Political stability requires sacrifice.
Hilbert killed not only King Elbert, but also his brothers and sisters and most of their children, leaving no children of his own (although his death was not clearly confirmed, he was considered to be dead under the circumstances).
ut an heir to the throne of Ciel-Terra was not gone.
Ghislain “Blaze” Ella Ciel-Terra
He was the eldest son of King Elbert’s second brother. He was a young man in his mid-twenties.
His name “Blaze” came from his flaming red hair, but contrary to the nickname he received as a child, he was a quiet and intellectual man.
His hair was pulled back in an all-back style, he had a prominent forehead, he always wore a tight-fitting suit, and his silver eyes, the color of mystery, gleamed from behind his lower-rimmed glasses.
He had the kind of good looks that would make all the ladies of his age scream aloud.
The reason Ghislain escaped Hilbert’s purge was simple. He was a harmless, unambitious man who didn’t matter to Hilbert whether he was there or not.
Above all, he had a reputation among the public as an academic enthusiast who devoted himself to his own hedonistic studies, and even Hilbert’s most fervent supporters did not call for Ghislain’s execution. Although he was active as a patron of academic groups, he was otherwise almost never in the public eye for political office.
Ghislain’s father had already died of illness, so he was not killed as an implication.
Ghislain was the first to flee the capital when the “Rose Princess of Hellrage” invaded the city.
He did not care if he was called a coward. He could do nothing even if he were there.
After the fall of the capital, Ghislain moved in with his mother’s family, the Marquis Edfeldt’s family, and now…
“Once again, I will say it clearly. I will not be king of Ciel-Terra.”
Ghislain was staying at a mansion in Marquis Edfeldt’s domain.
Ghislain, sitting with his back straight on a crimson sofa, looked straight back at Marks and Patrick, who had stepped over to him, and said once and for all.
Marks had planned to install Ghislain as king and had approached him several times. However, he had not received a favorable response.
Today was no different.
“The order of succession to the throne was not formally established in the royal code. It was customary that the male closest in blood to the previous king should succeed to the throne, and this was recognized by the king and the lords. If circumstances warranted it, a different person could take the throne. At such a time as this, rather than being concerned with blood proximity, the throne should go to the one who has the more appropriate power.”
“But even if we talk about power. There is no heir who can stand up to the “Rose Princess of Hellrage”. If that were the case, this is what would happen. With the backing of Noacurio’s army, which recently repelled the “Rose Princess of Hellrage”, there is nothing to fear.”
“I am not talking only about valor and military might. I am saying that I am not fit to be king.”
This meant that there was nothing left untouched.
Ghislain’s words, “not fit to be a king”, were probably true.
As a scholarly and sensitive person, Ghislain was not expected to have the political and administrative skills to unite people as a king.
In addition, Ghislain was not good at martial arts, magic, or combat leadership,… and remained at the cultivated level of royalty.
He might still have been a viable king in peacetime, but he was not the right person to be king in the midst of all this turmoil.
But more than that, Ghislain was not willing to put himself in danger.
What would happen if he were to raise his hand to be king now?
Without a doubt, he would become the top priority target of the “Rose Princess of Hellrage”.
Ghislain would not say it outright, but his real intention was probably first and foremost that he did not want his life to be in danger. No matter how many times Marks had asked, Ghislain had always refused to become king.
But today, Patrick was here.
“As you can see, we’re not getting anywhere.”
Marks turned to Patrick.
“Count of the Frontier… No, I should call you General now. Let me tell you first that even if the kingdom of Noacurio were to back me, I have no intention of taking the throne.”
Ghislain hit the nail on the head, getting the point across.
Why did Marks bring Patrick, the general of the ‘reinforcements’…
Usually, it meant “to become a puppet of Noacurio”.
With Noacurio’s military might behind him, the domestic opposition would be nothing to fear, and he might even be able to counter the “Rose Princess of Hellrage”.
But it would also create a very troublesome political position. It was hard to believe that Ghislain would agree to this.
However, neither Marks nor Patrick had any intention of respecting Ghislain’s will.
All that was needed was a sign that said, “First in line for the throne”.
“… You mentioned … that you have a ‘surefire way to convince Ghislain’, but is that really a reliable way?”
Marks whispered to Patrick in a semi-convinced tone.
“Of course, of course. In return, you say, ‘I don’t care what happens to him.’ … I have two words for it.”
Patrick reminded him, and Marks nodded deeply.
“I mourned my third son in the fight with her. He was a foolish son, but … no, let’s not talk about this anymore. I recognize that we are long past the stage where we can be picking and choosing our means.”
If he wanted to protect this Ciel-Terra, Marks thought, he would first have to reconstitute the royal court, or government, no matter what it took. To do so, he would need a king, decorative or not.
He also thought that if he became the guardian of the new king, he would be able to take power in a good way. Just as he did when he went under Hilbert as quickly as possible.
Conveniently, Ghislain’s father had long since passed away.
Now that the royal court was gone, lashing out against the royal family would not be a fatal problem…
So Marks thought.
“What is it? What are you talking about?”
Ignoring Ghislain’s quizzical look, Patrick motioned toward the door of the room.
“Come in.”
The door opened with the sound of a demon’s doom.
An old woman entered the room, wearing a white coat that was stained more than half reddish brown.
Her white hair was tied up upward. Her face wrinkled.
She was walking with a cane, but her steps were steady.
She was Morgana, a Special Technical Advisor of the Noacurio Army.
Following her were men in priest’s robes, their faces hidden by black hoods.
The men, who entered with mechanical movements so crisp that they had no human characteristics, surrounded Ghislain on the sofa in silence.
“What the…!”
The hooded men grabbed Ghislain’s hands and feet and restrained him.
“All right, good boy. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Morgana looked at Ghislain’s face as he tried to shake them off and smiled gently.
“Soon you won’t feel any pain or fear.”
The red stains on Morgana’s white robe had increased.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Marquis Edfeldt is supporting a crown prince?”
“Yes. With the backing of the Kingdom of Noacurio. The Marquis has always had close ties to Noacurio. He is also thinking of making connections to the Holy Kingdom of Diletta through Erminio. Diletta would like to interfere in the situation, and all they need now is a channel of communication.”
Tracy spewed out everything in response to René’s questions with a look of anguish and disgust on his face.
René, Everis, and Tracy surrounded a table in the operation command center, in front of which a cool teacup with a bone design of some kind, Everis’ personal item, was placed, and a mysterious tea was steaming in the cup.
“Thanks for the tip, Mr. Tracy.”
“Ohohoh. My mouth moves on its own! I wonder how many people will die because of me!”
Tracy clutched his honey-colored hair.
This was the ‘S*ave Core’, a new type of magic item with the same effect as the ‘S*ave Collar’, a chip type that was implanted in the body like a cardiac pacemaker.
There were some ideas for a bracelet or choker type, but they finally decided on this one because of the possibility of detaching in a fierce battle.
Tracy, whose actions were restricted by the contract, could not disobey or hide anything from René. If she told him to ‘tell me everything you know’, he would reveal everything he knew.
“Marquis Edfeldt was a member of Hilbert’s faction, wasn’t he? I wonder if this is a move that follows that line of thought.”
“Of course. It seems that the Marquis is promoting this move with some of the old Hilbertite lords in his arms. It’s also a matter involving Noacurio. Besides, the lords who were critical of Hilbert II even had their territories considered to be confiscated, so there is no way that the conflict will disappear. There is also the geographical problem that there were many opponents to the west of the capital and many Hilbertites to the east, so I don’t think the rift will ever be closed.”
In other words, Marquis Edfeldt was trying to replicate what Hilbert tried to do by making a degraded copy of it.
Now that his country had collapsed, he would have to rebuild it to survive, and it was understandable that he would want to put his trust in the military power of the Great Powers out of fear of René.
But what would be the result? If Ciel-Terra were to be rebuilt under the leadership of Marquis Edfeldt, Noacurio and perhaps even Diletta would enjoy a de facto supremacy, and the former Hilbertite lords would be able to maintain their centripetal power and wield it without being condemned by public opinion.
“Death penalty.”
“I knew it… Princess, please don’t kill too many innocent people for my peace of mind!”
“Pray for that to happen.”
“Awww… Desperation.”
“Do you like it?”
Tracy’s demeanor may seem playful, but according to the emotional data René gathered, it was clear that he was reluctant.
Many adventurers with strong outlaw tendencies would sell out or abandon others for their own survival. Tracy’s concern for the safety of those who had nothing to do with the situation was one of the more benevolent ones.
“So, what about those holy beasts?”
“I don’t know that either. I only know that the Marquis was about to call in the Noacurio army. I don’t think Diletta has appeared yet.”
Tracy also replied with a puzzled look.
Tracy even had Ghislain in his sights, but even he didn’t know about the holy beasts.
“Eerie. I don’t know where those holy beasts sprang from, but they’re an open question.”
“There’s no point in thinking about it. Isn’t it time to gather information?”
“I agree. Come on, let’s go to work.”
“Wow, working. Hahaha.”
Tracy plopped down at the table with a dry laugh.
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