Chapter 66: Declaration of War (1)
Chapter 66: Declaration of War (1)
As the doors fully opened and I stepped inside, the dazzling interior seized my gaze.
'Trust the Empire to be exactly like this.'
The inside was so grand and splendid that I briefly worried I might get distracted and let my eyes wander elsewhere right in front of the Emperor, but I shook my head and quickly dismissed the thought.
Who would dare look anywhere else when he was standing there? The presence of the man seated at the farthest, highest place pressed all the way down to where I stood.
Edoardo Desert. The one and only Emperor of this land, beyond all dispute.
Perhaps because it was a formal occasion, he exuded an even more untouchable majesty, and he was standing right there.
While I stood there momentarily transfixed, Cruel, who had been standing beside me, moved first. Not to be outdone, I hurriedly snapped back to my senses and began walking toward the Emperor too.
Before long, our footsteps stopped, and Cruel and I spoke at the same time.
"Light be upon the Empire."
During wartime, it was 'glory,' and in peacetime, it was 'light.'
"Your servant Cruel Hart beholds the present Empire."
"Your servant Deon Hart beholds the present Empire."
The rest was the same.
As I held my respectful posture and waited silently, the Emperor's voice fell from above.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but his voice didn't sound particularly pleased, unlike what one would expect for a formal commendation. In fact, it was more like...
"Raise your heads."
Ah, so it wasn't my imagination. Just look at that face. Where was the pleasure in it? There was a furrow between his brows.
'Why? Is it because of me? Did I mess something up?'
Now that I thought about it, I had done a fair number of questionable things.
I'd let people brainwashed by a cult walk free, and after causing all that chaos, I hadn't even managed to secure a single document...
He must have figured out that I'm not really that useful of a talent after all. I quietly rolled my eyes and scanned my surroundings.
'Seeing how no one else is here besides Cruel and me, it doesn't look like he plans to officially reprimand me...'
If that was the case, didn't I still have a chance?
First, I'd grovel with everything I had, and if that didn't work, I'd just run.
The option of attacking the Emperor was, of course, off the table.
Not only was there no way I could win against the people guarding the Emperor, but I also didn't want to fight General Nemeseus.
And above all else...
'The Emperor is a hero who possesses a Hero's Fragment.'
How else could the rootless 9th Prince have killed off all his rivals and ascended the throne? How could he have become an Emperor acknowledged by all within a mere eight years of his coronation?
It was because of overwhelming martial force.
He was the one who possessed the largest Hero's Fragment among all the heroes who had appeared so far. No one knew the exact size of the fragment, but everyone believed it.
And that was only natural, since no other hero had ever demonstrated martial prowess equal to his.
There was no way I could kill someone like him. I could barely handle myself against ordinary people.
'Let's just grovel.'
Who knows? Maybe he'd spare me out of some sentimental attachment from our time together.
No, no, that wasn't it. Regarding the Emperor, relying on my usefulness as a 'spy' was far more likely to work than any sentimental attachment. I was, after all, the only human who could remain at the Demon King's side.
While my head filled with these complicated thoughts, the Emperor continued his formal address.
Formal words fell, and at last, he broached the main subject.
"Honorary Count Deon Hart displayed lenient behavior, such as letting the ordinary citizens brainwashed by the cult go free. However, he also took proactive actions that opened a path for us to seize the mastermind. Cruel Hart, while it is unknown exactly how he moved, uncovered the mastermind and brought back the evidence."
Was it my imagination that his voice seemed to gain force at the phrase 'while it is unknown exactly how he moved'?
Looking even more displeased than before, the Emperor continued.
"If it were up to my heart, I would grant a Wish Coupon to both who have worked so hard. But since there is only one Wish Coupon, I must choose only one. Therefore, after much deliberation, I have decided to rule in favor of Cruel Hart, whose role proved more decisive."
"I am deeply honored."
Damn. I figured.
I couldn't exactly shout, 'That bastard burned the documents!' here.
The only silver lining was that the Emperor didn't seem to think I had burned the documents with my fire.
He might have considered it, but as long as he didn't voice it, he wouldn't use it to penalize me. I'd take whatever I could get.
"So, what do you desire?"
A lower voice than usual asked.
Cruel bowed even more deeply and answered with a calm expression.
"I humbly beseech you to grant me the Hart territory currently in the possession of Honorary Count Deon Hart."
...What?
"...What does Honorary Count Hart think?"
No, wait a minute. The Hart territory is my land!
Sure, I threw every tantrum under the sun saying I didn't want it, even ran to the Emperor to argue about it...!
But having it taken away like this still felt shitty. Wasn't this essentially a transfer of territory ownership that didn't even consider the consent of the person involved?
I quickly turned my head to look at the Emperor. My eyes met his unwavering gaze.
'Ah.'
There was no room for choice. If I refused here, I'd only lose face. One answer—'Isn't this the territory you fussed so much about hating?'—and my argument would come crumbling down.
The Emperor knew that too, which was why he was pretending to give me a choice by asking for my opinion.
"...It was a territory I found burdensome anyway. I am simply grateful."
I grit my teeth and glared at Cruel. He must have felt my gaze, but the bastard didn't turn his head this way.
There was no way the Emperor didn't know I was upset. Pretending not to notice, he lightly tapped the armrest to draw attention back to himself and spoke.
"Before we transfer the ownership of Hart territory to Cruel Hart, there is an issue to resolve. A title is required to hold territory."
Both Cruel and I flinched at the same time.
'...Huh? What's this, why did he flinch?'
In my case, it made sense because I felt threatened that the bastard might even get a title, but Cruel, why did you?
"As I mentioned before, Cruel Hart. Is your mind still unchanged?"
"...This servant has no desire to succeed House Hart, nor to change my surname."
"...!"
Ah. I realized what he was saying. It was because I had refused the Emperor's offer for the same reason.
The direct reason why I had stopped at being a mere 'Honorary Count.'
When I first faced the Emperor after the Eight-Year War ended, he praised my achievements and proposed that, with his backing, I should take the seat of the head of House Hart.
Not this Honorary Count position or anything, but the position of the head of the 'real' Count Hart household, with its long-standing history.
If I had been an ordinary second son, I might have been a little tempted. But back then, I loathed the house so much that the mere name 'House Hart' made me shudder.
There was no way I'd sit in a position I despised so much.
When I flatly refused, the Emperor next recommended a different title. A basic countship, and he said if he exerted a bit more effort, he could easily secure a marquisate for me.
Of course, it wasn't a bad offer.
'I would have snatched it up in a heartbeat if only I hadn't had to discard the surname Hart.'
Either I would create a new surname, or the Emperor would bestow one.
Anyway, upon hearing that since the 'Count Hart household' already existed, another title with the same surname could not be created, I cleanly gave up on the title.
In the end, what the Emperor forced upon me was the position of 'Honorary Count.'
Honorary Count was a single-generation title, so the line would naturally end when I died. Meaning there was no risk of a second 'House Hart' forming and causing future confusion.
Originally, the Emperor had wanted to give me the position of Honorary Marquis, but since historically, 'honorary' titles had only been granted up to the count rank, the Emperor, who already had countless arguments with his ministers over post-war cleanup, was forced to back down by circumstances.
'So Cruel received a similar offer.'
Well, it made sense. He was a 'Hero' now too.
Come to think of it, among the official Heroes currently in the Empire, Cruel Hart was the only one without a title.
If my reason for not wanting to discard the Hart surname was to not forget my anger and desire for revenge, was his reason... longing?
Perhaps it was also revenge. Revenge toward me, who had killed his family before his eyes.
I could somehow understand why the bastard would refuse to become the head of House Hart.
It was probably because the thought was too painful.
"This is problematic. The honorary count title is already held by someone with the same surname. Yet I cannot seat you at the honorary marquisate when you have not achieved greater merit than he, nor can I seat a Hero at a mere honorary viscountcy or barony, can I?"
Liar. You just don't want to give it to him.
Even so, having a title was better than having none at all. Because of this, the Noble Faction had even protested the issue several times, but the Emperor had ignored them every single time.
He probably didn't want to give the Duke any more cards to play.
Though it was only possible to ignore the matter and move on because the Duke strangely hadn't been very proactive about this issue...
Looking at Cruel, who silently waited for his next words, the Emperor spoke with a displeased face.
"Let us transfer the ownership of Hart territory to Duke Illustar. What do you think?"
You are the Duke's underling, and if you wish it, the Duke would readily appoint you as the territory's administrator.
I felt like I could hear those unspoken thoughts.
After a moment of silence, Cruel slowly bowed his head.
"...I am grateful for Your Majesty's consideration."
"Then the matter is settled. Everyone except Honorary Count Hart, withdraw."
Cruel glanced at me before withdrawing. He didn't seem to care at all about my wide-open glare.
Damn bastard. What the hell was he scheming?
No, more importantly...
'...Why did you make me stay behind, Your Majesty? This is terrifying.'
Had the moment finally arrived?
The moment where it was exposed that I wasn't that kind of talent.
I pushed the issue of Hart territory to the back of my mind for now. Right now, I needed to figure out how to soothe the Emperor's anger.
I quietly exhaled and slowly closed my eyes.
* * *
Good grief, both brothers were equally stubborn. Refusing to succeed the Count Hart household no matter what...
Did they even know that the masterless count household was on the verge of ruin right now? Collateral branches, who were practically strangers, had gathered and were barking like they owned the place.
Well, it wasn't that they didn't know. They just didn't care.
The Emperor swallowed a sigh and took in the sight of Deon Hart, left behind alone.
'His expression is not good.'
It must have been because his territory had been taken away.
Having no intention of poking at a sore spot by mentioning it, Emperor Edoardo smoothly brought up another topic.
A topic so intense that something like Hart territory would be forgotten in an instant.
"A meeting is scheduled immediately after this audience, so you will find out soon enough, but I will tell you now. I intend to wage war."
"...!"
He looked quite surprised. Well, it had only been a mere two years since the war ended.
Meeting those fully exposed red eyes, the Emperor flashed a faint smile.
"The suppression of the Salvation Church ended at a very opportune time. The Kingdom of Ireon had begun to bark so much that we could no longer let it slide."
"You intend to wage war... with the Kingdom of Ireon?"
"That will be the start, yes."
The start.
The end would be the unification of the continent.
Deon's face darkened as he caught the meaning. He was probably recalling the endlessly loathsome Eight-Year War.
But the Emperor was not so callous as to send an injured man back into war. Ah, yes. To be honest, he merely didn't wish to lose talent in such a futile way.
If he'd only intended to issue war preparations, he could have said so at the meeting shortly after. Why would he have bothered to meet him separately like this?
"I wish to entrust you with the Demon Realm."
The continental conquest itself was not a major issue, but the Demon Realm was a nuisance.
There was no way the Demon King would sit idly by and watch the Empire devour the continent.
In that sense, Deon Hart had very high utility value.
He was a Hero of the Empire and a Legion Commander of the Demon King's army. He was the only human who could stay by the Demon King's side and had earned that bastard's trust.
"From the Demon King's side, do your utmost to prevent the Demon King's army from interfering in this war."
"...I shall obey your command."
"I shall look after the Lofty Knight Order until you return. If they are left at the residence as they are, they might someday even destroy the count's mansion."
"..."
"And."
Though autumn was approaching, it was still summer, and his gaze fixed on the collarbone revealed by the light clothing.
More precisely, just above the collarbone, on the black stigma.
[The Demon King's Curse.]
Just rolling the word around in his mouth brought a bitter smile to his lips, and as he repeated it, he extended his hand.
"...I would like to meet you next time with this thing gone."