237 – Before the Fall of the Elain Empire (8)
When the mad emperor of the empire burns his will and brutally executes all the internal rebels and his family , in front of me, an officer came out and reported.
“My name is Miles, an ensign from the reconnaissance unit. According to my Intelligence Unit 1, the execution of the rebels and their families was completed an hour ago.”
“The enforcement went faster than I thought. So, can you tell us how the rebellion unfolded?”
As if the officer had been waiting for that word, he reported to King Creutel while reading the document made of scrolls for 20 minutes.
Listening to the report, I nodded my head in interest at first, but when the story reached its climax, I was so absurd that I covered my mouth and listened.
At times like this, a seasoned employee would look at the boss’s reaction and stop reporting, but…
The second lieutenant, who had just been commissioned, was too nervous in front of His Majesty the King, so he continued talking unilaterally until the report was over.
I pondered for a while whether I should stop this and ask a question or not…
To start with the conclusion, the report itself was perfectly written, so there was no need to ask any questions after the report.
“Therefore, 1,000 citizen soldiers, 600 soldiers, and 3,000 of their families who participated in the uprising were captured, executed by beheading, and their necks hung with spears. Among the citizens, there is a split between half of the people who think it was inevitable because they rebelled, and half who think it was too much to kill their families.”
After the second lieutenant’s report, Ciel patted him on the shoulder to congratulate him on his hard work.
“You worked hard, as expected from the second son of the Randell family, the report was perfect. It has been thoroughly written.”
“Thank you!”
“But, in the middle of watching, when I put on a surprised expression, I thought, ‘What kind of question are you trying to ask?’ It would have been better if I had thought of doing it. After hearing everything, the report was so neat that I didn’t have anything to ask.”
As if the second lieutenant liked that he had finished his first operation report safely, he saluted and walked very lightly as he left.
When I served in the army as a combat sergeant for a while, the operational officer walked around like that when he came back without being hurt even once by the division commander.
After being sentimental for a while, I called the adjutant around me and asked.
“If Lieutenant Randell’s report was true, the enemy soldiers would have lost their sanity right now. Then, what about the morale of our allies?”
The adjutant said in a voice that didn’t seem to understand why I was asking this.
“The morale of our allies is sky-high. Also, the soldiers are ready to attack the imperial castle at any time according to Your Highness’s orders. Then, do you intend to go over the wall in earnest now?”
As the adjutant asked, it won’t be a problem anymore if we start a full-scale siege starting tomorrow.
Since the morale of the militia and soldiers in the Imperial Army is already low, most will give up the battle if they are urged to surrender at the beginning of a siege.
As long as the nobles who are in the know open the gates in time, it is possible for the allies to drop Elysium without taking much damage.
“That looks good too, but I think a little differently. Since the morale of the enemy is so low and the command is unstable, it would be better to shake the enemy’s unity further. So, send a letter to the nobles who are in contact with the intelligence unit. And the full-fledged siege will begin in three days. Be considerate so that the soldiers can enjoy today without collapsing from a hangover.”
Before the full-scale siege, there’s something fun I’d like to do, so it’s okay to give the soldiers a few more days.
**
On the day after the citizens’ rebellion was suppressed at Elysium Castle, some nobles were drinking and having a meeting in the secret room of the imperial palace.
The purpose of their gathering was ostensibly to discuss ways to restore the morale of the citizens, but…
“Earl Farius, we are all going to die like this. Damn it… If we don’t prove to His Highness, King Creutel, that our family can help…”
“Please shut up. Count Jacques. There is no one here who does not know such a simple thing. Yes, if you can’t prove your usefulness, you’ll get a few gold coins and get kicked out with nothing but a pitiful life. And the family will perish.”
“I can’t let the 300-year-old history of the DeLong family end in my generation… God damn it…”
They are only thinking about how to save their family, but they have long since lost allegiance to the emperor.
And the reason why they gathered in one place like this was because they were meeting in a closed room under Ciel von Kreuttel’s order, taking the risk of being discovered.
Some friendly counts discussed in advance and expressed their intention to be loyal to King Creutel, but this decision was made individually and secretly, as it was a serious matter that depended on the continuation of the family.
Therefore, they did not know who had betrayed the emperor and had agreed to pay their allegiance to King Creutel.
Until I arrived in this room following a letter from King Creutel asking me to attend a meeting in an underground secret room that had just arrived.
So, the nobles I met here said, ‘No, you? Aren’t you the one who spoke and acted so loyally in front of the emperor? I didn’t expect to see you here, even if no one else knows.’ Or ‘I thought you would meet me when you came here. hahahaha. ‘.
The meeting began after a period of mutual reaction.
The aristocrats who have gathered here for a brief moment are pessimistic about each other’s situation, quarrel, despair, and sympathize with each other’s pain.
Count Farriers opened the edict he received from Ciel von Kreuttel.
Then the nobles gathered here got down on one knee and bowed their heads without hesitation.
Those who plot treason usually don’t pretend to be so loyal…
I do this so that later, when everything is over, I don’t get caught saying, ‘That bastard didn’t kneel in the edict!’
Earl Farriers confirmed that all the nobles in the meeting room were on their knees, and then began to read.
“If it is original, it should have a legal form, but I will omit everything and just talk about the main topic. From now on, spread rumors that the emperor is preparing to surrender to me and live as Count Elaine. Depending on how active you are in this process, I will decide your treatment.”
After reading the edict, Earl Farriers put it in the fireplace in the corner of the room and confirmed that it was all burnt out.
“It seems that we have not lost the trust of His Highness the King. Well, it would have been nice if we had led the last rebellion in advance, but… If everyone is like that, do you have any plans?”
Listening to that, Count Jacques laughed and said,
“It’s easy to spread rumors. Give the maids in the castle a few gold coins, and they’ll spread the word on their own. But we all have to do more than that to keep the family alive. And I have a pretty good idea.”
Then everyone’s eyes were focused on Count Jacques.
“As you all know, isn’t the best thing to do when rumors spread that you’ve touched a woman from a commoner’s background? Conversely, the worst way is to deny the rumors and immediately punish or take revenge on the person who spread them.”
The story Count Jacques told is, in short, a way to run away without taking responsibility after messing with a commoner who caught his eye in his mansion or on his way.
From Noble mtl dot com
Aristocrats, especially those with a title of count or higher, had done or heard of it at least once, so everyone nodded their heads in agreement.
“It’s not a very nice thing to do, but sure, if you catch and kill the rumor spreader as soon as it spreads, people will assume it really happened, whether it’s true or not.”
“Usually, it is common to give a few dozen gold coins and take her in as a maid… But if you don’t want to do that, you should just ignore it and deny it. After that, my interest fades.”
Count Jacques continued the story from there.
“We use the same method. His Majesty the Emperor loves a woman named Eva Green so much that he is currently plotting to push the Empress away and become his wife, and that Eva Green is negotiating surrender behind the scenes with King Creutel in order to pass on her direct control to her future child. It’s a rumor. Rumors among the maids spread like lightning, so if I tell His Majesty the day after tomorrow that these rumors are spreading…”
When I said that, the counts around me were frightened.
“Eva Green, whose Majesty the Emperor, who has been blinded by her, will order her maids to be killed for spreading rumors about her.”
“Didn’t you receive this operation from His Highness the King? How evil.”
Earl Jacques was ordered to ‘spread rumors with the maids’ before he came here, but…
“I haven’t received any specific instructions from His Majesty the King. But isn’t this all true? This floor upstairs isn’t His Majesty’s office, it’s a resting area. Listen to the floor creaking.”
When the nobles heard that, they heard a creak from the ceiling.
“Isn’t that the sound that only a woman and a man make in intense love? When it’s a little quieter, you can hear this non-stop in the room below His Majesty’s office. Then, let’s do this now and disband each other. If you talk too long, your tail gets caught.”