Chapter 198

The moment I was able to have a conversation with the prince was after the maids Leopold had called cleaned the room spotless.

The maids who entered the room were startled by the state of the floor, but they quickly brought cleaning tools and scrubbed the floor thoroughly.

“So, where is this place? It doesn’t seem like the Church Order’s infirmary.”

The interior was different from that. To begin with, the people who had just arrived were palace maids, not priests.

“This is the sickroom where my mother recuperated…”

Leopold’s expression darkened a bit. …He must be feeling like old memories were buried under a pile of rubble.

I wasn’t exactly in the mood to care about his feelings either.

The cut on my chest was healing but still throbbed horribly, and my head felt dizzy, as if it had been put through a blender. My stomach was still churning with nausea, and my right arm, which had been forced to move unnaturally due to Hersela’s technique, was also aching.

Using Life Force threads to pull and move my arm? Who knew such a thing was possible? …That wasn’t a setting in the game.

“…If it was for treatment, it would’ve been better to rely on the Elpinel Church Order. What happened after I collapsed?”

“Where to begin… In short, you could say Isabella got the better of us.”

Leopold explained what had happened over the past week. Just listening to it made my head hurt.

—

“So… Isabella and Ernst escaped to their base, I got nicknamed the ‘Cannibal,’ and the Empire is on the brink of civil war? Good grief.”

A sigh escaped me. The situation had gotten incredibly tangled while I was asleep.

“There are a few differences, but that’s the gist of it.”

“Differences?”

Leopold nodded.

“Not many people believe the rumors about the princess’s eating habits… Even with the knights’ testimonies, the rumors were too horrifying to be credible. Especially since the knights who testified all joined Ernst’s faction. Even those who believe I killed my father and brothers don’t believe the princess tore people apart… and ate them. They think it’s slander spread by Ernst.”

…Should I consider this a relief? I’m not sure. The truth was so insane that it was being dismissed as a lie. The irony wasn’t lost on me.

“And it’s not on the brink of civil war. The civil war has already begun. Duke Bien’s guards clashed with Valenstein, and Ernst is inciting lords across the land. Right now, lords supporting me and those supporting Ernst are engaged in sporadic battles across the Empire.”

“…Didn’t you say before that a civil war wouldn’t happen?”

A civil war? This was the worst news. Maybe it would’ve been better not to get involved in the throne struggle at all.

Leopold would’ve died, and many people would’ve suffered, but… wouldn’t the death toll have been lower than the Empire splitting in half and fighting itself?

“Common sense would’ve made it impossible, but… Isabella isn’t someone you can judge by common sense. My mistake.”

“I won’t believe a single boast from Your Highness from now on.”

Isabella wouldn’t start a civil war. Valenstein wouldn’t side with Isabella. Not a single thing this guy had confidently declared had turned out to be true.

“I’m ashamed…”

“Even so, how did such a staged act work? Did the Elpinel Church Order not refute any of this? Lacey is on our side, so the accusation of collaborating with a witch shouldn’t hold…”

Right. That was the biggest question.

Considering her position and the support she had among the people, if she had just helped Leopold, public opinion wouldn’t have turned this bad. If they had just acknowledged my lineage or the Oath Sword, they could’ve dismissed the claims that I sided with a witch as slander.

Leopold shook his head and sighed.

“Unfortunately, she’s currently missing. Probably… she was trying to secretly contact the investigators sent by the Holy Kingdom, and the information leaked. The fact that Ernst’s side isn’t using her suggests she hasn’t been captured.”

Missing? How? Could it be Isabella’s doing?

If she’s been captured… that’s the worst possible development. A saintess candidate, who should’ve been crucial in the fight against monsters, falling into the hands of a witch and becoming a pawn.

No, if she had been captured, they would’ve used her by now. In a civil war where both sides are accusing each other of being witches, there’s no clearer trump card than Lacey.

For now, I’ll assume she hasn’t been captured.

“A saintess candidate who was trying to expose Isabella as a witch has gone missing, and the Elpinel Church Order and the Holy Kingdom aren’t making a fuss about it?”

“Officially, she’s in seclusion, praying for the Empire’s peace. The Holy Kingdom’s cardinals wouldn’t believe that, but… since only a week has passed, there’s been no significant news.”

Well, it would’ve taken about a week for the news of Lacey’s ‘seclusion’ to reach the Holy Kingdom. How they’ll react is something we’ll find out later.

“That’s why, for now, the Elpinel Church Order within the Empire is being led by Archbishop Trier, who has supported Ernst. He hasn’t refuted any of the rumors and is treating this as an imperial succession dispute unrelated to the Holy Kingdom.”

“Declaring neutrality, I also ordered the priests under my command to remain neutral. That’s why the princess had to be moved from the church’s shelter to her mother’s sickroom.”

Neutrality, huh?

On the surface, it seems fair, but in reality, it’s like saying they’re the enemy.

Even though the Archbishop, who is also an Elector, should know exactly how things are going, he declared he wouldn’t intervene.

“…It seems we can’t expect much help from the Elpinel Church for the time being.”

“That’s right. It’s called neutrality, but in reality, Archbishop Triere has likely sided with Isabella. I suspect he’s the one who leaked Lacey’s whereabouts to Isabella.”

So, even the security measures we took were within Isabella’s grasp.

I can’t blame Lacey for being careless.

In a world where the existence of gods is proven, who would have imagined that someone as high-ranking as an Archbishop would betray their god?

“A priest betraying the god they serve—is that common here?”

Aren’t they afraid of divine wrath?

They might be safe now, but what about after death?

“Normally, it’s rare. After death, Elpinel would likely seize their soul and cast it into hell… It seems Isabella’s rewards were sweet enough to endure eternal torment.”

“What about the Shaulite Church? Are they neutral too?”

“They also declared they wouldn’t intervene in the civil war… but they did cooperate with the treatment. They would have treated Ernst’s faction the same way if asked.”

We can’t expect much from them either.

They’re not a church I’m particularly close to… and without evidence, claiming Isabella is a witch won’t get me anywhere.

In the end, we’ll have to rely on Leopold and the Electors’ forces to defeat Isabella…

“By the way, how is Marquis Ludwig doing? Valenstein mentioned that the Ka`har are advancing toward the barrier.”

It’s hard to believe, but if that’s true, Marquis Ludwig must be tied down defending the barrier.

…Of all times, why now? Is this Isabella’s doing, or just a coincidence? It’s hard to say.

“I was planning to ask the princess to head to Landenburg once she recovers. Given the situation, we need to quickly resolve the chaos in the east and merge Landenburg’s forces. Plus, for the princess’s exile to be recognized, she needs to draw a clear line against the Ka`har.”

Essentially, he’s asking me to go fight the Ka`har forces.

If I don’t show that level of determination, even within the 1st Prince faction, there will be those who distrust me.

“But is that okay? It seems too much for Persval to guard His Highness alone.”

“Duke Bien and Duke Pailoon have also arrived in the capital with their entourages, so it shouldn’t be a big issue. They also agree that Ernst, who started the civil war, must be suppressed.”

“…Once I head east, what’s your plan? You’re not just going to sit around waiting for troops to gather, are you?”

Leopold’s forces are stronger than Ernst’s, but since most of them are border lords, it takes time to gather them all. That’s the biggest weakness.

The reason we couldn’t recklessly provoke Isabella before was because Marquis Ludwig’s main forces were too far away, leaving us short on immediate strength.

In other words, if Isabella wanted to win, she should have incited the lords to launch simultaneous attacks instead of concentrating her forces to strike the capital all at once.

The fact that she didn’t do that and chose the opposite strategy means she’s opting for a prolonged war instead of a quick decisive battle—a strategy that, by common sense, is doomed to fail.

So, either Isabella is a clueless fool when it comes to strategy, or she’s plotting something beyond conventional wisdom… probably the latter.

If she were a fool, we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place.

So, we need to move as quickly as possible before Isabella can pull any tricks.

If we wait for our forces to gather and leave her alone, only to have the Imperial Palace collapse and the civil war break out again with just one day left… well, we might need some physical therapy.

“I don’t plan to just sit around and wait either. I don’t know Isabella’s plan, but if she’s trying to buy time, we should strike first.”

Leopold quickly shook his head.

At least we’ve learned one lesson from this: we can’t give Isabella any more time.

“First, we’ll use Duke Bien’s forces, closest to the Benes territory, as the vanguard to march forward. They’ll suppress only Ernst’s rebel forces along the way. The northern army, led by Duke Pailoon, will follow behind to deal with the enemies in the rear. Finally, the eastern army, led by the princess and the border lord, will join in. It should work out somehow, right?”

“Well… as long as the northern army doesn’t join too late, it might be doable. Ernst’s forces are also scattered.”

It’s a bit… no, honestly, it seems quite risky.

But it’s better than giving Isabella more time.