199 – Before the storm there is calm (2)
Two months after the expedition to the French Empire ended in failure, the imperial castle.
The emperor, the owner of the place and the sole sun of the empire, was carrying out his duties, barely enduring the anger in his heart.
But, was it because his heart was full of anger?
He shouted in an open space, not even thinking that other attendants or court ladies could hear him.
“Damn it!! Damn Marquis of Creutel! Also, in a gutter where rotten water flows, Ilias and Isra are worse than the rats born from mother and father mating!! Even though I can’t wash the wounds of the last expedition, I can’t deal with the rat who forgot the grace I gave him as a marquis even though he didn’t volunteer for me… I will cut off the heads of the two counts who ruined the expedition itself, and enslave their families. At the last banquet, Earl Ilias’ sister was pretty, so she must be a treat… ”
Usually, when the emperor shouted like this, the attendants around him would say, ‘You look very worried, so why don’t you take a break today?’ I have to make a formal remonstrance like that, but…
Almost every day, no one stopped the emperor because he had seizures like this several times a day.
I just hoped that the emperor would calm down his anger and take care of his business quietly.
After shouting like that, the emperor seemed to have calmed down a bit, and gave orders to the attendants around him calmly as usual.
“I’m thirsty, so a glass of wine.”
The attendant heard this and poured the wine into a large cup made of opaque glass and handed it to the emperor.
The emperor held a cup containing more than 600 milliliters of wine in one hand, emptied it in an instant, and then asked:
“Secretary, what is my next schedule? I haven’t been able to rest for the past few weeks because of the aftermath of the war… I wish I could get some rest today.”
I said it around, but this meant, ‘Send off those who suddenly ask to meet, and postpone your schedule with a nobleman less than a marquis.’ was meant
The secretary, who grasped that, thought of an answer to satisfy the emperor in his own way.
Because, if you go against the displeasure of the supreme, who doesn’t know what to do because he’s angry right now… It was because I didn’t know what kind of disadvantage I would face.
“Today, if you take care of the paperwork, the schedule will be over. Also, lately, His Majesty seemed to be exhausted physically and mentally, so I was going to order a girl I might like among the maids to go to bed… Shall I tell the maid now?”
“Excellent. As expected, it’s like Howard who has been supporting me since I was a child.”
“It is an honor, Your Majesty.”
Read at noblemtl.com
Just as the secretary was delighted with the success of making a good impression on the emperor, the door to the emperor’s office burst open with a ‘bang’.
“You ignorant bastard! Cut it right now!! What are the escort knights doing?!”
At that, the knights and attendants around the emperor all drew their swords and pointed at the man at the door, but after seeing the identity of the person who opened the door, they all put their swords back.
because… The person who opened the door is none other than…
“I am the rightful duke of the Duchy of Brussels, and His Majesty’s Regent John von Brussels. I apologize for suddenly coming without an appointment, but please understand that one second is an urgent report.”
Seeing him, the emperor frowned, but he couldn’t throw out the duke.
“What the hell is going on? It’s my fault, but it’s really hard because I haven’t had a day off from the war aftermath for months. At this rate, I feel like my body is going to rot. So please keep it as short as possible.”
Normally, the regent would either deliver the business as quickly as possible or say that he would come back…
As if that was not the case, he gestured to the secretaries and other knights around him.
Seeing that, the emperor was in a bad mood because his plan to take a long-awaited rest was ruined…
His reason said to him:
‘Not another noble, but the Duke of Brussels. It must have been a terrible incident that I hadn’t even thought of.’
After making sure that no one was left in the office except for himself and the emperor, the duke spoke cautiously.
“I am the Marquis of Creutel, no… Now, a spy has been dispatched to the land of a traitor pretending to be the king, and according to his report, two Counts Ilias and Isra have sworn allegiance to the Creutel guy. Plan 1 has failed.”
Hearing those words, the emperor’s anger rose to the point of anger in an instant, and his face turned red like a ripe apple.
That’s also likely, because the emperor’s original plan was to dilute his own faults by blaming the two counts for the failure of this expedition.
So, if you are a noble of the level of a count, even if you lose a battle for disobeying an order, you will end up with the rank deprived at a military tribunal…
He planned to lead the trial himself, sentence them to death, and stage a dramatic scene in which his wife and children were enslaved in front of numerous soldiers and nobles who had lost their vassals in the expedition to relieve their anger…
‘Damn it, am I not taking all the blame for this? It’s my fault, but if things go on like this, I might be destroyed.’
In addition, if he bears the price of failing in the expedition, in the worst case, he may be dethroned from the position of emperor.
“Those two didn’t have much achievement, but they were the first to approach me and pledge their allegiance to me, so I made them counts… How could they forget that grace and throw away the obvious reason that they should take responsibility for their mistakes and go under the traitor Kreutel!! Bastards who don’t even know how to do this… They are like hybrids that are dirtier than rats and cockroaches that feed on food scraps in the sinkhole!!”
The Duke of Brussels could barely hold back a sigh when he heard those words.
‘A knight without vassals may not know, but if a lord is a lord, he must prioritize the survival of himself, his family, and his vassals. So, it’s natural to run away if there’s a way to survive… He is a young emperor who is only 30 years old, but he is so blinded by his rage that he forgets even that… ‘
However, the emperor, perhaps unaware of the duke’s pathetic thoughts of him, brought out an even more foolish thought.
As he said that, his eyes showed a desire to run away from reality.
“Now that this has happened, shouldn’t we hold the Duke of Orléans responsible, who served as the eastern commander of the last expedition? Although he didn’t disobey orders like the two counts, it would be impossible to enslave or deprive his family of titles… The title is reduced to the level of a count, and the territory is about half… ”
Upon hearing this, the duke looked at the emperor with pitying eyes and said,
“The two Earls of Ilias and Isra are the main culprits in ruining the expedition by disobeying orders. So, ‘It’s all over because of those guys. Therefore, I will slit the heads of the two of them and use my wife and children as slaves to relieve them even a little bit.’ Even if you say it and punish it, everyone will understand. Also, watching the scene where the guys who did such a stupid thing are beheaded, their wives, concubines, and daughters being enslaved and entering their bedrooms, and the men being treated like criminal slaves and dying in the mines, they will relieve their anger. Because, like Your Majesty, they also hold grudges for the failure of the expedition, and it is they who contributed the most.”
“Since that doesn’t work, aren’t you trying to punish the Duke of Orléans?”
“But the Duke of Orléans made a mistake because of you two and is a defeated commander. Also, in spite of opposition from the nobles, His Majesty conducted this war unilaterally. Because of these two factors, the duke is not to blame even if he is defeated. But what about punishment? Surely, the nobles will think that the duke has been punished unfairly. Rather, it would be an act of detracting from His Majesty’s reputation.”
The emperor wanted to take offense at the words of criticism while closely guarding the Duke of Brussels, but he barely held back.
This is because he is the one who arbitrarily started a war and moved the soldiers, and the Duke of Brussels succeeded in occupying half of the Marquis of Presso until he was defeated.
Also, as his regent, he is also a loyal subject who does his best to protect the imperial authority.
“Damn it, then what am I supposed to do?”
“However, it is right to turn the object of your anger to someone other than Your Majesty. so… Give the Duke of Orléans, the commander of the Eastern Expeditionary Force, a gift and a sword with the meaning of consolation. You should give it to other nobles as well, but many nobles will complain and be jealous if the commander who has cut the wires receives more generously.”
Hearing that, the emperor sighed, hit the desk hard, and spoke.
“You have to do that. After all, isn’t the Duke of Orléans one of only three dukes in the Empire? As a consolation to you and the commander-in-chief, I will bestow silk, a sword, and a special medal of the Golden Lion. I cannot give Orléans a medal, but as a sign of his hard work, I will give him a letter in my own handwriting, a ring cherished by His Majesty the Emperor before him, and a marshal’s scepter, symbolizing the nobility who served as commander. Okay, is there anything else?”
“Yes… Besides this… ”
In this way, the Duke and Emperor of Brussels continued working late into the night to minimize the aftermath of their defeat in the war.
And even though there were only two of them in the secret room, no one knew how to deal with it, but rumors spread among the attendants nearby.
‘A man is acting like a spoiled child, devastated by defeat in war. Even though my father is over 60, his hair has turned white because he is taking care of a child who is over 30 years old.’
Under normal circumstances, it’s a story that everyone would have laughed at, saying it was just satire, but…
Perhaps because of the great dissatisfaction with the emperor and the regent for not controlling him properly, graffiti depicting the Duke of Brussels feeding the emperor with a baby bottle were often pasted on the walls of Elysium.
**
A month after the emperor of the Eline Empire went mad.
“His Highness the King, Major Short, the head of the intelligence division of the Intelligence Command’s intelligence unit, reports.”
“Tell me.”
“It is said that after the emperor of the Elain Empire summoned the nobles, he delivered more consolation items to the Duke of Orléans than other nobles. Thanks to that, the Duke of Orléans has been able to receive some of the criticism that the emperor deserves.”
“I don’t know who thought of this, but Elaine won’t perish just yet. A revolution or a rebellion only occurs when anger gathers in one place, but there are two targets for that.”
I also thought that the emperor would not be brought down in a rebellion because he was not stupid enough, so I thought so.
Still, it’s a pity for some reason, it would have been really convenient if the rebellion had occurred against the emperor…
“I can’t help it. Yes, how is the recent situation of the Eline Empire?”
“As a result of the investigation by having the guys under me pretend to be tramps and free them, it seems that they will have to recover for at least five years to start a war again. Public sentiment is at rock bottom, their finances are depleted, and the holes in the skilled knights and soldiers are large.”
If the Eline Empire is 5 years old, the Franchi guys are directly fighting war on their land and being plundered, so the recovery period will have to be longer.
For the time being, I won’t have to worry about being declared war by the enemy.
“The recovery period is longer than expected. Well, our allies also suffered close to 10,000 casualties this time, so we can’t go to war right away. At the same time, you have to stabilize the territory, so it’s a perfect situation. Also, now I will be able to prepare for the business that will become the foundation of a modern nation.”
When Major Short heard that, he asked me if it was something he had to do.
“What kind of business is it?”
I smiled and said that.
“A site for development, development, and maintenance of administrative systems in military technology. Also, now that I am king, the serfs… No, I’m trying to give everyone equal opportunity and duty. And I am going to make a weapon that will bring the dreams and romance of war off the ground and into hell.”