Chapter 527

Charlotte couldn't believe the news that Heinrich von Schwarz was going to be assassinated. "No, it can't be true. But it's happening, isn't it? It's all my fault!" "Just assume it's happening and tell me," she said. Heinrich dies during a mission, disguised as a death by monsters instead of assassination. Ludwig realizes something is wrong at Heinrich's funeral and is granted permission to investigate secretly. He discovers that the incident was a plot by the Kernstadt royal family. After the incident, Berthold executes all the Kernstadt royals and unites the command system under the empire. The Kernstadt army rebels, but Ludwig persuades them to continue fighting for the sake of humanity. If Heinrich dies, the alliance will suffer a great loss. The alliance bleeds power and splits up, but is reunited due to Ludwig's persuasion and diplomacy. The incident causes tension between the empire and the Kernstadt army. Charlotte wants to prevent the incident from happening and warns Heinrich through a letter, but she is unsure if it will be effective. She considers the possibility of contacting Heinrich's brothers instead. "That alone would cause a huge command system chaos. Even if I were to intervene, if the Demon King appeared and killed the Kernstadt royals at the Allied Forces' base, the hatred towards me would pierce the sky and the anxiety within the Allied Forces would increase. They would think that the Demon King could attack the Allied Forces at any time. And if I were to do such a thing, Heinrich would never forgive me for killing his family. If I didn't kill them, I wouldn't know if I would have died instead. If there is no proper way, I could choose the method of killing all of Heinrich's brothers. But that is not a solution, not a responsibility, but a burden. No matter what I do, the hatred towards me will pierce the sky, and if I think of Heinrich as my family's enemy, my burden will only become heavier. There is no need to deliberately shoulder such hatred. It is possible to disguise it as someone else's wrongdoing, whether through Sarkagar or by assassinating. In the end, since an assassination occurred within the Allied Forces, there will be a disturbance and the Allied Forces' marching speed will slow down. The command system will be reorganized, and if the Allied Forces start commanding the Kernstadt army as originally planned, problems will arise. Even if the only successor of Kernstadt, Heinrich, takes over the command, it is a problem. That guy is just strong himself, he has never commanded or led, and he has no talent. In the end, the three who want to kill Heinrich are humans who clearly have their own usefulness. If left alone, they will cause an accident. The three royals who are doing their job well are villains who cause as many problems as they are irreplaceable. It's easy to get rid of them. But the problems that arise after they are gone will cause other problems. So as quietly as possible. To completely pass this incident without Heinrich dying and without a big trouble within the Allied Forces. Is that possible? That's why I came to find Charlotte because I can't think of anything else. "Hmm... I don't really know the situation of the Allied Forces, but... I think I have an idea of what Reinhardt is thinking..." Charlotte starts to seriously think about my question. "Heinrich is in a situation where he has to show his leadership suddenly. Heinrich's brothers can't help but be nervous... So they want to eliminate him before he becomes a bigger threat... Hmm... It doesn't seem like there's no possibility of that happening." Charlotte tilts her head. "But it's a matter of possibility, can we be sure that it will happen? If it's an assassination, they will probably try to disguise it as a death during a mission... It's hard to believe that the Schwarz royal family is so... recklessly stupid..." A stupid thing. I can only agree with Charlotte's words. In the midst of the Gate incident, Heinrich's brothers plan to kill him because he is too powerful. The protagonist considers eliminating the three royals who want to kill Heinrich, but worries about the problems that may arise after they are gone. Charlotte suggests that Heinrich's brothers may be nervous about his sudden leadership and may try to eliminate him before he becomes a bigger threat. However, Charlotte also points out that it's hard to believe that the Schwarz royal family is so recklessly stupid to attempt an assassination. The protagonist is left to ponder his next move. "Schwarz royal family may perceive this as interference in their affairs."

"......But couldn't they also react negatively and accuse us of interfering?"

"Of course."

Charlotte sighs.

"Kernstatt is the Empire's first vassal state."

"......Is that so?"

"Remember Orbis Class?"

"Ah."

Orbis Class would have participated in the Gate incident, and while the class itself disappeared, the students would still be stationed at the temple. One of the many incidents that occurred as a result of my actions was the collapse of Orbis Class.

The relationship between Orbis Class and Royal Class can be explained in one word.

Inferiority.

Eternal first and second place.

The Empire and Kernstatt must be the same.

"Kernstatt is the country closest to the Empire, so they have a tremendous sense of inferiority towards not only the Empire but also their own people. But how much greater is the Schwarz royal family's sense of inferiority?"

"Ah......I see."

The country closest to the Empire ultimately has the strongest desire for the Empire.

To be precise, the Schwarz royal family of Kernstatt is the most envious of the Gladius royal family in the world and has a sense of inferiority because of it.

"The Empire has not always been peaceful. It's just not recorded in history. How many times has the Schwarz royal family tried to overthrow the Empire?"

There are enemies of humanity.

The Empire was created under that banner.

But that doesn't mean there was no unrest.

As a princess, Charlotte would know a lot about those unrecorded assassinations and coups.

"So the most important thing for the Empire's emperor is to maintain a relationship with Kernstatt that is not too far away. It's the most important diplomatic target and a potential enemy, but also the most important ally."

Kernstatt is important to the Empire, whether in a good or bad way.

"Leaving aside the fact that approaching Berthus is dangerous for him, if Berthus were to exclude Heinrich from the Schwarz royal family and incorporate him into the Empire's personnel, it could be seen as a gesture that the Empire is trying to swallow up the Schwarz royal family. So of course they would perceive it as interference in their affairs and react negatively."

"Well, if a strong contender for the throne voluntarily gives up his claim, shouldn't they be happy about it, even if they hate the Empire?"

At my words, Charlotte tilts her head.

"Linehart, if we do this, it's not just a gesture or a possibility, it's actually possible for Berthus to swallow up the Schwarz royal family through Heinrich."

"What did you say?" "The right of succession is just a delusion. Even if Heinrich gives it up, it could still affect the succession of the throne in the future. And if Berthus decides to make Heinrich the king of Kernstatt, he could use him to swallow up the Schwarz royal family. Charlotte realizes that this plan won't work and warns that it could lead to Heinrich's death. Cutting off Heinrich's ties with Kernstatt could actually provoke the Schwarz royal family and make them more likely to try to overthrow the Empire. Killing the Schwarz royal family members in the garrison would only lead to more chaos. Both Heinrich and Louise von Schwarz are important and killing them would be meaningless." Translation:

Regardless of who dies, if there is no way to solve the problem other than death, what should we do instead?

"Let's bring him in."

"...What?"

For a moment, I didn't understand what Charlotte was saying.

"Heinrich is too involved in political factions within the Allied Forces. I think it will be after the war if an assassination occurs... But if Heinrich is assassinated during the march, every moment will be dangerous. Then, there seems to be no other way to preserve Heinrich's life than to be with us."

"...That's true."

I haven't thought of such a plan.

"But there's no guarantee that Heinrich will join us willingly."

"That's right. There have been events so far, and it may be difficult for us, and you, to accept."

The possibility of Heinrich willingly joining my side seems very low.

It is clear that forceful or violent means must be used.

"But still, the only thing that comes to mind right now is... this method."

Charlotte said so and ate the remaining sandwich.

Absorbing Heinrich.

We can try, but will Heinrich be convinced?

The reason is not for our power enhancement, but for your safety.

Heinrich will not be convinced of that reason when there has been no attempt at assassination.

Let's think about my case.

Berthus secretly approached and tried to drive me and the core forces of Edina out, telling me to join the Empire.

Would I believe that?

I would never believe it, right?

* * *

Absorbing Heinrich.

There seems to be no other way at the moment.

After dinner, Charlotte and I had a cup of tea on the lively terrace, even though it was late at night.

I like looking down at Lazarus from the top, but the view of Lazarus is just as good from this terrace.

I think the scenery from the Imperial Palace is better than from the temple.

We need to think a little more about how to absorb Heinrich.

"The Kernstatt royal family... It doesn't matter to me now, but they were a bunch of talkers and troublemakers."

"I heard that it was especially so from the Empire's perspective..."

The position of the First Imperial State and the ruler of all Imperial States, the Imperial Family.

The Schwarz royal family must envy and be jealous of the Empire, and it seemed like a natural thing to hear about the circumstances.

There is a possibility of becoming the Empire, but the Gladius Imperial Family is too strong.

"It may be rude to say this to you, but the reason why the Gladius Imperial Family has been maintained and the Schwarz royal family has not been able to overthrow the Empire is because of the influence of Darkland."

"That's right."

It's not exactly the same thing, but Berthus also said something similar in the past.

So when I caused a terrorist attack in the Imperial Palace to rescue demon prisoners, Berthus actually liked it even though he suffered substantial losses.

He said that if the incident could make the Empire last longer. If I didn't exist and the Gate Incident didn't happen, there could have been a revolution by the revolutionary forces or the Empire could have split under the leadership of Kernstadt. One big event could have consumed all the world's affairs and turned them into nothingness. "Do you know that there is an academy in Kernstadt that is similar to the Temple?" "...Really?" It was a story I had never heard before. Kernstadt can only have a sense of inferiority to the Empire. Therefore, they cannot help but envy the Temple, which is a very important business of the Empire and a cradle for nurturing and securing talent. So Kernstadt created a system that benchmarked the Temple rather than sending royals to the Temple. "They say the quality of education there is good too... I don't know much about it, but they seem to be working hard to catch up with the Temple." Just as the Royal Class has little interest in the Orbis Class, there was little interest in the Kernstadt Academy, which was trying to catch up with the Temple by any means necessary. Anyway, there's no comparison, so why bother. That's how it felt. "So it was quite surprising for the Empire or the Temple that Heinrich enrolled in the Temple. It was like the Schwarz royal family of Kernstadt sending royals to the Temple. That's how it felt." "That's true." There was an accident. That's why he was sent to the Temple like he was expelled. It was the first time I had heard of the circumstances that he couldn't even enter the academy inside Kernstadt. I know the circumstances. But does Charlotte know too? "Hmm... I don't know if it's rude to talk about it behind your back, but... there's an incident that is estimated to be the reason why Heinrich had to come to the Temple." "I roughly know." "...Really?" I pretended not to know and then gestured that I roughly knew what Charlotte was trying to say. Charlotte didn't ask about the source of the information. "When he awakened his ability at a very young age, the Sonwi brothers died... That's what I heard." "Oh, that was probably the content." "Hmm..." Charlotte took a sip of her tea. "Anyway, it was an accident, an inevitable event... But even though Heinrich enrolled in the Temple when he was in elementary school, it was almost like he was kicked out and sent away... Now that I think about it." "...Really?" "Yes. But it was still an accident. It wasn't intentional. But... if you think about it, the Empire that hates him so much... even sent him to the Temple. They couldn't execute him because he was a royal, even though it was a very dangerous and big incident where direct royals died. So they sent him to a faraway country as if they didn't want to see him again. After that, they cut off contact. Well, even now, but at that time, there was a perception that supernatural powers were dangerous and powerful... " "That's right." Dangerous power. Due to the unknown source and origin, supernatural powers were sometimes considered dangerous, and it was probably worse in the past. "Don't you think the punishment was a bit too much? Someone died, and even brothers died. But the accident remains the same." I think Heinrich's punishment was a bit excessive. But he's a royal. "I couldn't help but feel that he was being hated too much." The Temple is a school where powerful people, nobles, and royals from various regions attend and receive education together. However, it is ultimately a school for the children of powerful families. "You can get an idea of the political situation in each region by looking at the background of the students who come to the Temple. The Temple also played a role as an information gathering agency that sifted through such information to understand the continent's situation." "Really?" "Isn't there a reason not to?" In the end, the Temple collects information about the students. Of course, it is limited to students from influential families, including nobles and royals. "It's not to the extent of following the students, but it's just inferring from the information that's been entered. The Temple has a dedicated department for that." I learned one of the secrets of the Temple that I didn't know before. It's not a professional intelligence agency, but since it's a place where a lot of information is gathered, there was no reason for the Temple not to use that information. "So... about Heinrich von Schwarzkopf that I reported on... it's speculative information, but there's one important thing." "What is it?" "Heinrich is hated by the royal family. To an extreme degree." "I see." "In cases where extreme mental states occur, it's common for supernatural powers to awaken, right?" "Yes..." "I wonder what situation Heinrich awakened his ability in. But he doesn't remember what the process was. He was too young." Supernatural powers awaken in extreme mental situations. Heinrich killed his brothers. The description that he was chased to the Temple because he received the hatred of the Kernstadt royal family due to that accident. What's behind it. "It feels like he was abused." "..." "The royal family didn't hate him because the youngest killed someone. It's different." Charlotte calmly says. Heinrich von Schwarzkopf suffered too much pain at a young age due to the abuse of his brothers. In the midst of that, he awakened pyrokinesis and killed his brothers. He killed them, but it was still an accident. A supernatural power awakened at the end of the abuse. And the reason for that abuse. He didn't receive abuse for no reason. "Heinrich von Schwarzkopf may be a bastard." Charlotte makes a terrifying inference. "Then why is Heinrich so hated by his brothers? Why do the Schwarzkopf royals at the garrison want to kill Heinrich in this situation, as you said?" It's a very sorry thing to say to Heinrich, but Charlotte's cruel inference is another truth that I don't know about this situation. The gap in the story that needs to be filled. Soon, I couldn't help but think that her inference was close to the truth. Then Heinrich would be unaware that he is a bastard.