116 – Each one’s way 5
“So, are you saying that you sent a letter directly to the emperor of the Dragona Empire?”
“Yes, it is. I really never imagined it would grow this way.”
As I listened to Estelle’s words, my face couldn’t help but be surprised.
Her plan to attract the power of the neighboring Dragona Empire.
Although I couldn’t figure out the exact process why it led to the current result, I couldn’t think of anything else as the cause of this incident.
“It can be seen that the intention itself was good, but it is difficult.
“Perhaps it can only be seen as a sign of refusal to my request.”
“Yes, besides… depending on what you think, it could be a warning.”
It is not that the enemy declared hostile acts, but that those who were originally close to them requested cooperation.
It was an overreaction that was tantamount to breaking the wrist of the person shaking hands.
However, this was only a general human-to-human relationship, and if it went to the national level, the story could be sufficiently different.
“I don’t know, but the current emperor of the Dragona Empire seems very displeased with Lady Estelle’s proposal. And in that respect… I’m thinking maybe I did this in the sense of never sending a request like this again.”
“Ha.. But even so, isn’t this too harsh? How could such a reaction come from a mere offer..”
“… Great.”
Estelle agreed with my words to some extent, but still couldn’t hide her confusion about how things had come to this point.
Seeing her reaction, I said in a calm voice.
“Aren’t most people with high power originally like that? If there is something that bothers them even a little bit, they can’t stand it and pay back several times over.
The way of thinking of the rulers was often fundamentally different from that of ordinary people.
Those with great power were often equipped with passives such as arrogance and suspicion.
Because of this, it can react sensitively even in very trivial parts, and in fact, there have been countless wars and great purges that have occurred for that reason in history.
If a family is massacred simply because of a mistake they made while drinking, or if the entire country perishes because of one wrong request, that can also happen.
In that respect, the possibility that the emperor of the Drago Empire, whose existence was only mentioned in the original work, also had such a dirty mind was fully present.
‘A powerful country comparable to the Holy Empire even in terms of national power.. An emperor who rules such a great empire is likely to be a person with a very nasty nose and a dirty personality.’
Right now, even our main enemy, Emperor Sisyphus of the theocracy, ate the empire because of his lofty conceit in the original work, and he is still showing a move that is not much different from him.
Like this, it was my idea that basically nothing could be expected of the emperor’s personality.
“Is that so?… But I’m not sure because I’ve never met him in person, but I think they said that the emperor was a pretty good person within the Dragona Empire.”
“Of course it is possible to do image making to that extent, but originally, that kind of people are more terrifying.”
“…”
One of the fundamentals of an effective dictatorship is to effectively coordinate public sentiment.
Even if the true nature of the vicious tyrant was visible from the outside, there were never a few cases where it was taboo for the people of the country to praise and criticize such a person carelessly.
“Certainly, the emperor is someone who pretends to be gentle on the outside but is full of thoughts of cutting his throat if he goes a little wrong. I am guessing that this incident may also have come from that background.”
“That… that…”
“… ”
Estelle put on an expression full of anxiety at my words.
In other words, in the end, this division that occurred in Bohemia could be said to be the emperor’s warning to Estelle and at the same time a warning to our heretical allies.
The kidnapping of the daughter of Count Turnen, a key figure in the heretical alliance, is a warning not to even think about getting them involved in this incident.
And as the subject of this warning, not only Estelle, but I too began to feel a chill run down my spine.
It was because I couldn’t help but think that if the answer to the alliance request was this much, if I expressed my dissatisfaction here, then it could lead to war right away.
“..sorry. This is because I did something useless.”
“..No, you don’t have to beat yourself up like that. To be honest, it would have been difficult to predict that the emperor would come out this hard until we figured out his violent nature.”
“Santa…”
“… ha..”
Estelle speaks to me in a voice filled with deep regret, sadness, and sorry.
Seeing her like this, I comforted her with a bitter smile on my lips.
In response to my words, Estelle began to blush slightly with an expression full of tears.
Although, given the seriousness of the situation, this was not something to be taken lightly.
however..
Whatever the case, I had no intention of blaming her, as her attempts to do something well had ended in failure.
‘And honestly… if it ended at this level, it could be seen as helpful from my point of view.’
First of all, she was an ally, but to put it coldly, Queen was a being with as much danger as Mansfeld.
The fact that he was able to get rid of such a person in this way was rather a positive situation.
‘The reason I came here in the first place was to take care of the matter…’
So, with this much to say about the queen, I tried to wrap this up by not thinking about getting involved with the Dragona Empire again.
at that time..
“miss!”
“huh?”
The next moment, a servant rushes inside.
Regarding this, Estelle began to frown as if she were displeased.
*
As they talked about this incident, Estelle was feeling a deep sense of guilt.
Although unintentional, Santana’s family was harmed by her rash actions.
That fact, for Estelle, who values family above all else, couldn’t help but feel heavy in many ways.
‘If something happened to my sister because of someone else, I wouldn’t be able to forgive that person easily.’
In some cases, it is a very serious matter that can think of breaking the contract engagement and various disadvantages.
But… despite her mistakes, Santana didn’t blame her for that.
Rather, what he showed was to comfort her, who was feeling guilty, and to quietly bury the incident, and Estelle began to have some expectations as well as deep gratitude to the man in front of her eyes.
‘To bury something like this… doesn’t it mean that Santana-sama actually has a crush on me?’
Even though it started with a contract, it was Estelle who truly fell in love with Santana.
As such, Estelle began to think that there was a good chance that Santana also developed a crush on her at some point.
‘I can’t be sure, but… it’s not very likely. Even though he looks like this, he is confident in his appearance.. I may have taken that man’s heart to some extent without knowing it..’
Estelle started to feel better as she thought about that.
Then, to prove her expectations, she tried to talk to Santana with the intention of sneaking up on him.
However, her attempts and excited mood were ruined by a servant who suddenly came in.
In response, she said while looking at the servant who recklessly jumped into the room with a little sincere anger.
“What happened? I’m sure we’re having an important conversation, so I told you not to interrupt…”
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry. Ha.. But, I think you should come out right now!”
An attendant who speaks in an urgent voice.
From the fact that she was reacting this way despite her master’s order not to disturb her and her anger, Estelle could tell that there must have been something urgent.
however..
The words that came out of his mouth began to complicate her and Santana’s thoughts once again.
“That…that… What… are you talking about? Say it again.”
“Hwa.. the emperor… the emperor of the Dragona Empire has sent a personal letter.”