Chapter 116: Their Respective Paths 5

“So you are telling me you directly petitioned the Dragonian Emperor through a missive?”

“Y-Yes…though I never imagined it would escalate to such extremes…”

Estelle’s admission left me utterly stupefied – her audacious overtures to enlist Dragonia’s might proving far more consequential than she could have foreseen.

While the precise causal chain remained unclear, her outreach indisputably catalyzed this catastrophic situation in some capacity.

“Your intentions may have been well-meaning, but this development remains profoundly troubling nonetheless. For them to respond to a cooperative entreaty with such outrageous reprisals…”

“Likely their way of emphatically rejecting my request, I fear…”

“Indeed, it could also constitute an ominous warning as well.”

An excessive overreaction akin to shattering someone’s wrist for extending their hand – wildly disproportionate even between longstanding acquaintances, much less sovereign nations cultivating prospective alliances.

Yet matters of state often defied interpersonal norms and conventions, especially where willfully capricious despots held absolute authority.

“I cannot claim certainty, but all indications suggest the current Dragonian Emperor took grave personal offense at your proposition. This whole sordid affair may represent his ruthless admonition against involving his realm any further in such initiatives.”

“B-But even so, is this not an extreme overreaction to a mere proposal…?”

“…Hmm.”

Though rattled by the unjustified savagery, Estelle still struggled to reconcile the sheer audacity of the Emperor’s retaliation.

But I could only affirm her dread misgivings with weary resignation:

“Is that not simply how those vested with ultimate power tend to conduct themselves? Historically, tyrants are rarely inclined toward proportional responses over even minor perceived slights. Little wonder this emperor appears cut from that same unforgiving cloth.”

Absolute authority inevitably bred arrogant paranoia – the merest trifles eliciting disproportionate retaliation from sovereigns intoxicated by their own unchecked dominion.

Entire dynasties toppled and realms annihilated over singular diplomatic faux pas or festive indiscretions.

Even in the original canon’s sparse allusions, Dragonia’s deific ruler could well embody such capricious, tyrannical excesses to the utmost extreme.

‘Governing an empire rivaling the Holy Empire in sheer might alone… Their emperor likely festers with towering hubris and petty vindictiveness befitting those exalted, privileged stations.’

The Holy Emperor Sigismund’s insufferable arrogance had already led to the near-ruination of his domains in my previous life.

Clearly, such overbearing self-importance characterized most who inherited that mantle of supreme secular authority.

“I…I suppose that tracks with what little we know of his reputation within Dragonia. He is often lauded as a reasonably benevolent sovereign, at least…”

“Such glowing propaganda is all but expected – yet that only renders them more dangerous in truth.”

Efficient totalitarian regimes invariably promulgated rosy public images masking the true depths of their tyrannical brutality.

Even as the ruler’s monstrous excesses remained visible without, the citizenry itself would fervently venerate them – open dissent deemed the gravest taboo.

“No doubt he presents a façade of paternal benevolence yet harbors a willingness to eagerly sever any hand which dares extend uninvited. This whole crisis likely stems from that very mentality.”

“You…You may have a point…”

Estelle’s haunted countenance betrayed the dawning horror of inadvertently provoking an existential threat against our entire alliance over an ostensibly innocuous diplomatic gambit.

An ominous harbinger that any further displeasure could potentially ignite open conflagration with the Dragonian war machine.

An all too credible doomsday scenario neither of us could realistically dismiss out of hand.

“I…I apologize profusely. This entire catastrophe occurred due to my foolish meddling…”

“No, you need not castigate yourself so harshly. Truthfully, few could have anticipated such an unhinged response before glimpsing this emperor’s true volatile nature unveiled.”

Conveying that conciliatory assurance, I nonetheless found myself unable to suppress a rueful smirk at the sheer absurdity of our present plight.

While the gravity remained impossible to trivialize, Estelle had ultimately acted out of earnest – if grievously misguided – intentions to aid our cause.

And from my own cynical perspective, this draconian ‘warning’ ultimately eliminated a persistent domestic liability in brutally efficient fashion.

‘In a twisted way, this resolves one lurking threat to my own standing – provided we can avoid compounding this catastrophe further…’

Having suffered treacherous betrayals even from my inner circle before, I inevitably emerged wary toward any perceived loose ends.

Yet while cathartic, celebrating Queen’s expedient removal reeked of the same self-serving vindictiveness I found so repugnant in the various tyrants.

Prudence and pragmatism necessitated extricating ourselves from this firestorm swiftly and definitively before it engulfed us all in far worse conflagrations.

‘One way or another, I must resolve this conclusively. If Estelle truly instigated this upheaval, then a personal negotiation to contain its spread may prove unavoidable…’

My grim contemplations were interrupted by a breathless servant’s panicked arrival:

“My lady!”

“Yes, what is it?”

Estelle’s irritation over the disruptive intrusion swiftly morphed into overt bewilderment at the man’s stammering disclosure:

“F-Forgive me, but…y-you must see this at once! The Dragonian Emperor himself has sent…a personal communique!”