Ch.728I Was Persuaded.

Leopold’s sister, Eleonora Wittelsbach.

All I knew about her was that she had been sold off in a loveless political marriage to the King of Panam, suffered greatly, and was rescued when I beheaded that king.

Since we couldn’t reveal that the assassination of King Danon and the subsequent succession war in Panam were the Empire’s doing, I’d heard that after returning to the Empire, she couldn’t show herself publicly and lived in quiet seclusion.

“Are you suggesting that Lady Eleonora should be made chancellor? That doesn’t seem likely to work.”

While she probably has the ability, given her education as an imperial princess and experience as a queen… wasn’t she basically under house arrest in her mansion because she couldn’t reveal her identity publicly?

Or perhaps they’re planning to use the excuse that the Empire had nothing to do with Panam’s affairs, and that the king’s assassination and the queen’s abduction were all my independent actions?

“Chancellor? Of course not. I don’t mean to reveal Eleonora’s identity, but to keep her by your side for counsel.”

Leopold shook his head while pressing his temples.

“She still can’t appear in public, so wouldn’t it be better for her to remain in the capital? I think she would prefer that as well.”

A woman who was sold to a foreign country and suffered should at least have the comfort of seeing her family often.

If she stays here, she can at least occasionally meet her brother, but if she follows me, she’ll spend her life in a place without a single familiar face.

“If the capital were safe, I would agree… but this is the second time in less than a year that the capital has burned. Who can guarantee there won’t be a third?”

Leopold sighed as he revealed his true thoughts.

While she would indeed be valuable as my political advisor, the real reason was that he wanted to keep Eleonora far away from all dangers.

In the past, he might have sent her to some scenic provincial estate, but these days that would likely mean becoming monster food, so that wasn’t an option either.

“Isn’t being by my side the most dangerous place?”

My hands are constantly bloodied with monster subjugation and war, and now that I’ve destroyed Ragnar, the apostles of the ancient gods will start paying attention to me. Without the ability to protect herself, wouldn’t she just end up caught in disaster and killed at my side?

“In these chaotic times, is there anywhere truly safe?”

But Leopold seemed to think differently.

“At least you thoroughly protect your people, and you have the ability to do so. I can rest easier entrusting her to you than to others.”

I’m not sure if he’s overestimating me or just trusts me more than expected. He seems to have erased from his mind the fact that I failed to protect Ludwig.

“Please.”

“…Well, if you put it that way.”

Seeing Leopold bow his head slightly once more, I could only sigh and express my agreement.

“I can’t guarantee her safety even if I’m there… but if Your Majesty wishes it.”

It seemed clear that no matter what objections I raised, Leopold’s mind wouldn’t change. He appeared to have anticipated all my potential arguments and prepared for them, so continuing to argue would only prolong the conversation unnecessarily.

Ah, but I should ask this one thing.

“Has Lady Eleonora agreed to this?”

If she hasn’t consented and we force her to come along, how would that be any different from what happened with Isabella or King Danon? We should at least get her consent.

“Not yet. In fact, we’re having this discussion now because you revealed your stigmata during the victory ceremony. If not for that, would I have pushed for your independence?”

“Ah, right.”

I forgot. The conversation has gone on so long it feels like three days have passed.

Anyway, that means it’s not even certain yet whether Eleonora will follow me or not.

If they’re going to decide something this important, shouldn’t they ask her first? But I suppose there hasn’t been time.

“After we finish discussing the urgent matters at hand, I plan to visit Eleonora immediately and ask for her thoughts. You should come along. Whether she accepts or refuses, it wouldn’t hurt for you to become acquainted.”

“I suppose so.”

Though I have many people to meet and am not exactly free… a brief greeting shouldn’t take too long.

—-

The discussion about founding an independent nation concluded there for the time being.

Though I had agreed to establish a country and ascend as queen, it wasn’t so urgent that it needed immediate action.

After all, can a country be established overnight? If I suddenly declared “I am now a queen!” people would just think the Baroness of Median had gone mad.

It would take considerable time and preparation to convince the nobles, clergy, and imperial citizens who would be forcibly converted to kingdom citizens, and to establish the foundations of a state.

Even after declaring independence, it would take at least two months to hold a coronation ceremony as queen.

Therefore, Leopold postponed detailed discussions about independence and began talking about more urgent matters—issues that would have already been discussed if not for the unfortunate revelation of my stigmata.

“The matter of Dane will pass without much opposition. Even if someone wanted to hold someone accountable for this unilateral action, the Margrave of Landenburg who would have to explain himself…”

Leopold sighed deeply, as if still struggling to accept his death.

Unlike Lord Wien who supported Leopold for personal gain, Ludwig had backed him solely for the peace of the eastern territories and the Empire, making him as trusted an ally to Leopold as I was.

“…The Margrave has already fallen in battle, so no one can hold him accountable.”

Losing such a person must be like losing an arm. The shock would be immense.

“So… setting aside the question of responsibility and focusing only on benefits and losses… I don’t think anyone will argue that we should reject Dane’s voluntary submission, which has always been a troublesome matter.”

He meant that thanks to Ludwig’s death, the diplomatic treaty—which was clearly an overreach of authority—would be officially recognized without much controversy.

Neither Leopold nor I could consider that fortunate.

“Then there shouldn’t be any major problems.”

“That’s right. Of course, if Dane breaks the alliance and tries to nullify it, that would be a different story…”

“That possibility is low. Would they want to give up the crown they just obtained?”

If they still intended to break their promise after witnessing me tear apart the royal palace while fighting Ragnar, I’d have to compliment their courage before getting angry.

“Well… speaking from experience, they probably want to put it down very badly. More desperately than you could imagine.”

Leopold sighed deeply while stroking inside his wig. That gesture carried more persuasive weight than a hundred words could, in stark contrast to the lightness of his scalp.

“……”

“Besides, while King Knut might adhere to the alliance out of fear of you, if the Dane people’s resistance reaches uncontrollable levels, who knows what might happen.”

…On that point, I’ll have to trust Knut, Frigg, and Hrafn.

With Ragnar’s death, they’ve gained control of all the runic mages including the Crusader of Seals, and with the head of intelligence on their side, surely they can control their country’s public opinion.

“Neither Knut nor Hrafn seemed incompetent enough to fail to suppress resistance… but we’ll have to wait and see.”

If Ragnar were still alive it might be different, but having eliminated him, we could consider Dane’s situation mostly resolved.

The continued existence of the Church of Volberg is somewhat concerning… but I told Knut to purge the church’s upper echelons, so they shouldn’t cause any major incidents for the time being.

—-

More than thirty minutes had passed since I began my conversation with Leopold—enough time to fill the emperor’s office with mint-scented smoke, and then some.

Having finished discussing Dane and the eastern war, Leopold moved to the main topic: the problems in the capital, countermeasures, and the root cause.

“We’re relocating residents to surrounding cities. Rebuilding the capital will take a very long time, and we can’t just abandon them in the meantime.”

“Is reconstruction even possible?”

It seems like building a new city from scratch would be cheaper than restoring this place.

“It will take an extremely long time and truly enormous costs… but how can the Emperor of Karl Las abandon Extrashafel? So we must bear it.”

From Leopold’s expression, he clearly understood that choosing reconstruction over relocation was inefficient to the point of foolishness, but he couldn’t abandon Extrashafel—the original capital since the nation’s founding and the holy site of the Church of Elpinel.

“Still, thanks to you, we can expect full support from the Church of Astraea. A city where the Saint of Order, born after 800 years, revealed the goddess’s glory before everyone—it’s worthy of being called a holy site.”

Leopold said with a faint smile.

This man, for someone who was scolding me about revealing my stigmata, seems to be using that incident more effectively than anyone. Was it actually a stroke of good fortune for him?

“You should discuss that directly with Cardinal Xystus… for now, let’s focus on more urgent matters. What’s happened with Nidhogg?”

Discussions about rebuilding Extrashafel would be better handled between the emperor and the cardinal who oversees the church’s practical affairs. So I cut short the reconstruction talk and immediately asked about the most important issue.

The dragon Nidhogg, who had fled with only his upper body—where was he now and what was he doing?