Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Stabilizing the Kingdom
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Victor wasted no time upon taking the chairman's seat, immediately launching efforts to stabilize the situation.
First, he unleashed his entire force across Zabrinsk to hunt down the remaining rebels.
Whether they were nobles who had caught wind and tried to flee, or those blissfully sleeping at home unaware of anything—no exceptions—all were dragged to the royal palace.
Once more than ten thousand troops had been deployed throughout the capital, Victor officially announced the king's assassination and the formation of the council of commanders.
Those harboring disloyal thoughts mostly fell silent under the oppressive presence of the soldiers. Afterward, Victor himself and the legion commanders personally went around reassuring the people.
Victor, the hero of Ruth Kingdom, had promised to stabilize the kingdom as swiftly as possible and then step down. Because of this, the people accepted the council of legion commanders without much resistance.
Victor sent a detailed letter to the Empire outlining the kingdom's dire circumstances and his firm commitment to honoring his promises.
To use it later to his advantage, he kept the fact that he had sent the letter under strict secrecy.
The nobles gathered in the palace were sorted based on Vladimir's testimony and the council's judgment.
Mikhail Kapayev, Nikolai Similoff, and other influential nobles in Ruth Kingdom were all branded traitors by Vladimir's confession, as were the nobles who had associated with them.
Only Andrei and a few of his subordinates who had directly participated in the attack were classified as traitors among the Royal Guard.
The rest of the Royal Guard, having cooperated in the palace, were given leniency in consideration of that; their punishment was limited to disbandment for failing to protect the king.
Vladimir's guilt was ironclad, and the penalty for treason was execution.
Thus, on the very day the rebellion had erupted, their public executions were decided and carried out.
Dozens of traitors lost their heads on the execution ground.
Most of those executed were nobles with poor reputations from before, so the crowds gathered at the execution site cheered their deaths.
The traitors' assets and territories were confiscated in the name of the state, and their families were either executed alongside them depending on the degree of involvement or stripped of all privileges and exiled from Zabrinsk.
With the nobles and king who had originally led the nation all gone.
All authority in Ruth Kingdom was temporarily concentrated in the council—even if some feared that too much power was being handed to the military.
To address this, Victor gathered nobles uninvolved in the treason, swiftly filling the vacant seats in the court, and quickly selected candidates for the throne to dispel those worries.
Nobles connected to the previous king's lineage had all secured positions and thus couldn't escape treason charges, but among the uninvolved nobles, there was one with even a faint trace of the royal bloodline.
The council elevated him as the new king.
The enthronement process was normally quite lengthy, but Victor expedited it as much as possible, skipping unnecessary procedures under the pretext of swiftly ending the chaos.
At the same time, he publicly declared that the council would disband immediately upon the new king's enthronement, building public trust.
Victor enjoyed support from both military and civilians alike, and opposing him—cloaked in the justification of quelling the rebellion—was nearly impossible.
Thus, all tasks proceeded without hindrance, and most matters were resolved just two days after the rebellion.
The new king of Ruth Kingdom was set to be enthroned two days later, after a one-day respite.
Just before the council's dissolution, as support for Victor—who had brilliantly resolved the rebellion—reached the heavens.
Victor, chairman of the council and supreme commander, announced a speech the day before the king's enthronement ceremony.
He summoned the entire army.
The council was a means for me to legitimately seize full authority.
During the rebellion suppression, I had strictly maintained the position of a mere collaborator, so aside from persuading Anna, I couldn't directly wield influence over the military.
However, now that the council had been formed by the legion commanders' consensus.
I, who had been nothing more than a civilian with ties to the military, had gained the justification to freely manage state affairs.
The chairman wields power near that of the king without the legitimacy of bloodline and must step down once stability is achieved.
Moreover, though the authority is immense, its foundation is flimsy.
Any delay in stabilization risks public backlash.
In that regard, it was perfectly natural to appoint me—someone with high prestige and trust, backed by the populace, planning to return to the Empire, and a commoner with virtually no chance of coveting the throne—as chairman.
Besides, even forming a temporary court couldn't fill all the seats held by the old nobles anyway.
For those hungry for power, it was far more rational to expand influence in the new court after the temporary council—a position burdened mostly with responsibility—ended, rather than taking it.
As expected, Alexandrov and Anna supported me, and the other legion commanders agreed.
Having become supreme commander and provisional council chairman through such a rational process, no one could stop me as long as I acted appropriately in the role.
The legion commanders?
From privates to officers, the entire army supported me, and with my reinstatement as supreme commander, I was nominally their superior.
Interfering while I led by example would be difficult in every way.
The civilians?
As long as I properly demonstrated resolving the chaos, they had no reason to complain.
Even mobilizing tens of thousands of troops in the capital to solidify command, or publicly executing potentially dangerous nobles without full trials.
With clear justification, no discontent arose.
Now, with military and civilian support for me higher than ever, was the perfect opportunity to force Ruth Kingdom to surrender to the Empire.
A makeshift government hastily propped up with military might couldn't survive without the army.
"...General Victor?"
"My apologies."
As groundwork before the speech, I visited barracks, focusing on soldiers connected to me or marked green, and spoke with them.
"I must return to the Empire."
"...Pardon?"
I mentioned to them that I had to go back to the Empire, personally persuading them why they mustn't fight it.
"This war was sparked by the greed of the nobles—now rebels with their heads severed. I don't want your blood spilled in vain."
"...General."
Having long shown care for the soldiers, and meeting those who had witnessed it.
They took my urging not as treason, but genuine concern.
"But it's been less than a month since the war with the Empire halted."
"On the way back to Zabrinsk, I saw the areas the Empire occupied. Prisoners were released and living normally, and aside from changed flags, the villages looked unchanged."
"...Is that so."
For those I had some grasp of, I tailored my persuasion to their dispositions.
"I'll keep my promises, but with the negotiating king and nobles all dead, the Empire might use it as a pretext to invade."
"..."
To the pragmatic, I explained the Empire's overwhelming strength and our precarious situation.
"We might win or lose, but much blood will be shed either way. I don't want to see you sacrifice pointlessly."
"General..."
To the emotional, I reddened my eyes and bowed my head.
"Your family remained in Garogorod, didn't they?"
"H-How did you..."
"The Empire never touched civilians. Your family is waiting for you."
"Ah..."
To those who had gritted their teeth and retreated, leaving families behind, I offered hope.
"I swear it. I'll etch your name into history."
"...Understood."
To those addicted to war's fervor, I promised new battlefields and glory.
"I will follow you to the end, General."
"...Thank you."
My closest aides, like Anna, needed no persuading.
"In my speech, I'll persuade the soldiers. I need your help."
"Yes, sir."
To ensure they could act as cheerleaders amid the assembled troops, I spent the day visiting hundreds of soldiers across the legions from the 1st to the 4th, speaking directly.
Positioning them intentionally would be hard, so I persuaded a diverse group to naturally fill key spots.
Even before being "sold" to the Empire, I'd gone around encouraging soldiers personally, so no one found my wandering suspicious.
Those I spoke to might spread rumors, but it wasn't a big issue.
I'd targeted those amenable to persuasion first, and such rumors wouldn't dent my influence.
Time passed, and the next day at 10 a.m.
The speech time I had announced arrived.
"Waaaaaaaaah!"
The soldiers' cheers echoed into the waiting room.
"Hoo..."
In such crucial moments, tension rises alongside fear of failure.
A sigh escapes, cold sweat drips, fingertips tremble.
"...Ha!"
But 'Victor' must always stand tall.
I clench my fist and shout briefly to banish negative emotions.
Armoring my mind with trust in the past me who prepared this chance, recalling past successes to regain confidence.
"Let's go."
Then the ordinary man rife with worry vanishes, and I become 'Ruth Kingdom's famed general, Victor'.
After straightening my attire one last time.
I strode powerfully out of the waiting room and took my place at the podium prepared for the speech.
"Waaaaaaaaah!"
"Victor! Victor!"
Soldiers below the podium roared cheers, chanting my name.
Here now were all 28,000 troops of Ruth Kingdom, save a minimal guard detail.
I picked up the magic amplifier on the podium,
"My men."
in a solemn voice.
Thus began the speech heralding Ruth Kingdom's end.