Chapter 173

“It’s Ernst. Mother. Let’s talk for a moment.”

“Ernst…? Coming at this hour, even if we are parent and child, isn’t it a bit rude? Your mother is a bit busy right now…”

Amidst it all, the sound of heavy breathing leaked out, suggesting that certain activities were still ongoing. The creaking bed let out a soft groan.

“Hmm… Or perhaps, do you miss your mother’s embrace? If you want, I can hug you tightly. Much more intensely than when you were a child.”

Isabella giggled softly. The sound of quiet laughter continued to echo in the room.

Ernst placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

“This is important. If there are any disturbances, I will have no choice but to eliminate them.”

The cold voice filled with killing intent abruptly cut off the laughter. It seemed that only then did they realize that the man beyond the door was the Empress’s son, the Empire’s prince, and a figure of power who could easily cut them all down without a second thought.

“Fine, let’s hear it. You all, just throw something on and go to the next room.”

Isabella’s voice had also turned slightly cold. The sound of hurriedly picking up clothes and dressing could be heard, and soon the door swung open.

Six men and one woman walked out, heads bowed.

Four Royal Guards, two black-skinned slaves often used in the southern regions, and a young maid who still had a girlish air about her.

Ernst glared at them coldly. They seemed to tremble like aspen leaves under the prince’s gaze, which seemed ready to kill them, and they shuffled into the next room.

“Are you just going to stand there? Come in. I’m quite curious what you came barging in here to say.”

Isabella, still unclothed, sat on the thoroughly soaked bed, smiling at Ernst. Ernst met her gaze directly and stepped into the room.

It was time to uncover her true intentions and have the final confrontation.

—

“So, speak now. What’s the reason for barging in so uncharacteristically?”

Unlike Ernst’s stiff expression, Isabella remained relaxed throughout.

She slightly parted her pale legs, using her fingertips to wipe away the fluids dripping down her heated skin and bringing them to her lips. Even a seasoned prostitute would be ashamed of such a lewd display, yet Ernst showed not a hint of disturbance.

“Matthias is dead, Mother.”

“Matthias? Ah, what a sad thing. You always cared for your younger brothers, so it must be even more painful… But if you came to report that to me, isn’t this visit a bit late? I couldn’t possibly not know.”

“You don’t seem particularly sad. You seem too busy making new children.”

Ernst gestured with his eyes to the thoroughly soaked bed. Judging by the state of it, she could easily be pregnant with triplets.

If the Empress’s belly starts to swell after the Emperor’s death, and the child’s skin turns out to be black… wouldn’t that be a scandal for the ages in the Empire’s history?

“Hmm… I’m glad to see you’ve learned to be sarcastic. Did you come here expecting me to shed tears? Like this?”

Isabella wiped her eyes with her fingertips as if shedding tears. A thin liquid flowed from the corners of her eyes.

What ran down her cheeks were not tears, but another form of mockery.

“Of course not. Matthias wouldn’t want you to shed tears for him.”

“Wouldn’t he? That child…”

“Would he be pleased to see the one who killed him feigning grief?”

A blatant accusation. Ernst glared at Isabella with sharp hostility. Isabella crossed her legs and snorted.

“…Bold words, Ernst. Are you suggesting that I killed Matthias? Whether you know it or not, it was actually Leopold’s knight—”

“You used him to do your bidding, didn’t you? Don’t make excuses. I didn’t come here to listen to excuses.”

Cutting off her nonsense firmly, Ernst took a step forward. Isabella stuck out her tongue, licking her lips. A mischievous smile hung on her glistening lips.

“Hoho… So? Then why did you come here…? Interrogating your mother with those terrifying eyes, what answer do you want? Go ahead, tell me.”

“…First, I want to ask about your plans. With Matthias gone, our ties with the Archbishops have weakened, and Faelun and Landenburg will soon arrive in the capital.”

Ernst started with a reasonable question. Before the catastrophe begins, to confirm this woman’s true intentions one last time.

“Yes, that’s likely.”

Isabella nodded calmly.

“The plan to frame Leopold won’t have much effect on the high nobles. The common folk might believe it, but they never trusted such rumors in the first place. Especially the secular electors, who know the royal family well, are probably convinced it was our doing. In fact, Duke Bien has already made up his mind.”

“Bien? You tried to persuade him?”

Isabella tilted her head, her thin, curved eyes mocking Ernst. As if to say he was wasting effort on the impossible.

“Yes. I offered to recognize his dukedom and cede part of the imperial territory as an independent kingdom… but that’s all null now. He said he could never trust an Empress and her eldest son who would brutally kill even their own child.”

He had also hinted at expelling Isabella’s faction once he ascended the throne… but it was useless. He said he couldn’t hand over the imperial throne to the bloodline of a madwoman who treated even her own flesh and blood so lightly.

“A pity.”

“A pity?”

“Is that the end of it? If things keep going like this, the fight for the throne is doomed. There’s no way to win the succession election now.”

Time is running out. Broken connections. Soaring suspicions.

Everything Isabella has done recently has been pushing the succession election toward defeat.

“Right?”

Isabella shrugged her shoulders. Her exposed chest swayed softly.

“So… you never even intended to win from the start, did you?”

Ernst clenched his teeth.

When Emperor Ferdinand II was assassinated, he was about 80% suspicious, but now he was certain.

Isabella had no intention of leaving the empire’s throne in the hands of the electors.

And there was only one way to ignore the election results and ascend to the throne.

“Of course. It’s only natural. You don’t have the talent to persuade your enemies. That’s Leopold’s specialty, not yours. If you want to win, you shouldn’t fight in your opponent’s area of expertise. You should choose the method you’re most confident in. If you want something, don’t use words—use force. That’s your talent.”

“…Are you saying we should start a civil war? In this empire? That’s insane. It’s impossible for our forces alone to defeat Pailun, Landenburg, and Vienna’s armies.”

Yes. There was no other way but to start a civil war and crush all of Leopold’s forces.

No, there was no way now. Thanks to Isabella.

And that was impossible.

A prince who defies the election results and starts a fratricidal war? The archbishops would never help, and the Imperial Army would be lucky just to stay neutral.

In the end, we’d have to fight with only the noble forces Isabella gathered… against the empire’s most elite troops with real combat experience. The chances of winning were zero.

“You don’t have to fight all of them, Ernst. Did you really think I wouldn’t prepare for that?”

Isabella chuckled and stroked Ernst’s chin.

It felt like maggots crawling up his chin, but Ernst didn’t have the energy to care.

Isabella’s words carried that much ominous implication.

“Prepare? What on earth have you done…!”

She smiled brightly.

A sinister look, a sneer full of malice.

It wasn’t a human expression.

“Pailun? If the beastmen start invading, they’ll have to go stop them. Landenburg? If Ka`har starts invading, they’ll head to the barrier. Vienna? If the empire starts a civil war, do you think the fairies will just sit back? Vienna will be too busy stopping them. In the end, all that’s left is Leopold’s army. You can handle that, can’t you?”

At that moment, Ernst finally understood Isabella’s goal.

And he made a decision.

“…I see. I understand your plan now. If that’s the case, we might be able to defeat Leopold.”

“If you understand…”

Ernst knocked Isabella’s arm away and drew his sword.

The blade gleamed coldly.

Isabella glanced at the longsword for a moment, then frowned slightly and looked back at Ernst.

“…What are you doing? Pointing a sword at your own mother? You’ve gone too far, Ernst.”

“Of course. Your goal wasn’t to become the ruler of the empire… No, your true goal was to tear the empire apart, wasn’t it?!”

Ernst no longer used formal speech.

The woman in front of him was talking about leading the empire to ruin.

It’s a fact most people overlook now, but… the other races are strong.

The empire was able to suppress them because the united strength of the empire was greater than that of the other races’ nations.

The other races were hostile to each other, so they never attacked the empire all at once.

But if three different races invaded the empire simultaneously while it was divided…

It wouldn’t just be a fight for the throne—the empire’s very order could collapse.

“Well, isn’t it just a matter of winning?”

“If I let things go your way, even if I win, the empire is finished. It will never regain its former glory.”

A civil war. A massive invasion by other races. Could the throne seized at the end of all that still be called the empire’s throne?

Absolutely not. Even if Ernst went to such lengths to win, Pailun, Landenburg, and Vienna wouldn’t recognize it.

The empire would be split into three or four pieces.

He realized it too late.

Who could have imagined that the woman who enjoyed all sorts of luxuries and pleasures from her position just below the emperor would have the goal of destroying it all herself?

As someone more of a soldier than a politician, Ernst never even considered that someone could have defeat itself as their goal.

Common sense would say that if the empire were to split, weaken, and eventually collapse, Isabella would lose the most.

The power, wealth, and status Isabella enjoyed were all possible because she was the empress of the empire.

If the empire fell, she would be nothing more than an ordinary woman.

“So?”

Isabella laughed.