Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 431

431―――――

Again, it’s Zion Clauzen.

In fact, many nobles had expected the words ‘Empire’ or ‘Emperor’ to come out soon.

Whether it was territory, authority, economy, or military power, Hispania was far more overwhelming than Nudia, the only remaining rival.

For now, the tribes in the north have become inseparable from Hispania.

They had suffered together since the war with Nudia, and as a result, not only the soldiers but also the general populace of the kingdom thought of the northern tribes as members of Hispania, not barbarians.

The warriors were also fond of the brave Hispanian soldiers, and above all, they received rewards commensurate with their achievements on the battlefield and sent them back to their hometowns, so they too would want the alliance with Hispania to last for a long time.

What about the different races, beastmen, and fairies?

They put aside their pride and fought shoulder to shoulder with humans.

In addition, key figures from the beastmen side are quite close to Zion Clauzen, and the fairies are also secretly interacting with the Spanish royal family or the Clauzen margraviate, so from now on, they will be discussing ‘symbiosis’ to move forward together, not conflict.

Originally, Nudia should have been the one to put the most obstacles in the way of Hispania’s imperial ambitions.

However, Nudia was too busy recovering from the war damage.

Above all, Hispania had declared an alliance and saved them from the path of destruction, so from their point of view, they even sent envoys to congratulate them.

‘But the relationship between the Queen and Zion Clauzen seemed to have become subtly awkward…’

‘I thought they would eventually move towards an empire.

But before that, I thought they would first suppress the powerful noble factions, and therefore, I thought they would suppress the Clauzen margraviate, which could grow too excessively, at least once.

But!’

People, by nature, tend to see only what they want to see and believe only what they want to believe when they are desperate.

Some may say, ‘How can there be such foolish words?’ but if you look back at history, there are more than enough such cases.

Those who do not fall into this trap are the intelligent and talented individuals.

Only they can maintain their composure even in difficult situations and contemplate and contemplate what path they can take.

In that sense, it is truly unfortunate that the nobles who tried to gain something by using the conflict between Queen Vanessa and Zion Clauzen as a medium did not have such brilliant minds or talents.

They had only been living by watching others’ reactions, and that reached its limit today.

‘Among the nobles listed in the ledger Raido gave me, about half of them subtly stirred up conflict to get what they wanted.

The rest were watching, not even stepping onto the stage, even though I created such a good opportunity.’

Zion naturally muttered to himself, ‘It has to be like this.’

Those who tried to get in line with himself, Trisha, or Vanessa without knowing anything were mostly of lower status, and nobles with some reputation did not do such things.

They had been rolling around in the political arena for well over a decade, so it would have been stranger if they had not suspected the conflict between Zion and Vanessa.

“Ascend to the throne of Emperor!”

“Raise Hispania to the ranks of the Empire!”

Rather, they shouted as if they had the same intentions as Zion from the beginning, quickly hiding their true feelings as they prostrated themselves on the floor.

‘I can’t get rid of them all anyway, and I don’t want to.

If I get rid of too many, the cornered ones may unite and form a front in reverse.’

Whether it’s war or political strife, the important thing is to prevent the enemy from uniting.

Even if they try to unite, their intentions are different and what they want is different, so they end up splitting, splitting, and splitting again, so that they eventually surrender and bow their heads to survive.

That was the best way to win with justification in hand.

So Zion had already finished talking about that part using letters and magical communication.

When he returns, never welcome him, form a subtle conflict structure, and give the nobles the impression that Vanessa herself is concerned about Clauzen’s excessive growth.

And finally, after all the acting is over, instead of cutting out all those who dared to divide public opinion, cut out a few as an example.

The above was the plan for establishing the empire that was agreed upon between Zion and Vanessa.

“···Are you telling me to ascend to the throne of Emperor?”

“That is correct!”

“An empire is reborn in a completely different form from a kingdom.

It must be stronger, greater, and maintain a stronger bond in order for that great country to be maintained under the name of an empire.

In particular, if there is a force that seeks to incite internal chaos, the beginning may be grand, but the end will be more miserable than anything else.”

At the Queen’s subtle tone, some nobles flinch, startled, and avoid Vanessa’s gaze.

Some went to Zion, others to Trisha, and still others went to Vanessa, subtly stirring up conflict to gain what they wanted from the cracks.

When discussing this play, Vanessa strongly stated that they should be eliminated, but Zion stopped her, persuading her that there was no reason for the royal family to be covered in blood by eliminating them in such a way.

‘If the water is too clear, the fish can’t live in it [meaning a society with too strict rules is unsustainable].

And people must be able to hide their true selves to some extent.’

‘···Are you saying?’

‘Obvious tricks, obvious words, obvious actions.

That’s their weapon.

Unfortunately, those are very basic things in this political arena, so there’s no reason to say anything.

Rather, the ones to be most wary of are those who don’t show such appearances but hide their true intentions by bowing down.

It’s even harder to know what they’re thinking and what they want.’

We cannot sit idly by, but there is no need to react sharply to everything.

That’s their way of life, and it’s a natural give-and-take in this ring of struggle.

What Vanessa and Zion have to do there is to grab one of them, make an example of them, and say, ‘I can’t tell you to quit altogether, so just do it moderately.’

“There was a report that someone recently committed an outrage that seriously worried about the safety of Hispania.

Do you know anything about it?”

“···.”

Whether they really don’t know, or they’re hesitant to answer, or they’re the ones involved and are just watching.

That’s how their silence will be summed up.

“Whether you don’t know, or you’re pretending not to know.”

Vanessa lightly clicked her tongue and subtly reached out her hand.

Then, the chamberlain, who had been waiting, quickly placed a letter on her hand.

“Zion Clauzen.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

From some point on, Zion was openly treating Vanessa as the Emperor.

Other nobles sighed or groaned at that part, but they couldn’t react rashly.

If the hero of Hispania, of all people, took such a low posture, they, who were inferior to him, could not stop Vanessa from ascending to the throne of Emperor in any way.

“According to what you reported earlier, the mages who served in the military lacked some materials and could not use magic in time, and as a result, there were times when they could not provide help when the Allied forces needed it.

Is this report true?”

“It is true.”

Of course, it’s a lie.

The mages did serve in the military, and there were times when they couldn’t use magic when they needed to, and it was true that it was due to a lack of materials, but that was because Zion had deliberately diverted those materials.

Then, pretending not to know, he simply said that the supplies were not delivered on time from the home country, and the mages naturally believed Zion, who had risen to the position of commander through the position of deputy commander.

So, it’s true that there was a shortage of magic materials, but that’s entirely Zion’s scheme.

“What was the reason?”

“When I asked the head of the Haines Merchant Guild, who knew the movement of magic materials well, he said that some people had been intentionally buying those materials excessively since a while ago and raising the prices at will without releasing them to the market, which caused disruptions in the supply of materials.”

However, the content that came out of Zion’s mouth was completely different; rather, he was saying that the materials were missing at the most needed moment and place due to someone’s prank.

“Z, Zion Clauzen!”

And in this situation, the one who opens his mouth first is, as expected, the one who has a lot to hide.

A mid-sized noble looked around, requested the right to speak, and then continued.

“Have the mages ever lost because they couldn’t use that magic?”

“No.”

“Then was their magic important enough to turn the tide of the battlefield?”

“That’s not true either.”

It seems like he’s asking to quietly move on because it’s probably not a very important part.

I’m sorry, but if I was going to move on here, I wouldn’t have started this in the first place.

Zion muttered to himself like that and shattered the other person’s expectations.

“But it was wartime.

Victory or defeat is determined by a small difference; that’s war.

In that situation, if you put even a little restriction on the movement of friendly forces, it’s no different from benefiting the enemy during the war.”

“Th, that…”

“The new owner of the Redenen Marquis family, Marquis Ludwig Redenen.

What do you think of this situation, you who were with me on the battlefield?

Can we just let it go once?”

“Absolutely not, Zion Clauzen.

Harming the military during the war is an act of benefiting the enemy, as you said.

In other words, it’s an extremely heinous act that amounts to treason.

It’s something that can’t be forgiven and can’t be forgiven.”

There is no noble family that can overwhelm the Redenen Marquis family when it comes to military power.

The position of the Redenen Marquis family is solid, with the Clauzen margraviate being the only other one.

Ludwig, the new head of the Redenen Marquis family, replied in a firm tone.

An act of benefiting the enemy during the war is an extremely heinous act that amounts to treason.

And all the nobles gathered here know very well that treason is always punished with the death penalty, regardless of rank.

“Count Anko Taiga.”

Count Anko was startled when his name came out of Vanessa’s mouth.

He was not foolish enough not to know that his name coming out of Vanessa’s mouth in this atmosphere was never a welcome thing.

So, frozen stiff, he barely answered, and Vanessa continued in a very calm tone as if there was something wrong.

“I have something to ask you.”

“P, please ask.”

“Do you know anything about the Kettleit baronet family?”

There’s no way he wouldn’t know.

According to the data that Raido investigated and handed over to Zion, the Taiga count family subtly supported the Kettleit family when they were intensively buying some of the magic materials.

In return, they agreed to receive profits from it and to pass on the magic materials to the Taiga count family at a lower price than the normal price.

‘The Taiga count family probably formed a relationship with them as a kind of tail-cutting role [scapegoat].

Even if they get caught, they can just cut off the tail and pretend not to know if there is no solid evidence.’

However, if a proper archmage who can perfectly grasp the flow of magic materials investigates secretly, it’s only a matter of time before it’s revealed.

And in fact, Raido had identified their contact point very clearly.

“Kettleit baronet family… I don’t know them well.

For what reason are you asking such a question…”

“Is that so.”

If all the investigation data is released as it is, the Taiga count family, one of the great noble families, can be literally destroyed.

The fall of another great noble family following Kashgar, it was a moment to give a clear warning to other nobles.

What’s more?

The Taiga count family is a family that also had exchanges with the Guchen Marquis family.

If one of the three marquis families is checked in this way and the Emperor’s stern warning is shown, even the three marquis families will not dare to go against the will of the imperial family.

“I found out that this family was monopolizing magic materials.

They are truly vicious people.

Isn’t that right?

They dare to disrupt this country to fill their own pockets.”

“…”

“I just dispatched royal knights and the defense forces.

If they are innocent, they will cooperate faithfully with the investigation, and if they are guilty, they will resist to survive.

Unfortunately, the heroes have returned from the Great War.”

Vanessa still muttered with a smile.

Each of her words was shrinking Count Anko’s heart, but Vanessa just kept saying what she had to say.

“It’s fortunate that you don’t know them well.

It’s good that we don’t have to cut down the pillars that have supported this Hispania on such a glorious day as today.

Isn’t that right?”

“Ah, ah!

Y, yes!”

At this point, Count Anko would have noticed.

Everything has already been revealed, and his life is now in Vanessa’s hands.

But Vanessa doesn’t mention it anymore and reaches out her hand as if to cut it off here.

If he grabs Vanessa’s hand here, it means he will shut up and bury his head, and if he doesn’t grab it, it means he admits his guilt and challenges her head-on.

“…”

Count Anko Taiga subtly scans his surroundings.

Those who have contributed to this Great War and returned are unknowingly stationed everywhere.

Originally, people who are close to each other tend to gather together, but they were deliberately placed in such a position, watching others with cold eyes.

It’s Hispania that he, his colleagues, knights, and soldiers risked their lives to protect.

But hearing that some guys were playing with war supplies behind the scenes and rolling money, he felt so frustrated that he was even exuding murderous intent.

“The Taiga count family has nothing to do with the unfortunate incident that occurred this time.

If I am suspected of it, I dare to say that I will faithfully cooperate with any investigation, Your Majesty!”

The Taiga count family, one of the great noble families, succumbed to the pressure.

Now, no one can dare to be confident in front of Vanessa.

The Guchen Marquis family had exchanges with the Taiga count family, so they can’t help but be suspected together, and the Oner Marquis family and the Redenen Marquis family welcomed Hispania’s imperial ascension with open arms from the beginning.

Above all, the military power, which is stronger than ever, is all leaning towards the royal family.

Clauzen, Redenen, and decisively, even the existence of ‘Kim Yu-hyun’.

Justification did not exist from the beginning, there was no reason to object, and even the military power was inferior, so the nobles now admitted that they could no longer gain an advantage.

“May the Light be with you.”

“Emperor, show us a more brilliant and glorious moment than ever before!”

“On the road to the empire, we will become stepping stones and lie down smiling even if it’s a quagmire!”

Until a few days ago, they were worried about how the power of the nobles could be maintained.

But now, as if nothing had happened, they have become passionate loyalists, shouting the name of the empire and the title of emperor and swearing ardent loyalty.

‘There’s no need to see too much blood from the beginning.

It only increases the confusion, and it’s disgusting if it’s recorded in a bad way later.

Originally, you give them a way out on purpose, and you pretend not to know even if you know.

Isn’t that the way to live in the world, the way to live as a person?’

Thinking so, Zion, who was smiling, made eye contact with Vanessa at some point.

Zion bowed to her, expressing his intention to ask for her continued support, and Vanessa nodded as if to tell Zion not to worry.

‘Transaction’ in the power game, that’s what it was.

―――――――Afterword―――――――

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