A Crown for Reparations
“Wouldn’t it be cleaner to just declare war outright?”
Everett reacted with the grave seriousness of someone who had just heard a spectacularly failed joke.
At some point, the eyes that always carried heat far warmer than body temperature seemed to have cooled by about three degrees.
Inside those golden irises, I could clearly sense the inner thought, ‘Your sense of humor is pretty terrible.’ I flinched a little.
‘I know, I know. To the people here, that suggestion probably feels like grinding a cigarette butt into the ancestral offering of white rice.’
After all, tossing a conquered kingdom’s crown into a furnace was a time-honored performance with deep historical roots.
‘For the proud, unyielding people of Bellot, being told to hand over their crown would almost certainly register as the most insulting form of provocation. One hundred percent.’
The Empire had emerged victorious from a long, grueling war, but victory didn’t come with only sweet honors.
‘The Empire itself had barely clawed its way back from the brink of ruin. There’s nothing to gain from dragging this conflict out any further.’
A cornered rat could still prove troublesome even to a lion.
I knew all that! Just hear me out first!
‘It’s not completely nonsense, you know.’
Feeling slightly wronged, I opened my mouth.
“But the only things we can realistically demand from them instead of material goods are things like honor or other intangible values, right?”
Everett mulled over my words for a few seconds, then nodded readily in agreement.
“That’s true.”
His response wasn’t entirely negative, so I felt a small wave of relief inside.
“So we accept the crown in place of war reparations, then later return it under a suitable pretext.”
I explained step by step.
“For example, at the coronation ceremony of the crown princess who has ties to the Empire.”
A powerful nation bestowing a crown or similar items upon a weaker, de facto vassal state was also a deeply historical performance.
‘If we discuss it in advance, even Bellot’s pride might sting, but they probably won’t resist too fiercely. They know they don’t have many options either.’
If this situation couldn’t be calculated, then Bellot truly deserved to fall.
Everett’s attitude grew more serious as he gradually grasped what I was getting at.
“It would be even better if we built up justification from the very moment we make them substitute the crown for reparations.”
Everett’s eyes sparkled as he stroked his chin.
“For instance, we could arrange it so that the King of Bellot appears to voluntarily offer the crown for the sake of his people. Then the Empire, as a gesture of friendship, makes some minor adjustments and returns it.”
Bellot wasn’t known for advanced metalworking, so their crown was rather crude in design.
If things went as Everett described, it would create the appearance of the Empire magnanimously extending a hand, but my approach was politically more refined.
‘It would also serve as a perfect opportunity to take those arrogant Bellot noses down a peg.’
My casually tossed idea was steadily taking on concrete shape, and I grew more interested.
“That sounds good?”
When I agreed with sparkling eyes, the corners of Everett’s mouth lifted into a smile.
“It would probably give the King of Bellot a massive headache, but it seems like a solid plan.”
His smile looked a little wicked, as if he was genuinely pleased by the misfortune soon to befall the foreign monarch.
Since the blood pressure of another country’s king was none of my business, I simply smiled back at him.
“If they’re people who understand that there are things more important than honor, they’ll accept it.”
“They will.”
There was still the troublesome task of putting the idea into practice, but Everett smiled with considerable satisfaction.
Then, as if committing the matter to memory, he muttered under his breath.
“Once I return to the palace, this should be the first thing I handle.”
But his words were drowned out by the conversation of someone passing right outside the private room, so I couldn’t quite catch them.
Separate from the fact that he had obtained a breakthrough strategy for the difficult negotiations with Bellot, it was already late in the evening by the time Edwin, who had spent the entire day with Lina until sunset, returned to the palace.
Because of the workload that had piled up from his weekly outings, Edwin headed straight for his office. Kylus followed closely behind him.
All the way from the entrance of the Emperor’s palace to the office, Kylus lingered persistently yet ambiguously at the edge of Edwin’s vision.
It was exactly like giving the silent treatment to a superior who had ditched his duties without notice to go on a date.
“What.”
Unable to endure it any longer, Edwin shot Kylus a displeased look.
Kylus received his lord’s curt tone with armor-like composure and asked with a smile.
“Are you returning from meeting Miss Diaz?”
Today had been the final day of the four-time exhibition ticket Kylus had given him.
His true intention in deliberately asking about an obviously known destination was plain to see, but Edwin brushed it off moderately.
“That’s right.”
He answered even more indifferently on purpose, sat down, and picked up some documents.
It was a clear signal that if Kylus wanted to chat, he should leave.
Edwin had no desire for his date with Lina to end with a lecture from Kylus.
However, after so many years together, the line between sovereign and subject had grown rather blurry.
Showing no intention of leaving, Kylus placed an inkwell and quill in front of Edwin and began his full-scale scolding.
“The Imperial Guard suddenly turned pale, claiming Your Majesty had vanished, and came looking for me.”
Come to think of it, when the appointed time with Lina drew near, he had rushed out alone in a hurry.
‘Did I really not tell anyone I was going out?’
Pressed by Kylus’s subtle pressure, Edwin subtly avoided his gaze.
From the way Kylus’s smile deepened, Edwin could guess the commotion his unannounced departure had caused.
But if he obediently reflected here, the lecture would only drag on longer.
“I go out every week. Why the fuss? If the guards had contacted you immediately, it wouldn’t have been an issue. You already knew where I was going.”
Edwin replied as if it were no big deal and opened an appropriate document.
Kylus let out an audible sigh, as if making sure it was heard.
Whether he was trying to show off his lung capacity or not, the breath that reached all the way to Edwin’s forehead made his brows furrow slightly.
Still, he stubbornly continued reading the documents.
After holding out for a while, it was Kylus who eventually gave up.
Only then did Edwin’s gaze finally land on him.
“Schedule a meeting with the crown princess.”
Kylus’s voice, which had been growing vague at the mention of work, sharpened again.
“Under what pretext?”
“Re-negotiation of reparations, obviously.”
Edwin answered Kylus’s question and explained Lina’s idea to him.
The process—starting with confusion and gradually shifting to interest—was exactly the same as his own earlier reaction.
While Kylus was lost in thought, Edwin recalled how Lina had earnestly tried to persuade him and let out a small, inward laugh.
‘She was so cute.’
Edwin’s brief reminiscence ended when Kylus spoke again.
“If the backlash from Bellot isn’t too severe, it would be the best solution.”
Having finally finished thinking, Kylus agreed with Lina’s opinion.
Edwin lifted the corners of his mouth in satisfaction, as if he himself had been praised.
Kylus, who had been about to hurry out of the office to discuss the details with his staff before the night grew any later, caught sight of Edwin’s smile.
He smiled meaningfully, as if he could roughly guess the situation.
“It’s quite a mild strategy for Your Majesty.”
After all, Kylus had been thinking that if the crown princess poked at Edwin even a little more, another war might break out.
It was clearly a probe, yet Edwin readily admitted it.
“It’s Miss Diaz’s idea.”
He wanted to brag about Lina’s greatness.
Just mentioning “Miss Diaz” seemed to put him in a good mood; Edwin’s expression softened gently.
‘I shouldn’t have said that.’
Kylus turned his clouded eyes away from his friend and lord’s relaxed face and roughly played along with Edwin’s mood.
“Miss Diaz’s contributions have been remarkable ever since the matter with Duke Camelot.”
“You think so too?”
Edwin gave him a look that said, Go on.
Kylus’s mouth twitched for a moment at the unexpected emotional labor.
But since he genuinely held a high opinion of Lina’s abilities, the praise flowed smoothly.
“It’s almost a shame that someone with that kind of talent is stuck in a quiet desk job.”
Kylus recalled the personal information he had investigated about Lina before.
‘Top admission and top graduation from the Imperial Academy’s Department of Public Administration. She even passed the recruitment exam in first place, didn’t she?’
She had been pushed aside due to not participating in the factional maneuvering within the Ministry of Finance, but from what Kylus had seen, Lina’s competence was the real deal.
“If the Blue Hawk had just one more talent like her, my bedtime might increase by about three hours.”
Kylus grumbled while mentally shoving aside the fact that if he gave up running the café, he could sleep a full eight hours every day.
“I told you to recruit more people.”
Edwin gave the same consistent reply to the complaints that had been steadily coming in since his return to the imperial capital.
“It’s not a position that can be filled by just anyone.”
Not only did it require exceptional personal ability, but since it handled the Empire’s most confidential information, the person’s background had to be impeccable as well.
‘If there were such a talent, I would have brought them in immediately.’
Kylus pouted his lips where Edwin couldn’t see.
Then, like a flash of lightning, the name that had just been mentioned came to mind.
‘Now that I think about it… there’s no reason it wouldn’t work, is there?’
Kylus glanced at Edwin, whose eyes had grown slightly dreamy as he fell deep into thoughts of Miss Diaz, and asked discreetly.
“Your Majesty. If there’s someone who catches my eye, may I scout them?”
“Do as you wish.”
With such a careless permission, Lina’s departmental transfer was decided.