“Wait, what now? Hold on a second. What in the world is this all about?”
Atria collapsed. Benito was occupied. Not just one but two earth-shattering events have gone down.
This is no ordinary situation. One kingdom has been completely subjugated, and another is currently under occupation.
So, as Chief of Staff, I rushed back to the capital to attend a grand strategy meeting hosted by His Majesty the Emperor.
But a piece of news I could never have imagined struck me like a thunderbolt.
“King Cassius II of Dedolant. There seems to be some kind of incident involving him.”
The man dropping bombshells while half asleep was none other than the Minister of Special Affairs.
As the department responsible for all external intelligence, it prides itself on utmost discretion and high accuracy.
And here’s the chief of that very department, whispering something alarming directly in my ear.
“An incident? What do you mean exactly…?”
“The news comes from our infiltrated agents and recruited informants in Dedolant. Lately, Dedolant’s king hasn’t appeared at any official functions.”
“That’s probably just…”
Some minor illness, perhaps. Or maybe he’s withdrawn for a while for some reason, I tried to say — but stopped mid-sentence.
Until recently, King Cassius of Dedolant was personally leading the Fifth Army to save Benito.
Even earlier, when he was still a prince, he personally led troops to attack the empire’s border gates.
“Man, I still get chills thinking about that time.”
Pure luck, that was. Lucky me — I almost got captured by Dedolant’s forces back then.
Had the prince of Dedolant back then not been so reckless, they would’ve smashed through our gates. And I probably would be a prisoner in Dedolant instead of here.
Who knows how things would’ve turned out? Even without considering my influence, the empire, having its gates and rear devastated, would’ve had a hard time regrouping. Preparing for another counteroffensive would’ve taken months, perhaps even a year.
Anyway, Dedolant’s king is no pushover — he steps in personally when the situation demands it.
And unlike Benito’s king—or rather, the former King Andrea II, who didn’t have many stellar qualities—this guy is at least several tiers above the lowest of the low. Maybe he’s not at the level of our Emperor or Crown Princess, but he’s no slouch by any stretch of imagination.
“There’s no way the guy who brought Dedolant this far would just up and run now, right?”
“Exactly. Even if he tried to run, where would he go? Back to Dugal, which they’ve already ravaged? Or to Ross Tannika, where they once declared mortal combat? The King of Dedolant has nowhere to go. In the end, there are only two choices — surrender now, or fight to the d*ath.”
“But what if he’s chosen none of these and just vanished without a trace?”
As I mulled this over, the Minister of Special Affairs leaned in and asked, “Don’t you smell something weird?”
Indeed, I do. And worse still, it smells absolutely foul.
“Let’s discuss this further once the meeting starts.”
“Agreed. I’m also quite curious about the reactions of the other ministers.”
“…Therefore, the current situation regarding Benito has been handed over to the Fourth Legion of the Empire, nearby Southern Kingdoms, the Holy Kingdom, and First Prince Gnaius. Once we decide on a new commander for the southern front, we’ll proceed with the handover.”
“As for Atria, within a month at the latest, every area outside Dedolant’s border region will fall under our imperial control. There are no longer any friendly forces standing in our way.”
As I gave my report, smiles spread across the ministers’ faces, and they nodded their heads in approval.
Finally, we’re seeing an end to this nearly two-year-long war. And not just a mere victory — we’ve been overwhelmingly crushing everything in our path.
We’re showing the entire continent the full might and prestige of the Empire.
Once this war ends, the Empire is sure to enjoy at least Fifty Years of Great Peace.
“…”
“…”
Yet, throughout my report, both the Emperor and Crown Princess kept straight faces, completely unmoved.
While it’s understandable for the Emperor to act this way, for the Crown Princess to do the same suggests one thing — they already know something about the unrest brewing within Dedolant.
“Good work, Chief of Staff. With things going this way, both Benito and Atria will fall under the Empire’s sphere of influence.”
“This is all thanks to the legion commanders, the field commanders, especially our soldiers, and the allied forces from various nations.”
“Indeed. And when the war is over, they will all be rewarded accordingly. It’s only fitting.”
“I merely express my deepest gratitude for His Majesty’s benevolence.”
My part is done. The next report is from the Minister of Special Affairs.
“I will follow up after Chief of Staff. Two days ago, we successfully extracted some information from one of our covertly recruited informants in Dedolant. We then spent another day cross-checking it with other sources to verify its accuracy.”
We heard Dedolant was shouting “traitors within!” But we thought it was their propaganda to avoid taking responsibility for their defeats… turns out it’s true.
Not from the highest echelons, but they seem to have found a collaborator of some significance.
“According to the results of our verification, King Cassius II of Dedolant has not shown up at any official events for quite some time.”
A national ruler not appearing at any public functions? Especially not during wartime when the situation is already dire.
Upon hearing this, the expressions of all the ministers present darkened significantly.
“So King Cassius of Dedolant has gone missing?”
“Could it be health issues? Given the current state, it’s possible. And considering he directly led his troops just recently, accumulated fatigue could also be a factor.”
“While that’s certainly a possibility we haven’t ignored, if that were the case, there should be some activity from the royal physicians, yet the royal palace remains surprisingly quiet. The palace’s usual comings and goings are unchanged as well.”
And anyway, King Cassius is too young to suddenly develop severe health problems.
How old did they say he was? Isn’t he around the same age as our Crown Princess?
He’s definitely younger than thirty, certainly not old enough to start falling apart. Unless this guy were some desk-bound scholar, but no, he’s been astride horses since he was young.
“Would it be possible that this is Dedolant’s attempt to deceive us?”
I decided to respond to this suggestion, since it wasn’t from the Minister of Special Affairs.
“In the current situation, no matter what kind of deception Dedolant throws out, it won’t shake the Empire’s forces. Whichever way it goes, Dedolant’s king must know that pushing forward relentlessly from all sides would render any deception meaningless.”
“The Chief of Staff is correct. Any deception aimed at tricking the Empire will vanish when met with direct force.”
Throughout history, Dedolant has played us with numerous deceptions. Each one was carefully planned with its own particular reasoning and apparent logic. Lately, these have begun to decrease, but they’re still somewhat present.
“So, what about the possibility that the king has simply fled?”
“There’s no plausible option for that. Benito is already under the Empire’s influence, Atria is collapsing, and Dugal, now occupied, cannot guarantee safety. Unless the king plans to sail the vast seas, it is by far the least likely scenario.”
In these modern conflicts, there are only two options: the king surrenders, or is captured. Most wars end with the former, but if the king were to run, the latter becomes inevitable.
And the Empire will surely pursue capturing King Cassius of Dedolant to secure the victory.
There’s simply nowhere for him to escape to. Moreover, if he really did flee, Dedolant wouldn’t remain this eerily calm.
As these thoughts crossed my mind, the ministers began to show visible signs of confusion.
“So then, what could it be? If it isn’t health issues or an escape, then—”
“A crisis has occurred within Dedolant itself — internal problems, most likely.”
The word “incident” doesn’t do justice, but we all know what this actually means: King Cassius of Dedolant has been assassinated within his own kingdom.
“Wait, doesn’t that make zero sense? This would be self-sabotage on their part!”
“Indeed, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is correct. How could the subordinates who followed their king even from the time he was an ordinary prince dare to betray him? Their loyalty has always been exemplary, so such an act is inconceivable.”
Assassinations generally occur when someone is seen as a hindrance to the agenda of those in power, or when they’re deemed an obstacle to the group’s plans.
But how plausible is it when the target is someone they’ve followed loyally for so long? Honestly, it’s hard to accept.
“Perhaps expectations can turn into betrayal, loyalty can twist and become corrupted.”
At this point, the Crown Princess spoke up as if she had it figured out.
“While King Cassius might’ve raised his banner against the Empire, His Majesty is far from foolish. Perhaps the king discussed surrender with his subordinates, leading to a situation where they resisted and things spiraled out of control.”
King Cassius of Dedolant considered surrender? And his own ministers opposed him? Why? Wouldn’t even they know surrendering is the path to survival? What do they think would happen if they just groveled and pinned all the blame on their king?
“When trust is shattered, even the most faithful followers can turn into enemies. To those who had so passionately followed the king through thick and thin, hearing him suggest giving up might’ve ignited their fury to even greater proportions.”
The Emperor also nodded in agreement with the Crown Princess’s assessment.
But seriously, did they really do something this bat-sht insane? Even for deranged Dedolant, this seems just a little… extreme.
“Chief of Staff.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Should we assume Dedolant’s command structure has ousted its own royal family, what benefits could our side potentially gain?”
“From a legitimacy standpoint, this would provide us a clear advantage. While the battle might intensify, ultimate victory will still belong to the Empire. Perhaps in post-war restructuring of Dedolant, this could even work in our favor.”
The eradication of Dedolant’s royal line was already on the cards.
But wiping out their noble families altogether would require a lot of thought. The empire itself took considerable time to root out regional authorities.
But now, they’ve handed these very justifications over to us with their own two hands.
Be it betrayal, madness, or sheer dumb luck — whatever it is, it’s undeniably working in our favor. The heavens themselves seem to be granting us this fortune. Truly, the empire is the empire!
