Ch.148Court Meeting

The imperial palace of the Empire, Magnus Caelum, never had a quiet day due to the daily court meetings.

Even with the Emperor fallen, the governance of the nation had to continue.

The main topic was naturally the dispute over merits from the Ainfeld Subjugation Campaign.

This despite Ernst, one of the parties directly involved, not having returned yet.

The seat at the head of the table, reserved only for the Emperor, remained empty, while Empress Isabella sat in the chair right beside it, leading the meeting.

Perhaps because Ferdinand II’s death was now considered a foregone conclusion, she wore a black dress resembling mourning clothes instead of her usual elaborate formal attire.

Empress Isabella wore a strange smile. As if she had achieved what she wanted.

Even though the outcome of the subjugation campaign couldn’t have been satisfactory for Ernst’s faction.

Prince Leopold and Lord Ludwig glared coldly at her.

I had been summoned as a witness and one of the greatest contributors.

Thanks to that, I had to get up early in the morning, hurriedly put on my uniform, and come to the imperial palace.

Greatest contributor—that wasn’t wrong.

I was too busy fighting to count, but I heard the number of monsters I subjugated alone approached fifteen hundred.

A number I couldn’t believe even though I was the one who did it.

It wasn’t solely my achievement; it was thanks to the priests who continuously bestowed blessings and protection, plus Asha’s assistance.

Others fought fiercely too, so enemies weren’t focused on me alone but were scattered everywhere, which worked to my advantage.

I didn’t just face common fodder either.

I single-handedly subjugated one Grave Eater, and dismembered dozens of Mixed Remains.

As the finishing touch, I sniped the Whisperer, the core of the monster army, taking it out with a single strike.

Though it was more like bombardment than sniping.

And after the western wall was breached, I practically held an entire flank by myself during the chaotic battle.

Among Leopold’s troops, rumors circulated that they would have been annihilated without me.

—-

Most nobles in Ernst’s faction were institutional nobles.

They were a type of bureaucratic nobility who lived near the imperial family and regularly frequented the palace.

In other words, they were more accustomed to documents and pens than swords and spears.

It’s quite ironic that under Ernst, who is highly regarded for his military talent, few have actually experienced war.

Since it was Isabella, not Ernst, who brought them in, this was perhaps natural.

Nobles with military backgrounds are mostly rigid and stubborn.

Being proud individuals, they would be difficult for Isabella to corrupt.

Thanks to the Emperor’s obvious favoritism toward Ernst and Ernst’s own display of military leadership qualities from a young age, he had managed to spread his influence throughout the central army.

In contrast, the First Prince’s faction included many provincial nobles.

Starting with Ludwig, the Margrave of the Eastern March, most of his supporters were nobles who governed their own territories across the land.

Their reasons for supporting Leopold varied.

Some genuinely worried about the Empire’s future and wanted to oust Isabella.

Others were gamblers who calculated they would gain more by joining this side.

And some resented the imperial family’s increasing power due to the rise of institutional nobles.

While Ernst had subtly aimed for centralization, Leopold never attempted to infringe on the rights of local lords.

Leopold, initially weak in power, couldn’t afford to do so anyway.

Naturally, local lords who feared losing what they had gathered under Leopold.

Most of them had experience fighting various enemies while governing their territories.

Bandits, monsters, and sometimes even other lords.

—-

Ernst’s faction criticized the First Prince for hastily deploying troops and causing massive casualties.

In response, Leopold’s faction emphasized the number and heterogeneity of the enemies, arguing that leaving them unchecked would have resulted in exponentially greater damage.

Ernst’s faction couldn’t dismiss these claims as false.

I was there, and the Holy Order also served as witnesses.

The debate continued regarding Ernst’s actions as well.

While carefully organizing troops before marching was the right strategy, in the end, he merely wasted manpower and resources, with his only achievement being the elimination of a few hundred monsters.

Ernst’s faction tried to take credit, claiming they saved everyone from annihilation, but… they had no response to Leopold’s faction’s counterargument that if they had arrived just one day—no, even a few hours earlier—the Empire’s losses would have been significantly reduced.

It was a tedious and noisy meeting.

After wasting hours on predictable arguments, the conclusion was to offset each other’s merits and mistakes.

It was an ambiguous outcome for both Leopold and Ernst.

Leopold gained some recognition for his military aptitude and the fame of subjugating thousands of undead creatures, but… he lost considerable military strength in exchange.

While the Imperial Knights weren’t his personal property, many knights sent by lords supporting him had perished.

The deaths of two Masters were especially devastating losses.

When the Masters they had sent returned as corpses that couldn’t even be properly identified, the enraged lords switched their allegiance to Ernst’s faction.

Since both were powerful nobles who could command Masters, this was a painful loss for Leopold.

As for Ernst, well, he failed to achieve his goal of bringing down Leopold, and… the large army he deployed for once didn’t achieve any notable military accomplishments.

For him, it was neither a loss nor a gain—just a mediocre outcome.

The Church of Elpinel likewise exchanged fame for military strength.

In others’ eyes, I was the only one who gained tremendous benefits from this incident.

But given how many soldiers died in vain… it wasn’t a particularly satisfying outcome for me.

—-

The long court meeting was suspended for lunch.

The afternoon session wouldn’t resume for another three hours.

The nobles headed to the banquet hall in the main palace, but Leopold was nowhere to be seen among them.

I found Leopold heading back to the annex palace and walked alongside him to chat.

Lord Ludwig had gone to see Lord Wien, so Leopold was alone heading to the annex.

The prince’s knight escort and Nigel quietly followed behind us.

“For a life-risking gamble, the outcome seems disappointing.”

“It can’t be helped. When you gain one thing, you lose another. Besides, I’ve gained enough fame from this incident that I can easily gather new forces to replace what I’ve lost.”

Easily gather new forces?

He might be able to attract nobles who were waiting to see which way the wind blows.

But even so, the death of thousands of troops would be difficult to recover from in the short term.

Ah, I see. The losses of the 3rd Corps weren’t his personal losses.

Since they weren’t his direct subordinates but part of the Empire’s central army, restoring them would be the imperial army’s responsibility?

That’s quite a cold attitude for someone who was so enthusiastic about encouraging them.

“What do you plan to do about the fallen soldiers of the 3rd Corps?”

“They bravely fulfilled their duty. So they deserve adequate compensation… While I cannot unilaterally decide on rewards or funeral arrangements, I intend to provide their families with condolence money three times the standard amount, even if I have to use my personal funds.”

“…You’re more cold-blooded than I expected.”

It would have been better not to say it, but a complaint slipped out before I could stop myself.

It seemed that trying to solve everything with money and empty words was similar everywhere.

Leopold stopped walking and turned to face me.

His expression was dark and rigid like a sculpture.

I suppose that was a slip of the tongue…

“I have no choice but to be cold-blooded. Those who hesitate due to fear of sacrifice cannot achieve anything, so rulers must be dispassionate. Of course, their deaths are certainly tragic, and I too feel profound regret. However… in times like these, the lives of soldiers are inherently such. There’s nothing that can be done about it.”

His tone was surprisingly frigid.

I wasn’t sure if he was speaking to me or reassuring himself.

I still found it difficult to agree with him.

No matter how he dressed it up as a ruler’s virtue, the essence remained unchanged—he had sacrificed soldiers for his own position.

Even if his motivation wasn’t lust for power but his own survival and the Empire’s future…

Ah, I see now.

I realized why I felt repulsed by his words.

This discomfort was something akin to self-loathing.

Leopold’s words strangely resembled my own.

Leopold, who wouldn’t hesitate to make any sacrifice for the Empire’s peace and his own survival.

His attitude was… no different from my own thinking that some sacrifices were inevitable if it meant preventing destruction and ensuring my own survival.

The only difference was the scale of sacrifice.

“Nothing can be done about it… is that so?”

It can’t be helped.

A phrase I constantly used, yet always reluctant to accept.

Because it always felt like an excuse for weakness.

“I thought the princess would understand. That’s what it means to stand above others. The higher you rise, the further you distance yourself from humanity.”

Leopold calmly advised me.

Still, I didn’t understand.

Would something change if I became stronger?

If I became strong enough to break through all obstacles in my way… to enforce my will.

Could I also eliminate this suffocating feeling?

I still had a long way to go.

—-

I didn’t participate in the afternoon meeting.