Chapter 241
Once the Celestial Sphere was activated, Liese chose to abandon her one-on-one duel with Gordon and instead protect the Emperor.
Gordon responded to Liese with a mocking smile.
"What's wrong? Running away, Marshal?"
"I don't care how you take it. I didn't come here to defeat you, but to protect Father. You should realize that the reason you're still only a general is that you can't understand even something so simple."
Stung by the retort, Gordon ground his teeth and ordered his men to give chase, but his troops could not break through Liese's men.
They had already been thrown into confusion by the surprise attack, and Gordon—the one who should have been calming them—had been held up by Liese.
As a result, Gordon was forced to reorganize his troops before pursuing them.
In that time, Liese had already joined the Emperor.
"Father, are you unharmed?"
"Somehow. For now, at least."
Emperor Johannes looked up at the sky, his words carrying an ominous undertone.
He had never seen the Celestial Sphere covering the Imperial Capital look so sinister.
It had been twenty-five years since he became Emperor.
He had used the Celestial Sphere during operational tests, but he had never imagined that it would be used to imprison him.
With a sigh, Johannes addressed Franz, who stood beside him.
"Was this also part of your calculations?"
"I had anticipated it to some extent, but... this is the worst-case scenario. If the Celestial Sphere was deployed this quickly, then either the Imperial Guard knights in the castle have been defeated... or they betrayed us."
"I hope it was the former."
"I agree, but now is the time to act. Marshal, I'm sorry to ask this of you, but could you secure a base?"
"The East Gate is already secured."
Liese immediately answered Franz.
A separate unit from the one here had seized the Imperial Capital's East Gate as an escape route.
The Imperial Capital was completely surrounded by walls, so unless one could fly, there was no way to leave other than through one of its four enormous gates.
Naturally, the enemy knew that as well and had concentrated their forces at the gates, but only as a precaution.
Because they saw themselves as the attackers, the gate's guards, caught off guard by Liese's detached force, collapsed in no time.
However.
"No matter how you look at it, we're hopelessly outnumbered. The force we've stationed outside can't destroy the Celestial Sphere, can it?"
"If His Majesty can no longer move from the Imperial Capital, the Valiant Duke will come to fetch him. I ask you to hold out until then."
"Are you going to use the Holy Sword against the Imperial Capital?"
"It's not a measure I want to use, but it can't be helped."
They had hoped to escape without using that option.
Liese had been brought along for that purpose, but escape was no longer possible.
They had no choice but to hope for a forced rescue from outside.
"That's unusual for a Chancellor. You always avoid forceful measures."
"We can't afford to pick and choose our methods... Once this is over, I will offer my life in apology."
"This isn't your fault, Chancellor. Don't say things that make an already dire situation even more depressing."
"No, it is my responsibility. I thought I would purge the Empire's rot, but... the Empire was more rotten than I expected. And the source of that disease doesn't seem to have revealed itself, either. It is my fault that things have come to this."
Franz had believed this was the kind of matter Liese could handle.
Gordon's rebellion was within expectations. On top of that, Franz had wanted to draw out whoever was lurking behind it.
Franz had not underestimated Gordon, but he still had not believed Gordon was capable of successfully carrying out such a large-scale rebellion. Gordon had recently become prone to overestimating his own strength, so Franz had assumed that any rebellion of his would amount to brute force and could be dealt with by overwhelming him with greater power.
In fact, if Gordon alone had rebelled, Liese would have been enough.
However, the Imperial Guard knights had joined the rebellion as well. The military faction had sided with Gordon in greater numbers than expected.
This could not have happened with Gordon alone. Even if Zandra had been involved, the damage would still have been far too great.
There was a hidden schemer. Franz had suspected someone might be lurking in the shadows and tried to draw the schemer out, but that cautious operator never revealed their hand, even at a decisive moment.
As a result, Gordon's rebellion broke out before Franz could achieve anything.
For Franz, who had kept the Empire stable for so long, this was a devastating defeat and a failure he should atone for with his life.
But.
"The question of responsibility can wait until later. Besides... my son has rebelled. The greatest responsibility is mine."
Johannes said, looking straight ahead.
It was easy to lament, and it was easy to hang one's head.
But doing so would mean merely waiting to be slain by Gordon.
My predecessors would not forgive me for leaving this world after causing chaos and failing to clean up the aftermath.
An emperor's duty is to deal with problems.
"If I am slain here, future generations will learn that rebellion can succeed. That is the one thing I must prevent. I absolutely cannot die here."
"Rest assured. Even if you say you want to die, I won't let you."
After saying this, Liese ordered the soldiers nearby to retreat to the East Gate.
Soldiers who knew nothing about the rebellion, along with members of the Imperial Capital's garrison, had gathered around them, but Liese did not add them to her own forces.
She could not determine whether they were friend or foe.
The people who simply stared blankly at Liese and the Emperor as they moved were the least trustworthy people present.
That was precisely why Liese called out to them loudly.
"I address all soldiers in the vicinity! If you consider yourselves soldiers loyal to the Emperor and the people of the Empire, protect the people! Anyone who uses this confusion to harm civilians, whoever they may be, is an enemy of His Majesty the Emperor!"
Mounted on her horse, Liese proclaimed this to them.
Though she could not place them under her direct command, they were too valuable to leave idle.
That was why Liese gave them a guiding principle.
Protect the people.
Hearing those words, many of them began taking action on their own.
They had plenty to do, from guiding the evacuation of spectators stranded in the arena to helping people immobilized by fear. There were countless tasks that needed to be done.
In the process, they naturally began taking off their uniforms.
People who knew nothing of the details believed that Prince Gordon and the military had launched a rebellion.
They had to remove their uniforms to approach civilians, who would be frightened by soldiers in uniform.
"This should at least help the civilians evacuate."
"Indeed, the castle is the problem."
"If this drags on, they can take the castle at their leisure. If using the gate as a base keeps us occupied, they may even resort to hostages."
"...I'm fine. Lieselotte, are you all right?"
With Liese on the enemy's side, there was no doubt Gordon would target her younger sister, Christa.
That was what Johannes was asking about, but Liese merely snorted.
"I trust my younger siblings. None of them will meekly let themselves be taken hostage."
"...I see."
"Don't worry. If the worst comes, I'm prepared. Protecting Father is my top priority."
"...I'm sorry."
At the Emperor's words, Liese quietly nodded.
Then she, too, turned her gaze toward the castle.
It wasn't that she wasn't worried.
When Johannes was still young, the Empire was often at war with other countries.
As a result, members of the imperial family were sent to the battlefield at a young age. But after Johannes's reign had settled, such wars also began to disappear.
Therefore, the younger members of the imperial family knew nothing of the battlefield.
Even Al and Leo had only been sent into battle for their first campaign—a bandit suppression operation. Even that had been arranged so they would scarcely need to do anything themselves.
But Liese knew.
Her younger siblings were growing even where she could not see.
"I'm counting on you."
Muttering it to herself, Liese focused on her own duty.
For now, protecting the Emperor was all she could do.
She did not think Gordon could defeat her, but if the battle dragged on, even the soldiers would grow tired.
No one could overcome superior numbers and exhaustion.
How many days could she hold out? Would reinforcements arrive in time?
She wanted to rely on those inside the Imperial Capital as well, but even more, she had to count on those outside.
Fortunately, there were people outside with exactly the right talent at their disposal.
"The Twin Black Princes... Is it by design or coincidence that they are in such a good position at this crucial juncture?"
Outside, Leo was with Erna. Inside, Al knew the castle inside and out.
Their positions were troublesome for the enemy and a boon to their allies. That was why their future movements would be so important.
Everyone knew how much Leo had grown. But they were twins. If Leo had grown so dramatically, there was no doubt Al had as well. Liese was certain of it.
However, whichever one made a move, it would take time.
She had to buy as much time as possible.
Muttering that to herself, Liese led the Emperor and the others into the East Gate, which they had established as an emergency base.