War Maniac

"I hear you obtained the letter. Good work."

With that, Gordon sat in a chair, looking self-assured.

Sonia stood before him. Not a shred of loyalty to Gordon showed in her eyes.

"That was the agreement."

Sonia said flatly.

Gordon snorted at her demeanor.

"You're a joyless one. Still, your skill in obtaining the letter was impressive. No wonder you're the adopted daughter of a genius military strategist. I would have liked your father to help as well, but it's unfortunate that his old wounds have left him unable to act."

"W-what!?"

A light of hatred kindled in Sonia's eyes.

Ten years ago, Sonia had been driven from her village together with her mother for being a half-elf, and had lived quietly on the outskirts of a village along the border between the Kingdom of Perlan and the Empire.

However, the village suffered devastating damage after being caught up in a conflict between the Imperial and Kingdom armies, and Sonia was separated from her mother. While the village was engulfed in flames, the remnants of the Kingdom's army turned into a mob and nearly attacked her, but her adoptive father rescued her.

Her adoptive father suffered severe injuries at the time and became unable to remain in the army. Even so, he took Sonia in and, together with his own parents, raised her as their own.

To Sonia, he was a great benefactor—her irreplaceable father and the tactical mentor she revered.

How had a war that harmed civilians happened with such a man there?

It was because of the man standing before her: Gordon. During his first battle, Gordon had charged ahead alone in pursuit of personal military glory. The front expanded pointlessly, spreading the flames of war to the village and ultimately leaving Sonia an orphan while severely injuring her adoptive father.

Gordon had been praised for killing many enemies in that charge, but behind the scenes, many people had bled while trying to cover for his recklessness.

And now Gordon was saying, "What a shame." Sonia found it unforgivable.

However.

"You have murder in your eyes, don't you? But don't forget that your adoptive father and his parents are under my watch."

"...I know."

Sonia forced the words out while biting her lip in frustration.

Many of the strategists serving in the military held views diametrically opposed to Gordon's. They believed that war should be avoided.

As a result, Gordon had no strategist at his side capable of fighting through the political struggle. That was why he had singled out Sonia's retired adoptive father and threatened him into cooperating.

However, her adoptive father lacked the strength to travel all the way to the Imperial Capital, so Sonia offered to take his place. She wanted to repay him for raising her. At the same time, she knew Gordon was the sort of man who would take hostages if necessary and ignore those around him, so she felt she had to serve as his brake.

If she let this man run wild as he pleased, there would only be more people like herself and her adoptive father.

Serving Gordon, a man she could call her hated enemy, was nothing but agony for Sonia, but her sense of responsibility had forced her to make that choice.

"You don't understand. I hear you were planning to give Prince Leonart not only the knights, but the letter as well. You're my strategist. You are to act solely for my benefit."

"Our agreement was that, once I joined your side, I would become your strategist. When I arrived in the Imperial Capital, I was still a free agent. I can do whatever I want."

"Have you forgotten about the hostages? You have no choice but to obey me!"

"Have you forgotten? Without a strategist, you can't defeat Prince Erik. That's why you called me here, isn't it?"

Sonia did not give an inch beneath Gordon's sharp gaze.

Gordon's greatest enemy was Erik, and unless he defeated Erik, the throne would remain out of reach.

However, Erik had many capable people under him, and his faction was the largest. More importantly, Erik's camp was better suited to political struggle than Gordon's, whose support base was the military.

To remedy that, Gordon had summoned Sonia.

"Hah... Fine. Then let me see what you've accomplished."

With that, Gordon urged Sonia to hand over the letter.

Sonia took the letter from her pocket, but held on to it.

She stared intently at Gordon, then held the letter farther away from him.

"I could burn it if I wanted to."

"...Do you not care what happens to the hostages?"

Sonia slowly shook her head at Gordon's words.

If she did not care what happened to them, she would never have brought the letter. But bringing it did not mean she would let Gordon use it however he pleased.

"I only want you to hear me out."

"Oh? I'm listening."

"...You're not planning to hand the letter to Prince Leonart right away, are you? You're doing this to give the South time to prepare for rebellion."

"Of course."

Sonia narrowed her eyes at Gordon's matter-of-fact reply.

Just as she had expected.

She had known Gordon would do exactly this.

That was why she had to change his mind.

"That presents two dangers. First, Prince Leonart could appeal to His Majesty. Investigating the South is Prince Leonart's responsibility. Taking the letter from him would be seen as interference."

"There's no need to worry about that. We're in the middle of a succession struggle. If he runs crying to Father because the other side interfered with him, Father will never make Leonart crown prince. Someone so weak has no right to compete for the throne."

If he ran crying to his father whenever a problem arose, what would happen once his father was gone?

Sonia understood that logic as well. The unquestionably correct thing to do was to inform the Emperor. But doing that would cost him dearly.

Even if Leo wanted to report it, the people around him would stop him.

"Then the second danger: this is far too detrimental to the Empire. In time, it will earn His Majesty's distrust, which will come back to you. The rebellion in the South must be stopped."

"I want war. I'll give the South time to prepare, then have them rebel. That will make the war grow, and my military achievements will grow with it."

"As a result, the Empire will be weakened and invite invasion by other nations."

"Then I'll have more opportunities to distinguish myself. The larger the war, the greater the authority I'll be given. Whether it is the Kingdom or someone else that attacks, I'll scatter them with ease, then lead the army to bring down Erik himself."

Gordon laughed as he imagined that ideal future.

Sonia felt disgust at his smile. It was the smile of a man who gave no thought whatsoever to the lives that would be lost along the way.

Even so, Sonia continued to make her case.

"That future will never come to pass. Prince Erik will certainly interfere. What you want is not war, but the throne. War is merely the means of obtaining it. But the means must never become the end. If you seek the throne, you should consider more options instead of fixating on war."

"...Then what should I do?"

"First, open negotiations with Prince Leonart at once and hand him the letter. In exchange, make him promise not to interfere with you for a while. Once the letter reaches His Majesty, Prince Zandra will lose the South as his power base. With one rival quickly eliminated, those who supported Prince Zandra will each join different factions. Bring them into our fold and approach Prince Erik with a stronger faction. Prince Leonart, who would want to stop us, will be unable to do so because of the promise he made earlier. This is the shortest path to the throne."

"What if Leonart breaks his promise?"

"Spread the word that he betrayed us after we helped him reclaim the letter. Prince Leonart's strength lies in his honest character. If you tarnish that image, his momentum will falter. The fact that we can use a tactic like this is another advantage of handing over the letter immediately."

If he was aiming for the throne, holding on to the letter and giving the South time was a foolish strategy.

It would be different if he only wanted war, but Gordon was a prince competing for the throne. His ultimate goal was the Emperor's seat.

Sonia had no intention of placing Gordon on the throne, but for the sake of her adoptive father and his parents, who had been taken hostage, she still had to earn a certain amount of merit.

Once Gordon's vigilance slackened, she would escape his surveillance.

Until then, she had to keep Gordon from running wild while skillfully expanding his faction. Once it grew so large that Gordon could no longer manage it alone, she could leave and the faction would collapse on its own.

The throne would go to either Erik or Leo. That was what Sonia had concluded.

"...Will that make me Emperor?"

"If you do as I say."

"...Very well. I'll give the letter to Leonart at once. Put that skill of yours to work for me from now on."

"Will you promise to adopt my plan?"

"Yes, I promise. I won't betray a valuable strategist."

With that, Gordon held out his hand.

Sonia cautiously placed the letter in it.

Gordon snorted as he opened the letter and began reading its contents.

Sonia had managed to persuade him, and breathed a sigh of relief.

That was precisely why she failed to notice that Gordon's expression had twisted.

■■■

"What do you mean!?"

A week later.

Sonia was openly furious.

During that week, Gordon had not made even the slightest move to contact Leo's faction. Nor had he tried to meet Sonia.

When she finally managed to see him, Sonia was exasperated by Gordon's incomprehension.

"I explained it so many times! If you're aiming for the throne, you should hand over the letter!"

"Yes, I heard you. But I reject that plan."

With that, Gordon blithely broke his promise.

Sonia stared at Gordon with an expression of disbelief.

She could, at a stretch, understand him breaking a promise. He was the sort of man who took hostages, after all. Of course he would break a promise.

But Sonia had not lied to him. She had presented the best course of action if Gordon intended to pursue the throne. Refusing to adopt it was effectively the same as saying he had no intention of pursuing the throne.

"You don't want the throne!?"

"Of course I do. But I don't like a world without war. I want to nurture the South's seed of rebellion into something larger, crush it, seize control of the Central Army, and then bring down Erik. That's the sequence I prefer."

"Prefer...? The Empire might be invaded by other countries! Don't you understand how dangerous that is!?"

"I understand. The border forces will hold for a while. In the meantime, I'll become crown prince and launch a counteroffensive. Other nations are nothing to fear. The Empire is strong. Under me, it will be reborn as a hegemonic power."

With that, Gordon casually waved his hand.

The two guards seized Sonia by both hands.

"What are you doing!? Without me, you can't defeat Prince Erik!"

"I have no intention of winning through political maneuvering. I'll crush him with the military. I'm grateful that you laid the groundwork for that. I'll call for you if I need you again. Until then, stay quietly in your room. Don't get any ideas. I'll kill the hostages."

After threatening her, Gordon had the guards take Sonia outside.

Forced outside by the guards, Sonia continued to stare at Gordon with the look of someone seeing something impossible to believe.

He was a monster.

He was taking part in the struggle for the throne while longing for war.

Sonia had misread him. Gordon wanted the throne, but he wanted war even more. He was a bona fide war maniac.

To Gordon, war was not a means but the objective, while the throne was merely a seat that made pursuing that objective easier.

Only now did Sonia realize this. Dazed and aghast, she was dragged away, wondering how things had come to this.