---

A few days later, envoys sent by the nobles of North Romania arrived at Betelgeuse.

The delegation comprised several nobles, including the Old Noble, and accompanying them were others to assist.

There were several who appeared to be knights, and they brought along quite a number of soldiers; their appearance didn’t resemble that of an ordinary delegation.

Well, they didn’t mean to, but since they were coming to negotiate with those who were nearly on the brink of war, it’s only natural for them to come prepared to defend themselves.

Upon arriving on the plains near Betelgeuse, they set up a campsite and sent a messenger to Betelgeuse.

“I greet you in the name of the Goddess of Life, with the Dragon Priestess conveying our wishes.”

The messenger bowed as soon as he saw me, without a hint of hesitation in his movement.

With such graceful and composed actions, and seeing that he wore quite fine clothing… he must be a noble? Perhaps even one hailing from the knights.

Moreover… it seems he’s a believer in the Goddess of Life.

“Please stand up. Isn’t it time for you to carry out your duties as a messenger?”

“Yes. My apologies.”

The messenger bowed his head again, seemingly embarrassed.

“Well then… representing the nobles of the Romanian Empire, I shall deliver the letter.”

Hmm. It seems they don’t refer to themselves as North Romania.

After stating this, the messenger took out three letters from his sleeve and handed them to me, the Elf Representative, and the Dwarf Representative.

“The contents are nearly identical. Everything we wish to convey is in those letters, so please read them.”

I accepted the letters, exchanged a quick glance with the representatives of the Elf and Dwarf, and nodded.

Alright. Let’s take a look at the contents of the letter.

Ah, before that.

“I’ll read the letters and decide after discussing. Please wait outside.”

“Understood. I hope for your wise judgment.”

With that, the messenger bowed and exited, and we unfolded the letters in our hands.

The letters, written on somewhat fancy parchment with dark ink, were filled with a lot of embellishments.

The letter began by praising the Goddess of Life and the ancestral deities, and by compressing and omitting the unnecessary parts, I figured out the gist:

“It’s not our fault! We tried to stop it!!”

In short, it was an excuse.

If one were to find it a bit pathetic, then so be it. What can be done? The authority and legitimacy possessed by the emperor cannot be suppressed even by all the nobles combined, and if that emperor is foolishly leading towards war, the nobles realize that such a path only leads to destruction but can do nothing to halt it.

Such a content could have been written more succinctly… hmm. Why embellish it so much?

Well, perhaps this is just their way of dealing with things.

Moreover, since they couldn’t directly stop the emperor, they tried to indirectly thwart him but couldn’t fully do so, resulting in a division within the Imperial Guards to make the soldiers give up the fight… it was noted.

Hmm. So, the Imperial Guards that arrived at Betelgeuse were completely inactive because of their schemes?

What was up with the emperor rushing alone? It felt ridiculous, but now that I understood their circumstances, it made sense.

In the end, the foolish emperor was all alone.

Ahem. Anyway.

“Leave the emperor’s treatment to us?”

“Yes. We are in a position where we can’t do anything about the emperor who has made grave mistakes, so I’ll leave it to your three’s choice.”

Hmm… to leave it to us. Indeed, it doesn’t look good for a servant to dethrone the emperor.

That would give off vibes of rebellion or a coup, you know?

I glanced at the Elf and Dwarf representatives sitting beside me, and they also had pondering expressions.

“The emperor’s treatment… this is a tricky matter.”

“Is there really anything to think about?! Just slice his head off and be done with it!”

“It wouldn’t be easy to decapitate someone of such high status as the emperor. Who knows what the fallout would be…”

Well, to be honest, this is not an easy decision.

Killing him would indeed end it cleanly, but what about the aftermath?

Even if the foolish emperor is just that, he’s still an emperor. Someone might take advantage of his death to stir trouble.

But if we return him alive… he might blow a gasket.

Hmm… what’s the best course of action? Finding a way to punish him moderately and satisfy both sides…

“But… perhaps killing him might be the right choice.”

I turned my head to look at the Elf representative who spoke.

Killing him would be the right choice?

“Are you saying we should kill the emperor?”

“Yes. They seem to have written that with the anticipation that such an outcome is likely. They’re hoping we kill the emperor if possible.”

Hoping to kill the emperor? That’s…

“Rebellion?”

“That seems likely.”

“Ha! Rebellion! Now that’s amusing!”

Rebellion… the nobles of North Romania want a rebellion…

“Do they want someone else to take the emperor’s place?”

“That’s highly possible. It could be good to create a new emperor after the current one is dead. Or, they might want to undermine the emperor’s authority and dethrone him… Something along those lines.”

Hmm… could that be true? I’m not sure.

“Being a person who’s so reckless as to start a war over some whims… how many issues must have arisen in North Romania prior to this?”

“I’ve heard that due to the actions of that emperor, the number of people who died exceeds three digits!”

The emperor, you say? If there were executions of sinners or wars, three digits would be easily surpassed, right?

“Oh, I wasn’t clear. They’re saying the number of people who died by the emperor’s hands exceeds three digits.”

They… he killed directly? The emperor? Directly?

Ah, then this is a different story.

“Gathering the various rumors, it seems he’s someone who doesn’t see people as people. Whatever he desires, he’ll obtain it by any means necessary. They say he’s even killed the owner of a possession just to take it.”

“Well, with such ignorance, shamelessness, and danger, it’s no wonder… the Dragon Priestess… Ahem!”

The Dwarf representative coughed, evidently sweating a bit; it seemed he thought I didn’t know about that rumor.

Well, I already know!

“In any case, he’s not the sort you’d want to spare. It might be best to swiftly take off his head and re-establish relations with North Romania.”

Hmm… indeed, if that’s the kind of person, there’s no reason to spare him…

But what is it? Something feels off.

What should I say… um… dissonance? Something, a strange sense of dissonance…

As if this person was purposely created…

No, more than that, how could someone like him ever become emperor?

“How on earth did he become emperor?”

“Pardon?”

“What do you mean…?”

The representatives of the two races tilted their heads at my question.

“No, think about it. Is the position of emperor so easy to attain that someone like that fool, or anyone living recklessly for that matter, can become one?”

At least, from what I know, it’s not supposed to be that way?! Since Arthur’s reign, managing the empire has been an overwhelmingly heavy task, not easy compared to regular business!

Because of such a demanding job, I’ve known that both Arthur and the next emperor, Julius, appointed a talented child as the crown prince and rigorously trained him.

If someone so foolish became emperor, did the previous emperor have no eyes? Or…

“It’s as if someone intentionally made a fool into an emperor…”

At that, the expressions of the two race representatives changed, as if they finally grasped what I was saying.

“Are you suggesting that the fool emperor was something intentional?”

“No, who would go so far as to do such a bold thing… what would they gain from such an act?”

“Indeed. That’s true. Though it’s still mere speculation…”

If. If I were to hypothetically consider, without pondering if it’s possible…

If someone wanted to bring down North Romania… what would be the first thing to break?

The answer is simple. Just ruin the emperor.

If the emperor crumbles, everything beneath him will follow suit.

If he were just a bit deficient, perhaps the other nobles would fill in those gaps, allowing for a somewhat normal operation.

But if he’s as reckless, foolish, and devoid of reason as he is, then everyone around him would merely be swept along.

As a result, the gigantic machinery known as the Empire of North Romania would collapse.

That’s the nature of an imperial underminer.

“Isn’t that a bit too far-fetched?”

“Ahem. I think so too, but who would actually try such a thing?”

Certainly, it’s speculation. But…! Something keeps gnawing at me!

“It could just be my misunderstanding. Yet, something keeps bothering me.”

If someone were indeed trying to see North Romania fail…

What should I do?

 

---