Side Chapter Part 3 of 4
The Circumstances of a Certain Highness
“Your Highness, there is something strange going on the Imperial City.”
“Strange? What’s happening?”
“It looks like the military is on the move. There are signs of fire from some of the facilities and buildings.”
As usual, I listened to the ramblings about my shitty father and honorable brothers. I had been enjoying a barbeque party and camping in the forest outside the Imperial City, when a vassal who was on night watch jumped into my tent with such an announcement.
When I stepped outside to inspect for myself, I saw a fire coming from the Imperial City.
Even though it’s late, is seems that quite a few military forces are moving in.
It can’t be a military exercise…right?
“Your Highness…”
“Wah, Emera you look great in your sleepwear.”
“Your Highness, now isn’t the time for such a joke.”
My personal wizard, Emera, had just come out of her own tent, wearing her signature cold expression as she heard my compliment
I was just trying to lighten the mood.
And I wasn’t trying to flatter her, Emera is just very beautiful and cold.
Well, that’s one of her many good points.
“Your Highness, it looks like a coup d’état.”
“Figures.”
Before I knew it, Marc, the escort who was standing next to me, acknowledged his agreement with just one word.
Marc is an amazing swordsman, but he is one of few words.
He’s very stealthy, so sometimes I don’t even notice him when he’s right by my side.
He’s in the business to protect me, and he’s not the type to cut corners.
“I wonder who pulled off the coup?”
“Who could it be but the Duke or Nuremberg.”
“Yeah.”
The emperor’s election was a close call.
For a young, ambitious man, why would he be happy with that result.
But no matter how he predicted the number of votes he would get; he wouldn’t be able to beat my damned father.
The Duke of Nuremberg had by far the best background to be an emperor, but the empire wasn’t in turmoil.
So, the conservatives who didn’t like the chaos, otherwise known as reform, decided on my father without much thought.
It may seem unreasonable from the young Duke of Nuremberg’s point of view, but if the reforms failed, things would be worse than they were currently.
Many aristocrats probably felt that they couldn’t make a gamble like that.
To the Duke of Nuremberg, he felt they were swept away by inertia.
Is that what they call the gap that occurred between generations and statuses?
“This is a problem.”
I can’t help but wonder how I’m going to get back to the Imperial City tomorrow.
I don’t want to be caught and executed out of the blue.
“For now, it’s safe here, but…”
“Emera, I think we’ve become a group of people without any roots.”
Even if we went back to the Imperial City, it would have been taken over by the coup army long ago.
Speaking of which, what happened to my damned father and brothers?
“Would you like to run away to somewhere else?”
“That’s dull. We’ll see how it goes for a while. But first, we’ll set up a perimeter and go back to sleep.”
This hunting ground is a secret place that only we know and use.
The coup army will be too busy to look for us, and we can check the Imperial City in the morning.
“Your Highness…” Emera hesitated.
“The coup troops won’t come here anyway, and even if they do, we know where to go. The trick for survival is sleep…Or, does Emera want to sleep with me?”
“You say funny things when you’re sleepy.”
“Well, I’m going to bed.”
I went back into my tent and into my bed. The next morning, I sent out some spies.
Even though they were secret spies, they were part of my team: the son of a tavern owner and the son of a mafia boss.
Right after the coup, the Imperial City was on high alert, so if a nobleman’s child entered, they would be caught immediately.
In that respect, my men know the back roads of the Imperial City and are perfect for gathering information.
“We’ll just have to wait here for a while.”
A few days later, we moved further away from the Imperial City, deeper into the forest, waiting for my men to bring me the information.
As expected from the son of a tavern owner and mafia leader, even after the coup d’état they worked well and brought significant information to me.
“The people from the imperial and electoral families and those who were in the Imperial City are under house arrest?”
“They could have been killed.”
“Since the coup’s mastermind is the Duke of Nuremberg, what about the Imperial Army?”
“I’d say about 40% died.”
“Whew, this is all my father’s fault.”
The previous Emperor, who was a staunch domestic politician, wasn’t very well versed in military affairs.
Undoubtedly, the Duke of Nuremberg had been working towards this even before his death.
Otherwise, a coup d’état couldn’t have happened so easily.
So, this was a result of His Majesty the Former Emperor as well.
“So, what should we do?”
“I’m going to need more information.”
For the next week or so, we gathered information while remaining holed up in the depths of the forest.
It seems that the Duke of Nuremberg has almost succeeded in taking control of the Imperial City.
There are many noblemen who usually boast about their family history and dignity, but they’ve been wagging their tails at the Duke of Nuremberg because they fear for their lives.
“A delegation from the Kingdom of Helmut that had come as a goodwill delegation was placed under house arrest and several wizards were killed…”
“That’s a diplomatic problem, isn’t it?”
I think it’s foolish to end a ceasefire that has been in place for two hundred years.
What was the point of fighting with no reason?
“If we’re going to go to war with the Helmut Kingdom in the future, we shouldn’t touch them until the Civil War is over.”
“I understand why wizards might have been killed.”
“Emera, what’s on your mind?”
“For those soldiers who can’t use magic, they are worried about wizards suddenly unleashing their magic. Didn’t they just overreact and kill them?”
“They’d rather cut them down first then let them shoot their magic?”
“Yes, sir.”
Emera theorized that the wizards were not killed on the Duke of Nuremberg’s orders, but rather the soldiers killed them in over-defense.
Is this kind of thing where no matter how carefully planned something is, there will be unexpected discrepancies in its execution?
No matter how good Duke Nuremberg is there’s no way he could control all the actions of the soldiers.
“If you get hit by magic, you will be seriously injured, even if the magic is light. Even a weak ‘Fireball’ can cause severe burns when it hits.”
“Sure, that might not be great…”
They were slayed before they could unleash their magic.
But there were only a few casualties, so some of them must have escaped.
“The Duke of Nuremberg is pursuing the whereabouts of Count Baumeister and his party. At any rate, I hear they are searching with considerable pomp and frill.”
“ ‘.Osbert, you should check it out.”
“I may just be part of the mafia, but where there’s light, there’s also shadow. And the Imperial City Is made up of shadows.”
That’s who I was talking about, the son of the mafia boss.
He’s really adept at gathering information. Osbert came back with even more information.
“Among the Electors, it seems that Duke Philip is the only one who managed to escape. I heard the guest house she was packed into was a hellish mess…”
He relayed that the floor was littered with corpses of coup d’état soldiers who couldn’t stand up to Duke Philip’s men and the floor was stained red with blood.
“The coup troops asked beggars to clean up the bodies, you know.”
For the mafia, getting information from the beggars is child’s pay.
And no matter how good the Duke of Nuremberg is, he can’t prevent the leaking of information from them.
He is also a nobleman, so he doesn’t understand the behavior of beggars or the mafia.
“As for the rest, the stagecoach waiting area in the northern part of the Imperial City was burned to the ground.”
Osbert continued to report about the stagecoach waiting area. The carriages were all destroyed, and the horses killed because of the burn.
Apparently, since everything was completely burnt, the cleanup was very easy.
“Why would the coup troops benefit from that?”
It’s not like it was a restricted military base, and it’s normal to keep the horses and carriages safe awaiting transport.
That means the executors were most likely those opposed to the coup troops.
Almost certainly, it was the work of Count Baumeister and his team.
His magic should be sufficient to do that much.
“You think they burned it in their escape?”
“I’m afraid so.”
It seems that, without incident, Duke Philip, and Count Baumeister’s groups had escaped.
Considering the circumstances, I think it’s reasonable to assume the groups have joined up.
“That’s one hell of a prey to miss, Duke Nuremberg.”
If he had successfully captured or killed Duke Philip, the coup would have been a great success.
If she was able to escape, then Duke Philip would be able to gather troops to survive.
So, it would naturally devolve into a civil war.
“Will the Duke of Nuremberg’s coup stumble because of the foreign nobleman, Count Baumeister?”
“Dike Philip is likely to gather the Northern Lords against the Duke of Nuremberg and I wonder if Count Baumeister and his party will join in that?”
“Do you think they might return by sea?”
For Count Baumeister there is no point in participating in the Empire’s civil war
I’m sure he’d like to return quickly and proceed with the development in his territory.
“Your Highness, that won’t happen.”
“How do you know that, Emera?”
“I tried to conduct a reconnaissance earlier using ‘Flight’, but I felt a severe pain in my head and couldn’t activate it.”
“You can’t use any magic?”
“Not exactly, precisely some of the magic doesn’t work.”
That’s odd.
Come to think of it, since the coup, there hasn’t been a single magic airship to fly out of the Imperial City.
It’s probably the same reason Emera can’t use ‘Flight’.
“It’s not some kind of magic, is it?”
“I’ve never heard of any magic that would permanently disable magic over a wide area.”
The amount of magic power would need to be extreme.
Emera is one of the best wizards in the Empire, but as expected, she wouldn’t be able to do that.
“As I recall, there were many underground ruins from the era of an ancient magical civilization in Duke Nuremberg’s domain, right?”
Maybe they found some good treasure and that’s the basis for their confidence.
Anyway, I can’t move easily anymore.
I kept thinking and tried to gather information for a few more days, but my men couldn’t come up with anything.
“I wish the Duke of Nuremberg killed my damned father and brothers, too.”
“Your Highness, that’s not polite.”
“If it were the case, I could gather troops and take down the Duke of Nuremberg.”
I am the son of the Emperor and could have used his death to carry out the will of the Emperor and take down the Duke of Nuremberg.
Although the emperor’s son doesn’t have the right of succession, the whole empire is in turmoil now, so I could get away with it.
“Then shall we flee North and join Duke Philip?”
“Marc, there’s this saying, ‘A ship will go to the mountain if there are too many captains.’”[1]
[1] Korean proverb meaning a situation where a lack of leadership (or too much) leads to confusion. Equivalent: Too many cooks in the kitchen.
If I go it will only cause another mess.
A rebel army overcome with a leadership struggle.
I would be ridiculed in the history books.
I’m sure it wouldn’t be appreciated by the other side either.
It doesn’t matter how useless my father it, but I’m still his son.
“So, what do you want to do?”
“You know what to do. I’m going back to the Imperial City. The Duke of Nuremberg will capture me, but…” I paused, “He won’t kill me.”
Yes, how could someone like me be killed when my father and brother weren’t?
The Duke of Nuremberg must have found some kind of use for the members of the Imperial Family.
So, I need to return to find out.
“I will go, but not Emera or Marc.”
He’s an extremely capable man.
He could use me as a hostage and send me off to fight Duke Philip.
I have to abandon myself for this serious matter.
Everyone else must abandon something too. Right now, is a time for patience.
Most of my vassals and friends will stay in the depths of the forest, while a few of us will return to the Imperial City.
Before going, we change into our messy, dirty clothes and drink alcohol.
“Who are you?”
“I’m the emperor’s third son and these are my playmates.”
At the main gate of the Imperial City, I drunkenly reveal my identity.
Immediately, I was taken away and brought before the Duke of Nuremberg.
His eyes were as sharp as a hawk, leaving an impression on me the first time I saw him, and he had a small smile on his face from his success.
But he still has the fight with Duke Philip.
He won’t succeed, though.
“What have you been doing?”
“We were having a barbecue outside the Imperial City. At night there was a commotion in the Imperial City. My vassals advised me to flee to the provinces and gather my troops, but I refused saying it was reckless. After that, they all left me.”
When I explained this to him, the Duke of Nuremberg was somehow satisfied.
I guess he was glad I didn’t have any popularity.
“Why didn’t you just gather your troops?”
“I’m just the third son of the emperor and my mother was a commoner, not even a bannerman. Besides, Arya and Mirei are in the Imperial City.”
“Who is that?”
“My favorite whore. Duke of Nuremberg, hurry up and allow the brothel to open for business.”
“Well, we’ll see.”
The Duke of Nuremberg stared at me with pensive eyes. Did he buy my act?
Or does he still doubt it?
I need to get him to let his guard down more.
I was put under house arrest like the rest of my family, but I was allowed to go out with supervision.
Of course, the only place I go is the brothel.
“Mr. Warden, would you like to watch me satisfy little Mirei? I don’t have that kind of taste, but I know you have a job to do.”
After I said that the first time, Warden started waiting for me outside the brothel.
“Your Highness, didn’t you come to this place to do things like that?”
“You’re attractive, but I have Emera.”
“Oh, you’re more serious than I thought.”
“Serious. I’ve always been serious.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. I’m getting paid either way.”
This brothel is run by Osbert’s father, a senior member of the mafia, so he nominated the number one prostitute to practice sword fighting with me, analyze the information we gathered, and contact the Meier Trading Company who was assisting me.
“You can rest assured I won’t tell anyone what happens in this room.”
If she were a cheap prostitute, she would speak with the promise of money, but she’s number one in the Imperial City.
Osbert’s father, the owner, instructed her to tell anyone who asked that I was shaking my hips the whole time.
“Keep me posted on how skilled I am.”
“You can count on me, Your Highness.”
And before leaving, I’d drink a lot of booze.
It was really lucky I was a strong drinker.
“The Imperial Family will pay for it.”
This is the extreme.
All the money I’m spending on the brothel is charged to the Imperial family and my old man is furious, but the Duke of Nuremberg would laugh and say to my father, ‘Even though it’s money for the brothel, if you don’t pay it, the merchants will be in trouble. Pay it.’
I told him to pay it from the Imperial Family’s private funds, not from the tax revenue that would be the state budget.
I’ve been playing with my father and family, making them pay.
To the Duke of Nuremberg, I’m a convenient pawn squandering the wealth of the Imperial Family.
Well, it’s not a lot of money anyway
“Oh. I’m tired of drinking all day every day.”
“Your Highness, you have become a useless alcoholic. And all your free time is spent enjoying the brothel.”
A few months later, the Imperial City was liberated by the Liberation Army led by Duke Philip.
Before that, the Duke of Nuremberg fled with his army.
At the same time, Emera and the others who were in hiding came back. Emera is very cold to me, even though we haven’t seen each other in a few months.
I don’t like that she is treating me like an alcoholic.
“Peter! How dare you play around with the Royal Family’s assets!”
I’m enjoying the reunion with my vassals, but my damned father is being a pain in the ass.
The Duke of Nuremberg would have taken it anyway, so what’s the hassle?
Really, it’s the little things that bother him.
“You be quiet now, you hear?! I am—”
“—going to abdicate? It’s only natural.”
An emperor who faced a coup right after his accession to the throne is not only useless, but a nuisance.
It would be better for the Empire if he gracefully abdicated and handed the throne to Duke Philip.
“You’re joking! I have pride! A woman, Therese, will not be crowned Emperor! Besides, I will avenge the Duke of Nuremberg with my own hands!”
He’s so brave.
When the Duke of Nuremberg was around, he was in the habit of groveling to avoid getting killed.
With all this, my father is in trouble with Duke Philip because he won’t abdicate.
So, the Duke of Nuremberg didn’t kill us, preferring to split the support.
“I will avenge the Duke of Nuremberg myself!”
“Father, I’ll join you.”
“Peter, stay away!”
Both my damned father and brothers became brave when the Duke of Nuremberg was gone.
And they are currently trying to organize a defending army against the Duke of Nuremberg, just as he wishes.
They have even borrowed from the merchants, and I can’t see any element of victory.
“I’m glad I’m staying put.”
My damned father is busy planning his rosy future and doesn’t say anything when I wander off again.
I’m trying to make it look as if I’m paying around while saving as much money as I can and making connections.
Fortunately, my current funds are in the things Emera and the others are hiding, as well as materials from hunting demons and other things…
“I’m grateful, but with my financial resources, it’s just…”
Could we need a third pillar?
If that’s the case, we’d have to borrow heavily, I guess I need sponsors.
Speaking of which, Count Baumeister.
He had been a part of the Liberation Army.
I’m jealous that at my age he’s already a great wizard, adventurer, and soldier.
He even has plenty of land, money, and wives.
Even though he was only born as the eighth son of a poor nobleman.
Come to think of it, the Duke of Nuremberg was strangely aware of him…
My father had the reputation of being a lowly aristocrat who rose to prominence and didn’t bother to deal properly with others.
I guess the Duke was pissed because they’re earning money off their own agenda, and at this point it’s equivalent to being their own ruler.
“They’re selling porcelain.”
“How’d you come up with that?”
The town of Sirkat is also being developed.
I’m sure the citizens of that town would prefer Count Baumeister become the Emperor.
I would agree with them, too.
“A foreign nobleman as emperor?”
“Emera, with the empire in this much turmoil, it’s not all that unlikely.”
It’s still localized around Sirkat, but he’s giving hope to Imperial subjects.
As well as practicality.
The Duke of Nuremberg only has the south and the military and noblemen who follow him.
Lady Therese only has the north and the nobles who joined the Liberation Army.
The rest that was left over was ignored by my damned father.
“I’m afraid we won’t be seeing much of Count Baumeister.”
“No, not necessarily.”
Count Baumeister, of Sirkat, had distanced himself from the Liberation Army that he initially joined.
Maybe he doesn’t want to deal with the Emperor.
Has he become a third force?
He has, but the people don’t know exactly what he’s aiming for.
“I understand that Lady Therese is very attached to Count Baumeister? Does he want to become the Empress’ husband?”
“That’s not what Count Baumeister would want.”
There is a vast, yet to be developed territory.
He has plenty of money, but it would take a long time to develop.
And yet, there’s no way he would be willing to let the Empire acquire the land.
He wouldn’t want the Empire’s territory.
The southernmost part of the continent, which was nearly uninhabited, he wanted to devote his resource to it.
With concentration is should be a rich territory that could rival a small country by the time Count Baumeister dies.
“An enclave in the Empire would only be a hindrance, wouldn’t it?”
As long as he received it, he’d have to rule it.
Moreover, a kingdom aristocrat becomes the lord of land that is under control of the Empire.
He didn’t want such troublesome land.
“Is that why you treat him as a mercenary?” Marc asked.
I need to limit the rewards to gold and treasure so it would be easier to bring them back and for him to develop into his territory.
“I would have thought a nobleman would be happy to have more fiefdoms.”
“Count Baumeister is a bit different from the old aristocracy of the Empire.”
A normal nobleman would be happy with more fiefdoms.
Because they associate the size of their estate to their level of authority.
It seems he originally planned to leave home and live life as a wizard, so he might find money more useful than land.
“Count Baumeister must be concerned about the quality of his domain.”
He wouldn’t want to get an enclave and devote resources to it.
If he does that, he’ll be stuck with the useless land.
I think that’s how Count Baumeister is thinking about it.
He might be interested in mining rights or port rights, now.
With this, we could put a deputy in place and benefit as well.
“He’s without greed, isn’t he?”
“That seems right, but it’s also why I’m afraid of the opposite.”
For an empire that has nothing to do with him, he is certainly leaving his mark.
He is close to High Earl Mizuho and the inhabitants of Sirkat completely support and admire him.
He hasn’t gained an inch of the Imperial territory, but his supporters are growing.
“At this rate, the reward payment will be enormous. The empire that has been squeezed apart will grow thin and decay, while Count Baumeister will fatten his fiefdom. After the war, he could trade directly with High Earl Mizuho, and there are likely others who would like to trade with him.”
“Your Highness, that means…”
“It’s a bit of an economic invasion, Emera.”
Does my father understand why the Kingdom of Helmut only sent advance troops that were destroyed by the Duke of Nuremberg?
I guess they don’t want to get caught up in the chaos anyways, and they are showing support by sending even limited advance troops.
“The Helmut Kingdom will gain more and more national strength if we wait.”
There’s Count Baumeister, too.
He’s spending money in the southernmost area for development, so the kingdom’s economy is steadily rising with that.
Other than that, the kingdom will be actively freeing up demon realms.
That will increase inhabitable territory and population.
And it’s easier to govern by developing new areas than taking fenced-in Imperial territory in war.
“If we leave it like this, the gap between the two countries will be insurmountable in twenty- or thirty-years’ time.”
Maybe that’s why the Duke of Nuremberg was in a hurry.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to attack later than through the openings of civil war?”
The power ratio is overwhelming.
Besides, if Count Baumeister joined the Imperial invasion force…
Wouldn’t High Earl Mizuho respond?
It wouldn’t be because they’re unrighteous.
It’s that they have to make those choices in order to survive.
Before that, they are also an independent country.
The inhabitants of Sirkat town would be delighted.
Others might think the good old days would return and greet Count Baumeister with glee.
“The Empire is in more trouble that I though, isn’t it? If that’s the case, shouldn’t we be looking at assassinating Count Baumeister?”
“That’s the worst option, Emera.”
The Imperial people would kill the hope of kingdom development.
It would be an attack to the now calm kingdom government.
“They wouldn’t hesitate to invade the Empire to regain their lost future income. And if Count Baumeister is killed, they’ll have the cause.”
“Ugh…”
Emera’s shortcoming is that she loses a bit of perspective when she’s troubles.
“Emera, how would you assassinate him before that? Count Baumeister is surrounded with talented individuals.”
The Kingdom, and Count Baumeister’s, final weapon is Burkhart.
His wives are also skilled and active adventurers.
“Yes, with a force Your Highness could put together, it would be difficult.”
“Emera, that’s hurtful.”
Emera herself is one of the three best wizards in the Empire because a bunch died in the civil war.
Marc is a terrific swordsman, and one of the highest in quality, but the problem is funding and numbers.
“What do you intend to do?”
“I think my father’s going to fail, so I have to think further.”
Despite my advice, my father is relieved by the number of troops he has.
Assuming we will almost certainly be defeated, should I first call on the military, bureaucrats, and nobles who share my views to form a force?
Furthermore, I know what Count Baumeister wants.
So, I’ll get his favor and bring him in.
Fortunately, Count Baumeister finds Lady Therese a bit of a pain in the ass.
She’s nice, but she’s troublesome with her position and status.
“Even Count Baumeister has a weakness.”
“A weakness?”
“The strange device that covers most of this empire.”
A device that interferes with ‘movement’ and ‘communication’ magic.
I suppose it’s good for the Duke of Nuremberg, who was planning an illegal coup, but he’s crazy to keep it.
“Well, I know the Duke of Nuremberg is afraid of Count Baumeister and others.”
I guess he was afraid the elite wizards would fly over the city and surprise attack.
The Duke of Nuremberg is a military man, so his thoughts aim towards the military.
“We don’t want the device either. We’ll just give them the freedom to destroy it.”
“Are you sure?”
“I mean, I don’t care if the Kingdom gets the device…”
In the future, even if the device were restored and used, the Royal Army would still be weak.
“It’s a legacy of the ancient magical civilization era, right? Isn’t it possible that they could develop some other weapons based on that technology?”
“It’s the same for us.”
If we suppress the Duke of Nuremberg’s territory, we can obtain the original Lost Technology.
We can study it, deploy it, and use it as a deterrent to the Kingdom.
It can be used as a scarecrow.
The empire is a mess right now, but it’s an opportunity.
Rebirth from destruction.
In order to do so, I must successfully attract Count Baumeister.
“We don’t have the means to meet with Count Baumeister. But I’m sure my father, on his high horse, will call him out and if that doesn’t work, the Meier Trading Company.”
As long as they’re selling porcelain, it’s best to use the Meier Trading Company for distribution.
“I can’t be sure of anything. You’ll have to take a gamble with me.”
“I am Your Highness’s bodyguard.”
“Likewise, I will continue to escort you with magic, Your Highness.”
“Then let’s go.”
Will the ‘Shame of the Family’ rise to power or fail and die?
Only god knows what the outcome will be.
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