He was a fortunate man to have been entrusted with the post, but against all expectations, his outstanding handling of affairs had astonished many nobles.
He was also a genius of administration. Yet even he had troubles he could not speak of……
Theodore looked up at the sky with a grimace. The painfully blue light of the heavens pierced his eyes,
but his expression still did not ease.
“Less than ten years remain before the dragons wake from their sleep. Even if we began preparing for war now,
it would hardly be enough, yet they are squabbling over mere power struggles. What am I to do about this……”
Theodore’s head slowly turned. His gaze soon fixed upon the largest building
within the imperial palace.
The one who resided there was none other than the master of the Krosen Empire. Though he lay unconscious on a sickbed
from old age, he was the aged emperor who had appointed the young Theodore as Regent—
Valensius I. For a moment, an affectionate look passed through Theodore’s eyes.
But as if it had never been there, his expression hardened once more. He had already resolved himself
to carry out a certain deed.
“His Majesty will surely understand my heart. If I do not accomplish this, Arcadia
will follow in Truvenia’s footsteps as well.”
He was now plotting something that might one day be called treason. But Theodore
was not pursuing it for his own personal glory. In his heart burned only the desire
to ensure that the House of Krosen endured forever. Theodore firmly believed that alone
was the path to repaying the grace of Valensius I, who had named him Regent.
In truth, he was Regent in name only. Overshadowed by Duke Perstein, the current prime minister of the Krosen Empire,
he could not exercise even the slightest authority—he was quite literally a Regent in name alone.
The emperor had appointed him Regent in an effort to keep Duke Perstein’s unchecked power in check,
but it was already too late. Duke Perstein had already used power as bait
to win over the majority of the nobles.
Perstein von Helfrein. He was a descendant of Beltimos von Helfrein,
who had crossed over to Arcadia alone in the past. Beltimos had been the last surviving member
of a house destroyed long ago for treason against Icarotte. Having narrowly escaped death and fled to Arcadia,
Beltimos devoted his life to restoring his family—by any means necessary.
Those efforts continued through generation after generation, and as a result, the current House of Helfrein
had risen to become one of the foremost houses in Arcadia. But blood that once plotted treason
did not simply disappear. Perstein, the current head of House Helfrein, was now casting greedy eyes
upon the imperial authority of the Krosen Empire.
Though Arcadia was ruled by the law that the strong reigned supreme, there was one place alone
where that law was not acknowledged: the Krosen Empire. The three syllables of the name Krosen carried far too much weight
for anyone to covet the imperial throne lightly. The grace Emperor Krosen had bestowed upon Arcadia
was that great, and because of it, most nobles did not dare commit any act
that would bring harm to his descendants.
But House Helfrein was an exception. They possessed the largest and richest
territory in the Krosen Empire, and using that as their foundation, they had steadily raised private soldiers
until they now possessed military power equal to the emperor’s.
And Duke Perstein, who had entered the court in his capacity as prime minister, was continuing
to gnaw away at imperial authority by winning over nobles with the right to deliberate on state affairs.
The number of nobles who had gone over to his side was beyond counting. Because of that,
House Helfrein’s power had grown so vast that even the emperor could not dare purge them now.
Even if Emperor Valensius had been in full possession of his senses,
he would not have dared think of removing them. Recalling that fact, Theodore’s eyes gleamed.
“I must restrain him no matter what. And I must gather the strength of every kingdom into one
to prepare for the dragons’ invasion……”
Unfortunately, Theodore’s power within the Krosen court was far too weak. The number of nobles
who supported him could be counted on one hand. Even then, his supporters
were all newly risen reformist nobles, and most of them could be called a class excluded from power.
Thus, he was no match for Duke Perstein, who had gathered nearly all the high-ranking nobles
who controlled power. Since the difference between the strength held by the two sides was overwhelmingly great,
his will was bound to be frustrated time and again.
Theodore had consistently argued that they should gather the armies of all kingdoms into one,
block the dragons’ invasion, and then counterattack, advancing as far as Truvenia to reclaim it.
By contrast, Duke Perstein’s faction maintained that there was absolutely no need to do so.
“Have you forgotten the precedents of the past? We of Arcadia saved Truvenia from crisis
through two large-scale military deployments. But what did they do for us? Did they not instead
slander and scheme, inflicting a grave insult upon Emperor Krosen? Therefore,
Truvenia’s destruction was only natural. So why should we reclaim Truvenia?
Even if I thought about it a hundred or a thousand times, it is unthinkable. Now that they have taken Truvenia,
the dragons will surely not cross over to Arcadia. Even if they do cross,
Arcadia’s military strength is incomparably greater than Truvenia’s was in the past.
Knowing that, those creatures will not easily attempt to cross the sea.”
Nearly all the nobles agreed with Perstein’s reasoning, which claimed they need not fear war.
Even the neutral nobles who stood on neither side were lending an ear
to Perstein’s opinion, and for Theodore, it could not help but be truly stifling.
“To value only their immediate safety—those fools. They do not even know
they are being deceived by Duke Perstein……”
Theodore’s fist clenched tightly and trembled.
“No matter what happens, I cannot allow a puppet emperor to be placed on the throne.”
He had already grasped Duke Perstein’s conspiracy clearly. If things continued this way,
the Krosen Empire would inevitably fall into the hands of House Helfrein.
In truth, the current emperor, Valensius I, had originally had four sons. But now,
not a single one remained. Aside from the eldest, who had died in childhood,
the remaining princes had each met mysterious deaths. No one had uncovered the cause.
Thus, their causes of death remained shrouded in mystery to this day.
But Theodore was certain that Duke Perstein must have been behind those deaths.
There was no one else who could have gained from the princes’ deaths. Yet because there was no evidence whatsoever,
Theodore could do nothing. No—even if there had been evidence,
he would not have dared touch him.
Because all the heirs to the throne had died, Emperor Valensius had been forced
to remain on the throne for a very long time. Only two imperial grandchildren remained,
and they were both very young. They were the children of the deceased second prince,
and aside from them, there were no heirs to the throne. The other princes and their entire families
had all met mysterious deaths.
Since there were still imperial grandchildren alive, outwardly, there seemed to be no problem
with the succession of the throne.
But the important point lay here. Of the two imperial grandchildren, the elder, Alcaris,
was mentally disabled. Alcaris was a young man with an extremely handsome and beautiful appearance.
So much so that women who saw him once could not sleep for days. But unfortunately,
he was intellectually impaired. Though he was past twenty, his intelligence was only about
that of a five- or six-year-old child. It could only be described as a curse from the heavens.
By contrast, the second imperial grandchild, Dviers, was a boy whose intelligence and clarity
far surpassed his age. Though he was only fourteen, unlike his older brother, he was dignified
and full of wit—a boy born with the bearing of a monarch. Theodore believed with absolute certainty
that once he grew up, he would become a wise emperor capable of sufficiently restraining
the tyranny of the nobles.
The problem was that Perstein was pushing the elder imperial grandchild, Alcaris, as the next emperor.
As his justification, he cited the final will of Emperor Krosen, who had long since passed away.
“To prevent brothers from slaughtering one another over the imperial throne,
the position of monarch shall, except in unavoidable circumstances, be passed to the eldest son.”
This was the pretext he used to support Alcaris. But Theodore saw straight through Perstein’s intentions.
“He surely intends to place Alcaris, who cannot judge right from wrong, on the imperial throne
and then manipulate state affairs however he wishes. No matter what happens, I must stop that.”
Theodore gathered the reformist nobles on a large scale and stepped forward to put the brakes
on Perstein’s plan.
“This is precisely the unavoidable circumstance of which the Great Emperor spoke. The imperial grandchild Alcaris,
being mentally impaired, has no ability to manage the affairs of state. Though he is young,
the intelligent second imperial grandchild Dviers must be made the next emperor.”
But because he was inferior both in justification and in power, Theodore had no means
of stopping Perstein’s unchecked advance. The nobles Perstein had won over already occupied
more than half the seats.
Furthermore, the aged Emperor Valensius I, whose mind was clouded, could not even properly express
his own will now.
Because of that, Theodore had no choice but to devise a reckless plan. A perilous plan
that would send his head flying if it were discovered.
For his plan to succeed, the assistance of just two people was absolutely necessary.
If he could win over those two alone, his plan would be more than half successful.
“One person has already sworn to cooperate with me. The problem is the other.”
By great fortune, the person who had decided to share Theodore’s will seemed to be a patriot
who truly worried for Arcadia. When Theodore had met him in secret at the time,
he had laid out all the circumstances and asked for his cooperation.
“This mission can only be accomplished if you cast away your life. Therefore,
I cannot possibly force you to answer. Judge everything for yourself and decide.”
“Understood. I agree wholeheartedly with your opinion, Lord Regent.”
Unexpectedly, he readily decided to follow Theodore’s will. Then he rose from his seat,
saying he would persuade the remaining person.
“Then please take utmost care.”
Theodore had no choice but to send him off with a heart full of anxiety. In truth,
it was an extremely dangerous thing for Theodore to meet both of them himself……
Because there was a chance he might arouse Perstein’s suspicion, Theodore returned to his office
and waited impatiently for him to arrive. But the danger was the same for both sides.
“In any case, this is a gamble. If he has taken a different mind, then those who burst in here
will surely be Perstein’s private soldiers.”
If that happened, there would be no way for him to avoid disaster. With Perstein’s ability,
he could easily conceal the disappearance of a single Regent.
“But I have no regrets. It is only regrettable that I know a crisis is plainly approaching,
yet cannot prepare for it……”
Sinking deep into his chair, Theodore gently closed his eyes. He did so with the feeling
that everything now depended on the heavens.
Knock, knock.
At the sound of knocking, Theodore reflexively rose. Unable to hide his tension,
his shoulders trembled faintly as he walked toward the door.
Gulp.
Swallowing once, Theodore grasped the doorknob. Depending on who stood outside,
his fate and Arcadia’s would be decided.
Click.
The door opened. And two people entered. As Theodore looked at them,
the light of joy spread across his face. The ones who had knocked were those
he had been eagerly waiting for. Seeing their faces, Theodore could feel certain
of Arcadia’s future.
“As expected, when it comes to affecting the mind, sorcery is far superior to magic.”
Flipping through a magic book, Damon tilted his head. The place he was in now
was none other than Verkis’s magical study. It was a place no one but Verkis
dared enter. Even Gedenhide had never once set foot inside.
Yet Damon had been going in and out of that forbidden place as casually as if it were his dining room.
Originally, a magical barrier to prevent intruders had been installed here. But perhaps because he thought
there was little chance the Guardians would enter this place, Verkis had surprisingly installed
only a single simple alarm spell here.
Of course, considering that Damon, who had been a master of the Sixth Circle, had taken a full five years
to break through this magic, it could hardly be called a simple spell.
One could well imagine the extent of Verkis’s magical skill.
Verkis’s magical study was a stone chamber about thirty square meters in size. Bookshelves occupied
all the walls, and they were packed tightly with magic books without the slightest gap.
Among them were the magic books of dragons, and others had been plundered from humans.
There were even magic books for summoning undead monsters, so it would not be an exaggeration
to say that every kind of magical theory book existing in the human world was here.
Of course, most of those books were ones Damon had read through once or twice.
Over hundreds of years, Damon had finished reading every book inside the study.
“Leaving that aside……”
Setting down the book he had skimmed on the floor, Damon looked around. Books related to magic
were already outside his interest. The floor was already so covered with books Damon had read and discarded
that there was nowhere to step.
Of course, Damon had no intention of organizing them. Since he absolutely had to leave this place
before Verkis awoke, there was no need to do so.
What he was searching for were reports that recorded the course of the war against the humans
and the handling of matters afterward. Verkis had been the dragon who served as commander-in-chief
of the campaign to subjugate humanity, and there was surely a report recording that process somewhere
in his lair. Of course, because it was important, he would not have simply left it stuck
on a bookshelf.
“This is the last bookshelf……”
Before the empty bookshelf, Damon murmured softly. In order to find Verkis’s secret documents,
he was now casting Dispel and search magic on every bookshelf without exception.
Of course, this was something he could not even have dreamed of doing until now. A magician with a lower Circle
could never dispel magic cast by a magician of a higher Circle……
But Damon could now be confident that, in terms of ordinary magical skill alone,
he was in no way inferior to Verkis.