Ch.591Two in One, Three in Two

After destroying Himmel, would the elves be satisfied with that? No noble could answer Leopold’s question affirmatively.

They all knew it too. The ambition of elves seeking to reclaim their ancient glory wouldn’t stop at merely conquering Himmel.

Though it never materialized due to the dwarves’ stubborn refusal, in the early stages of the war, opinions calling for sending reinforcements to help Himmel had been pouring in. It was obvious to everyone that after Himmel’s fall, the Holy State and the Empire would be next.

Thus, the proposal to send envoys offering asylum to Himmel passed without opposition.

The next report concerned the civil war in the Dragonic Kingdom of Jin.

The Great War between the righteous and evil factions of dragonborn had ended with victory for the righteous faction. Though individually stronger, the evil faction couldn’t overcome their numerical disadvantage.

Even the leader of the evil faction, called the strongest dragonborn, was defeated after being attacked by the righteous faction’s leader and one hundred eight dragonborn.

Though the war ended with a truce since the righteous faction wasn’t strong enough to completely overwhelm the evil faction, it was essentially a defeat for the evil side.

“Righteous faction, evil faction… the dragonborn’s naming conventions are always so strikingly direct.”

Leopold seemed uncomfortable with the dragonborn’s unique naming sense like “righteous faction” and “evil faction.” Well, it’s more of a Ka’har sensibility than a Western one. Like how the evil faction’s leader calls himself the Heavenly Demon.

To think there would be two people in this world with such a childish self-proclaimed title.

‘Heavenly Demon, huh? Seems you two have similar taste. Wouldn’t you make good friends if you met?’

[How dare you suggest such a thing! A mere lizard daring to call himself by that name, and even being defeated? I could pluck every scale from his body and still not be satisfied with his punishment!]

…I didn’t expect her to get this angry. What exactly does the Heavenly Demon mean to her?

It reminded me of that time when I casually spoke to a manga enthusiast, and he suddenly started shouting, “My ■■■ isn’t like that!” at the top of his lungs.

I couldn’t understand that reaction then, and I still don’t now… but I suppose it’s something important enough to get angry about in their minds. I’ll just have to be understanding and let it slide.

‘Yes, yes. Let’s definitely pluck his scales later. We’ll see who the true Heavenly Demon is.’

I placated Hersella with a half-hearted agreement.

—-

“The evil faction’s doctrine was… that they could become stronger by unleashing their violent nature, correct?”

“Yes. A violent doctrine not unlike that of demons. They’re a truly dangerous group seeking to ultimately become true dragons.”

“Though they may resemble dragons in appearance… is it really possible for them to become dragons?”

One of the nobles in the audience chamber expressed his doubt. Evolution into dragons. While it was common knowledge and faith for dragonborn, to other races it sounded as absurd as claiming a werewolf could transform into an actual wolf.

Even I’ve only seen one dragonborn who transformed into a dragon, and that was far in the future. Considering this, it’s natural for the nobles to be skeptical.

“Well… at least the dragonborn seem to believe so.”

The noble answering also didn’t seem to believe it, merely shrugging his shoulders lightly.

“Whether it’s true or not doesn’t matter. What’s important is that those who believe they can grow stronger through bloodshed have lost due to lack of power. We can use this.”

“Use it, you say…?”

Leopold, leaning back on his throne, answered with a smile.

“If you were them, what would you do? Wait quietly for the next opportunity? Those who pursue power have been defeated by power—they can’t possibly rally support by doing nothing. Rather, they should worry about losing their current members.”

The nobles listened attentively to Leopold. Even those who underestimated the Emperor’s authority acknowledged his eloquence.

“To maintain their influence, they must prove they weren’t wrong… but having chosen a truce after being overpowered by the righteous faction, they can’t start another civil war. So where would they turn their attention?”

“You’re saying the evil faction dragonborn will attack another country.”

“Exactly. It’s the obvious conclusion. They’ll unleash their violent nature against other races to demonstrate their strength, maintain their influence, and further strengthen their forces. For the next civil war.”

The defeated side attacking other countries to strengthen their forces would be an incredibly stupid decision in modern warfare, but in this world, it was the rational choice. While Earth’s wars only consumed lives and resources, wars in this world were the foundation for creating stronger beings.

The simple rule that killing makes you stronger was driving the world toward war.

“The Dragonic Kingdom is located in the northwest… unless they cross the Sky Mountains, their only potential targets are elves and humans. So, we just need to guide them to attack the elves rather than humans. Not a difficult task.”

Leopold’s strategy was simple.

The dragonborn’s presumed goal was to grow stronger through war and slaughter. If so, they would likely target those who were unprepared rather than those who were ready. Therefore, by openly preparing defenses, they could guide the dragonborn’s movements.

Using one non-human race to attack another. It was a strategy befitting Leopold, who had previously instigated the war between Himmel and Alvheim.

Of course, the Empire, already at its limit with domestic issues and the Ka’har situation, couldn’t spare troops to prepare defenses against the Dragonic Kingdom… but wasn’t this why they had improved relations with the Holy State?

The shortage of troops could be supplemented with the Holy State’s forces.

“Tell the Holy State to concentrate their forces at the border with the Dragonic Kingdom and prepare defenses. There’s no need to show hostility—disguising it as routine military training would suffice.”

“An excellent plan. If the Holy State concentrates its forces in the northwest, their defense of the Alvheim border will weaken… but if this causes the dragonborn to attack Alvheim, the elves won’t dare form a three-front battle either.”

Most nobles nodded in agreement, but some, instead of simply agreeing, pointed out the only uncertainty in this plan.

“If the dragonborn don’t attack Alvheim, wouldn’t the Holy State be in danger instead?”

It was a valid concern. This plan was premised on the assumption that the evil faction would attack another country. If they chose to remain silent, it would only give Alvheim an opportunity to attack the Holy State.

“That’s why we must guide them to attack. That’s what our intelligence department is for.”

Rather than passively hoping for the dragonborn to attack, he meant to use all sorts of machinations to make them attack.

Since detailed planning would require gathering opinions from working-level officials to devise appropriate measures, the specifics of these operations weren’t discussed at this meeting… but after some persuasion, Leopold eventually succeeded in gaining the unanimous consent of the nobles.

The court meeting concluded with that.

—-

After the meeting, Leopold headed to his office for further discussions with officials, but the nobles didn’t immediately leave, instead gathering in small groups to discuss the meeting’s content.

I leaned against the second-floor railing of the audience chamber, smoking a cigarette while eavesdropping on their conversations. They seemed unaware that I could hear them, not knowing the extent of my hearing abilities.

The feasibility of Leopold’s diplomatic proposal. The gains and losses from replacing the imperial army’s vacancy with their private armies. Even opinions that I should be kept tied up in the east, separated from Leopold.

While some genuinely worried about the country, others prioritized only their own safety and power. I carefully observed and memorized the latter.

Though we needed the strength of such people for now, they would be better dealt with once the world stabilized.

Some nobles were concerned about deploying me, Orhan’s daughter, against Orhan on the battlefield. They weren’t loudly proclaiming it, but rather muttering in almost whispered tones.

“The Margrave’s strategy is impossible without the Baroness of Median… but can she really be trusted…?”

“If she were to betray us at this point, wouldn’t Landenburg’s forces be completely annihilated?”

Well, if I did betray them, that would indeed happen. If I cut down all our troops during the operation and deserted, Landenburg would collapse, and the Empire would surely fall like dominoes.

[They still doubt you? Such ungrateful bastards.]

‘What can we do? They’re not openly saying I’ll betray them, just expressing their anxieties among themselves. Given your identity, it’s inevitable that you’d be viewed with suspicion.’

If it were a war against others, it might be different, but from their perspective, I’m claiming I’ll raise my sword against my own father and people—it would be stranger if they didn’t question my loyalty.

“Stop this useless talk. If she intended to betray us, she would have done so long ago. Have you forgotten the last defensive battle?”

Oh?

The voice of the noble restraining them was quite unexpected, so I tilted my head slightly and focused my hearing in that direction.

“L-Lord Wien…”

Yes. The one who stepped forward to dispel the nobles’ doubts was none other than Lord Wien.

I didn’t expect him to defend me. Did he eat something bad?

“It hasn’t even been a year since thousands of Ka’har troops were buried beneath the wall. And the main figure in that battle was none other than that woman. The casualties were too great to be mere camouflage to avoid detection as a spy.”

“We were just trying to be cautious…”

“I don’t think highly of her either, but it’s safe to say there’s no possibility she’s a Ka’har spy. She’s been doing everything possible to reduce casualties among the imperial knights—if she were a spy, why would she bother?”

A truly rational defense. The nobles conversing were at a loss, squirming uncomfortably before Lord Wien.

“Besides, if they wanted to send a spy, they would have chosen someone with more political sense than that woman. What kind of idiocy would it be to use a brute who knows nothing but killing enemies as a spy?”

…He’s saying I’m too stupid to be a spy.

Looking down at the back of Lord Wien’s head from a distance, I barely suppressed the urge to smack him. Saying I can’t do anything but use a sword is going too far.

I simply leave matters other than combat to people more capable than me because there’s no need to worry about them—I could do those things if I wanted to.

Probably.