My strategy for dealing with Queen Henrietta was simple.
"She's no ordinary 'mademoiselle'—she's a lioness, and not just any lioness, but one that devours even the male lions. Far too terrifying a lady to take as a dance partner at a ball..."
I said to Zakri.
"There's absolutely no reason to ask a lady to dance when rejection is a foregone conclusion. Zakri. From now on, we're going to turn Henrietta into a 'flower blooming on a wall'—pretty to look at but untouchable."
"Are you planning to avoid an open confrontation with the Queen of Bretagne?"
Zakri looked at me with an expression that was clearly intrigued.
"Oh, it's simply that a dazzling new star has appeared in high society. With stunning beauty and absolute charisma... every man at the ball has fallen for her. Tell me—do you happen to know what it takes to bring down a lady like that?"
I smiled. Deep in my chest, deeper even than my heart, my guts were trembling with excitement. I'd waited a long time. Endured beautifully. My innards had willingly borne all the stress for the hellish spectacle that was about to unfold. Now ravenous and blue with hunger, they demanded a feast dripping with fresh blood as their reward.
"Why, by turning all the other ladies into allies and forging them into a single, united front. No matter how spectacularly she debuted, if she turns the other ladies against her, she can't survive in high society. It's the same principle."
Henrietta, you've won just a little too spectacularly.
A fearsome legion inspires terror in its enemies. But it also galvanizes those very enemies into unity. Just as neighboring villages that bicker day in and day out will unhesitatingly form a militia together the moment an orc appears.
Now, let's begin the game.
There was a force that Queen Henrietta had overlooked—or rather, could only have overlooked. I contacted them immediately through my Magic Crystal Orb.
— Dantalion. The army of the Batavia Republic can deploy at any time.
It was the secret society <Liberation Alliance> that Demon Lord Paimon had planted across the continent over hundreds of years. Paimon smiled sweetly in the orb. I had never spoken to Paimon directly before, but naturally, Zakri—a member of the Liberation Alliance—had been reporting our every move to their leader, Paimon.
— Bretagne invaded just as you told Zakri they would. Your foresight remains remarkable. If you don't mind my asking, how is it that you can predict the future so accurately, even without the gift of prophecy?
"It's nothing but a trivial little knack of mine, Paimon."
— Trivial, you say. Well, if Dantalion himself says so, then I have nothing to add. I'll simply remain silent about the fact that this "trivial knack" has already made the continent tremble—and will do so once more.
Even though Paimon said that, I truly wasn't being humble. Queen Henrietta was attacking Frank. This was an event that had occurred in the game, and I had simply acted as though it were my own knowledge by using information I already had. That was all.
The one who had truly made the continent tremble was Paimon herself, right before my eyes. She alone had built this entire power base purely through her own strength. Setting aside stratagem and intrigue, someone like me could never hope to match Paimon...
— When should we deploy? The troops are already stationed along the border.
"Not yet. Batavia's reinforcements must have an overwhelming justification. Order the deployment the moment the Frankish nobles extend the first hand for help, Paimon. That way, we'll easily win the support of all the Frankish people."
— That's certainly true.
Paimon rested her chin on her hand and nodded.
I was secretly stunned when she said the army was already stationed at the border. From the moment I told Zakri that "Bretagne will attack," and that information was relayed through Zakri to Paimon, Paimon had already begun preparing her forces.
Good grief. She'd go so far as to make mezhúka out of beans and you'd have to believe it...
A wry smile escaped me. Paimon trusted our judgment completely.
The saying that yesterday's enemy is today's most reliable ally finally felt real. Having backed Paimon into a corner time and again, she had all the more reason to believe in my abilities. It was the same on my end. I realized that Paimon was the one who had clung to the Hero until the bitter end in <Dungeon Attack>. She was well worth trusting.
— What do you intend to do? Frank has its pride, too. It won't be easy for them to ask for rescue first.
"Don't worry. I'll go as a special envoy and persuade the nobles myself."
It was precisely for this persuasion that I had been rousing the people all along.
Our mercenary corps had "liberated" four territories: Garshibel, Laroway, Lashiarel, and Troin. We had brought in Demon Lord Leraje to wage territorial wars, driving the lords to their deaths in the chaos. In return, the mercenary corps became the protectors of those territories and won the people's support.
The number of freed and armed peasants totaled roughly 1,500. And that was before counting those who were unarmed but willing to join the uprising. With the central government in complete disarray due to the clash between the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, no one could keep them in check.
There were priests of the temples, of course...
But I'm the priest myself!
As Jean Volé, the priest, I had actually been inciting the populace. The cry to take up arms against the demonic Bretagne spread like wildfire across northern Frank. When commoners began taking up swords and spears themselves, the local lords were thrown into turmoil.
I went to each of these lords to make my case. Jean Volé had already become famous as the patron of the Two-Edged Axe Mercenary Corps and as a charismatic preacher. There was no difficulty in securing an audience.
"Baron. What are you hesitating for? Since ancient times, the will of the people has been the will of Heaven, and the goddesses secretly spread their intentions among the common folk. To rise up now against the foreign aggressor Bretagne—that is the path that serves both the people and all under Heaven."
"But... Father Jean Volé. His Majesty the Emperor has issued a most stringent order."
Even the republican-minded nobles hesitated at an imperial decree.
But I knew that this hesitation did not stem from loyalty. The nobles were afraid. Afraid of opposing the armies led by the Frankish Emperor and the Queen of Bretagne.
Even Marshal Montmorency, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, had been defeated and killed. Small wonder they feared. But for those who hesitated out of fear of foreign powers, foreign powers themselves could become the solution.
I spoke in a hushed tone.
"What if the Batavia Republic has promised aid?"
"The Republic! Is that truly so?!"
The noble was astonished.
"I have friends in Batavia's temples as well. Through my inquiries, I've learned that the Republic's leadership is deeply concerned about the illegal oppression of republicans within Frank... Baron. You are not alone."
The nobles were visibly shaken. The Batavia Republic, which had fought an independence war for centuries to finally establish itself. If that nation's army came to their aid, the odds were far from hopeless.
Eleven lords of northern Frank granted me full authority to negotiate. The question was whether they could truly send reinforcements, and if so, how many troops and how quickly. I returned to the mercenary corps and immediately contacted Paimon.
Paimon laughed.
She spoke in four clipped words.
— Fifteen thousand infantry. Seven thousand cavalry. Tomorrow. No mercenary fees.
This was the moment the Batavia Republic's entry into the war was decided.
Northern Frank shared a border with Batavia and already had many republicans. The northern lords quickly grasped that the reinforcements would be substantial, and learning that no mercenary fees were demanded either, they made their decision swiftly.
They issued a proclamation.
"At present, within the Frankish court, treacherous ministers pose as loyal subjects, bandits swagger as if they were the royal guard, and foreigners stride about as though they were the nation's own army. Therefore, we—those who concern ourselves with the safety of Frank and the future of its people—hereby declare..."
It was quite a lengthy proclamation, but in summary, it declared that they would crush the Bretagne forces. The northern nobles declared that they had risen solely to purge the treacherous ministers, and that they were absolutely not defying His Majesty the Emperor.
Of course, no one believed that. Well, perhaps that fool of an Emperor might.
The entire nation plunged into chaos in an instant.
True to their word, the Batavia Republic mobilized the very next day after the proclamation was issued. The Republic described the northern nobles as:
"They understand what true honor and loyalty mean. We are pleased that they have requested our aid, and we will support our friends with our full might. This assistance is granted purely out of friendship. The Republic hereby swears that it will make no territorial claims whatsoever in the future."
"The continent currently groans under the invasion of the Demon Lord's army. Bretagne, disregarding the safety of the entire continent, has acted solely for its own selfish interests. This is deplorable. The Kingdom of Bretagne must immediately cease its interference in the internal affairs of the Frank Empire!"
That was their declaration.
How should I put it? It was so outrageously shameless that I burst out laughing.
They framed their deployment of reinforcements as being at the request of "friends"—the Frankish nobles. They portrayed themselves as acting for the well-being of the entire continent, while painting Bretagne as the petty aggressor...
Well, if the Batavia Republic truly believed that, that was one thing. But behind that declaration lurked Paimon. A Demon Lord claiming to act for peace across the entire continent—wasn't that simply delightful? Paimon was quite the character.
The entire continent, let alone Frank, was shaken.
Whether Bretagne's deployment constituted interference, whether the Emperor's actions were legitimate or unlawful, whether the Batavia Republic's actions were right or wrong...
What might have ended as a civil war between the Emperor's faction and the Empress Dowager's faction had, by drawing in the Kingdom of Bretagne and the Batavia Republic, become a full-scale international war. The Kingdom of Sardinia, the Empress Dowager's country of birth, also launched a scathing condemnation of Bretagne.
More nations could easily be dragged in. No one could predict how far the situation would escalate.
By now, the Frankish Emperor and Queen Henrietta were probably turning pale.
The Emperor aside, Queen Henrietta was competent. She would have considered the possibility of Batavia's intervention. But the response had been far too swift. That was the problem.
"Now then. Do you understand what Queen Henrietta did wrong here?"
"..."
I unfurled a map and asked Daisy. During the day, Daisy received various lessons from Jeremy, and in the evening and at night, she attended to me.
I occasionally posed all sorts of questions to Daisy. It was a kind of game. This girl, born with a personality so strikingly similar to my own—asking her questions and hearing her answers felt like conversing with myself, which was fascinating. Occasionally, it was also revolting.
"Queen Henrietta... underestimated the Batavia Republic."
Daisy traced her finger across the map as she spoke.
"The Crescent Alliance Army War isn't over yet. The human nations would be reluctant to deploy their forces recklessly. The Batavia Republic would be no different... That's probably how Queen Henrietta saw it."
Her dark eyes studied the map carefully.
"But the Batavia Republic doesn't share a direct border with the Demon Lord's forces. The Teuton Kingdom serves as its buffer. In other words, unlike other nations, it has the leeway to participate in a civil war. Am I wrong?"
I grinned.
"Not a bad answer, but unfortunately, you're wrong."
The correct answer was that Paimon, who served as the commander of the Batavia Republic front in the Crescent Alliance Army, was simultaneously the head of the Republic.
In other words, the Batavia Republic had no reason to fight the Demon Lord's army in the first place—and so it could freely participate in Frank's civil war. From the very start, this had ensured that Queen Henrietta would make a misjudgment.
Who could have known? Not Daisy, of course, and certainly not Henrietta. The idea that Demon Lord Paimon was secretly manipulating a human republic from behind the scenes—that was beyond anyone's reckoning. Queen Henrietta had not made a mistake.
Not making a mistake doesn't mean the consequences disappear, though.
Now, in the history of the game, you were the queen who conquered Frank and built an empire. You won your battles magnificently, but the Liberation Alliance and I have also been preparing our plans for a very long time.
What move can you make next? Elisabeth, who was merely a princess, has already fallen far from power. You are the next in line.
I do hope you waltz beautifully. I am waiting for you with the feeling that a single day apart feels like three autumns, yearning for you as though you were a long-lost lover...