episode_0121

Until the next morning, I thought about ways to turn this situation around.

First of all, what is urgently needed is for the National Assembly to condemn Ioanes and declare him an enemy of the state.

The news of Ioannis’s attack on Dupol had already been reported by the Intelligence Department, and an emergency convocation had been requested to convey it to the National Assembly.

The militia moves Charles through Theodora’s influence to quickly open the door and head there.

If you look back at the situation calmly, it is not the worst yet.

I sent William my letter along with Theodora’s orders.

It will take some time for his answer to come.

In the meantime, I will attack Ioannes’ weaknesses in parliament.

As I entered the council, I looked for Alexander.

As expected… none. He seems like a quick-witted old man.

[Today’s parliament was held because of an urgent report from the Grand Duke’s Ministry. I hope the Archduke will report it.]

Charles’ words make the surroundings noisy.

[The thief-like Grand Duke, step down!]

[With what kind of face do you come here?!]

I look at the lawmakers who are yelling at me and the lawmakers who are watching calmly.

I knew it.

The neutral faction hates me, but the emperor faction has nothing to say.

The imperial faction probably doesn’t know about Ioannes’ betrayal plan yet, so there’s nothing we can do about it.

First, it’s time to solve them one by one and return the bomb that Ioanes threw.

“Respected members of the National Assembly. Here today…”

[Shut up the Grand Duke! How can a grand duke who mocks the empire stand here?]

[Is it true that you promised to grant the emperor’s territory arbitrarily?]

As the room became noisy, I looked at Charles.

– Bang bang!

Chairman Charles is banging a hammer with an expressionless face.

He makes eye contact with me and says.

[Be quiet. I am the Grand Duke who has come on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor. Insulting him is no different from insulting His Majesty the current Emperor, so I ask everyone to be quiet.]

what?

His behavior has changed quite a bit.

Not only was I the only one who felt that way, but the reactions of the lawmakers around me were also quite different.

[chairman! Are you crazy now?!]

[Since when did you become the Archduke’s dog?]

I have no desire to raise an old dog like that.

[Guard! From now on, if there are any lawmakers who make a fuss, kick them out!]

When Representative Charles calls the guards, the room becomes quiet.

[Now tell me. grandee.]

“Hmm… First, let me explain what members of the National Assembly are curious about. You all know that after Valorant’s death, the imperialist army led by Ioannes headed to Roman.”

He stops talking and looks around at the lawmakers.

“At that time, my army and I were in a situation where it would be difficult to win against Roman’s triple walls, but it would also be difficult to lose.”

If a war had been fought at that time, my territory, the Grand Duchy, would have been blown away, but thanks to the strong triple wall, the imperial army would not have been able to enter Roman.

“Whether they were from the imperial faction or not, they all carried out the revolt out of love for His Majesty and the empire. I punished the traitor Valorant, and the imperialists rose up with righteousness to punish the traitor.”

Of course, their purpose would have been to turn the empty emperor into a puppet and paint a picture of the imperial faction controlling the empire.

“Therefore, in return for their loyal hearts, I presented a sign to His Majesty the Emperor and asked him to grant them Epirus and Ezip.”

At that time, I had never been like that.

If I had mentioned to Theodora at that time that I was handing over Epirus and Egypt to her, it was obvious that she would have tried to sabotage me in some way, so I ignored Theodora’s thoughts and handled it on my own.

[Shut up! Isn’t it obvious that you scared His Majesty the Emperor?!]

[I told you to be quiet! Guard! [Kick out Senator Pompey!]

Let Charles step forward and exercise his right to order…

[This… can’t I let go of this?! Chairman Charles! Chairman Charles, how can you treat me like this?!]

I sigh inwardly as I see Pompey being dragged away by the guards.

“And in exchange for their loyalty, His Majesty decided to give them Epirus and Ezip. I understand that you probably thought that way because your marriage with me gave me and your children a huge territory called the Grand Duchy.”

In fact, no one knows that I am passing the succession rights to Mary, who is not my child.

So, you bring up these lies and tell them.

“Epirus and Ezip. I know that the two fiefdoms have a huge influence on the empire. In addition, if our Grand Duchy were to be combined, the balance of imperial politics would inevitably be broken, so His Majesty the Emperor made such a decision for the righteous people.”

The army possessed by the Grand Duchy is the best in the empire both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Excellent armament and excellent commander.

And even the Giant Legion, which is rumored to be comparable to the Golden Knights.

However, if the future emperor owns Epirus, Egypt, and even the Grand Duchy, there is bound to be a backlash against the expansion of the emperor’s power.

But no one will truly believe what I say.

I actually don’t think they will believe this.

What I want is…

“That is why Epirus and Egypt have already been awarded to Ioannes.”

[Wha… What is it?!]

[This… did you say it was already awarded?]

The imperial faction members were in awe.

Within…

[Senator Alexander! Where is Representative Alexander?!]

[Are you fooling us and making fun of us?! Where did this rat go?!]

[He said he had work in his home country and left Romania yesterday.]

He continues as he looks at the imperialist member who is convulsing.

“The answer to your question if it has already been awarded is… Yes, it is. I have already bestowed upon Ioannes two kingdoms, and upon awarding them. Ioannes promised to share with the imperialists and has already completed the bestowal.”

[why…? Why did you do that, Grand Duke?]

He says this while looking at the imperial faction member who is distorted with anger.

“Well, I can’t just grant such a large territory at will, right? In addition, Ioanes gave him the fiefdom based on his words and the reputation that Ioanes had heard that the fiefdom should be distributed according to merit within the imperial faction.”

The expressions on the faces of the imperial faction members are unusual when they hear my words.

“And Ioanes, since he is the head of the imperial faction, it would not make sense for me to go through the trouble of awarding it to each territory, so I trusted him and bestowed it.”

They would be furious at the fact that Ioannes was keeping quiet while taking care of Epirus and Egypt.

But this isn’t the end.

“This concludes my explanation regarding the granting of territory, and I will provide you with an urgent report.”

The reason I urgently convened the council is not because of the issue of Epirus and Ezip.

They will probably think that I have called a council to report that William is coming here.

I throw a bomb as I see the Emperor and Neutral factions filled with anger.

“He hired mercenaries from the Babylonian Empire in Nicaea, stole troops from the border area, and began attacking Dupol with 130,000 troops.”

There is silence in the hall at my words.

[That… what is that! Are you saying we attacked without declaring war?!]

[No matter how much they say they have the authority not to report to Congress, without declaring war?!]

[no! Isn’t withdrawing troops from the border an abandonment of one’s duty?!]

The imperialist, neutral, and anti-imperialist members all begin to convulse.

“Yes, that’s right. And what do you think is the reason for going so far as to attack the Duchy of Dupole, even taking out the troops on the border?”

[Stand… No way?! Imperialist civil war?]

[What a crazy guy!]

[Z… Do you have any proof?! Is there any evidence that what the Archduke just said is true?]

I nod my head at those words.

“This is a report from the Ministry of Information yesterday morning.”

I take it and walk towards where the imperial faction members are gathered and hand it over.

-Sleep!

The expressions on the faces of the lawmakers as they hastily hand over their reports become increasingly contemplative.

Looking at the imperial faction members rushing out of their seats, I think things went as I expected.

The moment when the Kingdom of Erne and the Kingdom of Bohemi are destroyed right above it.

The Emperor’s faction cannot win against Ioannes.

Seeing the lawmakers preoccupied with the report, I return to the podium and continue speaking.

“Today will be remembered as a day of shame for the empire. Although our imperial and anti-emperor factions were at odds with each other, they worked together for the peace and development of the empire. Therefore, in order to get along well with them, His Majesty the Emperor and I bestowed territory to Ioanes on behalf of them, but he was busy only looking out for his own interests, betraying His Majesty the Emperor and me, betraying his colleagues, and so on.”

I pause for a moment and continue.

“In addition, the border troops protecting the empire were moved arbitrarily, putting the empire in danger.”

“Yesterday, Nicaea was attacked by Evessa in the Duchy of Dupol.”

Evesa is the eastern city of the Duchy of Dupol.

“Yesterday, Nicaea attacked Saraden.”

Saraden is a city near the Duchy of Dupol and the Kingdom of Nicaea.

“Yesterday Nicaea attacked Midlen.”

Midlen, the fortress of the Duchy of Dupol, is the gateway through which one must pass to enter the center from the east.

“In this chaotic situation, as the head of the Archduchy above all departments, I intend to use all the powers granted by imperial law and the National Assembly to stop and punish them.”

Concentrate on everything I say and listen quietly.

“I believe that my opinion reflects the will of the Council, His Majesty the Emperor, and the people of the Empire, that we must make sure that disloyalty, lies, and treachery never threaten us again in the future.”

I feel the gaze of hundreds of lawmakers.

The moment I thought the atmosphere had reached a certain level.

At that moment, I clenched my fists and shouted.

“So! Today, I ask the Imperial Diet to declare Ioannes, an enemy of the state, for his treachery, betrayal, and disloyalty that has put the Empire in danger!”

-Clap… clap, clap!

[Death to the traitor Ioannes! Death to the traitor Ioannes!]

And in the vote that was held… there was an overwhelming margin of votes between the votes of the angry imperialist members, the votes of the anti-imperialist members, and the votes of the neutral members who were angry that the empire’s borders had been left blank…

Ioannes was declared an enemy of the state.