Chapter 5
Our group headed towards the prison located in the basement of the royal palace.
Andrei quickly regained his spirits and kept teasing me with giggles as we walked, and when we arrived at the place where I would be confined, I could understand why.
The place where I was imprisoned wasn't the typical jail with iron bars.
We stopped in front of a solitary cell with even the door made of stone.
Inside, there was only a roughly carved stone bed and a deep, narrow pit, with no connection to the outside except for a small window pierced high up and a food slot on the door.
The room was so small that it seemed difficult to even stretch once inside.
"How long will I be here?"
I asked Andrei, who was grunting beside me as he moved the door.
"I can't say."
"One day? Hmm. Doesn't seem like it. Three days? A week?"
"Stop it."
"It doesn't seem longer than that. About five days?"
"...Damn it."
Thanks to Andrei, who couldn't hide his twitching eyes and wavering gaze at all, I could quickly gather information.
According to Andrei's transparently clear reactions, it seems I'll be confined here for about three days.
He hastily pushed me into the room without properly untying the ropes binding my body.
"Let's see if you're still so haughty when you come out."
"Good luck with that."
"...Grrr!"
-Thud.
As the door closed, the interior became completely dark.
After confirming that no light was seeping in, I released the ropes I had been holding.
Since I had already secretly untied all the clumsy knots while moving, the ropes all fell to the floor as soon as I let go.
"As expected, what a fool."
Basically, when confining someone in solitary, items that could potentially be used for self-harm or escape should be removed.
Cutting tools are typical examples, but don't they know that these ropes could be used in various ways?
I supposed Andrei, who usually goes around drinking tea with other nobles, might not know that.
"Phew."
He should know he was lucky.
If they had put in another heinous criminal, it would surely have been a problem, but I intend to be an extremely model prisoner.
My goal is to appear as a blindly loyal subject who always devotes loyalty to the state and accepts orders even if they're unjust.
Since my abilities have already been proven, I don't need to worry about the side effects of appearing incompetent and dull.
The current plan is to show this originally loyal appearance to the monarch, and when the Empress provides an appropriate opportunity, join the empire reluctantly with a line like 'You have moved my heart.'
The idea is to raise my value by playing hard to get during the persuasion process, and once I gain their loyalty, create the perception that I will work hard just as I did for the previous king.
Since I don't know how the Empress will approach me, 'reading the room' might be the most important variable, but I've gained quite a bit of confidence in my ability to read situations.
If I'm really uneasy, I can just accept immediately with excuses like my heart has weakened, so I'm not too worried.
For all of this, I need to behave very quietly in solitary confinement.
Fortunately, I'm the person who is more confident than anyone else in this world about staying quiet in such a place.
I felt around the bed and lay down on it.
"Let's do this."
When I close my eyes and concentrate my thoughts in a comfortable position, the small mini-map fills my vision and transforms into a tactical map.
The familiar UI of 'The Great War' unfolded before my eyes.
This is a feature I discovered during my military academy days when I frequently used the mini-map, and remarkably, this tactical map has a battle simulation function.
Like a game, I can create and command battles using not only the battles I've directly experienced or major battles from the game, but also terrains and troop types I know.
Life became much richer after discovering this feature.
Whenever I had free time, I immersed myself in simulations, so while I sometimes had problems from staying up for several nights, I was never bored.
I can use the experience gained this way in actual battles, so it's truly killing two birds with one stone.
"Shall I do some preparation?"
Since I'll be commanding imperial troops in the future, I started simulations focusing on battles where imperial troops face the forces of countries bordering the empire.
"...Reassuring."
Unlike the Rus Kingdom's forces, which had poor quality equipment and scale, just looking at the numbers, the quality of the empire's forces is extraordinary, making me feel like loyalty towards the empire is already rising.
Since it's solitary confinement and I don't need to worry about others' interference, I completely immersed myself in the battlefield unfolding before my eyes with peace of mind.
---
Recently, I've been feeling quite good.
It's because the people who call themselves the noble faction, who used to boast that they were kings on their own lands, have become much quieter.
I didn't like seeing them making noise about how well their self-started war was going, but now I don't need to step in anymore.
"Your Majesty!"
"Speak."
"Why did you refuse the supply request! If it weren't for the agreement, General Paul might have been isolated in the middle of enemy territory!"
When someone spouted such unpleasant words,
"It was you who insisted from the beginning that no support was needed! You didn't mention anything about managing occupied territories or by-products, but now that it's dangerous, you're suddenly seeking help. Does this make any sense?"
The people gathered on the opposite side under the name of the imperial faction step forward first to refute.
"That's...!"
"Don't you know that you're alive and here because Her Majesty wished to stop the war!"
I don't know why they're called the imperial faction when there's a mix of people I've employed and those I haven't.
But it wasn't bad just to make the noisy noble faction people quiet.
"But..."
"That's enough. We're not here to argue about who's right or wrong, are we?"
"Theodore...!"
"I'd appreciate it if you'd call me Duke Oppenstadt. I am a proper duke, after all."
Those who had been arguing about each other's rights and wrongs for a while closed their mouths at the mediation of Duke Theodore Oppenstadt.
He was a noble who had come to me separately saying he would become part of the imperial faction, and he seemed to have good skills as he quickly became the representative of the imperial faction and attacked the noble faction.
The noble faction, which had seemed to be growing, weakened due to Theodore's attacks and the failure of the Northern War, and Theodore, the core of the imperial faction, gained as much voice as other older dukes despite being only in his 20s.
These days, there's even an atmosphere of seeing him as the real power in the royal family rather than me.
"Your Majesty."
"Mm."
"I hear the negotiation team has almost arrived."
"Ah, I see."
Theodore's attitude was outwardly polite and respectful, befitting a representative of the imperial faction, but I didn't like him much.
The great ambition occasionally glimpsed beyond his gaze seemed unsatisfied with just the position of head of the imperial faction.
Theodore not only gathered his own forces beyond my reach but also occasionally sent malicious glances towards me.
Every time that gaze, full of lust and desire for power, reached me, it gave me terrible chills, making me regret making my appearance pretty.
Unfortunately, I don't have the power to drive him away right now.
Even though I secured legitimacy by drawing the legendary 'Blood Sword', I don't yet have the authority to remove a high-ranking noble close to being the real power at will.
I belatedly realized that I should have built up my own power while the imperial and noble factions were keeping each other in check, but it was already too late.
The noble faction has weakened to the point where it's almost embarrassing to call them competition.
But I can't leave it alone either.
Even those I personally selected have joined under the name of the imperial faction, but their leader seems to have different intentions.
I need to distinguish truly trustworthy people.
If someone I've given trust to and nurtured turns out to be Theodore's person, it could be a serious problem.
"...Is it really okay with just that one person? I think we could demand something else..."
"No. It's enough."
That's why this negotiation is important to me.
I need a figure untouched by Theodore's influence.
Someone capable enough to keep the arrogant Theodore in check, yet trustworthy with no ties to existing nobles.
There is a person who satisfies all these demanding conditions.
"They say he's called invincible. I'm curious."
'The Invincible', Viktor.
For now, I'm placing my hopes on him.
"Are you thinking of using him?"
"I'll have to see. Whether he's a usable per... person."
If he's as usable as they say, he might be worth trusting.
He has no desire for power, his competence is almost proven, and he's even famous enough among the imperial people to use his name to threaten children who oversleep.
If he's also skilled in internal affairs, I can keep him close and build up his power, and if he's not much use outside of military strategy, I can send him as governor of the occupied Rus Kingdom territory and have him establish the foundation by conquering as soon as the ceasefire ends.
If he really has nothing...
It's regrettable, but I might have to take his head to at least feel better.
"...I understand."
Theodore looks like something is bothering him, but affiliations and such aren't very important to me.
Aren't they all just humans anyway?
My thought is that if necessary, the flag they're carrying isn't important at all.
"Then, let's end this meeting here."
"Yes."
According to rumors, his appearance is quite handsome as well.
"Hmm."
My heart, which had been growing tired amidst these not-so-cute nobles, began to flutter with expectation for the first time in a while.