Empress?
Why the Empress?
I tried to think things over.
For now, I didn’t particularly ask the Empress for help. Just having the witch and the shadow here already gives me a splitting headache in various ways. And if the simple goal was just to send the baron back, their help would be more than enough.
Or I could also ask my younger sibling. Of course, since he’s the son of the Marquis, I couldn’t ask him for anything too rough, but the fact that the Marquis’ heir is acting like a subordinate of the shadow here already doesn’t make sense.
Right. If I wanted to go to extremes, I could even ask the Marquis himself for help. Though, I’m not sure what he’d say, calling me ‘daughter.’
But the Empress?
Who in the world would bring up the leader of the neighboring country just to threaten a mere baron? The Kingdom and the Empire have been long-time allies, but before that, they fought a few major wars just to confirm each other’s existence. Some territories still haven’t completely erased that sentiment, and because of that historical fact, the Kingdom does keep an eye on the Empire.
In such a situation, involving the Empress would raise the entire Kingdom’s alert level significantly. And we’ve already been moving for about a week.
The shadow has been moving swiftly, and in the market, ‘reagents that can detect previously unknown poisons’ are starting to be distributed, and some nobles have already received ‘poisonous substances that even those reagents can’t identify.’
It will take a bit more time for those to be used, but selling such effective new products has already been set in motion. Among the nobles, many are eager to get their hands on these items just to test them.
“I’m sorry, my daughter. I think I need to take care of something in the baron’s territory for a moment.”
The baron’s territory is in a position that can’t exactly be called a borderland. Even if a war breaks out, it’s not in a spot where it would be trampled by the Imperial army right away.
However, thanks to the baron’s strength and his subordinates, the Kingdom would definitely request help from that territory. For the baron, this could be an even greater opportunity than taking over the count’s territory. After all, the scheme against the count’s territory can proceed slowly over time.
But no matter what, Ayla is keeping it well guarded.
“Yes, I hope you’ll be careful.”
Ayla replied absentmindedly.
I can sense a little joy in her expression. It’s the look of someone hoping the baron will leave quickly. But at the same time, whenever she makes eye contact with me, her expression turns slightly awkward.
It’s as though she’s thinking I must have been the one who moved the Empress. To be more precise, her expression initially looked like ‘Of course, this is your doing,’ but then it shifted to a ‘But why are you so flustered?’ look.
I wasn’t flustered just because the Empress had moved. If I had known why the Empress moved, I would have just accepted it. The Empress is that kind of person. If she decides to do something, she will make sure it gets done.
But I don’t know the reason at all. So, I have no clue in what direction the Empress’s actions will unfold.
Above all, I somehow felt that the reason the Empress moved might be because of me.
After the baron hurriedly left the room to vacate his seat.
“Luna. Let’s talk.”
Ayla stood up and spoke.
“In my room. Just the two of us.”
“…Understood, Ayla.”
I had no choice but to answer her like that.
“You must know why the Empire is moving, right?”
“…I don’t know.”
“Say it again. This is an order.”
“I don’t know.”
Ayla’s eyes narrowed.
Ayla, who was silently staring at me, seemed to sense that I wasn’t lying when she saw that I didn’t collapse from the strangling pressure.
But that doesn’t mean she completely trusts me.
“Is that so? Then let me change the question. Were you personally acquainted with the Empress? Answer me. This is an order.”
Hmm.
How did Ayla deduce that I was acquainted with the Empress just from seeing the Empire move?
Well, thinking about it, it’s quite simple. No matter how powerful a noble is, they can’t disregard the Imperial family and start a war on their own. It makes far more sense to think that I acted under the Empress’s orders.
Moreover, the power of Imperial nobles is different from that of Kingdom nobles.
While the Kingdom hasn’t fully escaped the feudal system, the Empire is firmly establishing almost absolute autocratic imperial power.
Even though there were internal conflicts in the previous generation, the Empress’s era saw the imperial family emerge victorious. So, after the war ends, there will be clear winners and losers.
The defeated nobles will have to bow their heads to the imperial family for a while.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Just taking a short pause made me feel the choking pressure tightening around my neck, so I quickly answered.
Even so, I didn’t want to die by Ayla’s hands. She’d probably carry that guilt for the rest of her life.
Above all, I didn’t come here to be stubborn in front of Ayla.
“And I think one of the reasons the Empress moved might be because of you. Answer me. This is also an order.”
“…That’s correct.”
“Alright. So far, it seems we share the same thoughts. However, I don’t really want to play some kind of 20 Questions game here. Since we’re at it, I would appreciate it if you could answer before I ask too many deep questions.”
“I’m sorry. Actually, I don’t know the exact reason either.”
There’s one thing, though, just a ‘guess.’
Perhaps it’s because someone else, like me, became involved… and they found it interesting?
But that’s not the reason I think. The Empress is determined to get things done, but she’s not foolish enough to cause military friction with the Kingdom over something like that.”
“Alright. If you want a 20 Questions game, let’s change the topic. I just had a schedule canceled, so now I have some free time.”
“…….”
“So how do you know the Empress?”
“That’s… there’s a reason for that…”
Damn it. Just evading the question doesn’t seem to satisfy the choker’s conditions. The more I drag my words, the tighter the choker strangles me.
Regretting that slight hesitation with the choker, I answered.
“I helped with hunting the Imperial Dragon.”
“The Imperial Dragon…?”
Ayla’s expression briefly went blank.
Then, she suddenly jumped up from her seat.
“No, wait, are you talking about that dragon? The red dragon that was causing a headache for the entire Empire, sitting in the northern mountain range!? The one where rumors spread that there was a dragon slayer, and the local rebels bowed their heads just because of that!? Are you talking about that dragon!?”
“This is an order. Answer me.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
That’s correct.
I just went to fulfill the witch’s request, but in the end, the Empress made use of that incident.
She made armor and a cape out of the dragon’s scales. I took the dragon’s head, wings, heart, liver, and tail, but the rest was enough to decorate swords and shields.
Through those weapons, the Empress implied that she had hunted the dragon. Or at least, she gave the impression that the one who killed the dragon was under her command.
Sometimes, in wars between nations, there are battles with tens of thousands of knights involved. That might have been possible during the Empire’s golden age, or the Kingdom’s mythic period a thousand years ago.
But both the Empire and the Kingdom were shattered and unified multiple times.
After centuries of local lords fending for themselves, the large-scale battles between nations no longer happen.
They have to think about their future.
In battles involving hundreds or thousands, the image of a ‘warrior like a dragon’ is enormous. If one person can slaughter a hundred, they cause tremendous damage to the opposing army.
Thanks to that implication from the Empress, at least among the northern lords, those who were torn between the nobility faction and the imperial faction now sided with the imperial family, completely turning the tide.
The southern territories of the Empire, located on the Kingdom’s border, suffered heavily.
I heard that many regions lost more than half their armies.
After the civil war ended, ironically, the southern nobles who had suffered the most and had many casualties became the ones who had to be more cautious in front of the Empress, while the northern nobles, whose military forces were relatively intact, could afford to act with more confidence.
Ayla stared at me silently for a while.
She looked like she was slightly worried my neck might be strangled, but after seeing that I was still breathing normally, she grabbed her head in frustration.
“So you’re saying that she only started moving after knowing that you were here.”
“I really don’t think that’s the case.”
I quickly responded.
“Perhaps I did something in the Kingdom that we’re not aware of, something that angered the Empress, and that’s why she started moving.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“Answer me. This is an order.”
…No.
I had no choice but to lower my head in embarrassment at Ayla’s words.
Ayla collapsed onto the sofa.
“If the royal family accuses us of being traitors, I’ll hand you over first.”
“Don’t worry about that. If the witch and the shadow are on our side…”
Ayla shot a glare at me.
I decided to keep my mouth shut.