365. Vortex (3)
The crops harvested from the granaries across the empire were heading to Guir. This was the result of Empress Carvelier’s “humanitarian relief” policy and the loyalty pledges made by various dukes during the empire’s civil war.
The crops were being neatly stacked onto Leia’s Flagship. The loading capacity of the Guimerin Flagship was comparable to that of a nation’s fortress, and according to calculations, just two shipments would be enough to sustain the eastern region through the winter.
The means of transportation and food supplies were already sufficiently prepared. Yet, Leia’s Flagship remained majestically anchored off the coast of Guir.
“Your Majesty, an envoy requests an audience.”
“Who is it this time?”
“It is an envoy sent by King Leon of Baras.”
“Let them in.”
Rene rubbed her tired eyes and gestured. Soon, the door opened, and a shabbily dressed man walked in. Upon spotting Rene at the door, the man immediately prostrated himself on the floor without taking another step.
“May the Lord bless you, long live the Divine Leviathan Empire! I stand before the great Empress Carvelier, ruler of thousands of territories!”
“Enough. I am busy. Get to the point.”
The envoy seemed to have misjudged Rene’s temperament. He paled, wondering if he had misspoken.
The chamberlain, unable to bear it, whispered in his ear.
“Her Majesty detests those who praise her with empty flattery.”
“Oh…! Such humility is the true virtue of a sovereign! Empress Carvelier, ruler of the earth, may you live forever!”
“…Is this man deaf?”
Rene frowned, and the envoy let out a short gasp. Before he could continue, Rene waved her hand and said,
“Speak quickly. I meant it when I said I am busy.”
“Y-Your Majesty. It is with great humility that I report… It has already been ten days and nine nights since Your Majesty promised to provide relief grain to our country… The eastern region is now plagued by the wars of the lawless and the chaos of bandits, with the starving and sick emerging in droves. However…”
“Enough. So, you’re asking when the ship will depart?”
“That, that is…”
“Return to your country and wait for the time. That is all I can tell you.”
“B-but Your Majesty…!”
“Do you see the empire’s grain as your rightful due?”
Rene’s eyes turned cold. She slowly rose from her seat and walked toward the envoy prostrated at the door.
“Or do you think my generosity and compassion are your inherent rights?”
“If, if only Your Majesty would allow our transport ships to dock at this port… Just a small act of mercy for the desperate people…”
“Leave. Before I change my mind.”
The envoy trembled and barely managed to retreat. Even as he left, he bowed his head to Rene several times.
The door to the office closed. Rene let out a deep sigh and leaned back in her chair. The farce continued.
“Your Majesty…”
“I am fine.”
The chamberlain looked at Rene with a worried expression but ultimately said nothing. Having served as the Carvelier family’s butler since Rene’s childhood, he knew that she was merely acting.
She was, at heart, a tender child. She was not the type to hold the lives of hundreds, thousands, or perhaps tens of thousands of starving people as collateral to extort better terms from small kingdoms.
But she had to. She was no longer the young lady of the Carvelier family; she was the emperor of an empire. When the emperor opened the granaries to solve foreign famines, there had to be corresponding benefits in return.
‘Father… I didn’t want to become emperor.’
Rene held a pen and rolled it in her hand, lost in thought. The reason she became emperor, the man who made her emperor.
What that man wanted. What she had to do as emperor.
The secret pact made at the meeting between the elves, the northerners, and the empire before he left.
* * *
“This is madness.”
“Uh… I’m sorry, Lord Sernerd. But this is a bit…”
“…Fernandez. Are you serious?”
At what might later be called the “Pact of the Three Sovereigns,” the three rulers, united in spirit, turned to him and asked.
It was because of the future strategic direction Fernandez announced just before the pact was sealed. Aeren, Rene, and even Leia set down their glasses and stared blankly at the man before them.
“Plundering civilian homes indiscriminately? Well… of course, it’s not bad for us… But I wouldn’t be able to face our ancestors.”
Aeren smiled bitterly. The situation in the north was far from good. They needed to secure some profit from this expedition and hoped for minimal losses. But that didn’t mean she wanted this kind of battle.
The savior of the north had requested troops. For Aeren, this was something she couldn’t refuse. Her claim to power was the purification of the north. Considering the internal instability in the north, it might even be better to send able-bodied men outside.
But at the same time, Aeren was a northerner. She was a northerner who had fought alongside her ancestors to defeat demons in past battles, and she and her warriors took pride in being descendants of the great Einherjar.
No one lives forever. Only glory is eternal. This was the way of life for northerners. Detached from death but obsessed with honor, glory, and gold.
“If this expedition ends, no one in the north will starve to death this winter, even if some may freeze.”
“Of course, that would be the case. If only we could scrape together all the overflowing resources from the south…”
Aeren was a northerner, but she was also their king. As a king, she reluctantly nodded. Personal honor is lighter than the survival of a nation.
“I oppose this.”
Rene shook her head with cold eyes.
“If the famine in the north is the issue, we could provide food aid within humanitarian limits. But indiscriminate large-scale plundering? I cannot agree to this operation.”
“What if that humanitarian aid were sent to the east instead of the north?”
“Even if we provide the same amount of food, what about the refugees and casualties that would arise during the plundering? How do you plan to handle all these factors?”
Even if it fits perfectly, how many people will die from the turmoil in the east?
Rene’s stern eyes looked at Fernandez. This was the difference between Aeren and Rene. No, perhaps it was better to see it as the difference between a poor, weak nation and a wealthy, powerful one.
It was a noble ideal, but Fernandez could distinguish it more coldly. It was never hypocrisy, but goodwill was sometimes just a luxury.
Even in this half-collapsed situation, the Empire had the capacity to take care of its people. In fact, in just a few more months, the Empire’s economy would grow enough to support external nations again.
This was the power of the Empire. No matter how humble a leader might be, witnessing the status of such a powerful nation firsthand would occasionally lead them to indulge in luxury and pleasure. The non-material luxury called ‘goodwill.’
Rene was like that. She was fundamentally a good person and a great hero. She was a heroine who tried to protect the crumbling world until the very end. It was almost instinctive for her to worry about the safety of people from other nations even in this situation.
“How about this? In exchange for receiving military support from the north, the Empire will provide food to the north. A kind of mercenary deal. Since the Empire cannot directly deploy troops, Queen Leia’s fleet will support the eastern seas, and Queen Aeren’s warriors will support the Dane Kingdom’s offensive.”
With this strategy, even the areas that would be destroyed by plunder could be perfectly protected. Rene nodded firmly. However, Fernandez shook his head and spoke.
“If it’s like that, we won’t make it in time.”
“I agree that we’ll be pushed back in the initial battle. But isn’t this a war that won’t end in just one battle? If the Phaeirn army lands on the Dane coastline and begins their advance, our troops can land later and chase them from the nearby coastline.”
“The residential areas within Dane will be plundered by Phaeirn anyway, and the small kingdoms that have preserved their troops and provisions during the harvest season will start participating from winter.”
Fernandez looked down at a large map and drew a few lines.
“Blocking the participation of all small kingdoms and pushing back the main Phaeirn force, which has already established its position, with a small number of troops? That’s delusional. Eventually, the situation will lead to individual battles, and if it comes to that, a prolonged war is inevitable, and the occurrence of war refugees is unavoidable.”
Even if the Northern Warriors don’t plunder, eventually, to secure war provisions, the people of the small kingdoms or the people of Dane will be plundered. And those plunderers will never make an effort to reduce the damage to the people.
Then it’s better to have Aeren’s troops do the plundering. At least this side is controllable. At Fernandez’s words, Rene hung her head with a heavy expression.
“If not, is it because you don’t want to get your hands dirty?”
“That’s not… it.”
The concept of good and evil is ambiguous in war. War is an activity that inevitably involves killing in its process, and in this chaos, no good person can evaluate themselves as good.
On the other hand, what about the leaders who sign the declaration of war? The weight they have to bear is only that of a pen. If they wish, they can be good enough. At least in their own minds.
What Fernandez said was this. Do you want to remain a good person? From the moment you sign the order to plunder civilian homes, there will be no honor or goodwill left in this war.
But this is hypocrisy. The minimal hypocrisy of abandoning greater evil.
‘If they are going to be plundered by someone anyway, at least dirty your own hands to minimize the damage.’
It was a conclusion that couldn’t be reached with normal thinking. But morally and logically. Except for the fact that one must bear the burden of evil deeds, it was an irrefutable argument.
Looking at Rene’s troubled eyes, Fernandez brought up another topic.
“And the Empire owes a debt to the Dane royal family.”
“That’s right. Three times.”
“Once in La Merthion. Twice during the Great Northern Advance in Karadskar. It’s a debt so large that even if Dane requests the Empire’s participation in the war, it can’t be avoided. If we start food support towards the east after the war, we can put a leash on Dane and the east again.”
Due to recent events and the Empire’s fluctuations, the east was gradually becoming independent from the Empire’s influence. The tribute that was regularly paid to the Empire had stopped, and during the Empire’s civil war, only Dane had directly supported them.
In such a situation, the fall of Dane could never be a positive indicator for the Empire. To secure influence in the east, the Empire must step into the current war. No matter the aftermath of the civil war.
Moreover, now, with the production base in the east completely destroyed, the east would lose its sovereignty in resource diplomacy to the Empire unilaterally for decades to come.
Fernandez was telling Rene this fact. To destroy the resource production base across the east with the plundering of the northerners and to put a leash on them again through this.
‘After all, controlling one great nation is easier than controlling multiple nations.’
Depending on how ruthless Rene becomes, that vast region entangled with dozens of nations could remain a province of the Empire forever. Vicente is a righteous person, but not someone easily controlled. Rene, on the other hand, is not.
Looking into Fernandez’s eyes, Rene swallowed dryly.
“You… weren’t you from the Dane Kingdom?”
“Now you see me as a traitor?”
“Well, you’ve never represented the interests of any one country.”
Rene reluctantly nodded and spoke. Thus, Rene also agreed to Fernandez’s plan. Fernandez turned his gaze to the last remaining monarch in the room.
The Elf Queen’s eyes narrowed with a smile.
“When do you think we’ll die?”
What does that mean? As Fernandez narrowed his eyes, Leia smirked and said.
“At most, 200 years. That’s what I think. I don’t plan to live forever.”
“Considering the lifespan of a half-elf, that might be about right.”
“200 years later! Ha…”
Leia held out her glass. The thick honey-colored distilled liquor rippled stickily inside the transparent crystal glass.
-Clink.
Their glasses clinked, and the ice rattled. Leia took a sip of her drink and said.
“I hope hell is hot enough in 200 years.”
With those words, the three queens signed the outline of Fernandez’s plan. Northern military, Empire’s food, Elf transportation. The goal was the pacification of the east, the suppression of demon activity, and the colonization of the entire east.
Externally, this story was just a large-scale invasion by the northerners.
Coincidentally, the eastern kingdoms were in a civil war and had no capacity to stop it.
Future historians would record it as such. Even if it’s best known as the greed of the three monarchs.
Fernandez smiled bitterly and downed the glass he shared with Rene in one gulp.
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