Vol 02 Chapter 55-2: Worries II
「You sure waited until the last minute. So, have you reached a conclusion?」
Despite it being midnight, King Rosais granted me an audience immediately. He must be eager to hear my decision.
And to the right of King Rosais was Julia, and to his left stood Raymond-san.
「Firstly, I apologize for taking five precious months to reach a conclusion. Thank you for giving me your time. And I know this is a presumptuous request…」
I bowed deeply to King Rosais and said,
「I respectfully request Princess Julia’s hand.」
Then I turned straight to Julia. Julia’s eyes widened in surprise, and she covered her mouth with her hand.
「I will make you mine. Is that okay?」
「Yes!!」
With that, Julia threw her arms around me. I fell backward with her weight.
She’s quite heavy…
「Almus!!!」
Julia tried to press her cherry-colored lips to mine. I stopped her with my hand.
「Hey, can we save that for later…」
King Rosais and Raymond-san are staring at us, after all.
Julia, realizing what I had said, quickly stepped back, her face flushed red.
「It was okay to continue, you know…」
「Don’t mind us.」
The two of them say with a grin.
These two brothers really are similar. They have the same bad personality.
I got up and sat back down on the floor. Seeing me serious, King Rosais also became serious.
「I want to ask you two questions if you don’t mind.」
「If it’s something I can answer I will be glad to.」
「What would you have done if I had refused to give Julia to you?」
「I would have kidnapped her by force. Then, I would ally with King Domorgal to destroy this country.」
I said with a straight face, causing King Rosais’ face to twitch. Julia blushed.
「I’m glad I didn’t refuse, even as a joke. Now, for the second question. Can you tell me why you changed your mind so suddenly?」
「The reason… Well, I’ve always wanted Julia. That’s why I was okay with becoming the king. And thinking about it now, being the king… doesn’t seem so bad. With the power of a king, I can help many people. I can repay Ron and the others. But… I lacked resolve.」
I tried to hide behind various reasons. The death of uninvolved people, my friends getting hurt…
But that wasn’t it. I was just scared. Scared of the immense power. After becoming a lord, the way people looked at me changed. Now, I could kill my subjects with a flick of my finger, just like Rigal Dibel.
Becoming a king would grant me even more power. I was afraid of changing. I was just scared.
In other words, I was an indecisive coward lacking resolve. Honestly, Rigal might have been better. Also, my blessing, [Blessing of The Emperor] scared me.
It feels like it’s overwriting something inside me. But I can’t keep running away forever.
If I continue like this, I will end up regretting it, so I decided to stop running from power and my own blessing and come to terms with it.
Claiming Julia is my first step.
I will use power for my own ends.
To marry one woman, Julia, I am prepared to annihilate everyone connected to the Dibel Family. I am determined to do this.
I refuse to be intimidated or swayed by the prospect of power any longer. If I don’t act, my companions, Tetra, and everything else might be taken by that bastard.
So, I’ll attack before he attacks me. And I’ll learn to use power effectively.
「Sigh, you sure do think about things in a complicated way. So, who pushed you to take this step?」
「It wasn’t a person.」
「The Griffon, huh? Well, that’s fine. If you’re willing to become king, I’m fine with it. By the way, do you have anything you want to do as king?」
Things I want to do. I’m not particularly fond of luxuries, nor am I against them. For women, having Tetra and Julia is more than enough. If I had to say…
「Maybe uniting the Adernian Peninsula?」
Win peace through power. That’s what Griffon-sama suggested.
◇
「Now, the issue is the timing of the announcement, the wedding, and the coronation. Do you have any preferences?」
「It would be most efficient to conclude everything at once. Let’s aim to complete it all within two days.」
Normally, weddings are held a few months after the announcement, often because patrician families need time to prepare gifts and other necessities.
Well, Tetra and I had to rush ours due to inheritance issues right after the war ended.
「A two-day window severely limits Rigal Dibel’s ability to muster his forces. After the coronation, we can gather the army and annihilate any patrician families who didn’t attend the ceremony. Is that the plan?」
「Essentially, yes. Though, to clarify, the plan would be to rally our forces before making the announcement.」
It sounds like it’s going to be a blood-soaked wedding.
「Do you want to do it now? I’d like to hand the throne over to you while I’m still alive. I can’t die in peace otherwise. That would be more reassuring for you, wouldn’t it?」
「I also prefer it while you… King Rosais, no, Father, are still alive. But as for the timing…」
「Right now is bad because you lack significant achievements. Is that what you want to say?」
I nodded.
Since becoming a lord, I haven’t achieved anything particularly noteworthy.
Taking over the throne at this stage would be premature. Ideally, ascending the throne should follow a significant accomplishment.
「Moreover, I want to quickly suppress any internal conflicts and unify the country as soon as possible. For that, it might be necessary to… deal with all those aligned with Dibel at once. So, it’s better to make our move after some preparations.」
I’m not going to honestly wait for my enemies to attack me after I inherit the throne. It’s better to end them before they’re able to react.
「I see. Well, I’ve been a bit concerned about your lack of achievements myself… Actually, there’s a good opportunity coming up, are you interested?」
「What is it?」
「Soon, King Domorgal’s Country will invade ours. I’m giving you full command of the army to defeat them.」
What’s ‘good’ about such a situation…? Well, it might be the best chance to earn a significant achievement, but… Isn’t that a bit too challenging?
「The expected enemy force is around fifteen thousand. Our country can field between four to five thousand.」
「I remember you couldn’t muster that many troops during King Ferme’s attack… Are you sure this is okay?」
Previously, diplomatic maneuvers significantly constrained us. There’s a good chance of facing similar diplomatic challenges this time, and we might not be able to rely on the support of the patrician families aligned with the Dibel faction, especially if I’m the commander-in-chief.
「No problem. If our country is invaded by King Domorgal, then King Evile’s and King Belvedire’s Countries will be next in line. We have assurances from both countries that they will not invade. Additionally, knowing that the enemy is coming makes it easier to gather troops. I can muster five thousand from my directly controlled territories alone. You have eight hundred in your standing army, right? Scrape together another twelve hundred through conscription.」
Twelve hundred… It’s doable, but…
Nothing prohibits the coexistence of conscripted and professional soldiers, so it’s not like I can’t add conscripts to the army. If we promise to provide food and weapons, we should be able to gather them without much resistance.
「That makes seven thousand. We can expect about five hundred from the other patrician families. That’s seven thousand five hundred in total. It’s going to be tough, but… we have no choice. Do you think you can do it?」
「It depends on the strategy. By the way, how many cavalry do you have, Father? I have a hundred.」
「I’ve considered organizing them before. But it’s not easy to train a significant number. Fielding three hundred heavy infantry is simpler and more cost-effective than training a hundred cavalry. I have some because is necessary for territorial security but not much, around fifty.」
Hmm, that’s not many. This is going to be difficult. It also depends on whether the enemy has cavalry.
「King Domorgal’s country borders the Kingdom of Rozel, which is a Gallian nation. They have a considerable number of cavalry. To counter that, I believe King Domorgal will keep his cavalry within the country.」
So, they might bring a few or even none at all. There’s room to strategize with that in mind.
「Let’s put this conversation aside for now.」
「Right. The issue now is protecting against subversive actions. What do you plan to do?」
I explained my plan for dealing with Rigal Dibel. A smile appeared on King Rosais’s face.
「I see. You have a devious mind too.」
「I haven’t decided on the specifics yet. I also need to increase my faction’s support. As for that…」
「Of course, I’ll cooperate. The only people who know about your succession to the throne are those within the Rosais Family, centered around me, and trustworthy patrician families, like Bartolo’s. Don’t talk about it to the others. Be careful even when discussing it with your subordinates.」
Information leaks could put us at a disadvantage… It’s unavoidable.
「Um… about the operation against Rigal Dibel… there’s something I need to say…」
Julia raised her hand, drawing all eyes to her as she clung to my arm.
It kind of feels like I’m being watched too.
「Um… regarding the blessing… may I speak on it, Almus?」
「It’s fine. Actually, I’ll talk about it.」
I took the opportunity to explain the nature of my blessing to King Rosais and Raymond-san.
「A blessing, huh… This makes you the fifth person I’ve seen with one.」
「And yours is particularly useful.」
It’s a bit embarrassing to hear that. Especially since Griffon-sama had thoroughly criticized its usefulness.
「But, the main point is… actually…」
Julia said, looking somewhat troubled.
「Rigal Dibel possesses [Blessing of The Emperor] as well…」
What? Seriously?
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