Chapter 460: The Script of Evil (3) |
Chapter 460 – The Script of Evil (3)
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“Why on earth did you lose your left foot?”
“It simply turned out that way. The world doesn’t always unfold according to my wishes.”
Saintess Longwy looked at me as though she were staring at an insect.
We rode side by side as the army advanced. The Neutral Faction Demon Lords took the vanguard, I rode in the center, and the remaining Demon Lords brought up the rear. It was about time for the forces to divide and march separately, but for now, we still moved as one.
“Oh, of course. I’m sure it was all terribly unavoidable. As if you don’t usually smirk and say everything is going exactly as planned after committing all sorts of atrocities.”
“This time, I truly did not foresee it. Not in the slightest. The world really is an endless string of unknowns. I’m almost pleased there are still so many surprises left for me.”
“Should I just shove you off your horse?”
“You’re already missing a foot. If I give you a small push and you land headfirst, I might actually manage to kill you.”
“…….”
It was a joke. Presumably.
We were not riding abreast because we were on especially good terms. On the diplomatic stage, the Habsburg Republic and the Anatolian Empire had been denouncing us day after day—calling us practitioners of wicked dark arts, accusing us of desecrating the Emperor, and so on. The usual rhetoric.
Jacqueline Longwy was the most beloved saintess on the continent. She enjoyed strong support among the nobility and overwhelming adoration from the common people. The mere fact that she rode beside me was, in itself, a powerful diplomatic statement.
Dark magic? A baseless slander. The Saintess herself guarantees it. Elizabeth’s diplomatic offensive would not progress as smoothly as she hoped.
“By the way, just in case—if I were to die, there would be no one left in the Empire willing to back Brittany.”
“That was obviously a joke. Are you an idiot?”
Saintess Longwy snapped instead. I fell silent, mildly abashed.
For a while, only the clatter of hooves filled the air. As I reviewed strategy in my mind, she spoke again.
“Court Palatine. The Habsburg Republic is a small state, is it not?”
“Yes? That is indeed the case.”
“Is there really any need to mobilize an army of this size and wage a total war? The Republic’s Consul is capable, certainly, but I don’t see why you would need to be this cautious.”
“No reason to be cautious, you say……?”
A faint smile tugged at my lips.
“You may not realize it, Saintess, but the ill fate between Consul Elizabeth and myself runs very deep.”
“I know that much. It started with the speech on Bruno Plains, and—”
“No.”
I cut her off.
“You do not know.”
“……You didn’t have to be so rude about it.”
Saintess Longwy frowned.
“Then enlighten me. What is it that I supposedly don’t know?”
“The point at which Consul Elizabeth and I truly collided was over Frankia. We placed your country upon the gaming table and gambled over it.”
That was the first clash.
The Lily War.
“If Brittany were to swallow Frankia, Consul Elizabeth would gain a powerful ally at her side. Our Empire would be encircled on three fronts. In other words, whether Frankia’s independence was preserved or not was a matter of the utmost importance.”
“What?”
The displeasure vanished from her face, replaced by confusion.
“What are you talking about? The Lily War was our war. Brittany’s war. Why would it be a fight between you and the Consul?”
“There are always multiple perspectives. Did not Her Majesty your queen exchange frequent private correspondence with Consul Elizabeth? There is no doubt that the Consul’s will was involved in that war.”
“…….”
I lost the Lily War.
The consequences of that defeat were considerable.
While I was wholly preoccupied with the war, the political situation among the Demon Lords shifted violently. Agares and Gamigin formed an alliance and launched a massive rebellion against the Plains Faction. The Plains Faction nearly collapsed.
Elizabeth, on the other hand, was able to breathe easier. Her ally Brittany consolidated its footing, while her rival—the Habsburg Empire—became entangled in civil strife. Seizing that golden, exquisitely timed opportunity, Elizabeth reorganized the Republic.
Round one had gone to Elizabeth. It was my complete defeat.
“Consider this. When Demon Lord Agares lost the civil war and fled, your country accepted her asylum without hesitation. Why was that?”
“That…… was Her Majesty’s decision. She said it might prove useful someday.”
“Do you know precisely what that ‘someday’ entails?”
Saintess Longwy slowly shook her head. Of course she did not.
“Demon Lord Agares is a double-edged sword. Our Empire invaded Frankia under the pretext of eliminating Agares. If so, Saintess—do you not think the opposite is equally possible?”
“The opposite?”
“You could place Demon Lord Agares at the forefront and invade our Empire instead. Claim that she was unjustly driven out, that she now returns at the head of an army to claim her revenge.”
“……!”
Jacqueline Longwy’s eyes widened into perfect circles. She wore the expression of someone who had never once imagined such a scenario.
Then again, Saintess Longwy’s political instincts had never been particularly sharp.
“It’s simple. A tool that’s useful when you invade someone else is just as useful when they come invading you. Her Majesty the Queen of Sardinia accepted Agares for one reason only: to use her as a bridgehead for a future invasion of the Empire.”
“That can’t be…… I’ve never heard anything about that.”
“It would have been secret among secrets. The plan was likely discussed only between the President of the Republic and Her Majesty the Queen.”
I smiled gently.
“Do you understand now? Even while cornered, Consul Elizabeth was searching for an opportunity to strike back. She persuaded Her Majesty to grant asylum to Demon Lord Agares. Had the Empire shown even the slightest opening, they would have bitten into us without a moment’s hesitation.”
That is why I focused on domestic affairs.
I strengthened the ties between the Plains Faction, the Neutral Faction, and the Mountain Faction—so that not even the faintest possibility of civil war could arise.
The purge of Great Demon Lord Baal was part of that same line of thought. Baal was a dangerous element. There was no telling when he might act on his own desires. He had to be eliminated swiftly…….
“As long as Demon Lord Agares remained alive, the threat would not disappear. In the end, I resolved to mobilize the entire Demon Lord Army to eliminate her. And if, in the process, we could also break your nation’s momentum, so much the better.”
Round Two.
The Puppet War.
Both sides made thorough preparations and plunged Frankia into the flames of war.
But there was one variable Elizabeth failed to calculate: Laura de Farnese. My precious treasure, and the greatest strategist on the continent. Before Elizabeth could properly respond, Laura shattered Sardinia’s armies.
Elizabeth did her utmost at the end—dispatching detachments and making every effort—but it was impossible to reverse the tide. Frankia achieved independence, and Sardinia collapsed. Elizabeth lost her strongest ally.
Round Two was my complete victory. Elizabeth’s crushing defeat.
“…….”
Saintess Longwy fell silent.
Her face twisted with anger and bewilderment.
“If what you’re saying is true, then our Sardinia…… it sounds as though we were used like puppets—mere dolls in a game between the two of you.”
“Everyone uses others, and is used in turn.”
I gently reassured the Saintess.
“You need not take such offense. Had events unfolded according to the Consul’s design, the Kingdom of Brittany would likely be enjoying the height of its prosperity by now. It would have benefited your country as well. Is that not why Her Majesty agreed with the Consul in the first place?”
“…….”
But it failed. And it failed because of me.
“Well, I was certain that victory was already within my grasp. Brittany had been cut off. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had been cut off. Of the Republic’s allies, only Sardinia remained. To sever its lifeline, I once more raised an army.”
Round Three.
The Chrysanthemum War.
This time, Elizabeth was aware of Laura’s existence. We both understood what the other sought, how the other would act. Only then did we truly steel ourselves.
Yet the third round ended in a draw.
It concluded in a stalemate.
“I shattered Sardinia, but in exchange, the Consul succeeded in drawing the Anatolian Empire into the fold. The final battle was postponed. We parted after vowing that, one day, we would settle matters once and for all.”
And now that final reckoning approaches.
Elizabeth has no choice but to wage war, even if it requires overextending herself. The Demon Lord Army is currently in severe turmoil. The Plain Faction, which was once a gathering of martial Demon Lords, has been annihilated. Moreover, its remnants have risen in rebellion across various regions.
It’s the perfect opportunity.
If she lets this chance slip away, she will never again be able to bring down the Habsburg Empire. She must stake everything she has built thus far and hurl herself onto the battlefield. Without question, that is what Elizabeth is thinking now…….
“Saintess Longwy. You asked whether there is truly any need to mobilize a grand army and wage a total war.”
I smiled.
“This is my answer. The Republic may indeed be a small nation. But Consul Elizabeth is not. She has led that small country and matched wits with me all the way to this point. If we begin counting from the uprising of the Crescent Alliance, it has already been seven years. A long and bitter entanglement…….”
Of course, no one knew.
Not the Lily War, nor the Puppet War, nor the Chrysanthemum War—no one knew that every one of them had been a contest played solely between Elizabeth and me upon a single board.
Though the Saintess has now learned the truth by hearing it from me, it will not spread to the world.
How, I wonder, will the historians judge those three wars? Will they describe them as part of the Habsburg Empire’s expansion? Will they record them as inevitable conflicts born from the clash between republicanism and monarchy?
Either interpretation would be infinitely distant from the truth. And that is precisely what makes it amusing.
In a place utterly unknown to the people of the continent, Elizabeth and I placed the entire continent upon a chessboard and fought. In other words, this was a secret game belonging to the two of us alone.
“Saintess Longwy, you must support us to the very end. When the rebellion in Sardinia broke out last time, why do you think I granted Brittany a share of the spoils?”
“…….”
Brittany crushed the great Frankish nobles and swallowed up the occupied territories whole. I was the one operating behind that scheme.
The Queen and the Saintess owed me a considerable debt. The reason Saintess Longwy now supports me so wholeheartedly in this war is to repay the favor she received then.
“……Count Palatine, are you confident of victory?”
“No. I possess no such confidence. I will simply do everything within my power.”
However.
Into this game has entered a variable neither Elizabeth nor I had accounted for. Daisy.
Depending on how she chooses to act, the entire situation could shift. Even if I can guess at what lies within her heart, I cannot predict all of her actions. What, I wonder, will she do……?
Daisy.
What are you doing now? With what feelings did you feign hatred before me? What do you intend to do with Elizabeth, and what do you intend to do with Barbatos? I want to speak with you this very moment.
And yet, in whatever remains of our lives, I know there will be little time left for conversation. I can feel it instinctively. So let us all prepare for our respective ends.
So that no regrets remain.
***
TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Holy shit, was I wrong on the last upload. I thought my schedule was freeing up finally, but nope. Here’s a shit ton of work from BrownDust2 and this other upcoming game that I’ve had to work weekends since the start of May, and I’ll have to keep working weekends till maybe the middle of June. There’s two upcoming holidays next week, but I’m going to be working on those too. This is actually killing me. BrownDust also asking me to come to their office 3 days this month instead of 2, so I’ma have to suffer traveling all the way to their office that’s 1.5 hours away from me. It’s the weekend and I gotta get back to work once I upload this! Wish me luck…