The Incompetent Emperor Who Changes the World from the Shadows: Iron, Gunpowder, and the Young Maidens of Favor - Chapter 25: The Dreaming Empress and Harsh Reality

Chapter 25: The Dreaming Empress and Harsh Reality

Seeing Iris hesitate at my question, Corinna speaks up.

“Rumors say you’re a womanizer with no restraint.

That alone would be one thing, but they also say you treat women cruelly.”

Well, that might’ve been true in the past.

I’ve heard the original emperor got dozens of maids pregnant and discarded them.

“I’ve reflected on the past.

I don’t do that anymore.

You can ask my maids if you want.”

Corinna responds apologetically.

“Actually, we spoke to them before coming here.

They’re truly cherished…

No, I don’t mean that sarcastically.

I felt your maids genuinely love you, Your Majesty.”

“As Iris’s maid, aren’t you worried?

Having such a philanderer for a husband?”

“I understand Your Majesty’s position.

The princess, being of royal blood, knows the importance of heirs.”

At Corinna’s words, Iris blushes deeply but nods firmly.

Is it time to lead her to bed?

“Iris, do you accept me as your husband?”

“I swore to that at the ceremony.

It’s a bit late for that.”

Her eyes, though shy, meet mine earnestly.

I’ve been acting gentlemanly, but my lower half is reaching its limit.

“Good.

Then shall we share our love?”

Even with Corinna here, I’m not shy about such words.

Maybe Gerda barging in during my intimate moments has broken my sense of shame…

“Wait, please.

There’s… one more thing I want you to swear to, in front of me and Corinna.”

Iris says hurriedly.

“Oh?

What’s that?”

“Please stop this war.

No, I want you to eliminate war from this world.”

“…”

Huh?

“If every nation in the world abandoned its military, I think it would be possible.”

The heat in me—physical and emotional—cools instantly.

“…”

It’s so unexpected… almost deflating.

Even in my original world, “disarmament” is nearly impossible, dismissed as naive, flower-child thinking.

In this unstable world, to say “abandon arms and end war”…

If she’d asked me to “not lose the war,” I’d get it.

Iris was offered in this political marriage to secure an alliance.

But ending war entirely?

That’s beyond naive.

It reminds me of my activist mother—ignorant, always blaming others.

Need some context?

Sopina’s voice whispers in my ear.

(Yeah, I’m curious why Iris thinks this way.)

Her father, the crown prince, was assassinated, sparking this war, right?

She’s haunted by that.

Plus, the Tsuyen Kingdom, one of the enemy coalition, is her wet nurse’s homeland.

That nurse returned home when the war started and died in Novaria’s invasion.

(…That’s a common story.)

Lives aren’t lost only in war.

Maybe.

But you know, your wish and the princess’s wish overlap a bit.

Noticed?

Overlap?

Ending war?

I see…

(To keep my position as emperor secure, avoiding war is ideal, right?)

Exactly.

(I don’t want to fight wars, but a puppet emperor has to follow the nobles and military—the parliament’s whims, right?)

Figure out a way to handle that too.

Sopina suggests it so casually.

(World peace isn’t something you just “handle”!)

I let my anger show.

If it’s about everyone becoming kind and stopping conflict, like the princess thinks, yeah, that’s a pipe dream.

Her cryptic tone piques my interest, but I respond coldly.

(Exactly.

Things don’t work that easily.

That’s why pacifists are mocked as flower children.)

Sopina laughs and counters.

Hehe.

If it’s not easy, take the crooked path.

Use my “information extraction” to the fullest.

Instead of “pretty ideals,” stop war with [dirty methods].

(World domination?

That’s its own kind of pipe dream.)

That would require crushing opponents with overwhelming force.

This country doesn’t have cheat-level weapons.

Even nuclear weapons are still in development.

You don’t need to dominate the world head-on.

Blackmail national leaders from the shadows to enforce peace.

(Rule the world from behind?

That’s devilish.)

Form a shadow government to control the world—a Deep State.

Pure conspiracy theory stuff.

No way that fantasy could become reality.

I don’t care what it takes to return home.

But you plan to stay in this world, right?

You’ve got the perfect “emperor” role.

You’re the only one who can use it.

What I despise is “ignorance” and “pretty ideals.”

If I can gather information and achieve something concrete, not just ideals, isn’t that worth pursuing?

Sopina’s existence holds the potential to turn “pipe dreams” into reality.

A total cheat.

With this world’s science still in transition, my knowledge cheat could let me reshape it.

The detergent project, an experimental money-maker, worked decently.

Other knowledge could change the world too, if used right.

Maybe I can actually do this?

I’m starting to seriously consider the “ending war” idea I once mocked.

Using Sopina’s and my positions, I begin crafting a plan.

One misstep, and it’s “the devil’s work.”

Well, pursuing nuclear development already puts me on that path…

But it’s the only hope to fulfill Sopina’s, Iris’s, and my “wishes.”

Let’s do this!!