Chapter 65
The content of the demand that completely exceeded expectations was one thing.
What made Louise burst into laughter was Viktor's calm tone, as if he had said something obvious.
After clapping her hands and laughing for a while, she said,
"Right. You wouldn't make an obvious demand."
She wiped away the tears that had formed from laughing too much with her finger.
Viktor sat unwaveringly serious, watching her.
"You want me to become the de facto absolute ruler, is that it?"
"Yes. The reason is..."
"...No. You don't need to explain."
Having finally caught her breath, she stood up from her chair and slowly approached his side as he sat.
"It could be because the stronger my power as your backing, the more advantageous it is for you, or there might be some other intention."
"..."
"But it doesn't matter. I intend to accept your demand anyway."
She walked behind Viktor, who was sitting upright, and gently put her arms over his shoulders.
"What I'm curious about is not the reason but the method. Of course, I'll do my best, but it won't be easy to take power away from nobles who have ruled regions for generations."
"...That's right."
"How do you want me to do it?"
Louise pulled his upper body slightly so that Viktor could hear her heartbeat, burying the back of his head between her breasts.
"Should I become a tyrant and subjugate everyone by force? Or should I build up power steadily and slowly take away the nobles' power?"
"..."
"Hmm? I'm still not familiar with human politics. I'd like you to suggest an appropriate path that aligns with your purpose."
She lowered her head and spoke as if whispering in his ear.
Viktor, who maintained his composure despite the soft sensation felt from behind, said,
"Just continue as you have been doing."
"...?"
His short answer stunned Louise.
Her fingertips trembled slightly.
"What does that mean?"
"It means exactly what I said. Your Majesty should slowly build up your position without provoking resistance from the nobles."
He removed Louise's arms that had lost strength and stood up, turning around to face her.
"There's no need to implement dangerous policies or forcibly suppress the nobles."
"..."
She unconsciously swallowed and looked into Viktor's eyes.
"Since Your Majesty has appointed me as the commander of the direct corps, they will perceive my movements as Your Majesty's will."
"...You mean."
"I will return with even greater achievements that others cannot doubt or criticize. Those achievements will become Your Majesty's achievements, making it impossible for the nobles to hold their heads high."
Viktor looked at Louise without the slightest wavering, then moved beside the chair and knelt on one knee.
"Please use me to become the absolute ruler of the empire."
"..."
"So that the arrogant and insolent nobles cannot dare to raise their spirits, so that they bow their heads and obey every word of Your Majesty. I will do my best."
Louise could now understand why Viktor had spoken his second demand more cautiously.
Although she couldn't understand why such a bold demand had come out,
"Rise."
"Yes."
Now she was truly not curious about the reason.
"I don't go back on my promises."
"..."
"As you demand, I will reign as the absolute ruler of this Dragonian Empire. But of course, in Louise Zainburg's way."
Because every word and action of Viktor greatly stimulated her expectations.
She wanted to see how his story would unfold no matter what.
Even if usurpation of the throne, collapse of the empire, or at worst, forced termination of the play awaited.
She could be satisfied just by being able to see the process of heroic tales being built firsthand.
"And, I have one request."
Therefore,
"I won't ask for anything else, but I'd like you to grant me this one thing."
"...?"
"I'd like you not to run away until the story ends."
Louise made her final request to him, with a strange pounding in her heart.
Viktor couldn't see it, but her cheeks were flushed red.
Although she expressed it indirectly, it didn't take long for Viktor to understand her words.
"I will never run away."
"...Good."
"...!"
Louise hugged Viktor tightly as he answered immediately.
She didn't realize it, but this was an action close to instinctive marking.
"I hope you'll exceed my expectations next time too."
"..."
"As you said, do your best."
"...Understood."
"Well then, I'll be going now."
After leaving her final words, she released Viktor, tidied her clothes, and walked towards the balcony door.
"Won't you watch the festival?"
Viktor asked her one last question as she turned around without lingering.
"It's no longer necessary."
Capturing Viktor's image in her vertically slit pupils, she answered briefly and opened the balcony door,
"Because you won't run away."
She muttered quietly so that no one could hear and returned to the banquet hall.
"You've come out, Your Majesty."
"Hmm. There are many waiting for me, so I must move quickly."
She moved her steps as Louise Zainburg, the cold Empress.
---
Although things ultimately worked out as desired, it was a conversation that left much to ponder.
Before returning to the banquet hall, I sat in a chair and mulled over the conversation I had with Louise.
"In the end, she agreed, but..."
More than the content of the conversation, her attitude deviated greatly from my expectations.
Her reaction to the second proposal was especially more intense than I thought.
My demand was to prevent a repetition of the Rus Kingdom's tragedy, and it came from the calculation that moving Louise alone would be much easier than persuading the divided nobles, but.
She didn't just stop at accepting, but kept asking me what method to use, and.
"...Hmm."
She even made physical contact several times.
In the two embraces, I could hear her heart beating loudly.
Even considering that it's a body created for play, this is a matter difficult to dismiss lightly.
Was she so pleased with the request to strengthen her power further?
For now, such physical closeness was never described in the game.
No matter how much she likes humans, getting physically close is a different matter.
Should I see it as similar to how humans hug and play with dogs?
If it were me, I don't think my heart would race just from hugging a dog that can communicate with me, is intelligent enough to work together, and even dresses itself.
Moreover, I'm not sure what her final request not to run away meant.
Whether it meant not to run away from the empire, or if it was a roundabout way of saying not to die.
Although the sentence was simple, even its intention doesn't seem to be light.
"...I don't understand."
I shook my head.
If she's as intelligent as I think, she'll handle things well on her own, and as long as I do my job well, there shouldn't be any problems.
Although my heart feels a bit heavy, this kind of pressure often helps when striving for the best.
At least until I end the 'crisis' and finish world conquest, I have no intention of leaving the empire.
"The west... Hmm."
I naturally thought of the western countries, which were my next target.
If an incident breaks out in the south, I'll have to head there, but if not, I'll head west where I can gain several commercial centers.
The western part of the continent is where commercially developed countries compete, and conquest is not easy due to numerous mercenaries and enormous financial power.
To make this easier, I came up with the idea of trading with the Anchester Kingdom.
The dwarf kingdoms in the southwest of the empire are very closed off, so people don't know yet, but at this point, they should already be developing flintlock muskets.
The spread is slow only because they haven't fought any major wars yet.
Currently, some mercenaries in the west might be using hand cannons or early matchlocks at high prices.
I plan to pull this forward drastically with Louise's financial power.
The Red Dragon Corps will mostly consist of artillery and musketeers, and I plan to utilize the imperial army already in place for infantry.
As it's the Empress's direct corps, with the Empress' or Gerhart's permission, we should be able to conduct operations with other corps.
Of course, early firearms are not omnipotent, and the dwarves will naturally try to sell off old matchlocks at high prices, but I have plans for that too.
Although I'm not an engineering student who knows the structure of firearms inside out, I do have some useful knowledge.
As I was lost in thought with the distant sounds of the festival in the background,
-Rustle.
"General Viktor."
"...Anna?"
Anna, looking slightly pouty, opened the balcony door and entered.
I greeted her as usual.
"What did you discuss with Her Majesty? Don't tell me you were talking about work even here?"
"...Ahem. Her Majesty wanted a more detailed report."
"It took quite a long time. Did she give you any separate orders? ...If it's something like that, I suppose I can't ask separately."
"..."
She approached me as I sat and strongly massaged my shoulders from behind.
"I'm worried you're pushing yourself too hard. Shouldn't you be enjoying the banquet? I understand there were never such banquets in the kingdom."
"...That's right."
"You can work tomorrow, the day after, and next week too. I hope you'll focus on the banquet now."
I could feel her concern for me in her slightly subdued voice.
I stood up, suppressing a scream internally.
"...Did it hurt?"
"No, it's fine. Come on, let's go."
"Yes."
Although it would be difficult to enjoy the banquet anyway, I returned to the banquet hall as she suggested.
The banquet hall was still noisy.
"Oh, Corps Commander Viktor! So you were here."
"Grand Marshal Gerhart."
"Haha! It's still a bit awkward, but I like it. You've also become the commander of the Red Dragon Corps, how do you feel?"
"Her Majesty trusts me, isn't it an honor?"
As expected, several nobles, including Gerhart, approached me and struck up conversations.
"I heard you've been appointed to lead Her Majesty's direct corps."
"That's right."
"I'd like to help Her Majesty's corps in my small way, what do you think?"
"Hmm..."
As I had no intention of being at odds with everyone, I had to converse with many people, regardless of whether they were pro-empress or pro-noble factions.
Trying to understand the intentions they were hiding, time passed in an instant.
"...I wish you wouldn't look at me like that. It makes me feel guilty, you could say."
"You clearly said you would enjoy it, but today's banquet is already entering its final stages."
"It seems so."
Before I knew it, the banquet hall had emptied out and become quiet.
Perhaps because I had been moving around constantly without rest, even Anna's usually calm face seemed to show signs of fatigue.
"Perhaps one bottle would be alright? I tried a glass earlier, and the aroma was quite nice."
"Of course. Here, you can take this. Do you need glasses too?"
"No, it's fine."
"...General?"
I received an unopened bottle of wine from an attendant and showed it to her.
"Let's try to enjoy ourselves, just the two of us."
"..."
I hadn't forgotten that she had said she wanted to talk to me separately before Louise called me.
"Don't you want to?"
"I'd like that."
Anna and I sat in a quiet place separately and enjoyed the wine with conversation as our side dish.
Perhaps because the effects of alcohol hadn't fully worn off, Anna's face quickly turned red, and her expression was softer than usual.
"Can you tell me now?"
"Hmm. The empire's alcohol tastes better than the kingdom's. I can't deny that."
"..."
It was an enjoyable time.