“Giorg von Württemberg. I deem you a threat to the Empire.”
Swish. Heike declared as she raised her decorative sword with poise, the tip aimed at the top balcony of the Imperial Palace.
Giorg remained relaxed, even after the declaration of war. He spread his arms wide and laughed heartily as if to shake the heavens.
“A threat? Such short-sighted thinking, Royal Princess! Where else in this Empire is there a noble like me who thinks of its future as much as I do?”
“You have defied His Majesty the Emperor’s decree and thrown the sacred succession war into chaos. We’re currently in a time of establishing a new order through decentralization. How can you act so recklessly with the noble families on the verge of rebellion?”
Heike scolded Giorg logically.
The Emperor had commanded that his children manage the royal family in an unprecedented decentralized manner. A system was set up to decide the next Emperor based on the accomplishments in the alliance operations and the subjugation of the Demon King’s army.
The ensuing chaos was expected.
“It’s about the late Emperor! He has passed away. The throne must not remain empty. An empty throne, by its mere existence, invites division and chaos, does it not?”
“The Empire is not so weak.”
Giorg mocked the resolute Heike.
“It was true when we were the only great power. Now, we face the mighty Demon Race and the threat of the Demon King. What happened in the west? Even without direct attacks from the demons, the Duke’s territory was left in ruins. The Kingdom and small countries, not to mention! Soon, many nations in the human realm will fall!”
Leaning on the railing with a smirk, Giorg proposed, “What do you say, Royal Princess? Shouldn’t you be grateful to me?”
“Grateful?”
“The Demon King’s forces are far more formidable than we expected. At this rate, the Empire will be ruined and fragmented—it’s only a matter of time! Or,”
Giorg pointed vigorously at Heike.
“Do you have the confidence to achieve feats as great as those of the late Emperor? No, a great person like him will never be born again in human history! It’s a plain fact that the Empire’s golden age has ended!”
After downing the drink in his hand, Giorg bellowed, “I shall take on the mantle of the dethroned Emperor! Be thankful! Because you have a reckless brother, you won’t have to bear the mark of being the worst Emperor who caused the Empire’s decline in history! Hahaha!”
Finishing his remarks, Giorg plopped down into his seat.
Heike’s gaze hardened.
“Is that all you have to say?”
“Ah, I know well, my half-sister. Person with no foresight like you will immediately mobilize the army to stop me.”
“That’s correct, brother. There is one thing you misjudged.”
Heike raised her right arm overhead.
“The Empire is by no means a fallen nation.”
Whoosh!
Heike swung her arm with vigor. At the same moment, her knights advanced, shields leading the way, charging over the walls of the Imperial Palace.
Boom!
Heike’s elite troops took the lead. The sharp sword energies of the Sword Experts pierced through the barricade in an instant. Close combat began.
“A fine momentum indeed. It’s best to hurry. I have no intention of delaying the succession to the throne either.”
As Giorg sprinkled the remaining drink and stepped inside the balcony,
Heike determined it was a race against time.
Inside the Imperial Palace was the Emperor’s crown, a symbol of the Empire. Once Giorg stained it with his mana for succession, he would officially be recorded as the seventh Emperor.
While she could assassinate Giorg and become the eighth Emperor, it meant she wouldn’t be a direct descendant of the previous Emperor. Her dynasty would carry the label of a coup without legitimacy, complicating control over the nobility.
‘This has turned troublesome.’
Heike considered both Giorg and Acella to be formidable opponents in the succession war.
With the restraint of being an Emperor gone, there was the possibility of Giorg taking extreme actions, just as he was now.
But the timing was too early.
Even though Giorg was reckless, he was a precise calculator. He likely recognized that he couldn’t withstand the current military strength.
What was the real intention behind his desperate gamble?
Was there a contract he couldn’t break?
There wasn’t much time to think.
Boom!
A giant ice spear rocketed through, smashing the wall of the Imperial Palace. Amid the raging storm, Heike reorganized her forces to address the three intruders.
“All troops!”
Just as she was about to give orders, a cold sensation ran down her back.
From the dust, a golden witch emerged alongside her knight squad.
Thud! Thud!
With each gesture she made, spears shot forth and the palace crumbled around them.
The furious golden mana was detectable from a distance.
“Calm down.”
Acella moved forward with a chilling warning.
“We don’t have time to waste…!”
Boom!
Every time a magic circle was drawn, a path was opened. Her knights entered the royal palace.
“Hurry, we must follow! Otherwise, we might miss our chance forever!”
Seeing Acella mumble to herself like a crazed lunatic, Heike was at a loss for words.
Whatever had happened, she had lost her senses, consumed by madness and rage. This was no way for a ruler of a nation to act.
“Hahahaha! So, Gothberg managed to escape safely!”
Before long, Giorg peeked out from the hole made by the ice spear, mocking Acella.
“You… of all times!”
“Is it not a fine expression, Acella? If you have complaints, come express them directly!”
Giorg vanished back inside the palace.
Acella gritted her teeth and walked inside the Imperial Palace to pursue him.
*
“The target is just ahead! Catch him!”
“The Moonlight Palace has issued a bounty! Ten million gold coins!”
“Make sure to capture him alive!”
Two weeks since leaving the Imperial Family, we were being chased by mounted pursuers behind us.
As we passed through the Count’s territory allied with the Moonlight Palace, we encountered a checkpoint and fled the scene.
“It’s the Count’s knight squad. We’re about to be caught.”
“Ah, give it a break. Hugo, hand me the parentage certificate.”
“Yes.”
Clatter, I opened the window and shouted while holding a scroll.
“Count Lindemann is not the biological son of the previous head! The proof is right here!”
My explosive declaration left his royal knights in confusion.
“What did you say?!”
“If that’s true, this is a big deal! The serfs will rebel!”
Whoosh, I tossed the scroll to the other side.
“That fact must not get out!”
“Retrieval!”
The knight squad broke apart, hooves thundering around.
“Haha! Try and catch this too!”
I flung scrolls around like pamphlets as the knights became flustered, scurrying in different directions. The horses became entangled and collided, causing chaos.
“The Former Country’s border is just ahead!”
Bruno reported. Three pursuers from the Count’s territory were attached to our tails.
As they spread their nets towards us,
Boom!
A massive axe fell from the sky, embedding itself right before them. The remaining pursuers toppled over.
“Whoa!”
Stepping in to protect us were rugged warriors, showcasing their bulging muscles like monstrous fiends.
They were the Thunder Tribe.
“This is our area!”
“Yeah, get lost!”
At last, we had crossed into the frontier of the Former Country.
“Hii!”
Seeing the Thunder Tribe’s bold demeanor, the Count’s knight squad fled in disarray.
We halted the carriage, and I got down to fist bump with her.
“Welcome back, Lars.”
“Yeah, nice to see you… whoa.”
She lifted me up and tightly embraced me. My back almost gave out.
“The young lady has been waiting for you. I’ll escort you to the Marquisate.”
“Thanks a lot.”
We entered the Former Country together with the Thunder Tribe.
The accompanying doctors looked around in wonder. There wasn’t much to see in this rural border.
“We really have left the Empire.”
“It still doesn’t feel real.”
“I hope the head nurse is doing well.”
Even though we were in the Former Country, it was still in an undisclosed state, and the Marquisate looked pretty much the same as before we left.
“Teacher Gothberg!”
“Doctor! You’ve come back safely!”
However, I was a bit annoyed that everywhere I went, people were searching for me and cheering.
“How does everyone know?”
“Ah, I spread the word.”
“Good job. But, Gishta.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know where the Heavenly Dragon is right now?”
“Mother, huh? She flew west back then, so she should be in some nest in the Mid-Realm.”
The Mid-Realm. A rather complicated term to come by.
“To use a wish from the Heavenly Dragon, I suppose I have to find her directly?”
“Yes… seems that’s the case. No matter how much she might watch over everything, she can’t be everywhere.”
This wish is supposed to be used when acquiring the Dragon Scale, an elixir ingredient.
Well, it’s not urgent, so I can take care of it after solidifying our position in the Former Country.
I opened my Status Window.
‘Twenty bad endings left.’
I figured the six related to Lishe would eventually disappear over time.
Thirteen endings related to defeat against the Demon King’s army. Resolving these means effectively wiping out all bad endings.
I must influence the alliance army and the hero’s party in the Former Country to lessen the odds on these endings.
And then there’s the slightly different last one.
[No. 077: Incarnation of Jealousy 16%]
Will the day come when this disappears?
Her face floated to my mind. It felt very odd to have my daily life, where I saw her every day, vanish after such a short time apart.
But I’m not under the impression that we’ll never meet again.
Even though the paths we take now are different.
[In · ■■ years, once again in ■■ 68%]
*
Giorg’s coup was suppressed within ten days.
Though he had equipped himself with high-grade armor and weapons, his knight squad lacked manpower. From the start, the likelihood of his military actions succeeding was close to zero.
“Giorg has lost the right to succession. Stealing the Emperor’s crown is akin to treason against His Majesty. However, we have no authority to punish him either, so we will detain him indefinitely for now.”
After the situation was resolved, Heike explained to Acella and Lau. Acella looked exhausted from her reckless use of magic.
“It’s miraculous that there were no casualties. The Inner Palace took quick action, but did Giorg have other intentions? Lau, do you have any insights?”
“How would I know what he’s thinking?”
Sighing, Lau watched Giorg laugh heartily, bound in ropes.
“Acella, you…”
“It’s too late.”
Acella bit her lip. Without further discussion for aftermath talks, she turned and returned to the Moonlight Palace.
Heike looked at her quizzically. Lau shook his head with a complicated expression.
Arriving at the Moonlight Palace, Acella stood there as if her soul had left her body.
“Princess, Your Royal Highness.”
To her, the commander of the knights reported,
“We’ve lost track of Teacher Gothberg.”
It was bad news.
Given that Giorg had drawn away military forces, it was an expected outcome.
Crash!
She started swinging her staff wildly, smashing vases, frames, and exquisite decorations that shattered everywhere.
But all the knights and maids there could only watch her rampage without lifting a finger.
Even a careless word could mean losing one’s head.
Anyone could read the atmosphere in the air quite easily.
“Ha, ha.”
Having swung her staff too violently, Acella’s palm stung from the abrasions.
The doctor meant to tend to her wounds was nowhere in the palace.
“…Hah.”
This cannot go on indefinitely.
There’s no way he will never return to me.
Right, first, I should exert political pressure on the Former Country.
Using the Moonlight Palace’s influence to tie his hands and feet should compel him to come back and beg.
Thinking so, Acella searched through the debris on the floor until she found a quill and paper.
She began to write documents to be sent to the Former Country.
Her hand moved faster than ever before, writing down words even before she could think.
“…What?”
Seeing the letters written on the paper, Acella gasped in disbelief.
[Divorce Oath]
Words written down spontaneously, entirely contrary to her intentions.
The fulfillment of the pledge was not yet complete.
Acella tore the paper apart in wrath at the almost cursed magical effect.
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