Episode 21. The Emperor’s Deal (4)
“You’re just making a mistake. How dare you discuss the assassination of the next emperor?”
“Assassination? It’s not that grand. I just said the natural procedure.”
“A natural procedure?”
“Have you already experienced it once and forgot it already?”
I pulled back the curtains and looked out the window. The moon was high in the sky, telling the time that it was dawn.
“What do you mean?”
“…… I’m talking about how you harmed your own family decades ago in order to ascend the throne.”
“!”
“At that time, I know that the power struggle was almost boiling. It was because the members of the imperial family supported by the dukes at the time were different. But you couldn’t even participate in the succession war because you lacked the power of the forces that supported you. Rather, I had no choice but to wait for the day I would die.”
“How do you know the facts…… !”
“As a result, while the two older brothers, who were strong in power, were beating each other, you, who remained calm, stabbed them in the back at the end, and even eliminated your older sister, who did not even qualify for the throne, and ascended to the throne.”
In other words, it was the fisherman’s geography that made him emperor.
“Uh, how do you know that, you bastard!! I would have destroyed all those records!”
“Okay. Why would I know?”
He glares at me sternly. The hands on his desk were trembling slightly.
“Would the aristocrats recognize you for taking the throne through such fishermanship? No, I didn’t admit it at all. However, in order to overcome the aftereffects of the succession war, you paid the royal family money to the nobles as compensation rather than subduing or killing the opposing faction.”
The more I talk about it, the more his complexion turns white.
“It was a shame because even his ability was recognized afterwards, but if anything went wrong, the nobles who supported the brothers you killed would have rebelled.”
That’s how complicated the succession war is.
If I had been able to roughly kill the emperor and crown prince and put the tax collector on the throne, I would have done so long ago. However, Princess Seri was not yet recognized among the nobility.
To be exact, it wasn’t easy to get a chance because the crown prince held most of the aristocratic forces.
Me and Tori are trying to get in contact with other nobles and solve their problems, but even that is not easy.
In addition, since we are trying to free other races from slavery, many nobles seemed to be against us.
That’s why you can’t blindly kill the emperor and the crown prince. Should the nobles rebel against our acts of treason, the empire would become even more chaotic.
And if the demons who continue to watch over the human world sense the chaos of the empire and attack, I’ll lose this game.
“How do you know so much detail? Is there a snitch? No, it can’t be. They should all be dead already…….”
I drew the curtain again and approached the emperor.
“Since I am here, there must be a white swan near here now. Is it okay if I tell you this story?”
“…… Go away.”
As the emperor spoke quietly, for a very short time, I felt someone’s presence along with the sound of clothes brushing around me. But it soon calms down.
Looks like he really tried to kill me when he was in trouble.
Even though he was the most needed being in the empire, he was too mean.
“Explain. How do you know? Most of those who knew that fact were dead. Even the current duke’s head of household doesn’t know the details about that fact.”
“How did you know… …. This is the spirit king who has lived for hundreds of years. Getting that much information is not a problem.”
Make up a story like that.
Any story is fine right now. Anything was fine as long as I could be persuasive. And it would be better if the emperor couldn’t verify the information.
“…… No way, the information guild that is looking after you…… You mean the spirit king?”
“Anyway, it doesn’t matter that I know this. I have no intention of threatening you with it.”
“Then why did you bring up that story?”
“I said this because I wanted to let you know that the same things you went through will happen after you die.”
“What…… ?”
“I know that the reason you gave power to the crown prince was to prevent the succession war you experienced from happening. If Chris had overwhelming power, he would have thought that no other brother would try to cross over the imperial power.”
“You… what the hell…….”
“But Chris is much more vicious than you think. Clearly, that bastard thought that the other princes and Princess Se-ri would get in the way of his ascension to the throne, and he attempted an assassination—”
“Stop!!”
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He raised his voice. The spacious office resounds. Then the knights came inside.
“Your Majesty, what are you doing?!”
Emperor Rufen flicked his hand to tell them to leave without even replying. The knight looked back at me and the emperor, then bowed deeply before closing the door again and leaving.
“After… …. Gee, are you doing this now…… !”
This is an epileptic.
That’s not wrong. I’m thinking of tampering with the trust between the emperor and the prince.
“If you say that a hundred times a thousand times, I will not believe you. I know for sure that you are trying to make tax collector the emperor no matter what. Do you think you would believe that?”
“…… One of the sayings I know is this.”
I slid my face into him, leaning on my work table.
“If you want to know someone’s true nature, give them the power.”
I stood up again watching his eyes move nonstop.
“What… ….”
“The crown prince already has power since he was young, so it won’t be easy to find the difference. But why did he create a black glowbird that resembles a white glowbird? When he becomes emperor, he can immediately take the White Gwangjo into his own hands.”
Emperor Lufen didn’t say anything. My words began to eat away at his thoughts. Confusion stirs in the calmly spreading ripples.
“Have you ever thought about the reason? Well, you know better how dirty the Black Gwangjo did, so I won’t bother to tell you.”
“…… It is legal for nobles to own private soldiers. Is there any reason not to be Chris? He is definitely the next emperor.”
“You are too wrapped up in being the sole heir. Yes, you can. However.”
Looking at him defending the crown prince, he nodded his head and said with a straight face.
“Can you say the same thing when you kill another prince?”
Bang!
He hit the desk hard.
“After all, everything you say is speculation! Bring proof to convince me! Words can’t do anything!”
“Evidence? Do you think there is such a thing?”
“Then… ….”
“If there was such evidence, the crown prince would have died at my hands long ago.”
“What, what…… ! Dude, what are you saying…… !”
Lupen points at me with a trembling hand.
After the conversation, I am about to change my mind. Even this suggestion should be put to good use.
“So, this is my suggestion. If the crown prince tries to kill other princes, I will take responsibility for their protection.”
“What?”
This is justification.
It was a justification for me to attack the prince’s forces.
If I attack the prince first, I will be at a disadvantage even if I win the war.
Of course, I pretended to protect the prince when he tried to kill him, but I had no intention of risking my life to protect him.
After all, the prince and the prince have the same way of thinking.
“I have already fought and subdued the upper level demons several times. You know very well that your skills are above S-class. That’s why I said I would protect the princes from the prince.”
The emperor was silent for a moment, perhaps because he was tempted. It looked like he was thinking about profit and loss with his mouth covered.
“…… No, but I don’t need your help. That’s something our royal family should take care of. Even if you don’t intervene—”
“What are you talking about? Do you really think that the princes will be able to survive after concentrating their forces in one place?”
“That… ….”
“Besides, I am already the power of Princess Se-Ri. When the succession war begins, it will be inevitable to clash with the prince’s forces. Of course, if we fight, I will destroy Chris with all my might. Even if that means massacring all nobles.”
I gave strength to my eyes and opened them wide. There was no hologram showing that the killing spree had been activated, but the impression of Lufen flinching at my momentum became threatening.
“Are you threatening me?! Dare the commoner—”
“But!”
In order to protect his pride, he cut off Emperor Rufen’s attempt to raise his voice.
He shuts up. He still has a lot of wrinkles forming on his face, but it’s not threatening.
“But if you accept this deal, I will give up putting Princess Se-Ri on her throne. In that case, there would be no succession war, and the crown prince would be able to become emperor naturally. And your children will live the rest of their lives intact under my protection.”
If the game goes according to the scenario, the establishment of the crown prince will inevitably happen.
This cannot be changed.
To be honest, I can’t even think of a way to change it.
I gathered my forces to come up with a way to change it, but like the emperor said, the only nobleman who would be the power of the publican was the Duke of Aus.
But waiting for the resistance to happen was practically unreasonable. There was no time to spend leisurely in a situation where you don’t know when a war between men and horses will happen.
So I boldly hand over this part.
Instead, I will look for the next opportunity. So that the prince himself would have no choice but to give us a chance.
“…… What are the conditions?”
“The liberation of slaves from other races and the return of territories taken away so that other races can live independently.”
There was no reason for the tax collector to become emperor if the crown prince complied with the emperor’s freeing of slaves from other races and provision of territories through this transaction. There is no need to go through a difficult power struggle.
Of course, I was thinking of protecting Se-ri’s safety with all my might.
“Hot!”
Lupen snorted. Then he burst into laughter that made the office ring. I stood still and waited for his laughter to end.
“It really is a suggestion that is not worth listening to. You made an offer that didn’t pay off and you fell for it.”
I expected you to reject it.
If you had freed the slaves and returned the territory, you wouldn’t have attacked other races in the first place.
“Did you say Suji didn’t fit? It’s not enough to prevent the future slaughter battle between your children, you can take me on your side. Not worth listening to?”
“No matter what deal you offer, I will not hand over the territory. Are you saying this even though you know how much magic stones come out of the territory that other races had?”
“You speak well of the subject of the massacre.”
“Isn’t it a frequent occurrence in the natural world that the powerful take away from the weak? It’s because other races uselessly gave meaning to it.”
He paid no attention to my naked criticism. He patted himself on the head and watched him rationalize, making him want to put his fist down his nose.
“If you hadn’t enslaved the other races in the first place and hadn’t taken away their territory, things wouldn’t have been twisted this far.”
“I hope you don’t do that too much. Everything is for the Empire. As a citizen of the empire, I would like to think about worrying about our empire first rather than other races.”
“Our Empire? Funny. Do you think the empire can be intact by turning me into an enemy?”
“…… I admit that you are strong, but isn’t it obvious who will be most happy if you, the hero, destroy the empire yourself?”
Are you referring to demons here?
In reverse, I’m giving you a shot. This rotten old man
Seeing that I can’t answer, he raises his mouth for the first time.
“Is a hero a hero after all?”
Muttering that, he tapped the table.
“…… Good. I have no intention of becoming friendly with you, but I have no intention of being hostile.”
“What does that mean?”
“I will free the slaves of all other races within the empire. As you wish. Instead, tax collectors’ outside activities are prohibited, and when the crown prince tries to kill the princes, protecting them is the bottom line I think. How are you?”
The transaction itself is not bad if it can be achieved even by freeing the slaves. However, if the territory of the other race is not returned, the anger will not subside.
“The way to calm the anger of other races from the massacre is to free them as slaves and return them to their original territory. If that doesn’t happen, other races will forever be a threat to the Empire.”
“I would have said the Maginot Line?”
“…… Then it would be better to let this deal never happen.”
It wasn’t a deal that I would have to deal with at a loss on this side.
What I want is not the bottom line, but all my requests. There is no need to compromise.
Unless the demons intervene, the situation is still in our favor.
“Good talk. I’ll just go.”
I turned away before I could hear the emperor’s answer. I didn’t want to talk any more.
I move toward the door of the office. As I was about to grab the doorknob and turn it, I heard a voice behind me.
“…… Would it be all right if I just said this and left?”
“What do you mean?”
“Prause, you better not be too conceited. The world flows easily the way you want, so I must be mistaken about something. There are things in this world that strength alone cannot do. Just as you gathered your power and put the tax collector ahead of you even though you had power.”
It was an NPC who really had the urge to kill several times.
If the condition for a happy ending hadn’t been for the empire not to perish, I wouldn’t have offered a deal like this.
Um. Shall we fix that cheeky little b*tch?
As it is said that seeing a thousand words is worth seeing, I think you will realize it once you experience it yourself.
“…… Aren’t you really misunderstanding something? If I had used my strength, this empire would have already been shattered in my hands.”
“Ha…… ! Then why don’t you try it right away? Do you think you can win in an all-out war with the Empire?”
“Really? Then let’s try it.”
“What…… ?”
“Tomorrow at midnight, the Magic Guild Facility will be destroyed. They won’t be able to stop it even if the magic guild leader steps in, so I’d like them to be evacuated in advance.”
It was a kind of school-like magic facility inside the capital, Pretium. It was also the place where most wizards working in the empire were trained.
I was thinking of blowing it up.
“Are you going to go to war against the Empire?”
“War? No way. This is just one-sided violence. Guys like you have to take a dip to tell the difference between poop and soybean paste. We just treat them accordingly.”
[Activates the skill 「Living」.]
I approached him again with my eyes strained. Seeing my momentum flinch, I placed a delivery scroll on the desk.
“If you have something to say to me, please contact me via the forwarding scroll here. I wonder if he would have the same thoughts then as he does now.”