Ch.198Situation Report

I and the prince were able to have a conversation after the maids Leopold called had thoroughly cleaned the room.

The maids who entered the room were startled at the state of the floor, but quickly brought cleaning supplies and scrubbed it vigorously.

“So, where is this place? It doesn’t seem like a Church infirmary.”

The interior was different from such places.

To begin with, those who had just visited weren’t priests but palace maids.

“It’s the sickroom where my mother recuperated…”

Leopold’s expression darkened slightly.

…He must feel like old memories have been covered in vomit.

I wasn’t exactly in a state to care about his feelings either.

My severed chest throbbed horribly even though the wound had healed, and my head was spinning as if it had been whirled in a blender.

My stomach was still churning with nausea, and my right arm, which had been bent and moved at will due to Hersella’s technique, was also aching.

To think she could pull and move my arm with threads of murder Karma—I never imagined such a thing was possible.

…That setting wasn’t in the game.

“…If it was for treatment, it would have been better to rely on the Church of Elpinel. After I collapsed, how did things unfold?”

“Where should I begin… In a word, we were outmaneuvered by Isabella.”

Leopold explained what had happened over the past week.

It was a story that gave me a headache just listening to it.

—-

“So… Isabella and Ernst escaped to their stronghold, I’ve been nicknamed the… Cannibal Ghost, and the Empire is on the brink of civil war? Good heavens.”

A sigh escaped involuntarily.

The situation had become incredibly complicated while I was unconscious.

“There are some differences, but that’s generally correct.”

“Differences?”

Leopold nodded.

“Those who believe the rumors about the princess’s eating habits… aren’t that many. There were testimonies from knights, but the rumors were so horrific that they actually lost credibility. Especially since all the testifying knights pledged allegiance to Ernst. Even those who believe I killed my father and brothers don’t believe the rumors that the princess t-tore… ate people. The prevailing sentiment is that it’s slander spread by Ernst’s faction.”

…Should I consider this fortunate? I’m not sure.

The truth is too insane to believe, so it’s being treated as a lie. It couldn’t be more ironic.

“And it’s not on the brink of civil war. The civil war has already begun. Lord Wien’s guards have engaged with Valenstein, and Ernst is inciting lords across the land. Currently, lords supporting me and those supporting Ernst are engaged in sporadic conflicts throughout the Empire.”

“…Didn’t you say earlier that civil war wouldn’t happen?”

Civil war. This was the worst news possible.

Perhaps it would have been better not to get involved in the succession dispute at all.

Leopold would have died, and many people would have suffered… but wouldn’t there have been fewer casualties than the Empire being split in two and fighting itself?

“By common sense, it should have been impossible… but Isabella proved to be beyond rational judgment. My oversight.”

“From now on, I won’t believe any of Your Highness’s bold declarations.”

Isabella would never start a civil war.

Valenstein would never take Isabella’s side.

Not a single thing this man confidently declared has turned out to be true.

“I’m ashamed…”

“Even so, I’m surprised such a staged drama worked. Did the Church of Elpinel make no rebuttal? With Lacy on our side, how could accusations of collaborating with a witch possibly—”

Yes. That was the biggest question.

Considering her position and public support, if she had just helped Leopold, public opinion wouldn’t have deteriorated this much.

If she had just officially confirmed information about my bloodline or the Oath Sword, couldn’t we have dismissed all claims about me collaborating with a witch as slander?

Leopold shook his head and sighed.

“Regrettably, she is currently missing. Perhaps… while trying to secretly contact the investigators sent from the Holy State, information was leaked. Judging by the fact that Ernst’s side isn’t showcasing her, it seems she hasn’t been captured.”

Missing?

How did that happen? Could it be Isabella’s doing?

If she had been captured… that would be the worst development.

It would mean that a Saint candidate who should have been active in the fight against monsters had fallen into a witch’s hands and become a plaything.

No, as Leopold said, if she had really been captured, they would have used her by now.

In a civil war where each side accuses the other of witchcraft, there’s no better card than Lacy.

For now, I should assume she hasn’t been captured.

“A Saint candidate who was going to denounce Isabella as a witch has gone missing, and neither the Church of Elpinel nor the Holy State has raised concerns?”

“Officially, she’s in secluded prayer for the peace of the Empire. The cardinals of the Holy State wouldn’t believe this, of course… but perhaps because only a week has passed, there’s been no notable response yet.”

True, after just a week, news of Lacy’s “secluded prayer” would have just reached the Holy State.

We’ll only know their reaction later.

“Therefore, the Church of Elpinel within the Empire is currently led by the Prince-Elector, the Archbishop of Trier, who has supported Ernst. He has made no rebuttal to the rumors and has declared this to be an imperial succession dispute unrelated to the Holy State, ordering his priests to remain neutral. That’s why the princess had to be moved from the church’s infirmary to my mother’s sickroom.”

Neutral, huh.

On the surface, it seems like maintaining impartiality, but in reality, it means they’re enemies.

Someone of the Archbishop and Prince-Elector’s stature would clearly know what’s happening, yet he’s declared non-intervention.

“…It seems we can’t expect help from the Church of Elpinel for the time being.”

“That’s right. They call it neutrality, but the Archbishop of Trier has essentially sided with Isabella. In my view, he might even be the one who leaked Lacy’s movements to Isabella.”

It was supposed to be a secure operation, but even that was within Isabella’s palm.

I couldn’t blame Lacy for being rash.

In a world where God’s existence is proven, she couldn’t have imagined that someone as high-ranking as an Archbishop would betray their deity.

“A priest betraying the god they serve—is that common here?”

Aren’t they afraid of divine wrath?

They might be safe now, but what about after death?

“It’s usually rare. After his death, Elpinel will seize his soul and cast it into hell… Isabella’s rewards must have been sweet enough for him to endure eternal suffering.”

“What about the Church of Saulite? Are they neutral too?”

“They also stated they wouldn’t intervene in the civil war… but they did cooperate with treatment. They would have treated Ernst’s faction the same way if asked.”

Not much to expect from them either.

They’re not particularly close to me anyway… and without evidence, claiming Isabella is a witch wouldn’t be effective.

So we have to defeat Isabella with just Leopold’s and the Prince-Electors’ forces…

“By the way, what’s the situation with Lord Landenburg? Valenstein mentioned that the Ka’har are marching toward the Wall.”

It was hard to believe, but if true, Lord Landenburg would be tied up defending the Wall.

…Of all times for the Ka’har to attack.

Is this Isabella’s doing too? Or just a coincidence? It was impossible to know.

“I was actually planning to ask you to head to Landenburg once the princess’s body recovered somewhat. Given how things have turned out, we need to resolve the eastern turmoil as quickly as possible and join forces with Landenburg’s army. Moreover, for your asylum to be recognized, the princess must also clearly draw a line between herself and the Ka’har.”

In essence, he was asking me to fight the Ka’har forces.

Well, without showing such a resolute attitude, even within the First Prince’s faction, there would be those who would distrust me.

“Is that really okay? Perseval alone seems insufficient to guard Your Highness.”

“Lord Wien and the Duke of Faelrun have also arrived at the island with their retinues, so there shouldn’t be a major issue. They too agreed that Ernst, who started the civil war, must be suppressed.”

“…After I leave for the east, what do you plan to do next? Surely you’re not thinking of sitting idle waiting for troops to gather?”

Leopold’s forces were ahead of Ernst’s, but their biggest weakness was that most of them were border lords who would take time to gather in one place.

The reason they couldn’t rashly confront Isabella until now was because Lord Landenburg’s main force was too far away, leaving them with insufficient immediate forces.

In other words, if Isabella had intended to win, she should have concentrated her forces and attacked the island all at once, instead of inciting lords across the land to engage in simultaneous battles.

The fact that she chose the opposite strategy means she opted for a prolonged war rather than a quick decisive battle. A strategy that would normally lead to certain defeat.

This means either Isabella is an ignorant fool when it comes to strategy, or she’s plotting something beyond conventional wisdom… probably the latter.

If she were a fool, we wouldn’t have been outmaneuvered like this in the first place.

So we needed to move as quickly as possible before Isabella could make her move.

We waited for forces to gather, giving her time, and ended up with the palace collapsing and civil war breaking out with just one day to spare. If he’s going to spout nonsense about waiting and observing the situation again…

I might have to resort to physical therapy.

“I don’t intend to just wait either. I don’t know Isabella’s plan, but if she’s trying to buy time, we should strike first.”

Leopold hastily shook his head.

At least he seemed to have learned one lesson from this incident: not to give Isabella time.

“First, we’ll use Lord Wien’s forces, which are closest to the Benes territory, as the vanguard. They’ll only suppress Ernst’s rebels along the march route. The northern army of Faelrun following the vanguard will subdue enemies in the rear, and finally, when the eastern army led by the princess and the Margrave joins, we should manage somehow, right?”

“Well… as long as the northern army’s joining isn’t delayed, it might work. Ernst’s forces are also dispersed.”

It seemed like a somewhat… no, to be honest, a very risky strategy.

But it’s better than giving Isabella time.