episode_0084

I slam the table, but Alexander just smiles.

“Would you really like me to joke around with a busy general?”

“Then what is the reason you are saying such things to me now? We are concerned that His Highness has collapsed right now.”

Alexander shakes his head at my words.

“I know, but doesn’t that mean we also have to resolve our concerns?”

Those words make me laugh out loud.

“Do you know that I recently interrogated an assassin?”

“Yes, I know.”

Do you have a big liver or are you fearless?

“Do you know who is behind what the assassin testified?”

Alexander pretends to be surprised by my words.

“I don’t know who it is, but I cannot leave alone the person behind the attempt to assassinate His Highness, the treasure of the Empire. If you just tell us who is behind it, His Majesty Ioanes, your eternal friend, and I will cooperate with the Grand Duchy to the best of our ability, even if only in a small way.”

Um… crazy guys…

“And we must condemn the assassin in the National Assembly, and we and the Grand Duchy must join forces to eradicate such subversive forces.”

It makes me angry to see them so blatantly pretending not to know that they were trying to kill Devian.

“So please let us know who is behind it at any time.”

Are you saying you’d rather just pretend it’s not the case? Did you decide to come out shamelessly because it was obvious that there would be no evidence?

On the contrary, seeing them confidently offer to help will likely create distrust in humans.

“That’s interesting. The assassin testified that His Highness Ioannis was behind it.”

He shakes his head resolutely at my words and says:

“That can’t be possible. It seems like they are behind the scenes trying to create a wedge between us and the Grand Duchy. Hmm… I think it could be a neutral faction. Or it may be an opposing principality force that was previously at war with the Archduke.”

When I was at a loss as to what to do while looking at their shameless actions.

“Or perhaps General Agrippa, the Archduke’s representative, will not listen to the wicked assassin?”

Instead of answering that question, I get lost in thought.

What should I say?

“Probably not. There is no way that General Agrippa, the wise servant of His Majesty the Wise Devian, would be fooled by a lie and turn against our kingdom of Nicaea, right?

You don’t give me time to think.

There is no need to go to war with the Kingdom of Nicaea right away, but there are some parts where it is difficult to pretend to be with them.

This is why I hate politics.

“I have no intention of cheating. But I don’t think it would be difficult to give up Princess Joy.”

At my words, Alexander’s expression, which had been calm until now, changed.

“General Haona, His Majesty the Archduke’s bedroom has been raided. In this situation, His Majesty Ioannis and all members of the imperial faction believe that the imperial palace is in danger.”

“But a contract is a contract. If His Majesty the Archduke gives an order, it is currently beyond my ‘authority’.”

Alexander speaks with an expression full of anger at my words.

“So you’re saying it’s okay if a war breaks out between us because of General Agrippa? Can the Grand Duchy endure war now that His Majesty the Archduke has fallen?”

These crazy people!

I feel like my blood is boiling with anger at those words that sound like a robbery.

“If you want to try it, give it a try. At that time, we will not remain silent either.”

Alexander opens his mouth to snort as if my words are laughable.

“Hehe, the Archduke is not there either. Do you think the commander of the Grand Duchy will act on the orders of a general who is a commoner? No matter how much the world has improved, do you think a general who is a commoner can rule a historic Grand Duchy?”

what the…

When I was about to open my mouth to say something, Alexander opened his mouth faster.

“Even if he is engaged to Archduchess Mary, how can a general with no background and no authority lead a war?”

With those words, I take out the Archduke’s seal and speak.

“His Royal Highness appointed me regent before he lost consciousness. No matter what my status is! The Grand Duchy will follow my orders.”

When I showed the seal and warned him, Alexander nodded with a bright smile.

“As expected, the rumor was true. The fact that His Majesty the Archduke appointed the general as regent. Please forget everything I said a moment ago. The general said he had no ‘authority’ so I made a joke.”

Shit…

I feel like I am not suited to dealing with such insidious people.

“Now, then it seems like you were lying when you said earlier that you don’t have authority. Why did you lie like that?”

If you keep going like this, you’ll get tired. With that thought in mind, I speak firmly.

“Representative Alexander. As Regent of the Grand Duchy, I will reject His Highness Ioannes’ request.”

Alexander shakes his head at my words and says:

“It won’t end just because you refuse. If you refuse, shouldn’t we know the reason for your refusal so that we can convey the Grand Duchy’s position to Your Majesty without misunderstanding? If you don’t say anything, my position will be in trouble.”

“The position remains the same as at the time of the Peace Treaty.”

He shakes his head at my words and opens his mouth.

“As we would have understood in the past, the Archduke was exposed to assassination. So, for the same reason, if I report to His Majesty Ioanes, fire will fall on me. Do you really want to see this old man suffer?”

When I see him smiling and talking casually, anger boils inside me.

“I’m sorry for only saying the same thing.”

“Phew… I understand that the general is a long-time friend of the Archduke.”

“Rather than a close friend, please say you have been with me for a long time.”

Alexander smiles sinisterly at my words.

“The Archduke and His Highness Ioannes will compete for the hegemony of the empire in the future.”

“Maybe so.”

Devian will kill Ioanes to protect the empire.

On the contrary, Ioanes has no choice but to keep Devian in check in order to swallow up the empire.

“It is said that the Archduke has now unified the anti-emperor faction, but the neutral faction does not yet view the Archduke favorably. On the other hand, His Majesty Ioanes has a high reputation and values talented people. By winning Epirus and Ezip this time, it is like a tiger gaining wings.”

I say that because I am puzzled by that statement.

“So what do you want to say?”

Alexander speaks with his eyes shining at my words.

“If the general takes our side now, what will happen to the Grand Duchy?”

-thud!

“Are you telling me to betray His Highness the Archduke?!”

What on earth do you think people are like when you say things like this?

He smiles without knowing what I’m saying.

“Is there any reason to shed meaningless blood?”

-shaking…

“His Majesty Ioanes can give you more than the Archduke.”

“Shut up!”

I feel like I want to kill myself with interest.

I want to hit the head of the author who pretends not to know while targeting Debian…

That can’t be possible.

Decapitating the author now would be tantamount to declaring war.

In our situation, where the war has just ended, opposing principalities may arise again.

Killing a member of the empire, a member of the empire, is an act that only a tyrant would do.

At this point, Ioanes will be happy and try to isolate us.

Rather, we should avoid handing justification to the enemy.

As I chewed my lip and let go of my anger, the current situation came into view.

Maybe this old man is provoking me like this because he knows I can’t kill him.

The moment I kill Alexander, the Grand Duchy will inevitably be misunderstood by other nobles.

Cool your head. That’s a ploy to provoke me.

“Haha, why would someone who knows everything do that? Does the Archduke want to keep your loyalty by giving him his sister? What’s so important about loyalty? In the end, the loser loses everything.”

At those words, I suppressed my anger as much as I could.

Fishy blood flows between my lips.

Bastard…

And then take a deep breath and say:

“Whew… If you say something outrageous one more time, I will kick you out of this place.”

He said with a sigh.

“Ha… You are very knowledgeable, General. great. I won’t say this anymore, but things are not easy right now.”

“What do you mean it’s not easy?”

He speaks as if he is interrogating me.

“I don’t believe this imperial palace is safe. But didn’t the Grand Duchy say that it would not send Princess Joy to the Kingdom of Nicaea? Since you haven’t told us the reason until the end… His Majesty Ioanes will do as he pleases.”

“The assassin confessed that His Majesty Ioanes ordered him to do it?”

Alexander laughs loudly at my words.

“That is probably the work of forces trying to create a divide between us and the Grand Duchy. Hmm… I think the Kingdom of Nicaea took the Grand Duchy lightly and carried out this trick.”

-bang!

“There is testimony from the assassin?”

Alexander smiles strangely at my words.

“Do you have any evidence? Or do you say that you have an order with His Highness Ioannes’ seal?”

When torturing an assassin.

I tried to look for evidence, but found that it had already been cleaned up.

There is ample evidence, but there is no evidence.

Conclusive evidence…

Shit. Even though there is no evidence, it is so shameless.

I’m so angry that my head feels like it’s going to explode.

“Well, whatever. Our kingdom has come up with a good solution. It’s a good way to maintain the relationship between the Kingdom of Nicaea and the Grand Duchy and send a warning to those who try to cause discord!”

Alexander condescends to help by creating an unknown force that is currently trying to assassinate him.

I’m not really into politics or diplomacy.

How can a man who is a nobleman and a famous member of the empire be so shameless and insidious?

I respond coldly, showing such thoughts with my eyes.

“We don’t think so?”

Alexander’s expression changed to worry at my words.

It is not easy to follow his quick changes in expression and mood.

“Hehe, why do you keep suspecting us without any evidence? There is no reason for us to assassinate His Highness, the treasure of the empire, is there?”

I respond coldly to those words.

“I will tell you that you have already tried to recruit me, but didn’t you definitely expect us to compete for the hegemony of the empire? Coincidentally, we also expected that. I have a strong suspicion that the mastermind behind this is His Highness Yoanes.”

It makes me smile to think that I caught Alexander by the tail and gave him a punch.

So… what are we going to do now, old man?

You talked about the uncomfortable relationship first.

The key figures in both factions probably knew this, but it was completely taboo to mention it to each other.

That’s an alliance in form, but bringing up such a thing is an act of giving justification to the other person.

But this was brought up first to get me involved…

I will use it.

When I think of this, Alexander smiles as if it were funny.

“Hehe. Doesn’t that mean that in the empire, the Kingdom of Nicaea and the Grand Duchy will compete in good faith as the leaders of the imperial faction and the anti-imperial faction? Also, since there is such a problem, there is a desire to resolve it through diplomacy, but I think the general misunderstood.”

And laughs bitterly

“You probably know war and administration well, but you don’t know much about diplomacy.”

I respond quickly to provocative words.

“Is there even bloodshed in friendly competition these days?”

I feel absurd at Alexander’s absurd words.

“I hope it doesn’t leak, but if competition gets fiercer for a while, it might leak. But aren’t we ultimately allies and relatives through the blood of the royal family? We must work together to prevent war. Just like now.”

Haha… It’s more shameless than you can imagine.

“So what do you want?”

Alexander smiles bitterly at my words.

It makes me sick to see him smiling so disgustingly that he has won everything.

“We request the engagement of Her Royal Highness Princess Joy and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Nicaea and ask you to officially announce the engagement.”