Bab 243: [Chapter 243] Just the Imperial Family
Abelus slammed his fist on the table.
"Damn it!"
His anger was understandable, considering the fact that the defense line hastily built by the Imperial Family had been pierced like straw and countless territories had fallen into the hands of the Maindelant army.
And to top it off, even after he had defied opposition and threatened nobles with children, he wasn't getting as much support as he had hoped for.
"Your Highness, Your Highness. Calm down."
Megara's room in the Crown Prince's palace was once again occupied by only the two of them. Megara spoke softly, soothing him in the way Abelus had been liking lately. He calmed down a little, but sparks flew from his eyes.
"Those who strut around calling themselves nobles are so incompetent! If they just captured that Cledwin, everything would go back to the way they want it, but they can't even do that!"
The "way it should be" that Abelus was talking about was the normal court atmosphere he envisioned. Everyone respects the Crown Prince, trusts his abilities, and the Imperial Family has enough money. Like before Princess Caymil was excluded from politics.
The fact that he, who used to like to look cool and imposing in front of women, now preferred a gentle attitude that accepted everything he did, was due to the gap between his ideal and reality. How could he not be flustered when Maindelant, who he thought he could pressure into surrendering in an instant, was continuing to march south?
Megara knew Abelus's inner thoughts like the back of her hand. She found his way of thinking quite ridiculous, but at the same time, she was grateful for his simplicity. If Abelus hadn't had a clueless head, how could she have gotten him to act according to her instigation?
"Well, if His Highness had stepped in, everything would have been over by now. But where can you find someone as smart as His Highness? It's not like His Highness can take care of everything in the world, so we have to be magnanimous and tolerate the sight of foolish and incompetent people failing."
Was that so? Abelus's face brightened. He was still annoyed, but…
Megara looked up at him, smiling like an angel.
"Your Highness, I think many noble families still have resources. But the reason they haven't come forward to offer them to Your Highness yet is that they're testing how resolute Your Highness is, aren't they?"
"Testing? How dare they, when the Crown Prince has commanded them?"
"Yes, it's a truly audacious attitude. So, give me a little time. I know my Academy classmates well, and I want to persuade their families. Your Highness is determined to thoroughly punish the rebels in the north this time, so if they actively participate, they will surely receive a fitting reward."
Megara hadn't forgotten what happened to her at the last salon with Alekto. Although she hadn't complained to Abelus, following her father's advice and her own judgment, it had only made her resentment grow.
This proposal was partly a result of that.
'Persuasion, my foot.'
The Marquis of Rikeandros was involved in military affairs, so he had a vague idea of how much military power other families had. No family ever revealed the exact number of their private soldiers, but it wasn't impossible to get a rough idea of their size.
The Marquis was currently secretly investigating the military strength of the families who had insulted Megara last time, including the Earl of Islani. He planned to use a suitable excuse to make them squeeze out all their resources soon. Megara was simply laying the groundwork to increase her own merit in front of Abelus when that day came.
Abelus didn't seem to fully trust Megara's words. He looked down at her with a dubious expression.
Maggie, you haven't even been able to go to your aunt's place yet, have you? Will you be able to do it?"
Since Neris had visited the Imperial City, the grand nobles had collapsed as if they had made a pact, and now, Countess Mariah was the center of the social scene. Whether it suited her temperament or not was another matter.
Whether it was because of her pride as a member of the royal family or because she had been close to Neris, Countess Mariah had not allowed Megara into her mansion. This was despite the fact that Megara was currently Abelus's only woman and was receiving attention as if she were an empress, to exaggerate a little.
Megara's face stiffened slightly, as if she had been hit in a sore spot. But she soon regained the angelic smile that Abelus knew and assured him.
"Of course. There are many places where my friends gather, even if it's not the Countess's house."
"Really? Okay, then. My Maggie, I don't know what I would have done without you."
Abelus, in a good mood, whispered a few kind words to Megara and got up to leave the room. Megara saw him off and then crossed her arms with a cynical expression.
'Foolish things.'
Did they think this Megara would be ignored and remain silent?
Yes, it was true that Abelus needed the power of the nobles right now. So, it was also true that Megara should let it slide to some extent, even though she was now being ignored by those she had dragged behind her in the past. It was different from Caymil's maids, who had ignored her as if she were a former mistress. Her Academy classmates had made a rational judgment.
But what was rational about what was happening now?
She would make those who had ignored her pay the price, no matter what.
While she was lost in thought, a servant in a flamboyant attire visited. He stood at the door, rubbing his right thumb and index finger together, looking embarrassed and unsure of himself. Megara threw him a gold coin and asked.
"What news do you have?"
This servant was one of the people Megara had bought over as she expanded her influence in the court, and he was currently working in the Empress's palace. He checked the gold coin and grinned, reporting,
"Her Majesty the Empress is looking for a new Crown Princess candidate."
After Natasha disappeared and Megara came in, the Imperial Family elders had always been looking for a new Crown Princess candidate. Megara had been trying to prevent Valentine from taking that position. She raised her eyebrows coldly.
The servant continued, understanding the silent pressure to get to the point without making obvious statements.
"There's a strong candidate, and she's looking into it. I heard that one of the candidates was supposed to have arrived a long time ago, but her family is making excuses and hasn't sent her yet. I didn't hear her exact name."
"Candidate?"
That meant one of Megara's classmates. She thought for a moment and raised her eyebrows. Most of her classmates had already arrived in the Imperial City and had their names on the military roster. Some who hadn't arrived yet were abroad and hadn't received the news yet, or they were recovering from a contagious disease…
"Diane McKinnon?"
A case where the family prioritized spending time together over their daughter's social debut, making excuses to delay her departure.
It was an unexpected name, but it was a perfectly possible choice when you thought about it. What the Imperial Family needed most now was money, and all the others who had money before had fallen.
Megara felt murderous. Yes, money… of course it was important. That's why Megara had sent Abelus to the club. It was a problem that it wasn't going well.
But Diane! Did that mean that such a child could easily ascend to the future Empress's position? Megara said, as if chewing on the words,
"Anyway, Her Majesty the Empress, with her strong sense of pride, wouldn't readily accept a child who is neither from a grand noble family nor related to them as the Crown Princess. She probably wouldn't like her if she saw her in person. She's just thinking of seeing them one by one because she's in a hurry."
"Is that so?"
The servant was quick-witted and only said that much. Megara threw him another gold coin and said sharply,
"But it's unacceptable if Diane McKinnon takes that position by any chance. She's a child who doesn't listen to me. If Diane really comes, I'll report her schedule to Her Majesty the Empress. Keep an eye on her and tell me the general details!"
It would be better to take action before she arrives.
****
Neris placed a marker on the map spread out on the table.
"Doc." A clear, light sound rang out. Hilbrin stood up straight and reported.
"Your Highness, the Grand Duke has won another great victory, and the surrendered lord has given us 500 horses and 1,000 soldiers, of which the infantry… "
Since Cledwin had left, there had been nothing but great victories. The number of pins with the letter 'M' on them, which Neris had been placing on the huge map spread out in this quiet meeting room every day, had been increasing. And Cledwin, the one who had increased the number of pin markers by winning victories on the land of the Empire, which originally had no markers, continued to march south in the form of a gray horse.
Neris often came to this meeting room. And she would sit on the small chair next to the map, as she was doing now, and spend the whole day looking at the miniature Empire, lost in thought. Sometimes, when someone of a status that allowed them to see this detailed and huge map came in, she would listen to their reports and move the horse's position or place a new 'M' pin. That was her pastime these days.
Cledwin usually won easily by using spies he had infiltrated beforehand at banquets or by showing his overwhelming presence beforehand, making it impossible for the enemy to resist. So, there was almost no damage to the defeated side, and their military supplies and troops were added to Cledwin's strength.
Doc. Doc. Doc. Neris added a small horse with numbers on it behind the gray horse heading towards the heart of the Empire. A white crystal horse representing infantry, a red crystal horse representing cavalry…
Looking at the map from above, it looked like a giant arrow was pointed from the Tipian Marquisate towards the Imperial City of Pelena. Even when Cledwin first invaded the Tipian Marquisate through the Illopium Gorge, the army he led was never small, but as the victory reports continued, they ran out of horses to mark the troops and had to make new ones.
The horses on the map didn't only mark the Maindelant army. The gray horse representing Cledwin had reached about 1/4 of the distance between the Tipian Marquisate and the Imperial City, and there was one small navy blue horse placed in each of the important locations of the major territories near it, where important figures resided.
"Thank you for the report. If you have any concerns, always tell me. You're an expert."
Neris said, looking down at the map at an angle.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Hilbrin, who had taken over the overall military command of the entire north while Cledwin and Aidan were away in Maindelant, answered cautiously.
"Actually, I'm a little concerned about the increasing proportion of conscripted troops from the occupied territories. It's likely that His Highness will have trouble using them."
Conscripted troops from defeated territories wouldn't like their conquerors. Besides, weren't the soldiers from the land defeated 'today' defeated by the soldiers from the land defeated 'yesterday'? It was a good thing there wasn't a major massacre, but the junior officers on the front lines were probably struggling to suppress internal conflicts.
Hilbrin didn't want to deny the greatness of the Grand Duke, whom he admired, so he chose his words carefully. Neris glanced at him, her eyes sparkling, and laughed calmly.
"Don't worry about that. Those who have been trained by Talprin beforehand will be spreading rumors among them."
"What kind of rumors?"
"Rumors about the truth of the three heroes. I've taken several copies of the 'betrayal' that was used until the end, and I've told them to circulate them whenever they have the chance."
It was a story about propaganda. Hilbrin had no doubt that the Grand Duchess he admired was truly a descendant of the three heroes, but he didn't think disgruntled soldiers would easily believe propaganda that favored the occupiers.
"Will they believe it?"
"It doesn't matter if they truly believe it. As long as they cooperate with us, there will be those who will take the initiative to shout that they believe it, because they want their own minds to be at ease."
As time passed and they became accustomed to Cledwin's valor, they would become more sincere. Hilbrin's expression soon brightened.
"You are wise, Your Highness."
"Talprin has made the specific plans. His specialty is banquets, you know."
"Is that so? Well, that's the job of the shadows. Speaking of which, where is Talprin?"
Neris picked up a round crystal horse and placed it on the Imperial City. Doc.
"I sent him to the Imperial City. Someone like Talprin is needed to handle the current complex situation."
It wasn't a good thing for Talprin, who was in charge of the Grand Duke's shadows, to be away during wartime. But it was better than losing important things by being too careful with talent.
"It's about time the Empress stepped in. She must be anxious because two of her bloodline suddenly disappeared. But I need to let her know that if she dares to look at my Diane, she'll be buried in the dirt."
The grand nobles who had fallen miserably, the lack of money… It wouldn't matter if the Imperial Family recovered all the Ellandria family's assets. Neris had embezzled a considerable amount of Abelus's gambling debts, and war was difficult even when finances were strong.
So, the Imperial Family might want to make a radical move. She hadn't received a report on the Empress's state of mind, but Neris knew her former mother-in-law well.
A safety-first person. Someone who didn't care much about anything else as long as her authority was above all else.
And without money, authority could plummet in an instant. How could the McKinnon Trading Company, which was devouring the vacancies of various families and growing like a monster, not be appetizing?
"Just the Imperial Family, daring to…"
Neris had already given a heads-up to the McKinnon family long ago in preparation for this moment. She glanced at the road between the McKinnon County and the Imperial Family on the map, revealing a cold gaze.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone