Chapter 113 The Emperor's Miscalculation
Bezelus Empire, Imperial Castle.
In this place, the heart of the empire, the current emperor Caeral Roma Bezelus was dreaming of a bright future for the empire to come.
"The time has come. It is my turn to rule this world."
Seated on the luxurious chair reserved for the emperor, Caeral laughed while savoring the supreme wine that he had aged over many years.
Now that the empire's technological prowess has reached an all-time high, the gap between it and other nations has widened.
It must be divine providence that the Ortria Kingdom, said to have the world's strongest knight order, is in disarray from a political upheaval and unable to fight properly.
This is a sign that Caeral is meant to be at the top and unite the world.
"Indeed, that is absolutely true. The people of Ortria will eventually come to thank Your Majesty the Emperor for your governance and will cry out in gratitude one day."
One of Caeral's attendants bowed their head to curry favor.
However, his words were not entirely baseless.
With the advanced technology of the empire, the world would surely see great development.
The lives of the people would become significantly richer, and there would undoubtedly be many who benefit from it.
But if one turns a blind eye to the fact that many in the slave class will continue to be exploited behind those who receive such benefits, that is a different story.
(But, well, that probably isn't a major issue.)
Humans tend to feel rebellious when they feel oppressed... but if someone who has no relation to them, a complete stranger, is being oppressed, they might think, "That's sad," yet do nothing more.
"I'm glad it didn't end up like that," he thought, feeling relieved. He accepted the status quo and lived life on a whim.
If you look at this empire, you can see that this is what people are like.
(No one wants to be a slave. People who would give up their current position to serve the weak... are only found in stories.)
That is why this servant also accepts the status quo and supports the emperor's path of hegemony.
You can only rise to greater heights by outdoing and knocking others down.
That is how an Imperial should be.
Because of the Empire, this servant, and even the Emperor, could not have imagined it.
In this world, there is a girl who is not kicking others down, but rather reaching out to them to rise higher, and she is on the verge of transforming the very world itself.
"By the way, Your Majesty. I have a question for you."
"What is it?"
"In the letter to Ortria, it mentioned a girl named Yumie Granbell. It said she is the daughter of Your Majesty the Emperor..."
A servant who suddenly remembered asked Caeral straightforwardly.
Even if they were to fabricate a reason for war, there had to be a better way to go about it.
Despite that, why did they mention a personal name?
In response to his question, Caeral answered, "Ah," with an uninterested tone.
"She is not, to be precise, my biological child. You remember my sister who fled to another country after losing the succession battle with me? She is that girl's daughter."
"...Are you sure about that?"
"Yes, there is no mistake."
In the empire that values power, a murky political struggle unfolds when deciding the successor.
The former princess, who lost and fled to the Ortria Kingdom.
Even Carlot was still unaware that this was the biological mother of Yumie, Amalia Roma Bezelus.
"When we got a hold of her whereabouts, she was already with the Granbell family. We could have just assassinated her, but since it was a special chance, we proposed a deal. If she bore a child of the head of Granbell, we would let her go."
Of course, that statement was a lie.
With his help, she obtained a powerful drug that ordinary people could not possibly obtain. After she became pregnant with Carlot's child and left home, she gave birth to the child and raised it to a certain extent, after which he had her assassinated.
After that, they'll send a child of the Emperor's bloodline into the Granbell Family, so that he can split them off from the inside when the time is right.
"I thought that she was an illegitimate child conceived by Maid, and that she would be treated very poorly and would have a burning desire for revenge against Ortria. I never thought that she would end up being doted on and even gain the King's favor."
Caeral said he laughed when he received the report from the spy.
Yes, he wasn't particularly interested in Yumie's whereabouts.
However, he only thought that if he could use the niece, who had been raised so delicately as to be favored by the king, he could provoke Ortria and instantly lead to war.
"That's true, if she's that beautiful, it might be good to make her the queen mother of the conquered land. Once she matures a bit, she can give birth to a son, who will take care of Ortria's internal affairs. I can't wait to see the face of the king, who will have his favored woman taken right in front of him..."
While thinking she was his real niece, Caeral disregarded the girl's will and considered making her have children solely to torment the king of the enemy nation, prompting the servant to mutter in his heart that it was in poor taste.
But at the same time, he believed that it was an unavoidable fate.
Once a war has started, there was no way this empire could have a future of defeat.
"Uh, report!!"
"What's going on, it's noisy?"
At that moment, a flustered bureaucrat rushed in under Caeral.
Seemingly so anxious that he forgot even basic etiquette, he shouted without noticing Caeral's displeased expression.
"The Divine Beast Euphemia has declared war on our country!! It has come forward to assist the Ortria Kingdom!!"
"What? Those beasts?"
Caeral frowned at the unexpected situation.
He never thought that a country, which essentially hates interference from or to other nations, would join the battle so soon.
"What did they say?"
"They said...'If you, the evil fiends who oppressed my kind, intend to harm the homeland of a dear friend any further, there will be no mercy'..."
"Hmmm...? Could it really be that some fool bought a few beastmen from slave traders and declared war? That mentality is incomprehensible."
Hearing Euphemia's reason for joining the fight, Caeral managed to come up with one answer.
Since they were obtained through a legitimate transaction, if they want them back, they should just negotiate; how barbaric.
Caeral muttered this while putting himself on a pedestal.
"However, I don't quite understand this talk of a dear friend. I haven't heard that Ortria and Euphemia had such a strong connection."
"W-well, I'm not sure about that either..."
As he muttered, "useless," Caeral pondered what to do.
That said, he reconsidered, thinking that it might not be such a big problem after all.
"Well, Euphemia and the others are barbarians with less technology than Ortria. Even if they send a few rescue troops, it won't change anything."
"That's right... Our fleet, which was deployed south of Ortria, has already been destroyed by the Euphemia Navy..."
"...what?"
Perhaps this was too unexpected, as Caeral was frozen with his mouth open.
The fleet that was sent out with absolute confidence was annihilated?
That's stupid.
"Euphemia seems to have devoted almost all of its domestic forces to this rescue...! We have already lost contact not only with the fleet, but also with the ground forces deployed near Granbell territory!"
"What the hell... Are you really sending all of our military forces to another country's aid!? What about our national defense!?"
Caeral shouted, "This is utterly insane!"
Of course, Euphemia didn't actually send all of her military forces to Ortria.
She kept a minimum force behind.
Even so, to send such a significant force without hesitation is beyond Caeral's imagination.
Normally, one would wait for the timing that maximizes their own country's benefits and decide after negotiations.
Otherwise, "normally," the citizens wouldn't accept it.
──Besides, it's unreasonable to expect him to realize that the beastmen are acting not for their own benefits, but to repay a debt owed to a single girl.
"W-what shall we do...?"
Caeral gritted his teeth at the hesitant question from his attendant.
In the Empire, power and results are everything.
If he had set everything up to launch an attack and then cowardly withdrew after being defeated, Caeral would not escape disgrace.
The only path left would lead to execution.
"Notify all troops currently in the country. Immediately initiate the invasion of Ortria. This includes the guard units, conscription units, and the slave units."
"B-but!! If we do that, our own defenses..."
"Do you dare to oppose me?"
The bureaucrat, under Caeral's fierce glare, fell silent with, "N-no..."
There is no turning back now.
In that case, there's no time to think about the future.
He'll crush them with everything he has got.
"I will not permit you to retreat until Ortria is defeated. This is an Imperial command!!"
"Yes... Sir!!"
Bezelus Empire has incurred a lot of hatred both at home and abroad because of its way of being.
If all military forces are directed at the attack on Ortria, the country will inevitably fall into chaos.
Hoping that at the very least, this scar would be as small as possible, the bureaucrat ran off to convey the Emperor's orders.
They did not know at the time that this instruction would bring about the collapse of the empire in an unexpected way.
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