Following that last remark, Franz spent a few moments reliving the past. Johannes did the same.
The emperor's children were about to take the same path that he himself had once traversed. It was a path wet with blood. Even knowing that, Johannes wouldn't stop them.
The fight for the throne had made Johannes who he was today, and the experience would be an invaluable asset to whoever became emperor.
The Adrasia Empire was powerful, but not invincible. It had rivals to fight against. That was why the empire needed an emperor who was consistently smart, skilled, and strong. The battle for the throne was what helped single out such a candidate and was good practice for one's service as emperor.
Anyone who couldn't survive that battle and come out victorious was unqualified to be emperor. It was something of a tradition, passed down through generations of the imperial family.
"Back in the day, you pretended to be a fool. Even as the eldest son, people used to refer to you as the prodigal prince."
"All because it was too dangerous to lead the conflict for the throne. That's how great the risk of being assassinated is. It's what happened to my own son..."
"There was never any evidence found of an assassination. You and I both thoroughly investigated the crown prince's death. Do you still suspect that possibility?"
"I'm convinced of it. The crown prince was murdered. He was brilliant, but he was too kind. Someone exploited that. If only he'd had someone close to him who could at least make up for that one weakness..."
"That part was up to fate. And while we're on the subject, I'm intrigued to see what our fourth runner-up in influence will bring to the table this time around."
Johannes grinned in response to Franz's comment. He felt the same way.
"So you're wondering too, huh? At first glance, Leonard's influence appears to have been garnered by his charismatic personality. But without a doubt, there's someone else working behind the scenes. He'd never have been able to grow his influence so quickly otherwise."
"Do you think that someone is Prince Arnold?"
"Yes. He reminds me of myself. I get the feeling his incompetence is all an act."
"I agree. But unlike you, Your Majesty, I do not sense any aspiration for the throne in him. He also appears to be engineering his own bad reputation. From what I hear, no matter what anyone does to him, he never fights back, and by now, all the nobility utterly disrespect him."
"I have no clue what that boy is thinking. But during that debacle with the monsters during the festival, he immediately sent Elna to help fight. He even broke his own wristband so that no blame could be placed on her and the other knights. It's proof that he was considering what might happen if Keel were to fall. At the very least, I don't believe he's as stupid as people say. Of course, I could be overestimating him."
"Is that why you gave him the aide to the ambassador post? To test him and find out? I didn't much approve of that decision. Now there will be no one left to direct Master Leonard's influence."
"I did have that goal in mind, yes, but I admit it was a slightly impulsive move. I didn't like that smug look on his face. He looked like the cat who'd caught the canary. I couldn't stand it."
Franz nearly retorted that that was a bit like the pot calling the kettle black, but then thought better of it. He knew that the emperor would categorically deny it.
But Franz knew otherwise. Arnold and Johannes were a whole lot more alike than the emperor chose to recognize.
However, Johannes had always had an objective—to become emperor. Franz didn't sense that from Arnold.
People without clear objectives or strong convictions caused confusion. That confusion grew even greater when said person had power.
If Arnold did have any convictions, he should be able to surmount the current crisis by whatever means it took. That must have been what Johannes was hoping to see.
And once the crisis was solved, then and only then would Johannes acknowledge Arnold and Leonard as viable candidates for his throne.
"I suppose for the time being you'll be keeping an eye on the dark horse twin princes to see what the two are capable of, then, hm?"
"Dark horse twin princes... I like that. Those two are like two sides of one coin. Leonard is the very image of his older brother, the crown prince, always walking the straight and narrow. If Arnold can support him from behind the scenes, they might just take the throne."
"Perhaps. But the other front-runners are all extraordinary candidates. They'd have all made fine emperors if they'd been born in different generations. As things stand, the twins' chance of success is still weak, as I see it."
"That's a good thing. A great and wise emperor is born out of a fierce fight for the throne. The empire is in good hands."
To Johannes, as someone who always thought first and foremost of the good of the empire, this was good news. However, deep down, Johannes also had another wish. He wished for as little bloodshed as possible among his children.
Realizing that the emperor could never express that sentiment aloud, Johannes got to work on his next order of official business.
5
"Your Highness! We've received word that Princess Zandra is trying to sway Viscount Helmer!"
"Send out people to convince him to stay on our side! Don't let her win over any more of our influence!"
"Your Highness! We've lost Commander Roemer of the capital garrison to Princess Zandra!"
"What?! Damn it! We can't have any more defectors! Mobilize everyone who's available to help retain our supporters! I'll head out, too!"
That night, the battle over influence was in full force.
Ever since we'd hijacked Zandra's plan, she had been steadily stealing away Leo's supporters in revenge.
Leo had his hands full trying to manage and mitigate the damage.