“She intends to attack Natra?!” Ninym blurted out. “But we have an alliance with the Empire!”
“You are indeed allies, but you’re neither a vassal state nor a province. Therefore, the Empire can cut ties with you or likewise be cut off at any time. On top of that, Natra’s crown prince is the continent’s foremost opportunistic weasel.”
“Hey.”
“My apologies. He is a prince of unmatched impartiality who is considered dangerous by the West. Striking at this fool who gladly woos the West despite being an ally of the Empire is the obvious choice. And far from coming to Natra’s aid, the West will applaud us.”
“That’s…”
Ninym tried to argue but ultimately fell silent. Strang’s words clearly rang with truth.
“Of course, our two nations are still allies. Whatever the reason, a one-sided attack on Natra would harm the Empire’s reputation. Normally, this would give rise to protests, but now there is slander involved.”
“Slander?” Ninym questioned.
“Lowa is single. Suitors line up for her hand, but she brushes them all aside. This is mostly for political reasons, of course, but there are firmly rooted rumors that the princess has fallen for a certain opportunist.”
“…”
Wein and Ninym stared up at the ceiling. Strang smiled at their expressions. “In the minds of the Empire’s elite, Wein is an irksome love rival. It would be one thing if Lowa remained a mere princess, but the aristocracy would never allow the crown prince of a foreign nation to marry the Empress. I doubt anyone would protest Lowa’s attack on Natra if doing so buried such misgivings.”
How easy it would have been to bluntly reject such a notion as ridiculous and move on. Yet the more Wein listened, the more plausible Strang’s prediction became.
What terrible twist of fate was this?
Lowa had entered the political sphere in hopes of becoming Empress.
Wein had formed close ties with the potential monarch.
How could he have known their invaluable connection might lead to such a blood-soaked destiny?
“At this rate, Lowa will take control of the Empire, and Natra will have a crisis on its hands. I apologize for being so long-winded, but this is why you should cut ties with Lowa.” Strang spoke brazenly in the face of Wein and Ninym’s misery. “What will you do? Have you decided to take our potential collaboration more seriously?”
Just as the sun dipped beneath the horizon, the group decided to end their conversation for the day.
“It was great to see you after so long,” Strang told Ninym, who came to see him off as he returned to his own lodgings. The man’s confident expression was undoubtedly due to his friends’ reactions during the earlier talk.
“I wish I could say we felt the same.”
“Does it bother you so much that I’ve suggested you break your alliance with Lowa? You’ve always been fond of her, Ninym.”
“…That’s not true,” Ninym objected, although her voice was weak. Perhaps such a response was natural when it concerned a close female friend.
“Well, don’t be too upset. It’s not like I hate Lowa. And I’m sure Glen feels the same way. But I won’t stand a chance in the main battle if I don’t win this preliminary round.”
Ninym read between the lines and understood Strang meant a showdown with Wein.
“As usual, you both see Wein as competition.”
She let out a little sigh. This had been going on since their academy days. Strang and Glen recognized Wein’s talent and role as the leader of their group of five, but they also stubbornly refused to be beaten. That feeling hadn’t diminished after graduation and going their separate ways. Ninym didn’t know whether to be annoyed or impressed.
While she thought on this…
“What about you, Ninym?”
“Huh?”
It took her mind a moment to process the unexpected question.
“Haven’t you ever thought about challenging Wein?”
“…Never. I have absolutely no interest in the idea.”
Despite her reply, silence fell between the two. Strang pressed no further, though, instead offering an easygoing smile.
“Well, if I’m ever going to settle my rivalry with Wein, then I might as well take advantage of current events. I can play along for a while longer,” he said before waving goodbye.
Now alone, Ninym quietly mumbled “Me against Wein…”
“Sooo what now?” Wein muttered as he squirmed on the sofa after Strang had left.
“…”
“Hm? What’s up, Ninym?”
“It’s nothing. More importantly, we’ll likely suffer if Lowa wins this war.” She and Wein hadn’t expected this at all. And now that they knew, they couldn’t ignore the possibility. “Strang only gave his opinion on the future… What do you think, Wein?”
“I’d say there’s a good chance he’s right.”
The path to Empress was treacherous and steep, but the aftermath promised to be even worse. Moreover, if the Empire was already at its limit, regardless of whether that same fatigue was responsible for creating an opportunity for a female monarch in the first place, then the challenges ahead would be all the more rigorous. If Lowellmina needed to step on an ally to continue down her chosen path, the princess would not hesitate to do so, regardless of personal feelings.
“Well, I don’t think Lowa was ever really against attacking us to begin with,” Wein remarked.
“She’s probably thrilled to have an excuse,” Ninym added.
Both could vividly picture an ecstatic Lowellmina shouting, I can punch Wein? Hooray!
“Be that as it may, I don’t think we can fully trust Manfred’s faction either,” Ninym said.
“Agreed. Manfred likely believes he needs to act tough to avoid mockery.”
An army led by Falcasso’s Prince Miroslav recently dealt a major blow to Manfred’s and Bardloche’s forces. The memory was still fresh in the public’s memory. Both princes had naturally lost a great deal of support.
“Well, Strang said Manfred plans to strike Falcasso once he regains power, but…”
Falcasso was the perfect opportunity for Manfred to clear his past embarrassment. And unlike Lowellmina, Manfred’s faction had originally taken the provinces and could exert control over them.
Strang claimed that whoever seized rule would have to suppress the provinces’ wild behavior and restore the Empire to its former strength. Then they would need to prepare for the long-awaited battle with Falcasso and the West.
“He said that, on top of fighting Falcasso, it’s politically crucial for the Empire to maintain ties with Natra since we control the northern highways. It makes a lot of sense,” Wein mused.
“But how much can we actually trust him?”
Ninym remained skeptical. Considering the events thus far, her stance was reasonable, but her friendship with Lowellmina undoubtedly played a role as well. Wein offered her a dry grin.
“Well, I’m sure the other side has realized we won’t just take their word at face value. That’s why they made that offer.”
“That nothing is required of us makes it all the more suspicious,” Ninym remarked.
How can Manfred’s faction expect us to cooperate? Wein wondered.
As Ninym said, Strang hadn’t made a single demand. Wein only had to meet with the Leader of Eastern Levetia, Ernesto, and return to Natra as planned.
“If I’ve got this right, the real goal is to lock a major foreign player like me out of the Empire.”
As Strang himself admitted, Lowellmina was the frontrunner for taking control of the Empire. Disrupting the status quo demanded serious effort, but since Wein had the skill to achieve victory on his own, Strang wished to keep him at arm’s length rather than form an alliance. Nonetheless, the Crown Prince of Natra wasn’t yet sure how to single-handedly accomplish this goal.
“So,” Ninym began, bringing her face close to his, “what will you do, Wein?”
“Good question…”
If Wein wanted to support Lowellmina, his best bet was to maintain close contact with the princess and find a position that would allow him to observe the situation as it unfolded. Conversely, if he hoped to ally with Manfred, the wisest course of action was to hurry home after the meeting with Ernesto.
Perhaps the biggest annoyance was the fact that, for Wein, this conference was nothing more than a pretext to visit the Empire. Even if he decided to return home quickly, he didn’t owe Lowellmina an explanation. If anything, Wein’s swift exit would be the easiest way to make Manfred feel indebted, which seemed to be Strang’s aim.
He’s still a wily, four-eyed sneak, Wein thought.
“Honestly, it’s a conundrum. Weighing Lowa and Manfred on a scale to figure out who has the better odds should be the best way to decide. However, there are a few details I can’t get over.”
“And those are…?” Ninym asked with a slight tilt of her head.
“Pardon me!” a flustered civil servant cried as he flew into the room. “We’ve detected movement in the Empire! Second Prince Bardloche has assembled an army!”
Ninym’s eyes shot wide with shock, while Wein smirked.
“Looks like the final piece has made his move.”