135 – Escalation (7)
“What…? Assassination? Me?”
A report came up that the Duke of Provence had died out of the blue, but the problem is that the Provence side is claiming that I assassinated the Duke.
What bullsh*t?? No, he thought it would be great if the Duke of Vancey died, but he really didn’t do it.
No matter what, you have to keep an eye on it.
Assassinate even an enemy is definitely something to be criticized in the world, but it would be a headache if I did something like that, even though I have a bad reputation.
So, unless the situation goes seriously wrong, I tried not to look at the option of assassination, but what do you mean, I killed you?
“…Yes, Your Majesty. The newly crowned Duke of Provence was furious, claiming that the death of the previous duke was Your Majesty’s Majesty Lotharing’s machinations, and declared a fight to the very end.”
The expression of the attendant posting the report is very ambiguous. It’s as if he knows everything you killed, and he’s telling you to stop pretending.
No, I didn’t really do it.
“Are there many who believe that… Nonsense?”
“…Yes, Your Majesty. Even if you believe the same, the reactions of the nobles of the Caroling Kingdom and the nobles of the Rothaling Kingdom are completely different.”
“What do you mean?”
“The nobles of Caroling, who heard about the assassination, each express various emotions and show rebellion against the majesty, but it does not lead to direct resistance. But, rather than rebellion, the nobles of Rotaring show resignation—”
“Stop, I understand.”
Look what he’s talking about.
Even if you say that the assassination is not a rumor, you’re giving up?
So, to put it in a nutshell, the reputation that the nobles of Rotaring have on me is so low that there is no place to go lower, right?
“First of all, we need to deny the rumors outright. We need to circulate letters of condolence and spread articles expressing Jim’s position throughout the Rotaring.”
“That… Haona, Your Majesty.”
“What else?”
“The duke is said to have been killed in the explosion. The cart that was included in the Rotaring delegation exploded with flames, and in the aftermath, those who were nearby died on the spot, including the Duke of Provence. It is said that they did. The Rotaring envoys also said it.”
“… Huh?”
Explosion?
That would need gunpowder… Uh…
“Hey, are you sure?”
“There are so many eyewitnesses on the other side, and some people also have eyewitness accounts… Ah, ah!
The servant who was reciting the report noticed me and hurriedly corrected his words.
…I’d rather keep talking until the end, but changing it halfway makes it even weirder.
Bitter… Anyway, the fact that Rotaring’s cart exploded doesn’t seem like nonsense at all.
“…Okay, lock down the gunpowder lab and factory first.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Anyway, since the reliability of the information is judged to be quite high, there is only one thing I have to do.
There is a high possibility that the gunpowder has leaked out, so both the research institute and the manufacturing plant that used to manufacture the gunpowder must be sealed. Gunpowder, one of the most important items in Rotaring right now, leaked out without my knowledge.
Fortunately, there was an order issued to record the quantity of gunpowder each time it was made. After calling all the people involved, you can order them to find a place where the record and the actual amount do not match–
“You don’t have to.”
At that time, the door to the office opened and Ines appeared.
Ines, who used to come to the office often, but hadn’t come here since she was pregnant.
“Ines…?”
“That… I have a confession to make.”
Ines, who has been taking care of others since she was young, very naturally sends the attendants out of the office with just a glance, walks slowly toward me, and stops with a desk between them.
As usual, I would have said something to lighten the mood before coming here, but I couldn’t because Ines’ expression was so profound.
Ines has a bright smile on her face, but for some reason, that smile gives me goosebumps.
…………
“Ines… Did it?”
“Yes.”
Ines’ shocking confession was that he had assassinated the Duke of Provence.
Before participating in the Civil War in Carolingian, Ines, who used the contact network pierced throughout Carolingian, knew roughly the location of the Duke of Provence, and it is said that he placed an agent in the place where he would definitely come.
“Why…!”
“Yes, the duke insulted you. Here.”
“This is…”
The paper Ines handed me listed the insults the Duke of Provence had made to me over the years.
Everything from small words spoken in a private place like a banquet hall to words spoken in front of soldiers when going into battle.
There is no need to be afraid, he is an illegitimate child with dirty blood, etc. Beyond the details, everything is recorded, even his speech habits.
“It’s hard to bear insulting Your Majesty, but I couldn’t stand it at all when you preemptively attacked this Rotaring that belonged to Your Majesty. I’m… Sorry.”
“…”
From the beginning, he has been saying that he regretted his mistakes and said that he was wrong, but it is very difficult to punish him strongly. They say you can’t spit on his smiling face, and that’s right.
Isn’t it even said that the reason for doing so is to protect my honor? Ugh.
“Ines.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I order a probation for the next two years. Also, turn all agents under Ines’ control under my direct control.”
“Of course I will.”
But that doesn’t mean you can’t get over it completely.
Didn’t he start working without telling me, and even use gunpowder, an important item?
Whoa… Ines is just a bit tough, but I thought she had a girlish sensibility on the dark side, such as killing people, but I guess I was mistaken. The fact that he gave the order to kill a person is quite shocking.
It’s funny to say that I’ve already signed so many death sentences, but Ines wanted to live innocently… Not even by simple poisoning, but by gunpowder– Wait, gunpowder?
“Ines, why did you use gunpowder? You didn’t have to be so loud if you were going to assassinate, right?”
“Well… Shouldn’t other people be sure to know?”
“… Huh?”
“If the people of the world don’t know that the one who killed the Duke of Provence is Your Majesty, there’s no point in me killing him. All the nobles should feel fear of You to avoid insulting You, right?”
So what Ines wants to say now… Is he threatening other nobles to take care of themselves if they don’t want to be like the Duke of Provence? As a means of intimidation, visually and auditory intense gunpowder was used.
Obviously a good threat, but does it really work?
For example, Russia in my previous life, that is, Russia in the 21st century, openly killed several reporters and politicians with radioactive black tea, and spread rumors all over the neighborhood that I was behind the assassination, but the slander against Russia did not disappear at all. It was
“Ines, do you think it works?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Didn’t the nobles of Rotaring actually do the same?”
“What?”
“Aren’t the nobles of Lotharing bowing down to the prestige and notoriety you created? Wasn’t that your intention?”
I mean, am I?
I don’t know the fame, but the notoriety wasn’t my intention. Misunderstandings and misunderstandings piled up, all of which only spread strange rumors, so the image is so bad that I’m suffering from headaches. There’s no way I meant it.
To bow down in fear of my notoriety in the first place, is that possible…?
Come to think of it, I said earlier that rumors that I had killed the Duke of Provence had spread all over the world, but the nobles of Rotaling hadn’t shown any reaction to it.
A while ago, I thought it was because the nobles had completely lost their expectations of me, but if Ines is right…
“…I have to hold a banquet often when work is done.”
“…?”
You can’t let your image harden like this.
If you look at the rumors that have been circulating so far, I am an unscrupulous person who commits crimes openly by intimidating women who are pretty, and who kills all the people I don’t like.
Of course, there is no way that these rumors will be written in history books, but it is certain that they will affect my perception to some extent. And that twisted perception will make all of my actions judged that way.
I accidentally became a duke and I accidentally became a king, but I still don’t want to be considered a mad lord.
“First of all, Ines, I’ll count what you did, so don’t tell anyone else.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
No matter how much I talk about Ines killing it, other people won’t believe it anyway, so it’s better to just say I did it from the beginning. It’s absurd that they’re a married couple in the first place, but looking at their political behavior in isolation is absurd.
After that, I did my best to calm the fluctuating public opinion of the Carolingian aristocracy, suppressing the aftermath of the assassination, such as cracking down on rumors that I did not commit, and at the same time dealing with the war, I worked very hard for several days. It was as if I was getting everything back at once.
However, the post-processing that I put so much effort into was in vain.
A few days later, a report came to me that the Dukes of Anjou and Neustria had died, and they pointed me to the death as in Provence.
I wondered if Ines had done this as well, so I asked him, but the only answer I got was [I didn’t do anything].