This was an era of rigid class hierarchy.
Having the brand of a sex slave stamped upon one's person—rather than merely being a common slave—was an indelible dishonor. Nobles and commoners alike refused to treat sex slaves as human beings.
What's more, there had long been rumors that Laura was an illegitimate child. The Empire was effectively demanding that a ducal title be bestowed upon a young woman who was, in the blink of an eye, both an illegitimate child and a sex slave. People would find it absurd.
The Kingdom of Sardinia responded splendidly. In the war of words, you are the victors.
But how foolish. You seem to have forgotten the rather important fact that winning or losing a debate is, at best, a secondary concern.
The Empire has done everything in its power. We have employed every conceivable method to preserve peace on the continent and reconciliation among the races. And yet, your Kingdom of Sardinia has launched a crude personal attack, ignoring every courtesy we extended…
People will understand Sardinia's argument. After all, one cannot grant a duchy to a sex slave. That much is true.
And yet, one cannot help but furrow one's brow. Is it truly right to turn a blind eye to the greater cause of unity among the ten nations and their races? She is, after all, nothing more than a single slave. Surely that is a small price to pay for the sake of the greater good.
Setting aside questions of right and wrong, Sardinia comes across as remarkably petty. Narrow-minded. Short-sighted. That negative impression will be difficult to shake.
It was, quite literally, giving up flesh to keep the bone—losing the battle but winning the hearts of the people. The Empire may have lost the war of words, but it earned the public's sympathy.
Now all that remained was the finishing touch.
I played the media through the Emperor's mouth. Emperor Rudolf penned a lengthy declaration and sent it to every nation's ambassadors. Officials read it aloud in the city squares.
—I, the Emperor, make this proclamation to all the world. Hear me, you criminals haunting the continent like specters. Lend your ears to this solemn covenant.
—The Habsburg Empire hereby declares, effective this moment, the granting of full freedom to all subjects who have been enslaved through unlawful means. Should a slave have affixed their seal to a deed of ownership without having undergone due legal process, all such documents shall be rendered legally null and void.
—Sardinia, hear me. In the last civil war, you humiliated the defeated families far beyond what was necessary. Even setting aside the execution of three generations—from the elderly to newborn infants—what savage instinct could have festered in your hearts to drive you to sell a noble lady into sex slavery?!
—It has long been the custom that a noble's honor must not be carelessly violated, even by an Emperor himself. Even a traitor ought to be afforded the dignity of dying as a noble, right up to their final moment.
—But oh, Goddess Mnemosyne, forgive us! Before they even failed to show respect toward nobility, they discarded all reverence for humanity itself! When the Farnese family fell during the Chrysanthemum War, the girl named Laura de Farnese was a mere fourteen years of age.
—A fourteen-year-old girl, a child bearing no responsibility whatsoever for the war—and these brazen individuals reduced her to a sex slave. For the sake of a petty personal grudge!
—And now, you have the audacity to remain silent on the compensation rightfully owed to this innocent victim, choosing instead to pour out your anger in place of a courteous apology. At such brazen impudence, the Emperor's lips tremble with indignation.
─ I know only how to return anger for anger. And I swear before the Goddesses, I am proud of this ignorance.
─ Listen, you who so despicably raised your hand against an innocent girl in the name of power. The Master of the Empire now issues you this warning.
─ The Kingdom of Sardinia shall formally apologize to Laura de Farnese and immediately renounce the duchy. Furthermore, return the lands of Parma, originally ruled by the House of Farnese. Lastly, the Count of Pavia, who dared insult the Empire's Grand Marshal, shall apologize to me personally.
─ This is an ultimatum, and there is no room for retraction.
─ Remember what became of those who ignored the Empire's counsel. If you do not remember history, history will remember you!
The declaration caused an enormous uproar.
There were several massive issues at play here. That the Empire would strictly crack down on illegal slave trade going forward, that the Emperor himself had scathingly criticized the Sardinian royal family, that the two nations were on the brink of war……
As expected, the essence lay in winning the people's favor.
Making a sex slave a duke was absurd. But conversely, making the daughter of a ducal family a sex slave was also utterly preposterous!
Now, people were divided into two camps. Those who reacted that a duke could still not be a sex slave, and those who criticized that creating a sex slave in the first place was wrong. Their thorough class consciousness was what actually drove them apart.
──And neither side held any favorable regard for the Kingdom of Sardinia.
Let us summarize the situation.
First, Sardinia's argument that a sex slave cannot be a duke is correct.
Second, however, it was Sardinia's responsibility that a daughter of a ducal family was reduced to a slave in the first place.
Third, in a matter where responsibility is so clear, Sardinia refuses to admit fault, ignoring the peace of the continent and racial harmony.
The nobles of each nation quickly reached a conclusion. Above all, they were indignant at the second point. As nobles themselves, regardless of being a traitor's daughter, the act of stamping her with the brand of slavery met with universal outrage.
At first, it seemed the Empire had lost the verbal battle. But by winning the people's favor and the emotional support of the nobility, the Habsburg Empire secured an overwhelmingly advantageous position.
Now.
Checkmate.
For the Kingdom of Sardinia, there was nothing to do but accept the Empire's ultimatum or reject it.
I deliberately wrote the Emperor's declaration in a highly insolent tone. The reason was simple. Even if they received an offer they wanted to accept, a tone that arrogant would make it impossible to compromise.
The result would look like the Sardinian royal family cowering like dogs at the Emperor's roar. The royal family's prestige would plummet to rock bottom. A literal ultimatum. A proposal they could absolutely never accept.
As expected, the next move was already set in motion.
Whether the King of Sardinia wanted to or not, he came out swinging. The Empire was old, decrepit, and had lost its wits—spreading discomfort around like a senile old man, he declared.
— Before we apologize to Laura de Farnese, it is the Empire that must apologize for its offenses against us.
— The Farnese family shall have its ducal rank restored—no, demoted two ranks and restored to the title of Count.
— The Count of Pavia merely stated the precise facts, and while he may offer a personal apology, a formal apology from the Kingdom is absolutely out of the question.
In short, the message was: get lost.
I read the documents sent from Sardinia and sneered.
"No matter how I read it, this looks like a declaration of war, Marquis."
The person who personally delivered the diplomatic documents to me was Marquis Rodi, who had been dispatched as a special envoy the last time around. He kept wiping the sweat from his forehead while cautiously studying my expression.
At the very least, there was a gesture of sincerity in the offer to restore the Farnese family to the rank of Count. They had probably been trying to find some kind of compromise that would preserve the royal family's dignity while also satisfying our proposal. The problem was that it fell spectacularly short.
It seemed the Sardinian royal family still believed there was a way to save face.
I would personally teach them that this belief was nothing but a delusion born of grandiose self-importance.
"Your Excellency the Hofgraf. His Majesty the Emperor of Habsburg has shown excessive disregard for our nation's honor..."
"Honor? Did you just say honor, Marquis?"
I let a thin, contemptuous smile cross my face.
"Allow me to tell you what honor is. Honor means not looking the other way when injustice occurs. And for injustices that have already passed, honor means offering an honest apology. Your royal family is nothing but a den of scoundrels who wouldn't recognize honor even if it were a stray dog in the street."
"Too far, sir!"
I pulled a scroll from inside my coat and hurled it at the Marquis. Startled, he caught the scroll against his chest with both hands.
"Court Count, what is this?"
"Between us, there is no such thing as going too far anymore, Marquis. This is a declaration of war."
The Marquis closed his eyes in despair.
"Goddess…"
"His Majesty the Emperor had already foreseen that your country would not come with a sincere apology. How could a nation that cannot even safeguard the honor of a single girl safeguard the honor of a nation? Those were His Majesty's words."
I picked up a small bell from the desk and gave it a shake. The bell rang out merrily. Daisy heard the chime and entered the reception room.
"Did you call for me, Father?"
"The Marquis will be departing for his homeland. Escort him politely to the front gate of the imperial palace!"
It was an unmistakable order to see a guest out.
The Marquis had aged twenty years in just a few minutes. He had lost all his strength, as though he had become a hunchback. He left the reception room with aimless steps.
I stood by the window and watched the Marquis depart the palace. He turned around and glanced back at the palace once, then covered his face with his right hand. He stood there for a long while before turning away listlessly.
"Saint Longwy."
Once I confirmed the Marquis had gone far enough, I activated the communication crystal on the desk. Soon, a hazy blue membrane seeped out from the crystal. Within it, the image of Saint Jacqueline Longwy was projected.
"The declaration of war has just been issued. Prepare yourself."
──So war finally breaks out. Are you pleased that things are going just as you wanted?
Saint Longwy let out her usual mocking laugh.
She had nearly perfected the art of curling her lips upward to inflict a sense of humiliation on her counterpart. The destructive power was immense—enough to make even a saint grab someone by the hair and refuse to let go—but ever since the time we had once drunk together through the night, I no longer felt particularly angered by it.
Instead, I returned a refreshing smile.
"Yes, I'm feeling wonderful. Thanks to you, I'll be able to give Saint Longwy a gift. I do hope you'll be pleased with my present."
──……Tsk.
Saint Longwy clicked her tongue openly. Was it really acceptable for a woman like this to be chosen as a Saint? It almost made me suspect the Great Temples of Athena had nothing but masochists.
— Fine. I'll relay the message to Her Majesty the Queen.
"That's not all. The Habsburg Empire has officially declared its opposition to the illegal slave trade. The Great Temples have long maintained a negative stance toward slave trade, so one would expect—"
— …Are you saying the Great Temples should officially announce support for the Empire?
"There's no need for an official announcement from the Great Temples themselves. Even the Great Temples would have their reservations about openly denouncing slave trade. But it should be perfectly fine for a Saint to express her 'personal' support."
Saint Longwy narrowed her eyes. Even a beauty frowning was a sight worth painting.
— A Saint's words are inherently tied to the Great Temples. There is no such thing as a purely personal remark from a Saint. Don't you understand even something this simple?
"That's fine. All we need is to make it unofficial yet effectively official."
— Unofficial yet effectively official?
I smiled gently.
"I distributed the land I obtained through negotiation with the Kingdom of Polittunia to the Great Temples for free last time. Even if it was merely in name, additional territory was added under the name of the Temple. Surely we deserve some form of repayment for that?"
— …I see. If the Great Temples can settle the debt through a personal statement of support from the Saint rather than an official announcement, then from their perspective, it's a bargain…
"That's exactly right."
Saint Longwy let out a sigh.
— You're despicable. Truly despicable. I am sincerely praying to the Goddess that you perish as a vagrant on the streets as soon as possible.
"I receive the love of the Goddesses, so I'm afraid that prayer won't be granted."
With Saint Longwy's scoff, the communication ended there.
The next day, the Habsburg Empire officially declared war on the Kingdom of Sardinia.
Along with it, Saint Longwy announced her support for the Empire regarding the slave trade.
Once the Saint of Athena stepped forward, the remaining Saints, as if unwilling to be outdone, issued their own declarations of support. These declarations inevitably came across as endorsements of the Empire's declaration of war. Let us offer our preemptive condolences to the Kingdom of Sardinia.
Give it up. Your opponent just happened to be a little malicious, that's all.
Think of it like being unlucky enough to step in dog shit while walking down the street. Of course, if you slipped on the shit and cracked your skull, that would be a different story altogether….