A silence fell among the generals.
They were competent nobles. In other words, they were survivors who had crushed their rivals and endured. It was not uncommon for those among them to have secretly murdered family members in order to inherit a legitimate title.
The title at stake for Elisabeth was nothing less than Emperor. The stability of the empire, or the life of her younger brother—there was no reason to agonize over it. Killing one's own flesh and blood was a sin. But nobles did not fear sin. They only feared having to make excuses for it.
They offered no excuses whatsoever. They simply gazed upon power and charged forward. If, in the process, they committed countless atrocities and eventually collapsed under the weight—so be it. That was all life was. If it could not be avoided, they would shoulder it. That was how they thought.
Elisabeth von Habsburg was no different.
"Why did I confess to my own depravity? I imagine you must be curious. So let me declare it here—I shall continue to commit depravity from this day forward."
She stared straight ahead, her eyes sunken all the way to the bottom.
"Our Habsburg Empire army will purge the capital. However, the one giving the order is not I. It is His Majesty the Emperor."
"His Majesty...? Could it be that His Majesty himself proposed this plan?"
Baron Wittenmeier furrowed his brow.
The imperial princess shook her head.
"As if that were possible. Everything is of my own volition. Tonight, I will lead the imperial guard and storm the palace. Father has already been placed under house arrest. I will simply secure his person—quickly and cleanly. And then I will forge his orders."
"Forge—!"
The baron drew a sharp breath. The other generals were no different.
"It is not Father alone. The Second Prince, Ferdinand, will also be secured in a swift operation. The Emperor will have ordered the capital set ablaze, and the Second Prince will carry it out. The public will be thrown into uproar. At that point, I—and only I—will protest that someone must remain to protect the capital. …Naturally, I am a dutiful daughter who would never defy my father's command."
Elisabeth let out a derisive snort.
"I will argue that we must defend the pride of the empire and protect the people—but it will be to no avail. Elisabeth von Habsburg will weep blood and ultimately obey His Majesty the Emperor, my father's command. However, in a final gesture of protest, the imperial princess herself will retreat into seclusion."
"…You intend to redirect all of the people's fury toward the imperial family?"
Wittenmeier asked. He could not hide the tremor in his voice. But no one pointed it out. Every commander present—including Kurz Schleiermacher—felt exactly the same way.
The princess spoke.
"Plunder the wealthy commoners. Plunder the merchant guilds. Desecrate the imperial tombs. ……However, the commanders gathered here will secretly return all the wealth thus collected back to the people."
"So in other words……while the nobles and officers who know nothing of the true situation carry out the looting……we, Her Highness the Princess's loyalists, shall claim the people's hearts entirely for ourselves……."
"That is correct."
Silence fell over the tent. In that no one dared open their mouths, it was the same as before. But where the previous silence had settled into the tent, this one swept through it like a gale. It was the eye of a storm.
"But, Your Highness the Princess. Then are we to use His Majesty and His Highness the Prince as pawns to be discarded?"
Wittenmeier ventured cautiously.
"It is a poor move in that the imperial family's dignity will be damaged."
"Did I not say? I shall continue to commit atrocities from here on out."
*Surely not,* thought Kurz Schleiermacher as he listened to the two exchange words. Forging imperial decrees. On top of that, pinning the blame on the prince. That was already an atrocity of impressive magnitude. And now the princess was saying she would go further and commit yet another. What could that be?
"The moment we abandon the capital and retreat, I will execute the prince."
"……!"
"The will of the people is the will of Heaven. Those who defy the will of Heaven must surely receive Heaven's punishment. I, Elisabeth von Habsburg, shall punish, in Heaven's stead, my second brother—no, the criminal Ferdinand von Habsburg."
Sweat pooled in Kurz Schleiermacher's palms. *Are you out of your mind?*—Kurz wanted to scream. Haven't you suffered enough from the guilt of killing your younger brothers in childhood?
Kurz, the princess's covert operative and confidant, knew the truth. She was tormented by nightmares every night. Sometimes her moans could be heard even beyond the tent. *Robert. I'm sorry, Robert……*—that was usually what she murmured. And now, in the midst of all that, she intended to murder yet another kin.
*You'll break, my lady.*
Nine times out of ten, the princess's heart would die. Her body would not endure it either. She was a princess who would have died of overwork long ago, were she not a third-grade swordsman who wields Aura. Even for a princess who had resolved to become a monster of the age, how could she be without a heart? Even if she appeared fine on the outside, she would slowly corrode from within—just like a temple that couldn't withstand the ages crumbling to dust—and she would collapse.
The princess's words were not yet finished.
"After that, I will intimidate the Emperor into abdicating the throne to me."
"Forced abdication……"
It was atrocity upon atrocity.
"Immediately after. I will proclaim it in a loud voice at the place where the capital's refugees have been gathered. As of this moment, the Habsburg Empire, which has endured for five hundred years, is no more—the newborn Habsburg Republic is hereby born."
The newborn Habsburg Republic.
The destructive power contained in those words twisted the generals' expressions. Just now, none other than the supreme commander of the Empire herself had declared that she would bring the Empire to an end. She had cried out that she would sever the great and glorious bloodline.
*'A Republic? What possible advantage is there in that?!'*
Kurz screamed inwardly. Extending the scorched-earth tactics. Abandoning even the capital. Erasing the prince and seizing the throne—that could be called a political gain, perhaps, but was the throne truly worth going to such extreme lengths?
"Your Highness, this is reckless! The burden is far too great!"
"A Republic? There is no reason to found a Republic while turning our backs on the history of the Empire!"
"Please, reconsider!"
The command tent descended into chaos, as though a hornet's nest had been kicked over. *Please, think again. We don't understand the meaning of this. It would be better to protect the Empire's pride and die a glorious death.* Every general was shouting from the bottom of his heart.
Kurz frantically thought amid the uproar.
It was the strategy the princess had proposed. At first glance it looked reckless, but its underlying intent had to be more cunning than anyone else's. He struggled to figure out what it was.
*'If the capital is lost, both administrative and economic power will instantly deteriorate. Even if we barely manage to stabilize public sentiment, it's meaningless if the nation's power itself plunges into the abyss.'*
Furthermore, his liege would personally carry a wound that could never be washed away for a lifetime… What possible advantage was there in a strategy that erased the system… The reason for founding a Republic while shouldering such an enormous burden… Relations with the other kingdoms would spiral into deterioration as well…
*'Wait— the other kingdoms?'*
In that instant, a jolt of electricity paralyzed Kurz's thoughts.
"There is…! There is a gain—one that comes from abandoning the capital and declaring a Republic… a tremendous gain…!"
Kurz Schleiermacher could not control his own mouth. The words burst out of their own accord, laced with astonishment. The generals' gazes converged on Kurz. Completely oblivious to their stares, the blond young volunteer commander flushed red with excitement.
"First, we can simultaneously stabilize both public morale and military morale… Public anxiety stems from the scorched-earth operation and the evacuation of the capital, while military anxiety originates from the ideology spread by that cursed Demon Lord. By punishing the prince and founding a newborn Republic at the same time… both public morale and military morale will throw their support behind Her Highness the princess all at once."
"General Schleiermacher, public morale is not the issue."
Baron Wittemeyer retorted. He, too, was growing excited.
"The state's administration and economy will collapse at once."
"Administration… True, administration may become somewhat of a problem… but administration and economy can actually turn a crisis into an opportunity!"
"Turn a crisis into an opportunity? What exactly do you mean…"
"Think about it, Baron Wittemeyer."
Kurz spoke with fervent enthusiasm.
"The reason the Demon Lord's army was able to overwhelm our human forces was, above all else, because they held the moral high ground. They shattered our cause of defending humanity and claimed that they were the true liberators of mankind. But what happens if we declare that Habsburg is now a republic? The Demon Lord's army cannot invade! Even if they do, it would only prove to the entire world that their lofty cause is nothing but a lie."
"…It is hard to imagine the Demon Lords would care so much about a matter of principle. The military situation still favors them."
"The Demon Lord's army is suffering from a severe food shortage, just as we are."
A gleeful smile spread across Kurz's lips.
"The Demon Lord's army, unable to sustain large formations, has been forced to split into legion-sized units. And yet they are still charging toward our capital… What reason could they have to advance when they lack food? Just one. They intend to seize the capital and replenish their supplies. But we've abandoned the capital… The enemy cannot resupply… They'll have no choice but to stop chasing us!"
The scorched-earth tactics, which had turned the mortal realm into a living hell for the past several months, were now paying dividends.
"The Demon Lord's army will be forced to retreat. Even if they dramatically sacrifice themselves and present our bodies to them as mere chunks of flesh, it only benefits them. We must abandon the capital."
"General Schleiermacher, you still haven't answered my question. What do you plan to do about the Empire's administration and economy?"
Kurz smiled. There was even a touch of madness in it.
"You still don't understand, Baron? By becoming a republic, Habsburg will neutralize the Demon Lord's army. In other words, the newborn Habsburg Republic will transform into humanity's bulwark against the demon race."
"…!"
"The kingdoms are currently helpless against the Crescent Alliance Army, desperate and trembling. At this very moment, if our Habsburg becomes a republic and strips the Demon Lord's army of their justification… renders them unable to attack… the various nations will have no choice but to acknowledge the necessity of our Habsburg Republic."
Baron Wittemeyer slammed his hands on the table and shot to his feet. His eyes and mouth were wide open.
"I see. We'll be able to receive aid!"
Kurz Schleiermacher nodded.
"Precisely so. Our Habsburg lies at the very heart of the continent. If we fall, every other nation on the continent collapses with us. If they do not wish to face the Demon Lord's army, if they wish to preserve their own dynasties, then they must recognize the existence of our Republic and provide unlimited support."
"A legitimate threat… turning a desperate last stand to our advantage…."
Baron Wittemeyer groaned. By this point, the other generals were slowly grasping the strategy. And they joined the ranks of the excited. The Crown Princess had said it exactly right.
Baron Wittemeyer had pointed out three disadvantages: the alienation of public sentiment, the destruction of administration and economy, and finally, the loss of humanity's righteous cause. However, if everything unfolded as Crown Princess Elisabeth von Habsburg had planned, all three disadvantages would be overcome.
Public sentiment would recover. Military morale would recover along with it. Administration and economy would be rescued through unlimited aid from foreign nations. And lastly, the Habsburg Republic would not only defend humanity's righteous cause — it would become humanity's shield, the very embodiment of that cause.
In ordinary times, no nation on the continent would ever recognize an empire transforming into a republic. Now it was possible. No — the nations actively wanted it. Every monarch on the continent was desperately hoping for one royal house to sacrifice itself in order to halt the advance of the Crescent Alliance Army.
The common people. The nobility. The royal blood.
All of humanity would celebrate the birth of the new Habsburg Republic.
Kurz Schleiermacher turned his head. The generals' trembling gazes converged on the Crown Princess as well.
*Since when?*
Since when, exactly?
*Was it when Crown Prince Rudolf was captured at Austerlitz? Was it when you were defeated before Bruno's speech? Was it when you saw off the Queen of Bretagne? When on earth… did you resolve to abandon the capital and build a new nation?*
The Crown Princess's sapphire-like eyes gleamed.
"Foolish! Is that all you have to say?!"
She let out a roar. The generals flinched at the fierce cry that erupted from a seventeen-year-old girl.
"From this moment forward, you are no longer merely generals of Habsburg — you are warriors defending humanity on the front lines. If we fall, the nations fall. If we are defeated, all of humanity is defeated. — Do you grasp the weight of that responsibility?"
The Crown Princess took one step forward.
"There shall be no more division among us. From the lowborn to the imperial family, from soldiers to merchants to farmers — every human being must unite as one nation. That is the new Habsburg Republic. That is the identity of the country that will become our homeland!"
She drew the long sword at her waist. The blade shone silver, as bright as the length of her hair.
"Execute Prince Ferdinand, and at the same time, execute every last schemer who has gnawed away at the Empire for centuries. Not a single exception. Purge the corruption. Show the people — that this nation is worth giving your lives for."
Elisabeth von Habsburg met the eyes of each and every general seated around the council table, one by one.
"Once we have executed the Crown Prince's faction and the Prince's faction, you will step into their places. From this day forward, you will be the true driving force of this nation. You possess the ability, and the people's hearts are with you to back it. We allowed the capital to be plundered for exactly that purpose. The looted goods will be returned to the people."
Pulling all the strings from behind the scenes. Acting more noble than anyone from the front. Saving humanity through lies. Demons who unfurled the very hellscape become the guardians of heaven instead — at that paradox, Kurz Schleiermacher shuddered.
The Crown Princess declared.
"Today. Starting this very moment, we deceive all of humanity and all of history."