Ch.235Conflict (2)

A month after the battle that resembled a slaughterhouse, the Emperor was greatly shocked when he learned the truth from imperial nobles who had come to see him. Naturally, he was confused—after all, he had proudly declared his abdication and surrender before the nobles, yet somehow he had become the victim of an unjust deposition.

Words he never spoke were circulating freely throughout the empire, causing great confusion. This clearly went against the Emperor’s intention to end matters with his sacrifice alone.

“Let me see King Lotaring!”

After much shouting and struggling that lacked dignity, the Emperor finally saw not just ordinary servants but what appeared to be a high-ranking head maid. He shouted at her to let him see Claude.

“His Majesty is busy.”

“What…”

The Emperor’s words caught in his throat as he saw the head maid respond with such nonchalance.

Until now, he had overlooked how all the servants looked at him with unpleasant gazes and deliberately ignored his words. He understood that servants wouldn’t be permitted to engage in private conversation with him, and he was, after all, the monarch of a defeated nation.

But he never dreamed the head maid would respond this way.

Though it had been said there was no need to treat him as an emperor, he was still a noble. What kind of treatment was this? This was hardly the proper etiquette for receiving a noble!

Despite being a captive, the Emperor was shocked to see that the bastard king’s reputation for treating nobles—not just from his own country but from other countries as well—worse than dogs was proving entirely accurate.

“Kuk, then can’t I at least make an appointment! Surely his schedule can’t be completely full for an entire month!”

“No, it is full. His Majesty has a mountain of problems to deal with before and after the unexpected incident, so his schedule is completely booked for the entire month.”

“…”

The Emperor took a short breath upon hearing the head maid’s barbed words—essentially saying, “His Majesty is busy because of the mess you created, so what nerve do you have to try to steal his time?”

For someone who had only ever had his father, the previous emperor, as his superior, this was the first time he had experienced such blatant and malicious mockery.

If the person speaking to him this way had been ugly in both appearance and manner, he might have dismissed them as an uneducated, inferior person. But the head maid before him clearly didn’t fit those conditions.

She exuded mature charm and carried herself with grace in every movement.

No one in the world could remain composed when being so openly mocked and criticized by such a head maid.

“…In a month, the situation will have progressed too far to control. Please tell him to spare even a little time.”

“Hmm… Are you pretending not to know, or do you truly not understand? His Majesty is saying he has no time to spare for you.”

“…What?”

“And the current situation in the Empire was orchestrated by His Majesty, so why would he accommodate your requests to stop using your name or send you back to the Empire?”

Now faced with direct stabbing words rather than mere mockery, the Emperor experienced his cognition and perception operating separately from his senses.

In the world of nobility, where speaking directly only brought disadvantage, such words were so violent that despite hearing them clearly with his own ears, he doubted what he had heard.

“Well then, I’ll be going. Oh, and please stop harassing the lower maids. How is it that your harassment reaches even my ears? Have you no dignity?”

“Our conversation isn’t over yet! Quickly—”

“No, it is over.”

With those words, Chloe dismissed the Emperor and left the prison disguised as private quarters. The Emperor stared at her retreating back in dismay and despair.

He could only curse and regret his choices.

……….

The battle between the Kingdom of Lotaring and the Holy Empire had ended. Or more precisely, the Empire’s situation had deteriorated to the point where they could no longer continue fighting.

The massive army of 210,000 that the Empire had mobilized with all its might had shattered against the great wall that was Lotaring. Only 120,000 men returned to their homeland, and even those were in terrible condition due to inadequate supplies and the aftereffects of battle.

Moreover, the Empire, which needed to focus on recovery, faced the unprecedented crisis of suddenly having two emperors, leaving them with no strength to deploy military forces externally.

But the war was not yet over.

The Kingdom of Albion, which had attacked the Kingdom of Lotaring alongside the Holy Empire, still remained.

“Does the Bastard King… truly intend to fight to the end?”

Edward, the King of Albion, lamented deeply.

He had attempted peace proposals through every possible route, but the only response was that the Kingdom of Albion must compensate for all human and property damage caused by their plundering, as well as pay war reparations.

Although the Kingdom of Albion was the aggressor and the Kingdom of Lotaring the defender, no monarch in the world would admit defeat without experiencing a single battle and agree to return all profits gained from war plus additional reparations.

“How does he plan to cross the sea when all means are gone? Hmm? All the ports have been burned down.”

“Though his achievements may hide it, at his core he’s a madman. Don’t try to understand his way of thinking.”

“Yes, you’re right. Tsk… Well, since the Bastard King wants it, we must continue the war. We have more than enough plunder, after all.”

Despite his confident words, Edward inwardly swallowed a bitter smile.

All coastal areas suitable for plundering had disappeared.

Except for cities located on the coast, there was no trace of human habitation along the shoreline, and thus nothing to plunder.

The only places with remaining loot were the large coastal cities, but those were naturally heavily protected, and any attempt at plundering would result in disaster.

‘…Damn it, we have too much wool, timber, and minerals piled up.’

The only nearby places to sell goods were the Kingdom of Lotaring, the Kingdom of Caroling, and the Holy Empire. Trade with the first two had been suspended due to the war, and the last one was facing the aftermath of war and the crisis of civil war, making trade impossible.

Going all the way to the southern seas would increase the risk of shipwreck, and the southern regions mostly had dry climates with developed nomadic cultures, making it difficult to sell wool, their main product. Above all, poor agricultural conditions meant they couldn’t obtain the food that the Kingdom of Albion needed most.

In other words, the most urgent need for the Kingdom of Albion was to normalize relations with the Kingdom of Lotaring, but Claude insisted on normalizing relations only if Albion admitted defeat.

This was a completely unexpected route for Albion. Their plan to leisurely collect plunder and make a peace agreement while Lotaring and the Empire fought each other had completely fallen apart.

‘Still… it should be fine. Food prices will just rise a bit.’

However, Edward, the King of Albion, believed that the situation wasn’t completely dire.

Although Albion’s land wasn’t ideal, it had its own standing. By focusing on food production, they could weather this crisis. Besides, even in times of plenty, people starved to death every month, so while he felt the need to address the issue, he wasn’t panicking.

Above all, his belief that the Kingdom of Lotaring could never cross the sea influenced his judgment.

They had never seen a proper navy during all their plundering, and moreover, these were people who had burned all their own harbors out of fear of invasion.

……….

“Chloe, I heard you went to see the imprisoned Emperor. Was there any problem?”

The Emperor had been causing a commotion, constantly asking servants and maids to let him meet me, so I initially ignored it.

But as the intensity increased, Chloe, who manages the servants and maids, seems to have gone to the Emperor and given him a piece of her mind.

“Thank you for your concern. There was no problem; he was very docile and obedient.”

“Ah… really?”

Docile and obedient? She’s talking as if she saw not a person but an animal that couldn’t communicate…

Well, I don’t have good feelings toward the Emperor either, so I suppose Chloe feels the same.

“Still, don’t be too harsh. It’s easier to just ignore him rather than engage and make things complicated.”

“Yes, I apologize. The maids were complaining of distress, so I…”

“Hmm… that’s definitely a problem that needs solving.”

Even though he’s an imprisoned emperor from a defeated nation, the maids shouldn’t completely look down on him.

As Chloe said, if the Emperor keeps pressuring them, the maids will experience serious stress. At the very least, they’d feel intimidated.

“Since we need to leave the Emperor himself alone, should we increase the rotation of servants and maids to reduce their stress?”

“It should be fine now. The Emperor won’t cause any more problems.”

“Really? What did you say to him?”

“I told him to face reality. I said that all of this was orchestrated by you, so why would you listen to his requests?”

“Oh…”

An emperor at the pinnacle of medieval feudalism must have immense pride. Hearing such words directly would cause no small damage to his self-esteem.

Moreover, he had been essentially imprisoned for over a month without being able to do anything, so the shock must have been even greater.

As expected, Chloe is too hostile toward people she’s antagonistic toward—

*Squeeze*

“…What’s wrong?”

Feeling sudden pressure on my forearm, I looked to see Chloe holding my arm with a slight smile.

…Why does this smile look so frightening despite being clearly beautiful?

“Work hours are almost over. Come, let’s go to the bedroom.”

“Wait, that’s—mmph…”

The shy Chloe who used to seek my affection when we were young is now completely gone.

Only the Chloe who pours her affection on me without restraint once she’s switched on remains.