Foreign Secretary Wolfram Hadelberg had completed his task.
The Foreign Secretary activated the artifact directed at the Emperor, right before my very eyes. It likely had a function to detect dark magic. Wolfram Hadelberg didn't say anything particularly notable, but his expression had gone rigid.
"……"
The Foreign Secretary glared at me with terrifying intensity. Hatred burned in his eyes.
From Wolfram Hadelberg's perspective, I wasn't merely the person who had brought the Empire to ruin. I had murdered Rudolf von Habsburg, mocked his death, and turned his corpse into a puppet to toy with. I was the worst demon of the age.
I had destroyed this man's homeland and trampled his last shred of dignity. He had every right to hate me. I smiled gently.
"I must pay my respects to His Majesty the Emperor, Secretary."
"What use would a wretched human's respects possibly be to His Majesty?"
Wolfram Hadelberg spoke, barely suppressing his rage.
"Your Grace. You are hoping for war right now. Even if Consul Elisabeth does not answer with war, if you thought I would simply let this atrocity pass without a word, you are sorely mistaken."
"Do not misunderstand my goodwill."
"Goodwill? Did you just say goodwill...?"
Wolfram Hadelberg's face flushed red.
"My family served the Habsburg Imperial House. To watch my old master fall to such ruin before my very eyes—and you dare call that goodwill?"
"I told you the truth. I could have kept the secret buried forever and left you in the dark. If that isn't goodwill, what would you call it?"
"There are truths in this world that are far better off buried forever!"
I gazed at him steadily.
"I know."
"What did you say?"
"I know that as well, Minister."
"....."
Wolfram Hadelberg glared at me with his face crumpled in frustration. He must have realized that no amount of further accusation on his part would make a difference. He must also have been reminded that he was nothing more than a pawn in the chess game Elisabeth and I were playing.
"The great Demon Lord Dantalion made a grave error. Your Majesty. Before I set foot here, all I had were vague and anxious feelings."
"That sounds like you feel differently now."
"Yes."
Wolfram Hadelberg spoke in a cold, biting tone.
"As I bid Your Majesty farewell, I am now filled with conviction... our Republic will remember the humiliation of Austerlitz."
Wolfram Hadelberg turned his body. Then, with a nervous twitch, he bowed toward the Emperor. This Foreign Minister, stranded on the bridge between youth and old age, shot me one final murderous glare before pivoting on his heel and striding away.
That very night, Wolfram Hadelberg departed back to the Republic.
From that point on, a covert diplomatic war was underway.
Every party involved in this incident wanted war.
The Habsburg Republic—that is, Consul Elisabeth—must have been treating this as her last chance. The Republic's representative assembly had fallen through, and the alliance linking Politunia, Sardinia, and the Republic had collapsed. If she was going to turn the tide, now—having secured Barbatos—was her opportunity....
The Anatolia Empire was no different. They were wary that the continental balance of power had tipped too far in our favor. The reason the Anatolia Empire had intervened in the Second Chrysanthemum War was precisely to curb our rising momentum, even if only slightly.
Then what about the remaining nations?
Honestly, they simply didn't want to get caught in the crossfire between giants.
Frank, Sardinia, Politunia... the neighboring states sharing borders with the major powers were unanimously hoping for peace. The Habsburg Empire and the Anatolia Empire—the two most powerful nations on the continent—were poised to go to war. Unless there was a clear benefit guaranteed, the likelihood of neighboring countries actively getting involved was low.
It was necessary to settle things in advance.
"—Are you saying your Regent was truly kidnapped?"
Stefan Bathory, King of Politunia, raised his thick eyebrows. We were exchanging private words through a crystal ball. I gave a wry smile.
"Shamefully, that is what happened. I had intended to wrap things up cleanly within the Empire, but someone intervened, and now the situation has grown complicated."
─ No small matter, that. If a nation's regent has been kidnapped, this is already an international issue. Duke Costas. I pledge my name, Bathory, to cooperate with you without reservation.
King Bathory gazed into my eyes with a weighty solemnity. The gravity carried by a single word from him was on an entirely different level from that of an ordinary person. Whether one called it the majesty of a great king, or the inner resolve accumulated through decades of rule, it was something altogether beyond the norm.
"Thank you."
I gave a slight bow of my head.
King Bathory, of course, had also planted spies in the Demon Realm. He would have long since learned what had transpired at the public execution ceremony. And yet he was playing ignorant, pretending to know nothing. As was only natural.
"However, I have already determined roughly where the kidnappers fled to."
─ Oh? Already, you say?
King Bathory's dark eyes gleamed with interest.
─ So, which country has daringly put itself forward to challenge you this time?
"The Habsburg Republic."
─ …….
King Bathory's expression darkened in an instant. No doubt, scenarios he would rather not have imagined were being sketched out in his mind at lightning speed. Behind the Habsburg Republic lay the Anatolia Empire. In other words, this meant the worst possible outcome.
─ ……Things are unfolding in a remarkably thorny way. Are you certain the Republic is behind this?
"I'm afraid so. Today, the Republic's Foreign Minister called upon His Majesty at the imperial palace and then departed. He claimed to have come to discuss trade tariffs, yet he stayed for a mere two days and left without so much as mentioning tariffs. Do you understand what this means?"
─ Coercion.
"Precisely. If they don't bow their heads of their own accord, they'll dispose of Regent Barbatos before anyone is the wiser — that is the message."
I let a faint smile cross my lips.
"Your Majesty, I dare presume you, too, have at some point sacrificed those you held dear in the name of power. Barbatos was my beloved. But I had her purged, and I intended to sever her neck with my own two hands. It was the last courtesy I could afford her."
─ …….
"Elizabeth has crossed a line that should not be crossed. Whether the Anatolia Empire was behind her instigation or not matters little to me."
I calmly sipped my tea and continued speaking.
"Why she employs such extreme measures, what kind of trick she has prepared to be ready to risk war, I cannot yet say for certain. But one thing is firm: Elizabeth will pay the appropriate price."
─ It seems you have already decided between war and peace.
"Yes. I merely wished to offer my regards to Your Majesty in advance."
─ Dantalion, I will ask you frankly, without regard to my position. I am the master of a small kingdom, while you are the master of a great empire. Why would a great empire need to seek the understanding of a small one before taking action?
"Because I am certain Your Majesty will understand me."
─ Understand? What do you mean?
"Your Majesty has shielded your younger sister from the world's eyes for several decades."
Stephen Báthory had a sister afflicted with leprosy. In his youth, the king, who loved his sister dearly, braved political danger and secretly sequestered her away. Now, she has been perfectly cured by the dark mage I sent.
"Your Majesty is undoubtedly a political monster. To become the stern master of a nation, especially to secure a position in a place like Polytunia where royal authority is weak, anyone must become a monster. Yet, despite all this, Your Majesty ultimately protected the princess."
─ …….
"Your Majesty. I cannot allow anyone other than myself to take Barbatos's life. Never. Absolutely not."
I disguised my gaze with a hint of a smile and looked directly into the king's eyes. A king would easily read the true expression hidden behind my smile.
"Each of us has problems we must solve in our own way, does it not? There is nothing more humiliating than another person interfering with that problem."
─ …….
King Stephen Báthory remained silent for quite a long time. The king looked at me intently with a somewhat indifferent gaze. After a moment, he murmured.
─ I have 50,000 elite troops prepared. While they may not be able to play a decisive role in the clashes between great empires, if the timing is exquisite, they could certainly display enough force to topple one pillar……. May the Goddess watch over your nation.
There, the communication cut off.
The implication of King Stephen Báthory was clear. Depending on the circumstances, he was offering to deploy those 50,000 elite troops to aid our empire. As repayment for me curing his sister. Even after the connection ended, I continued to bow my head towards the crystal ball for a while longer…….
The reactions of the other neighboring nations were much the same.
─ We regret that we cannot offer you our full cooperation. However, we will never forget the kindness you have shown by informing us in advance.
─ How could we possibly forget how the Duke looked out for us during the last war? Batavia pledges to remain an eternal ally of the Empire.
─ The Republic has already committed diplomatic offenses on multiple occasions. As the Duke himself has said, wrongdoing must inevitably be followed by a fitting price.
They could not openly ally with us, but they would stand on the Empire's side.
That was the consensus of the ten nations.
This was precisely why I had always secured justification first. Only by establishing a righteous cause beforehand could I easily garner the aid of neighboring nations when the time came.
Furthermore, when I had crushed the Frank Empire, when I had toppled the Kingdom of Bretagne, when I had devastated the Kingdom of Sardinia — in every case, I had never overstepped my bounds. Like a lord distributing grants, I always gave something to the neighboring nations.
What if I had annexed Frank or dominated Sardinia? The neighboring nations would never have sided with us. It was because I had maintained moderation on the international stage that today's goodwill was possible……
Naturally, it was not because I was virtuous that I had kept to the middle.
I had always anticipated that the day would come when I would face Elizabeth head-on, and so, long before that day, I had already prepared the chessboard.
In other words, the final battle.
The conclusion between the two of us — predetermined, fated to be — set in motion from the day I first encountered Elizabeth on the plains of Brno during the Crescent Alliance Army war seven years ago.
An inevitable clash between the empress who should have been the rightful master of this continent and me, who had come to rule it from behind the scenes. So long as Elizabeth refused to abandon her ambitions, and so long as I refused to relinquish my convictions, it was a duel that could never be avoided.
And Daisy.
My one and only daughter, who had seen through my mask and recognized me for who I truly was.
"Come."
I muttered the words before the crystal ball, its light now extinguished.
"It is time for us to settle things between ourselves."
Early May, Continental Calendar Year 1513.
The Habsburg Republic and the Anatolia Empire jointly declared that Emperor Rudolf von Habsburg is a puppet corpse doll.