War Weapons (1)
Late at night. The day Grey Gibraltar returned to Gibraltar with the business plan stamped with the king's seal.
"Princess."
Carmen Queen had invited one person in the exact same arrangement as the day before.
"I envy you so much."
"......"
Carmen Queen stared intently at the golden-haired girl sitting demurely before her, Naria Geo Nostrum.
"I did everything I could to earn the love of the Gibraltar Margrave, but you... you haven't done a thing, and yet you're showered with love like this."
"Love...?"
Naria tilted her head.
"Who?"
"Grey Gibraltar."
"Are you saying he loves me?"
"Ha, it must bother you, huh? I can tell from how much you're talking."
Naria tilted her head again.
"You're right that it bothers me, but not in the way you think, Mother."
"What?"
"From what you've told me about your conversations with Sir Grey... it seems he's only thinking about a coup."
Coup. Depose the king and enthrone a new one.
"Perhaps he's moving for revenge because Father's indiscretions harmed Gibraltar."
"He touched his own mother?"
"Wouldn't any son feel disgust toward someone who laid hands on his mother?"
For a queen and princess of a nation, these were unbearably heavy words.
"Judging solely by the information I've been given."
Naria tapped the table with her finger, staring fixedly at the refreshments laid out before her as she spoke.
"The current king, Saint Geo Nostrum, is hopeless. I hold the only claim to the throne as his sole heir, but I'm still a minor, so we can't replace him just yet. On the other hand, sitting idle for ten years... the state of the kingdom won't improve."
"......"
"That's why he must be trying to join hands with you. To depose Father together."
"Good grief. Grey that boy, and you too. Do all ten-year-olds these days have the minds of thirty-year-olds crammed into their heads?"
"Hardly."
Naria lightly sipped the tea before her.
"I'm merely analyzing his motives based on the available information."
"So Grey's support for you is simply because the current king is hopeless?"
"Yes."
"Hmph, that's so childish."
Carmen Queen let out a sly chuckle.
"That boy likes you. Whether he fell at first sight, or your status as princess suits his tastes. Or maybe he's aiming to be your consort."
"To become my husband after I ascend the throne?"
"And if you die, he inherits the crown. Or perhaps a child born between you two becomes king."
"The nobles wouldn't want Gibraltar advancing to the center."
"That's why he's allying with Morgania, isn't it? We can help Gibraltar in all sorts of ways. Heh heh."
Carmen Queen traced her lips with her index finger.
"But you know, the more we talk, the more you two seem alike."
"Sir Grey and I?"
"Not acting your age, and heads too sharp for ten-year-olds."
"I don't know about Sir Grey, but I've probably inherited that from you, Mother."
Naria casually picked up a candy as if it were nothing.
"You're even sharper than I am."
"This girl says whatever comes to mind."
"I'm just stating the facts. You were handling some of the ducal administrative duties before you even turned ten."
"Fine, fine. You, him—we 'geniuses' like us don't fit the mold for our age. But..."
Carmen Queen tapped her temple with her index finger.
"Unlike Morgania women, who've been clever for generations, we can't speak so highly of Gibraltar, no matter the nation."
"Intelligence?"
"No. Politics. Administration. Power struggles. That kind of cunning."
If the Gibraltar family had a hereditary talent, it was naturally with the sword.
"The Gibraltar line has been the shield guarding the kingdom for generations, producing exceptional swordsmen. In this era, even a Sword Master emerged."
"You can't call a Master-level talent dim-witted."
"True. They simply had no interest or concern for central politics. But..."
Carmen Queen covered her face with one hand.
"Your father, His Majesty the King, went and poked the hornet's nest. What a mess."
"......"
"You're lucky there's at least someone reasonable. If things go south, in an emergency..."
"You'd even considered the possibility of rebellion and betrayal from Gibraltar?"
"...Yes."
Rebellion. Slightly different from a coup.
"Thankfully, they don't seem poised to defect to the Empire, but you never know."
Rebellion against Saint Geo Nostrum was worlds apart from rebellion against the Nostrum Kingdom.
"Daughter. I know the Gibraltar Margrave well. I can handle him. But..."
Carmen Queen clutched her throbbing forehead and continued.
"Beware his son, Grey Gibraltar. He's different from us. Since the first Gibraltar, there hasn't been one like him."
"......"
"That boy didn't come here just with a brilliant mind or talent. How to put it... his words carry 'experience' woven into them."
"Like a noble who's wielded power at the center for years?"
"Similar, but a bit different. If I had to describe it, it's like he's run the margrave's house as margrave for about ten years himself."
"...Mother."
Naria drained her tea in one gulp.
"You look exhausted from Father's antics. You should retire and rest."
"This girl. Do I sound like I'm joking?"
"By your own words, he's the most dangerous one. A blade forged in Gibraltar for a day like this."
"And yet he wants to enthrone you as queen."
The mother and daughter stared intently at each other.
"Remember this. Grey Gibraltar is more Gibraltar than any Gibraltar I've ever seen."
"You just said he was different."
"He's an anomaly, but his roots are pure Gibraltar. Like a mutation?"
"Thinking of overthrowing the king is what makes him Gibraltar-like?"
"No. The Gibraltars..."
Carmen Queen gave Naria a look of genuine envy, smiling bitterly.
"...are the kind who go mad for what they love and devote everything they have to it."
"The Gibraltar family has been mad for the kingdom for generations, but I am not."
"That's the first thing you say the moment you return?"
In the study, during my private audience with Father, I was scolded right as I opened my mouth.
"I'm back."
"Good. You did well. The results?"
"You're jumping straight to business anyway—why bother with the formalities?"
"Even business has its procedures."
Father-son bonding ended in a curt "I'm back" and "You did well."
"So, preparations for the rebellion?"
"Father. We still lack justification for outright rebellion. But I've laid the bait for dragging down the incompetent king."
"A pity. Still tied to the Nostrum ducal house, then."
"Justification is thin. They're not as loyal-mad as Gibraltar, but they're power-hungry."
Nothing strange there.
"The key is our aligned interests. We need funds, and they've approved them appropriately."
Because of our father-son bond.
"The business plan is approved. Your letter made it easy to get Carmen Queen's permission."
"Mm."
I felt a twinge of guilt toward Carmen Queen, but Father's letter to her was all part of using her.
"What did Carmen say?"
"Letting you use her despite knowing it— isn't that affection?"
"I've done Carmen wrong."
"But she accepts it, doesn't she?"
"Of course."
Father showed a flicker of regret, but soon hardened his expression.
"In my heart, there's only Charlotte."
I wanted to ask, What about your children? But the answer was obvious, so no need.
"For now, we'll keep mutual checks with the Morgania ducal house. We need the public perception."
"Will they truly align with us?"
"The ducal house doesn't have to be Nostrum's forever. Not yet, at least."
"How much time do you think we need?"
"Who knows. About ten years?"
In the future, Carmen would abandon Nostrum Castle and restore Morgania Castle.
'She abandoned Nostrum to become an imperial duke.'
And as 'Morgania Regent,' she ruled the Nostrum colony as governor.
She'd spent ten years cleaning up the mess left by the incompetent king and ultimately took the emperor's hand.
"For Carmen Queen and the Winchester Morgania behind her, power is paramount."
"Yes. That's why I don't like them."
"As long as their power holds, they'll accept a coup or rebellion. Unless they themselves decide to oust the incompetent king."
"No way."
Father shook his head firmly.
"It's been ten years since she bore that trash's child and raised it. If she wanted him gone, she'd have done it already."
"That's why I said ten years."
"What changes after ten years?"
"We'll make them so sick of cleaning up the incompetent king's messes over the next decade that they can't tolerate it anymore."
The final straw was during the war, when Saint Geo Nostrum fled alone to the rear.
'Abandoning his wife and child to save himself.'
'Abandoning Carmen Queen and leaving the capital to Princess Naria'—that was the decisive blow.
"We'll prepare on our end too. At minimum, enough to drag the incompetent king to the guillotine or trample the capital with the Empire."
"That preparation is..."
"Military might."
I extended my hand forward and clenched it into a tight fist.
"We need overwhelming power."
"......"
"Yes. You're strong, Father. The kingdom's strongest Sword Master."
No point giving him that look of 'But I already have you.'
"But Father. If Mother were taken hostage, you'd drop everything and rush to her side, wouldn't you?"
"......No, that's."
"I'm fine. But at least tell the little ones something like 'I'll save you both' or 'I'll come for you'—even if it's empty words."
"......"
"Mother would love that deep down."
Father nodded gravely.
"Then, shall we discuss Gibraltar's military strength? Frankly, 95% of it is concentrated in you personally."
"Can I speak frankly?"
"Yes."
"97%."
This wasn't a joke.
"You haven't experienced war yet, so you might not grasp it, but a Sword Master is no mere title."
"Yes. But comparisons are possible. If the margrave house's total strength is 300, you're 9,700."
"Mm."
His expression didn't change, but pride gleamed in his eyes.
"But Father. That's based on civil war within the kingdom."
"......"
"What's the Empire's main weapon? Sword? Spear? Bow?"
"...This."
Clunk.
Father pulled a box from the drawer.
"This loathsome weapon made with imperial magitech. It turns a master archer of ten years' training into a headless corpse in an instant. Shameless."
Click.
"Not a gun?"
A long, cylindrical tube like a sword, with a grip at the end.
'Feels good.'
Musket.
'Old model? They used them for executions sometimes.'
A weapon the Empire developed about ten years ago, now mass-produced—one of their magitech armaments.
"Grey. Do you know what this is called?"
"A musket."
"Wrong. This is a magic missile launcher."
"......"
Not incorrect. The ammo was mana orbs containing magic missiles.
"Coincidentally, even if ten thousand wield these toys, they couldn't touch me. Aura slices the mana bullets apart."
"A true Sword Master's answer."
"Exactly. That's why the Empire dares not cross the gorge—with me here."
Father set the musket on the desk.
"But if we bolster our forces further, will they—"
"We'll research, develop, and enhance them ourselves, then sell to the Empire at a premium. Secretly."
"......?"
Father's eyes widened.
"Kidding about the Empire. But passing them off as imperial smuggled goods? That works."
His eyes that wide—first time I'd seen it.
"The gate ladder refurbishment will bring high-quality steel from Morgania iron mines. Publicly, we'll supply actual materials to avoid budget scrutiny."
I approached the desk and picked up the musket.
"But no ladder needs that much rebar. Even replacing all the rusted parts leaves 30% surplus. So..."
"You don't mean."
"Yes."
Muskets are made of steel.
"Divert the construction rebar and secretly develop weapons. Without anyone knowing."
"......"
"Yes. Treason. Embezzling treasury funds to secretly produce military supplies—even Empire mainstays. But... we're rebelling anyway, right?"
Click.
"Entrust me with full authority, and I'll double our margrave house's strength."
Someday.
"When you rush off to save Mother, the soldiers and I need enough might to hold out until you return."
To win wars without a Sword Master.