Chapter 111
Al and the others were on their way back to the Imperial Capital.
In the Imperial Capital, the ministers, princes, and leading nobles had been summoned by Emperor Johannes.
"The South has refused to allow my investigation."
Emperor Johannes announced this curtly before those assembled.
In the Empire, the Emperor's authority was absolute.
Everyone thought, So it had finally come to this.
"The southern nobles, centered around Duke Kruger, have established the Southern Coalition. Most of the nobles and cities in the South have joined it. They have also closed their gates to us and are preparing to resist."
Everyone showed outrage at Chancellor Franz's report.
Doing whatever they pleased meant treating the central government lightly.
It meant they were looking down on the central government.
"We should send in the army!"
Once someone said this, many others proposed dispatching the army.
Franz, however, offered a calm opinion.
"The Southern Coalition's goal is probably to force concessions from Your Majesty. If Your Majesty grants them leniency, this will not develop into a civil war."
"Setting such a precedent will only invite more rebellions!"
"Exactly! We must respond with firmness!"
Franz was criticized as weak, but he observed the participants with an attitude that suggested their words were going in one ear and out the other.
The purpose of this meeting was to find an effective response. Franz was not looking for the obvious answer of sending in the army. Nor was the Emperor.
"We may ultimately have to send in the army. But is there anything we can do before that? I want to hear everyone's opinions."
"Your Majesty! With all due respect, that time has already passed! They have taken up arms! We must do the same!"
Voices agreeing that this was exactly right followed.
Emperor Johannes let out a small sigh. Erich, who wielded influence over the nobles and ministers, was not attending this meeting. He had gone to keep other countries in check as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Perhaps because of that, the nobles' and ministers' opinions were leaning heavily in one direction.
"Your Majesty."
As the participants grew heated, Gordon spoke up.
Then Gordon stepped before Johannes and looked straight at him with a commanding bearing.
"What is it, Gordon?"
"Give me the Central Army. I will crush this rebellion in the South in no time."
The nobles and ministers rejoiced at those words.
Gordon was a general who had continued to distinguish himself on the battlefield, though not to Liese's extent. He disliked guarding the borders and had had few opportunities to fight recently, but among the generals in the Imperial Capital, he was clearly a cut above the rest.
If Gordon led the army, the rebellion in the South would indeed be crushed in short order, just as he said.
But naturally, there were those who opposed this.
"Wait, Your Highness Gordon. As Minister of Finance, I cannot support this."
An old man who had served as Minister of Finance for many years raised this objection.
Gordon glared at the old minister.
"What did you say?"
"The Empire's finances cannot currently be called healthy. We have had the recent disturbance in the South, following the mass outbreak of monsters. Logistics have been disrupted, and the people are suffering. If we were to engage in a large-scale civil war on top of that, it would deal a blow to the Imperial economy."
"I will end it quickly. It won't drag on."
"I categorically cannot support it. This is not a question of whether it ends quickly."
Hearing the old minister's words, Gordon revealed his anger and took a step toward him. At that point, Leo, who had remained silent until then, spoke.
"Your Majesty."
Everyone present focused their gaze on Leo.
Leo moved to stand beside Gordon, knelt, and spoke.
"The rebellion in the South is my failure. Would you grant me a chance to make amends?"
"A chance to make amends? Are you asking to march out as a general?"
Some ministers had been hopeful when Leo spoke, but their expressions fell for an instant. Leo shook his head and replied.
"No. I have a plan."
"Oh? You have a plan to resolve this situation?"
"I do."
"Then let us hear it."
"Yes. Appoint me as an envoy to Duke Kruger. I will infiltrate his stronghold as an envoy and launch a surprise attack from within. If we can capture or kill him before the war begins, the Southern Coalition will collapse."
Johannes leaned forward at this proposal.
Amid calls only for the heavy-handed measure of mobilizing the army, Leo's plan looked extremely appealing.
"Since you proposed this yourself, I assume you are fully aware of the danger?"
"Yes. I will atone for my own failure with my own hands."
Having answered, Leo glanced at Gordon beside him.
Their eyes met as Gordon glared sharply at him. Leo responded with a faint smile.
The agreement with Gordon was not to interfere during the war. Since the Emperor had not yet decided on war, this could not technically be called wartime. Moreover, on the surface, an envoy's mission would not count as wartime either.
He would merely be an envoy sent for negotiations. That would not constitute breaking the agreement with Gordon.
Gordon presumably understood that as well. He directed a look at Leo that seemed to say how aggravating this was, but Leo showed no sign of caring.
However, Leo's composure was unexpectedly shattered by someone else.
"It sounds like a rather good plan. What do you think, Franz?"
"There is no denying that it is a good plan, but... I oppose it."
"Chancellor? Why?"
"Prince Leonart excels in both scholarship and martial skill, and enjoys an excellent reputation among the people. He would be a perfect envoy, but... he is also the hero who resolved the South's recent disturbance. Duke Kruger is unlikely to let his guard down."
"Then what if it were someone other than Leonart?"
"Your Highness Gordon is too obviously a military man. Among the princes, Your Highness Arnold would be the easiest to lower one's guard around, but there would be a problem once he had infiltrated the enemy as an envoy, and appointing him to such an important mission would itself arouse suspicion."
Johannes pondered Franz's words thoughtfully.
The plan itself was good, but there was a slight problem with the person who would carry it out.
Johannes sensed that one small adjustment might improve it and asked Franz,
"Is there a suitable candidate?"
"An envoy must have a certain degree of standing—the standing to serve as Your Majesty's representative. Members of the Imperial Family would be preferable, but someone of comparable stature would also do."
"So who is it?"
"I would rather not say."
Franz said this, deliberately leaving his words vague.
Johannes frowned at that, but Franz simply fell silent.
It was then that another person entered the throne room.
Everyone's eyes turned to the newcomer.
"Pardon me, Your Majesty."
"Fine... What is it? Has something happened?"
"I thought there might be something I could do to help, so I came here. And it seems I was not mistaken."
Saying this, Fine smiled and looked at Franz.
Franz lowered his gaze ever so slightly.
That alone told Johannes why Franz had been reluctant to speak.
"Franz... don't tell me you mean to send Fine as the envoy!?"
"She is suitable. If Prince Leonart serves as her adviser, this plan will most likely succeed. Surely Duke Kruger would never imagine that Your Majesty would expose the Blue Gull Princess to danger."
"Of course not! Fine is neither a soldier nor a knight! She does not hold any position in the government! If this concerned the Duchy of Kleinert, perhaps, but are you suggesting we make her risk her life over a problem in the South!?"
"Ever since she was given that hair ornament, she has effectively held a position in a sense."
"Don't split hairs! You want to send a girl with no means of fighting into enemy territory!? What will you do if something goes wrong!?"
"If it fails, Prince Leonart will be exposed to danger as well."
"Leonart is a prince! He is involved in the southern problem as an inspector! His responsibility is incomparable to Fine's!"
Johannes glared fiercely at Franz, then turned his gaze to Fine.
And then.
"Leave, Fine. We will think of another way."
"No, Your Majesty. Please entrust this to me."
"Absolutely not!"
"...Your Majesty. The people are suffering because of a problem caused by nobles. Regardless of the territory involved, the responsibility nobles must bear should be no different. A noble's duty is to protect the people of the Empire. Preventing a civil war will save countless lives. The people of the South will not die, and people elsewhere will not go hungry. I am Fine von Kleinert, daughter of a duke. That alone is reason enough for me to risk my life. If nobles cannot rise to the occasion when the people are in crisis, then there is no value in having nobles at all."
Fine's arrival here was both accidental and inevitable.
While everyone else was desperately trying to act, Fine had seriously considered what she could do before coming here.
Al and Leo had not told her to do anything. They had not factored Fine into their calculations.
But Fine understood her own strengths in her own way.
The fact that the Emperor had given her a hair ornament. The fact that she was cherished by the Emperor.
Those two facts would be her greatest weapons for making the other side lower its guard.
Fine understood that very well.
"Fine..."
"Please let me go, Your Majesty. The nobles of the South are not united as one. Surely many of them are following along because they feel they have no choice. The knights and soldiers who serve those nobles must feel that way even more strongly. But once blades are crossed, hatred will be born. In time, it could become a calamity for the Empire. I want to help prevent that."
"..."
"Your Majesty. I am doing this for the sake of the country."
"...Take some Imperial Guard knights with you."
Johannes said this with an anguished expression.
But Fine refused.
"If Imperial Guard knights accompany me, the enemy will become more wary. That would defeat the purpose."
Fine smiled as she said this.
By the time Al and Elna set out to persuade the Nelve Ritter, Fine had not entertained the slightest thought that she might fail.
She did not fear stepping forward because she trusted Al.
If the unit Al had chosen as capable of accomplishing the mission was guarding her, there was nothing to worry about.
The only thing that worried her was whether Al would be angry with her for acting on her own.
Fine had been worrying about something so small.
Despite volunteering for the role of entering the enemy's stronghold, she was remarkably relaxed.
"I will not entrust her to anyone but Imperial Guard knights!"
"But Your Majesty, it is true that Imperial Guard knights would make the enemy more wary."
"Then what do you suggest!?"
The Emperor's roar reverberated through the throne room.
And then silence was all that remained.
Everyone was left speechless.
At that moment, a prince suddenly poked his head in.
"Um... Father."
"...Arnold... where have you been at a time like this!?"
"Well, I had something to take care of."
Scolded, Al entered the throne room with a frown.
His eyes met Fine's for an instant. Seeing her apologetic expression, Al gave her a resigned smile.
Then, before the next words could come flying at him, he decided to take care of his business quickly.
"Regarding the escort unit, I have a unit to recommend."
"What?"
"Come in."
At Al's invitation, Lars in military uniform entered the throne room.
The Nelve Ritter's unit insignia was pinned to his chest.
"Lars Weigle... why are you here?"
"Prince Arnold gave me the details. The Nelve Ritter volunteers for this operation."
Lars saluted as he said this.
It was an unbelievable sight.
The Nelve Ritter had carried out missions many times before. But every one of them had been because they were ordered to, and they had never taken the initiative to do anything.
The Nelve Ritter was volunteering.
In the face of this extraordinary development, one of the nobles spoke up.
"W-wait! Are you saying we should entrust Prince Leonart and Lady Fine to you!?"
"Rest assured. We will protect them to the very end."
"Don't be ridiculous! How can we entrust them to men who betrayed their lord!?"
"...It is true that we betrayed our lord. We could not overlook our lord's wrongdoing. But rest assured. Men like us would never defect to the southern nobles who have committed wrongdoing. We are the scarred knights. Wrongdoing is our enemy."
At Lars's words, the noble fell silent.
Given the circumstances, what Lars said was perfectly reasonable.
However, the expressions of those present remained troubled.
But Johannes, seated furthest back, questioned Lars.
"You must have had many opportunities to do something like this before. But you did not act. Why are you rising up now?"
"...He loudly begged us to protect his younger brother. To refuse would betray what little remains of our pride as knights."
Saying this, Lars looked at Al.
Johannes also looked at Al and noticed the bandage wrapped around his hand.
Realizing more or less what had happened, Johannes let out a deep sigh and issued his order.
"The Nelve Ritter will escort Leonart and Fine. I leave this matter to Leonart. Work out the details among yourselves."
"Your Majesty. Do not entrust this to such an uncertain measure. Leave it to me and the army!"
"It is an uncertain plan, but it is worth trying. However, make preparations as well. You may assemble the army, but you are not permitted to take action."
"...Understood."
Saying this, Gordon withdrew.
A dark light gleamed in his eyes.