Chapter 151
"Brunhilde... What are you here for?"
Father asked the Empress in a voice filled with anger at her objection to his decision.
Frankly, the two of them did not get along.
Apparently, they had originally disagreed only over their approach to educating the Crown Prince, but three years ago, when the Crown Prince died, their relationship completely fell apart.
The Crown Prince died on the battlefield. Why had the Crown Prince gone to war?
The answer was that Father, the Emperor, had ordered him to. Father had wanted him to perform in a manner befitting the Crown Prince, without bringing shame upon those around him.
The Empress, on the other hand, had wanted to keep her precious son, the Crown Prince, by her side. She had even appealed directly to Father before the Crown Prince's departure, asking what they would do if the worst happened.
And her fears had come true. The Crown Prince had lost his life, and the Empire had lost its ideal successor.
Ever since then, the two of them had been completely estranged. The Empress believed the Crown Prince had died because Father had forced him to go, while Father had distanced himself from the Empress because she made no attempt to hide those feelings.
Even so, their estrangement had not caused many problems. It was not as though they lacked children, and after the Crown Prince's death, the Empress had lost her vitality and come to desire peace in the imperial harem. That was convenient for Father, since maintaining order in the harem was one of the Empress's duties.
But Therese had managed to set the Empress in motion.
This was the most troublesome development. Two people ranked above me had begun clashing with each other. I could not stop them, even if I wanted to.
"I have come to prevent bloodshed."
With that, the Empress stepped forward.
Father grimaced in displeasure at the sight.
"This is no place for a woman. Stand down!"
"I cannot do that."
"Therese asked you to do this, I presume, but these people have shown far too much contempt for the imperial family. They must be punished."
"I understand that. However, I did not come here merely because Therese asked me to. I came to stop you because spilling the blood of subjects at this time would harm the national interest."
"I am aware that it will harm the national interest. Even so, they must be punished."
"I am the one who maintains close communication with the royal families of other nations. I have exchanged letters with them many times and worked to ensure that they attend the ceremony. His Majesty also seems to be making various plans with the Adventurers' Guild. Surely you do not wish to see all of that go to waste?"
The Adventurers' Guild?
I had not received that information. That was only natural, since I had not looked into it. After all, Silver was an SS-rank adventurer. Most information came to me without my needing to investigate it. Still, it was an intriguing matter. Perhaps I would look into it once this was over.
More importantly, I had to deal with what was in front of me. I understood what the Empress was saying.
Erik, the Foreign Minister, generally handled negotiations with the major powers. His subordinates were active as well, of course, but to support that diplomacy, the Empress and the other consorts exchanged letters with the royal families of various nations.
And it was not limited to simply exchanging letters. They sent gifts and traded information. The consorts of the imperial harem were doing all sorts of things.
That was why punishment that destroyed all those efforts could not be overlooked. I understood what she was trying to say. But then what were we supposed to do?
We could not simply leave the matter alone.
"Then what do you propose we do? Surely you are not suggesting that I forgive them?"
"Of course they must be punished. However, there should be no bloodshed. The timing is simply too bad. Why not imprison them and punish them after the ceremony?"
"There will be an amnesty after the ceremony. If I forgive the others, I will have to forgive these men as well! If they are to be punished, it must be now."
"Then you should go through with it. If influential nobles are executed by order of the Emperor, it is obvious that the number of guests visiting the Empire will plummet, whatever the reason. The authority of the imperial family is important, but so is the national interest of the Empire. Please do not forget that. There was one occasion when Your Majesty ignored my plea and harmed the national interest."
"Do not bring up the Crown Prince!"
After shouting, Father frowned and looked at Franz.
Franz, for his part, wore an utterly troubled expression.
The Empress was right. If she invoked the national interest against the authority of the imperial family, Father had no choice but to acknowledge her point. But if we let these men off, others like them would appear in the future. That would surely harm the national interest as well.
Either way, the Empire gained nothing.
Father looked away from the Empress and glared at Laurenz with anger in his eyes.
Laurenz flinched beneath that glare. Of course he would be glared at. His reckless actions, carried out without considering his influence, had created a situation that could no longer be resolved with his life alone.
He should have backed down the moment I revealed that I was Leo. This matter had already become more than I could handle.
As I was thinking that, I heard another set of footsteps approaching.
I would have preferred not to rely on her, but with the Empress having entered the fray, it could not be helped.
The helper I had asked Fiene to find seemed to have arrived.
"Oh? I came here expecting Al to be present. Why is Leo here?"
With a mischievous smile, my mother, Mitsuba, entered the throne room. As expected of my mother. She knew I was Al and was saying that deliberately.
I had asked Fiene to stay with Mother. I had also asked her to have Mother intervene if the Empress made a move.
I could not see Fiene, but that was probably out of consideration for her.
Fiene was not at fault in the slightest, but she was the sort of person who might worry that everything was her fault.
"I was pretending to be my brother, Mother."
"You two have always been good at switching places. But you should restrain yourselves before His Majesty. It is disrespectful."
"Yes, I'm sorry."
"I apologize for Leo's rudeness, Your Majesty."
"Mitsuba... What are you here for?"
Father looked bewildered, while Franz wore an expression as if his stomach were hurting.
The clash between the Emperor and the Empress was bad enough, but adding Mother to the situation would surely put even more strain on Franz.
This was no longer something that could be dismissed as a squabble between a prince and nobles.
Amid this chaotic situation, Mother spoke without the slightest sign of concern.
"I heard that Her Majesty the Empress had gone to the throne room, so I came to see what was happening. As expected, it seems your opinions are at odds."
"Mitsuba-san... You should withdraw."
"Your Majesty, I have no intention of interfering. I have merely come to help you find a resolution acceptable to both sides."
"You are Leonart's mother. Would you not rule in a manner favorable to Leonart?"
"Your suspicion is natural. But is it not also true that we have reached an impasse?"
After Mother answered, the Empress fell silent.
Even the Empress could not continue confronting Father forever. If Father lost his temper, even the Empress would not escape unscathed.
The Emperor's word was absolute. If Father truly wished it, he could ignore everything and have everyone present executed. That was the nature of an emperor; the only reason he did not do so was that he himself did not approve of it. If anything gave him cause—or, more precisely, if he found a justification—to exercise his absolute power, everything would be over.
Seeing that the Empress had fallen silent, Mother looked at Father.
Father also decided that they were getting nowhere and nodded once.
"Then I shall seek a resolution. My opinion is simple: we should simply make it as though this never happened."
Everyone wore a perplexed expression.
But I narrowed my eyes.
That was the same solution I had been considering.
"Leo, can you explain it? I think you will do a better job of explaining it than I would."
"Yes. I understand."
"What do you mean? Leonart, do you understand as well?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. I believe Mother and I have the same idea. The biggest problem with this incident is that Marquis Laurenz von Weitling is the head of a prestigious noble house and the leader of the White Gull Alliance."
"I know that. I want to hear what comes next!"
Perhaps because of the Empress, Father was growing increasingly irritated.
It would be better to bring this to an end quickly.
"Therefore, let us make it as though his challenge to me never happened."
"I see. That is an excellent idea."
Franz immediately understood my intent and nodded repeatedly.
But perhaps because his blood was up, Father wore a perplexed expression, lacking his usual composure.
I carefully explained it to him.
"Marquis Laurenz von Weitling did not challenge me to a duel. He accepted the reconciliation treaty. Afterward, it came to light that I was Leonart, and he challenged me to a duel over the cancellation of the treaty. Let us treat it as though that was what happened."
"You mean to twist the facts? To pretend that all the disrespect shown to the imperial family, including me, never happened?"
"Yes. It happened in the throne room. If everyone here keeps silent, the truth will not get out."
"That is good... But does it solve the damage to the authority of the imperial family?"
Father turned an irritated gaze on me.
By then, Father must have believed that the only way to preserve the authority of the imperial family was to execute Laurenz.
The Empress had brought up the Crown Prince, which was why Father was so angry.
Between that husband and wife, it was nearly a forbidden subject.
"That can be resolved with punishment after the duel. Challenging a member of the imperial family to a duel is an act of extreme disrespect. Therefore, I will set the conditions. If Marquis Laurenz von Weitling loses... he and the principal nobles of the White Gull Alliance who put him forward will drink Imperial Poison Wine. That will make it clear to many people what it means to show disrespect to the imperial family."
Everyone present stiffened at the name of the wine I had proposed.
Imperial Poison Wine was a poisonous liquor held by the imperial family, and the strongest and most terrible poison in the Empire.
A single sip would make the drinker suffer the symptoms of various diseases for seven days and seven nights. That was the effect of the countless poisons in its mixture, and the symptoms changed every day. Stranger still, the drinker would somehow remain alive throughout that time. They would suffer while wandering along the boundary between life and death.
And after enduring the agony of being unable to die, anyone who drank it would inevitably die.
It was a poison used only on the most serious criminals, and it had never once been used during Father's reign.
"...If word got out that I had given them that poison, do you think foreign guests would still come?"
"Your Majesty will not be giving it to them. Marquis Laurenz von Weitling will challenge me to a duel under those conditions. If that is the case, the damage to the Empire's reputation can be contained. He challenged me to a duel while accepting the risk of drinking a deadly poison to escape punishment. Even if he dies, the responsibility lies with the one who issued the challenge."
At my words, the young nobles of the White Gull Alliance grew paler and paler. The principal nobles meant the ones present here.
If Laurenz lost, they would have to drink Imperial Poison Wine as well.
"If you establish such a precedent, will criminals certain to receive the death penalty not do the same thing?"
"That will not be a problem, Your Majesty. Once this is over, we need only create a law prohibiting it. This will be a one-time exception."
"...I see."
"What do you think? The authority of the imperial family will not be harmed, and I do not believe the Empire's reputation will suffer either."
In response to my words, the Empress glanced at Therese.
Therese nodded once, as if resigned.
She must have realized that a chance to turn the tables was worth being grateful for, even if defeat would be followed by a gruesome death.
"...I understand that it is a good idea. But I do not understand. What do you stand to gain from this, Leonart?"
Father looked straight at me.
That was right. I had absolutely nothing to gain from this.
There was no benefit to accepting the duel. At present, I was the victim, while these men would die even if I did nothing. There was no reason to give them a chance to turn the tables.
But that was precisely why it was worth accepting.
"I am... someone who seeks the throne. It is true that this incident threw the Empire into turmoil. I have a duty to take responsibility for that."
"Oh? What will you do if you lose? You are speaking as though victory were a foregone conclusion."
"If I lose, Your Majesty may do as you wish with me. Exile me from the imperial family or behead me; either is acceptable. Someone who loses here will never be able to claim the throne."
It was an outrageous thing to say. I had taken it upon myself to pretend to be Leo and stake everything he had. But I believed Leo would say something like this. And even if he would not, I needed to make him capable of saying it.
Father laughed at my words.
It was the smile he showed when he took a liking to someone.
This had raised the bar for Leo even higher.
"Well said! That spirit is admirable! Anyone who seeks the throne must have that kind of resolve! I had always worried that you were too soft... But you have grown through this struggle for the throne."
"I still have much to learn."
"Modesty, is it? Very well. We will do as you say. After the reconciliation treaty, it came to light that you were Leonart, and Laurenz challenged you to a duel on behalf of the White Gull Alliance. The condition is that they drink Imperial Poison Wine. That is what happened. Is that clear?"
The Emperor's word was absolute.
Father had exercised his absolute authority to declare that this was what had happened. He must have done so because he had convinced himself that it was acceptable.
Everyone present dropped to their knees and voiced their assent.
But Laurenz's voice, coming from beside me, was trembling.
Laurenz now had only two choices: be executed without doing anything, or challenge me to a duel.
If he protested, it was obvious that he would be told to die instead. Apparently, he understood that much, because he did not protest. He simply trembled in fear.
Once the Empress and Therese, his only lifelines, accepted the situation, there was nowhere left for him to run.
"Then, Marquis Weitling, sign this."
Duke Kleinert urged him to sign the document.
With trembling hands, Laurenz tried to sign the document, but he dropped the pen.
I picked it up and pressed it firmly into his hand.
"Go on."
"Ah..."
Urged on by me, Laurenz turned back to the document.
A single correction had been made to it. Jurgen or Duke Kleinert must have rewritten it during the confusion.
The section that should have said that he would retire as head of the house had been crossed out, with expulsion from the house written in its place.
In other words, the moment they signed, Laurenz and the other principal nobles would become commoners. Their houses would not be held responsible. The duel would be treated as a matter of personal responsibility, just as Laurenz had wanted.
Of course, the Emperor's word could change all that with a single sentence, but it was still a nice assist.
Trembling, Laurenz failed to notice it.
Laurenz somehow finished signing, and I immediately signed as well.
Once the signatures were complete and Laurenz and the others had officially become commoners, I slowly picked up the glove lying on the floor.
"――Leonart Reks Adler has accepted your challenge to a duel."
Thus, as Leo, I would face Laurenz in a duel.
At those words, Laurenz's shoulders began to tremble.
Fear appeared on his face. He might have been prepared to stake his life, but apparently he had not been prepared to drink the strongest poison in the Empire.
His fighting spirit had visibly vanished.
Anyone with even a basic understanding of combat could tell how the duel would end simply by looking at Laurenz and me standing there.
Victory does not come to those who fear death.
Well, I was sorry, but now that things had come to this, it could not be helped. I had wanted to avoid deaths wherever possible, but they were the ones who had rendered my efforts meaningless.
You can serve as a stepping stone for Leo, Laurenz.