished without a trace.”
“An adventurer supplied them.”
The adventurer identity was remarkably convenient. High rank earned treatment and trust nearly equal to a commissioned knight, yet there were few ways to know what they had truly been doing before. There was no method to confirm whether they were genuine adventurers, making it one of the most commonly used disguises.
“The items supplied this time were definitely mana artifacts, correct?”
“Yes.”
Mana. Where did its source lie? Anyone could answer that question easily.
“…The Demon Realm.”
“Are you suggesting the Demon Realm may be involved!?”
“It’s not impossible. Even during the late Emperor’s reign, the Demon Realm took funds and resources from us several times under the pretext of prisoner exchanges.”
Charlotte considered what to do if the Demon Realm was indeed involved. Then she gave Theodore an order.
“First, deal with the monsters appearing in the outer regions and recover the artifacts. Also, investigate the adventurer who supplied them once more.”
“Understood.”
After Theodore left to carry out the command, Schwarde asked her, “Shouldn’t you go verify this yourself?”
“No. That would be problematic.”
“Pardon?”
“Last time they caused trouble in the capital. This time, they’re only acting in the outer regions. Don’t you see what that means?”
Schwarde pondered her question for a moment. Finally, he realized what she was implying.
“They intend to draw Your Highness’s attention outward.”
“Exactly. That’s all there is to it. Therefore, we have no need to respond. We’ll leave it to Theodore and focus on finishing our work in the capital.”
“What do they hope to achieve by diverting Your Highness’s gaze?”
“……Who knows.”
If the Demon Realm was truly involved, what was their goal? It would have been easier to guess if the opponent were human, but the demons of the Demon Realm… their desires were not so easily predicted. Their existence was beginning to weigh on Charlotte’s mind. Though she had entrusted the matter to Theodore, she still needed to consider what might happen if the problems in the outer regions weren’t resolved quickly.
“…For now, I’ll trust Theodore with the outer regions. I must focus on what I have to do.”
“A wise decision.”
… … … … … …
‘…That’s what she’ll think.’
Nahen had rejoined Eri. Following his orders, Eri had distributed artifacts to the small and medium-sized magic associations throughout the outer regions, with devastating results. The reports would have reached the capital by now, and knowing Charlotte’s nature, Nahen had accurately predicted her thoughts. The previous setback he had suffered at her hands came from momentarily forgetting her existence, not from ignorance of her. Nahen knew full well the disposition of this major antagonist from the game.
Considering Charlotte’s personality, the incident Eri had caused would only make her slightly wary—it wouldn’t be enough to move her. However…
‘That’s enough.’
Making her slightly wary was sufficient. In the meantime, Dane would make contact with Emperor Leonardo, and everything would be settled. Even if Charlotte quickly noticed the movements of the Northern Alliance, it wouldn’t matter. After all, Charlotte had no choices left.
‘Charlotte cannot avoid civil war.’
If Emperor Leonardo chose civil war, Charlotte would have only two options. One was to relinquish power, hand everything over to Leonardo, and leave. The other was to fight to seize power. Ambitious Charlotte would never choose the former, so only the latter remained.
Then what could Charlotte do to claim power? The simplest option was to fight directly. The Empire would be drawn into civil war, and neighboring powers seeking to exploit the Empire’s weakness would begin to intervene. Charlotte would never want such a situation, but she had no other methods available either.
There was one more option besides fighting, but it was something Charlotte could never choose. That was to personally depose Leonardo. But considering how Charlotte had seized power in the first place, this was unthinkable.
‘If the princess who gained power by propping up her younger brother were to eliminate him, the backlash would be greater than choosing civil war.’
It wouldn’t matter if Charlotte had already secured power and stabilized the Empire, but making such a choice in the current situation would be nothing more than shooting herself in the foot. Charlotte would know this too, so she would never choose it.
The moment Leonardo was persuaded by Dane, Charlotte would have only one option left.
“Lord Nahen, will things go according to plan?”
At Eri’s question, Nahen looked at her. Then, with a relaxed smile, he spoke.
“The Empress will never be able to avoid civil war.”
Of course, all of this was predicated on the assumption that Emperor Leonardo would choose civil war. It would be best if Dane succeeded in persuading the Emperor, but if that failed…
“I suppose I’ll have to prepare to step in.”
He would have to intervene personally.
#
“Haa…”
Leonardo von Bismarck. Once the crown prince under Claude, he now sat upon the throne he had so desperately desired. Yet this was no legitimate succession, nor the form he had wished for. No matter when the preparations had been made, his sister—who had seized control of the court ministers, the military, and all other powers—had placed him here like a puppet.
In the process, powerful figures like Marquis Ebert who might have supported Leonardo had been eliminated early on. Though she was his only blood relative, she was a terrifyingly meticulous person.
“At this rate…”
He would remain a life of being used until the end. He thought that in the history books, he would be remembered as an emperor who merely held the throne while his sister stripped away all real power.
‘It can’t end like that.’
He knew it couldn’t, but he lacked the strength to break the situation. Surely even the iron-willed Charlotte had an opening…
That was when he realized a man had been standing behind him for some time.
‘…How?’
The Imperial Knights should have been guarding every corner of the palace—how had he gotten in? Leonardo was startled and tried to call for the guards, but something reached his throat first.
“Be quiet.”
“…Who are you?”
“I have something to tell you, so please cooperate, Your Majesty. It’s a proposal that will serve as a lifeline for you.”
“What? Who do you think you are…”
“I’ve come from the Northern Alliance.”
Leonardo’s eyes widened. Why would the Northern Alliance send someone to him? Leonardo waited silently for the man to speak, and the man who had threatened him spoke simply.
“Don’t you need power?”
“…Power?”
“You don’t intend to continue living as a puppet forever, only to be cast aside in the end, do you?”
“My sister would cast me aside?”
“You know full well that she’s the kind of person who would.”
Leonardo knew. Charlotte was an ambitious woman who wouldn’t hesitate to drive him from the throne someday and take it for herself.
“Therefore, if Your Majesty agrees, the Northern Alliance will lend you our army.”
“You want me to start a civil war by bringing in enemy forces…!”
Leonardo shouted.
“I can’t do that! Starting a civil war with the help of an enemy nation—even if we win, it wouldn’t be a true victory! How dare you suggest such nonsense…”
That was when the space beside the throne twisted, and a strange passage opened. A man stepped out. His black hair and golden eyes inspired awe and intimidation even in Emperor Leonardo.
“Dane, did you fail?”
“…My apologies.”
“It’s fine.”
The man stood before the Emperor. In the process, the blade at Leonardo’s throat was withdrawn, but for some reason, Leonardo couldn’t make a single move. Those noble, shining golden eyes, as if embodying the dignity of a ruler, looked upon the most noble person in the Empire.
“I’ll handle this.”