The Armistice(?) Delegation
Hannover, the premier metropolis of the western Fron Empire.
Within it stood a citadel historically ruled for generations by the Marquis Orlando family, but the one currently governing the fortress was neither the marquis nor any member of his household.
"Dammit!"
Crash!
Accompanied by a venomous curse, an empty metal goblet was hurled violently across the room. Though forged of sturdy metal, it crumpled upon impact like wet clay—a stark testament to the wielder's monstrous strength, and a fury too volatile to contain.
She was not standing in the middle of a battlefield, yet she remained armored from the neck down. Perhaps it was the disciplined diligence of a deployed soldier refusing to forget her duty, or perhaps it was the creeping dread that she might lose her mind if she parted from the steel that had always kept her safe.
Even being cast onto a front line—the worst kind of battlefield, encircled on all sides by the enemy—would have felt less suffocating than this. Such was the thought that unbidden crossed the mind of Princess Adelheid, commander of the Fron Empire's subjugation forces.
"Why is this country full of nothing but madmen?!"
Adelheid clutched her head, the tips of her radiant, sun-golden hair trembling. In the Fron Empire, golden hair was common enough, but among the imperial bloodline, it was celebrated as a mark of peerless grace.
"How in the world did things end up like this...?"
It had begun simply enough. Taking advantage of the chaos following the late Emperor's passing, traitors had stolen the imperial seal and brazenly proclaimed a new sovereign. She had received direct orders and troops from her elder brother, the Crown Prince, marching out to bring the rebels to heel.
Yet before she could even cross blades with them, the rebellion splintered and collapsed from its own internal strife. Stranded in this city without ever fighting a battle, she had suddenly found herself hailed as their new leader. The absurdity of it was enough to make her laugh.
"...What does a worthless stamp even matter?!"
In her hand rested a golden seal, etched on either face with wolves devouring the sun and the moon. She fought back the desperate urge to crush it into slag, just as she had the goblet.
"That idiotic brother of mine...!"
The rebels tearing themselves apart was ridiculous, but on its face, it should have been a stroke of good fortune. It preserved soldiers whose lives were already precious in the ongoing war. And what of the remnants who, after murdering the imperial royal who served as their figurehead, suddenly turned around and revered the woman marching to slaughter them as their new lord?
By all rights, it should have ended as nothing more than a pathetic, meaningless death rattle. By now, those remnants ought to have had their heads cleanly severed by the very sovereign they had arbitrarily crowned.
Yes—if only the Crown Prince hadn't actually bought their unilateral proclamation.
Having clawed his way to the seat of Crown Prince past numerous brothers and sisters, his hypersensitivity regarding power was something Adelheid could understand; she had watched the bloody contest unfold since childhood. But why in the heavens was that paranoid gaze turning toward her? She had never harbored the slightest ambition for the throne.
The moment she realized the Crown Prince's reaction was abnormal, she had immediately dispatched an explanatory missive. But the Crown Prince, already deep in the throes of suspicion, had taken the conscripts raised from neighboring domains—originally assembled as her reinforcements—and deployed them to besiege her instead.
She had never once concerned herself with politics, but Adelheid was far from stupid.
The Crown Prince already intends to purge me.
A parchment bearing the Crown Prince's directive lay spread across her desk. In essence, the contents were simple.
If you have recovered the imperial seal, disarm all soldiers under your command, transfer your authority to the newly dispatched commander, and return to the Imperial Palace alone.
Adelheid was not naive enough to believe that meek obedience would wash away the false charges. Thus, under the pretext that the seal had yet to be recovered, she was actively refusing the order.
In a sense, she was already guilty of open insubordination, yet the army sent by the Crown Prince made no move to assault Hannover. One could cite various excuses—reluctance to destroy a great city, or hesitation before the influence of the Marquis Orlando family—but the fundamental reason was far more pragmatic: the gap in military might was simply insurmountable.
In terms of martial prowess alone, she ranked among the very finest in the empire, even within the Imperial Palace. On top of that, blinded by panic at the word 'civil war,' the Crown Prince had dispatched the cream of his available veteran troops straight into her hands without sparing a thought for the aftermath. Furthermore, the majority of them were loyal subordinates whom she had commanded on the front lines, men who obeyed her orders without hesitation even in a precarious situation like this. The Crown Prince's paranoid whim to purge his own sister had placed a noose around his own neck.
"What am I supposed to do... Imperial Father...?"
Even if she wished to mock the Crown Prince's idiocy, the one suffering the greatest harm was herself. Adelheid felt utterly adrift.
Since things have come to this... should I really just go through with it?
Ever since her resentment toward her deaf, willful brother had peaked, that impulsive thought had flickered in her mind. But she shook her head. Even if the capital was practically stripped bare of defenders, could it truly be that simple? If she made so much as a gesture toward rebellion, there would be no turning back.
Moreover, the city had been blockaded for a week. The follow-up supply trains had been severed, and with a large portion of the citizenry fleeing with their wealth and grain, stockpiles were dangerously low. The soldiers' morale was already beginning to fray.
Perhaps even this was part of the Crown Prince's calculation.
Bottle her up, starve her out, and then butcher her at his convenience. If she hadn't been the quarry in his sights, she might have even admired the cold efficiency of it.
Knock, knock.
Just as Adelheid's despair reached its nadir—wondering whether she truly had no choice but to die for such a ludicrous frame-up—the officer on watch today came rushing in.
"G-General... An envoy has arrived."
"...From the Imperial Palace?"
Just as she was about to resign herself to her fate, wondering if it might be better to offer up her own head quickly to spare her innocent men, her thoughts were violently derailed by her subordinate's shout.
"N-No! That is... it's the Kingdom of Remus!"
"...From where?"
"The Kingdom of Remus! The kingdom we've been fighting in the southeast!"
"I know where it is! Why on earth are they here?!"
"Th-That is... to offer condolences on the passing of His late Majesty... and to establish a peace accord... they have requested an audience with the next sovereign..."
At yet another absurd anomaly that blew past all possible expectations, Adelheid's train of thought ground to a dead halt.
"...What?"
The moment we drew near Hannover, I knew my prediction had been spot on. Every road and thoroughfare leading toward the city was bristling with fortifications and checkpoints.
Moving in force would have guaranteed our capture. I ordered the retinue to fall back and conceal themselves in the nearby woods, then spent the night scouting with Bell until we found a lapse in their perimeter. And just as planned, we slipped cleanly past their lines into the city and made contact with the subjugation forces.
"Are you out of your mind?"
The soldiers, stunned out of their wits by our sudden appearance, had hurriedly ushered us into a room and told us to wait while they reported up the chain. The moment the heavy door shut tight to keep any sound from leaking out, those were the very first words to leave Bell's mouth.
"You've completely lost your fear, haven't you? Why don't you just call me a crazy bastard while you're at it?"
"Are you a crazy bastard?"
Ask and you shall receive. Had anyone else dared speak to royalty in that manner, their head would have rolled on the spot, but between the two of us... well, that was just how things were.
"I am opposed to this plan."
"Which is precisely why I didn't ask you in the first place."
"Haaah... Why of all people must my lord be such a lunatic...?"
"Probably because you'd be dead by now if not for me?"
"Ugh... Why did I have to incur a life debt to a man like this...?"
She seemed to deeply regret becoming the retainer of 'a man like me,' but it was precisely because I was 'a man like me' that she was standing here breathing today.
"If you wanted to stop me, you should have done it earlier. We're already here."
"You never! Gave me! The chance!"
Bell, who usually delivered her dry sarcasm in an unbroken monotone, was practically shouting. Even for someone as unflappable as her, this stunt had clearly rattled her nerves.
"Bell, hush. Someone's coming."
"..."
Bell swallowed her grievances instantly at my command, straightening her posture into crisp military readiness. Seconds later, footsteps drew near enough for even her ears to register.
Moments later, the door swung open. A young woman strode into the room, flanked by an officer who appeared to be a general. There was no need to ask who she was.
Dazzling golden hair and mana so dense it was faintly perceptible to the naked eye—within the Fron Empire, those two traits were practically an imperial birth certificate.
"Princess Adelheid. I am Prince Romul of the Kingdom of Remus."
"...Romul. Not a name I have ever heard on the battlefield."
"My martial talents were lacking, so I was never deployed to the front lines. A shameful truth, to be sure."
"My apologies to those who traveled from afar, but I have no leisure to indulge in hollow pleasantries. State your business."
It was an exceedingly curt reception for a foreign envoy, but to my ears, it sounded like music. She was so backed into a corner that she couldn't even maintain basic diplomatic decorum.
Which meant it was my turn to project easy confidence.
"As Your Highness says, the timing is delicate, so I shall set aside our condolences for the late Emperor's passing. The Kingdom of Remus regards the war with your empire as an unnecessary strife born of misunderstanding, and we have come seeking peace—"
Bang!
"Did I not tell you to state your business?!"
It wasn't really my place to talk, but Princess Adelheid seemed to have zero aptitude for politics. Her aura flared with such murderous intensity that it looked as if she might draw her blade if I dragged things out for another second. Bell instinctively reached behind the folds of her skirt, but I caught her wrist just in time.
Considering we had snuck through the blockade, they obviously knew we were armed, but actually drawing steel was an entirely different matter.
"Very well. Truth be told, I prefer directness myself. In that case, though it may breach etiquette and sound rather insolent, may I speak without filter?"
If that's how you want to play it, I can accommodate you. Because just now, I became certain of something.
You and I are in the exact same boat right now.
"Do not make me repeat myself a third ti—"
"Overthrow the Crown Prince and take the imperial throne. I will help you."
"...?"
"You told me to get to the point."
Why are you glaring at me like I'm a madman when you're the one who asked for it?
"Haaah... You crazy bastard..."