Chapter 144: Political Strife (2) I handed Julius over to the Sentinels. They had a witness protection protocol, and in accordance with it, he was first confined to a safe house.
"...What is your reason?"
Julius asked why I had saved his life.
To be honest, there were several reasons. First, doing so was more beneficial for strengthening the power of the Knights. Furthermore, there was still much to be extracted from him.
"Because you are being referred to a Knight's Trial."
I lumped all those reasons together into a single sentence.
"A member of the royalty facing a Knight's Trial..."
Julius seemed to feel a sense of self-loathing at the mere fact of being tried. If he still couldn't let go of his pride even in this state, he certainly deserved to die.
"You will have an opportunity to defend yourself. And more importantly..."
I pointed toward the closed door.
"The children will survive."
Were those two children, barely over ten years old, truly innocent? Would they grow up to be monsters like Reutern or Julius, or would they live ordinary lives?
I had no way of knowing.
"Sigh..."
Julius let out a long breath. I pulled out a high-end cigar and handed it to him. Since ancient times, royals and nobles have always had a weakness for such things.
Julius took the cigar with a look of gratitude.
"See for yourself."
I pushed the indictment papers toward him.
"These are the things that will happen once you are dismissed from the House of Nobles."
Stripping of royal status. Forfeiture of all illicit wealth and criminal proceeds accumulated in the Imperial Palace. Referral to a Knight's Trial...
Julius scanned the document with eyes like a dead fish before letting out a short laugh.
"...How ridiculous."
"It is not ridiculous at all. Embezzling military weapons from Gigantes and smuggling them to hostile forces is clearly considered treason."
"Maximilian von Ebenholtz."
"It is Knight Maximilian."
"Maximilian von Ebenholtz!"
Julius erupted in resentment. He slammed the table with both hands.
"You are being deceived. Thoroughly!"
"..."
I looked at Julius with a feigned expression of bewilderment. The skin of his gaunt cheeks quivered.
"I suppose you also think I was the one behind the terror attacks?"
There was no need to respond. Julius would think what he wanted and spout whatever he pleased; I only needed to watch, as if observing a play.
"I'll tell you this much. If you don't learn the truth, you too will be reduced to a mere pawn."
Julius leaned his face in close. Glaring at me with bloodshot eyes, he whispered like a snake, thinking of someone else entirely.
"That little runt is using you."
It was a very interesting hypothesis.
"Using me... how intriguing."
"...Hahahaha!"
Julius burst into a fit of merry laughter, leaning back into his chair as if he had already realized the whole truth and was frustrated by my disbelief.
"How truly foolish. To think that even you, the heir to a Great House, are being deceived and manipulated by such a fellow. A damn wolf cub has entered the Imperial Palace and turned everything upside down."
Muttering while staring into space, he looked as if he had already half-lost his mind.
"...Well, I suppose even I was fooled by his pathetic acting. Kuhahaha!"
Julius let out a self-deprecating, mad laugh.
I watched his reaction before calmly asking, "Is that the general consensus within the Imperial Palace?"
"Yes! You're being tricked! You're being used, just like me! Wake up!"
If that were the case, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
While all eyes and attention were focused on Reutern, I could build the strength to slit their throats from their blind spots.
"...I see."
I suppressed a smile and picked up my fountain pen.
"I will take that into consideration."
I scrawled my signature on the document referring Julius to a Knight's Trial.
* * *
Meanwhile, Reutern II was discharged from the hospital.
"...They say it'll leave a scar. Ugh, how annoying."
Apparently, the scar on his leg would likely never disappear. It was infuriating.
"Actually, wait. Looking at it now, it doesn't seem so bad."
It felt a bit like a wound of honor. Soldiers always seemed to have at least one scar like this.
Bern watched him closely before speaking cautiously.
"...Julius has been dealt with for certain."
"Really? I heard he didn't die."
Reutern discussed Julius's life or death. His tone was his usual one, but the underlying pitch was incredibly sharp.
A slight chill ran down the back of Bern's neck.
"He has been handed over to the Sentinels. The moment his dismissal from the House of Nobles is finalized, his referral to the Knight Court is guaranteed. Therefore, he won't be able to escape the death penalty."
"Right. Max will take care of it."
Killing with a borrowed sword. Was Reutern II intending to use even Maximilian? Was this all part of his plan?
"..."
Bern silently looked around the hospital.
By being hospitalized here, Reutern II had even avoided the political strife of that day. He hadn't been injured in the slightest, and officially, he hadn't gotten any blood on his hands.
"Bern! What are you doing? Let's go!"
Reutern, who had already walked some distance away, called out to him.
"...Yes, sir."
Though he walked along cheerfully as he always had, we had all already seen Reutern's claws. Therefore, he would never be perceived the same way again.
...
Grossman received the most sensitive intelligence from the Imperial Palace.
"Is it because his father doesn't have much time left? He's finally showing his true colors."
The power struggle between Reutern and Julius. The tragedy of that night, where blood washed away blood, would later be recorded in history books as nothing more than a few lines of unofficial history.
However, since then, the balance of power within the Imperial Palace had completely shifted.
"Yes. It appears so."
Naturally, royalty are rare even in the Imperial Palace. Royal families who actively form their own factions and flaunt their power like Julius and Reutern are even fewer.
One of the major pillars, Julius, had collapsed.
Clearly, it was by Reutern II's 'operation.'
"I never dreamed that fellow would be such a devious and meticulous man."
Grossman's confidant also clicked his tongue. All of them had ignored Reutern II until now, dismissing him as a fool who was all talk.
"Giving Maximilian the achievement of executing Julius, while Reutern himself consolidates the scattered power of the royal family within the palace... what an interesting honeymoon."
From Grossman's perspective, the exit of a heavyweight like Julius was a painful blow. While it benefited the Emperor's absolute power for nobles to weaken each other, as a subordinate official, he could not simply stand by and watch this 'concentration of power.'
"He was hiding a very cunning interior."
Grossman muttered, crushing his cigar.
"However, it is not yet beyond our control."
Grossman nodded at his confidant's words.
"Sooner or later, they are all necks to be severed."
The Imperial Guard. Their ultimate goal was the complete takeover of the Imperial Palace. In other words, cutting away all the useless people who called themselves royalty and acted arrogant while intoxicated by past glory, and installing the Guard in those empty seats.
To stand by the Emperor's side at the pinnacle of the Empire.
"We shall put more effort into preparing the operation. Put Reutern II at the very top of the hit list."
"Yes, sir. Understood."
Reutern II, who was originally an object of contempt, had been upgraded to an object of caution—no, a very dangerous element.
...
Winter. The Ethics Committee of the House of Nobles was convened.
Sonette Kandel attended as a scribe and secretary.
—We will now proceed with the vote for the dismissal of Julius Valentin von Arensburg from the House of Nobles.
In that place where the entire House of Nobles was assembled, Sonette turned her gaze to find someone.
Reutern I. Reutern II. Ezel Luncelot. Jun Kandel. Kents Bertem. Shane Bertem. Captain of the Guard Goebel. Chief of Staff Grossman.
Many other centers of power were seated in the gallery, but he was not there.
—The voting will be conducted by secret ballot...
There was only one Ebenholtz present.
Zebestian von Ebenholtz.
He sat alone in the distance, yet his presence was the most heavy.
—The voting will now begin.
As soon as the voting started, people began to leave their seats one by one. They moved to the polling station escorted by guards.
Sonette recorded everything—their mutterings, their sighs, all of it.
[Reutern I walks while clearing his throat. He asks the guard escorting him, "Have you eaten?" The guard replies, "Not yet."]
Suddenly, at the very top of the balcony, Princess Justine appeared, dressed in a robe. She also seemed to be there to watch the scene, and Sonette recorded that moment.
[34 minutes after the start of voting, Princess Justine appears on the balcony to observe the voting site.]
Sonette's gaze quietly followed her.
[Princess Justine approaches Commander-in-Chief Zebestian.]
The Princess was occasionally careless. The fact that she didn't cover her mouth when speaking was proof of that.
[Princess Justine asks Commander-in-Chief Zebestian, "Did your son not come here?" Zebestian replies, "He did not."]
Sometimes, Sonette Kandel herself was careless.
Her eyes met the Princess's.
Justine stared directly at her and moved her lips like this:
'Do not record this.'
Sonette nodded and set down her pen.
"..."
She pretended to scan the faces of the House of Nobles, and then, taking advantage of the moment Justine's gaze shifted, she hurriedly took shorthand notes.
[Princess Justine moved only her lips to command the scribe, "Do not record this."]
As the scribe of this moment, Sonette had a duty to record everything.
* * *
As expected, Julius's dismissal from the House of Nobles was finalized. The result was a near-unanimous vote in favor.
I watched their chaotic mess from a distance.
I had matters far more important than mere politics.
The Empire needed capable officers. Talented individuals like Kai Han, who could belong to the golem known as the regular army, conduct war correctly, and lead the Empire's blade.
I expanded the "Maximilian Program," which was part of a scholarship, to all military academies across the Empire. I also narrowed down a pool of officer candidates by searching my memories from before the regression.
"Luton, Kaisen, Joachim. Keep a close eye on these three."
"Yes. I will follow them consistently."
At the Genen Annex, Schatz replied in her capacity as the head of the office.
"How are the Yakens?"
"They are gathering smoothly around Yukia. Most still have deep distrust toward the Empire, but the influence of Yukia and her uncle, Entikkan, is proving effective."
Yukia's uncle, Entikkan. He was the one supplying me with Yakens. 'Supply' might be a bit of an odd word, but after taking in Yakens who had nowhere else to go and sending them to the Genen Annex, Schatz would train them, and Yukia would form them into teams.
"Never stop the support for the Yakens."
"Yes, sir."
I stood up from my seat. I scanned the bleak interior surrounded by concrete.
"By the way, isn't the office a bit drab? Decorate it more nicely. To your taste."
Schatz was a woman with aesthetic sense. While she always wore neat suits, she added variations in details like her tie, bracelets, necklaces, gloves, and shoes. If she had no interest at all, she wouldn't bother with such things.
I tended to encourage hobbies.
"...Yes."
I wanted her to become desensitized. I wanted her to be able to lead her own life even while torturing and killing countless people. I wanted her to maintain our absolute sense of righteousness.
For all killing was merely a means to a greater cause.
"Let's go."
I stepped out of the office.
Faint screams drifted in from beyond the heavy walls.
Aaaaaagh...
Torture was in full swing at the Genen Annex. It was the act of uprooting the seeds of revolution and extracting subversive information. The 'Interrogation Manual' written by a torture expert in the past was being strictly enforced by the investigators here, and having gained practical experience, the Genen Annex was now the elite of the elite.
This Genen Annex had become the cradle of my intelligence, and before long, its influence would spread across the Empire and beyond its borders.
Creeeeeak.
The iron gates of the Annex opened. Bright sunlight streamed in.
"...Genen has developed quite a bit in the meantime."
Outside, the cityscape of Genen visible in the distance was brilliantly radiant. Since the 'Spring of Genen,' the autonomous region had undergone unprecedented growth, receiving massive infusions of capital and technology from the Empire. It was the result of the characteristic diligence of the Genen people combined with the order of the Empire.
"The primary source of our information is reports from the local residents."
I chuckled softly at Schatz's words.
If there was a suspicious person or if subversive ideologies were discovered, the ordinary citizens were the first to report them. It was proof that they were satisfied with the current system. It was a very desirable phenomenon.
"That's good to hear."
I climbed into the back seat of the waiting car. Schatz sat in the passenger seat, and the vehicle stopped briefly on the main road.
Clack.
The back door opened, and a man climbed into the seat next to me.
"Good to see you."
I looked at his face. The Chief Secretary of Genen, who looked somewhat like an artist with his long hair.
"Secretary Elias."
"Yes. It has been a long time, Sir Knight."
Elias was gradually changing. It was because he was witnessing how Genen prospered in the Empire's embrace and was proving himself at the center of that change. While there were still Genen people who spat at the Empire, the majority already dismissed them as 'naive fools' in the face of the prosperity they could feel with their own skin.
However, Elias would have to put in even greater effort in the future. He had to become a greater man.
"Take this."
I handed him ten reservation tickets stamped with a luxurious gold seal.
"Thank you, but what are these?"
"Reservation tickets for 'Lilac Vita'."
The restaurant 'Lilac Vita' had reduced its number of tables this time. It was to amplify its scarcity under the pretext of providing the best service.
"Use them when entertaining major high-ranking officials or nobles from the capital."
The status of 'Lilac Vita' these days was extraordinary. There were countless nobles who had never been, and those who had been even once were desperate to return.
A sanctuary of premium luxury gastronomy. The pinnacle of aristocratic society. The top of the social pyramid.
It was a new tier of power that I had come to possess without even realizing it.
"They won't be able to resist."
With these reservation tickets alone, Elias Walter might be able to enter the 'Top 10 Notable Figures in Aristocratic Society.'
"Yes. Thank you."
Elias tucked the reservation tickets deep into his inner pocket.
"Keep this in mind. Only when you become closely connected with the heart of the Empire can Genen receive the treatment it deserves."
Genen must now be reborn not as a subject people, but as a true friend of Arania.
"I will keep that in mind."
I added, turning my gaze out the car window.
"If you need separate funds for bribes, let me know through the Genen Annex."
"..."
Elias's eyebrows twitched slightly at the word 'bribe.' I chuckled and murmured.
"Suppress your nausea, Elias Walter. There are many things in this continent that can only be achieved by enduring."
Since even I was enduring, he would be able to as well.
"...Yes."
Elias faced me and nodded heavily.
"I am also becoming adjusted to it now."
The smile that touched his lips was satisfying.
Thus, while the factions of the Imperial Palace were fracturing, I was consolidating my own power.
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