Chapter 33
"Please appoint me as a temporary special commander. I will persuade some of those who came over to the empire with me, lead only them to the battlefield, and prove my loyalty."
Theodore, upon hearing Viktor's opinion, checked the Empress' reaction before becoming flustered.
"...Haha."
On her face was not the languid expression she usually showed others, but a deep, deep smile.
Theodore felt like he would go mad with boiling hatred.
Having fallen for her gorgeous appearance from the moment he first saw Louise, he had been trying to win her favor until now.
Rising to the position of head of the imperial faction while catering to the nobles, and showing off his ability and power while managing meetings, were for this reason.
Although she was an Empress who established authority by drawing the Blood Lineage Sword, at her core she was a farmer from the village of Steilberg.
Theodore thought he could easily win her heart by becoming someone she could rely on in the unfamiliar court with appropriate favor and help.
However, Louise was an iron wall.
She would occasionally smile when new talents were brought in, but that was only for a moment.
She always looked at Theodore with an expressionless face.
Then that Louise,
"An interesting proposal."
Was smiling at Viktor.
Theodore's head, heated with extreme anger, spun quickly, and he soon thought of a better method than showing his anger.
"Your Majesty."
"Hmm? Ah, Lord Theodore."
As soon as Theodore caught Louise's attention, he felt Viktor's intense gaze shooting at him, but he wasn't intimidated at all because he believed in the power he held.
As long as it was in front of Louise, Viktor wouldn't physically rush at him.
Rather, gaining confidence from Viktor paying attention to him, he advanced towards Louise with his head slightly bowed.
"Although it's said that the force that surrendered with Viktor exceeds 20,000 in scale. They are mostly composed of conscripts, and until recently, they were pointing swords and spears at us from the opposite side. They won't accept the proposal to fight for our empire."
"I know that those who follow me might be 6,000, or even fewer. But because they are those who sincerely follow me, that number is enough to produce sufficiently remarkable results. I understand that the empire is in conflict with numerous countries. If not the Rus Kingdom, wherever we go, I will prove my worth."
Theodore smiled vilely as he watched Viktor rebutting without giving Louise a chance to react.
"Although Viktor is showing confidence, the influence that can be exerted with a small number of troops has clear limitations."
Theodore pointing out that the troop size wasn't to reject the proposal to appoint Viktor as a special commander.
In his thinking, outright refuting Viktor's proposal, which was currently receiving attention, was an amateur tactic.
Although Viktor seems threatening now, it's not easy to grow influence in the Dragonian Empire where he has almost no foundation.
Hastily trying to check him and going against Louise's mood, stopping Viktor now has more disadvantages than advantages.
There are many ways to check Viktor without going against Louise's will.
"Also. Although he swore loyalty, moved by Your Majesty's mercy, I think there's still a risk in entrusting an army to him yet. Moreover, dispatching a small-scale force might result in only provoking the enemy country and enlarging the scale of the war, so we should increase its scale to a meaningful level for him to properly produce results."
"Increase the scale?"
Since Viktor swore loyalty just yesterday, and there hadn't been any event yet where he could properly show his loyalty.
Instead of feeling displeased at those words, Louise showed interest in the following proposal.
"In the war with the Brotan Kingdom, the defense forces are struggling, so currently, a corps of 10,000 scale led by General Gerhart Weissilt is waiting to be deployed as a reserve force. How about appointing Viktor as a special corps commander and having his forces join General Gerhart's corps to head to the battlefield? If it's General Gerhart, he should be able to deal with it even if Viktor harbors other intentions."
Theodore stepped forward, checking Louise's reaction and seemingly supporting Viktor's proposal by saying he would attach more troops.
First, Theodore didn't think highly of Viktor's military strategy.
The reason he was keeping Viktor in check is that his influence in drawing out a large-scale surrender was impressive, and Viktor, who stole Louise's attention, was terribly hateful.
Theodore harbored ill feelings towards Viktor after meeting him personally when he was a prisoner.
Wearing colored glasses, he saw Viktor's achievements as coming from the mistakes of the noble faction with its confused command system rather than his ability, and his fame was born from the push of the Rus Kingdom that needed a hero.
In fact, many parts of his records spread by rumors seemed to lack reality.
On the other hand, Gerhart Weissilt is an imperial faction general recognized within the empire who has proven himself as a general of the empire for a long time.
His authority and control are unmatched in the empire, and the scale and elite nature of the reserve force waiting under his command are on a different level from the Rus Kingdom soldiers who are of conscript origin.
This became the basis for Theodore to push confidently.
Although it's said he's joining as an equal corps commander, Viktor is in a temporary position as special corps commander with fewer subordinate troops.
On the scene, there's a high possibility that Gerhart's opinion, which can't help but have greater influence, will take priority.
In such a situation, if they win, most of the achievements can be attributed to Gerhart's merits, limiting the increase in Viktor's influence.
The achievements that can be made with a few thousand troops are unlikely to be greater than those of Gerhart leading a regular corps, and the nobles are more likely to move towards attributing merits to Gerhart, who has long been disinterested in politics, rather than Viktor, whose influence could be threatening in the future.
If they were defeated, naturally, that responsibility could be pinned on Viktor for punishment.
After all, the nobles would be afraid to blame Gerhart, who already has strong influence in the empire.
"Instead, when he fails to produce results, severe punishment should be imposed."
Theodore secretly hoped for Viktor's defeat.
Because the Brotan Kingdom was far, and the threat of Viktor was close.
Losing some land in the eastern part of the empire due to the kingdom's victory wasn't in Theodore's concern.
"Hmm."
Louise rested her chin on her hand and fell into thought.
Contrary to Theodore's thinking that she wouldn't notice because she's usually uninterested in meetings, she knew that proposal wasn't friendly to Viktor.
"Viktor. What do you think?"
Louise asked Viktor's opinion with some expectation, projecting the image of the hero she desired.
"...I will do as Your Majesty wishes."
Viktor, who had been silent for a moment, bowed his head and left the decision to Louise.
Although it could seem like a passive answer, Louise felt some kind of resolve in Viktor's eyes when he heard her question, so.
"Good! Viktor, I appoint you as temporary special corps commander, head towards Zabinsk to decide the treatment of prisoners. After that, quickly lead the soldiers to join General Gerhart's corps and drive out the Brotan Kingdom!"
"I received the order."
Louise stood up from the throne and accepted Theodore's proposal.
As Theodore saw Viktor bowing his head with a hardened expression as if it couldn't be helped, he retreated with satisfaction.
He didn't notice that the corners of Viktor's mouth, who had bowed his head, were raised.
---
After the meeting ended.
"Haha."
As I didn't have a house in the empire yet, I entered the guest room temporarily given to me and laughed.
"The Brotan Kingdom, huh."
My value comes from the overwhelming amount of information from the mini-map and military control utilizing the tactical map.
In that respect, the Brotan Kingdom, which covers the inferiority of individual troop abilities with numerical superiority, similar to the Rus Kingdom that frantically gathered conscripts in the early stages, is close to a stage for me.
If I can properly exploit the low morale and high difficulty of control characteristic of non-elite soldiers, I can sufficiently make notable achievements even with a small number of troops.
Joining with General Gerhart can also be seen positively.
He is one of the few true soldiers in the empire who considers practical benefits rather than internal power struggles, despite being a noble of high rank as a duke.
This means he's the type of person who can be sufficiently persuaded if I show the usefulness of my abilities.
Even if I can't persuade him, he will do his best to attack the Brotan Kingdom on his own, so I just need to use his movements well to establish achievements.
The larger and more chaotic the scale of the battle, the more my abilities demonstrate their true value.
With his corps together, I had no doubt about defeating the Brotan Kingdom.
Achievements?
Influence?
It's difficult for machinations to work in the face of overwhelming achievements.
And since Theodore keeps moving while watching the Empress's mood, my position should be quite safe as long as the Empress's interest doesn't disappear.
Not to mention the noble faction, which is still far behind the imperial faction.
-Knock. Knock. Knock.
As I was sitting in the chair imagining a bright future, I heard a familiar rhythm of knocking.
-Click.
"I greet Your Majesty the Empress."
As soon as the door opened and I confirmed that the person entering was Louise, I stood up from my seat and paid my respects.
Now that she is clearly my lord, I shouldn't treat her carelessly like before.
"Be at ease. There are no other eyes here."
As she said, it was Louise who came alone without even maids, but.
"Your Majesty now is my lord. I cannot treat you the same as when you were the head of an enemy country."
"Hmm. Is that so? Well, it doesn't matter."
I continued to maintain a straight posture.
Louise slowly approached me as I stood.
"You know that I am a dragon, so speak comfortably."
"..."
"As you know, I hold great interest in you. So far, you have been satisfying my expectations."
Her half-closed eyes gradually opened.
"It was the same during the meeting. You looked confident. That you could win against the fierce Brotan Kingdom without being subsumed by General Gerhart's influence."
"That's right."
"I, no."
She slightly raised her pressure and put her hand on my shoulder.
"I am very capricious about small things."
"..."
"I like you now, but if you betray my expectations, I don't think I'll be very pleased."
Since there's no chance of failure, I'm not afraid.
I raised my lowered head slightly and met her eyes, filled with confidence.
"I understand."
"Bringing the Rus Kingdom army to surrender was impressive, but it's still not enough. So, prove that you are not a trivial human with this opportunity. If you produce excellent results this time as well..."
She turned away first after meeting my eyes for a moment,
"...I will support your future path with all my strength, so you can look forward to it."
She left the guest room with a smile, leaving those last words.
-Click.
The definite support of the Dragonian Empire's Empress.
"...Good."
Although it was a short visit, it was clear motivation.