Duke Erbe looked down at his vassals with a faint, faded smile. It was the kind of smile that said, “Isn’t this enough already?” His vassals had been raising their voices for over an hour now.
“So what are you trying to say!”
“We should behead the envoy!”
“Point a sword at the royal palace without justification? Great idea! Why don’t you suggest we all bite our swords and fall over while we’re at it!”
“How dare you!”
It went on like this. The grand ambition of ruling a united Ribue, having barely survived the uprising of heretics and assassination threats clearly orchestrated by the royal palace, was turning into foam along with the vassals’ arguments.
“My heart aches.”
Kirhas, sitting lazily beside the Duke, smirked and spoke. As the Duke turned his head, sipping his drink, Kirhas clinked her glass against his.
“Well, it’s not like we’re children. Getting attached just because we fought together would be even more childish.”
“They’re already attached enough to act like that.”
“If they get attached twice, a war might break out.”
“They’re worried about me, Chieftain. That assassination attempt you stopped. They’ve been like this ever since.”
The battle ended in a moment, at the break of dawn. The skeletons crumbled as if they had never existed, and the surviving soldiers cheered.
And in the chaos, the vampire who had rushed right next to the Duke was beheaded by Kirhas’s longsword. From then until their return. After seeing the collapsed palace, ensuring his daughter’s safety, and up until now.
The Duke’s vassals began discussing how Ribue should endure this crisis. Like most discussions, no conclusion was reached on the table.
“What do you want to do, Duke?”
“We must fight.”
The Duke spoke calmly, looking down at his vassals. They had stopped their disputes and were now listening to him.
“If it were just me, I wouldn’t know, but the Emperor has touched my vassals, my family, and my household. Do you think the Emperor won’t do it again? Of course, we must fight back.”
“But, Your Excellency!!”
A knight bowed his head and shouted.
“The territory’s military forces can never match the central legion. If a civil war breaks out, it would be wise to first win over the other dukes to oppose them. Please reconsider this!”
“Do we have evidence! We need proof that the Emperor orchestrated this to persuade the other lords! Your Excellency! We must execute the Empire’s envoy and report this matter to the Church!”
“Do you think the Church will seriously consider our accusation? This isn’t about dealing with a noble from a small country. We’re talking about interrogating the Emperor of the Empire! What Pope of what Church would rashly step forward!”
Yes, that’s the problem. Erbe gave a bitter smile. Circumstantially, all this scheming was the Emperor’s doing. If not him, there’s no one else who could plan and execute such a large-scale operation. But that’s just circumstantial evidence.
Even if we had physical evidence. Even if we secured an order stamped with the Emperor’s seal, the royal palace would dismiss it as fabricated evidence. And the Church wouldn’t attack the Empire’s administrative office by siding with a duke on the brink of ruin.
All the churches of the Temple of the Gods declared complete neutrality in worldly politics. That sacred declaration from the 13th Council of Erelhem has not been violated even once in the 400 years since.
It was a satisfying conclusion for both the Church and the nobles. The Church elevated its authority and gained respect from the powerful. Since then, the Church’s actions of judging or excommunicating the powerful were considered matters of religion, not politics.
And the powerful as well. The nobles of each nation and royal palace also welcomed this decision. Before that, secular society had been in a period of chaos backed by religion. They didn’t want to return to the numerous territorial wars and civil wars fought under the pretext of religion and doctrine.
Since then, 400 years have passed. Religion drew a line with the secular world. And when secular monarchs leaned on religion, the Church measured the balance of political power with astonishingly cold standards.
In such a situation, hoping that the Church would side with Ribue and punish the Emperor was nothing but a vague hope. A monarch must look at reality, not hope, and make a decision. Erbe raised his glass and spoke.
“You are all correct. But hastily executing the envoy is somewhat rash. If an envoy comes, we will treat them with courtesy. We must listen to their words and understand their true intentions. Our future course of action can be decided after that.”
Let’s endure for now. Kirhas frowned as she listened to the Duke’s words. She disliked politicians. Slugs who wouldn’t move until they found justification…
‘I need to go back and get praised.’
She had done her best. She thwarted the assassination attempt and won the battle. As per Fernandez’s orders! But when she returned, the Duke’s daughter unexpectedly opposed her entering the palace.
‘Your Excellency… If my concubine is unwell… If she’s sick, shouldn’t I be there?’
‘Are you skilled in medicine, Chieftain?’
‘…No?’
‘Ribue has many excellent doctors and pharmacists. Please don’t worry and attend the meeting with my father.’
‘Uh…’
‘Or do you have a physician among your household who is more skilled than Ribue’s doctors?’
The tribes of the Great Wilderness almost equated medicine with shamanism. While studying at the Inquisition Office, she learned how much modern medicine had advanced. The beastmen’s medicine was nothing but folk beliefs!
Recalling the tribal shaman who would grind darae and animal bones, mix them with water, and add animal bile, she weakly shook her head.
‘It might… not be entirely ineffective.’
‘Then please leave it to our doctors, who are certainly effective, and join the military meeting, Chieftain. Isn’t that the way for Ribue and the Federation of Nobles?’
At those words, Kirhas returned dejected. Could Diemonica be sick? Didn’t Your Excellency just resurrect? No, is it even possible for Your Excellency to be sick?
But even in this situation, not being sought out… Could it be that Your Excellency has another plan?
These kinds of thoughts tangled in her mind. If Fernandez really needed her, he would have been on the frontline, not in a sickbed. That’s the kind of person he is. If he’s sitting still, it must be because he’s working on another plan.
And if he needed her for that plan, he would have sought her out. So, the fact that Your Excellency isn’t looking for her now must mean he wants her to attend the meeting.
