150 – The emperor gave me the duke (2)

Hearing that, I couldn’t believe my ears.

I didn’t know about the princesses who had a hard time succeeding the emperor, but there were more than six princes who were qualified to fight for the right to succeed, and I didn’t expect the civil war to end in just five years.

Even before the war with the Duke of Architel ended right away, the 3 princes, excluding the 5th prince who entrusted himself to Count Wallon and the 4th prince who entrusted himself to the Marquis of Lens, were fighting a three-way war…

Isn’t it possible that the war will be settled in just a few months?

I asked if Balt, who had heard the report from the Alps guy next to me, had the same thoughts as me, grabbing the Alps guy by the shoulder and shaking him vigorously.

“What nonsense! How can the children who were divided into three and fighting until a few months ago can unite as one in an instant?! Who did you get that intelligence from?! And is the son of Baroness Loren fooled by this false information? Are you stupid?”

Normally, I would have stopped seeing him get angry like that, but now I agree with that opinion.

Because, judging by common sense, it is impossible for the forces that were engaged in a three-way battle until a few months ago to unite as one in an instant.

It took 50 years from the establishment of the Three Kingdoms to the unification of the Three Kingdoms right now, but there is nothing that changes the game in just one year.

The Alps guy shuddered at Balt and said as if it was unfair.

“I also couldn’t believe it when I received the report that the Elain Empire had been unified not too long ago. So, after calling the intelligence officer and reprimanding him, I asked the intelligence unit, the Medica Company, and even the upper ranks under His Excellency the Count… All of this information has been proven to be true. In other words, it is highly likely that this edict was also written by the real Emperor of Elaine.”

It’s an unbelievable fact, but if Medica Company, my company, and the intelligence unit secured the same information…

It must be true that the civil war in the Empire is over.

However, anyway… It doesn’t make sense to start a duke that treats me the same as the ‘royal family’, who has not contributed anything for the emperor.

Because a duke is not a title that can only be received if you have only a territory like a count, but only those who have demonstrated wealth and power that far exceed that of a count and loyalty worthy of being engraved in history.

Then, in order to hear more details, I took Balt’s hand off the Alps guy’s shoulder and asked.

“As you said, if Medica Corporation and the company directly under my control had all submitted the same report, Elaine would have already been unified. Who united?”

“His Highness Adolphe de Heline, the second prince supported by the Duke of Brussels, has become emperor.”

A man who made a secret pact to support me from the rear when I was Baron Creutel, and later acknowledged the merits of our military and system and absorbed everything like a sponge and applied it.

After that, the person who tried to coax me by giving me the chancellor of the empire and his own daughter, but failed.

Finally, a politician who has continued to obtain enormous profits and political advantages through the relay trade between Elaine and our family.

Because he was such a person, he seemed to be victorious, and at least he would not suffer a miserable defeat like the French kings during the Hundred Years War without Joan of Arc.

After hearing my words, the Alps handed me a letter with the seal of the Duke of Brussels and the seal of the Emperor of the Elain Empire.

“The letter I just opened was a general official letter, so I opened it arbitrarily, but this is a letter from His Highness the Duke, which must be delivered directly to the Count.”

As soon as I received the letter, I opened the seal and began to read it.

[To Count Ciel von Kreuttel, a young genius of the age and the wall that protects the west of Elaine. I heartily congratulate you on your great victory in the war against Duke Architel. Again, I was late to contact you, but… I heard that a girl named Ella, whom you saw after becoming a count, gave birth to a daughter, so I made clothes and toys for the child to the artisans of our estate, so please take good care of them. … (Omitted) By the way, I sent you a letter this time… To praise the exploits you have made for His Majesty the Emperor, and at the same time to inform you of what has happened so far… . (shorthand)]

So I read a long letter from the Duke of Brussels for about an hour.

And I quietly opened my mouth.

“His Highness, the Duke of Brussels, is great, but the current Emperor is a really terrible person… I can’t imagine using this tactic to pressure the enemy… ”

Then, I passed the letter to Balt in front of me.

Balt read the letter I gave him, then clenched the letter tightly with a puzzled look on his face.

“No matter how close the Count is with His Highness, the Duke of Brussels, I have never supported His Majesty the Emperor yet… ‘The Earl of Creutel, who was favored by the Duke of Brussels, repaid the favor and joined the 2nd Prince faction for the cause.’ I never thought that I would put pressure on the 1st and 3rd prince factions with lies. isn’t it? Haven’t we been favored by the Duke of Brussels in the first place?”

Balt said so, but to others it would seem that the Duke of Brussels looked after me when I secured the county of Nantes.

Because no matter how much I have enough justification and military power to cause a cataclysm, I haven’t received any support…

One of the reasons why this was possible was the connivance of the Duke of Brussels.

So in a world where cause and give-and-take are sometimes more important than life, it wouldn’t be too strange if I joined the war late, now that I’ve defeated Duke Architel and now I can intervene in Elaine’s civil war.

So I patted Balt on the shoulder and said to calm him down.

“Baron Baltic, calm down.”

“But Your Excellency! We did not really receive favors from that side, and moreover, we did not join the side of the second prince. Of course, everything went well, and His Highness, the prince supported by the Duke of Brussels, won… ”

“calm down. And although we did not receive direct supplies or soldiers… That bastard duke condoned Baron Creutel when he subdued Count Schwein. If it wasn’t for that, we’d probably have had a harder time stabilizing the territory as other nobles kept us in check. So we didn’t receive anything anyway, but it is true that we owe grace.”

At that, Balt did not object further.

“But, it’s really amazing. Also, no matter how much you do, you won’t believe me if I tell you that I’m going to move the soldiers just because I’ve been favored… Let’s see… I said that if I contribute to stabilizing the civil war by mobilizing soldiers, I will grant you the county of Lens. With two plausible lies, I would have thought that the guys in the southeastern part of Elaine would surrender on their own.”

Especially when I told that lie, when I finally defeated the knights and foot soldiers of Duke Architel by an overwhelming margin.

So, when the group that enlisted the first prince in the southeast was advised to surrender, they would lose 100% if they dealt with us with the powerful second prince faction in the northwest, so they surrendered with the intention of protecting their territory… It’s a really cool strategy.

On behalf of Balt, who was stunned, the Alps guy next to me looked at me and said with a serious expression.

“Also, in order to defeat the 3rd Prince faction, His Majesty the current Emperor married the Princess of Brittany 3 years ago and formed a marriage alliance. And the Duke of Brussels gave the county of Ceylon, which joined the Third Prince, in return for borrowing Brittany’s pirate fleet and navy. Then… On land, he mobilized all the nobles who followed the Duke of Brussels and marched east… On the other side, the pirate’s unrestricted loot of enemies… It’s really too much… ”

If I do this, my honor will be ruined, but…

In the case of a civil war, each would regard the other as traitors serving a false emperor who had not been recognized by Deus anyway.

In other words, because you serve an emperor who does not accept God’s blessings and orders, you are the same as a pagan, so you have no need to protect your honor.

Also, even when the actual history book says that the pope will be excommunicated if he uses a long-range weapon when fighting in Europe, it is a good cultural drip to slaughter with a catapult, crossbow, or longbow when hunting infidels…

Even if foreign troops were brought in, honor and prestige were not greatly diminished.

“War is like that. If given a cause, do whatever it takes to defeat the opponent. And this information… The reason why the Duke of Brussels gave us the Duke’s throne… ”

Everyone’s attention was focused on my words.

“Anyway, I sense a strong intent to fuck us up. That’s right, I’m very annoyed to see you using it as a fake creditor and now trying to give it to me.”