CH 356

Chapter 356 – Diplomatic Masterpiece(1)

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“Was there no additional purge that occurred in the Empire?”

“Yes, Your Excellency. Defense Command has already withdrawn from the capital.”

“……So the chaos lasted for only a week?”

Elizabeth let out a light sigh.

Kurtz Schleiermacher smiled wryly as he watched from the side. Consul Elizabeth had been extremely tense for the past week ever since she heard about the assassination attempt on Dantalian. It was to the point that she stayed up for several nights only gathering information on Dantalian.

Was this a planned scenario? Or was this actually an unexpected attack……? Consul Elizabeth stated that their future actions would change according to this. It seems that she had finally arrived at a conclusion now.

“Kurtz, this was a thoroughly planned scenario. There is no other way to explain it.”

“I agree. Everything wrapped up too perfectly for this to have been an unexpected crime.”

“Quite.”

Elizabeth nodded.

Kurtz followed suit as he nodded as well. It was too perfect. This was the problem. If the assassination attempt was truly unexpected by Dantalian, then one week was way too fast to reveal the culprit.

“He publicly announced that he was only able to survive thanks to putting up a decoy, but that was probably also a lie. I had thought that we would have been able to make a move if he had shown even a tiny opening, but I guess that was a pointless hope…….”

“Huh? You look surprisingly calm despite things not going as you expected, Your Excellency.”

Kurtz remarked. He didn’t like it when the atmosphere got heavier than necessary.

In the first place, Elizabeth and Kurtz were 90% certain that this was a planned scenario before they even began looking into it. They were simply considering that 10%. There was no reason to be needlessly disappointed.

Elizabeth nodded frankly.

“If anything, I should be happy that he was not assassinated.”

“Pardon me?”

Kurtz thought that she would deny it, but what he received was a completely unexpected reaction. Even Kurtz knew that Consul Elizabeth had abnormal feelings for Dantalian. Kurtz gave her a partially teasing look.

“Do not tell me, Your Excellency. Is there actually love in that small heart of yours…….”

“It is not that, you shameless simpleton.”

Elizabeth snorted.

“Our Republic is at a severe disadvantage compared to the Empire. Despite this, why do you think they have not invaded us yet? It is because Dantalian is holding on to the reins of the other Demon Lords.”

“Oh? Are you saying that the Demon Lords would run rampant if Dantalian were to die?”

So that’s what she meant? Kurtz thought to himself, feeling a little disappointed.

But Elizabeth became serious. She clasped her fingers together and placed her chin over them.

“The Demon Lords who were purged this time were probably the ones who could not be muzzled. He got rid of them now before they could stir up problems later. Kurtz, do you understand what this means?”

“Well, it means that he has complete control over the Empire now.”

Within only a single week.

The other party had completely purged the group that was hostile to him within an extremely short period of time. Kurtz judged that the Empire was now no different from a toy that had fallen into Dantalian’s lap.

Elizabeth shook her head.

“That is correct, but not the right answer. Why he chose to carry out his purge at a time like this is the key point.”

“……Mm. My apologies, but I do not understand.”

“If I were Dantalian.”

Elizabeth lowered her voice. Whenever the Consul did this, it would feel like the temperature around her had dropped. Kurtz felt a tickle on his spine as he focused on the Consul’s gaze.

“I would have chosen a better time. He most likely knows that I want to shake the Empire from the inside.”

“……?”

“He could have easily taken advantage of my impatience. Digging a trap and waiting for me is more his style. Taking care of things this cleanly does not fit Dantalian’s temperament.”

“Uhm, Your Excellency?”

Kurtz was going to listen quietly, but he felt somewhat strange. He raised his hand like a student in a classroom.

Elizabeth furrowed her brows.

“What is it?”

“My apologies, but I have been struggling to follow along since earlier. What does Your Excellency mean by shaking the inside of the Empire and that Dantalian knew? I may be your shadow in name only, but this is the first time I am hearing of this.”

Kurtz Schleiermacher was second in command of their secret intelligence. You could say that all pieces of information that go to Elizabeth have to go past Kurtz’s eyes and ears first. However, what Elizabeth had said was something even Kurtz wasn’t aware of.

“What are you talking about?”

Elizabeth furrowed her brows further as if she was being asked something utterly obvious.

“It is impossible to pressure the Empire through war and we are not capable of pressuring them through diplomacy either. In this case, the only option that I have left is to make an ally within the Empire.”

“……Well, that is true. But are you saying that Dantalian carried out this purge because he was aware of this?”

Elizabeth gave an immediate response.

“Of course. There is no way that Dantalian does not know something that I know.”

“…….”

Huh?

Something was strange. A peculiar feeling wrapped around Kurtz. He couldn’t explain it with words, but something was weird about the situation. However, Elizabeth continued before he could figure out the reason behind this feeling, so Kurtz pushed it aside for the time being.

“Regardless, Dantalian had to organize the internal structure of his forces as soon as possible. Kurtz, at what moment do you think a person is required to do something like this hastily?”

“Would that not be when they are planning to go somewhere far away?”

There is a chance of a coup d’état occurring during one’s absence, so they would clean things up before leaving. Kurtz responded while recalling this fact.

Elizabeth nodded slowly.

“The regent, Barbatos, would protect the Empire during Dantalian’s absence. There is no way for the Empire to become destabilized while she is around. Despite this, Dantalian carried out a hasty purge…….”

“…….”

“Therefore, this means that Barbatos will be absent from the Empire with Dantalian. Adding to this, there has also been only one reason for Barbatos to move with Dantalian.”

“……!”

Kurtz was alarmed. He figured out what Elizabeth was getting at.

“Do not tell me. Is it war!?”

“There is a high likelihood of that. This purge may have been a preemptive measure to pluck out the weeds before going to war. This is what I believe.”

Kurtz quickly turned the bolts in his head.

“It has not been long since the Puppet War ended. I doubt the Empire has a lot of war funds to spare.”

“Do you understand who were the ones that were purged? Demon Lords and also the archdukes whom we have only heard about and never seen.  Either way, they stood at the top of demons, so they must have been fairly wealthy.”

Kurtz unconsciously gulped.

“So Your Excellency is saying that the purge was also for the sake of acquiring war funds…….?”

“The issue is where Dantalian has his eyes set on next.”

Elizabeth’s gaze was no longer directed at Kurtz. Her darkened eyes were now silently staring out into empty space.

“For now, we can be certain that Frankia is not their target. Teuton gave Dantalian a peerage, so they are also excluded. The only other options are the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth or our Republic…….”

“Your Excellency, do you think they are aiming for us?”

“No. There is a higher chance of it being the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth are currently disputing over land. There is more than enough ground for this to escalate and become a full-on clash.”

But, Elizabeth muttered.

“Great King Bathory is not an opponent you can underestimate. Even if Dantalian and Barbatos work together, he is not someone they can easily defeat. The war will undoubtedly become prolonged. This will also expose a weak point in the Empire, something which we can promptly stab into.”

“…….”

“This is why I do not understand. I question whether Dantalian will go out of his way to carry out a war that will expose a weakness to me. Dantalian is not that sort of individual……. I cannot seem to arrive at a satisfying answer.”

Elizabeth’s question was answered surprisingly quickly.

Exactly a week after this unsatisfying conversation, an official reconciliation was announced between the Habsburg Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The border area between the two nations was declared a neutral zone and distributed to the temples. The temples immensely praised the two nations’ decision as ‘a genuine decision made for the sake of peace.’

Kurtz urgently ran to the Consul’s office the moment he received news about the reconciliation.

Dantalian wasn’t aiming for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Kurtz was in a hurry to report this. Now that the Commonwealth has been excluded, their Republic was the only hostile nation that shared borders with them now!

Kurtz threw open the office door. As the captain of the royal guards, he had the right to visit the Consul’s office whenever he desired. Elizabeth must have also been waiting for his arrival as she turned to look at him.

“Your Excellency!”

“It’s Sardinia, Kurtz. The Kingdom of Sardinia!”

She shouted without warning. Kurtz paused because of the unexpected statement.

“The Kingdom of Sardinia?”

“Did the Helvetica Federation not submit themselves to the Empire? They have a new path. Dantalian intends to cross the Alps and attack Sardinia!”

“……!”

Kurtz let out a sound as he came to a realization.

“We will be surrounded on all four sides if Sardinia falls as well!”

“Indeed.”

Elizabeth gazed at Kurtz coldly.

“Sardinia is also one of our only allied nations. Our nation’s economy will collapse if the support from Sardinia is cut off. Dantalian intends to slowly wring us dry after threatening Sardinia and making them submit…….”

The Habsburg Empire was to the north, the Frankia Empire to the west, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to the east, meaning these three paths were sealed. Their only remaining path was the Kingdom of Sardinia which was south of them. If Dantalian’s reach manages to spread to even them, then the Republic will quite literally become surrounded on all four sides.

A chill crawled up Kurtz’s spine as he imagined that future. However, he also felt excited.

If Dantalian is truly aiming for Sardinia, then they were probably the first people in the world to see through Dantalian’s scheme! They saw through Dantalian’s intent before he could even rally his troops.

“You are truly amazing, Your Excellency. Who else could have possibly seen through that man’s plan? We would have been on the receiving end of the stick again.”

Kurtz got excited since it felt like they had predicted the future. He truly was impressed. As he thought, the woman before him was a masterpiece. Devoting his life to this person wasn’t the wrong choice…….

Elizabeth nodded.

“Get in contact with the Kingdom of Sardinia immediately. Sardinia has been negligent in protecting its borders recently. They have been handling their national defense through their support of us. Their military power is most likely flimsy right now……. They must prepare countermeasures as soon as possible!”

“Understood. I will call for the minister of foreign affairs.”

Kurtz ran out of the office. He then realized where that odd feeling he felt a few days ago had come from.

Until now, Elizabeth had always dealt with the continent before handling Dantalian. The continent always came first while Dantalian was second. In other words, he was nothing more than an obstacle. However, the priority between the two had switched.

No, it would be better to say that her perspective had changed. She wasn’t looking at the continent while handling Dantalian. She was looking at Dantalian while handling the continent. This was where the weird feeling Kurtz had felt came from…….

But did this matter?

‘It probably isn’t important.’

Kurtz shook his head.

This made it clear how much of a threat Dantalian was to their Republic. Dantalian must be dealt with before they can talk about the continent. That was all this meant.

What Kurtz had to be worried about now was how they were going to persuade Sardinia. It won’t be easy to persuade a kingdom filled with proud nobles. Kurtz thought about what he was going to tell the foreign affairs minister as he ran out of the Consul’s official residence…….

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Author’s Afterword

Dantalian: Hey, please stop using cheats.

Elizabeth: ………….

A map showing the current situation around the Habsburg Empire will be uploaded to the story settings page.