The Painful Lump of the Marcos Empire

The Marcos Empire, a great power with a formidable reputation in the western continent.

Rainos, the imperial capital of that empire, and the large, splendid building erected in its center is the Valeim Palace where the Emperor resides.

And now, the young woman making an exasperated expression on the imperial throne in that palace is none other than Empress Ophelia, the ruler of this country.

Though seated on the magnificent throne, her irritated face with folded arms resembled an angry company superior rather than an empress.

And the person she had been waiting for entered the audience chamber.

“Your Imperial Majesty, the envoy who took the letter has returned with a reply.”

“Good. What did they say?”

“……It’s the same as usual.”

Hearing this, Empress Ophelia shook her head as if she had expected it and received the letter.

“…Just when I thought things had quieted down, they end up causing trouble again.”

The letter contained a statement delegating the disposition to her, along with a hastily written signature.

The writer of the letter was none other than an elf clan.

Moreover, it was a letter from the chief leading an elf clan.

Felix Rampid.

He is the chief leading the Rampid clan, a warrior elf clan, and himself an excellent warrior.

Reading the letter, Empress Ophelia recalled what had happened recently.

“Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!!”

Though her aide rushed into her office, Empress Ophelia continued signing documents without taking her eyes off them.

Recently, the empire had been the very embodiment of peace.

Trouble occasionally broke out, but due to countermeasures already in place, many incidents ended before they could develop.

“Your Majesty! Mercenaries from the Rampid clan…!”

“The Rampid clan again? Subdue them appropriately, send a letter, and handle it…”

“Th-that’s…!!”

Under the empire’s elf protection policy, elves within the empire were protected within the framework of the law.

Most elves acquiesced to this and quietly lived mixed in human society or peacefully tending to forests.

So, the elf protection policy created by the previous emperor seemed successful.

However, among elves, certain clans called warrior clans could not live such quiet lives.

They were groups of battle maniacs who considered combat their only joy in life.

The previous emperor had thought to incorporate them into the imperial army, but they greatly disliked being controlled.

In the end, they chose paths such as mercenaries or adventurers.

And among them, there was one clan that was exceptionally troublesome.

That was the Rampid clan.

Not satisfied with adventurer work fighting magical beasts, they had caused various incidents within the empire.

They were like thorns in the eyes of the imperial family, which was trying to protect elves while also managing them.

Nevertheless, the previous emperor, who had been trying to control them through peaceful means, met a sudden death due to chronic illness.

And Empress Ophelia, who inherited the throne at a young age as his only daughter, implemented stricter policies towards them than the previous emperor.

She always attached surveillance to manage them, and for those trying to go abroad, she cooperated with foreign countries to impose strong controls on departure and entry.

Thanks to this, incidents within the empire were immediately suppressed, and incidents abroad ceased.

So she thought this time too could be ended at an appropriate level, and with that thought, Empress Ophelia received the report.

“Honestly, even managing them consumes manpower, so it’s about time… hmm?”

As she grumbled while reading the report, Empress Ophelia’s eyes widened.

Her hand holding the report trembled.

Her gaze slowly turned to her aide’s face.

“Aide, is this report really true?”

“…I couldn’t believe it myself so I verified it, but it is true.”

“These damn pointy-eared bastards!!”

Empress Ophelia threw the report away.

The aide picked up the report that Ophelia had thrown.

“It’s bad enough that they cause trouble abroad, but to mess with foreign nobility? And a Duke family at that??”

“……”

“Send an envoy to the Rampid clan immediately, they’ll probably tell us to handle it ourselves as usual, but it’s necessary for formality.”

“Understood.”

“Tell the envoy to properly warn those pointy-ears… and as for the kingdom…”

“A letter has arrived from the Palaginya Kingdom saying they will send a delegation to discuss this matter.”

“…I’ll deal with them personally. Sigh… trouble really does break out.”

Empress Ophelia clutched her head.

She recalled her father, the previous emperor, who would get headaches whenever the Rampid clan caused trouble abroad during her childhood.

She even thought her father might have died from stress-induced illness because of them.

So she thought she had firmly bound that accursed clan during her reign, and while it seemed successful, such a thing happened again.

And time returns to the present.

After that incident, Empress Ophelia investigated this case from various angles.

Of course, the main cause was the Rampid clan taking on work in a foreign country again, but this wasn’t the first time they had done so.

The next cause would be the official who granted exit permission to the Rampid clan mercenaries.

She immediately summoned that official to the capital and personally scolded him, but only received the ambiguous answer that he had no memory of it.

But it was definitely that official who processed their departure, and eventually, the enraged Empress Ophelia dismissed him and handed him over for disciplinary action.

As for those elf mercenaries…

It was fortunate in an unfortunate situation that there were no fatalities due to their actions, but the fact remains that nobles were attacked.

Moreover, one of the noble children who blocked them was said to have nearly lost his life.

If he had actually died… To avoid thinking about what would happen next, Empress Ophelia shook her head to clear her thoughts.

The letter from the Rampid clan chief in her hand contained, as always, a response saying to handle it as she saw fit.

It had been like this since the previous emperor’s time.

They revere the logic of freedom and power, so they freely accept requests, and if they are defeated due to lack of strength, that’s the end of it.

Whether they are defeated by the target of the request or suppressed by the empire’s military in the middle, they will not be involved at all, so handle it as you see fit.

Empress Ophelia inwardly cursed them, wishing they wouldn’t cause trouble in the first place.

But to openly antagonize them would lead to great losses from a conflict with them, which was clear to see.

Especially the military power of the Rampid clan chief, Felix Rampid, is beyond imagination.

Of course, the imperial army could subdue him if mobilized, but how many soldiers would be sacrificed to stop that monster?

Fortunately, Felix Rampid never directly causes trouble himself, so ending it at the level of strongly controlling the Rampid clan mercenaries was the most reasonable approach.

Yet after several years, trouble finally broke out, so it couldn’t help but be a headache.

“…Today was the day the delegation from the kingdom is visiting, right?”

“Yes. They have already crossed the border and are heading to the imperial capital.”

“Then I should start preparing. Make sure to prepare the highest level of hospitality.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

But what’s already happened can’t be undone.

First, she needed to properly handle the aftermath.

As amicably and peacefully as possible.

“We have an audience with Her Imperial Majesty.”

Despite that resolution, Empress Ophelia was extremely tense as she watched the delegation from the Palaginya Kingdom greeting her.

She couldn’t help it.

This wasn’t an ordinary delegation.

“…It’s…it’s been a long time, Princess Aine.”

“Yes. Belated congratulations on your ascension to the throne, Your Majesty Ophelia.”

The main members of the kingdom’s delegation were from the kingdom’s Grace Duke family, who took the lead in diplomacy with the empire.

The heir to that Duke family, Young Master Belief Grace, and his entourage.

And none other than the second princess of the Palaginya Kingdom, Princess Aine Gine Palaginya.

“Um… may I ask why Princess Aine came as part of the delegation?”

“Yes, as I happened to be staying in the Ignis Duchy that was attacked, I came directly as a concerned party, Your Majesty.”

Upon hearing Princess Aine’s words, Empress Ophelia inwardly cursed the Rampid pointy-ears once more.

The princess of a neighboring country almost faced danger, though… well… that princess does have a personality that makes her enter dangerous places on her own.

“I see. I’ve prepared a banquet, so please eat and rest today. Let’s discuss the details… tomorrow.”

After saying this and dismissing everyone, Empress Ophelia.

As she left the place, she looked at Princess Aine.

Their eyes met.

Empress Ophelia raised her left index finger, placed it on the tip of her nose, and then moved it to her ear.

After confirming that Princess Aine nodded slightly upon seeing this, Empress Ophelia headed to the banquet hall.

After the banquet, night fell.

A maid reported to Empress Ophelia, who was waiting in her room, that a guest had arrived.

Empress Ophelia welcomed the guest, confirming it was the person she had been waiting for.

“Thank you for the invitation, Your Majesty Ophelia.”

“…Speak comfortably. It’s more comfortable for me too.”

“Well, I’ll do that.”

Empress Ophelia looked at the guest before her, Princess Aine.

She is the same age as herself and someone she had known since before ascending to the throne.

A relationship like friends and rivals.

The sign she had just sent to her was a kind of signal meaning ‘let’s talk alone at night.’

…It was a sign they often used during their student days, and she didn’t know it would still work.

“By the way, I heard you’re getting married soon? Congratulations on your marriage.”

“To receive marriage congratulations from the emperor of a powerful country, it’s truly an honor?”

“Well, that was congratulations on your marriage as a friend… and I’ll also send a splendid official delegation to congratulate your marriage as an emperor.”

“…Haha, my wedding will be quite grand then.”

The two friends who met after a long time conversed for a long time, as if catching up.

Events that had occurred, worries, all of it.

In the midst of this, the topic of conversation eventually shifted to the recent incident.

“I’m sorry. This incident is our empire’s fault.”

“No, as you know, the immigration control of the Rampid clan was a matter to be handled between both countries. Our side also processed their entry.”

“…Even so, there’s also the empire’s fault for not properly handling the treatment of the Rampid clan forever.”

Seeing her friend wrapped in guilt, Princess Aine suddenly remembered something and opened her mouth.

“What do those elves say?”

“Same as usual. They say they won’t get involved, so handle the disposition as we see fit.”

Handle the disposition as we see fit.

According to kingdom law, given that they intended to assassinate nobles and ultimately carried out an attack, they cannot escape unscathed.

At maximum it’s capital punishment, and even at best, only a life as a criminal slave with a collar remains.

“Really, if they’re just going to neglect them, I wish they wouldn’t cause trouble in the first place.”

For the empire, the Rampid clan is like a painful lump.

It’s a problem they must take responsibility for since they decided to take responsibility for elves themselves, but striking it would leave a major injury.

“Ophelia, should I clean up all of them for you?”

Princess Aine suddenly said that.

It must be a joke, no… seeing her serious expression, it might not be a joke.

…And given her military power that she knew of, she might be able to stop Felix Rampid.

Though Empress Ophelia thought this, she soon shook her head from side to side.

“No matter what, that would become interference in internal affairs… hahaha, I’ll just gratefully accept your sentiment.”

And as she said this, Empress Ophelia gave a bitter smile.

Princess Aine, who had been staring at Empress Ophelia, quietly closed her mouth.

“Aine?”

“……”

“Aine, what are you thinking about?”

After deliberating for about a minute.

Princess Aine exhaled.

And she looked at Empress Ophelia.

“Ophelia.”

“Yes, have you finished deliberating?”

“Yes.”

Empress Ophelia stared at Princess Aine’s eyes.

As Princess Aine’s expression showed seriousness, Empress Ophelia also swallowed and prepared to listen to her story.

“Ophelia, what I’m about to tell you might sound absurd.”

“……”

“But what I’m about to say is the truth, please listen thinking of it that way.”

Princess Aine’s serious tone and expression.

As if overwhelmed by it, Empress Ophelia quietly nodded.