“…I guess you could say that you’re half-right,” I said. “What Georg did, he did entirely on his own initiative. The target of the subjugation Hakuya and I had been planning was the Principality of Amidonia from the very beginning.”
While investigating the nobles’ corruption, I had learned there was no small number of nobles inside the kingdom who were working for the Principality of Amidonia. Whether it was family ties, bribery, or the illegal diversion of supplies, their connections took many forms, but the existence of those nobles was extremely dangerous to this country. For instance, if Amidonia were to invade as it now was, and if they were to stage a revolt all across the country, that could have proved to be a fatal blow.
Because of that, Hakuya and I had thought of ways to solve the root of that problem. And by “the root,” of course, I meant the Principality of Amidonia itself.
“The Principality of Amidonia has been a constant threat to this country,” I said. “If we had left them to their own devices, I had little doubt that they would continue to foment rebellion. If that had happened, many more people would have been hurt. That’s why Hakuya and I planned to use this opportunity to deal them a crushing defeat and strip them of their influence. In order to do that, we used forged letters, among other methods, to try to lure them into a trap, but…”
There, I stopped for a moment, scratching the back of my head.
“At pretty much exactly the same time, Georg was coming up with a completely separate plan of his own,” I said. “By deliberately taking a rebellious stance against me, he gathered the corrupt nobles around himself. Then he planned to launch a rebellion and lose, so that they’d all be captured along with him. That was his plan, you see.”
“You… weren’t informed about it, either, were you?” Carla asked, her eyes widening as she did.
I nodded quietly in response.
Liscia looked downwards, looking pained by this.
“We were told of Georg’s plan much later,” I said. “Once things had progressed to the point that no one could pull back. He must have thought we’d stop him if he revealed the plan to us. As a matter of fact, if I had been told from the beginning, I think I would have. This sort of… self-sacrificing plan… I wouldn’t have wanted to accept it.”
“I see. In a way, what my father said was right,” Carla murmured, her shoulders slumping.
“What Castor said?” I asked.
“The day before you issued your ultimatum, my father said something. ‘I just can’t imagine that Duke Carmine would be driven mad by ambition.’”
Come to think of it… Castor had said something like that when I’d issued my ultimatum, too. He’d said, “I can’t imagine Duke Carmine would oppose you without good reason.”
…He’d been right. There had been nothing wrong about what he’d said. Castor was prone to hasty decisions, but perhaps he had instinctively grasped the true nature of the situation.
“Why…?” Carla asked regretfully after a moment’s silence, still averting her eyes. “Why didn’t he tell my father in advance? If he had just done that…”
“…The more people who knew the secret, the greater the risk of the plan leaking out,” I explained. “He couldn’t afford that. That and, if Castor had known, he absolutely would have tried to stop him, wouldn’t he?”
“That’s…” Carla fell silent.
I clenched my fists tightly under the blanket. “We’ve already spent a lot, including Georg’s life, in order to make this plan happen,” I said. “Now that we can’t turn back, we need to ensure it succeeds. If we don’t, we’ll have spent all of that in vain. That was why I had hoped Castor would choose to side with us of his own free will. Excel and I both kept trying to persuade him to. And yet… Castor said he would die for his friendship, then sided with Georg.”
I ground my teeth in frustration. Why had things gone so poorly?
Everyone had just done as they’d pleased for their own arbitrary reasons. By the time I’d realized it, I was dancing along to a script I didn’t even know the author of. I no longer knew whether my role on the stage of this world was that of a king, or of a jester.
Carla hung her head, unable to say anything. Liscia seemed to want to say something to her, but held herself back.
As I watched the two of them, I let out a small sigh. It really is… an unpleasant role. Having to be king.
“Their goal will be to capture the capital of the Principality, Van.”
When they’d heard Souma declare this, the 30,000 Amidonian soldiers laying siege to Altomura beat a hasty retreat.
From on top of the wall, Admiral of the Navy Excel Walter and Lord of Altomura Weist Garreau looked out as the setting sun shone down on the fences and banners that had once surrounded the camps they had left behind.
When Weist turned to the side, there he saw Excel’s face in profile, the setting sun lending it a bewitching beauty.
“…Is it okay not to attack them?” Weist asked, as if trying to cover up the fact he had nearly been entranced by her beauty.
A pursuit battle would be a chance to inflict considerable damage on the enemy.
However, Excel silently shook her head. “There were wyvern cavalry in their rear guard. If a force without wyvern cavalry like ours were to leave the castle and give pursuit, we would suffer a punishing counterattack. Gaius VIII… As you would expect from the man who’s been sharpening his fangs and preparing to strike our country for so long, he gives sound commands. Though I doubt that will be enough to let him escape from the palm of His Majesty’s hand.”
When Excel said that and closed her eyes, Weist opened his eyes wide. For Excel, who treated everyone she met like children, had there ever been a person she’d held in such high esteem before?
“Is His Majesty that resourceful?” Weist asked.
“I think when it comes to plain resourcefulness, he’s not that impressive,” said Excel. “It is rather that, for every scenario he encounters, he comes up with a plan that seems like a prepared answer. Almost like he already knows a similar battle.”
“Hm? What do you mean?” Weist asked.
“…Just maybe, His Majesty comes from a world far worse than this one. A vortex of scheming and trickery.”
Weist shuddered at Excel’s words.
He had heard that Souma was a hero summoned from another world. What if he assumed that this other world had seen the fall of many more countries, and experienced turbulent times that had brought the deaths of many more people?
If, by some chance, that world were to connect with this one, could the people of this world possibly fight back against the people of that one?
From the image he had seen, that young man didn’t look especially suited to fighting, yet he could still come up with such well-developed plans.
Of course, it was probably about as likely to happen as the sky falling…
“That… is dreadful to think of, yes,” said Weist.
“Yes, it really is…Now then,” Excel said, clapping her hands as if to signify a change of mood. “Do you suppose our work is done here?”
“…I know it’s a little late to ask now, Duchess Excel, but rather than just buy time, couldn’t you have easily run off the forces of the principality with your magic?”
When Weist pointed that out, Excel chuckled. “Oh, my. You can’t rely on this old woman forever, you know. I think it’s an elder’s duty to watch over the young ones when they’re trying so hard.”
“Indeed…”
Weist wasn’t quite sure what to say to that, but contrary to Excel’s cheerful expression, she was feeling irritated inside.