Chapter 135
A day when petals dyed the lake.
At the Redgrave Ducal Villa, gentlemen and ladies who loved culture and the arts gathered by the lakeside to enjoy a painting auction.
The current auction item was a painting drawn during the school days of the unfortunate artist Blossom Kraft. It was a cherry blossom tree blooming in the Kraft Family.
"Ah, whatever! One platinum coin!"
Duke Nastasha Redgrave raised her bidding paddle. Her brown eyes glared at the gentlemen and ladies who had been recklessly driving up the bid.
"I'll let it slide up to here, but just wait and see if any of you wretches raise it further! Even if it's Blossom, does it make sense to get this price for something drawn as a Pastime? Huh?"
As the Rivals laughed in a gesture of giving up, the winning bid was quickly finalized.
"You should have done this sooner!"
Duke Nastasha clenched her fist, feeling a sense of euphoria.
When the winning item was delivered, she took out a similar painting she had prepared in advance. It was a cherry blossom tree blooming in the Kraft Family, drawn by Nastasha Redgrave during her school days.
The two cherry blossom trees stood side by side.
When the paintings, drawn at the same time, in the same space, and for the same reason, were placed together, they matched perfectly.
Duke Nastasha, who had been laughing joyfully, gradually lost her smile. The commotion of the auction faded away, and her brown eyes grew calm.
"I suppose we can't go back to those days..."
Footsteps approached.
"How was Marquis Kraft?"
Looking back, it was a Demonkind in a suit.
Duke Nastasha returned her gaze to the cherry blossom tree drawn by Blossom.
"She was a cherry blossom. Destined to fall before spring returns."
At the ambiguous answer, the Demonkind looked at her questioningly.
"Ah. I misspoke. You mean the current generation's Kraft, right?"
Duke Nastasha took her eyes off the painting.
Tracing back her memories, she recalled the girl who was as radiant as a cherry blossom. And the dark inner thoughts covered by that innocent exterior.
―To convey my sincerity to the Republican Faction, I tried selecting the Acting Academy President through a Noble Vote, but was my sincerity lacking? Was my expression insufficient?
Marquis Pastel had selected the Principal through an unnecessary Noble Vote after the Academy's subversion.
In those words, 'sincerity' meant providing the next generation with election experience and aiding the field's development through a social experiment.
In exchange, a somewhat negative reputation began to flow within her home base, the Royalist Faction, to the point where the Emperor could openly humiliate her by not attending the banquet, so it was a great show of sincerity on Marquis Pastel's part.
And in those words, 'expression' meant...
Marquis Pastel did not show excessive greed for the Principal position. This didn't just refer to the title. After the election of Head Horace, she did not interfere with the Principal's authority or duties, keeping her boundaries as a Student.
Even so, it was true that the Student Council held Omnipotent Power with its excessive authority, but the important thing was that she did not do what she could have done.
Since there was no way she had the naive mindset of needing to respect the President just because she herself was a Student.
If you replace the Presidential Post with the Imperial Throne, the deduction becomes simple.
Marquis Pastel acted as a Kingmaker, and as the price of victory, she obtained Omnipotent Power instead of the Imperial Throne. After that, she did not meddle with the Emperor and only looked after her own Self-interest.
Unrivaled Authority.
If a Rival bowed their head and came in making such a proposal, it wouldn't be trustworthy, but if she was actually putting it into practice while laying down her own power, the story changed a little.
Furthermore.
―But I'm young so I wouldn't really know! We're a generation apart, so it's a bit troubling if you expect the same level from me, I guess!
Because there really was a generation gap in their ages.
Objectively, it was a relationship where they had to push and pull each other, not a relationship to compete in.
Of course, Duke Nastasha was not naive enough to just believe and accept these things. An opponent who took on a clean appearance without desire was well worth doubting. The more power that person held, the more so.
Rather, it was believable because such a Marquis had revealed her true intentions.
―Shouldn't the highest one be someone who is revered, desired, and leads the way?
When Marquis Pastel, who lived with the words of a self-proclaimed Popular Person always on her lips, said something like this, it was obvious how it should be taken.
Even so, Marquis Pastel might break her promise and show hasty over-greed, but State Management was not something that could be handled with talent alone.
One had to go through a High-ranking official position at least a few times and build up long-term experience to finally be able to grasp the overall structure and operation. In doing so, it was also absolutely necessary to form connections with talented individuals in various essential fields.
Rather than rushing to become Emperor for nothing and ending up recorded as an immature Emperor who failed at State Management, it was highly likely she thought to build experience as a Second-in-Command and then stably take over power in time with the generational shift.
However, there was a problem.
This was rationally possible, but emotionally difficult.
Those who promised to hand over power to a Second-in-Command mostly ended up breaking the promise and passing it down to their children. Countless histories proved this.
Duke Nastasha's smile deepened.
That's why, I like it.
As the countless histories of foolish monarchies proved, Hereditary Succession transcended rational judgment. There were plenty of great monarchs who handed over power to their foolish children who would ruin the nation instead of an outstanding individual, turning even their own achievements into bubbles.
If a peaceful and rational transfer of power, which would be impossible under a monarchy, could be achieved, it would be a case that directly proved the rationality of a republic.
Of course, this would be an Inner Circle Succession that the Scholar class would loathe, but...
Duke Nastasha was not that romantic. Rather than experiencing the chaos of an unfamiliar system, a stable system settlement was better.
It was a good proposal.
Good, very good.
However, there was one thing that bothered her.
All these premises assumed the fall of the Empire.
The reason Duke Nastasha could not immediately read the hint of Inner Circle Succession in the Academy election also stemmed from this. Such a proposal would only end up as a daydream if the Empire did not fall.
Just what kind of certainty was she moving with?
The Empire was not currently robust, but it was not at the level of falling. Even though military power was declining as the Disarmament Policy continued, it was nowhere near a level that the United Kingdom of the Demon Realm could covet.
The only thing a traitor could believe in was the prophecy of the Great Temple.
Is that so.
Had Marquis Pastel Secured the Demon King or built a reliable connection?
She didn't know how that Kraft had formed a deep relationship with the Demon King, but this made sense.
With this kind of setup, the Emperor had no choice but to make a self-destructive move.
The Emperor judged that for the Empire to fall by the Demon King, there had to be a civil war or an equivalent internal danger that would ruin the Empire's national power.
The most likely candidate was the Kraft Family, which had grown powerful enough to threaten the Imperial Throne. Blossom, who could be trusted, had endured her pregnancy until January 1st to avoid the Former Tyrant's imperial command, but her health continued to deteriorate after childbirth until she eventually died, turning into the biggest variable.
The conclusion was the complete downfall of the Kraft Family.
In return, the backlash from the Nobles grew fierce, but since it proved that the Imperial Family could bring down even Kraft if they pushed hard enough, it was highly effective in blocking a civil war.
After that, the Emperor strengthened the Disarmament Policy to weaken the Nobles' Private Army and gathered the freed-up resources. To use them immediately once the internal enemy or cause became clear.
Then, upon secretly learning the news that the Demon King had been found in the Demon Realm, he selected a proxy to continue focusing on the internal enemy.
And that proxy was Kraft.
A Family that could side with the Demon Realm less than anyone else.
But Marquis Pastel had already formed a connection with the Demon King?
Marquis Pastel accepted the Emperor's invitation with a brazen face, then counterattacked with a scheme prepared for the banquet humiliation, and won the Sky Island Governor-General Position from the Emperor.
The Governorship of Sky Island, a Military Stronghold connecting the Empire and the Demon Realm.
Duke Nastasha couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh.
If there was only one miscalculation on Marquis Pastel's part.
"I treated my guest poorly."
She had intended to show a proper taste of bitterness and reality to her friend's Child who was recklessly stepping into the Central Political Circles, and advise her that it would be better to stay in the Frontier until she built up her forces, but she had misjudged her level.
Just imagining how much she might have ruined things by failing to match that tightly woven scheme was terrible.
―The level is different from what I expected, so I'll be going now!
She had nothing to say.
"That's surprising. Was she at that level?"
The Demonkind was amazed.
"She was at that level."
Duke Nastasha smiled and looked back at the Demonkind. Even though it was a painting auction that doubled as a Republican Faction meeting, she checked to see if anyone was eavesdropping nearby and spoke lightly.
"I heard Princess Ellishita proposed a gathering? Even if you meet Kraft at the meeting, don't underestimate her."
"I will keep that in mind."
Duke Nastasha turned her gaze away. With her brown eyes, she looked at the cherry blossom tree drawn by Blossom.
As the quiet atmosphere continued, the Demonkind bowed its head and left.
Duke Nastasha's smile subsided. Her vision blurred, and her memories wandered into the past.
―Everyone says you've lost your dignity to moneymaking. Don't waste any more money because of me. They say a flower can never see its own season again.
A weak voice covered the sickbed.
The smell of medicine stung her nose.
―Don't say things like that! I will definitely! Definitely...!
Petals fell and dyed the lake.
Drops of blood formed on her clenched fist.
The monarchy must be abolished.
Definitely.