Chapter 80. Imperial Capital (5)

In the days when I was addicted to games, I often used internet communities to refer to or write guides myself.

What I felt then was that there were so many people who could not tolerate injustice.

Voices that pointed out and criticized minor conflicts, past misjudgments, and moral laxity were always supported by public opinion.

The bigger the target in terms of wealth and fame, especially celebrities, the louder those voices became.

Of course, some said that these voices were all just keyboard warriors soaked in moral superiority.

They said that they wouldn't be able to say a word about the big and small injustices happening right in front of them.

I wouldn't know.

I wasn't particularly interested in current affairs.

It wasn't like I knew those people personally either.

However, after falling into this world, I had once asked myself the following question.

‘If I see injustice, will I protest?’

A society where a class system was a given.

A world where starvation and freezing to death were common misfortunes.

In this world where the tyranny of the nobles, which easily surpassed that of 21st-century South Korea, was rampant, how would I react when I saw an intolerable injustice?

As someone who had gained some power, would I stop it?

Or would I turn a blind eye like a petit bourgeois?

* * *

Just because I received a noble title didn't mean I could go see the Emperor whenever I wanted.

The Emperor was the pinnacle of power in the Empire.

Meaning he was on a different level from a mere viscount.

To have an audience with him, one had to go through a long and complicated procedure.

Of course, there were times when all those procedures were skipped.

When the Emperor was the one who called.

“Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor.”

“Yes, Viscount Ash. I wanted to arrange a meal before you leave.”

Coincidentally, the day right after the festival ended, the Emperor summoned me.

The banquet hall of the Imperial Palace.

A luxurious meal was set in the middle of a table that stretched wide from side to side.

Although there was enough food for twenty or thirty people on the table that could seat fifty, only two people were sitting in the chairs.

The Emperor and I.

“How was my surprise gift?”

The Emperor said with a mysterious smile.

I looked at him for a moment.

Blonde hair.

Blue eyes.

Informal speech.

Light but luxurious attire, artistically embroidered with gold thread.

The surprise gift must have been the viscount title.

Because when I was notified through Archduke Gabir, I had heard that a barony was planned.

Honestly, I was surprised.

The difference between a baron and a viscount was like heaven and earth.

If a baron was a local noble, a viscount was a central noble.

You could call it the gateway to officially stepping into noble society.

Naturally, the treatment from other nobles also changed.

For example, comparing before and after the title conferment ceremony, the number of letters that came to me differed by three or four times.

If the gazes towards me before the title conferment ceremony were of a war hero of mercenary origin who had gotten lucky.

Now it felt like they were looking at a newly emerging noble who had broken the limits of his birth and taken his first step into politics.

“I was surprised.”

I answered honestly while twirling pasta with my fork.

“Were you?”

“Yes.”

“I’m glad.”

The Emperor smiled again.

He waved his hand to dismiss the servants.

A knight was guarding the place, but when he waved his hand again, even he withdrew.

I didn't know what he was thinking, so I silently cut my meat and watched him.

The Emperor, who had sent everyone out, stretched and said.

“I like you.”

“Is that so.”

“Of course. We are a pair who can be honest with each other… that is, unlike with others, there is no gap in our eye level, right?”

A gap in eye level.

He was talking about [Lord’s Unyielding Mind].

This overpowered trait, one of the top in the eloquence and command category, bestowed a persuasive power beyond logic and the power to move hearts in every word.

To the point where, as the Emperor said, you felt a certain superiority when dealing with others.

For reference, the Emperor also had the same trait.

[Lord’s Unyielding Mind] was canceled out when the opponent also possessed the same trait.

Meaning that in this place, neither I nor the Emperor was under the effect of [Lord’s Unyielding Mind].

“Honestly, when Gabir tried to push for you, I was puzzled at first. Not a great mage, technician, or swordsman. I wondered why he was recommending some mercenary commander.”

“But when I saw you at Wolfskrig, I felt it. This guy, he's the same kind of person as me.”

“How was the mansion? I made sure to tell them to take care of it. I don’t know if you liked it.”

“Wolfskrig is a bit run-down now, but before Duke Yulister’s rebellion, it was a prosperous trade gateway. The farmland is wide, the timber is good, and there are mines too.”

We chatted while eating.

It was a somewhat one-sided chat.

The Emperor mostly spoke, and I answered or chimed in.

What I felt during the not-so-short chat was his favor towards me.

The reason he gave me the viscount title and Wolfskrig must have been because of that favor.

“Ah, about the university admission. I’ve taken care of it. I looked into it, and the daughters haven't received a higher education. I recommend arranging a suitable school first, and then going through the university admission process.”

“Thank you.”

Well, there was nothing bad about getting close to him.

Although I had to keep my wits about me, as he had tested me twice in Wolfskrig and Berenburg.

Unlike when dealing with other nobles, there was no need for flattery.

Because with the Emperor’s personality, you wouldn't gain or lose his favor with a silver tongue.

“You like tea, right?”

After finishing the meal, the Emperor stood up.

He was personally bringing over a teacup, teapot, and other things on a tray.

It seemed the setting that his hobby was the tea ceremony was still the same.

I couldn't help but ask, so I opened my mouth.

“What are you going to do?”

“Hmm? About what?”

“About the Ratmen.”

We had talked about many things during the meal.

The civil war, fief management, the mercenary band, noble society, the Northern Archduke, and even stories from his childhood with Marquis Ricardo.

However, one thing was missing.

The story of the Ratmen.

Although not publicly announced, one of my main contributions in this civil war was discovering the traces of the Ratmen at Duntown Fortress.

Of course, the Emperor knew too.

At my question, the Emperor smiled cryptically and sat down.

As he scooped tea leaves into the teapot, he said.

“When we were besieging Berenburg, a report came in that the number of missing people in the Imperial Capital had increased. You knew about this much, right?”

“Yes, well.”

“As expected. Anyway, taking advantage of the Empire being weakened by the civil war, the Ratmen bastards started to run rampant. But do you know what?”

The Emperor poured hot water into the teapot.

A savory aroma spread.

“The moment we returned, they stopped the kidnappings.”

“I see.”

“Meaning their forces are still too small to wage an all-out war with the Imperial army.”

He lifted his teacup.

“We will annihilate them.”

I did not ask how he would do it.

And even though I did not ask, the Emperor answered.

“We have to find their main base. With their favorite bait.”

“Do not do it.”

“Hmm?”

The Emperor put down his cup.

I said again with force.

“Cancel that operation.”

* * *

‘If I see injustice, will I protest?’

The answer to this question, honestly, is no.

“I didn't mishear that, did I?”

The Emperor said, pushing his teacup aside.

I looked at him.

You could call it petit bourgeois, but my first goal in this world was survival.

Gathering people and building up a force was ultimately part of the effort to ensure survival.

In that context, my policy on injustice was to be a bystander.

In the first place, in a world where a class system was common sense, there was no way that 21st-century-style human rights or justice would work.

And it wasn't like I could start a rebellion, swallow up the Empire, and then abolish the class system.

Even if I did, would it change?

The culture of people who had adapted to the hierarchy of status for over a thousand years?

It would be more realistic to build my own fief and force, and provide one more alternative for the oppressed weak to choose.

“Do not do it. That operation.”

But this was not it.

“Do you know what operation you’re talking about?”

“You said it was the Ratmen’s favorite bait. The Ratmen like young and immature individuals. Be it human, dwarf, beastman, or animal, regardless of the race.”

“You know well.”

“You plan to gather children and offer them up. You plan to use them as bait to find their underground city, don't you?”

For the first time, the Emperor showed a surprised expression.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again, repeating this several times.

It must have been because I had hit the mark.

The effect of [Lord’s Unyielding Mind] was also canceled out.

His plan, which I had laid bare, was inhumane even by the standards of this era.

In the game, the Emperor often sacrificed hundreds of children as bait.

Publicly, this was packaged as a Ratmen attack.

According to Brol, children had already started to disappear.

The next step would probably be to ‘package’ the children and throw them as bait, track the Ratmen who took the bait, and find the Ratmen's underground city located deep in the ground near the Imperial Capital.

And then he would form a large-scale punitive force and dispatch it.

An army on a scale that could easily wipe out a country.

“What if I proceed with this? Will you stop me?”

The Emperor, who had regained his composure at some point, asked.

I shook my head.

“No.”

“Is that so?”

“How could a mere mercenary band, no, a mere viscount like me do such a thing. However.”

“However?”

“You will pay the price.”

I emphasized once more with force.

“Not only Your Majesty, but the entire Empire will pay the price.”

It was not a lie.

Because I had seen the Ratmen subjugation scenario that used children as bait more than once or twice.

I had even followed it myself.

The result was always disastrous.

There were Theocracy members among the Ratmen too.

At the end of this scenario, that one would use the souls and bodies of the children as a sacrifice to summon one of the gods of the Theocracy in an incomplete state.

That god would crush the punitive force, rise to the surface, and even conquer the Imperial Capital.

In the end, the Empire would fall.

This was the reason for my protest.

The existence of the Empire was directly linked to my survival.

I could not stand by and watch the Empire fall earlier than my plans.

Moreover, if it were completely out of my hands, it would be a different story, but in a situation like now where the decision-maker was right in front of me.

“Is that so.”

“Yes.”

The Emperor nodded.

It was not because of [Lord’s Unyielding Mind].

There was no persuasive power that ignored logic, nor the power to move emotions, but….

“Alright. I will listen to you.”

Fortunately, my sincerity was conveyed.

* * *

“Shall I dispose of him?”

The man wrapped in jet-black cloth asked.

The Emperor waved his hand.

“Dispose of him? Leave him be.”

“Yes.”

“You had him under surveillance, right? Remove that as well. If you have any spare hands, send them to the sewers.”

“Understood.”

The man wrapped in jet-black cloth, Barum of the Black, bowed his head.

The mage watching from the side smirked.

She was a mage with purple bobbed hair.

“Oh my, even removing the surveillance. After all that testing, you really seem to like him, don’t you?”

“Siollus.”

“I thought Your Majesty the Emperor wasn't interested in people.”

“Ella Siollus. Watch your mouth.”

“Why? Barum. It’s the truth, isn’t it? You see us for our individual abilities, not as people, right? That’s part of your charm, though.”

The purple-haired woman smirked and tilted her head.

The Emperor chuckled.

She was right.

Unlike what he had said in front of the mercenary commander, Ash, no, Viscount Ash, his favor was not some kind of human solidarity.

In the first place, he only understood human emotions intellectually; he had never felt them himself.

It was more like curiosity.

He was more inclined to take an interest in unpredictable variables and to highly value their usefulness.

The assassin and the mage by his side now.

The reason he had brought these two members of the secret knightly order was for that reason.

“Enough with the chatter and continue the report.”

“Yes, yes. There’s a rumor going around that the vampire duke, Yulister von Zarhill, will be revived soon. I caught a few necromancers and roasted them over a fire, and that's what they said.”

“He has been quiet for a while. Interrogate the vampires. That will be more accurate.”

“The Northern Archduke requested support on his way back. He says the time for the yeti invasion is approaching.”

“Support them with food and cannons. In return, we will receive herbs and crystals.”

The reports continued.

The Emperor suddenly looked out the window.

Water droplets were forming on the window.

It was drizzling.

Just as the drizzle soaked one’s clothes, the omens of war were slowly eating away at the Empire and the continent.

War was coming.

It was an unavoidable storm.

The Archbishop called the ‘Prophet’ and the shamans who read the future all said the same thing.

“…….”

The Emperor knew.

The coming war was a disaster that would be difficult to stop even with his outstanding abilities.

That was why he needed more variables.

Variables that would be on the Empire’s side when an unexpected situation arose.

The reason he had nurtured the Imperial Secret Knightly Order was also for that.

Not only to reform the Empire but to prepare for when a disaster that could destroy the Empire itself struck.

“But Your Majesty the Emperor, I’m really curious, why do you keep showing favor to Viscount Ash?”

“What do you mean?”

“The variables Your Majesty the Emperor usually talks about, that’s us too, right? But it seems you favor him more than us.”

When Ella Siollus asked, unable to hold back after the meeting was over, the Emperor answered with a broad smile.

“Well. Seeing him admonish me with his life on the line, it seemed I was not the only one who loved the Empire and humanity.”

“Eeh?”

“Though the form of love may be different, if he has as much ability as I do, that is reason enough to watch him. It means humanity has one more hope left, doesn't it?”

Even if I were to die.

The Emperor added.

The Emperor of the Empire, Louis Karlos, loved humanity that much.