Chapter 162: Commotion (1)
'I'd swallowed it down even when I heard the news about Cruel's remains, and now it's finally bursting out.'
At least it happened when no one else was in the room—was that something to be grateful for?
Emotions that surfaced beyond a certain line were unsightly. Anger was no exception. Raising one's voice in a fit of passion, shouting and hollering—such a vulgar and contemptible display. If someone had caught him, the image he'd built up all this time could have come crashing down in an instant.
[Youngest, there are plenty of ways to express anger without raising your voice. So don't strain your throat shouting and degrade your dignity.]
Don't get excited. Show only refined emotions. Even if your insides are boiling, keep your head cold. In every single moment, hold on to your reason without fail.
He dismissed Ben, who had rushed in after receiving a signal, and folded the handkerchief he'd used to calmly wipe the corner of his mouth, tucking it into his chest. Deon then looked at Dvelania, who stood before him.
"It seems there was some information omitted regarding Cruel."
"......I apologize."
"I figured you knew."
"......."
He was a little angry. If she had told him in advance, at least he wouldn't have been caught off guard in front of everyone.
"......Why did you do it?"
"I'm sorry......."
"That's not what I'm asking."
Slowly, he rose from his seat.
Step. Step. His slow stride shifted only slightly before stopping in front of Dvelania. Deon pressed his face close, meeting her eyes.
Unlike the upturned corners of his mouth, his crimson eyes shimmered with a chilling madness.
"Why? Did you think I'd be deeply shocked? Or did you think I wouldn't be able to control my rage and I'd rampage?"
"......!"
"The latter, then."
Well, the former would have been laughable. A human who had watched his brother die in front of him, who had belatedly tried to retrieve the body only to hear that instead of the body, someone had cut off the head and taken it—what was there left to be shocked about now?
"Just how little do you think my emotional control is......."
"Th-That's not what I......!"
"Seeing that you omitted information for that reason alone, you must have thought I was an easy mark."
"N... No......!"
Grab.
It was nothing but a simple denial. Not wanting to hear any more, Deon seized Dvelania by the throat. He didn't apply any strength. Squeezing wouldn't inflict any damage anyway; it would only expose his pitiful grip strength.
Instead.
"Even my leniency has limits."
He pressed her down with sheer presence.
Stripping away his smile, he looked at the demon-race woman before him. Staring straight into her somewhat rigid eyes, his lips barely moved as he spoke in a low voice.
"Don't push it."
"......."
A silence settled in.
......His anger stopped there. Deon slowly released Dvelania's neck and let out a dull sigh.
She was an opponent who had apologized meekly from start to finish. Pressing any further with more anger here would only backfire.
"......I do hope nothing like this happens next time."
Deon swallowed his still-unresolved emotions.
* * *
At the meeting, Deon Hart had clearly said this:
[One week after I finish the 'warning to the human realm,' the 5th Legion will cross over to that place (the Taehon Kingdom) and do what you might call 'smashing things up.']
It was an order from the terrifying Grand Commander. The 5th Legion Commander, Oel, followed it faithfully.
Bringing her adjutant Derneban, who practically served as her caretaker, along with her to wreak havoc in the Taehon Kingdom, she had swept away another village today and was rummaging through houses in search of interesting items.
"Derneban, look at this. There's a clump of withered herbs. Why would they keep this inside the house?"
"It appears to be a medicinal herb used by humans."
"Medicinal herb? Is it the same as the fairy race's herbs?"
"Since it is in a commoner's house, its efficacy will be negligible compared to the fairy race's herbs."
"Does that mean commoners can't get herbs that work better?"
Seeming to lose interest, Oel tossed the bundle of herbs aside and turned to search another house, but she stopped short at a sound that came from somewhere.
"Uwoong-."
"......?"
It was unmistakably the voice of something living.
Derneban seemed to have heard it too, as a murderous glint flashed in her otherwise indifferent eyes. So it wasn't a mistake. Oel began to move her feet slowly, searching for the source of the sound.
"Huing-."
"......."
The sound was coming from inside a wardrobe.
Come to think of it, the body of a human woman had been lying in front of it. She'd thought it was a coincidence, but apparently not.
Pushing the woman's corpse aside with her foot, she glanced back at Derneban. Oel gave a barely perceptible nod, then yanked the wardrobe door open. Immediately, Derneban reached out her arm to snuff out the creature's life—
"......Wait."
At the command carrying the intent to restrain, she had no choice but to stop.
Her sharp claws still fully exposed, Derneban only rolled her eyes to observe Oel. The commander's eyes were sparkling just like when she discovered a new object for the first time.
......No way.
"I read about this in a book! This is a 'baby,' right? The one they call a 'blessing'! My god, a living baby!"
"......Lady Oel."
Ah. In the end.
The claws, now with nowhere to go, withdrew into her fist. Derneban had an idea of what her superior would say.
"Derneban! Let's raise it!"
"It's a human."
"But it's a 'baby'!"
"We must kill it."
"No! I want a 'blessing' too!"
"I will make an effort."
The demon-race was a species born from the 'Demon King's power.' Even with effort, they couldn't have babies.......
But for now, she had to stop her rampaging lover and superior. Without so much as a change in expression, Derneban spoke the lie coolly.
"So that you may have what you desire, Lady Oel......."
"Right now, I want this baby."
"......."
"No matter how much I think about it, I don't think I can wait until I have a baby. I've been looking into it, and there are humans who can't make babies in their bellies. They get babies through a method called 'adoption,' apparently."
"His Majesty the Demon King will not permit it."
"We can just raise it in secret!"
"But."
"You'll help me, won't you, Derneban?"
"......."
Huh?
Derneban, who had been staring blankly at the sparkling eyes, slowly lowered her gaze. Her claws, which had been poised menacingly as if to snatch the 'baby's' life at any moment, had been withdrawn completely out of sight.
"......If it is an order."
* * *
"Your Majesty, there's a piece of news that just arrived......."
"I'm busy at the moment, later."
An urgent request for support had come in from Reweche. The Emperor, who had ordered an emergency council convened, walked past the knight—who was visibly restless about something—and strode briskly toward the council chamber.
If it were an urgent matter related to the war, a report would have been raised immediately according to his prior orders. So it probably wasn't a critical issue right now.
The Emperor erased the knight—deflated after having his report rejected for the eleventh time—entirely from his mind and stood before the council chamber doors.
"His Imperial Majesty is......."
"Not necessary."
He begrudged even this moment of time. As he had done once before, he opened the door and entered himself.
At the Emperor's unannounced entrance, the nobles scrambling hastily to their feet entered his vision. Waving off even their greetings, the Emperor strode in long steps and seated himself upon the throne.
"The formalities are unnecessary; be seated, all of you."
As if unable to spare even the brief moment it took for the nobles to settle their backsides onto their chairs, the Emperor's words immediately followed.
"A request for support has come in from our ally, Reweche. It's said the demons have begun knocking on the kingdom's gates. As the kingdom providing the greatest support to Paras Territory at present, even out of moral obligation, it seems we cannot simply leave them be."
A short silence passed, and then the nobles responded in unison.
"Since when did 'morality' factor into the movements of nations instead of 'gain'? As it stands, the Empire is already hard-pressed just dealing with the demons. We must refuse."
"The alliance would be shaken. Not only Reweche, but the Kingdom of Sanguk would also come to view the Empire in an unfavorable light. When public sentiment is already so poor, shouldn't we refrain from actions that increase our enemies? Therefore, Your Majesty, it is right to help, even if it requires some strain."
"Before that."
Just as a commotion seemed about to erupt, someone's hand went up.
"Dare I ask for a slightly more detailed explanation of the current situation? It is such a major event that I'm sure everyone knows of it, but the development has been so sudden that some might still be unaware of the exact circumstances."
Violet eyes disappeared beneath eyelids that curved like crescent moons. The Emperor regarded him silently for a moment, then nodded.
"In my haste, I overlooked that. You will have already heard the news that the 5th Legion among the demon army swept through the Taehon Kingdom. The Taehon Kingdom is a vassal state that Reweche swore to protect. In order to keep that promise, Reweche sent support......."
The rest was as current events stood.
And this was the military force sent to confront the formidable 5th Legion. Sending a half-baked force would only result in pointless waste, so they would have dispatched a substantial number of proper troops, thereby greatly depleting Reweche's military strength.
And in that situation, the demons had begun knocking on Reweche's gates.
"In the end, is this not a situation Reweche brought upon itself? We must refuse."
"Reweche overextended itself to keep faith with its alliance. If Reweche had turned a blind eye to the Taehon Kingdom, we would have reconsidered our own alliance with Reweche. Ultimately, this means we bear some responsibility for Reweche's predicament. Therefore, we must do our utmost to help them."
"Right now, with no end to the war against the demons in sight, we must conserve our military strength. However, since letting the alliance break apart is also unacceptable...... what about sending nominal support? With people whose loss wouldn't be regrettable."
"Do such people exist?"
"Do we not have a force made up of the poor and commoners? If insufficient, we can simply conscript more."
The nobles had already contributed to the Empire's military strength by sending part of their private forces along with at least one male from their houses to participate in the war. Thus, even if they spoke of conscripting imperial citizens in a situation of later troop deficiency, there would be no cause for the Emperor's anger.
Because of this, the suggestion was made boldly, but.......
"Though it may be unavoidable, still, the word 'conscription' from your mouths is displeasing."
The Emperor's face twisted, filled with displeasure.
"The conscription of imperial citizens was carried out due to a lack of troops. If we send them off to another country as discardable pawns, how do you intend to fill the vacancies?"
"That too, by further conscription of the poor and commoners......."
"You lot seem to think the imperial citizenry is some magical spring that continuously gushes forth. You are wrong. Is there not a class of troops of superior quality available?"
At the tips of his fingers gripping the armrest of the throne, he felt the sticky sensation of blood.
In this dreadful situation where tactile sensations had manifested, having passed through the stages of nightmares and hallucinations, the Emperor, betraying no sign of it, calmly raised his hand and pointed at the nobles.
"Your private soldiers. Are they not still remaining?"
"That is the bare minimum to protect our territories......!"
"For you, your territories take precedence over the Empire, it seems? If the Empire collapses, those territories you cherish so dearly will become masterless lands as well. How truly foolish."
"That is not what I......!"
As one noble who had bravely stepped forward got helplessly tangled in the Emperor's rhetoric, another noble opened his mouth.
"Your Majesty, we have already demonstrated our loyalty to the Empire by sending the men of our houses to the battlefield. Why then, are you acting this way?"
The Emperor, who had been listening quietly, lifted one corner of his mouth.
"If that truly embodied loyalty, you would have no cause to act so brazenly."
"Whatever do you mean......."
"Adopted orphans, illegitimate children, distant collateral branches."
"......!"
At some point—precisely, ever since the Emperor had stated that he would conscript from the nobles first if troops were lacking—the number of individuals being registered into noble families had spiked sharply.
The reason was obvious.
"You don't want to go to war yourselves, you don't want to send your precious children, and you even begrudge the private soldiers you raised with poured-in money. So, to minimize losses, you brought in children from other houses and sent them to war. Did you think I wouldn't know?"
"An illegitimate child is not someone else's child......."
"Right, you would have treated them worse than someone else's child. That's hardly the point of the discussion, though."
"......."
"After such actions, you dare to speak of loyalty? I am utterly dumbfounded. Had I known this, I should have simply ordered everyone to war leaving only a single man behind. Don't you agree?"
"......I dare to humbly suggest that you consider the root of the matter."
It seemed he had pressed them too hard. The cornered mouse had finally bitten the cat.