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“The election atmosphere seems quite unsettling.”

Janis whispered softly toward Walter, who was lying on the bed and examining some documents. Walter Hellhound had regained consciousness not long after collapsing, but the Great Sage carefully assessed his condition and diagnosed that he would need to rest for the time being.

Walter insisted that he had merely experienced a momentary increase in blood pressure and immediately started to put on his armor again, throwing a fit to return to the front lines. However, it wasn’t Janis or even the Elf Army doctors, who advised rest after examining the Hero’s condition, that managed to quell Walter’s tantrum.

Ignoring all of them, Walter attempted to put on his armor once more, but it was none other than Rose Caprice, who had returned to recover Walter and threw him back onto the bed.

Rose declared that he must not even grasp the Holy Sword and issued orders as the Crown Princess, yet she couldn’t take the documents away from him. This was a great relief for Janis, as the political crisis facing the Empire was a challenge too great for her to navigate alone.

“An election… the Imperial Assembly’s election, right? The regional faction is going to win. Count Harker… yes, my father’s incident has instigated a sense of unease amongst the Lords. There’s a strong atmosphere that regional lords must take care of their territories directly. Moreover, a structure has emerged to even gather that opinion. With a power of one-third in nominations, it won’t even be close. I believe the Southern Alliance will dominate the Assembly.”

“That wasn’t the purpose of creating that structure to begin with.”

“The most meaningless aspect of any organization or institution is its founding purpose. What matters now is what they’re doing. Right, Janis? What’s got you worried about the election?”

“I have a few friends within the Southern Alliance. Most of them are supporting Jeffrey, but there are factions that distrust him and prefer Harker. Those friends sent me reports regarding the upcoming Assembly election strategy, and the content… is serious. Although we expected Sally Jeffrey to expand her influence in the South, with the defeat of the Eramenian forces… it seems she’s going to go even harder.”

Janis pushed a piece of paper toward Walter. He snatched the document from her hand and quickly scanned its content over his glasses.

Walter shut his eyes tightly and reached his hand to the back of his neck again.

“Get this away from me, get this away! If I collapse from looking at something harmful again, you’ll really get in trouble with Rose.”

“Well, if such a thing were to happen, I wouldn’t really have anything to say about it.”

Janis hurriedly took back the ‘Jeffrey Doctrine’ from Walter. The Jeffrey Doctrine was a political and strategic thought that insisted they must halt the Hero’s Northern Campaign and gain ‘time to recover.’ Sally Jeffrey had been using this argument to increase her political influence among the regional nobility, and many lords resonated and supported her rhetoric.

“Damn those populists…”

“The scariest fact is that there’s some truth to that argument. With the Eramenian forces crumbling, the likelihood of the Northern Campaign concluding in a short time has vanished. For now, at the very least, that’s how it’ll be known.”

“That’s not true. I can’t reveal it yet, but my reason for heading North isn’t to exploit the people’s lives; it’s to protect them.”

“How are you going to defend yourself in the Assembly while keeping all of that confidential? It’s impossible. Based on publicly available information, we have no way to refute Sally Jeffrey’s claims. I believe even Jeffrey herself truly thinks she’s doing the right thing. The nobles supporting her are likely the same!”

“Rebuilding the defensive line and recovering the Empire’s economy… it sounds great, but what if the Demon King develops a new weapon to render all of that meaningless in the meantime?”

“The Moriarty Machine?”

“We have no clues about that machine. But the Demon King has indeed created a mock version of it himself. To be frank, it’s just a matter of time. We must defeat the Demon King before that machine awakens to the world, where it shouldn’t exist.”

“Let’s leak some clues about the Moriarty machine. It might be helpful.”

“Are you kidding? To announce that there’s an absolute weapon capable of neutralizing all of the Empire’s defenses in the enemy’s hands? That’s madness! It’ll cause a fear and chaos incomparable to any so-called Jeffrey doctrine. The Empire isn’t prepared for such shocking information. Don’t even consider it.”

“Then how about we at least subtly leak the information to Sally Jeffrey? She might be a bit greedy, but she’s not exactly evil. If she can be persuaded about the need for the Northern Campaign, she might step back on her own.”

“She’ll have her suspicions. She won’t be able to trust it. I wouldn’t trust it either. A secret magical tool that’s only possible for the Demon King to create? It’s obviously a made-up story. People would think I made up a lie to make her hesitate, thinking her political actions were a threat.”

Walter’s critique held validity. In such a cutthroat political game, a certain level of bluster was far too common, and Jeffrey would probably dismiss it as mere boastful nonsense as soon as she heard it. No, even if she didn’t dismiss it, she would demand verification of the facts through official procedures in the Assembly, which would heighten the ‘unnecessary atmosphere of fear’ that Walter was worried about.

“It’s a dead end, isn’t it?”

“This is the worst-case scenario. Janis, there’s no reason to fear an illegal uprising armed with force. After all, it’s hard to gain power that way, and maintaining it is impossible. But political actions using legal means to rally forces with persuasive voices must be taken seriously.”

“I know. That’s why this situation is so frightening.”

Walter lay back on the bed as if to calm his mind, shutting his eyes briefly. Janis thought he was about to fall asleep and prepared to rise from her seat, but Walter suddenly opened his eyes with a determined expression and sat up.

“Janis, head south and meet with Sally Jeffrey.”

“Me? You want me to leave this place?”

“Retreat was unavoidable. The North is going to be on the defensive for the time being. Whether we abandon the Northern Campaign or not, that’s an inevitable reality. But I feel that the issue with Jeffrey is something that needs urgent attention, or we might miss our chance. Meet with Sally Jeffrey and persuade her by any means necessary. If Rose were to find out, she might arrive here enraged and smash Jeffrey’s head in. That would put us in an unfortunate situation, but I’d have to arrest Rose Caprice and bring her to trial.”

“I can’t do it. What I mean is, I have no materials. What the hell am I supposed to do?”

“I know it’s a harsh mission.”

“It’s not just harsh! Hero, you know that negotiations and persuasion are already over before you sit down. And the only bargaining chip I can think of is the information about the Moriarty Machine. If you refuse to give that up, I’ll have no cards to play. Even if I were the world’s greatest negotiator, it’s impossible to play a game of chess without pieces. Please tell me something that might help.”

“That… that’s…”

Walter closed his eyes again, lost in thought. After a moment, he opened his eyes and shook his head.

“I have nothing. I’m sorry. If Princess Margaret were in her normal condition, I would have sent her with you to attempt to persuade her with that authority. But right now… that seems impossible.”

“Do you have any news about the Princess?”

“After returning from the battlefield, she refused the summons to the Grand Council and has been holed up in the castle. It seems that because of that, King Richard has become more active. Queen Angelica is reportedly about to give birth, but she was so shocked by that event that she’s gone into hiding, or so it seems… the situation in Eramenia is also a mess. There’s no mood to withdraw from the war yet, but with the central figure of the war crumbling, the country has been left floating and unable to do anything.”

“…What about the professor?”

“I wrote a letter asking them to keep him detained in Eramenia. I’m sorry to say this, but to make Margaret return to being ‘humane,’ it’s impossible without that fellow. I trust you understand.”

“The situation is what it is. There’s no time for childish jealousy… Ah, damn it, forget it. I don’t want to think about it.”

Walter watched Janis dismissively waving her hand, as if amused. He himself had often been downcast at crucial times due to Rose’s absence, so he couldn’t fault her. Especially since Jeongjae was currently in a slightly tricky situation…

“Princess Margaret has that odd image of never being defeated by any hardship, but in reality, she has never faced a proper defeat in her life. This is her first true defeat in four hundred years. I can’t even imagine what that must be like. To have never been defeated even once in all those years, only to suffer a completely irretrievable loss at the hands of the enemy—it must have been a shock that breaks the heart. No matter how you think about it, I don’t think she’ll just shake it off and come back.”

“That’s why I don’t plan on disturbing Princess Margaret either. Someone who has lived less than thirty years shouldn’t be giving her foolish advice; she’s far too great of a being.”

“Being so great, I suppose the shock of falling once would be immense as well.”

Janis held her forehead in contemplation, thinking about what method would resolve the Jeffrey problem. Just the thought of it gave her a headache.

“I’ll go and meet her first. But don’t expect too much.”

“Find out her exact thoughts, and if there’s any useful information, let me know. You’re the Harker Baroness. Right now, you’re practically a southern noble.”

“And I also have the right to claim the rights of the citizens in the region governed by Baron Harriet. Ugh… Well, I’ll have to meet her at least. Please say nice things to Her Highness Rose. She listens well when it comes to her health, so you might as well take good care of her, even if you don’t take the mages with you…”

As Janis rose from her seat and donned her robe, she coincidentally ran into Rose, who was heading to visit Walter.

Rose, noticing that Janis was ready to leave, asked, “What’s going on? You’re leaving again at a time like this? We all need you.”

“I wasn’t able to hold a funeral for my father. And I need to head back to my hometown to sort things out while we’ve temporarily halted our advance.”

Janis gave a plausible answer that Rose couldn’t easily refute. Rose cautiously nodded, recalling that the issue surrounding Count Harker’s death wasn’t yet completely resolved.

“I truly regret that. Upon reconsideration…”

“Well… it’s not okay, but it can’t be helped. I don’t want to lose any more precious people. That’s why I’m fighting.”

“Do you think we’re looking for the same thing, young sage?”

Rose asked. Janis, who nearly answered affirmatively, hesitated, realizing the implications behind the Crown Princess’s question.

As Janis brushed past Rose, she spoke.

“The world I envision and the world you envision, Your Highness, differ just a little, just a little.”

That was enough of an answer.

 

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