Chapter 15
The Zainburg family, ruling the Dragonian Empire, had suffered from various threats for a long time.
For unknown reasons, the emperors couldn't have many children, and even those few children often didn't live long due to power struggles, assassination attempts by nobles or foreign countries.
As a result, the Zainburg family developed a unique structure with only direct bloodline descendants.
Many expressed concerns, but no improvements were made.
Finally, about five years ago, a problem arose when Emperor Frank Zainburg died suddenly from illness before leaving an heir.
It was such a sudden death that he couldn't even designate a successor, and there were no other prominent heirs.
The Zainburg family line had been cut off.
The Empire fell into great chaos.
The Zainburg imperial family had two major characteristics.
As if to prove the legend that they inherited the blood of the Red Dragon, they were born with red hair and red eyes, and the Blood Lineage Sword stuck in front of the throne in the imperial palace could not be drawn unless pulled by a member of the Zainburg imperial family.
After several hundred years passed, for some reason even members of the Zainburg family couldn't draw the Blood Lineage Sword, but the red hair and red eyes continued to be inherited without interruption.
Thus, the Blood Lineage Sword became a legendary tale, and red hair and red eyes were considered symbols of the Zainburgs.
So when rumors spread that the imperial throne was vacant, people with red hair from all over the empire came to the imperial palace claiming to be members of the Zainburg family.
One claimant turned out to be an albino man who had dyed his hair red, having naturally red irises, shocking everyone. An ambitious noble even had an accident losing his eyesight while trying to dye his eyes red.
An enormous number of throne claimants appeared, and nobles formed factions by choosing claimants according to their own interests.
Naturally, as there was no way to prove who truly inherited Zainburg blood, their conflicts were gradually turning into power struggles.
It was then that the current Empress, Louise Zainburg, suddenly appeared.
At 24 years old, one of the younger claimants, she was a farmer from Steilberg, a mountain village in the southernmost part of the empire.
Displaying natural and beautiful bright red hair and eyes, she claimed to be a collateral descendant of the imperial family.
Everyone laughed at Louise, saying there was no way an imperial family member would live in such a rural village or do farming, but she simply put an end to those doubts.
Upon entering the imperial palace, she drew the Blood Lineage Sword without hesitation, which no one had been able to draw for over 200 years, and the sword was held in her hand without any resistance.
When the legendary sword, said to react to the dragon blood mixed in the Zainburg family, was drawn, everyone was astonished.
After other candidates received the sword and dropped it screaming, proving her claim, she ascended to the imperial throne without objection.
It was the result of a match between nobles loyal to the imperial family and ambitious nobles who wanted an inexperienced emperor.
The nobles expected Louise, who had legitimacy but was young and inexperienced in politics, to be swayed by them, but she showed her unique charisma and insight, ending the initial chaos.
Particularly good at spotting talent, she appointed various up-and-coming nobles and officials, and those influenced by her gathered under the name of the imperial faction.
Existing nobles felt threatened by the growing imperial power and gathered as the noble faction, but when the Northern War, conducted solely by the noble faction, essentially failed, their power weakened, and most nobles who had claimed neutrality moved to the imperial faction.
As a result, Louise built the strongest power base among emperors who had ascended in recent centuries.
Although it's hard to say it's entirely her own power since the nobles constituting the imperial faction have different motives, at least outwardly, she appeared to have established an absolute imperial rule.
Since the Dragonian Empire had been unable to stand tall due to dispersed power until now, Louise was gathering the expectations of those dreaming of imperial glory.
Several neighboring countries were also focusing on her movements while gathering information.
This woman who was drawing everyone's attention, who could move the empire with a single word or gesture, was,
"Hehe. Hehehehe..."
Lying on her bed, giggling while reading documents in her hand.
The blanket was kicked off rolling on the floor, and her nightgown was disheveled with less than half the buttons fastened, looking as if it might fall off at any moment.
It was completely different from her usual appearance of sitting gracefully on the throne in antique formal wear.
The documents briefly listed profiles of those classified as employment candidates, including graduates of the imperial officer academy and people recommended by current officials.
Similar documents were scattered at the head of the bed where she lay, under the bed, and on the desk where she worked.
"Not bad. Hmm. Not bad at all."
Louise read through the documents as if not to miss a single letter.
Appreciating human appearances is Louise's favorite hobby.
Because of this hobby, she's so famous among her own kind, who consider themselves noble beings, that they understand if someone just says "that crazy woman."
It all started when she, as a hatchling, accidentally encountered human stories.
Stories of the founding emperor of the Dragonian Empire, stories of the human hero Sieg, and so on.
Just as humans are amazed at seeing giant ant colonies.
She was fascinated by the grand stories created by humans, who are particularly weak in physical abilities among the various races of the continent.
For decades, she devoured all the legends passed down among humans, and at some point.
She realized that the human figures in legends were all quite similar.
An extraordinary beginning, fame, given crises, overcoming and a happy ending.
There were slight variations, but the overall framework was always the same.
Louise became completely bored with the uniform story structure.
Stories that were refined to show only the admirable parts no longer moved her heart.
She became curious about the raw, unfiltered appearances that humans show.
Eventually, she decided to insert herself into the midst of humans.
Thinking that she needed to rise to a high position to see various aspects, she prepared thoroughly.
After persuading her concerned kin by imposing numerous restrictions on herself, she waited for the right opportunity.
When great chaos struck as the emperor of the Dragonian Empire, a human country, died, Louise seized this chaos as an opportunity to delve into human society.
Initially, she just enjoyed observing various human aspects, but the enjoyment didn't last long.
Many humans were filthy and greedy, and most of those who stayed around her for long were even worse.
Those who mainly gathered, calling themselves "nobles," were mostly rude to her, or outwardly kind but inwardly cunning.
The hero-like figures she had hoped for were nowhere to be seen.
Even when she thought she had found a decent human, they would soon disappear or change to become like other humans.
Therefore, she was always thirsty for new talent.
Saying that someday a hero-like human would come, she continued to gather information on outstanding humans.
Every day, she read documents, imagined their paths herself, and then brought them to the empire.
Although it was just a repetition of expectation and disappointment, her persistence and obsession burned more intensely with each cycle.
"Hmm."
She put down the document she was reading, rolled over slightly, and lifted the pillow.
Underneath, unlike the other documents, was a bundle of papers neatly tied with string.
This bundle of documents, marked with a green sign in the corner and boasting an unusual thickness, had "Viktor, Rus Kingdom" written on the cover.
"Indeed, I like this one the best."
Louise picked up the document and lay back down comfortably.
Recently, she had been most interested in a human named Viktor.
Viktor, the great general of the Rus Kingdom who almost led the Northern War to victory.
The story of an orphaned commoner rising to the position of commander-in-chief stirred a thrill she had long forgotten.
The extraordinary beginning of an orphan from the streets entering the military academy as the top student.
Followed by demotion and the crisis of war, to the conclusion of proving his ability and rising to the position of commander-in-chief.
Louise kept flipping through the document she had already read thoroughly several times.
Although it would be a few more days before Viktor arrived, she planned to read this document again every night.
Her expectations were only rising, as he was described as an extraordinary person even in the reports submitted by Paul and the generals under him.
With reports of the negotiations being finalized a few days ago, Louise's cheeks flushed red at the thought of being able to see Viktor in just a few days.
Although she momentarily recalled the adults' advice that one should lower expectations the longer one has to live, she quickly erased it from her mind.
Her thought was that if expectations were met when they were high, it would be truly the best, and if they fell short of expectations, she could make them pay for it.
"I'm looking forward to it."
She spread her wings of imagination, reading the documents and wondering what kind of appearance he would show when he stood before her.
---
At the same time.
Anna, left behind in the Rus Kingdom, was seriously pondering over the letters that had flown to her.
"...Should we really rebel?"
Anna, guarding the tent Viktor used at the request of the subordinate soldiers, muttered while looking at Viktor's chair that was growing cold.
Her thoughts were increasingly leaning towards rebellion.
Although it's unclear how many would remain when actually moving, for now, the forces of those who came saying they would join her exceeded ten thousand.
Moreover, the nobles who would have moved long ago in the past were busy gathering every day to eat and drink.
'...You probably can't hear this.'
Anna approached Viktor's desk, which looked unfamiliar without piles of documents, and brushed off the dust that had already started to accumulate.
Recalling his back view as he was dragged away, she sat back in her seat with a gloomy expression.
Her desk was piled with an enormous amount of letters.
Most expressed dissatisfaction with the kingdom's behavior of handing over Viktor, and among them, many letters directly mentioned rebellion.
Thanks to these letters, Anna gained confidence.
Confidence that the series of processes leading up to sending Viktor to the empire was truly the worst, and that many people sympathized with this.
"General Anna, we are always ready."
A soldier standing nearby urged for a decision, but Anna shook her head.
"It's not enough yet."
Anna knew that once rebellion starts moving, it can't be stopped.
She had seen many times that if you rise up ambiguously, the end is a purge.
If the justification is dissatisfaction towards the nobles, success could be seen as cutting off all the nobles involved in this negotiation.
Are those gathered now really prepared to cut down the nobles, or our old comrades who stand in our way?
Since not all who sent these letters dream of rebellion, her thought was that they should wait until the nobles give a better justification.
To keep Viktor's last order to live long, she wanted a perfect justification that would make everyone rise up inevitably.
"...Let's wait."
In some ways, she was also trusting the nobles of the Rus Kingdom.
She had faith that they were so terribly incompetent that they would cause another big incident.