Chapter 346: The Land That Lost Its Romance (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 346: The Land That Lost Its Romance (4)
Inside the Valhalla Imperial Court, an emergency meeting of the leadership had convened.
Under the languid gaze of the Emperor, Marquis Belfir placed a box containing a severed head onto the table.
Thud.
"Look at this. Count Bragan went to represent Valhalla, yet Roman Dmitry severed his head and sent it back. What else could this mean? It is a clear declaration of war. He has undoubtedly joined forces with the rebels and intends to attack the Valhalla Empire."
"…Good heavens."
Frowns deepened across the room.
Faced with the gruesome sight and the metallic stench of blood wafting from the box, most of the leadership murmured in agreement.
"I knew this would happen. Roman Dmitry is a man with whom compromise was impossible from the very beginning."
"How can this be? It is a law of the continent that messengers representing a nation are not to be harmed, yet Roman Dmitry has crossed the line. We must prepare for war immediately. We should gather our forces, sweep away Duke Vieto's rebel faction first, and then ally with the Kronos Empire to crush Dmitry."
Anger boiled over.
Killing a messenger was an unforgivable taboo.
In truth, Valhalla had committed the first transgression, meaning they had no right to complain. But an empire never admitted its own faults. It was the classic logic of an aggressor. The true source of their fury was Roman Dmitry's attitude—the fact that he had slapped away the hand the Valhalla Empire had extended first.
It was then that Count Gomez of the Conservative Faction, who had been quietly observing the situation, proposed a different approach.
"Why don't we do this instead?"
"Do you have a better suggestion?"
"Considering Roman Dmitry killed Count Bragan and was previously spotted meeting with Sanchez of the rebel faction, there is a very high probability that he has joined the rebels. Duke Vieto clearly intends to overcome his military disadvantage by using external forces. We must target that exact point. If we champion Valhalla's pure-bloodism, we can instantly turn public sentiment against Duke Vieto."
"That is an excellent idea!"
The nobles showed keen interest.
If they could pull that off, the rebel faction would be stripped of its public support. They could be swept away in an instant, unable to mount any proper resistance.
Count Gomez added, "Valhalla's pure-bloodism is highly exclusive. Unlike Kronos, which accepts many different races, Valhalla insists only on those of Valhallan descent. This directly ties into the context of the rebellion. The people of Valhalla want the empire to reclaim its roots as a nation of warriors. But how would they feel if that process was led by an external force? This is the rebels' dilemma. Because their goal is to reclaim their roots, they must achieve it through their own strength. If we exploit their own rhetoric, we can turn the tables on them."
Roman Dmitry had made a mistake.
By sending Count Bragan's severed head, he had handed the Valhalla Imperial Court the perfect pretext to exploit.
Count Gomez looked toward the Emperor.
"Your Majesty. Give me a chance. I will contact Roman Dmitry and secure definitive proof that will shake public sentiment to its core."
"I, too, support Count Gomez's plan."
Marquis Belfir threw his weight behind the proposal.
Lately, the Progressive and Conservative Factions had been of one mind.
Initially, Count Gomez had been furious with the Progressive Faction's attempts to compromise with Kronos. However, as the Emperor of Valhalla's madness grew worse, his subordinates had no choice but to join forces.
The Emperor's gaze shifted to Count Gomez. As the Count shrank back slightly under the heavy stare, the Emperor pushed his chair back and stood up.
Scrape.
"Do as you wish."
His tone was utterly indifferent.
As the Emperor of Valhalla withdrew from the room, Count Gomez and the rest of the leadership let out a collective sigh of relief.
"Then we shall proceed with the plan."
He called for a communication soldier.
Like a spider waiting in its web, Count Gomez's eyes gleamed sharply.
* * *
The magic communication connected.
On the screen, Roman Dmitry's figure appeared. Count Gomez, spearheading the plan, spoke first.
"We received your gift. We sent a noble of Valhalla for dialogue, yet severing his head and returning it is the way of Dmitry? It seems you have made a grave mistake. With that single choice, Valhalla and Dmitry have crossed a point of no return."
[You speak of amusing things. From the moment you openly tried to kill me, I had no intention of compromising with Valhalla.]
"If that is how you are going to play it, then I have no choice but to cast aside my manners as well."
Count Gomez smirked.
It was exactly as he had expected.
He never thought Roman would politely engage in dialogue after sending Count Bragan's head.
"I find it truly regrettable. When Count Denver extended his hand to you, what would have happened if you had taken it? Perhaps, with the wings of the Valhalla Empire, you might have already brought down the Kronos Empire. I am not denying your current worth. For someone who is a mere native of Cairo to rise as the leader of the Kingdom Alliance, you certainly deserve our recognition."
The civil war in Cairo.
Count Denver had died.
With the events of that day, Roman Dmitry had rubbed Valhalla the wrong way.
"But there is a limit to your overstepping. Just because you won a single war against Kronos, do you feel as though the world is already yours? The reason Kronos and Valhalla are called the two pillars of the continent is because they have proven their worth over a long history. You should not have turned your back on either of them. Now that Duke Vieto is plotting a rebellion, siding with him is a fatal mistake."
He steered the conversation naturally.
The magic communication was being recorded.
If he could secure evidence of Roman's collusion with Duke Vieto, he planned to use it to strip the rebels of their public support.
"Roman Dmitry. Surely you do not believe that helping Duke Vieto will allow you to bring down the Valhalla Empire?"
He threw the bait.
Without saying another word, he watched his opponent's reaction.
His sharp gaze, like a predator eyeing its prey, was ready to snap shut on Roman's throat the moment he gave the expected response.
However.
[Count Gomez. This matter has nothing to do with Duke Vieto.]
"…What?"
A crack appeared in Gomez's composure.
He had not expected a denial.
From the moment Roman sent Count Bragan's severed head, Gomez assumed his opponent was openly declaring his intentions to join the rebels.
Roman Dmitry chuckled.
[I believe I made myself clear. From the moment you openly tried to kill me, I had no intention of compromising with Valhalla. That is the reason I sent Count Bragan's severed head. Since I consider you a hostile nation, I merely demonstrated my resolve through Count Bragan.]
Unambiguous hostility.
It was a statement that completely flipped the board.
* * *
Valhalla's magic communication.
Their intention had been obvious.
Rather than being genuinely outraged by the death of their noble, they were undoubtedly trying to exploit the incident politically. Roman had no intention of criticizing that in itself. In conflicts between massive powers, such ruthless calculations were a daily occurrence. However, he had no intention of playing along with Valhalla's agenda.
Count Bragan.
Roman had severed his head.
Through his prior conversation with Sanchez, Roman Dmitry had already made it clear a week ago that he would do exactly this.
[Whether you are embroiled in a civil war or not is of little importance to me. Right after the Valhalla Festival, I did not have the leeway to hold you accountable due to the war with Kronos. However, your pathetic attitude—still thinking of Dmitry as someone you can negotiate with—has changed my mind. I will make you a single proposal. If you accept it, I will acknowledge your sincerity and make an effort to improve relations with Valhalla.]
Count Gomez was left speechless.
Personal revenge.
With that single phrase, the entire focus of the conversation was derailed.
The trap had lost all meaning.
The Valhalla Empire had indeed shown a clear intent to assassinate Roman Dmitry, and the incidents surrounding it had caused a great deal of controversy even within Valhalla. People had questioned why the empire had stood by and let a great warrior who participated in the festival be targeted for death. Since it was an event that many had already sympathized with and criticized, if Roman claimed this was revenge for that incident, they could not hold him solely accountable for Count Bragan's death. Instead, the Valhalla Empire was thrown into a dilemma.
[There is only one way to restore our relations. The Emperor of Valhalla must personally come to me and beg for my forgiveness.]
"How dare this bastard!"
"Where does he get off spewing such nonsense?!"
Instantly, the surrounding nobles erupted in fury.
The Emperor of Valhalla personally apologizing?
It was utterly absurd.
The Emperor was not a man who would ever accept such a proposal, and if an apology were to actually happen, the prestige of the Valhalla Empire would plummet to the ground. It was incomparable even to the ceasefire negotiations with Kronos. Knowing this proposal was made to be rejected, Count Gomez could not hide his boiling rage.
"Roman Dmitry. Do you truly intend to take this to the very end with us?"
[I already told you.]
He was incredibly arrogant.
From beginning to end, Roman Dmitry had not shown a shred of courtesy to the rulers of Valhalla.
[I have no intention of compromising with you. As of this moment, Dmitry officially declares the Valhalla Empire a hostile nation.]
Negotiations had broken down.
With those final words, the communication was abruptly cut off.
* * *
A heavy silence descended.
One of the Valhallan nobles spoke in a bewildered voice.
"…Did he really just declare war on the Valhalla Empire?"
His voice trembled.
Roman Dmitry's reaction had far exceeded their expectations.
In a situation where he might clash with the Kronos Empire again at any moment, they had never imagined he would make such a foolish move as turning the Valhalla Empire into an enemy as well. This was clearly disadvantageous to Dmitry. If Kronos and Valhalla joined hands in response to Roman Dmitry's arrogant attitude, crushing Dmitry would be child's play.
"Roman Dmitry must have meant every word. He is exactly the kind of man who would do it."
With the Emperor gone, Marquis Belfir was the highest authority in the room.
He, too, was dumbfounded.
He did not want to believe what had just transpired, but Roman Dmitry's past actions proved his sincerity.
When Kronos intervened in Cairo's civil war, Roman Dmitry attempted a counterattack with a mere handful of troops. Even though repelling Kronos was already an incredible achievement for Cairo, he had thrown open the castle gates, charged out, and slaughtered the enemy to the last man.
Then there was the Valhalla Festival.
The war with Kronos.
And most recently, the issue of the war prisoners.
None of his actions had ever conformed to common sense.
Roman Dmitry was a man who put seemingly reckless plans into action and somehow always emerged victorious.
Count Gomez spoke up.
"…It seems we are the ones who fell into a trap. Roman Dmitry intends to frame this strictly as an issue between Valhalla and Dmitry. That way, even if he openly attacks Valhalla, he has the justification of seeking revenge for past grievances. He is a truly cunning bastard. Anticipating that we might use Valhalla's pure-bloodism as our justification, he completely separated this matter from the rebel faction."
He was an enemy, but he was impressive.
Because of this, the Valhalla Empire was thrown into a dilemma.
Even putting aside Duke Vieto, who was leading the civil war, they now had to guard against the external threat of Roman Dmitry.
Marquis Belfir spoke.
"Roman Dmitry will undoubtedly move his troops as a show of force for his declaration of war. Since Hector is an ally of Dmitry, they will grant him passage to gather forces at the northern border bordering Valhalla. I do not believe Dmitry actually desires an all-out war with Valhalla. No matter how much he wants Duke Vieto's rebellion to succeed, risking that level of sacrifice would leave him dangerously vulnerable to the Kronos Empire."
It was likely a mere show.
He would only posture by sending troops to the border, but the Valhalla Empire could not afford to ignore the threat.
"We must dispatch a portion of our forces to the Northern Front. A force large enough that Roman Dmitry cannot look down on us will suffice. The rest of our troops will be concentrated in the south to sweep away Duke Vieto's rebel army in one fell swoop. From now on, it is a race against time. If we delay even slightly, we do not know what kind of crisis we might face at the hands of the rebels and Roman Dmitry."
The situation was changing rapidly.
But one thing was certain.
This was a fight the Valhalla Imperial Court was bound to win.
Once they crushed the rebels, Marquis Belfir vowed to make Roman Dmitry pay dearly.
"Once the rebels are dealt with, even if we have to contact the Kronos Empire and collude with them, our top priority will be to erase Dmitry from the continent. Move quickly. Every second counts."
"Understood."
Colluding with Kronos.
This was something the Conservative Faction had vehemently opposed.
However, in a situation like this, Count Gomez, the leader of the Conservative Faction, did not raise any major objections.
It was then.
Just as the leadership of Valhalla was about to dismiss, a knight of the Royal Knights rushed in, out of breath, to deliver urgent news.
"Urgent news! Duke Vieto's rebel army has attacked Hernad! They have truly launched their rebellion!"
A preemptive strike by the rebel army.
It was, indeed, one shock after another.