Chapter 231
(Kyle Calendar Year 513: Age 20)
Movements of Neighboring Nations: The Principality of
Fearalt
Translator : PolterGlast
In the Fearalt Principality's royal capital, Fairy,
the new year began with a palpable sense of unrest stirring within the nation.
At the customary New Year's banquet held within the Royal
Palace, the influential nobles in attendance offered the King mere token words
of congratulation before withdrawing hastily. It was a stark contrast to the
usual grandeur; the hall was left desolate.
Witnessing this, the King wore a bitter smile as he, too,
retired early to his office, accompanied by his aides.
"Now then, Count Flame. Are the disgruntled
nobles on the verge of eruption? They have certainly made their attitudes
blatant. What is your assessment of the situation?"
"Ha! Among the dissatisfied nobles, it appears
approximately sixty families have already made their stance clear. While
currently adopting a wait-and-see approach, there are likely another eighty
families who will sway to their side..."
"Hahaha, nearly half, then? I have certainly become
quite loathed."
"It is not merely half, Sire! The group I mentioned
earlier includes thirty of the Principality's most influential noble families.
In terms of actual power, it would be no exaggeration to say that nearly
seventy percent are on the opposing side. At this rate, it is likely..."
"That we face a civil war that will sunder the
Principality?"
"Yes, regrettably... It is a failure of our own
influence, and for that, I am truly sorry. Even knowing their daily grievances,
we never imagined they possessed such resolve. For the momentum of rebellion to
surge so suddenly... it is almost as if..."
"Someone is pulling the strings from the shadows—is
that it? Since it has come to this, there is no other choice. We must let them
erupt all at once and settle the matter. I must endure a temporary disgrace.
Henceforth, I shall play the part of the incompetent ruler chased from the
Royal Capital."
"Your Majesty! That is too much to bear..."
"I will consolidate our position starting from the
south, where those loyal to me are gathered. I shall feign fear of the unrest
and leave the capital, ostensibly to suppress a southern rebellion... or
perhaps, simply to flee? If I do so, the pus that has accumulated in this
nation will surely burst forth all at once. Prior to that, I intend to secretly
send my younger brother and sisters to the neighboring country as envoys."
"W-W-What?!"
"If they remain here, the disgruntled nobles will
inevitably set them up as puppets. Should that happen, I would be forced to
punish my own beloved siblings as accomplices to treason. If they were to be
branded ringleaders, the penalty would be death—I could not bear that. To think
I succeeded the throne, fully aware of the turmoil, precisely because I wished
to spare them from becoming tools of political strife."
"I understand your feelings deeply."
"It will impose upon King Kyle, but I shall ask
him to harbor them until matters settle. I entrust the letter containing this
request to you, and I entrust my siblings to your care. Please, look after
them."
To those who knew the path the Kyle Royal Family had
trodden in the previous history, this could only be described as a karmic twist
of fate. In the previous timeline, during the fall of the Kyle Kingdom
this very year, King Kyle had relied upon him—who had become Prime
Minister rather than King—to send his wife and children to safety. Now, in this
world, the exact opposite scenario was about to unfold.
"Your Majesty! Am I not permitted to accompany
you?"
"Hmph. Since our days in the Imperial Guard Division,
I have trusted you above all others. There are others who boast of strength,
but you are the only one who understands political matters and to whom I can
entrust the aftermath. My friend, I beg of you. I intend to win, but there are
no guarantees, and it will take time. There is another man in that country whom
I call a friend. I am entrusting a letter to him as well, so I need you to act
as the liaison."
Unconsciously, the King’s speech had reverted to the tone he
used during his days in the Imperial Guard Division alongside Flame.
Count Flame noticed this, but as if nostalgic for their old bond, he
dared not rebuke him.
"You really haven't changed. Since the Imperial
Guard Division, you were a superior officer who would push troublesome
tasks onto others with a laugh. Even so, the Kyle Kingdom surely will
not remain unaffected. What are your intentions?"
"I have already imparted a strategy to my other friend.
Furthermore, they have their own circumstances, do they not? He should have
already grasped that the disgruntled nobles of our country are colluding with
the Restoration Faction on his side to plot something. I hear he is already
taking measures against a contingency invasion. I trust my own eyes, and I
trust my friend."
"So they are not merely getting caught up in it, but
the Kingdom bears some responsibility as well?"
"Exactly. I must have them take responsibility for
that. Well... I will likely have to pay a suitable price to the Kingdom at a
later date, but compared to sitting idly by while the country fractures and
splits, that is a trivial matter."
"Have you been thinking that far ahead since that
time?"
"Aye. I summoned him precisely because I wanted to
ascertain whether he was a man worth entrusting the future to. Meeting him in
person, it was a pleasant surprise to find he exceeded my expectations. By now,
I suspect he has already grasped our country's situation in detail through his
intelligence network."
"Um... there is just one thing that concerns me. I hear
that the Kyle Kingdom is also currently in a very precarious
state..."
"True enough. If it were the Kyle Kingdom of a
few years ago, I wouldn't have crossed such a dangerous bridge. But now, things
are different. Flame, since my time in the Imperial Guard Division,
what is the one thing I focused on most, aside from military might?"
"Intelligence, sir. I pride myself that our foreign
intelligence network, in particular, is far superior to that of our
neighbors."
"Ah, precisely. I implicitly conveyed that to the Demon
Territory Count as well. I told him to be more cautious himself. He
responded to that warning. He has begun to move exactly as I expected, sounding
the alarm within the Kingdom while simultaneously building a new intelligence
network within our own country."
"And how does that relate?"
"A man of such excellence would hardly let himself be
outdone by the Empire so easily, would he? The Imperial Army does not yet fully
comprehend the terror of Mages. In the Demon Territory Count's
battles thus far, the number of troops and Mages
he could deploy was small, limiting his available tactics. But now, it is
different. The Demon Territory Count will construct tactics using Mages
in earnest and wield terrifying power."
"Your support for the Demon Territory Count is
quite something."
"It is because I, too, suffer from not being a Mage,
and conversely, I can calmly assess the power of Mages. Being in the
same position, I understand it very well. I doubt there is almost anyone, even
within the Kyle Kingdom itself, who understands this."
"Is that so? It is not something I quite
understand."
"Aye, by my prediction, the Kingdom will definitely
win. This time, the Kingdom's core is also on his side, and the Minister of
Military Affairs seems to be making moves. The issue will likely be the extent
of the damage. The Royal Capital will absolutely not fall. That is how I read
it."
"If such a thing as 'Foreign Intelligence Magic'
existed, you would undoubtedly be its greatest user. You gather fragmentary
information, formulate hypotheses, verify them, and turn them into certainty.
This skill is nothing short of a talent."
"Hahaha, I am a half-wit who cannot use Magic.
If I didn't have at least that much merit, I'd have no place to stand.
Regarding this rebellion: the immediate enemy force is estimated at twenty to
thirty thousand. Is that prediction correct?"
"Yes. If it is just a rebellion, there will be many
opportunists who hesitate. If your younger brother and sisters are absent and
cannot be set up as figureheads, the force attacking the undefended Fairy
will be around thirty thousand. They cannot empty their territories completely
to send out an army, after all."
At Count Flame's words, the King showed a smile with
hidden meaning. Through their long association, he knew well: when the King
made a face like this, he had another idea in mind.
"Well, that is a reasonable reading. I plan to scatter
the bait in late spring or early summer and settle things here within the
summer. If possible, I do not want to trouble the other side. Even if the enemy
army is double the prediction, forty thousand or more, we will manage
somehow."
"If it becomes forty thousand or more... that
calculates to the opportunists all turning to the enemy side. I would hope that
is not the case."
"But this is war; there is always the chance of the
worst-case scenario. Your presence is necessary for my brother and sisters. Be
by their side. My friend, I beg you, will you accept?"
"...While it is against my will, please forgive me for
saying so. I will answer your trust, but please know that my true heart lies
elsewhere."
"I am sorry."
The Fearalt King bowed deeply to his trusted
subordinate. Following this, preparations proceeded under his plan, and by the
end of spring, it would move to the execution phase.
Similar to them, a while after the New Year's banquet was
held in Fairy, a group gathered at the mansion of a certain influential
noble to exchange secret agreements.
"This year's banquet was deserted and utterly
unsightly."
"Since many nobles followed Uncle's example and left
early, the nobles' allegiances have become clear."
"Precisely. It was a grand banquet—no, a laughingstock
of a spectacle—fitting for a fool who ignored long-standing customs and even
our intentions to succeed the throne."
"Duke, how long must we discard our pride and
endure?"
"Before long. Once spring passes, the flames will rise.
We will move from there. We have many sympathizers in the neighboring country
as well. Is that not so?"
"It is exactly as you say. When you gentlemen restore
this country to its rightful state, my country wishes to borrow your strength
to do the same. Of course, upon receiving your assistance, we are prepared to
cede a portion of our territory in return. I hear the number of influential
nobles in agreement this time is considerable. For new governance, one can
never have too much land to distribute."
"Lord Lugner, we have held friendship with your
father, the Marquis, for many years. We shall gladly support returning your
country to the right path as well. Please convey our regards."
"Thank you. My father will be pleased by your kindness,
Duke. I shall return to my territory now to report, but when you all rise up, I
will surely hasten to join you leading reinforcements."
Saying this, Lugner bowed deeply, wearing a cold,
cruel smile. He then excused himself from the meeting and set out on his return
journey to the border.
However, Lugner had no father. He had been executed
four years ago for the crime of leading a rebellion.
Lugner had
borrowed the power of the Dark Clan to ingratiate himself with a certain
Marquis. He had carefully placed those around him under suggestion,
brainwashing them, and had been welcomed as the Marquis's adopted son. The
Marquis, fallen under his spell, was already a puppet.
Next, acting as the Marquis's proxy, he had won over the Margrave
protecting the western part of the Kingdom, crossed the border, and extended
his tentacles all the way to the Fearalt Principality.
『I
shall prepare the stage you desired. Dance madly until the end and destroy
yourselves. Take the Kingdom down with you. 』
Lugner muttered
this quietly so no one could hear, and spurred his horse onward.
Preparations for rebellion were proceeding smoothly in both
the Kyle Kingdom and the Fearalt Principality. All that remained
was to trigger the ringleaders' outburst and incite the invasion.
Thus, one part of the grand encirclement plotted by Lugner
was about to be realized.
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