episode_0087

Balkan Civil War (5)

A few days later. Heinrich’s villa.

Heinrich was listening with satisfaction to the reports coming to him.

“Hmm… The Marquis of Deerwood pledged loyalty to me?”

“Yes. your majesty! It seems to be true that Hiria got divorced. Moreover, it is said that the bitch suddenly disappeared from Palace 1, so it could be that she went back to her parents’ house and asked the Marquis of Deerwood to take revenge”

“Well, it’s a bit of a shame that I won’t be able to show you the insides of that bitch, but… First of all, it’s good news that the Marquis of Deerwood has become an ally. How many troops did you say you could send?”

“It is said that since Duke Windrage is located right above his territory, he is sending 2,500 soldiers, which is half of the 5,000 soldiers”

“Good! That’s not that bad! Thank you for your hard work”

“Thank you. Your Majesty!”

From then on, all Heinrich heard were good reports.

There followed reports that various small noble families had pledged loyalty and that contracts had been concluded with several mercenary groups from the Kingdom of Aalto, and Heinrich was already imagining himself beheading Prinz and ascending the throne.

“Phew~ There is only good news today. However, most of the high-ranking nobles are still waiting for their liver, so try a little harder. Of course, they are the ones who have nothing to regret as long as they remain neutral, so I don’t think they will give any help to that guy Prinz… but wouldn’t it be better if they turn them over to my side?”

“I will follow your orders. Your Majesty”

“Well, that’s it for today’s meeting…”

After the meeting, Heinrich was trying to have a good time in his secret room when he heard an unpleasant sound.

“Your Majesty! This is an urgent report!!”

“What? If it’s not urgent, you…”

“Princess Rachel has disappeared!! The maid who entered the room this morning was surprised that no one was there and reported it to Shin. When she quickly went there, she found that no one was there”

Uddangtangtang!!

At the report that made the back of his head tingle, Heinrich overturned his chair and stood up.

“What.. what? Talk about it in detail!!”

“I hadn’t eaten the food that was brought into the room for several days, so I just went on a hunger strike… But this morning, I didn’t eat the food that was brought in, so I went in to see if the maid who fed me the food might have died, and found that no one was in the room. They say there wasn’t”

“Didn’t you say that he was locked in a secret room with absolutely no way to open it from the inside?”

“Yes! It’s clear!! Don’t you know well that that room was originally used by His Majesty to punish women?”

“That… Yes, you can never open the door from the inside without the magic key I have… Damn it!! How on earth did you get out of there!!”

Heinrich burst into anger, picked up the cup he was holding, and threw it away.

“Your Majesty. Don’t worry too much. What can that bitch do alone?”

“That’s not it! If that bitch goes back to Leon, the secret pact with the King of Leon will be broken! If Rachel joins, Fiona will gain strength again, and the number of troops that King Leon can put pressure on the Eastern Front will decrease accordingly! Maybe there’s no pressure at all!”

“But we can’t go out of Adriatic anyway. Don’t you know that the guards are thoroughly checking and searching the Adria Castle Gate? If that bitch had tried to leave the gates, the report would have come in long ago. In addition, to use the space movement magic circle, you have to go outside the castle gate and an ID card is also required”

“Well…”

“Even if you try to get to the upper part, the land distance to the Kingdom of Leon will take almost 3 months. That’s also the distance to the border, and wouldn’t it take another month and a half to get to the capital of Leon? You can say that it is impossible for weak Rachel to endure that journey”

“You are right. Still, just in case, tell them to strengthen the search and inspection at the castle gate. And find a place for that bitch to hide!”

“Yes! Your Majesty”

Of course, Rachel had long since left for Juno’s domain with Diane and Hyria, but Heinrich could not have known that.

Because Diane usually lived a reclusive life, nothing was made public about how she was doing, and because Diane had moved through the Alchemist Association after escaping the imperial palace using a secret passage to bring in reagents, their traces suddenly disappeared.

Four months later, Prinz’s villa.

There were more forces supporting Prinz than expected, and thanks to this, Prinz was able to rally more soldiers than expected.

“Your Majesty. This is a letter from Duke Windrage”

“Hmm? Wind Rage Ball?”

Duke Windrage was the maternal grandfather of his beloved younger brother, Juno, and was one of the few high-ranking nobles who had pledged loyalty to him while most high-ranking nobles remained neutral, so Prinz happily opened his letter.

“Holy shit! King Leon has finally made his move! I guess I wanted Polygal Island…”

Duke Windrage’s letter apologized that he would not be able to move his private soldiers, one of the axes supporting the eastern front, due to the large-scale movement of the Kingdom of Leon’s army.

“This is going to be difficult… If the Wind Rage army doesn’t join, one-fifth of our army will be lost”

“How about buying additional mercenaries? Lord Windrage says he will add more funds instead of troops…”

Thanks to Diane’s financial support, Prinz had purchased a considerable amount of mercenaries, but it was difficult to beat Heinrich with financial power, so he had given up on purchasing additional mercenaries.

“I will look into it, but… all mercenary groups near Adria have already concluded contracts with either us or Prince Lee’s side”

“I guess so… Phew~ I’ll look for additional numbers first”

“Yes! majesty. I will do my best too”

Of course, even without the Windrage army, the number of private soldiers gathered by Prinz was approaching 40,000, but it was clear that Heinrich would have gathered a formidable army, so the departure of the elite Windrage army was painful.

As Prinz continued to worry, a guest came to visit him. He greeted the guest on the terrace to cool off for a while.

“Welcome. Commander of the Guards Knights. It’s been a very long time. How are you?”

“Yes, Your Highness. Your Majesty is quite thin… Are you sleeping well?”

The guest who came to visit Prinz was Count Liechtenauer. Prinz warmly welcomed this elderly swordsman who had faithfully served as Charles III’s bodyguard for the past 40 years.

“Hahaha, will you be able to sleep well? Moreover, the communication with Leon seems to be going well, so Leon sent troops for Heinrich and began to put pressure on the eastern front. Phew~ If that guy ascends to the throne, it’s obvious that the Balkans will be destroyed…”

With a bitter smile, Prinz took a sip of tea and continued.

“Okay… Why did the Commander of the Knights of the Guard come to see me?”

“Actually… I have been constantly thinking about whether I should tell you this or not for the past four months”

“Hmm? What do you mean? If it was four months ago… I think you’re talking about when my father passed away…?”

As if Prinz’s words reminded him of that time, the veins appeared in Lichtenauer’s fists and his muscles gained strength. No matter how old he was, Lichtenauer’s body, which had undergone a body change, was as strong as that of a person in his 30s, and his hand smashed the cup he was holding.

Wow!!

“Wow… Calm down. Commander of the Knights of the Guard”

“Ah… I’m sorry about this. This expensive cup…”

“No big deal… So what happened when your father passed away that made you worry about it for four months?”

“According to the Rishkar system that you mentioned, I couldn’t help you, so I couldn’t say anything… In fact, the will that Prince Lee took over the throne was a fabrication…”

“Hmm… Well, I guessed that much. Even though I dress up as a woman and my wife has a rather strange body, isn’t this the kind of father who would shake up the empire by suddenly appointing Heinrich? Moreover, the Marquis García, who was the secretary, is making a fuss next to Heinrich, and I’m not so stupid that I can’t guess that.”

“Then why didn’t you inform us of that fact…?”

“Why should I tell you now? Even if I say that the will was fabricated, it doesn’t mean much because Heinrich will counterattack by saying that I’m spreading a rumor. Anyway, history will be on the winner’s side… If I win, it will become the truth”

“….Your Highness is correct. And in fact… His Majesty has nominated His Highness Yuno as the next emperor…”

At Lichtenauer’s words, Prinz jumped up from his seat.

“Is that true?”

“What would I do if I told a lie here? Anyway, now His Majesty’s will has become meaningless… I just wanted His Majesty the Crown Prince to know the truth, so I came here and told him.

“Whew~ Thank you for telling me the truth. Originally, my father would have wanted Yuno to sit on the throne and me to lead the empire as prime minister. It is certainly the emperor’s duty to produce successors, and my father knew that better than anyone else…”

“You are correct. Your Majesty”

“But as the Lord said, it has now become difficult to place Yuno on the throne. Of course, I heard the truth from Gyeong, so if I win, I will make Yuno the emperor. Honestly, it’s impossible for Yunas to produce a successor, so it’s inevitable… hahaha”

“Yes. majesty. And as of today, I will step down as commander of the Knights of the Guard and leave for Tessida Nikanaye to serve His Highness Yuno, as per His Majesty’s will. Before his Majesty passed away, he left a message for me to serve His Highness Yuno as my lord”

“Whew~ It’s a pity… but I can’t join our brothers’ fight… I can’t help it. Still, if Yuno recovers and returns and I win, Yuno will become the head of the imperial military led by me. Then, since the Lord will return to the Imperial Military, it will be okay. Until then, please take care of my younger sister Yuno”

“Yes, Your Highness. Personally, I will pray for Your Majesty to win”

“Thank you. Lord Liechtenauer”

Lichtenauer left Adria, and Prinz became even more angry at Heinrich, who had even manipulated his will.

‘I had a guess… but since it turns out to be true that even the will was falsified… Heinrich, you will never be forgiven!’