The terrorist incident targeting the Princess the day before had, paradoxically, become the catalyst that expedited the Republic's surrender and post-war settlement.
Thoroughly displeased by the fact that a bomb had detonated at the accession ceremony, Princess Eilit canceled all remaining schedules and rushed through the ceremony as if flash-frying beans over a lightning fire. The very next day after the incident. That is, the moment I finished receiving treatment from Elise.
"I don't want to spend even one more day in a city swarming with these damn rat bastards."
The accession ceremony ended with lightning speed.
Lieutenant General Henri de Dubois's 'BC Republic Legion' received official approval as Elansia's provisional government, and the Empire, in exchange for assuming the Republic's debts, acquired a thorough puppet regime in its grasp.
A few hours later. Elansia Central Station.
Hiss—!
The grand imperial train waiting on the platform belched white steam. The surrounding platform was under strict lockdown by troops from the 1st Armored Division and the Jaeger Combat Battalion.
"Good work, Colonel Jaeger."
Before boarding the train, Field Marshal Ludwig patted my shoulder.
"Thanks to the board you laid out, the Republic front went smoothly as well. With the added merit of saving Her Highness's life, the medals hanging on your chest will be quite heavy when we return to the capital."
"It's all thanks to Your Excellency's teachings."
"Nonsense. You're the monster, lad."
Field Marshal Ludwig clicked his tongue and laughed. Behind him, Foreign Minister Joseph and other high-ranking imperial officials gave me slight nods before boarding the train one after another.
And finally.
Princess Eilit, who had been walking while receiving the honor guard's salute, stopped just as she was about to step onto the train.
Her red pupils slowly turned toward me, standing in formation.
Click, click.
Eilit turned around and walked up to me.
"Colonel Jaeger."
"……Your Highness."
"I won't forget…… that you saved me. When I return to the capital, I'll repay you properly."
Swish.
Eilit tapped the medals on my chest with the tip of the red fan she held.
"Until then, don't go dying in vain to some nameless rioters' bullets. Your life is practically mine now."
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Eilit von Lohengart]
[Status: Strong possessiveness, lingering attachment]
[Emotion: Reluctance to part]
[Hidden Desire: To make Max Jaeger unquestionably hers.]
"I shall take it to heart, Your Highness. Until I am called to the capital, I will conserve my life and wait."
"Hmph. You certainly know how to give an impeccable answer."
Eilit smirked and turned around.
Beeeep—!
Soon, accompanied by a sharp whistle, the wheels began to turn slowly. The train carrying the Empire's dignitaries gradually picked up speed and departed Elansia Central Station.
As I watched the rear of the train fade into the distance, Falkenheim, the commander of the 1st Armored Division, who had been standing beside me, spoke.
"His Excellency the Field Marshal left a verbal message for me just before boarding."
"Please relay the order, General."
"'The distinguished guests have departed safely, so there is no more need to read the political room—cut the rioters' breath clean.'"
Falkenheim's expression turned serious.
"Starting today, the entirety of Elansia enters a mop-up operation. The main targets are the underground sewers and air-raid shelters where the Valerie and Commune bastards are holed up. Your Jaeger Combat Battalion is to prepare for immediate deployment."
"Understood. I will reorganize my command vehicle's communications network and personal gear, then immediately report to headquarters."
I snapped a short salute and turned toward the mansion serving as temporary lodging.
*
Shortly after entering my room in the mansion, a semi-transparent message window appeared before my eyes.
Ding—
[You have perfectly completed the mission: Bloodless Entry into Elansia, Escort of Imperial Dignitaries, and the Successful Accession Ceremony.]
[As a reward, you have acquired a massive amount of experience.]
It seemed this operation was triggered by the accession ceremony after all. The backlog of experience that had been pending was cleared in one fell swoop.
[Your level has risen to 23!]
[You have acquired 1 new skill point.]
'Finally, 23, huh.'
The massive quest known as the Fall of the Republic had essentially been wrapped up.
[Held Skill Points: 1]
[Select one of the options below to acquire a reward.]
1. [Enhance Existing Skill]
2. [Acquire New Skill]
The semi-transparent system window floating in my mind.
I quickly crunched the numbers.
'Should I level up [Shared Sight]? Or maybe [Bullet Time] after all……'
The conclusion was obvious.
'Since I don't know what variables might arise anyway, I'll hold onto it.'
As a contingency measure.
I grabbed my gear and approached the front door with considerably lighter steps. Sydney, dressed in a neat maid uniform, was waiting in front of the door.
In her hands were my neatly pressed spare uniform and ammunition belt.
"Are you going out, Master?"
"Yeah. I have to attend a headquarters meeting now. A blood wind is going to sweep through the city in just a few hours, so stay cooped up inside the mansion. Don't wander outside and get hit by rioters' shrapnel."
"……I shall take it to heart. Please, take care of yourself."
Sydney demurely lowered her head and handed me the gear.
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Sydney Wellesley]
[Status: Escape route perfectly secured, disguised death scenario prepared]
[Emotion: Is this…… truly our last meeting?]
'Hoo.'
On the inside, she had already finished packing and completed a plan to escape Elansia timed to coincide with my mop-up operation declaration. It was a clean exit scenario befitting an enemy nation's intelligence chief.
"Well, just watch the house."
'As long as [Shared Sight] is active, she's in the palm of my hand.'
I turned my back without a trace of lingering attachment and left the mansion.
*
At the same time. The imperial train bound for the capital, Eisenburg.
In the most lavishly decorated VIP reception car, three people were having teatime.
Princess Eilit, Field Marshal Ludwig, and Chancellor Karlenberg.
The mightiest power brokers who moved the Empire.
"……."
Eilit rested her chin on her hand, gazing at the scenery passing outside the window. Her fingers unconsciously stroked her own thigh over her skirt.
When she closed her eyes, that rough touch in the basement still seemed to surface.
"An absurd man."
It was Chancellor Karlenberg who broke the silence.
"I had thought him merely a field commander skilled in tactics. However, the competence he displayed far exceeded the trajectory of a soldier."
He closed the documents and clicked his tongue.
"He brought the 'puppet provisional government' model, which our foreign ministry back home had only been planning, perfectly into reality. He demonstrated a model for occupied territory administration through his governance in Soissons, and didn't he roast core enemy generals like Henri and Louis with his silver tongue to make them our lackeys?"
The Chancellor's finger pointed at the Elansia post-war processing report. The head of the civil officials, who always kept his mouth full of budget cuts while watching the military with vigilance, was letting out pure admiration.
"Thanks to him, the Empire achieved a bloodless entry into Elansia without shedding a single drop of blood. That is no ordinary political sense."
"Hmph, of course."
Ludwig snorted.
"My judgment cannot be wrong. Give him the board, and he's the perfect hunting hound who drags back the prey without leaving a single bloodstain."
The Field Marshal puffed up with pride as if talking about his own child.
"I am rather afraid of him. If he moves for the Empire, he is an invincible force, but if by any chance he harbors other intentions……"
"That is why I am considering making him my son-in-law."
"……Pardon?"
The Chancellor was rendered speechless by Field Marshal Ludwig's bombshell remark. He meant to arrange a marriage between Max Jaeger and the young lady of the Schtalberg family, Erika.
"As Schtalberg's son-in-law, he should have that much capacity, shouldn't he?"
Just as the Field Marshal was boasting.
"Be quiet, both of you."
Eilit, who had been looking out the window, struck her red fan down on the table with a sharp crack.
"Hunting hound, son-in-law…… The sight of you two daring to chatter about the Empire's hero as if dividing spoils of war is quite unsightly, Marshal."
Ludwig flinched and lowered the cigar from his mouth. No matter how capricious the Princess was, he couldn't fathom why her mood had hit rock bottom in an instant.
"Colonel Jaeger's life, and the achievements he has made. They have all been dedicated to the Imperial Family. He is also the man who protected me when a bomb exploded at my feet. No matter how capable he may be, to try to bind him privately as some family's son-in-law? Do you take the Imperial Household's authority lightly?"
The justification itself was perfect. At the sharp rebuke wielding the Imperial Household's dignity, even the battle-hardened Field Marshal could only bow his head.
"……I was imprudent, Your Highness. Please forgive me."
Eilit haughtily raised her chin and turned her gaze back to the window. However, the tips of her fingers clutching the tightly closed fan were trembling minutely.
'Why…… did I get so angry just now?'
She herself was bewildered. He was a mere officer. A rather amusing toy to keep by her side, but if the Field Marshal made him a son-in-law or the Chancellor kept him in check, the usual her would have watched that political scuffle with interest.
But the moment the word 'son-in-law' left Ludwig's mouth, a suffocating displeasure and frustration had welled up from a corner of her chest.
The dust-filled basement. The rough fingers pressing down on her lips. The black eyes that pushed the Princess herself against the wall and overwhelmed her. And the blasphemous, immoral sensation of him kneading her legs as he pleased.
Shudder.
Beneath her skirt, Eilit's thighs trembled very faintly.
'……Strange.'
Even now, her body grew hot on its own when she recalled that time. Yet that insolent, dangerous man standing beside another woman, looking down with those beast-like eyes? Pouring that overwhelming heat and charisma he had shown her over some other wench?
'……Disgusting. Annoying.'
A strange feeling as if her insides were twisting. The immature Princess Eilit still did not know the identity of this unfamiliar, suffocating tightness around her heart.
'I must be the only one who can hold that man's leash.'
Her white-knuckled fingers gripped the ribs of the red fan as if to snap them.