They were all competent nobles. In other words, they were people who survived by stepping on the competition. It wouldnāt be hard to find someone among them who had also secretly killed their sibling for the sake of safely inheriting their peerage.
However, the peerage that was on the line for Elizabeth was emperor. It was obvious what she would do if you compared the stability of the empire with her little brotherās life. Itās a crime to kill oneās younger sibling; however, nobles donāt fear the act of committing crimes. They only fear having to make excuses for them.
Donāt make excuses and simply rush forward toward authority. This was the ideology of nobles. If you are unable to bear the blame after having committed numerous crimes during your process to acquire authority, then that would be your limit. If you cannot avoid it, then harbor it.
This was the same for Elizabeth von Habsburg.
āWhy am I admitting to slaying my kin? You must all be thinking this. I declare here and now that I will continue to commit immoral deeds.ā
She looked forward with a dark and placid gaze.
āOur Habsburg imperial army will raze the capital to the ground. However, I will not be the one to give this order. It will be His Majesty the Emperor.ā
āThe Emperorā¦ā¦? Has Your Highness perhaps suggested this plan to His Majesty the Emperor?ā
Baron Wittenmyer furrowed his brows.
The Imperial Princess shook her head.
āOf course not. I am acting on my own. Tonight, I will lead my royal guards to attack the imperial palace. My father has already been confined, so we will simply be picking him up. We will then forge a royal order.ā
āForgery!?ā
The Baron gasped. The generals around him reacted in the same way.
āWe will also be securing the 2nd Imperial Prince, my brother Ferdinand. The Emperor will make the order for the capital to be burned down while the 2nd Imperial Prince will be the one to carry it out. This will affect their public sentiment. At that time, I will be the only one to argue that we should protect the capital. ā¦ā¦Of course, I am a devoted daughter who cannot go against her father.ā
Elizabeth let out a snort.
āI will argue that we must protect the empireās pride and our people, but it will be pointless. Elizabeth von Habsburg will shed tears of blood as she ultimately follows her fatherās orders. However, as a final protest, I will confine myself to my room.ā
āā¦ā¦Your Highness intends to turn all of the peopleās rage toward the royal family?ā
Wittenmyer asked. He couldnāt hide the trembling in his voice; however, no one pointed it out. All of the other generals felt the same way, including Kurz Schleiermacher.Ā
The Imperial Princess spoke.
āPillage the rich commoners, the merchant groups, and dig up the graves of previous emperors. ā¦ā¦However, you generals will secretly distribute the money that has been gathered in this way back to the people.ā
āThusā¦ā¦while the utterly clueless nobles and commanders are pillaging the peopleā¦ā¦we, Your Highnessā subordinates, will be raising our public sentimentā¦ā¦.ā\n
āThat is correct.ā
A stillness fell over the tent. It was the same silence as before in the fact that no one was opening their mouth; however, different from before, this silence was sweeping through the tent. It was like they were in the eye of the storm.
āBut, Your Highness, we would be using His Majesty the Emperor and the His Highness the Imperial Prince as disposable cards.ā
Wittenmyer spoke carefully.
āThis will harm the dignity of the royal family.ā
āDid I not say that I will continue to commit immoral deeds?ā
Kurz Schleiermacher thought of the worst as he listened to the conversation. Forging a royal order and also putting all of the blame on the Imperial Prince were already quite the splendid immoral deeds. However, the Imperial Princess declared that she would continue to commit more immoral deeds. What could that possibly be?
āImmediately after we have abandoned the capital and retreated, I will kill the Imperial Prince.ā
āā¦ā¦!ā
āThe opinion of the people is the will of Heaven. Punishment must naturally befall upon someone who goes against the will of Heaven. I, Elizabeth von Habsburg, will punish my second brother, no, the criminal Ferdinand von Habsburg.ā
Kurz Schleiermacher felt his palms get sweaty. He wanted to shout and ask if she was sane. She was already suffering from the guilt of having killed her little brother in the past.
As the Imperial Princessā secret spy and close aide, Kurz knew that the Imperial Princess had nightmares every night. He would occasionally hear her groans from outside her tent. Robert. Iām sorry, Robertā¦ā¦. She would often say these words in her sleep. And yet, she wants to kill her kin again?
āYou will fall apart, my lord.ā
There is a high likelihood that the Imperial Princessā emotions will die. Her body will be unable to endure it as well. If she werenāt a third rank swordmaster who could use aura, she would have died from overwork a long time ago. She may have resolved herself to become the monster of this age, but she also has emotions. Sheāll look fine on the outside, but her insides will slowly crumble until, eventually, she falls apart like a temple that was unable to stand against the test of time and crumbled to dust.
The Imperial Princess had not finished talking.
āAfterward, I will threaten the Emperor and receive the throne.ā
āAbdicating the throne by forceā¦ā¦.ā
Immoral deed after immoral deed.
āImmediately after, I will gather the refugees of the capital to one place and make a loud declaration. Although our Habsburg Empire with 500 years of history has fallen on this day, a new Habsburg Republic will take its place.ā
A new Habsburg Republic.
The faces of the generals contorted as they knew how much destructive force these words had. Just now, the supreme commander of the empire declared that she would end the empire herself. She was going to end her gallant and glorious bloodline.Ā
āBut why a republic? Is there something to gain from that!?ā \nKurz shouted in his mind. Even if there was something to gain politically by carrying out a scorched earth policy, abandoning the capital, killing the Imperial Prince, and receiving the throne, was that enough to also abolish the Imperial Throne?
āYour Highness, that is reckless! That would create an excessive amount of burden.ā
āA republic? There is no reason for us to turn our back on the empire and establish a republic!ā
āPlease reconsider!ā
The tent became chaotic like a shaken beehive. Please reconsider. I do not understand. It would be better to maintain the empireās pride and fall valiantly in battle. All of the generals shouted their sincere thoughts.
Kurz desperately churned his brain while amidst all the noise.
This was a plan given by Her Highness the Imperial Princess. Even if it looked reckless at a glance, it was most likely guileful on the inside. He wanted to know its secret intent.
āAdministrative and economic power will decline momentarily once the capital is gone. Even if we are able to maintain our public sentiment, itāll be pointless if the nation itself falls to the very bottom.ā
Furthermore, Her Lordship would personally be taking on a scar that she could never removeā¦ā¦. What could there possibly be to gain by burning the imperial capitalā¦ā¦? A reason for taking on this incredible burden in order to establish a republicā¦ā¦. This would only worsen their relations with other nationsā¦ā¦.
āWaitāother nations?ā
At that moment, an electric current shot through Kurzās brain.
āThere areā¦ā¦! There are things to gain by abandoning the capital and declaring a republic nationā¦ā¦. There are enormous things to gainā¦ā¦!ā
Kurz Schleiermacher couldnāt control his mouth. He blurted out his words due to his shock. The other generals turned to look at Kurz. The blonde medical captain wasnāt in the mental state to notice their gazes as he continued.Ā
āFirst, we would be able to cater to both our public sentiment and the sentiment of our militaryā¦ā¦. The peopleās anxiety comes from the scorched earth policy and will be increased by the evacuation of the capital while the anxiety of our soldiers comes from the ideology that was spread by that accursed Demon Lord. By punishing the Imperial Prince and establishing a republic nationā¦ā¦this would make both the people and the military support Her Highness fully.ā
āGeneral Schleiermacher, our public sentiment is not the issue.ā
Baron Wittenmyer retorted. He had also gotten worked up.
āOur administration and the economy of our nation are the immediate issues as they will be destroyed.ā
āAdministrationā¦ā¦Yes, the administration may be an issueā¦ā¦. However, the misfortunate situation of our administration and the economy may turn out to be a blessing in disguise!ā
āA blessing in disguise? What do you meanā¦ā¦?ā
āThink about it, Baron Wittenmyer.ā
Kurz spoke passionately.
\nQuite literally, all of humanity would praise the birth of the new Habsburg Republic.
Kurz Schleiermacher turned his head and the other generals also turned their trembling gazes to the Imperial Princess.
āSince when was it?ā
When did she start planning this?
āWas it when Crowned Prince Rudolf was captured at Austerlitz? Or when you were defeated during the ceremonial speeches on Bruno Plains? Or was it perhaps when the Queen of Brittany visited you? Since whenā¦ā¦did you start planning to abandon the capital and establish a new nation?ā
She shouted at them. The generals all flinched before the 17-year-old girl.
āFrom now on, you all are no longer simple generals of Habsburg. You are the warriors that will protect humanity at the frontline. If we fall, then all of the other nations will fall. Our defeat means the defeat of humanity. āDo you all realize the weight of your responsibility?ā
The Imperial Princess took a step forward.
āWe will no longer be allowed to be divided. From the commoners to the imperial family, and the army to the merchants and farmers, every human must unite to create a single nation. That is what this new Habsburg Republic will be. That is the true color of the nation will we soon become!ā
She unsheathed her sword, revealing a blade that shined as radiantly as her silver hair.
āWe will also punish the vassals who have been ruining our empire for the past hundreds of years while we are punishing Imperial Prince Ferdinand. There will be no exceptions. We must take disciplinary action against corruption. Show the people that our nation is worth devoting their lives to.ā
The gaze of every single general seated at the table was directed to Imperial Princess Elizabeth.
āIf the Crowned Prince Faction and the Imperial Prince Faction are dealt with, then you all will take those vacant positions. From this point forth, you will all become essential, leading members of the nation. You have the ability to do so, thus the people will support you according to your abilities. For this sake, we will only observe as the capital is pillaged. We will later return the pillaged supplies back to the people.ā
Manipulate everything from behind while acting nobler than anyone else while in front of others. Save humanity through a lie. The devils who were causing this havoc were contrarily going to become the defenders of heaven. āKurz Schleiermacher shuddered at the thought of this paradox.
The Imperial Princess made a declaration.
āToday, from this moment on, we will deceive all of humanity and history itself.ā
***
TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I donāt have anything in particular to say about the chapter this time. Itās just a lot of politics. I do feel like I should thank all of you guys who have been reading my translations and have been supportive of me. Even if you arenāt paying for early chapters, just knowing that there are so many people out there whoāve been enjoying my translations is good enough to keep me going.Ā