He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 49

Became the Greatest Crazy Emperor – 49

Became the Greatest Crazy Emperor 49

“I hope your stay has been comfortable, Your Majesty.”

Soon after arriving in the Southern Territory, I met with Duke Orlant as planned.

Strictly speaking, he’s my political opponent, but he presented a rather courteous first impression.

“Thanks to your consideration, it has been quite comfortable. However, I recently had a slight unpleasant incident while privately touring the city.”

“Oh dear, this is a beautiful city, but even such places have their shadows. However, those thugs must have been dealt with appropriately.”

He surely knows the nobles were behind it, yet the Duke shamelessly feigned ignorance.

His attitude was a bit displeasing, but I smiled and maintained my composure.

“Well, I wasn’t going to make an issue of that. We have more important matters to discuss, don’t we?”

“Of course. Shall we skip the trivial chatter and get straight to the point?”

“Let’s.”

Normally, some light conversation would come first, but neither the Duke nor I had any intention of wasting time on such pleasantries.

“A civil war is imminent, Your Majesty.”

“That’s not something an imperial noble should say to the Emperor’s face.”

“Hmph, indeed. But it is an unavoidable truth.”

The Duke said those words as if he didn’t care about the authority or respect due to me, the Emperor, and took a sip of his black tea.

It was a provocation, but I found such provocations amusing.

“As you say. But the fact that it hasn’t happened yet means they’re still testing the waters. Though not because of me.”

I defeated Karstein, but the nobles remain arrogant. Just look at Duke Orlant’s attitude.

There’s no way they would fear me and test the waters because of that.

But that’s what makes it even more amusing.

“Rather, they’re testing each other, seeing how much more of the dead empire’s corpse they can claim, even though the empire hasn’t collapsed yet.”

I chuckled softly at that.

They haven’t even brought down the empire yet, but they’re already counting their chickens before they hatch [making plans based on assumptions that may not come true].

“Indeed, Your Majesty is insightful.”

“You don’t deny it?”

“Why bother? I, too, am not particularly fond of their duplicity.”

Surprisingly, the Duke, who is clearly aligned with the separatist nobles, readily agreed with my words.

Though he’s such a slippery character that he wouldn’t openly express outrage, I thought he would at least be somewhat displeased.

“Then this will be a quick conversation, Duke. I know you intend to have a foot in my camp.”

“Oh? What makes you so sure?”

“If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have bothered trying to restore relations with my mother.”

As I said that, I took out the letter the Duke had sent to the Empress Dowager from my pocket and showed it to him.

The Duke slightly curled up the corners of his lips upon seeing it.

“So, a father reconciling with his daughter can be interpreted that way.”

“Reconciling with a daughter who turned her back on the family is not a matter that can be resolved with simple familial affection.”

To my father, the former Emperor, and to me, the Empress Dowager is clearly an ally who has blocked the rise of outside relatives.

But from Duke Orlant’s perspective, she’s just an unfilial daughter who turned her back on the family’s interests.

Normally, reconciliation would be impossible, but the fact that the Duke reached out first could only be interpreted as having political intentions.

“Your observation is astute. But is there even a reason for me to have a foot in Your Majesty’s camp?”

“Of course, there is. You are greedier than anyone else. In fact, neither the empire nor separatism matters to the Duke.”

What matters to him is his own and his family’s interests.

There was no need for him to ideologically agree with the separatist nobles.

Rather, having a foot in my camp as well would give him far more options in his strategy.

“You’re not just looking for an opportunity to side with the winner between the separatists and me. You also have plans to mediate the conflict appropriately and gain the upper hand. Isn’t that right?”

It’s blatant opportunism and kicking away the ladder [betraying someone who helped you] for potential competitors, but that’s what the Duke wants.

It was probably a bullseye, but the experienced schemer used the fact that his thoughts were read against me.

“If you presume that, then there’s no reason for me to attempt to propose or persuade Your Majesty. Rather, I’ll ask you in return. Do you want me to mediate the civil war?”

The Duke asked with an even more relaxed smile.

As if I had no other choice.

And that was, in fact, a natural assumption for him to make.

The Emperor of a country with a thoroughly doomed fate, with nobles showing ominous movements, and the head of a powerful noble family reaching out first.

Normally, there would be no reason not to take that hand. He would have to give up a lot in exchange for mediation, but he would prevent the empire from collapsing.

“No, I don’t want mediation.”

“Oh? Then what…”

“Stand on my side, Duke.”

“……”

But I flatly rejected his offer.

And gave the Duke an unexpected answer.

“Swear allegiance to me and make it clear that you are on my side, Duke. That is what I want.”

“…Have I misjudged Your Majesty? I didn’t expect you to make such a demand.”

The Duke, who had been wearing a relaxed smile throughout, now removed that smile.

He showed displeasure for the first time, but I smiled instead.

“Do you know what this is? An interesting toy sold at a general store in the harbor.”

As I said that, I took out a toy and showed it to the Duke.

“The Ring of Wisdom? An interesting toy. But what about it?”

“The empire is in this state right now. More precisely, the conflict between me and the nobles.”

A puzzle with two or more metal rings of various shapes connected.

The goal was to understand the connection structure of the rings and separate them.

“It’s a ring that’s difficult to unravel as it appears. But I will solve this ring. That’s why the Duke must stand on my side.”

“You are full of confidence. You mean you can resolve the conflict with the nobles yourself?”

The Duke’s question was tinged with sarcasm and amusement.

There was no way I could resolve the conflict, and it was an expression of his confidence that only he could mediate.

“There’s no way. Certainly, I don’t have the talent to persuade them with words, unlike you. Or rather, I have no intention of doing so.”

“Then-”

At my answer, the Duke showed even more confidence and tried to assert his will.

Clang!

But when I broke the Ring of Wisdom, he had no choice but to stop momentarily.

“But I have my own solution. This is my solution.”

“…Breaking the ring is the solution?”

“Can you say it’s not? Either way, the ring is solved.”

It’s similar to how Alexander solved the Gordian Knot [legendary knot that could only be undone by the future ruler of Asia, which Alexander the Great cut through with his sword], but what I wanted from the beginning was that consistently.

Swish.

As I said that, I quietly drew my treasured sword.

The silver holy sword I usually use, which has already been stained with much blood, but in fact, this sword is beautiful enough to be used for ceremonial purposes.

But as befitting the holy object of the empire’s guardian deity, it exuded an incomprehensible sense of intimidation.

Thanks to that, the confident Duke seemed to shrink back for a moment.

“Unlike what the Duke or the separatists think, I have no intention of avoiding their challenge.”

Cut off their heads as they appear, suppress them, and shed blood to maintain the empire.

A simple yet most difficult, and originally near impossible method.

But I can do it.

“Those who oppose me will all be dealt with in the same way as solving this ring. But… ruling cannot be done by me alone.”

Even if I suppress the rebellion, I can’t help but think about the aftermath.

It’s not an era where I can just cut off and exclude all the nobles I don’t like.

In a world full of medieval colors, I can’t just shout about democracy like in another world, and whether I like it or not, nobles are necessary.

However, only nobles who obey my will.

“That’s why I suggested that the Duke choose a side.”

“Hahahaha!”

The Duke, who was listening to my words, laughed heartily. But there wasn’t a predictable development where he agreed with me, saying that my spirit was good.

“You are truly arrogant. If a commoner said that, I would have thought it was foolish, but well, Your Majesty has some reason to show confidence. But it’s not enough to persuade me.”

The Duke firmly expressed his intention to refuse.

Well, that’s natural. Even if I crushed Karstein, there’s no way I could have swayed the Duke to that extent.

For my words to have credibility with the Duke, I had no choice but to show him more of my strength or ability.

“Is that so? Well, I won’t deny your intentions. But if that’s the case, then we have nothing more to talk about.”

“It’s a pity, but that’s how it is. But if you want to see more of the city, you are welcome to stay longer.”

“I was thinking of doing that anyway. I’ve already seen quite a bit. Ah, but Duke.”

As the Duke subtly revealed his intention to leave, I also subtly said something suggestive to him.

“Be careful with the wine.”

“…Pardon?”

“The wine. Every noble drinks it as a beverage with their meals. But there’s nothing as useful for poisoning as wine.”

As I mentioned poisoning, a matter that nobles couldn’t help but be sensitive to, the Duke’s expression slightly distorted.

“If you occasionally taste a strange bitterness in the wine, be suspicious. Well, it might be too late by the time you drink it.”

“…Thank you for the advice, Your Majesty.”

The Duke, who heard my incomprehensible words, returned with a somewhat unpleasant atmosphere.

* * *

“He seems bright, but he’s young, so he’s thoughtless.”

Duke Orlant, who returned to his mansion, assessed the Emperor that way.

He certainly possesses intelligence and political insight, but his youthful spirit takes precedence, and he is full of unfounded confidence.

“He doesn’t seem foolish, so he doesn’t seem to be without value… but he still needs to be tamed.”

Although the meeting itself ended negatively, the Duke believed that he could compromise if the Emperor became more desperate.

“I need to coordinate with the nobles and put a little more subtle pressure on him- Ptoo! What’s wrong with this taste?”

As he was organizing his thoughts while eating, he spat out the wine that a servant had just poured him.

The intense bitterness, which was definitely not from the wine, was unbearable.

“Who poured this wine?”

“I, I didn’t, Duke.”

The Duke immediately got angry at the servants attending him, but the servants all denied it.

It would be difficult for a servant to lie without considerable guts, but they really didn’t seem to be confessing that they did it.

“If you reveal that it was a mistake now, I will generously forgive you-”

“Y-Your Highness. Excuse me, but over, over there…”

“Huh?”

At that time, as one of the maids pointed out, the Duke could see a strange letter placed near where the wine glass had been.

The letter contained a short message.

The letter did not say who sent it, but there was someone who could not help but come to mind.

The Duke’s face, who immediately crumpled the letter, was as pale as that of someone who had almost been poisoned.