I Don’t Need a Guillotine for My Revolution

Chapter 202: Abyssal Holy War - War Preparations (3)

Episode 202. Abyssal Holy War - Preparation for War (3)

Germanburg, the capital of the Germania Empire.

"Ooh, that's the Saintess Queen of Francia..."

"Living proof of God..."

"They say beneath that pure white robe lies a beauty that is almost inhuman..."

"I received a blessing from her at the late Emperor's funeral!"

Hearing the whispers from the roadside, Eris fought the urge to fan her flushing face.

Her attendance and blessing at the late Emperor's funeral had been half a sincere expression of condolence for her half-sister's husband, and half a political move to alleviate some of the hostility between Francia and the Germania Empire.

But even so, hearing such things spoken so openly in the capital of what had been an enemy nation made it difficult to maintain a calm, regal, and elegant gait.

It was a relief that her naturally sun-sensitive constitution made it seem normal for her to wear her robe's hood up and her veil down; otherwise, she would have had to struggle immensely to control her expression.Inwardly relieved, Eris walked through the prosperous streets of Germanburg until she finally came face-to-face with her half-sister and her son, whom she had not seen in a long time.

"It has been a long time, Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Germania Empire. And Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager."

"On be-behalf of the Germania Empire, I welcome you, Queen of Francia."

The Emperor, who had just come of age, still hadn't shed his boyish appearance and looked only at Cecilia. Cecilia's lips tightened faintly at her son's behavior, but she quickly composed herself and spoke with a natural smile.

"Welcome, Queen of Francia. I trust your journey was not uncomfortable. ...It has been a while."

*

After the banquet welcoming the emissary delegation had concluded, in a reception room for a private audience.

"You have gone through a lot."

Eris said calmly, looking at Cecilia who appeared quite exhausted at a glance. Cecilia looked back at Eris for a moment, then tilted her head and smiled lightly.

"Thank you."

Eris glanced at the maid who had prepared the tea as she bowed and exited the reception room, then moistened her throat with the warm tea and studied Cecilia.

Cecilia, for whom the expression 'a beautiful and elegant woman' would have been fitting when they first met, now had the face of a wise mother.

The deep exhaustion on her face was surely because she had to take on all the duties of hosting the guests, as the Emperor had quickly retired, claiming to feel unwell.

However, the fine wrinkles that makeup could no longer completely hide revealed not only that, but also that the years she had spent since the late Emperor's death had not been easy.

"I am worried that His Majesty the Emperor does not seem well. ...If you would permit me, shall I take a look at him?"

Cecilia let out an empty laugh, a 'Ha-', shook her head, and asked.

"Saintess Queen, do you still think of me as your older half-sister?"

"...If Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager, does not find it unpleasant."

As Eris answered cautiously, Cecilia twisted her lips into a smirk and said.

"That child's illness cannot be cured with Divine Power. It is a sickness of the heart called weakness."

Having said that, Cecilia raised her hand to press firmly on her eyelids and added.

"I raised the child poorly. I wanted him to become a great emperor, different from my husband, but it seems I went too far and it didn't turn out well."

Eris remained silent.

The Emperor was a minor when his throne was being used in a deal with Krafte.

But at the same time, he was old enough to have sound judgment and exert political influence.

At the time of Krafte's intervention, the Emperor was the same age as Eris when she first met Marquis Lafayette, Pierre de Lafayette.

Nevertheless, the fact that Cecilia, as the Kaiserin at the time, could bargain with the throne meant that he had just as little influence as Crown Prince.

Cecilia looked at Eris and chuckled lightly.

"You don't have to look at me with such eyes; I am fine. Just because I became the Empress Dowager doesn't mean I've been pushed into the background. I still hold nearly all the power in the Empire that I so love. Occasionally dealing with the idiots who try to tempt my son to oust me and control the Empire as they please is a special kind of fun, so I'm never bored."

Hearing her half-sister's words, Eris gave an awkward laugh.

"Indeed, I am not in a position to worry about you. It seems there's no need for it, either."

Cecilia also smiled faintly, savored the tea, and then set it down.

"Yes, I have no problems. ...At least, that will likely be the case as long as I am alive."

But a person cannot live forever.

Eris simply remained silent as she looked at the traces of time on Cecilia's face, and Cecilia, smiling brightly, changed her tone.

"My, I'm getting sentimental in my old age. In front of someone who has come with a most important matter. Well then, shall we hear this important business?"

Eris nodded readily and opened her mouth.

"The Revolutionary Kingdom of Francia, along with other nations, plans to declare war on Abyss Corporation."

Cecilia paused for a moment, then the corners of her mouth twisted up.

"Yes, I see. I thought as much."

Then she lifted her teacup, savored it again, and asked.

"But what does that have to do with the Germania Empire?"

Eris began to speak in a completely calm tone.

"Because I hope the Germania Empire will lend its strength to this war."

Cecilia asked with a bright smile.

"To our Empire, which waged a war to drag you from the throne?"

Eris smiled back and replied.

"Yes. From me, who blessed the late Emperor in his final moments despite all that."

Cecilia was silent for a moment.

But as time passed, the words that came from Cecilia's lips were cold.

"Personally, I am very grateful, Queen of Francia. But we both know there was a political calculation behind that noble act, and diplomacy between nations is not conducted on the leader's emotions alone."

"I know that as well, Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager. The one before you now is not the Saintess of the populace, but the Queen and emissary representing Francia."

"In that case, tell me why we should involve ourselves in your war, and what we stand to gain."

Eris nodded readily.

"First, there are the immense assets held by Abyss Corporation. I understand the Empire, in particular, has had a considerable amount of assets seized by them."

Cecilia gave a wry smile.

As a result of the Empire's crushing defeat in the war with Francia and its subsequent default on its debts to the demons, Abyss Corporation seized a significant portion of the Empire's overseas assets.

Unable to match Abyss Corporation's navy, the Empire could not even dream of recovering them. Instead, it spent its days busy with a civil war sparked by feudal lords who fell for the demons' sweet talk about returning a portion of the seized assets.

It was only because Cecilia suppressed it in time and brokered a peace treaty between Francia and Krafte that the throne was saved; otherwise, Cecilia's son would have been demoted from Emperor to a Grand Duke by now.

"From the Eastern Empire, we have been promised at least 80% of the reparations to be collected upon victory in the war with Abyss Corporation... or the spoils of war that will be plundered from Abyss Corporation's ruin. Of course, we plan to distribute a significant portion of this to the nations of the Central Continent who will join the Allied Forces."

Cecilia asked with a faint smile.

"And that distribution will, of course, be based on the contribution rate to the war?"

Eris replied with a natural smile of her own.

"Of course, Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager. The Empire's seized assets already belong to Abyss Corporation, so if the Empire does not participate, who could complain if we were to take them for ourselves?"

Cecilia let out an empty laugh.

"Where has the good-hearted Saintess who knew nothing of the world gone?"

Eris chuckled.

"I didn't do much wrong, but after getting hit by a few wars, I came to my senses."

With an expression of someone whose sore spot had been poked, Cecilia raised a hand to her forehead, then let out a small sigh.

"Yes, that's all well and good, but isn't it all just a story that's only possible if you win? The chance of winning... it's not non-existent, I suppose. The people of Francia are competent, so they must be proceeding because they think they have a decent chance of victory."

Cecilia fell silent for a moment, then spoke again.

"But those demons are formidable foes, and in any case, war requires sacrifice. ...I know I'm not one to talk, having started the last war, but the Imperial citizens will not want any more great sacrifices."

Eris nodded readily.

"I am well aware of that, Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager. ...Francia has also fought a long war, and its people are weary. However, if we do not fight now, they will one day become a greater calamity and sweep over the Central Continent. At times like this, the more nations that join forces, the more we can reduce the sacrifice."

Cecilia only caressed her teacup with her fingers, not giving an answer.

Still, Eris did not yield.

"You must have heard the stories of the drones. The Empire denied it, but I know full well that was for political reasons, or due to lobbying from the demons. Now, far more drones than in Iberica are fighting in the Eastern Empire. If the Eastern Empire falls as things are, is there any guarantee that their wave will not crash upon the Central Continent?"

"...Yes. Your concerns are valid. But at the same time, it's merely a possibility. To be frank, the Empire's internal affairs are still a mess. We managed to protect the throne, but that's all. The feudal lords still view the Empire with suspicion, and I'm already overwhelmed just protecting His Majesty the Emperor from them."

Cecilia laughed in self-mockery.

"Therefore, in this situation, I cannot push the already unstable Empire into further danger. Unfortunately, I am in a position where I can only pray for the victory of Francia and the Allied Forces, and focus on managing the Empire."

Eris stared intently at Cecilia and asked.

"And, if possible, you hope that while the Empire recovers from the wounds of the last war, Francia and the other countries will lose much of their national power in the war against the demons?"

"...Indeed, you won't be called a naive Saintess anywhere anymore."

Hearing Cecilia's reply, Eris smiled gently, and Cecilia furrowed her brow at the sight of her.

"If that is the case, then I urge you all the more to join the war, Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager."

"...Have you not been listening to anything I've said until now?"

Eris opened her mouth, her smiling expression unchanged.

"Your uncomfortable relationship with the Holy Theocracy has been a headache for you, has it not?"

"..."

Cecilia fell silent.

The Germania Empire started a war to seize the throne from a Saintess whose legitimacy was recognized by the Holy Theocracy.

At the time, they believed it was a war they would win anyway and could not give up the Francia throne just to please the Holy Theocracy, but after suffering a crushing defeat in the war she started, the Empire's internal unity and the support of the religious were shaken, leading to great chaos.

In fact, since three of the seven Prince-electors within the Empire were clerical lords who received orders from the Pope, managing to defend the throne this time was close to an act of brute force.

The Krafte Kingdom, which should have supported the anti-imperial faction, sold its vote to end the war it had crushingly lost, and Cecilia forcibly subjugated the other Prince-electors to protect the throne against all odds.

But Cecilia herself knew that there were bound to be problems with the power of an Emperor enthroned in such a manner, and the Pope, using the excuse of an emperor enthroned by military force, had yet to bless her son as the legitimate Emperor.

That doesn't mean the secular authority of the Emperor disappears, but the devout believers within the Empire use this to nitpick at the Emperor's legitimacy, further weakening his already fragile power.

To make matters worse, the queen of their traditional rival, Francia, is a Saintess Queen revered by all, making comparisons inevitable.

"As a Saintess officially recognized by His Holiness the Pope, I will arrange not only for the reconciliation between the Empire and the Theocracy, but also for His Majesty the Emperor's enthronement to be blessed."

"Ha."

Cecilia finally let out an empty laugh.

Even without this, she had been deeply skeptical about whether her unreliable son could protect the Empire if she were to die or lose her real power.

"You've brought an offer I cannot refuse."

Eris replied with a wide smile.

"There are many competent people in the government. I've learned a lot thanks to them."

Cecilia could only sigh.

Competent people.

It was likely no coincidence that she was reminded of the Grand Duke whom she had driven to the battlefield, who had done his best but ultimately died quietly in defeat.

As Cecilia was feeling a sense of bitterness, Eris drove the final nail in.

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager. The day will come when His Majesty the Emperor must stand on his own. If you do not settle the old grudge between our two nations before then, there is no guarantee that the same thing will not happen again."

Eris said no more.

But by then, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager would not be able to protect the Empire.

And yet, the words, uncertain whether they were Eris's or Cecilia's own, rang clearly in her heart.

Finally, Cecilia slowly closed her eyes.

"...I shall ask His Majesty the Emperor to convene the Imperial War Council."

Eris replied.

"May there be a blessing upon all the people of the Revolutionary Kingdom of Francia and the Germania Empire."