Apart from being frightened, all the nobles silently agreed, and the Emperor crossed his legs, leaning his elbows on the armrests.
"Hmm."
A soft voice came out.
"So... Do you want to say that I am the culprit?"
"I am sorry, but the disloyal thought keeps creeping into my mind that if Your Majesty had not attempted to conquer the human world, the demon world would not have intervened. Even if the future had not changed and the war with the demon world had continued, the situation would have been much better. There would have been no wastage of troops due to the war of conquest. Moreover, wasn't there a big explosion with the Deon Hardt incident not long ago?"
The Emperor, who had been listening calmly until the previous content, raised his gaze at the name that suddenly appeared. The nobles who were watching the situation with anxious hearts held their breath.
Deon Hardt's name was banned in front of the Emperor, so how swollen would one's liver [1]be to dare to mention his name? As if not even feeling the shocked gaze of the nobles, the noble with a swollen liver continued speaking without hesitation.
"Before he mentioned Your Majesty, there was something I wanted to ask you all along."
"..."
"Did Your Majesty know that he was the Commander of Corps 0?"
If he knew, it was a problem, and if he didn't know, it was also a problem.
The nobles all looked at the Emperor as if demanding an answer. At this time, there was no difference between nobles and emperors.
There was no one on his side here. The Emperor slowly opened his mouth, steadfastly receiving the numerous gazes that threatened to crush him to death.
"That's a question that's way off the agenda. Obviously I brought up the topic of support for Rweche."
"... Your Majesty."
"And does it matter in the current situation? No matter what answer I give, nothing will change. Wouldn't it be more important to protect the Empire against demons and further preserve the human world? I wish you would be more faithful to the war."
The Emperor's words were not wrong, but that did not make his sins and the question he had previously been asked disappear. Especially now that there was a fight over nobles participating in the war and surrendering the few remaining private soldiers, it was something that could not be easily ignored. A nobleman opened his mouth.
"Your Majesty, how can you remain silent when the bare minimum necessary to protect your minor subjects' families and territories is about to be taken away? One of the reasons why the Empire must support Rweche is also due to Deon Hardt's remarks, so why did Your Majesty tell us to sacrifice only to the nobles?"
"Is it okay for me to go out with the sword myself?"
The nobleman's words were also not wrong.
Deon Hardt revealed himself as the Commander of the 0th Corps, implying that the Emperor also knew this. He called the emperor someone who could not be trusted, and people across the continent were watching the Emperor with keen attention to each and every move.
As a result, it became a situation where the allies who had helped the Empire as best as they could not be ignored, even if only because of their wits. This could also be said to be the Emperor's fault. In such a situation, it would be unfair to try to take away the remaining private soldiers of the nobles.
'But.'
The Emperor tilted his head as if showing off.
"I asked if I could personally pick up the sword and go out to support and deal with the demons on the front lines."
"..."
"I've already devoted all my troops to this war. It means there are no more troops to send out there."
"... I know that there are troops waiting at the palace."
"In your eyes, do they really look like they were guarding myself or this palace?"
No way.
Just because they don't move doesn't mean the pieces on the chessboard aren't participating in the battle.
Those waiting in the palace are chess pieces on the chessboard, silently waiting for their turn. These people are always in a state of war, waiting for the moment to go out.
The Emperor had already put all his troops on the battlefield.
"So this body is all I have left, so now I can just go out and deal with them myself?"
"..."
"Or are you going to tell me to provide the minimum bulwark[2] to protect this Empire for other countries now that we don't know when and through which route the demons will invade?"
These were awkward words for someone who wanted to take away what the nobles claimed was the 'minimum bulwark to protect their territory', but the Emperor, who knew the difference and superiority of what he was trying to protect, was confident.
"I would like to ask if the reason you are opposed is to protect the territory. When did I tell you to give up your territory for the Empire? I plan to use the private soldiers I collected from you to defend your territory."
"If you do that, you don't have to recruit private soldiers..."
"We plan to distribute troops to all territories near the border and provide immediate support when news of a conflict with demons is reported. In fact, it will be easier to deal with demons than when you had to stop them only with your own private troops."
The nobles' expressions were divided.
The faces of those who owned territory near the border lit up, and the faces of those who owned territory in a relatively safe location become dissatisfied. The Emperor concluded his sentence without paying any attention.
"Of course, when the war is over, we plan to return your private soldiers."
Although this was a story that only lasted forever.
Their skeptical assumptions aside, he returned to his initial topic. In fact, the nobles' opinions were only for reference and were not that important. Especially if it was backlash.
Was a tyrant a tyrant for nothing?
"Let us send troops made up of poor people and commoners to Rweche. For this reason, I plan to fill the current military base with troops guided by you. Don't worry, I will put you in a position to protect the 'territory' as appropriate."
"We don't agree yet..."
"I will gladly comply, Your Majesty."
"Margrave Amiable!"
There were even nobles who agreed like this, so the outcome was as good as decided.
The Emperor smiled faintly.
***
After the meeting, the Duke went to see the Emperor.
"You managed to get over it."
The Duke rolled his eyes as if praising him.
The question regarding Commander Deon Hardt's 0th Corps was a very critical question for the Emperor. This was the worst question, as neither positive nor negative results led to positive results.
However, this was soon forgotten as the conversation continued. This was what the Emperor intended.
"How long can you let things go like this? The nobles are not stupid. They know that weapons are not disposable. They won't judge a good weapon as useless just because it missed an attack once."
They'd hide it behind their back again and find the right time.
The Emperor frowned and looked at the Duke. An annoyance that could not be hidden was visible in his gaze.
"What do you want to say?"
"It's not too late."
"..."
Ask him to hand over the throne to him as Emperor.
"Please at least hand over all authority."
It was truly absurd that even in this situation, people were coveting power.
While the Emperor was laughing out loud at the absurdity, the Duke continued speaking.
"You must be tired."
"..."
"Now that we have given the nobles a good number of cases, there will only be more tiring and exhausting things to do in the future. Visual hallucinations and auditory hallucinations..."
The purple eyes that glanced into the air following the Emperor's gaze returned to their original position.
"As it gets worse, it only gets worse and doesn't seem to get better."
"... I've lived a long time to see you worry about my luggage."
"What do you mean by that? I was always worried about His Majesty. So, why don't you just take a step back and get some rest?"
The Emperor snorted proudly, as if he had heard all the jokes.
"Are you telling me to hand over all authority to someone who can't even properly protect his own territory? That's funny."
"..."
Not much of the Duke's troops were left due to the Revolutionary Army's attack. Would that be a sufficient explanation if he couldn't even send support to the war?
The Emperor, who at first thought it was a trick by the Duke to save troops, investigated and couldn't help but laugh when he saw the miserable state of the Duke's troops.
'Yes, in the end, he tripped and fell because of that arrogance.'
The Duke's expression, whose pride had been sorely scratched, hardened. The Emperor continued speaking without heeding anything.
"And you must have played a big part in the current situation, so how dare you pretend to have nothing to do with it?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Who else would be able to kill Cruel Hardt other than you?"
It was unfortunate that the rumor that Deon Hardt had killed Cruel Hardt first spread. It spread immediately after it became known that Deon Hardt was the enemy.
But the Emperor knew very well who would do something like this.
"They probably killed him right in front of Deon Hardt."
"... Aha, Your Majesty."
It was a sharp point, but the Duke laughed again.
"You knew, but you kept silent."
"..."
"I understand. Now is the time to unite against one enemy. If the truth were revealed, there would be division within the Empire."
The Duke was confident that the Emperor would not reveal this fact. The Emperor clicked his tongue softly.
It's just as he thought. The division within the Empire, which was dangerous in itself, would not stop there and would also affect alliances between countries.
That was why Eduardo Desert chose to remain silent as Emperor. They silently agreed to make Deon Hardt a public enemy.
"... But that doesn't mean your sins will disappear."
"It's not a sin if it's not revealed."
"That's a terrible statement. If it's not something you can hide for the rest of your life, I don't know why you're so confident."
The Duke grinned at the poisonous remark.
"I am so saddened to hear that Your Majesty is worried about me, and I do not know what to do with myself, but I am more worried about Your Majesty. I'm telling you that you will keep your position. I sincerely hope that the unfortunate event of being dragged down by hallucinations does not happen."
"Thank you for the kind words."
Since there was no one around, abusive language was exchanged.
The Emperor ended the conversation by ignoring the Duke's sharp, sarcastic remarks and turned his back.
And on the way to the office, he heard painful news from the messenger who came for the twelfth report.
"... Say it again. What about the Lofty Knights?"
"The murderers, no, the Lofty Knights... escaped during the transfer."
"... At last."
[1] Swollen liver=having a lot of guts.
[2] Bulwark: a defensive wall or solid structure built for protection.