WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Reluctant Imperialist

Chapter 144

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Shadow Intrigue (2)

I transferred Julius into custody. Sentinel had a witness protection protocol, so Julius was confined to a safe house first under that framework.

"...Why?"

Julius asked why I had saved him.

If I had to name the reasons, there were several.

First, this was better for strengthening the Order's power.

And there was still plenty I could extract from Julius.

"Because you will be referred to Knight Court."

I wrapped all of it into a single sentence.

"A royal in Knight Court..."

Julius looked humiliated by the very fact that he would stand trial. If he still could not let go of his pride after ending up like this, then he truly deserved to die.

"You will at least be given a chance to defend yourself."

I pointed beyond the closed door.

"The children will survive."

The two children had only just turned ten. Were they innocent? Would they grow into monsters like Leutern or Julius, or simply live ordinary lives?

I had no way to know.

"Ha..."

Julius sighed. I took out a premium cigar and handed it to him.

Royals and nobles had always had a weakness for things like this.

Julius took the cigar between his lips with a grateful look.

"Take a look."

I slid the charge sheet toward him.

"This is what happens once you are expelled from the House of Nobles."

Removal of royal status. Confiscation of illicit assets and criminal proceeds accumulated in the imperial palace. Referral to Knight Court...

Julius scanned the document with dead fish eyes, then let out a dry laugh.

"...What a joke."

"It is not funny at all. Embezzling Gigantes military arms and smuggling them to hostile forces is clearly classified as treason."

"Maximilian Ebenholtz."

"That is Knight Maximilian."

"Maximilian Ebenholtz!"

Julius exploded, slamming both hands down on the table.

"You are being fooled. Completely fooled!"

"..."

I looked at him with feigned curiosity. His gaunt cheeks trembled.

"You think I carried out the terror attack too, right?"

There was no need to answer. Julius would think whatever he wanted and spew whatever he wanted, so all I had to do was watch, like I was sitting through a play or a musical.

"I will at least tell you. If you do not know the truth, you will end up as nothing but a pawn too."

He leaned in close. His bloodshot eyes bored into me, and he whispered like a snake, as if he were picturing someone else, not me.

"That tiny little bastard is using you."

A very interesting hypothesis.

"Using me... interesting."

"...Hahahahaha!"

Julius laughed wildly, like he had already understood every truth, like my disbelief was frustrating him, then sank back into his chair.

"How foolish. Even you, heir to a great house, getting tricked and jerked around by a bastard like that. One damned wolf pup got into the palace and now everything is chaos."

The way he stared into empty air and muttered made him look half out of his mind.

"...Well, I got fooled by that bastard's idiot act too. Krahahahaha."

Julius burst into self-mocking laughter.

I watched him for a moment, then asked calmly.

"Is that what people inside the palace think?"

"Yes! You are being fooled! You are being used too, just like me! Wake up!"

If that was true, then it was not entirely bad.

While every eye and every ounce of attention focused on Leutern, I could build the strength to cut their throats from that blind spot.

"...Yes."

I swallowed my smile and picked up my fountain pen.

"I will keep that in mind."

Then I scrawled my signature across the document referring Julius to Knight Court.

* * *

Meanwhile, Leutern II was discharged from the hospital.

"...Looks like the scar will stay. Damn, this is annoying."

Apparently the scar on his leg might never disappear.

So irritating.

"No, wait. Looking at it now, maybe it is fine."

It almost looked like a mark of glory. Soldiers all seemed to carry one scar or another.

Bern studied him closely, then spoke with care.

"...Julius has been dealt with for sure."

"Really? I heard he did not die."

Leutern talked about whether Julius would live or die. His tone was casual as ever, but the edge in his voice was razor sharp.

A chill ran lightly down Bern's neck.

"He has been handed over to Sentinel. Once his expulsion from the House of Nobles is finalized, referral to Knight Court is certain, so he likely cannot avoid execution."

"Right. Max will handle it."

Killing with another's hand. Was Leutern II trying to use even Maximilian?

Had this all been part of his plan?

"..."

Bern silently looked around the hospital.

By being hospitalized here, Leutern II had even avoided that night's internal blood struggle. He had not been hurt at all, and officially he had not stained his own hands with blood.

"Bern. What are you doing? Let's go!"

Leutern, already farther ahead, called out to him.

"...Yes."

The carefree way he walked on was no different from before, but all of us had already seen Leutern's claws.

So he would never be accepted the same way again.

......

Grossman received the most private news from inside the palace.

"Is it because his father's life is nearly over? He is finally showing his true colors."

The political war between Leutern and Julius. The tragedy of that night, where blood answered blood, would later be recorded in history books as only a few lines of unofficial chronicle.

But after that, the palace balance of power was completely overturned.

"Yes. That appears to be the case."

Even in the palace, royals were naturally rare. Royal houses like Julius and Leutern, who actively built their own factions and flaunted their power, were rarer still.

Julius, one of the major pillars, had fallen.

Clearly, by Leutern II's "operation."

"I never dreamed he was that sinister and meticulous."

Even Grossman's closest aide clicked his tongue. All of them had dismissed Leutern II as nothing more than a loudmouthed fool.

"He gives Maximilian the achievement of executing Julius, while Leutern himself gathers the scattered royal power inside the palace into one bloc... what an interesting honeymoon."

From Grossman's perspective, the fall of a heavyweight like Julius was a painful blow.

Nobles draining one another's strength did help reinforce the Emperor's absolute authority, but for ministers who served as his hands and feet, this concentration of power could not be ignored.

"That bastard had a very cunning core hidden inside him."

Grossman crushed his cigar and muttered.

"But he is still not beyond our control."

At his aide's words, Grossman nodded.

"Early or late, they are all necks to be cut."

The Imperial Guard's final goal was complete control of the palace.

In other words, cut down every useless fool who called himself royal blood and strutted around drunk on past glory, then put the Imperial Guard in those empty seats.

Stand at the summit of the Empire, beside the Emperor.

"I will put more care into preparing the operation. Put Leutern II near the very top of the kill list."

"Yes. Understood."

Leutern II had once been someone to ignore, but after this incident he became someone to watch.

No, he had been upgraded to a highly dangerous element.

......

Winter. The House of Nobles Ethics Committee convened.

Sonnet Kandel attended as a chronicler and clerk.

“We will now proceed with the vote to expel Julius von Arensburg from the House of Nobles.”

In the chamber where the full House had assembled, Sonnet turned her gaze and looked for someone.

Leutern I. Leutern II. Ezel Runselot. Jun Kandel. Kents Bertem. Shane Bertem. Imperial Guard Commander Goebel. Chief Secretary Grossman.

Many other centers of power were seated in the gallery, but he was not there.

“The vote will be conducted by secret ballot...”

There was only one Ebenholtz in this place.

Sebestian Ebenholtz.

He sat alone in the distance, yet his presence was the heaviest of all.

“We will now begin voting.”

As soon as voting began, people left their seats one by one. Escorted by Royal Guards, they moved to the ballot station.

Sonnet recorded everything, even their mutters and sighs.

[Leutern I walks over after clearing his throat. He asks the Royal Guard guiding him, "Have you eaten?" and the guard answers, "Not yet."]

Then, at the very top of the balcony,

Princess Justine appeared in her robe. She seemed to have come to observe, and Sonnet recorded the scene.

[34 minutes after voting begins, Princess Justine appears on the balcony and watches the voting site.]

Sonnet's gaze quietly followed her.

[Princess Justine approaches Commander-in-Chief Sebestian.]

The Princess was careless at times.

Proof of that was how she spoke without covering her mouth.

[Princess Justine asks Commander-in-Chief Sebestian, "Did your son not come here?" Sebestian answers, "That is correct."]

At times, Sonnet Kandel herself was careless too.

She ended up making eye contact with the Princess.

Staring straight at her, Justine moved her lips.

'Do not record it.'

Sonnet nodded and put down her pen.

Pretending nothing had happened, she scanned the faces of the House of Nobles, then, the moment Justine looked away, hurriedly took shorthand notes.

[Princess Justine moved only her lips and gave the chronicler the order, "Do not record it."]

As the chronicler of this moment, she had a duty to record everything.

* * *

As expected, Julius's expulsion from the House of Nobles was finalized. The result was almost unanimous in favor.

I watched their blood-soaked circus from a distance.

I had work far more important than politics.

The Empire needed competent officers. Talents like Kai Han, people who belonged to the golem called the regular army, could wage war properly, and could lead the Empire.

I expanded the Maximilian Program, one arm of the scholarship, to officer academies across the entire Empire. I also drew on my pre-regression knowledge and selected officer candidates.

"Luten, Kaysen, Joachim. Keep watching those three."

"Yes. I will keep following them steadily."

At the Gennen branch office, Schatz answered as the branch chief.

"How are the Yaken?"

"They are gathering smoothly around Yukia. Most still deeply distrust the Empire, but Yukia and her uncle Entikkan carry real influence."

Yukia's uncle, Entikkan. He supplied me with Yaken.

Supply was a slightly awkward word, but this was the process. He took in Yaken with nowhere to go and sent them to the Gennen branch office, then Schatz trained them, and Yukia formed teams.

"Never stop supporting the Yaken."

"Yes."

I stood up and swept my eyes across the bleak interior boxed in by concrete.

"But does this office not feel off? Decorate it better. To your taste."

Schatz had an eye for aesthetics. She always wore a neat suit, yet varied details like bracelets, necklaces, gloves, ties, and shoes.

If she had no interest at all, she would not bother with things like that.

I was the kind of person who encouraged hobbies.

"...Yes."

I wanted her to grow numb. Even while torturing countless people, even while killing them, I wanted her to keep living her own life. I wanted her to keep holding fast to our absolute righteousness.

All killing was only a means to a greater cause.

"Let's go."

I stepped out of the office.

From beyond the thick walls, faint screams drifted in.

Aaaagh...

Torture was in full swing at the Gennen branch office. They were uprooting the seeds of revolution and extracting dangerous information.

The interrogation manual written by a past torture specialist was enforced strictly by the investigators here, and with field experience behind them, the Gennen branch office had become elite among elites.

This Gennen branch office had become the cradle of my intelligence network, and before long its influence would spread across the Empire and beyond its borders.

Creeeak.

The branch office's iron door opened. Clear sunlight poured in.

"...Gennen has developed a lot already."

Outside, the cityscape of Gennen in the distance gleamed so brightly it hurt the eyes.

After Gennen Spring, the autonomous territory received massive imperial capital and technology, then continued unprecedented growth. It was the result of Gennen diligence reinforced by imperial order.

"The main source of our intelligence is reports from local residents."

At Schatz's words, I gave a small smile.

If there was a suspicious person, or if dangerous ideology appeared, ordinary citizens reported it first. Proof that they were satisfied with the current system. A very desirable phenomenon.

"That is good."

I got into the back seat of the waiting car. Schatz sat in the front passenger seat, and the vehicle paused briefly on the main road.

Clack.

The back door opened and a man climbed in beside me.

"Good to see you."

I looked at his face. With his hair grown long, he looked almost like an artist, the chief secretary of Gennen.

"Secretary Elias."

"Yes. It has been a while, Sir Knight."

Elias was changing little by little. He was proving it himself from the center of Gennen's prosperity under the Empire's embrace.

There were still Gennen people who spat at the Empire, but the majority already felt prosperity in their daily lives and dismissed those people as delusional fools.

Still, Elias would have to work even harder from now on.

He had to become a bigger man.

"Take this."

I handed him ten reservation tickets stamped with a luxurious gold-foil seal.

"Thank you, but what are these?"

"Reservation tickets for Lilac Vita."

The restaurant Lilac Vita had reduced its number of tables this time. Under the pretext of top-tier service, it was meant to increase scarcity.

"Use them when entertaining key high officials or nobles from the center."

These days, Lilac Vita held unusual status. Countless nobles had never gotten in once, and nobles who had gone even once were desperate to return.

The sanctuary of premium luxury dining.

The peak of noble society. The top of the social pyramid.

A new layer of power I had acquired before I even noticed.

"They will go wild for these."

With these tickets alone, Elias Walter might even enter the Top 10 most notable figures in noble society.

"Yes. Thank you."

Elias tucked the reservation tickets deep into his inner pocket.

"Remember this. Only if you become tightly connected to the Empire's core can Gennen receive proper treatment too."

Gennen must no longer remain a subjugated people. It had to be reborn as a true friend of Aran.

"I will remember."

I turned my gaze out the car window and added,

"If you need separate bribery funds, have them sent through the Gennen branch office."

"..."

At the word bribery, Elias's eyebrow twitched slightly. I smiled faintly and murmured.

"Swallow the nausea, Elias Walter. On this continent, there are many things you can achieve only by enduring."

I endure it too, so you can endure it as well.

"...Yes."

Meeting my gaze, Elias gave a heavy nod.

"I am getting used to it now."

The smile forming at his lips pleased me.

While the palace factions kept fracturing, I was gathering strength of my own.

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