"Why on earth did you lose your left shoe again?"
"Things just turned out that way. Life doesn't always go the way you want it to."
Saint Longwy made a face like she'd stepped on something repulsive.
We were riding side by side at the head of the column. The Neutral Faction Demon Lords were up front, I was in the center, and the remaining Demon Lords were at the rear. It was about time we split into our respective forces, but for now, we were still moving together.
"Oh, sure. I'm sure that's exactly what happened. You always go around doing whatever you please, then smile wickedly and say it all went according to plan, or that it was just as expected—that's your whole thing, isn't it?"
"This time it's the truth. I didn't expect a single bit of it. The world really is an endless stream of unknowns. I'm just glad it seems like there's still plenty of entertainment left for me."
"Should I just knock you off your horse?"
Saint Longwy said with eyes as cold as a dead fish's. Jacqueline Longwy enjoyed making this kind of extreme joke. I didn't particularly mind this side of the Saint, either. Saint Longwy muttered, completely serious.
"You're missing a shoe and everything. A little push and you'd fall headfirst—that ought to do the trick."
"......"
It probably wasn't a joke.
We weren't riding side by side because we were particularly fond of each other. On the current diplomatic stage, the Habsburg Republic and the Anatolia Empire had been condemning us day after day. A cabal of wicked dark magic users, the crime of insulting the Emperor—regardless, it was the same tired rhetoric.
Jacqueline Longwy was the most popular Saint on the continent. She enjoyed high support among the nobility, and above all, she received overwhelming love from the common people. The fact that Saint Longwy was marching alongside me—that alone served as an incredibly powerful diplomatic gesture.
Dark magic and the like were absurd fabrications. And the Saint was vouching for it. Elizabeth's diplomatic campaign wasn't going to go very smoothly.
"Hey. Just putting this out there—if I die, the Empire loses its only backer for Bretagne, you know?"
"Of course it was a joke. Are you an idiot?"
Saint Longwy actually took offense. I felt awkward and fell silent.
For a while, the only sound was the quiet clip-clop of hooves. As I was running through strategy in my head, Saint Longwy was the one who broke the silence.
"Court Count. The Habsburg Republic is a small nation, you know."
"Hmm? Ah, well, I suppose so."
"Is there really a reason to go so far as to mobilize a large army and wage an all-out war? Even if the Republic's Consul is a remarkable figure, there doesn't seem to be reason enough for a Court Count to be extremely wary."
"No reason to be wary, she says..."
I forced a bitter smile.
"You may not know this, Saint, but my grudge with Consul Elisabeth runs very deep."
"I know about that much. It started with the speech at the Bruno Plains..."
"No."
I cut her off.
"There's something you don't know."
"...What are you being so rude about?"
Saint Longwy furrowed her brow.
"Then go ahead and tell me what I'm not aware of."
"The point where Consul Elisabeth and I truly clashed head-on was over Franque. We placed your nation on the betting table and went at it."
That's right.
The first clash was the Lily War.
"If Bretagne swallowed up Franque, Consul Elisabeth would gain a powerful ally at her side. Our Empire would be surrounded on three sides. In other words, whether or not Franque's independence was preserved was a matter of utmost importance."
"What?"
The displeasure vanished from Saint Longwy's face, replaced by confusion.
"What do you mean? Why was the Lily War a fight between you and the Consul? It was our Bretagne's war."
"There are multiple perspectives on this. Didn't your Queen repeatedly exchange private words with Consul Elisabeth? The Consul's will was undoubtedly involved in that war."
"......"
I had lost the Lily War.
The repercussions of that defeat were substantial.
First, while my attention was entirely consumed by the war, the balance of power among the Demon Lords had shifted dramatically. Agares and Gamigin joined forces and launched a large-scale rebellion against the Plains Faction. The Plains Faction had nearly collapsed.
Conversely, Elisabeth had gained breathing room. Her ally Bretagne had firmly solidified its footing, and her enemy, the Habsburg Empire, was embroiled in civil war. Seizing that golden, exquisite window of opportunity, Elisabeth restructured the Republic.
The first round was Elisabeth's victory. A complete rout on my part.
"Think about it. When Demon Lord Agares was defeated in the civil war and fled, your country accepted her asylum without hesitation. Why was that?"
"That was... Her Majesty the Queen's decision. She said it might prove useful someday."
"Do you know exactly what that word 'someday' means?"
Saint Longwy shook her head cautiously. Of course. She wouldn't know.
"Demon Lord Agares is a double-edged sword. Our Empire invaded Franche under the pretext of executing Agares. So, Saint, don't you think the opposite is also possible?"
"The opposite?"
"You would use Demon Lord Agares as a vanguard to invade our Empire instead. Agares was unjustly expelled, and she has raised an army once more to return for her revenge."
"......!"
Jacqueline Longwy's eyes widened into circles. Her expression made it clear she had never once imagined such a scenario. Then again, Saint Longwy's political instincts had never been particularly sharp.
"It's simple. A tool that's useful when you're the one attacking is equally useful when you're being attacked. Her Majesty the Queen of Bretagne accepted Agares. For one reason: to use her as a bridgehead for a future invasion of the Empire."
"That's... I've never heard anything like that."
"It would have been top secret among top secrets. The plan would have passed only between the Consul of the Republic and Her Majesty the Queen."
I offered a gentle smile.
"Can you understand now? The Consul of the Republic was backed into a corner yet still sought an opportunity to counterattack. She persuaded the Queen to accept Demon Lord Agares's asylum. Had the Empire shown even the slightest gap, she would have torn into us without the slightest hesitation."
And so I focused on domestic affairs.
I strengthened the ties between the Plains Faction, the Neutral Faction, and the Mountain Faction. So that not even the slightest possibility of civil war could arise.
The purge of the Great Demon Lord Bael was part of that same chain of events. Bael was a dangerous element. There was no telling when he might act on his own whims for his own desires. He needed to be eliminated swiftly……
"As long as Demon Lord Agares lives, the threat will never disappear. In the end, I decided to mobilize the entire Demon Lord army to wipe out Agares. And while I was at it, breaking your country's momentum would have been the icing on the cake."
The second round.
The Puppet War.
Both sides had prepared themselves to the fullest and drenched Frank in the flames of war.
But there was a variable Elizabeth had failed to account for. Laura de Farnese. My precious treasure and the continent's greatest strategist. Before Elizabeth could even mount a response, Laura had already shattered Bretagne's armies.
Elizabeth did everything she could in the final stretch, dispatching breakaway squads and the like, but overturning the tide of battle proved impossible. Frank gained its independence, and Bretagne fell. Elizabeth lost her staunchest ally.
The second round was my complete victory. A crushing defeat for Elizabeth.
"……."
Saint Longwy fell silent.
Her face twisted with rage and bewilderment.
"If what you're saying is true, then our Bretagne……it sounds as though we were used like puppets. Like dolls controlled by the two of you."
"Everyone uses someone else, and everyone is used by someone else."
I calmly soothed the Saint.
"There's no need to take it so unpleasantly. Had the script played out the way the Consul of the Republic intended, the Kingdom of Bretagne would be enjoying its golden age right now. It would have been to Bretagne's benefit as well. Isn't that precisely why Her Majesty the Queen agreed to the Consul's terms?"
"……."
But it failed. And it was none other than I who had made it fail.
"Well, I was certain I had seized the upper hand. I cut off Bretagne, I cut off Politunia, and the Republic's only remaining ally was Sardinia. To sever that lifeline, I raised my armies once again."
Round 3.
The Chrysanthemum War.
This time, Elizabeth had become aware of Laura's existence. She had thoroughly grasped what each side was aiming for and how each would act. It was then that we steeled our resolve.
Yet the third round ended in a draw.
It ended in a draw.
"I destroyed Sardinia, but in exchange, the Consul succeeded in bringing the Anatolia Empire into the fold. The final decisive battle was postponed. We parted ways, each having sworn to meet again at the end."
That final moment had now arrived.
Elizabeth had no choice but to wage war, no matter the cost. The Demon Lord's army was currently enduring excruciating turmoil. The Plains Faction, which had been nothing less than a gathering place for martial Demon Lords, had been annihilated. On top of that, remnants of the Plains Faction were sparking rebellions here and there.
It was a perfect opportunity.
If she let this chance slip away, she would never again be able to topple the Habsburg Empire. She would have to stake everything she had built up until now and throw herself onto the battlefield. Without a doubt, that was what Elizabeth was thinking……
"Saint Longwy. Did you not ask whether there was really any need to mobilize a great army and wage an all-out war?"
I smiled.
"This is my answer. The Republic may indeed be a small nation. But Consul Elizabeth is different. She led a small nation all the way here and matched victories and defeats with me. If you count from when the Crescent Alliance Army arose, it has already been seven years. What a long, bitter enmity……"
Of course, no one knew.
No one knew that the Lily War, the Puppet War, and the Chrysanthemum War—the fact that all of them had been a contest on a board between Elizabeth and me alone—was known to absolutely no one.
Even though the Saint had heard my account and learned the truth, it would never spread to the wider world.
How would future history books evaluate the three wars? Would they describe them as the process of the Habsburg Empire's expansion? Would they write that they were events that inevitably arose from the collision between republicanism and monarchy?
Both interpretations were infinitely far from the truth. That was precisely what made it amusing.
In a place entirely unknown to the people of the continent, Elizabeth and I had fought with the entire continent laid upon a game board. In other words, this was a secret game between the two of us alone.
"Saint Longwy, you must help us to the very end. When the rebellion broke out in Sardinia last time, what do you think prompted me to grant Bretagne that opening courtesy?"
"……."
Bretagne had routed the great lords of the Franks and swallowed their territories whole. I was the one hiding behind that stratagem.
The Queen and the Saint owed me a great debt. The reason Saint Longwy was backing me so wholeheartedly in this war was to repay the favor she had received back then.
"……Is the Court Count confident of victory?"
"No. There isn't a shred of confidence to be found. We simply have to do our best."
However.
There was a variable in this game that neither Elizabeth nor I had accounted for. Daisy.
Depending on how Daisy acted, the situation could be thrown into upheaval. Even if I could guess at Daisy's inner thoughts, I couldn't predict every last move. How would it all unfold……
Daisy.
What are you doing right now? What state of mind led you to put on that act of hatred in front of me? What do you intend to do with Elizabeth, and what do you plan to do about Barbatos? I want nothing more than to talk to you right now.
But there surely isn't much time left in our remaining lives for conversation. I could sense that. So let us each prepare for each other's final moments……
So that no regrets remain.