Chapter 269: Bon Courage

That characteristically fierce-looking countenance.

With that sharp gaze, Anastasia stares at her cousin.

“Basically, things are going well. For now, at least.”

Rather than being intimidated by a gaze that would cow most people, Duchess Astarte speaks with a smile, even finding it endearing.

“For now?”

“For now, yes.”

She taps the planning chart with her finger.

“What about Duke Temeraire?”

“Busy with dinners involving the emperor’s relatives. That’s also going well so far. Lord Inotsuki may be getting on in years, but he’s more capable than we are.”

“We don’t need to get involved—actually, if you asked her, she’d tell us we’d just be in the way.”

She taps the chart again.

It’s a progress chart.

While it has no specific title, it’s a progress report on countermeasures against the Mongols.

The progress is divided into three sections.

Section One is persuading the emperor herself.

Faust, Valiere, and Martina are in charge.

Section Two is military reinforcement.

Anastasia, Katarina, and Eugen are in charge.

Section Three is persuading the emperor’s relatives.

Duke Temeraire is in charge.

And managing all the progress is Duchess Astarte.

“Well, persuading the emperor herself is progressing smoothly. Persuading the emperor’s relatives is also going well. Even the militarization of the Landsknechts is advancing little by little. But—there’s a bottleneck here.”

She taps Section Two’s progress status with her finger and traces across it.

“A bottleneck?”

“Or we could call it exactly that. The point is, if Section One’s persuasion of the emperor doesn’t proceed smoothly, Section Two will stall midway.”

Where she traces leads to an entry reading “Addition of foreign military forces.”

“From here on, we absolutely need the emperor’s bloodline and authority.”

“Persuading just the three electors won’t suffice?”

“It won’t.”

She draws her finger down, stopping just before that point.

The end. Finished. Goodbye.

Progress stalls, the plan fails.

Failure means nothing less than the destruction of the Holy Gusten Empire.

“Now, Section Three should be fine. Duke Temeraire—that woman will accomplish it even if left alone. The problem is Section One. You’ve already played most of your cards, haven’t you? What will you show her next?”

Rifled muskets.

Minié balls.

Cannons and canister shot.

Most cards have been played.

But Empress Maxine won’t nod in agreement.

Well, that’s understandable.

It’s obvious that current military strength isn’t enough to win.

That’s why the three electors are lining up and making a fuss.

Now then, what to do?

There aren’t enough soldiers or commanders.

Frankly, there’s no hope of victory without hiring mercenaries from foreign countries.

No, rather than mercenaries—

Without dragging out military forces on the level of what other nations’ royalty possess, there’s no hope at all.

“Anhalt will provide funds. Duke Temeraire will provide funds. The emperor must also provide funds, and through her bloodline and authority, we need to pull in military forces like pulling up a string of sweet potatoes. Look, the Pope and emperor from the start acknowledged defeat, showed their bellies, and decided to grovel. The more you understand the situation, the less you can blame that decision.”

Anastasia strokes her chin with her long artificial nails.

She understands.

Well, the emperor’s judgment isn’t wrong either.

But—

“The ones sacrificed will be Anhalt and Virendorf. We’ll definitely be made the scapegoats.”

If told “so you can be destroyed instead,” absolutely not.

Anastasia snorts and returns to the topic.

“Now then, Astarte. This is where you come in—think you can handle it?”

“Of course. I’m certainly not going to leave everything to Faust. Though I do have to leave the main issue to him.”

Astarte snaps her fingers.

“Tomorrow I’ll speak with the emperor. And we’ll debate. People conversing, understanding each other. A very civilized battle.”

“Your preparations?”

“Already complete. I’ve shown the preliminary negotiating materials. The emperor’s head must be a mess right now.”

She wants Faust.

How far will Martina’s theories actually work on the battlefield?

What should be done, how can even a little mercy be granted to adorable Valiere?

Shouldn’t rewards be given for contributions?

Something like that.

The emperor is善良 kind-hearted.

She has cruelty, having suffered terrible experiences in the past, and can coldly process problems before her eyes.

But—

“Faust’s actions were perfect. His sincere conduct before his father’s grave. That completely started Empress Maxine’s fixation on Faust.”

First move.

“Valiere’s goodness was excellent. That child holds respect for the emperor from the bottom of her heart. She also contributed to the emperor. If so, the emperor can no longer cruelly abandon her.”

Second move.

Not bad either.

“Martina’s theories are also good. That peculiar girl is beginning to bloom magnificently under Faust’s protection. This makes saving her life worthwhile. It’s not that the emperor wants to surrender to the Mongols. She’s only doing so because she believes victory is absolutely impossible, and this became material to shake that belief.”

With these three moves—

Her mind is already starting to burn.

For Maxine, the greatest desire is the finest blood to perpetuate her lineage.

Faust possesses it.

To obtain it, she absolutely must continue maintaining good relations going forward.

Behind him stands us.

“But that alone won’t move her. She fundamentally believes there’s no need to go through us.”

Indeed, she need only go through Faust and Valiere.

The emperor doesn’t feel the need to specifically go through Anastasia or Astarte.

Yet she’ll still attempt conversation because—

“But those two, Faust and Valiere, actually wouldn’t even understand the value of benefits if presented to them. In a sense, those two are the ultimate bon courage.”

Astarte laughs.

Not mocking them.

Bon courage.

Those two are “lovable fools who stick to their beliefs.”

Faust, that simple frontier lord who feels no value in anything except his subjects’ happiness.

Valiere, unfit for royalty, who wishes only for the happiness of those who follow her.

If offering them compensation, simply dangling money won’t work.

“Her Majesty Empress Maxine will be forced to choose me, Astarte, as her conversation partner. Now, this is the stage. If I fail to persuade the emperor here, everything falls apart. I’m acutely feeling the weight of this responsibility.”

Astarte smiles even more broadly.

When was the last time she felt such pressure?

Yes, the Virendorf campaign.

Stress and pressure she hasn’t felt since that hellish battlefield.

“Can you do it?”

While both feeling this, Anastasia asks.

“Foolish question. Not ‘can I,’ but ‘I will.'”

Nothing has changed.

Not one thing has changed from when she ended up fighting that absurd monster Reckenber.

What changes through lamentation?

You can’t kill a boar by throwing pebbles.

But you can make a single ripple in a lake.

“So far, everything’s going according to plan. At the same time, I recognize that persuading Empress Maxine is like attacking an impregnable fortress. Tomorrow I’ll do it as if my life depends on it.”

If stones are thrown down from castle walls, desperately cling to the walls.

Even if doused with boiling oil, survive skillfully and climb the ladder for first blood.

“Looking on the bright side, there’s more than one chance.”

Astarte believes she’ll get several negotiation opportunities.

Probably three or four times.

Can she capture the main keep by then?

“Now then, the decisive moment.”

Astarte claps her hands loudly, as if encouraging herself.

She didn’t believe in God.

She believed only in her own talent and intellect.