Early April, Year 1513 of the Continental Calendar.
I lost a leg and immediately summoned the Elector Demon Lords the very next day. There was only one reason: the likelihood of a full-scale war breaking out was now extremely high.
Elizabeth was not the type to let an opportunity slip. She had obtained intelligence that Emperor Rudolf von Habsburg was nothing more than a puppet corpse. There was no way she wouldn't exploit that. Without a doubt, she would seize on some convenient pretext and unleash a diplomatic offensive……
If that was the case, then the story became simple. I only needed to stay one step ahead and respond accordingly.
I arrived at the audience chamber first and waited for the Demon Lords to arrive, fidgeting with my cane in both hands. This room was far smaller than the Great Hall—perfect for intimate meetings among a handful of senior Demon Lords, like now.
It was practically a secret council. Unlike the Great Hall, only about ten chairs had been arranged. After waiting a short while, Vassago was the first to enter the audience chamber. He glanced around the room and furrowed his brow.
"Where have all the guards disappeared to? There's no one here."
"There is no need for guards at this gathering. Not a single shred of information must leak out."
"……Still, not having even a single attendant seems a bit excessive, doesn't it? If one gets thirsty during the meeting, someone ought to at least pour a drink."
I pointed at the wine bottle on the table, wordlessly telling him to help himself. Vassago clicked his tongue in exasperation and sat down in the chair farthest from mine, on the exact opposite side of the room.
There were still thirty minutes before the secret council was officially scheduled to begin. A heavy silence settled between the two of us. But it wasn't awkward—this had happened far too many times for that.
Whether one called it surprising or simply fitting for his reputation, Vassago was the type who kept appointments with absolute punctuality. Every time a meeting was called, he arrived exactly thirty minutes early. Along with me, he was the first of all Demon Lords to reach the venue. For reference, the Demon Lord who was always the most chronically late to meetings was Barbatos……
"The armies of the Plains Faction Demon Lords who were executed yesterday have risen in large-scale revolt."
"That's a rather swift response."
I spoke in an utterly flat tone.
Had the ripple effects already grown severe enough to be called a rebellion? The reaction was markedly different from when the independent Demon Lords had been purged. Back then, the rebel forces had holed themselves up inside the Demon Lord's Castle and collapsed in a slow, almost self-destructive manner.
But the Plains Faction's armies had launched their uprising within a single day of the executions. It was a reaction so rapid it was almost impossible to believe. They must have been preparing for this all along. From the very moment the Plains Faction Demon Lords had been captured, the rebel forces had already steeled themselves for treason……
Truly, these were elite corps seasoned by war. They were on an entirely different level from the armies of the independent Demon Lords who had grown complacent in peacetime.
"You don't look very surprised."
Vassago glanced at me sideways.
"Twenty thousand rebels have erupted simultaneously across the board. The least you could do is put on a look of mild surprise or urgency."
"I assure you, I am impressed."
I leaned my cane against the armrest of the chair and drew a pipe from inside my coat. As I lit it, I spoke.
"When the independent Demon Lords were purged, their armies chose to hole up in their strongholds. In practice, it was no different from collective suicide. The reason they deliberately isolated themselves at the Demon Lord's Castle was simple—because even if they rebelled, it would be nearly impossible to stand against the Demon Lord's dominion."
No matter how many tens of thousands the rebels mustered for their march, they had one critical weakness: there was no Demon Lord to command them.
On the other hand, the forces suppressing the rebellion had Demon Lords lined up like towering stars. Take Marbas and Gamigin—the moment those two issued the order "Cease attack immediately," the rebels' combat effectiveness would plummet. There was no way they could fight.
That was precisely why the independent Demon Lords' rebel armies had chosen the path of honorable suicide instead. Whether it was a wise decision or a foolish one, I honestly couldn't tell. That was how dire rebellion was for demonkin who had lost their sovereign.
"And yet the Plains Faction's legions launched their rebellion anyway. They orchestrated a large-scale revolt despite having no chance of winning an all-out war… In other words, they weren't aiming for a full-scale battle—they were targeting guerrilla warfare. The rebels will scatter small units across the empire and wreak havoc for as long as they can."
"……"
Vassago stared straight at me. His expression was one of disbelief, tinged with something that looked almost like exasperation.
"You. Did you perhaps receive intelligence about the rebel uprising in advance?"
"I'm hearing about it for the first time right now."
"And yet the moment you heard me speak, that thought was the first thing that came to mind?"
I put the pipe in my mouth. A fragrant aroma filled my palate. Since I wanted to enjoy the tobacco mildly at the moment, I didn't draw too deeply—just let the scent curl slowly inside my mouth. It had its own distinct character, and it was rather pleasant.
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
"……"
"More to the point, a guerrilla force of twenty thousand strong—that's going to be quite the headache. Today's meeting is going to run longer than I expected."
Vassago clicked his tongue once more and muttered under his breath. His voice was so low I couldn't make out what he was saying, but the tone was unmistakably one of complaint.
As the meeting time drew near, the Elector Demon Lords arrived one or two at a time. In order came Gamigin, Sitri, and Marbas, each filing into the reception room and selecting whichever chair suited them. Sitri, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, sat down in the seat directly beside me.
"Dantalion. Wouldn't it do you some good to rest a little longer?"
Marbas personally poured wine into a glass and handed it to me. I accepted it with a polite nod.
"I appreciate your concern. However, I believe how the Empire responds from here on out is more important than my personal discomfort. The sooner we act, the better."
"But we still don't know where Barbatos was taken, do we? As long as we don't know the destination, there's only so much we can discuss."
I took the wine glass from Marbas with both hands and poured for him. Marbas received it with a curt "Hm" and a blank expression. Including myself, the five of us—the highest-ranking Demon Lords—each took a light sip.
"You may have already heard, but the remnants of the Plains Faction have raised an army. They've declared they will avenge the unjust deaths of their former masters. I suggest we focus on suppressing the rebellion while also trying to pin down Barbatos's whereabouts."
At Marbas's words, the other Elector Demon Lords gave small nods. Regardless of everything, we were sorely lacking in information. Whether to rescue Barbatos or leave him be—without even knowing where he'd been taken, we couldn't make a decision either way.
In that sense, Marbas's proposal was close to textbook. His preference for sound strategy and tactics never failed to show, even in situations like these.
But that would only put us a step behind.
You have no idea what kind of person Elizabeth is. She operates on a level that cannot be handled with textbook approaches alone. You have to run one step, two steps ahead of everyone else just to barely keep up with her.
I opened my mouth.
"Barbatos is in the Habsburg Republic."
Every gaze in the room locked onto me.
"I'm embarrassed to say it, but my adopted daughter knows the Empire's secrets in great detail. She also knows which nation to seek asylum in to deal the Empire a critical blow."
I continued in a more relaxed tone than usual. The five people gathered here were political leaders with deeply tangled relationships, but that very complexity actually made things easier.
Think about it. In less than ten years, seventy-two Demon Lords had been reduced to sixteen. Even the rate of population decline had its limits.
These were the Demon Lords who had survived a fiercely brutal contest of slaughter. Among them, they were the power brokers who had maintained their positions at the very top. Regardless of appearances, on the inside they acknowledged each other's capabilities. There was no need to waste mental energy on pointless posturing.
"Hmm. But why the Habsburg Republic, of all places?"
"Because of Emperor Rudolf. If Barbatos dies, the corpse of Emperor Rudolf—his master—will naturally wither and perish. And the nation that stands to gain the most from the Emperor's death is the Habsburg Republic."
Marbas furrowed his brow and groaned.
"I see… Come to think of it, the ruler of the Republic is indeed Emperor Rudolf's younger sister. She's the only one besides Rudolf who holds the right of succession."
As expected, it was convenient working with someone quick on the uptake. I nodded.
"Yes. The Republic's Consul stands to gain quite an advantageous hand. All they need to do is kill Barbatos, and the Emperor will vanish along with him. If they're lucky, they could even obtain evidence that our Demon Lord's forces were manipulating the Emperor and expose it to the world. Our Empire would instantly become a public enemy."
Vassago let out a snort. The whole gesture reeked of derision toward me.
"To think you kept such a remarkable specimen of humanity as your adopted daughter, Dantalion. 'A worm in the lion's heart'—that saying exists precisely for moments like this. For someone as meticulous as you in every other matter, to show such a gap to a mere human girl…"
"I… have nothing to say in my defense."
I bowed my head obediently.
This, too, was a clever ploy on Vassago's part. By reprimanding me, he naturally claimed the highest authority among the Demon Lords gathered here. And he did it without the attention settling on Marbas, who had been leading the meeting.
"Hold on~. Didn't we already wrap up the whole discussion about pinning responsibility on the traitor yesterday?"
And true to the arrangement, Gamigin picked up the baton.
"I was under the impression this was the meeting where we decide how to respond going forward. I absolutely loathe dragging things out needlessly, so let's keep things moving, will you?"
"Yes. Let me steer the conversation back."
I moistened my tongue with wine.
"If my conjecture is correct, the Habsburg Republic will send an envoy in the near future. They'll cook up whatever pretext they please—wanting to increase trade, strengthen ties, and so on. They'll blather on about whatever suits them."
The envoy's true purpose would be something else entirely.
"And they will undoubtedly request to meet Emperor Rudolf in person. They'll want to verify whether the other party is truly a living human or a corpse revived through resurrection magic. They'll have brought an artifact capable of performing that kind of verification in secret."
"Mm."
Marbas nodded.
"In short, if the Republic sends an envoy, it serves as proof that your conjecture is correct."
"Yes, I'm certain. First, we need to prepare a stand-in for the Emperor."
"Hmm. Then we could just use a doll."
Gamigin cut into the conversation.
"Wasn't the plan to use a doll to substitute for the Emperor in the first place? Couldn't we use it to deceive the envoy?"
"Yes. If we have a doll in place, it should be enough to fool the eyes of the envoy team. But there is a better method than that."
Originally, we had planned to have Ivar's doll stand in for the Emperor after we executed Barbatos. The puppet doll Ivar had poured his heart and soul into crafting was indistinguishable from an actual human. However, using this card right away felt like a waste.
I bent low and whispered.
"We let the envoy team inspect the Emperor's corpse to their heart's content — we leave it be for now."