"Th-that's… because…" Seeing the Blood Emperor nervously avert his gaze, Iri felt that her long-desired attempt at imitating a yandere seemed quite successful.
"Then, Emperor Brother, let's talk clearly. Why did you give up resistance so quickly?" Iri contentedly shrank back, sat in her seat, and resumed her harmless demeanor.
Originally, after seeing Ainz, the Blood Emperor immediately thought of a plan to counter Ainz Ooal Gown, a brainstorming ability comparable to Xiao Di.
If Ainz hadn't inadvertently come to the Empire for "tourism" after establishing his nation and stumbled upon the Blood Emperor's plans, it might have truly taken several years to conquer the Empire, just as Xiao Di had said.
Unexpectedly… this time, the Blood Emperor unilaterally imagined something else, directly changing the script, and surrendered even before the battle of Katz Plains had begun!
Then how would the later plot develop?! So, the twisted storyline had to be straightened out! Surrender?! At least wait until the battle of Katz Plains is over! Iri thought to herself.
"Princess Elizabeth, from the very beginning, I… no, the Bahaus Empire had no other choice, did it? Besides submitting to Nazarick, I had no better option, did I? Haven't I… always been struggling in your and your father's palms? From the very beginning…" the Blood Emperor said very frankly.
What is this guy saying? Although it's true that the Empire's final outcome must be submission to Nazarick, that was part of the plot after Ainz arrived. But now, why do you have such an enlightened attitude?
And what about struggling in her and Ainz's palms? She hadn't done anything, had she? Ainz hadn't done anything, had he?
Wasn't it all because of his own sky-high imagination that he dug his own grave? Now, she had no idea what the Blood Emperor had imagined, so there was no way to remedy the situation! So, let's leave it at that for now! Iri's mind went into overdrive, completing her thoughts in just 0.1 seconds.
"Hoh… Emperor Brother, you're quite impressive, aren't you? You saw through my father's plan so early? I'm truly impressed with you, Emperor Brother, but please give up on that idea! Nazarick will not accept the Empire's submission right now," Iri said with a cold laugh.
You Li and the Doppelganger behind her probably didn't expect Iri to directly refuse! They both showed very surprised expressions, but the Blood Emperor didn't show any surprise, as if he knew Iri would flatly refuse.
"Heh! As expected… it's not possible? You won't even give us a single way out?" Jierunifu's body trembled, and then he seemed to have come to terms with something, smiling a desolate smile.
Oh! To set the mood for her yandere personality, she had intentionally activated a Level 1 Ice Aura, lowering the indoor temperature slightly.
She had originally planned to use Despair Aura to frighten the Blood Emperor, but remembering that the Blood Emperor had accessories that resisted mental magic, she used Ice Aura instead.
Directly lowering the temperature could also effectively enhance the atmosphere and make the Blood Emperor fear her.
She didn't need it now, so she turned it off! So Iri turned off the Ice Aura, but even though she turned it off, the problem still wasn't solved.
She still didn't know what this Blood Emperor had imagined, and it was truly difficult to extract his true intentions while also needing to disguise her own.
However, she could confirm that the Blood Emperor was likely saying this because he feared Nazarick would do something to the Empire, and he also mentioned not giving a way out, so he probably imagined something bad, like Nazarick directly annihilating the Empire?
However, it's quite the opposite! Not to mention now, even in the original work, Ainz never intended to conquer the Empire so quickly. His talk of an alliance back then was genuinely heartfelt.
Ainz truly wanted to befriend the Blood Emperor and secretly learn some so-called imperial studies from him.
So Nazarick wouldn't do anything to the Empire at all. In the original work, it was the Blood Emperor who imagined things and dug himself into a hole, eventually becoming a vassal state of Nazarick.
However, that incident happened after the battle of Katz Plains, and that part of the plot was an event where Ainz could really show off, and she didn't want to steal his thunder.
"A way out must be earned, Emperor Brother," Iri could only brace herself, putting on a composed demeanor, and continued trying to extract information from the Blood Emperor.
"Earn… how to earn? What must the Empire do to satisfy Nazarick? To satisfy Ainz Ooal Gown? To satisfy you?!" The Blood Emperor's emotions were somewhat agitated. It seemed the direction was correct, so she would continue probing in this direction!
"You don't have to do anything, Emperor Brother. Just continue with the original plan," Iri said with a cunning, wicked smile.
"The original plan, huh… Heh! Indeed, deciding to become a subordinate was not wrong. Ainz Ooal Gown and you are truly monsters, Princess Elizabeth. Please allow the Empire to become a subordinate of Nazarick. Although I have no right to negotiate terms with you and your father, please spare the Empire for the sake of the entire Empire's loyalty to Nazarick! Please give the Empire a way out!" After saying this, the Blood Emperor bowed his head to Iri while remaining seated, his expression completely hidden.
Uh… didn't this just go back to where it started? He still hasn't made it clear. He's just unilaterally demanding submission. She can't possibly agree, but if she doesn't give a reason, it won't make sense, and You Li is still watching from behind. This is so difficult!
Ah! She had it. Since the Blood Emperor liked to imagine things, then this is what she would do!
"Emperor Brother, if Nazarick spares the Empire, what benefit will Nazarick gain?" Iri continued to ask with that cunning smile.
"Benefit… benefit… like this… Nazarick will gain the Empire's loyalty… Is that not enough?" The Blood Emperor raised his head, his face looking quite bad.
"Heh heh! Loyalty…" Iri snorted and glanced at the Blood Emperor.
"Indeed, for an Empire that secretly attempted to form an anti-Ainz Ooal Gown alliance to deal with you, mere verbal loyalty is indeed difficult for Princess Elizabeth to believe," Jierunifu said.
Ah! This is it!! Iri's heart skipped a beat. In the original work, the Blood Emperor had secretly discussed this matter with the Theocracy people. After Ainz inadvertently stumbled upon it, he mistakenly believed that his imagined anti-Ainz Ooal Gown alliance plan was also under Ainz's control. He then became like a salted fish, abandoning hope and resistance.
Now, the battle of Katz Plains hasn't even started, and the Blood Emperor has already imagined that his plan has been discovered by Nazarick, although it's true that Xiao Di had known about it from the beginning.
"Emperor Brother, you're quite perceptive, aren't you? You understand things very well! However, it's truly difficult for me to directly believe your loyalty, Emperor Brother, so! What are you going to do, Emperor Brother?" Iri continued to press the Blood Emperor.
"…" The Blood Emperor was utterly bewildered. He probably couldn't think of anything that could move Iri. Iri also understood that the current Blood Emperor was already in a 'salted fish' state, and to continue twisting the plotline back, she had to find another way.
"How about this! Emperor Brother, it's not impossible for me to spare you and your Empire, but you must promise me one thing. If you find it difficult, then let's pretend this conversation never happened. You can continue to plot your alliance against my father, and I will continue to pretend not to know," Iri said with a smile.
"I promise you! I promise you anything! As long as! You spare the Empire." The Blood Emperor's expression immediately brightened, but as soon as he spoke, he realized it was inappropriate, but he couldn't take back his words.
Iri also understood the Blood Emperor's feelings. Seeing his current 'salted fish' appearance, she no longer expected him to cause any more trouble.
After all, she had just asked him to do one thing, and he agreed without even confirming it. After speaking, he then feared that she might propose a condition, like converting all the Empire's citizens into obedient little skeletons. From this, it could be concluded that the Blood Emperor was already very desperate.
"Don't worry, what I want you to do is very simple and won't do anything bad to your Empire. Before that, Emperor Brother, to how many people have you told about the Empire's desire to submit to Nazarick?" Iri asked.
"Only my general and adjutant know about this. I haven't revealed it to anyone else," the Blood Emperor answered honestly. In this situation, he had no choice but to be honest.
For him, Iri's request might be his last straw of hope! Of course… Iri herself didn't know how the Blood Emperor had imagined himself into this situation.
"Very good, the fewer people who know about this, the better. So, please ask them to keep quiet, Emperor Brother. Of course, I'm not asking you to eliminate them," Iri quickly added after seeing the Blood Emperor's face turn pale.
The general she just mentioned should be Bajed, right? She didn't know who the adjutant was. It was clear that the Blood Emperor valued capable subordinates. He was indeed a good emperor, and again… it was truly a pity!
"You mean that the Empire's submission to Nazarick must be kept secret?" The Blood Emperor was somewhat confused, completely unaware of Iri's intention.
"Yes, keep it secret, from everyone," Iri continued, feigning mystery.
"Then until when must it be kept secret?" The Blood Emperor was a bit lost, as keeping it secret implied another meaning: during the period of secrecy… the Empire would still be Nazarick's puppet.
"Within two months after the battle of Katz Plains. I'll tell you the exact time. Hmm… but by then, I won't need to tell you anyway," Iri replied with a smile.
The intelligent Blood Emperor should have already imagined the reason why she wanted him to keep it secret until after the battle of Katz Plains, right? At the very least, Ainz had to become famous in that battle of Katz Plains!
"…" After listening, the Blood Emperor remained silent for a while. He probably didn't expect Iri's request to be so simple. From his expression, was he imagining some other things? Iri was very worried about this.
"Don't worry, Emperor Brother, from now on, the Empire will be a subordinate state of Nazarick. Scorched earth rule would harm Nazarick's prestige, so you and your citizens can rest assured, nothing will be done to you," Iri said with a rather "cute" smile.
"…" The Blood Emperor still didn't speak, just nodded blankly.
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