NOVEL NEXT Chapter 332
Capturing the Emperor is certainly a great achievement.
If we take this Emperor hostage, we could solve most problems easily.
That was the thought… until now…
“The Emperor’s imperial guards have all disappeared…?”
“Yes. They were definitely there until last night, but they started to disperse during the night, and by morning, there was no one left.”
“Hmph. Cowardly fools!”
Ignoring the Dwarf Representative’s grumbling,
“Did they abandon the Emperor and run away? No, surely an army of the Emperor wouldn’t lack loyalty…”
“But considering the Emperor charged alone yesterday… it might be a possibility.”
“Hmm… I don’t know the situation well, but… they must be managing the Emperor properly, right?”
“Yes. We are keeping him under strict guard. We’ve strengthened the perimeter using spirits.”
Well, if they’ve set up defenses with spirits, then he shouldn’t be able to escape easily.
“Just remember to treat the captive well. Even if he’s a fool, he’s the Emperor of a nation. We can’t have problems during negotiations.”
“Understood.”
“Honestly, I feel such treatment is too good for that guy…”
The Dwarf Representative grumbled, but… I can understand the frustration.
If that foolish Emperor hadn’t come up with such bizarre ideas, we wouldn’t be in this troublesome situation.
In the end, that foolish Emperor is the root of all this, so it’s entirely reasonable to feel anger towards that idiot.
But…
“I understand the desire to tear him apart and kill him. However, we simply cannot do that.”
After all, it’s not easy to be kind to someone who suddenly barged in with an army.
But we can’t do that.
“He’s a valuable hostage to gain the upper hand in negotiations. We mustn’t kill him.”
“Yes. Understood.”
“Hmph…”
The Dwarf Representative wore a face full of discontent, yet seemed to nod in agreement.
Now then… shall we send a letter through the Church of Life?
Unlike that foolish, clueless Emperor, I hope the other nobles can understand.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
News of the Emperor’s capture spread quickly through the mouths of the former imperial guards.
That fool Emperor had been doing his usual foolery and ended up invading the cities of the Elves and Dwarves.
The loyal Imperial Guard, unable to refuse the foolish Emperor’s unjust commands, fought bravely against the Elf and Dwarf troops defending Betelgeuse, but they were forced to retreat without breaching the Dwarves’ sturdy walls or the Elves’ amazing archery skills.
The rumors sounded like nothing but ridiculous seasoning, yet the guards had no hesitation in inflating the tales to hide their betrayal of the Emperor.
Such rumors were not what the nobles of North Romania wished to hear.
“Why are such nonsense rumors circulating…?”
“It appears they were afraid of being labeled as cowardly ones who ran away without properly fighting.”
From the nobles’ perspective, it was a troublesome matter. They had intended to create a scenario where the imperial guards could refuse the Emperor’s orders, or use them to stab the Emperor in the back, but now the Emperor was alive and captured in Betelgeuse.
If only the Emperor were dead, things would have been simpler.
“Rumors are spreading about a battle that never actually occurred. It’s quite the headache. If others blindly believe those tales and grow resentful towards the Elves and Dwarves…”
“Well, in that regard, the nobles need to control it. Commoners would be powerless to do anything even if they heard such hearsay.”
“Yes. There’s really no choice but to pick that option.”
If the nobles properly maintain order among the commoners, the rumors would quickly vanish.
Right now, it was time to prioritize something over those rumors.
“What should we do about the Emperor?”
“What about just killing him now…?”
“Of course, that’s impossible. Currently, Betelgeuse is only accessible to Elves and Dwarves.”
“The only exception might be someone from the Church of Life, but… hmm… that would be difficult.”
The old noble stroked his chin in deep thought.
There was no way to deal with the captured Emperor. They couldn’t oppose the Elves and Dwarves. They couldn’t infiltrate anyone into Betelgeuse.
The best course of action available in such a situation…
“Let’s send someone to the Church of Life.”
“The Church of Life?”
“Yes. There may be some unseemly rumors, but that’s merely the Emperor’s personal view. It doesn’t represent all of North Romania. We should communicate that we wish for war to cease, if possible.”
“So you intend to draw a line.”
The old noble nodded. Ideally, it would be best for the imperial guards to disband before a war ignites, but… truly, who knows where it all went wrong? It was a headache.
“Just where did everything go so wrong…?”
With a small sigh, the old noble could only grasp his aching head.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Not long after sending the letter through the Church of Life to the nobles in Sirius, a letter also arrived at Betelgeuse.
The letter, sent on behalf of several nobles, contained apologies for failing to stop the Emperor’s disgraceful actions, along with a desire to converse with us.
Both sides wished for dialogue rather than warfare.
“That’s a relief.”
“From their perspective, they wouldn’t want to make enemies of Betelgeuse, let alone the Elves and Dwarves.”
“Besides the Elves and Dwarves, there’s also the Church of Life to consider.”
Honestly, if they were not mindless humans, there would be no reason to think of antagonizing us.
Especially with another Romania lurking in the south.
“Let’s wait as they send a noble delegation.”
Since the flames of war have somewhat faded, with time, things should return to normal.
“What about the watch on the Emperor?”
Hmm. The Emperor. The Emperor… honestly, it’s such a headache.
With hostility still simmering, if we let him loose, he might end up getting stabbed or shot with an arrow… but if we impose too much pressure, that could also become an issue.
“Let’s keep him in captivity, but ensure he’s not treated poorly.”
“Should we maintain surveillance?”
“I feel like the Spirit Mages are really overworking themselves. Let’s ease the spirit-based surveillance a bit.”
Though spirit magic uses less magical power than regular magic, constantly using it can be quite exhausting.
After all, the Emperor alone would have no chance of escaping. So, easing up a little should be appropriate.
Even if the nobles from North Romania were to send someone to rescue the Emperor, they wouldn’t be able to deceive the numerous Elves and Dwarves in Betelgeuse.
Unless they had a mage capable of using powerful magic like spatial movement…
If such a mage exists!
“Then, is it okay to lift martial law?”
With the Dwarf Representative’s slightly excited expression, I nodded lightly.
“Great! Now I can finally drink!!!”
At the mention of drinking, the Elf Representative made a face of disgust, but what can you do? To Dwarves, alcohol is like the water of life.
For now, we maintained martial law, completely blocking entry and exit from Betelgeuse, and prohibited activities like drinking.
It’s only natural for the Dwarf Representative to react that way.
“Alcohol! Bring me medicinal alcohol!! I want to drink heavily and celebrate!!”
“Even if martial law is lifted, not everything will be resolved just yet…”
“It’s understandable! There’s been too long of a drought on drinks. They probably didn’t even smoke properly!”
Upon my words, the Elf Representative nodded slightly. It was the same for them during the war; many restrictions had been made.
Not just drinks and cigarettes, but even food supplies were limited!
“So, once the Romanian nobles arrive, what do you think will be discussed?”
“Well, from their perspective, I doubt they want war, so they would probably wish to revert to relations before the war. The main issue might be how to handle the Emperor… hmm…”
I paused to think. What’s going to happen to that foolish Emperor?
From North Romania’s standpoint, they wouldn’t want to acknowledge an Emperor who nearly pushed the nation into destruction.
Honestly, I wouldn’t want such an Emperor either. According to the rumors, there’s hardly anything right about him! Trying to get the Elves and Dwarves’ concubines and the Dragon Priestess too!
In a world where the influence of the Church of Life is deeply rooted, to think of something like that…
It’s almost equivalent to giving up being recognized as a person.
Consequently, the best future for the Emperor would probably be to step down from the throne and be imprisoned.
Or just lose his head.
For North Romania, having such an Emperor alive would be a significant burden.
Of course, killing him could also cause problems. The stigma of being the noble who executed the Emperor might arise, and if it became known that an Emperor could be killed…
Who knows, maybe some noble would think, “I want to be Emperor too!”
It’s troublesome either way. The fact that the person in the position of Emperor is a fool makes this snowball effect incredibly nightmarish.