episode_0065

According to the principles I am familiar with in the world.

When causing an internal conflict like this, one must secure at least the minimum justification.

This is akin to a social contract.

Of course, even if I sometimes confuse the common sense of this era and that of modern times, this is not common sense regardless of the era.

It was a reason for soldiers to fight and a means to convince people of their just cause.

So, there is no way there isn’t.

“Do the nobles have any justification left?”

“They no longer do.”

But no matter how much I think about it, I don’t know what that is.

I just informed Lycia of the fresh news I received, but she returned with a question that didn’t have much relevance.

“Still, would they start a war without justification?”

“Logically, that wouldn’t happen.”

Since I didn’t have much information yet, it was risky to act hastily. Usually, in such situations, it was best to stay put.

But unlike before, now there was someone I needed to be wary of. Lycia seemed to have realized that too as she asked me.

“…What about the princess?”

That’s right.

I turned my head to look at the house where the princess was.

The easiest way to win in a civil war. Just like in chess, it was capturing the king.

But in reality, there was no need to necessarily capture the king. There was also a way to threaten by holding onto close blood relations.

Ignoring a threat made with such a beloved child, no matter how deep the affection, could deal a significant blow to one’s humanity and authority.

In that sense, Heine was an excellent pawn. Enough so that any scheme coming his way wouldn’t seem out of the ordinary.

I felt like I needed to talk a little about this matter.

“Lycia, could you arrange a meeting with the princess for me to have a conversation?”

I asked Lycia, who was close to the princess, to set up a meeting for me.

*****

One month ago.

In the southeast of the Empire, a temporary noble assembly was held.

Nobles gathered there to establish a new emperor.

And for the following month, their moods resembled a roller coaster with steep declines.

The invited pope unexpectedly changed course and got stuck in Kanosa Castle.

Shortly after leaving the castle, he turned back without a word and returned to the papal palace.

In the midst of confusion, the emperor’s decree was revoked, and the countdown to the imminent removal of office was completed in less than a month.

The panic that settled on faces that had been unable to stop smiling all day at the thought of soon being able to establish a new emperor was instantaneous.

“Did His Majesty really revoke the decree? Could this be false information?”

“This can’t be real. If it is, it’s a betrayal by the pope.”

“It must be a malicious rumor spread by the emperor. Surely he wouldn’t bow his head to His Majesty.”

The strategy meeting room, filled with all kinds of speculations and denials, seemed to be in a temporary state of calm until the truth was clearly determined.

And when the message was conveyed that if the emperor were to cancel the rebellion plan now, it would be as if it never happened, reason reappeared, and the room erupted again.

Is that really a promise to make it as if it never happened?

Outwardly, it seemed so. But wouldn’t there be a hidden agenda to strike when the opportunity arises?

While it seemed like a valid logical argument, once paranoia crept in, a full-blown frenzy began.

“What are we supposed to do now! We have no way to bring down the emperor anymore.”

“What did the emperor do while crossing the Alps? Of course, he must have blocked the path to the mountain!”

“Did Heinrich really think Alpen would cross the mountain? What basis do you have to blame me when you didn’t know either!”

“Please, calm down! Fighting now won’t solve anything, will it!”

Finally, it had reached its peak, almost to the point of passing the responsibility. After venting all the emotions that usually poured out when things went wrong, it was time to come up with a plan.

Although it was a situation that was unexpected and confusing, the conclusion was quickly reached.

One of the nobles who had been rubbing his head muttered quietly, “…Since it has come to this, why don’t we just proceed as planned?”

“On what grounds? What justification are we using?”

“Well… Isn’t the Emperor in a state of disgrace? We can’t just accept someone like that as our ruler.”

“What nonsense. Have you finally lost your mind?”

“No, what nonsense are you talking about? The Emperor has been disgraced. That’s the truth.”

“Did everyone eat something wrong for breakfast… Ah, is that what you mean?”

There was a gap in knowledge between the nobles of the Empire and Lavender.

It was true that the time and money invested so far had been wasted. But if the cost of abandoning the plan was too high, they wouldn’t have even considered overthrowing the Emperor in the first place.

There was also fear of retaliation. But would there be a fool who didn’t know that retaliation would come if they failed?

The real reason was clearer and simpler than anything else.

The reason that sparked a war.

And for them, that reason was to bring down the Emperor. The rebellion was not a means but an end.

The excuse of being disgraced was just thrown out as if someone else had asked for a reason.

From the beginning, the Emperor didn’t care whether he was a heretic or a barbarian. It might have been satisfying to have a reason to make noise here and there, but that was about it.

And it was true that he had been disgraced in the past, so what.

Just like food loses its effect if you eat it after 3 seconds, maybe the disgrace wouldn’t have much effect if it was lifted shortly after.

…That’s right. The Emperor was still disgraced!

The nobles who went through such miraculous thinking managed to convince themselves.

“If not now, when! When will such an opportunity come again!”

“The Emperor is no longer qualified! Well, everyone knows what to do now.”

“Let’s go, to crush the pretender!”

“Wow!”

The pardon issued by the Pope was scorned as a mere formality, and the Empire immediately plunged into a frenzy to prepare for the era of civil war.

Although the army had not been officially mobilized yet, the news that civil war was inevitable spread throughout the Empire in an instant.

And the Emperor, who was quicker than anyone else to notice the change, sent a letter to his daughter first.

The letter that arrived in Alpen was quickly delivered to the village steward’s desk, then passed on to Lavender by word of mouth, and finally reached the Princess.

And it was at that moment when Lavender was about to deliver the big news to Lycia.

Heine, too, was receiving information from the Emperor’s envoys about the inevitable civil war.

“This is a letter sent by His Majesty. It’s urgent.”

“Hmm… Why would he send something like this all of a sudden. It hasn’t been that long since the last time, so it’s not a greeting.”

As Heine slowly scanned through the Emperor’s letter, her eyes widened.

It was a letter to the family, not embellished with diplomatic inquiries, written in a simple style. It didn’t take long to understand the content.

– In the end, we cannot avoid civil war. Go to the university as soon as possible. There, even other nobles won’t be able to interfere much.

Civil war? Why? Wasn’t there no justification?

Even in a situation that she couldn’t understand, Heine’s mind was racing.

Even though she had been living a lifestyle like a bug that slept late and woke up late recently, her mind wasn’t dull.

Heine could soon guess roughly how things were going.

There was no new justification for the nobles, no unavoidable circumstances or hidden motives.

How many years had she spent entangled with those nobles? If there was a subject on noble psychology at the university, she could have been a professor.

In my mind, the cause, development, and even the conclusion of the rebellion were vividly drawn. Personally, my only impression was that things just exploded as expected.

Of course, Heinie himself had harbored some hope that the conversation between his father and the nobles would go well until just a while ago, but he wasn’t greatly surprised by the outbreak of the civil war.

It was a natural law that when the world is divided for a long time, it will eventually come together, and when it comes together, it will be divided again.

However, the empire that Heinie knew, once divided, only saw the chaos grow, leading to further divisions and escalating chaos, a catastrophic feedback loop.

Looking back, it was becoming gradually divided. He just hadn’t thought it would happen so soon.

Things were progressing more urgently and seriously than he had anticipated.

Originally, he had planned to set out after the spring had warmed up a bit, but now there was a need to hurry.

“Your Highness, Your Highness.”

“Hmm? Oh, Lycia. What is it?”

“Laven said… he has something to discuss briefly.”

“Oh, I see. I was just thinking I needed to talk to him as well. Perfect timing.”

As he delved deeper into his thoughts, a voice came from beside him.

Turning his head, he saw Lycia looking at him. Did Laven call for him?

Yes, he needed to meet with him to adjust the schedule for going to the university.