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"Wait! Koenig!"

He stops. Then, with a wrinkle between his brows, he slowly turns to look in the direction of the voice. There, General Callies, Commander Almond, and the other military commanders were all there.

They walk slowly toward us. And behind them, the Prime Minister, Madeline, comes running at the same speed as a man walking, her huge body swaying.

"What the hell do you think you\'re doing, Koenig?"

General Callies asks in a slow, calm voice as he walks away. Koenig replies with a snicker.

"I don\'t understand what you mean by that.

"Duke... why... did you take the liberty of receiving support from the Crimiana cult?"

Madeline, the prime minister, asks me under her breath.

"You don\'t have to explain it to me. We don\'t have enough food, so we got help from a certain source. That\'s all."

Koenig spins on his heel and turns to leave.

"Wait! I don\'t believe that that Crimiana cult would move for nothing in return! At the very least, we would like to know the conditions under which you have been supporting us with food!"

Koenig looks back at Madryn\'s loud voice, which he thinks is grating on his ears, and looks back at her with a tedious look on his face.

"I have decided to take the grandson of His Holiness Pope Juvencel as my wife. Furthermore, I am taking His Holiness\' nephew Cassel as my adopted son.

"Wife... What about your wife, Gerifa? And I, the Prime Minister, have not heard of any such talk of adopting a son for His Majesty!

"I have sent a message to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, and they immediately gave their permission, so that is all I have to say in reply. My wife has divorced me. We were married for three years. We couldn\'t have children. It\'s a good opportunity. Are we done? Now, if you\'ll excuse me, I have some preparations to make."

"Preparations? Koenig, when will you invade Agartha?"

General Caries shouts in a deranged voice. Koenig rolls his eyes and replies.

When? It must be soon! I\'d like to go into battle right now. Well, we have a lot of preparation to do, so we\'ll go out in a week or ten days at the earliest.

Koenig glances at the commanders behind Callies.

"You must prepare yourselves for this!"

With these words, Koenig began to walk briskly again. The Prime Minister, Madeline, leaned forward with a deep exhale.

"How dare you...! The duke is going to let the crimianists take over the kingdom..."

"...I see. Koenig took advantage of the fact that the Krimianists have long wanted to deepen their friendship with our empire. Indeed, Koenig is a member of the Emperor\'s family. A marriage with him would be a blessing for the Krimianas. Now he\'ll have an even stronger ally. But I don\'t like the idea of adopting a son... Why would he go to such lengths? Why did the Empress Dowager and the Emperor permit such talk?"

General Caries, his face tense, stares down the corridor where Koenig has just walked.

"...One way or another, the Empire will be subjected to the interference of the Crimiana cult. The Church... is not that naive."

With a stunned look on his face, Prime Minister Madrin mutters.

"Prime Minister, that is, if Koenig\'s plan works..."

"What? The General doesn\'t think... that the Duke\'s plan will fail?"

"No, I only hope it doesn\'t come to that. Koenig must have a well-thought-out plan. I will protect the Imperial City and see how the battle goes.

General Callies nods in agreement. At that moment, a warm spring breeze blew into the palace, but those gathered there, including Prime Minister Madrin, could not afford to feel its warmth.

A few days later, in the palace of the Ramallon Empire, a grand ball was being held. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor were seated next to each other, and the hall was filled with the glitteringly dressed nobles. They look very happy. It was announced that the Imperial Kingdom would invade Agartha again, that Duke Koenig would be appointed as the commander-in-chief of the invasion, and that Koenig would marry the Emperor and that the Emperor would adopt a son from the Papal family of the Crimean Church.

The assembled nobles did not doubt the victory of the Empire and its subsequent prosperity. The emperor had announced that as part of the festivities of the wedding and the adoption, the Pope of the Crimean Church had provided enough food. As long as there was enough food, the Empire would not be defeated. Everyone believed so.

The star of the ball was Koenig. He continued to receive the greetings of the nobles who came in waves, with a big smile on his face. On the other hand, he did not forget to assess which noblemen might join his faction and be useful in the future.

When the ball was over, he was finally able to take a rest. He sighs as he quenches his thirst with a drink offered by his second-in-command.

"You aristocrats have a good sense of smell, I must say. Those who have never paid attention to me before are now approaching me with their tails wagging."

"It can\'t be helped. After all, the Commander-in-Chief is the one who is taking His Holiness Pope Crimiana\'s grandson as his wife. The world\'s largest religious organization, the Order of Crimiana, is behind her, so it is only natural that the nobles would want to be close to her.

The second-in-command continued to speak, his posture unwavering.

"However, none of the ministers or military personnel are present at today\'s event.

"Oh, leave it. He\'s probably just taking a dig at me. It\'s just like them not to show up because they\'re busy getting ready for battle or something.

Koenig grins and looks at the drink in his glass.

"The other commanders and ministers are still not convinced that the family of His Holiness the Pope is adopted by His Majesty.

"Hmph. Master Cassel is eight years old. Master Cassel can\'t do anything on his own. You need to get him on the side of the empire. And my wife, of course.

I see... I am relieved to hear that. It is a strategy that an ordinary person like me would not have thought of.

"Master Cassel will first be received by Her Majesty the Dowager Empress. There he will be brought up by Her Majesty in person. My wife will be educated by me, of course. I\'m sure the Pope will be forced to shake his head at the request of these two. If we can bring in the Crimianists, the Kingdom will become the greatest nation in the world without any trouble. Very efficient, isn\'t it?

It\'s a brilliant strategy, indeed. My hat is off to you, sir.

The second-in-command bows reverently. At that moment, there is a knock at the door and a man enters. It was Arisgard of the Crimiana Order. Koenig stands up from his chair and greets the man with open arms.

"Oh! This is Bishop Arisgard! I\'m sorry it\'s been so long since I\'ve had the pleasure of greeting you."

Arisgard smiles softly.

"No, no. Today\'s guest of honor is the Duke. I know that at an event like this, you can\'t always move. I understand that very well, so please don\'t worry about it."

No, that\'s very kind of you to say.

"The day after tomorrow, I will sail for the country of Crimiana. Today his Majesty announced the wedding of the Duke and Monsieur Vieille. I must tell this news to His Holiness the Pope as soon as possible. The date of the wedding will probably be after the defeat, but I await the glad tidings.

Yes, wait and see. I think it probably won\'t take long to defeat Agartha. At the latest, I will be able to announce the capture of Agartha before the end of spring.

"As one would expect from the Pillar Stone of the Empire. What a reliable man."

"I look forward to your continued patronage of the empire and of this Koenig."

"My pleasure."

The two men smiled and held each other\'s hands.

Two mornings later, Koenig left the capital with the imperial cavalry in high spirits. The sounds of the people seeing them off and the sounds of the military band playing echoed throughout the spacious imperial city. Amidst the clamor, General Caries, who had been entrusted with the defense of the capital, quietly watched the departure from his room in the palace. And in another room, the Prime Minister, Madeline, was also watching the departure with an anxious look on her face.

This excitement in the capital could be heard on the ships that were leaving the port. Bishop Arisgard, listening to the clamor, gazed at the imperial palace, which was slowly becoming more and more distant.

My Lord, grant us your grace. And destroy evil..."

Aisgard looked up to the heavens and offered a pious prayer to the Lord God, Klimiana.