Chapter 272: One Step (4)
Imperial Grand Ceremony
A ceremony meant to display power, exert pressure, and bind the ‘countless’ into a single ‘whole’.
People flocked to it.
“…….”
It stirred some strange emotions in me.
The Imperial Grand Ceremony had existed before my Regression as well. But back then, the Empire had lacked the finances to hold it on any proper scale.
It had essentially been a spectacle financed through debt, and nowhere near grand enough to make the entire continent stop and stare as it did now.
……This life was different.
Reporters from various countries had come of their own accord without even being invited. Diplomats and officials from numerous nations had requested permission to attend. Hundreds of thousands of Imperial citizens packed the square until there was hardly room to set foot.
Only those who passed rigorous genealogical and identity checks were allowed into this square, so the likelihood of a terrorist attack was low.
Terrorism itself probably was not a good option for those Ezenheim bastards anymore.
If Ezenheim spilled blood in this square with their own hands, it would simply hand the Empire every justification it needed.
“We will begin.”
At those few words from me, everyone in the square moved in perfect coordination.
***
Stanley, Highland’s ambassador, and Laurent, Prozen’s ambassador. Along with them were envoys from countless other nations. They sat in the front row and watched the Imperial Grand Ceremony.
“The scale of this is truly astonishing.”
“Indeed.”
Even they seemed overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the Empire.
Hundreds of thousands of heads rippled like waves, with more than a hundred flagpoles rising above them.
Paaaaaahng───!
The noon fanfare seemed to shake the earth itself.
And with that, the ceremony got underway.
Waaaaaaaaah──!
Amid the thunderous cheering, tens of thousands of citizens crossed the square first.
Behind them came a Regular Army infantry division, followed by a tank battalion.
Rrrrrrrrrumble──
The pavement trembled beneath the tracks. The spectators’ eyes darted from one sight to another, while the ambassadors scribbled furiously in their notes.
They had to record everything they experienced here and report it back to their home countries. That was why they had been seated there in the first place.
───!
The Imperial Anthem poured from the loudspeakers. Loud voices erupted endlessly from the stands. It was the sound of hundreds of thousands of wills being drawn together into one……
Yet even there lurked an unseen darkness.
“……Ares. Should we just set it off here?”
In the shadows beneath the stands.
There were people seated among the spectators with approved genealogical records tucked inside their clothes, disguised as ordinary citizens.
They remained silent, observing this abnormal fervor with the eyes of doctors studying a disease.
“No. That would only benefit them.”
“The Emperor is right there!”
“Sebestian is there too. Would a bomb even reach him?”
“…….”
They carried the banner of revolution, armed with thoughts and ideologies completely opposed to those of the Empire.
“Keeping him alive would actually benefit us more.”
Sebestian and the Emperor.
Maximilian and the Imperial Princess.
Ebenholtz served the Emperor, but—did Maximilian truly do the same?
“The continent still doesn’t know what kind of devils those bastards really are.”
Ares, one of the leaders of the Revolutionary forces, murmured quietly as he looked down over the square.
“When the flames of war sweep across the continent.”
Their hideous true colors would be exposed, and the entire continent would join our cause.
“Then the continent will understand us as well.”
Therefore, there was no need to harm the Emperor. If left alive, he would prove the folly of his own convictions himself.
“No matter what sacrifices it takes…… in the end, we will win.”
Because the Empire was under the delusion that it could defeat the entire continent.
Then, a sudden commotion broke out.
“……Whoa!”
“Waaah!”
The children’s innocent cries of amazement came first. Then, one citizen after another raised their heads. Ares and the Revolutionary forces also turned their eyes toward the sky.
Something shimmered high above.
Moving through the sky with the sunset at its back…… was a person.
A person was flying.
──A knight!
At someone’s shout, the square erupted into a frenzy.
The knights of the Empire. Thirty Mana Wings traced blue lines across the crimson sky as they flew above the square, not quickly, but smoothly enough for everyone to see them.
The Imperial citizens went wild.
The eyewitness accounts of the knights who had brought the Zerpha Civil War to an end had seemed almost mythical. Until now, those knights had existed for the citizens only as illustrations in newspapers, but there they were, real before their very eyes.
───!
With the knights’ appearance, the Imperial Anthem swept into its climax.
A spectacle meant to proclaim the Empire’s might to all its people unfolded before their very eyes.
Whoooooosh───!
The knights circled overhead.
The formation had been assembled from the knights most skilled at controlling their Mana Wings in this kind of display. At its head was Hannah Usar.
As a commoner knight, she felt a surge of emotion swell deep within her chest.
Shooooooooosh──
Before long, the knights faded into the distance beneath the brilliantly burning sunset.
A woman walked up onto the platform.
The Imperial Princess, Justine.
The Revolutionary forces, ambassadors from various nations, reporters and correspondents, and Imperial generals all looked toward the same place.
Justine’s appearance…… truly seemed to attest to the purity of her Aran blood.
Her golden hair caught the sunset and blazed like fire, while her golden eyes gleamed coldly.
The Emperor watched her from beyond the veil but did not say a single word. And so Justine stood there alone.
─…….
She remained silent. Even the citizens who had been screaming themselves hoarse gradually quieted.
Before anyone noticed, the sun had sunk and darkness had begun to fill the sky.
Because she did not speak, hundreds of thousands of people fell silent.
The square grew so quiet that the cry of a child could be heard from its far end. The fluttering of flags. The low hum of the Searchlights.
She held their silence in her grasp and refused to release it.
Her presence bore down on the entire square like an immense pressure, and just as it reached its peak.
─Citizens of the Empire.
With her first words, the Searchlights flared to life.
───!
More than a hundred pillars of light surrounding the square shot into the sky at once. The beams climbed several kilometers through the night, converging at a single point and forming a brilliant white ceiling over the square.
It was the moment when a square without walls or a roof became a grand hall holding hundreds of thousands of people.
The citizens felt something they could not quite name. A sense of unity as they became part of a single whole called Aran, along with awe and pride.
─We have endured for a very long time.
Those were the opening words of the Imperial Grand Ceremony.
The Imperial Princess’s first speech began beneath the ceiling of light.
***
……From the moment that day’s Imperial Grand Ceremony ended, the Empire began using increasingly belligerent language with each passing day.
As though it had been holding itself back only because of the Imperial Grand Ceremony, it began exerting fierce pressure on Volska.
People across the continent could sense the gathering storm of war in the broadcasts coming over their radios.
Several times a day, the Volskan government received ‘recommendations’ carrying the same message from the embassies of different nations.
Even the minor nation of Mekerel sent a diplomat to urge Volska to make concessions. Rumor had it that Volskan officials stared at him in disbelief and told him, ‘Worry about your own war.’
“Hmm. Now, I look…… a little more presentable.”
Stanley, Highland’s ambassador to the Empire, adjusted his clothes in front of the mirror as usual.
A few sprays of perfume. He straightened his collar and cuffs. Then he spotted a slight wrinkle in his coat and had a servant iron it again.
“Do it properly the first time from now on. Do you have any idea how important this state business is? I have an appointment with Sir Maximilian today.”
“My apologies.”
“You know how much importance he places on proper appearance…… Tch. That could have been disastrous.”
After giving the servant a piece of his mind, Stanley got into his car and headed for Maximilian’s reception room as usual, almost as though he were reporting for work.
These days, Stanley was treated as something of a distinguished guest wherever he went in the Empire.
Thanks to the gifts Maximilian gave him day after day, his household had become considerably more prosperous, and he had even been invited to Lilac Vita several times.
His homeland also regarded Stanley as a highly important man because of his access to information about Maximilian.
After all, he was the only person who had actually been received by Maximilian as many as four times.
──And yet.
“What in the……?”
He arrived before the grand mansion that had become fairly familiar to him, only to blink in confusion.
The entrance to Maximilian’s mansion was firmly shut. Dozens of ambassadors, diplomats, secretaries, and others had gathered around it.
Stanley hurried out of the car.
“Secretary Dupont! What is going on?!”
He grabbed a familiar face.
“Ah, Ambassador. We don’t know for certain yet either. From what I’ve heard, he only let the Volskan ambassador inside…….”
“V-Volska?!”
Maximilian had admitted the Volskan ambassador.
Under circumstances like these, that was a very bad sign.
Just then.
“Sir Stanley!”
Laurent, Prozen’s ambassador, came rushing over from behind him in a panic.
“The Imperial Palace is also…….”
Stanley’s eyes widened at the whispered words.
It meant that the ‘Sun’ had closed its doors as well.
“They are refusing to budge, so everyone who was at the Sun is coming here now.”
With the Moon, there was at least some chance the door might open, or that they might receive so much as a single message.
“……Damn it.”
Stanley pressed his fingers to his temple. The others were in much the same state.
“What will you do?”
At Laurent’s question, Stanley considered it briefly.
“We wait. Sir Maximilian may still agree to see us…….”
Just one word.
All they needed was one word explaining what was happening, what had changed to bring this about.
“…….”
The diplomats of the continent gathered before one man’s front door and waited with pounding headaches.
How many hours passed like that?
They had arrived at noon, and the sun was already beginning to sink.
“He’s coming out!”
“There! He’s coming!”
At last, the front door opened, and the Volskan ambassador emerged from beyond it. He was staggering.
“Look at him…….”
His expression was utterly vacant. It was not difficult to guess what had been said inside.
“……Ambassador Kolevich.”
Stanley approached and called his name. Even as Highland’s ambassador, he could hardly contain his frustration.
“You are making this situation extremely difficult. Why in the world can you not make a concession?”
“…….”
The Volskan ambassador looked at Stanley for a moment.
“A concession, or robbery? If it were your country, what would you call it?”
Stubborn.
The Volskan ambassador said nothing more, and Stanley did not speak to him again. Kolevich passed through the assembled diplomats and disappeared. No one followed him.
“……I’ll give it a try.”
Ambassador Stanley cleared his throat and approached the entrance.
Maximilian’s servant had become a familiar face by now. Stanley pleaded earnestly with him.
“……Mr. Reiner. I have a favor to ask. Surely we’re a little different from the others.”
“But-”
“We were, we were supposed to have an appointment today in the first place. I don’t even need to meet him anymore. I simply need one word to take back to my country, or I won’t be able to show my face.”
“Well…….”
“Please.”
“……Please wait a moment.”
The servant looked flustered, but before long he returned carrying a sheet of paper with a single sentence written on it.
There was no signature, but the handwriting was unmistakably Maximilian’s.
[ The appointed time is drawing near, so I will suspend talks for the time being. ]
The appointed time…….
Stanley quietly closed his eyes.
“Mr. Reiner. I will repay this favor.”
“Haha……. Take care on your way back.”
After the servant’s brief farewell, Stanley trudged away. The other ambassadors cautiously crowded around, trying to peek at his note, but he drove them back with a stern glare.
“Go away! How dare you. This message was meant for Highland alone…….”
Even a note containing only one line was precious to him and his homeland.
“……Sir Stanley? It’s Laurent.”
Stanley gave only Laurent, Prozen’s ambassador, a slight nod.
The two climbed into the same car and passed the note between them……
That day, word spread that the Empire’s diplomatic channels had closed.
Stock markets across the entire continent plunged.
Everyone in the world sensed that war was coming.
***
[ This is Imperial Broadcasting. The Empire awaits Volska’s proper response. Now that our compatriots in Genson face armed suppression, the Empire is fully aware that further patience is meaningless.
We hereby announce the deadline. August 31. If Volska has not responded by that day, the Empire will take every measure necessary for our compatriots……]
When the Empire finally announced a deadline for its ultimatum over the radio, people across the continent marked the date on their calendars.
The day disaster was due to arrive.
──Patter, patter.
In the predawn hours of a rainy day, Volskan President Robski came down to the residence’s conference room wearing an overcoat over his pajamas.
The ambassadors from Highland and Prozen were seated side by side with wet shoulders, looking as though they had been waiting there for quite some time.
“……Mr. President. We have heard that you ordered a general mobilization.”
“There was an uprising in the Genson region. It was an appropriate response.”
“It hardly seems appropriate.”
“……Are you, an ambassador, attempting to interfere in our nation’s internal security?”
The President’s expression hardened.
The ambassadors from Highland and Prozen exchanged a glance.
“Then…… from this point onward, consider this an ultimatum.”
“……An ultimatum?”
“Yes.”
The Highland ambassador stared steadily at the President, while the Prozen ambassador lowered his head, unable to bring himself to meet Robski’s eyes.
“Highland and Prozen express the deepest regret regarding your continued refusal to alter your position and your deployment of military force.”
He recited the memorized words without so much as a sheet of paper.
“If war breaks out.”
His voice fell flat and final.
“Highland and Prozen will not be there.”
It meant Volska would have to face the Empire alone.
“……You intend to disregard the treaty?”
Volska, Highland, and Prozen were bound by a mutual defense treaty. That was what the mere scrap of paper signed after the Western War stipulated.
“If war breaks out, once they are finished with us, you will be next. Surely you know that.”
The ambassadors remained silent. Probably because he was right. Even so, this was the only way to avoid the war immediately before them.
“…….”
They stared at one another in silence.
──Patter. Patter.
Raindrops gathered on the window and trailed downward like spiderwebs.
***
[ Empire Closes Its Doors to Every Embassy. ]
[ ‘Is Diplomacy Over?’ Four-Hour Emergency Questioning at Common Hall. Prime Minister Beaufort: “All channels remain open.”]
[ Why Is Volska Being So Stubborn…… Escalation Is Certain. ]
Prozen called up its reserves. Mobilization posters covered the walls, but everyone remained quiet. They were all the quieter because theirs was a generation that knew the horrors of the Western War.
Old men along the streets read newspapers and let out deep sighs, while the young trembled at a fear that had not yet taken concrete form.
“……If war comes.”
There were others, however, who welcomed it.
“We will help the Empire drive out Ezenheim.”
The leader of the 「Crystal Society」, Clara Magal.
The core ideology shared by her and her followers had already aligned with that of the Empire.
“We will drive out Ezenheim and purify the Prozen nation…….”
They too fell quiet and still, but for an entirely different reason.
The overwhelming majority were ordinary civilians, including those who would be conscripted into the military and sent to the border. And among them was a small minority preparing for something else entirely.
Highland was another matter.
Gas masks were distributed to civilians, and people began digging trenches throughout the parks. The authorities had started the work by hiring laborers, but within three days, there was a shortage of shovels.
Office workers came after work, loosened their ties, and climbed down into the ditches. Students hauled dirt in their school uniforms, while members of the upper class donned gloves and picked up shovels.
All of them simply kept digging trenches.
Step. Step.
Arthur Winston walked along the road, watching the scene. Complicated emotions seemed to cling to his entire body like summer mud.
“……Do you really think things should be like this?”
An old man approached him and asked. The nameless man gripped a shovel caked with dirt and clenched his teeth.
“I lost my son and daughter in the last war. Am I supposed to lose my grandchildren this time too?!”
The old man had recognized Arthur as a politician. Arthur Winston quietly removed his hat.
“……None of that is your fault.”
The old man looked as though he was about to say something, but simply bit down hard on his lip. Then he turned and walked back toward the ditch.
“……Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Arthur Winston arrived at the 「Common Hall」 with his attendant.
A special parliamentary session had been convened at Highland’s 「Common Hall」 that day.
In effect, the members believed they had gathered to hear the Empire declare war……
“──Volska has given no response to the Empire’s ultimatum.”
Gary Beaufort’s speech from the podium was already underway.
“Arthur. Sit here.”
Arthur Winston sat beside the small pro-war faction.
“……Volska is under general mobilization, and gunfire has already been exchanged in Genson.”
Every member of parliament sat assembled, listening grimly to the Prime Minister.
“This government has spent the past two months employing every diplomatic channel available to us.”
His voice was low and subdued. The hand turning the pages of his prepared remarks moved slowly.
“Through our ambassador stationed in the Empire, through envoys, and through my own personal visit to the Imperial capital, we explored every possibility of reaching a peaceful resolution.”
Parliament remained silent. Most of those who did not want war looked ashen.
“However, as of yesterday, the Empire has closed its diplomatic channels, and this government now has no choice but to tell the people of Highland to prepare for the worst.”
Reporters from various nations sat in the gallery.
‘War is certain now. The only question is whether it will spread.’ Thinking exactly that, they took down Beaufort’s words in shorthand.
***
Meanwhile, in the Imperial capital’s 3rd District. Kleinschmidt Street.
I received the Volskan ambassador at my mansion.
“Thank you for making the right choice.”
The Volskan ambassador handed me a document. It was a memorandum conveying the Volskan government’s position.
“……We will cede, according to continental procedure, all regions where those of Imperial descent make up at least fifty percent of the population, provided that Prozen and Highland guarantee the new border.”
At the ambassador’s words, I smiled.
“Yes. I understand.”
It was similar to the course things had taken before the Regression…… no, far better.
Not only Genson, but the surrounding mountain fortress line and mining districts would all be secured without a single shot being fired.
“His Majesty will also send a favorable response.”
I took out the ‘Blank Letter of Authority’. A diplomatic document issued in the Imperial Princess’s name. Now that I knew Volska’s position, I would send word to the major powers, including Prozen and Highland, proposing that talks be held in the Empire.
[ Her Highness the Imperial Princess wishes to meet the heads of government of Highland and Prozen tomorrow in the Imperial capital…… ]
I wrote the words with my own pen, signed the document in my own handwriting, then summoned my servant and instructed him to deliver it by the fastest means possible.
This single sheet of paper would allow the continent to breathe easier, at least for a little while.
“…….”
Even then, the Volskan ambassador remained silent with his head bowed deeply.
When I looked to see what was wrong, I saw tears.
He was weeping soundlessly. He grieved because a part of his homeland had been taken from him.
Perhaps he had also sensed something of the future that was about to come crashing down upon them.
“……Ambassador Kolevich.”
So this was the depth of his sense of duty, the very thing that had kept him sitting in a corner of my mansion day after day.
But there was no escaping the logic of power.
Some would feel wronged, some would rage, and some would grieve.
There was simply no other way. That was all.
I placed a hand on the ambassador’s shoulder.
“There is no need for you to shed tears.”
After all, being able to rage and grieve as you do is something only the living can do…….
~~~
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