Chapter 180
"A civil war will eventually break out in Ridill Kingdom. Come to my Empire before that happens. His Majesty the Emperor says he'll guarantee you the best possible treatment."
That offer, if she considered only the terms, was by no means a bad one for Monica.
If she went to the Empire, she could pursue the latest magical research unavailable in Ridill Kingdom. Monica had never been attached to her position as one of the Seven Sages. If this had been a year ago, when she was shut away in her mountain cabin, she might have been swept along by the offer.
But now Monica had important people in this country.
Even knowing that it might turn into a civil war, she had no intention of running away alone.
"...I must decline."
"I see. That's a shame... But you know, even if you refuse, His Majesty ordered us to bring you along, hmm?"
Euan and Heidi moved at the same time. Each of them gripped a knife in one hand.
(The wind is strong today, so they shouldn't be able to use a poison dispersed through the air.)
Euan and Heidi immediately closed the distance.
Monica erected a physical-defense barrier to block their attacks while simultaneously activating lightning magic.
Monica did not fire the lightning at Euan or Heidi. She aimed it at the tree Euan had been leaning against moments earlier.
"Whoa!?"
A muffled voice came from the tree, and another assassin who had been hiding there fell from the branches.
In fact, before stepping into the forest, Monica had already used detection magic to check whether any magic tools had been set up and whether there were any other ambushers.
That was why she had already realized that someone was hiding in the tree.
The man who had fallen from the tree after being struck by lightning wore a hooded cloak. From his voice and build, Monica could tell he was probably a man, but she could learn nothing more.
Monica created a spear of ice and pressed its tip against the throat of the fallen man, who was still convulsing.
Before Monica could declare, "Surrender if you value your comrade's life—" the convulsing man shouted.
"Too lenient!"
"...Huh?"
When Monica accidentally let out a vacant-sounding voice, the cloaked man shouted from the position in which he had fallen from the tree.
"I said you're being too lenient! If you're taking a hostage, you should injure his arms and legs enough to prevent resistance without damaging his vital organs, and at least check whether he's carrying weapons!"
Monica stared blankly at the man who, despite being a hostage himself, was lecturing her on how to handle hostages.
Euan and Heidi had already dropped out of their battle stances and sheathed their weapons.
"Huh? Huh? Um..."
When Monica looked at Euan in bewilderment, he merely shrugged with an expression suggesting he had given up on all sorts of things.
As Monica stood at a loss, the cloaked man shook his hooded head as if deeply disappointed.
"What a disappointment. Euan told me you were a cold, merciless witch, so I was looking forward to seeing what a terrifying woman you'd be... but you're just an innocent country girl."
"S-sorry... Um...?"
"But that chantless magic of yours was indeed splendid. I shall also commend your keen insight for realizing that I was hiding in the tree."
"Th-thank you...?"
She had been criticized by an enemy, only to end up being praised by him.
Apparently deciding that the situation was becoming too undignified, Heidi and Euan stood on either side of the paralyzed man and helped him to his feet.
The movement dislodged the hood of his cloak, revealing his face. He was a handsome man with slightly unruly black hair and sharply chiseled features. He looked to be somewhere in his mid-to-late twenties.
"Allow me to introduce myself properly, Silent Witch. I am Leonhart Alois Maximilian Bernd Kleving, the sixteenth Emperor of the Schvargalt Empire! I am the man known to the world as the Black Lion Emperor!"
It took Monica a full ten seconds to understand the meaning of what he had said.
Even after she understood his words, she still could not comprehend the situation, and stood frozen with a strained expression.
The man claiming to be the Emperor tilted his head at Monica's reaction.
"What, are you hard of hearing? Fine, I'll say it again. I am Leonhart Alois, the sixteenth Emperor of the Schvargalt Empire..."
"E-e... em...?"
"What is this? Have you suddenly started imitating a chicken?"
"E-em... em-peror?"
When Monica let out a bizarre squeak, the man puffed out his chest while his subordinates supported him on either side.
"Indeed! I am the Emperor. I came all this way because I wanted to see for myself the abilities of the rumored Silent Witch."
Would a man who ought to be sitting on a throne really travel all the way to a neighboring kingdom while hiding his identity for such a ridiculous reason? Impossible. It was impossible, and yet, looking at the man before her, Monica could not bring herself to think he was lying.
Moreover, for an impostor pretending to be the Emperor, the man possessed far too much dignity... even if he was currently a little paralyzed and being supported by his subordinates.
While Monica struggled to think of a response, the Emperor scrutinized her and spoke.
"However, that chantless magic of yours is... impressive, but awfully plain. Yes. It may be suited to assassination, but it lacks flair."
"S-sorry..."
"Don't you have a flashy technique that goes boom, like the Cannonball Mage? If you do, show me."
Being told to show him did not mean Monica could simply reply, "Yes, of course."
They were in a forest on the grounds of Serendia Academy. If she used flashy magic, the guards would come running.
"Um, it's the middle of the night..."
"Even if it is the dead of night, when I am in the mood, I light grand bonfires, summon an orchestra, and hold a festival. What problem is there?"
A huge problem.
Apparently unable to stand by and watch any longer, Euan cut in.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this isn't the Empire. We're in another country."
"Hmm, I suppose you're right."
Perhaps the numbness was finally wearing off, because the Emperor told Heidi and Euan, "That's enough."
The ridiculous pose in which his subordinates had supported him from both sides gave way to a straight-backed stance. The dignified figure standing before them was now befitting the master of a nation.
When Monica unconsciously straightened her own back, the Emperor gave her a broad smile.
"Don't worry. I had Euan attack you earlier because I wanted to see your chantless magic. I have no intention of harming you further. If you suspect me of carrying hidden weapons, I'll converse with you completely naked. I have confidence in my naked body, too."
Euan and Heidi's expressions instantly darkened.
"...Your Majesty. That would make Heidi and me very uncomfortable, so could you not?"
"Hm? Is that so? In any case, I have shown my good faith. Now, you will converse with me, Silent Witch."
That day, Monica learned for the first time that being completely naked could count as a show of good faith.
But Monica had wanted to talk in the first place, so she had no reason to refuse.
"Um, Your Majesty..."
"Yes?"
"...Please... don't expose Prince Felix's secret."
"I refuse."
The answer was immediate.
As Monica tried to make some sort of argument, her mouth trembling helplessly, the Emperor narrowed his black eyes and looked at her.
"Surely you know that Duke Clockford wants to wage war against our Empire."
"...!"
"If Felix Ark Ridill, Duke Clockford's puppet, ascends the throne, a war will eventually break out between the Empire and Ridill Kingdom. Is that what you want?"
"N-no...!"
The Emperor looked at Monica, who weakly shook her head, as though he pitied an ignorant child.
"For more than fifty years now, there have been minor skirmishes, but no major war has broken out on this continent. Do you know why?"
"Because everyone's too busy dealing with the dragon attacks to wage war... or something like that?"
"Wrong."
The Emperor flatly dismissed Monica's answer and declared,
"Because there are more mages."
Monica could not quite grasp how an increase in the number of mages would prevent wars from breaking out.
Seeing her confusion, the Emperor explained matter-of-factly.
"In the past, magic was kept secret among a select group of privileged people. But now its doors are open, and the number of mages has increased. Magical research has advanced, and new formulas have proliferated. Mages can become 'weapons' that stand in an entirely different league from ordinary soldiers."
Feeling as though he had called her a "weapon," Monica instinctively frowned.
But the Emperor continued speaking without the slightest concern for Monica's feelings.
"What do you think would happen if war broke out under these circumstances and multiple mages were assigned to the battlefield? Even if one side won the war, the damage to both sides would be catastrophic. The death toll would be far beyond the thousands—perhaps even tens of thousands."
A single super-large offensive spell could kill hundreds of people.
If more than a hundred high-level mages exchanged wide-area spells... part of the country would be reduced to a wasteland, and the land polluted by magic would no longer produce decent crops.
"Do you understand? Wars in this age cause damage on a scale utterly incomparable to the wars of the past. That is precisely why the kings of each country limit themselves to minor skirmishes and avoid large-scale battles."
And yet Duke Clockford wanted war.
Even if deploying mages as weapons on the front lines resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. Even if part of the land were left dead.
The Emperor stated this firmly to the pale Monica.
"I want to avoid war. That is why, when Felix Ark Ridill ascends the throne, I will secretly expose the truth and bring him down. This way, our Empire can avoid war without shedding blood."
"B-but Ridill Kingdom will be thrown into complete chaos."
"So what? The nobles of your country were the ones who sowed these seeds in the first place. It is none of my concern."
Monica was at a loss for words.
What the Emperor was saying was difficult for her to accept as a citizen of Ridill Kingdom, but it was logical and made perfect sense.
After all, it was Duke Clockford's side that was trying to start a war, while the Emperor was merely trying to prevent it.
But even so, Monica could not accept it.
She could not allow Ike's secret to be exposed.
She could not allow Ridill Kingdom to be thrown into chaos by a civil war.
Monica absolutely could not overlook either of those things.
"...As long as we can avoid the war, that's all that matters, right?"
Monica braced herself, drawing strength from her core. Ah, the oppressive presence of the man standing before her was crushing her stomach and making her feel as though she might vomit.
Even so, she desperately squeezed out words in place of stomach acid.
"I will make absolutely sure there is no war. So... if war can be avoided... please promise me you won't reveal 'His Highness's secret.'"
The Emperor looked bored by Monica's desperate declaration.
"Tell me your concrete plan."
"...I don't have one. But I will absolutely find a way to prevent the war."
"Ridiculous. Boring. That is no basis for a discussion. Above all, there is nothing in it for me."
"There is."
A faintly amused smile appeared on the bored Emperor's face.
"Then state it."
All expression vanished from Monica's face, just as it did when she sat before a chessboard.
Her greenish eyes fixed themselves on the Emperor in the darkness of the night.
"...If you promise me, I will let you return from here alive."
The Emperor, Euan, and Heidi all stared at Monica in stunned disbelief.
Then, the next moment, the Emperor doubled over and began to laugh.
"Ha, ha, hah! Wahahahaha! To think someone would threaten me to my face—the man who slaughtered the southern foreign tribes and is feared as the Black Lion Emperor! Hah! Well, you innocent little girl. Can you kill this Black Lion?"
"...I can."
Monica smoothly extended her right hand and made a gesture as if plucking a small chess piece from the air.
"All I have to do is think of you as an ordinary chess piece."
Her round, still-childish eyes held the Black Lion Emperor in their glasslike, impassive gaze.
To Monica as she was now, a king, a bishop, and a pawn were all equally just chess pieces.
"'If you don't accept my demands, I won't let you leave alive.' Ha! How nostalgic! Those were the exact words I once said to the chief of a foreign tribe!"
Euan and Heidi wore grim expressions. Naturally—they had seen Monica wield her power without mercy.
But the Emperor alone laughed aloud, looking tremendously entertained.
"Tell me, Silent Witch. I'm curious. Whom are you loyal to, that you're driven this far?"
"...It's not loyalty to anyone. I just don't want to have anything precious to me taken away anymore."
What came to Monica's mind were the days she had spent at Serendia Academy.
Even if her school life had been a lie, it was an irreplaceable treasure to Monica. She did not want it destroyed. She did not want it taken away.
She did not want to experience anything like the pain she had felt when her father died ever again... That was what drove Monica forward.
"What a shame. If you were acting out of loyalty to someone, I would have been confident I could win you over. After all, there are few rulers as appealing as I am."
The Emperor spoke of his extreme arrogance as though it were self-evident, then looked straight at Monica.
"Now then, Silent Witch. Since you've placed my life on the bargaining table, you had better stop the war. If you fail... remember that we can make the truth public at any time."
With that, the Emperor wore a ferocious smile worthy of his epithet, the Black Lion.