Chapter 3
The Fall of the Empire probably didn’t just mean the Empire disappearing.
“The Empire no longer being an Empire is also a form of destruction.”
Looking at the Original Story alone, the Empire was constantly pouring free aid into neighboring countries.
If that continued, the Empire would no longer be wealthy and powerful, and that could be considered the Fall of the Empire.
So this was the very first thing to do to prevent this destruction.
“Brother, you’re going to send them, aren’t you? The Executioners? I know it doesn’t make sense to dispatch all of them, so just half. We’ll just secretly send about half! How about it, isn’t it a great idea?”
To punish the lunatic who was crazy in love.
“Come to think of it, the Emperor wasn”t seen during the State Council. I think.'
I had to punish this guy, and I also needed to find out why the Emperor disappeared.
But dealing with Second Prince Bedin was unconditionally the first priority.
“Brother?”
Since I was ignoring the Second Prince’s words and only thinking about how to deal with him, he must have felt something was off.
Bedin looked at me and tilted his head in confusion.
“They say silence is another form of agreement, so I’ll take it as that and send half the Executioners, okay?”
Then, the moment the Second Prince spoke to himself, he reached a conclusion and tried to leave my room again.
“I’ve realized the biggest problem for now.”
I grabbed the back of the Second Prince’s neck and threw him straight to the floor.
Thud!
Actually, I just meant to grab him gently to stop him.
“Why is my strength so high.”
My physical performance was more ridiculous than I thought.
I could move however I wanted, and it was as if several times more power than I intended came out on its own.
“The problem was that you were looking down on me.”
A subordinate who tries to handle things on their own while walking on eggshells, even though a decision-maker clearly exists.
This kind of situation usually happens when a junior walks all over their senior.
To think there would be a situation where an incompetent junior tried to walk all over a competent senior.
This meant the senior had some issues as well.
“Spoiling a junior needs to be stopped at a reasonable point, but because he kept letting it slide, the guy just assumes agreement and tries to leave even when there”s no answer.'
In a situation like this, if it had been the original Crown Prince instead of me, he would have unconditionally cheered his brother on and sent the Executioners.
But that wasn’t going to happen anymore.
“B-brother?! W-When did I ever look down on you…”
“Otherwise, there’s no way you would have reached a conclusion on your own and tried to leave when I didn’t even give an answer.”
I could see the Second Prince was so shocked that he didn’t even realize he was sprawled out on the floor.
He seemed very flustered because the brother who had been kind just a couple of days ago seemed to have changed.
“It would be best to adapt quickly.”
The good times were all gone now.
“From now on, the Empire will not be supporting the Maselin Kingdom. And furthermore, we will be taking back, one by one, everything we’ve supported needlessly so far, or things we haven’t gotten back despite providing support.”
“…But brother! Then, then the Maselin Kingdom will have a hard time! They’re only holding on right now because we’re giving them a lot of help!”
Looking at the Second Prince who still hadn’t come to his senses and was taking the Maselin Kingdom’s side.
“Then you can just give up your position as the Second Prince and go to the Maselin Kingdom. Why do you keep giving away the Empire’s things?”
I continued speaking as if it were absurd.
“Right, you wouldn’t be able to do that… because you’re just a weak bastard… with no power to achieve anything, so you’re just acting as a Parasite on your position as a Prince while giving away the Empire’s things, right?”
“B-brother?”
“Whenever you say something, it’s not just 'Brother,' but 'B-brother'? I’m sick of hearing it. I’ve conveyed my intentions, so get out, and from now on, there will be no instances of your hosting a meeting regarding support for the Maselin Kingdom.”
I firmly stated that there was no intention of providing support and kicked the Second Prince out of the room just like that.
No matter how close we were, it made no sense for him to just casually enter the Crown Prince’s room.
“…Then the first thing to do for normalization is:”
Retrieving the support given to the Maselin Kingdom, I suppose.
+++++
“W-What…? What does that mean? Say it again.”
“The Bellos Empire… strongly conveyed their intention not to send the Executioners. They also strongly advised that all of the Empire’s personnel currently stationed in the Maselin Kingdom be sent back immediately.”
“H-Huh…”
At the Vassal’s words, King Dir Maselin of the Maselin Kingdom staggered.
“Call the Princess, the Princess right now.”
“Yes, sir!”
The Bellos Empire’s armed group not coming was a problem, but the bigger problem was sending back all of the Empire’s personnel.
He knew it sounded incredibly funny and absurd, but the Empire’s talented individuals were running the Maselin Kingdom’s economy right now.
The brains of the Empire - those called the ivory tower of knowledge - were working without pay, saving money and continuously being provided with opportunities to peek at the Empire’s wisdom.
For that to disappear in an instant?
This was a massive incident that could cause the country to suffer greatly.
Not only that, but “all personnel” would also include the Imperial Knights who were currently reliably protecting the Maselin Kingdom.
It would inevitably suffer a massive blow in terms of public order and national power as well.
They were already barely surviving in the barren environment of the Western Region.
To think the Empire would suddenly change its mind on a whim?
“This shouldn”t happen. This can’t be happening.'
Still, the fortunate thing was that the current situation wasn’t entirely negative.
The Maselin Kingdom still had a means left to turn the current situation around.
Clack.
“Is that true? The Empire suddenly changed its mind and told us to send back all personnel?”
“Princess, you’re here! What you heard is true.”
The Protagonist opened the door and revealed herself, with an appearance that could be called the best in the Kingdom, no, the best on the Continent without exaggeration.
His precious daughter couldn’t be traded for anything.
“Mirne, is there a way?”
At the same time, she was the strategist who had grown the weak Western Kingdom to where it was now.
Her daughter, who had possessed brilliance since birth, would utter words he had never heard before.
She had always brought immense national profit through surprising means.
She could be called the Maselin Kingdom’s fount of wisdom.
So this time as well, the Maselin King believed his daughter would have a way.
“Leave it to me.”
Mirne spoke confidently and headed straight to her room.
And as soon as she arrived, she immediately used an Artifact.
A soft chime.
An incredible performance that allowed communication with just a minuscule amount of mana regardless of distance restrictions was developed.
That performance made it possible to communicate from the Maselin Kingdom to the Bellos Empire without any restrictions.
Click.
As soon as the chime indicated she had reached the other party.
“Bedin, what exactly happened? You said you would send the Executioners… but did you suddenly pull out all the personnel?”
The recipient was Bedin, the Second Prince of the Empire.
He was practically the main sponsor of the Maselin Kingdom.
“This has never happened before. What is it? Wasn”t he completely head over heels for me?'
Mirne felt confused and demanded an explanation of the situation from Bedin.
“T-That, I obviously intended to do that too… but my brother firmly stated that it’s absolutely not allowed… I really think there’s nothing I can do this time, we’re already preparing to receive all the personnel on our end too…”
“What? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince intervened directly? And said no?”
She heard a shocking answer.
“Something like this wasn”t in the Original Story?'
The Crown Prince intervening to stop the Empire from supporting the Maselin Kingdom?
And to the point where the Second Prince answered the call with such a terrified voice?
This was a scenario she had never even thought of.
The first variable that hadn’t appeared even though she had read the original work over 50 times.
Mirne felt an incredibly great confusion.
Unaware of Mirne’s feelings, the Second Prince continued speaking.
“Yeah… that’s what happened, honestly he was incredibly angry too… so I don’t think there’s anything I can do this time.”
“Are you going to give up like this, after telling me to say so whenever I needed help?!”
“Honestly, it’s my first time seeing my brother this angry too, so I’ll try to block it as much as I can for now… but there’s a high chance it won’t work.”
He was experiencing the Crown Prince’s strict demeanor for the first time in his life.
Completely intimidated by that, the Second Prince spoke of the gloomy current situation before adding.
“Still, the things we agreed to invest in are proceeding step by step, so don’t worry! I’m handling that part secretly.”
“…I understand, but don’t push yourself too hard; it breaks my heart to see you struggling.”
“Mirne…!!!”
Smooch, smooch, smooch.
The call ended with the sound of the Second Prince’s kisses.
“…Is the Empire trying to change? Or is it because the mention of the Executioners was too much?”
Whether this was temporary or the first step of the Empire changing drastically in the future,
Mirne began to feel anxious about the altered future.
But soon.
'It’ll just be for a moment. It must be the pushover Crown Prince I originally knew.'
Mirne dismissed her worries.
because this world was a place that existed to give everything to the Protagonist.
+++++
“Make a list of everything the Second Prince sent to the Maselin Kingdom for no reason… as well as anything related to investments, and bring it to me.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
“The sooner the better. I’d like to Check it as soon as I wake up in the morning if possible.”
“Understood.”