Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Enlarging the Board (2)
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"If we just secure proof that House Mueller bribed the judges, and hold onto the evidence that they moved troops first, we become the ones who 'thwarted a treasonous plot'. A traitorous family like them didn't even report to the Imperial Family before moving an entire legion—those bastards are the ones who escalated everything~."
That was right.
The charges they pinned on me.
Conspiracy to rebel. Illegal detention of a regular army legion commander.
Sounded grandiose, but it was just a scandal in truth.
We'd only caught intruders who barged in.
The kind of thing that might hobble my ankle at worst. Even if I was found guilty, it wouldn't mean execution.
A fine, at most.
But them?
They'd moved a regular army legion without Imperial permission.
And used it to attack the territory of another ducal house.
This was real treason.
Straight from the legal code: beheading offense.
They'd thrown a pebble. What I could hurl back was a boulder.
"If we escalate things~, they'll be the ones who suffer more~. It's a fact they moved the legion, and a fact they bribed the judges~. We were just defending ourselves~."
"Th-this is a mudslinging fight."
Werner stammered.
"If it turns into a mudslinging fight~, do you know who wins~?"
"Who?"
"The dirtier one~. Between 'someone who's rebelled once' and 'someone who's never rebelled', who do you think gets more suspicion~?"
Celine's tail swayed slowly.
"Well, taking out a few lowly judges isn't exactly hard. The cleanup afterward is the issue, but widening the board isn't a loss, right?"
"Exactly~. They're the ones who've lied more anyway~. We've got nothing to fear~."
Werner's face went pale. His lips twitched, but no words came out.
Lize didn't pay it any mind.
"Kill them outright~. Then send a letter to the Imperial Family. 'House Mueller is plotting treason again. They even bribed judges. Seems connected to the southern rebellion not long ago too. We just executed the traitors.' Something like that~."
"Evidence on the southern rebellion?"
Lize shrugged at Celine's question.
"Don't need it~. What, did those bastards have proof we're traitors? They just poked because it seemed like there were people checking up on young master. But if we push it like that, the Imperial Family won't trust Mueller~."
Lize's voice was matter-of-fact.
"Someone who's betrayed once will betray again~. The Imperial Family knows that too~. If we ask for an investigation, they'll do it~. No reason not to~."
Kill the judges.
Then let everyone know we did it.
Blow the whole thing wide open, get the Imperial Family watching, then expose the enemy's lies.
Shout even louder that those bastards are the real traitors.
It was insane.
But...
Plausibly insane.
"Won't kill all three~."
"Gotta leave one clean one alive. Builds our case."
Werner's face drained of all color.
"L-Legion Commander, what are you even..."
"Karl. The one with twenty spotless years, right?"
Lize nodded.
"Spare just him, and the logic holds: 'We only executed the corrupt judges'~."
Exactly.
Kill all three, and we make enemies of the entire judicial cartel.
But kill two? Then it's just purging the corrupt.
"Wait a minute. This is treason. You're talking about killing Imperial Court judges on your own authority? Even if they're bribed, even if young master is in the right, this crosses the line."
"The line? They crossed it first."
"Still..."
"Moved a regular army without Imperial permission. Attacked another ducal house's territory with it. Bribed judges to frame me for treason. We're just answering in the same language."
The meeting room fell silent.
Only the sound of wind through the window.
"Werner."
"Yes."
"Prepare for investigators from the capital. Compile the 6th Legion's advance records, Georg's testimony, timelines of all movements. Proof we were acting in self-defense."
"I can do that, but..."
"Just do that. Don't worry about the rest."
Werner bit his lip.
A moment later, his head bowed.
"Understood."
In the end, a yes-man.
This man was.
Not a bad thing.
That's why Lize recommended him, why I picked him.
Two weeks later.
A black shadow seeped in through the window.
A cat. Black fur, blue eyes. It landed on the sill, leaped to the floor, and shook itself.
Fur vanished. Bones stretched. In the cat's place stood a black-haired woman.
Celine.
"Done. Müntz at his home. Lange at his villa on the capital outskirts. Both asleep. No resistance."
I nodded.
"Scene?"
"As instructed: posted the proclamation, left proof they bribed the judges, all that."
"Judge Karl?"
"Untouched. Didn't lay a finger on him."
Plan as intended.
Celine flopped into a chair. Her tail drooped limply.
"Coffee?"
"Cupboard."
As she got up to rummage, the door opened.
Lize. Clutching a stack of parchment.
"Draft for the letter to the Imperial Family~."
I took it. Text crammed every inch.
Core argument simple.
'House Mueller bribed judges to rig the trial. We only executed those involved in treason. The traitors from twenty years ago are deceiving the throne again. Request full investigation.'
Openly declaring we'd done the killing.
Looked crazy, but it was right.
Hide it, becomes a weakness. Reveal it, becomes justification.
'Executed bribed judges' versus 'assassinated judges'—same act, worlds apart in meaning.
Whoever sets the frame first wins.
I polished a few lines. Softened the too-blunt, sharpened the too-vague.
Signed it.
"Send it."
"Yes~."
Lize took the letter and left.
Celine returned with her coffee mug.
"Now we wait?"
"Yeah."
The dice were cast.
The capital.
Duchess Clara's study was always dim.
Not without windows. Just thick curtains blocking the sun.
Bright light wasn't welcome to an eighty-year-old.
A single parchment lay on the table. Report from the north.
The elf across from her sipped tea. Leisurely for one who'd lived 1,800 years.
"Something doesn't sit right with you, it seems, Your Grace."
"Teacher."
"Yes."
"No matter how I think about it, something's off. Krushtein is the immediate threat, yet everyone's talking about Mueller."
"The one who frames first wins, after all."
Sylvesta set down his cup.
"The problem is a ten-year-old did it. The Hardenberg Empire dancing to one child's tune."
Veins bulged on the back of his wrinkled hand.
"Eleven soon, I hear."
"That's not the point, Teacher. They sent the Northern Army's 6th Legion."
"I heard."
"Georg himself led it. A regular army legion commander. Taking advantage of the boy's absence."
"Indeed."
"Know what happened?"
Sylvesta didn't answer.
"6th Legion practically wiped out. Georg captured. Rumor is Count Mueller clutched his neck in shock. No clue what happened in the capital. The judges they bribed murdered right in the heart of it. Killers not even hiding it. Instead, they're the ones getting called traitors."
"I see."
"Some fools are saying we should crush Mueller completely this time, unlike twenty years ago. If they've rebelled once, why not twice? Just order Krushtein to exterminate them."
"Of course not. Mueller is the bare minimum check on Krushtein."
Sylvesta nodded.
"So Mueller's grandson becoming Krushtein's master wasn't exactly pleasant. But better than that monstrous child as heir to a monster. At least Ernst is desperate for the marriage alliance with the princess. Fretting over it. Doing everything to make it happen."
"Natural ambition for an heir."
"But Adrian? Zero interest. In marrying the princess. In ties to the throne. None at all. Like he thinks the Hardenberg dynasty is already on its last legs."
An exaggeration.
How could a ten-year-old—soon eleven—think that?
But the boy's actions so far defied common sense entirely.
Sylvesta rose slowly.
"Guess I'll have to go see him myself."
"You personally, Teacher?"
"Yes. For all the fuss, he's still a friend I exchange letters with regularly."
A month passed with no reply.
Expected. They'd need to verify facts.
Then one morning.
"A letter."
The envelope Werner brought bore the Krushtein crest.
Not the Imperial seal.
Ernst.
I broke the seal, skimmed the contents.
'Suspicions on Sir Heinrich's merits from the orc subjugation fifteen years ago. Actual battle results don't match the report figures. Key witness credibility in question. Request investigation.'
I set the letter on the table.
Counterattack.
Direct response on the judges would drag him in too.
So he sidestepped. Undermine my witness.
Sir Heinrich was key witness to Georg's capture.
Shake his credibility, my whole defense crumbles.
"What's it say~?"
I handed it over. Lize started reading. Celine peered from the side.
"What the hell? Sir Heinrich faked his merits?"
"Call Sir Heinrich."
"Yes~."
Moments later, the door opened. Sir Heinrich entered.
Handed him the letter. As he read, the parchment crumpled in his fist.
"What bullshit is this? Forty-seven of my men died in that battle fifteen years ago. And they call it fabricated?"
"Sir."
"I'll head to the capital right now. Cut the throat of whoever wrote this."
"That plays into their hands. Cause a scene there, and it becomes evidence. 'See how violent that man is. How can we trust his testimony?' Exactly the picture they want."
"The merits aren't fabricated~. But if an investigation starts, it buys them time~. Their goal is to disrupt our pace~. React emotionally, and we lose~."
Lize cut in.
"So what then?"
"Wait~. Let the Imperial Family move first~."
Lize's gaze drifted to the window.
Beyond the horizon, a group approached.