Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: The Tulip War
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It was a place where the scent of perfume sharply stung the nose. The women who wandered around spraying perfume were dressed in all sorts of different outfits.
Women with faint smiles on their faces moved freely between the tables. There was no boisterous chatter at all; everyone simply engaged in quiet conversations.
A woman in a deep red half-dress approached from the side. She set down glasses of liquor in front of Bank and Lander and opened her mouth to speak.
“Long time no see, Bank. You must be busy?”
“Is there ever a day when I’m busy in this town?”
“Who knows. Even a layabout has his own circumstances. The gentleman next to you is a new face. A friend of yours, Mr. Bank?”
At the woman’s question, Lander picked up his glass and said,
“We’ve known each other for a long time, but we’re not particularly close friends.”
“Given Mr. Bank’s personality, it’s not easy to get close to him. I’m Marie. Might I have this gentleman’s name?”
“I’m Lander.”
“I’m a little curious what field you work in.”
Marie sat down beside him. As she leaned forward and whispered, an orange scent wafted from her body.
“She’s an important guest, so don’t get too flirtatious.”
Bank said. Marie gave a sly smile and immediately stood up from her seat.
“Then I’ll take my leave. If you need someone to talk to, just call for me. I’ll keep you company personally.”
“That hurts my feelings. When I come, you just give me a distant nod.”
“That’s because you’re no fun anymore, Mr. Bank. Come find me when something interesting happens.”
Have a pleasant time. Marie clasped her hands demurely, bowed, and withdrew. After Marie left, the women who had been circulating nearby also vanished.
It was as if an invisible wall had formed; neither guests nor staff approached the table where he sat.
“Judging by the way you walk, hold your glass, and speak, you don’t seem like a local merchant.”
He said, gazing at the departed Marie. His life had shunned formality, yet he had attended countless occasions requiring it.
Marie’s bearing possessed the refined elegance one might see in such places.
“This town is fairly important, after all. It may look shabby on the surface, but it has all the necessary trappings. Don’t you get that feeling just from me being here?”
Bank spoke boastfully. It sounded like bragging, but considering Bank’s position, it wasn’t wrong.
The Ladder Political Officer was one of the Emperor’s closest aides. For the Emperor’s right hand, meant to check the Assembly, to be in a place like this was no small matter.
“How fares the Emperor?”
He inquired after the Emperor’s well-being. It had only been a few months since he discarded his name and left the Holy City, yet it felt like ancient history.
“Our Blue Lion is in fine health. Too fine, if anything.”
“And the Holy City?”
“You seem curious?”
“I thought it was all over the moment I discarded my name and left, but it turns out it wasn’t.”
“If you still have lingering attachments, why not return? It’d get really interesting.”
“I’d like to see the Emperor’s troubled face at least once, but I’ll put it off for later.”
Bank burst into loud laughter, then flinched and covered his mouth with his hand. Marie was glaring at him sharply.
“The Holy City is in absolute chaos right now. The Tulip War is in full swing.”
“Tulip War?”
He asked, gripping his glass.
“What do you think was the first thing to happen after the General passed away?”
“Those who tried to enthrone me as Emperor must have been foaming at the mouth.”
“Yes, exactly. It was pure pandemonium. To be honest, the atmosphere back then was even more vicious than now. These days, you can openly draw swords, but at the time, no one could recklessly unsheathe theirs. It was a clash between the Emperor who would bring prosperity to the Empire and the hero who delivered its greatest victory.”
“I never clashed with him even once.”
Bank nodded emphatically.
“I know. I knew Sir Husk was not the type for that. But that’s not the point, is it? The important thing was that there was a figure next to the Emperor who could challenge—no, perhaps even crush—his authority.”
After drinking half his liquor, Bank asked,
“Now that things have come to this, mind if I ask why you gave it up? Your chances were solid. Back then, Sir Husk…”
“It’s Lander.”
“Right, whatever. The factions backing Lander back then had completed quite systematic preparations. With a solid focal point, toppling the Holy City wouldn’t have been a dream.”
“Should I have stayed in the Holy City and cut off the Emperor’s head?”
“No. If you had, I’d have been purged alongside you—that would’ve been a disaster. Looking at it now, you’re my benefactor, Lander.”
Bank raised his glass for a toast. He merely touched his own. Bank brought his glass over. The glasses clinked with a clear ring.
“Since it’s all over now, tell me. The reason you cleanly gave it all up and walked away.”
“It’s nothing grand. I just couldn’t find a reason to engage in that power struggle.”
“The throne—that’s reason enough, isn’t it?”
“For some, yes. But it’s something I don’t need. And even if I sat on it, I have no confidence I could lead well. Commanding an army and ruling a nation are entirely different beasts. The Emperor… Ardhens is far better as a sovereign than I am. So there’s no reason to fight him.”
“You’re a scary man, Lander. Know this proverb? Keep close those who bow before power; they can be your friends. Honor those who stand tall before power; they will lead you. Shun those who renounce power; they are not human, but monsters.”
“Something the Young Lord always said.”
“How does it feel to become a monster?”
“Who knows. I’ve heard it so many times it doesn’t faze me.”
He replied with a laugh.
“Please continue explaining what the Tulip War is.”
Bank, who had been smiling broadly, wiped the grin from his face and explained.
“Once your death was officially announced, the Emperor moved immediately. He chopped off the heads of the feudal lords who tried to enthrone you. It started with the Azantans First-Class Noble.”
“Even for the Emperor, laying hands on a First-Class Noble wouldn’t have been easy.”
“He prepared thoroughly. It was a time when everyone anticipated all-out war, so the intelligence gathering was beyond what you’d call a spy game. In the process, they nailed down solid evidence of treason. Of course, if you’d been in the Holy City, he couldn’t have sprung it, and even if he had, it would’ve just been the spark for a war over the throne.”
He recalled the moment he parted from the Emperor. The Emperor must have acted the instant he returned to the Holy City. One step—that was the difference between the Emperor and the opposition. A single step decided victory and defeat.
“The Azantans symbol was the tulip. From then on, the Emperor referred to the rebels as tulips. Of course, it’s not a public term. Just something we call them among ourselves.”
“The Holy City must still be a mess.”
“On the surface, it’s peaceful. Once the key Azantans figures were cleaned up and your body was displayed, the tulips crumbled in an instant. But backlash against the current Emperor still pops up here and there. The Assembly is the main driver.”
“The imperial family and the Assembly have always clashed.”
Bank nodded in agreement. Then he relaxed his expression and gave a faint smile.
“But our Blue Lion is no ordinary man, is he? He’s so perfect, you wonder if any past Emperor showed such qualities. Because of that, the Assembly’s pillars are banding together tightly. They fear it might lead to the days when the Assembly was forcibly dissolved and all power concentrated in one Emperor.”
“The Assembly elders must be quite worried.”
“That’s the fate of the Holy City—no calm days. At least I escaped that thin ice and can catch my breath, while my comrades slave away at the Blue Lion’s side.”
Bank quietly cheered for rural life.
“Well, this place isn’t the Holy City, but it has its own amusements. Emerging religions, magical beasts, One-Man Army investigations. Complicated stuff.”
“I get the religion and One-Man Army parts, but…”
“The magical beasts seem odd to you.”
“Is it about the remnants?”
Bank didn’t answer and just laughed it off. He dropped the question too. It was probably not something to divulge to a civilian.
“If you’re curious, I’ll tell you. You already know anyway.”
“No need. I no longer have clearance for secrets, so let’s end this conversation here.”
Marie, who had quietly approached from behind, set down some snacks. Cheese and ham. He picked up a piece of cheese and put it in his mouth. It had a fairly strong acidity.
“Then let’s wrap up the Empire talk and hear about you, Lander. A man who got a grand funeral and died—what are you doing in a place like this?”
“I’m traveling.”
“That’s really all?”
“People always expect something grandiose from me.”
“You’re an extraordinary person, after all. The man who shook the nation can’t just be ‘traveling.’ It’s astonishing.”
“I’m just… following my wife’s diary, wandering here and there. No hidden motives or threats—just a simple trip.”
Bank, who had been staring at him while chewing ham, let out a small sigh.
“I feel sorry for your wife. She was truly a wonderful person.”
“Did you know my wife?”
“I never met her personally. But she often visited the Blue Lion, and I saw her then. She’d bring homemade food and chat about this and that. It was amusing to watch the Emperor, the only one he feared.”
“She had a bold side.”
He recalled his friend awkwardly smiling through his wife’s endless chatter. Even the Iron Emperor feared his wife. Once she got going, her talking knew no bounds.
“Oblivion is a terrifying disease.”
Bank said.
“My father had Oblivion too. A man who oversaw national finances as an administrator, scanning those complex ledgers in one go, greeted me one day with a innocent ‘Hello.’ It was an indescribable feeling.”
“It erases memories starting from the most recent, bit by bit. Further and further into the past. My wife gradually became a child again.”
“It’s all the same. Makes you want to curse the gods.”
“I cursed the gods endlessly. But nothing changed. She kept losing more, never regaining any. Still… I wanted her alive by my side.”
He raised his glass and downed the remaining liquor in one gulp. Watching his wife lose her vitality and regress mentally was heartbreaking, but at some point, he became grateful just for her presence.
He thought that as long as he took care of her, it would be fine. But the gods ignored his prayers.
His wife quietly closed her eyes in bed. No warning signs. She smiled as usual, said goodnight, and was gone.
For a while, they both just drank. Bank was the one who broke the mood first.
“What did you talk about with the Tian young lady? Things aren’t going well there lately, so probably no fun stories.”
“We discussed ways to revive a crumbling faction. The kind of conversations I had endlessly with the Young Lord.”
“I figured you’d give her the right answer. How’d it go?”
“She already knew the answer. Truth is, everyone does. The difference is whether you can act on it or just imagine.”
“Tian is precarious. No one saw Gesthalt’s sudden passing coming.”
He looked at Bank and asked,
“Speaking of which, from what I know, your predecessor was so healthy he didn’t even catch colds. For such a man to die abruptly is suspicious. Do you know anything?”
“With the Emperor stirring up a bloodbath, those riding the tide to topple native nobles and dream of new glory are legion.”
“Planned murder possible?”
Bank shrugged.
“No idea about that far. Truth is, Tian’s like a kite with a cut string. No reason for us to allocate manpower there. If Gesthalt were still around, he’d be a pillar of the native nobles alongside the Assembly, wielding fearsome influence, but now… the young lady of the house is still lacking in many ways.”
“I see.”
“You seem concerned. Our Blue Lion said to help if the ghost requests it, so if you need manpower, just say the word.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Recalling Gesthalt’s request, he raised his glass.
(To be continued in the next installment)