Dungeon Defense (WN)

Chapter 91: A King and his General (4)

ΟΟΟ

The sound of a quill pen scraping against a piece of paper resonated gently throughout an office.

I resolutely dipped the pen in an ink bottle and wrote thick, black lines. It’s truly mysterious how I’m able to move the tip of this pen so easily. Obviously, a language that I had never learned like Habsburgian and the language of the Ancient Empire were written on the document. I instinctively understood the meaning of the words. Not only could I read, but I could write in the languages of this world at will. If I were reborn as a human and not a Demon Lord, then I would’ve probably become a diplomat.

“Your Lordship and the commander judged that Paimon is most likely scheming a Chadoh Murder.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

I responded while slowly looking over the documents.

“Paimon’s plot appears appropriate at a glance, but there is something about it that raises suspicion.”

“Oh?”

“The 6th legion is facing the humans on the Habsburg side. On the other hand, the Mountain Faction, the 1st legion, is going against the Teuton Kingdom and the Republic of Batavia. Even if Paimon is aiming for a Chadoh Murder here, the Habsburg Empire may get weakened, but the same does not apply to the troops of Teuton and Batavia.”

The forces that the 1st legion must face are still healthy, so what goal does this Chadoh Murder have……? This is what Laura is questioning.

“Who knows? Is she not simply aiming for our forces in the 6th legion to become weaker?”

“If that is the case, then the behavior of the 1st legion is much too poor.”

Laura declared.

“They did not even dispatch their troops yet. An intrigant would try to hide their intentions, but if Paimon is simply hoping for the 6th legion to weaken themselves, then she is acting way too obviously. At the very least, the 1st legion could at least dispatch their troops to the Black Mountains and pretend to fight……. Our side is busily fighting the human forces as well, we are not acting selfishly. They could have justified their actions like this.”

Paimon didn’t move at all. Recently, the demon society has been heavily criticizing Paimon and the Mountain Faction. They are being referred to as selfish people who are doing nothing while their comrades are fighting desperately.

“Why are they inviting people to criticize them? Does Paimon perhaps have a different goal? She is not moving because of some other unknown reason……this would be the more correct conclusion.”

“Interesting.”

I kept my eyes fixated on the document before me as I moved my pen. The document declared that Brother Beleth and Brother Zepar were now barons under the margrave.

With this, 1 earl and 2 barons have been created in accordance with the official documents of the empire. The village chiefs even gave us their blood vows. They vowed that they would treat Demon Lord Beleth and Demon Lord Zepar as their fair rulers.

“Then allow me to ask you a question. What do you think Paimon’s true intentions are?”

“It is actually a rather simple answer. Similar to how the Demon Lord army has the Plains Faction and the Mountain Faction, the Habsburg Empire also has internal groups that are competing against one another. Your Lordship pointed it out in the last meeting. Be it the Demon Lord army or the human army, they all have prejudices against each other. In large groups, it is only natural that there would be conflicting interests, thus there are many factions opposing one another…….”

I put down my quill pen.

Filling out paperwork was a rather interesting experience. It seems that I’m suited for doing paperwork. I was only using rhetoric to fill out forms, but it gave me a strange sense of satisfaction. It oddly gave the same pleasant sensation as when I deceived people. When it comes to acting like something you aren’t, isn’t paperwork also similar to lying? If I were born as a human in this world, then I would’ve probably been in middle management playing with paperwork……how unfortunate. Demon Lords are for rotten lolicons, it doesn’t fit my innocent personality.

“Laura, do you enjoy whiskey?”

“This young lady likes anything Your Lordship gives her.”

I took out some whiskey and glass cups from a drawer. This was something I had quickly snatched from Rosenberg’s warehouse. The margrave must be an alcohol lover as his warehouse wasn’t filled with treasure, but with rare alcohol. A majority of the items in the unusual warehouse was taken by the overly excited Barbatos, but I managed to swipe 4 bottles. I handed Laura a glass and filled her cup.

“Cheers.”

“For the glory of Dantalian.”

Clink, the glass cups let out a clear sound as they collided. The acidic taste of whiskey drenched over my throat that had been covered by a layer of ink. The illusion of my head becoming clear washed over me.

“De Farnese is a duke household in the Kingdom of Sardinia. As someone who has grown up there, you most likely have a better understanding of the inner workings of the Habsburg Empire, am I correct?”

“That is right. I was not very interested in politics, but I was able to learn about the situation around the continent by simply listening to others in this young lady’s household.”

Thus, she was able to notice something suspicious about our situation that the Demon Lords could not.

I oddly felt happy. I could tell that my voice sounded elated. I’ve gotten reasonably accustomed to my bipolar symptoms. There was no one present here who I could read the emotions of, in other words, this happiness was entirely my own. This isn’t so bad if it’s my own…….

Laura took a sip of her whiskey and spoke.

“The Habsburg Empire is currently walking the path of ruin. Anyone you ask would agree upon this. However, even if they are falling to ruin, the throne to become the absolute monarch is being fought for fiercely by the three successors.”

The crown prince and the son of the emperor’s first wife, the first imperial prince. The second son, the second imperial prince. And finally, the third daughter who was born to the second wife, the third imperial princess. The emperor originally had 4 sons and 3 daughters, but they all died excluding the previously mentioned 3. It was officially declared that they either died of a disease or by an unforeseen accident, but there aren’t a lot of people who believe that. Most of the literate stratum of society believe that they were killed due to political strife within the royal family.

That was true.

In the game, there is a route where the Third Imperial Princess, Elizabeth, is the main heroine. It’s the route that gamers would refer to as the True Heroine route. The protagonist becomes the third imperial princess’ lover as the hero and gains control of the continent. The third imperial princess confesses to the protagonist around the later half of this scenario.

‘I am the one who killed my third brother and younger brother.’

Imperial Princess Elizabeth chuckled as she stood next to a window lit by a sad moonlight. This was a rather famous scene in the game.

‘I was only 13-years-old at the time. At 13-years-old, I soaked these hands of mine in blood as I killed my brother and younger brother. I then covered it up as an accident. Am I not a vile woman? How could a young girl do something so unpardonable if she weren’t an incarnation of the devil himself?’

‘The one who killed the imperial prince at that time may have been the devil; however, all I see before me now is a maiden who is grieving because she was destined to live a cursed life.’

It was only a matter of course that the third imperial princess was completely taken by the protagonist’s response. A certain type of scene followed afterward. Adding to this, the first and second imperial princesses were gang raped so they committed suicide because they couldn’t handle the shame. They were raped by none other than their own father and brothers, in other words, they were tossed around by the emperor and the imperial princes.

It was a royal family that would even slap the face of those absurd TV dramas.

The Habsburg Empire is rotten all the way down to their royal family. The fights between factions are fierce as well. The third imperial princess unites the patriotic people and renews the empire from the ground up……. This is a main scenario in Dungeon Attack. During this, the protagonist adds on to the imperial princess’ faction. As the people support the hero as he subjugates the Demon Lords, the hero supports the imperial princess, so, in turn, the people support the imperial princess. If you look at it negatively, then the hero is nothing more than a propaganda device.

Well, it ends in a Happy Ending, so being used for propaganda might not matter, but that is something that is going to happen 15 years from now. Furthermore, there are way too many irregularities in this country. The imperial princess is far from being able to reach the Happy Ending.

Laura extended two fingers.

“From what this young lady understands, the crown prince has a hold of a majority of the military authority of the Habsburg Empire. The main army is split evenly between the prince and the princess, but the margraves give their absolute support to the prince. Thus, this young lady came to an assumption.”

Her blue eyes stared right at me.

“Is Commander Paimon perhaps in a type of alliance with the third imperial princess?”

“…….”

“If my assumption is correct, then the main army that is joining up with the margraves supports the crown prince and not the imperial princess.”

I stayed silent as I tilted my glass of whiskey.

“The crown prince is most likely thinking along these lines: If he combines the main army with the margraves’, then they will have a massive army of approximately 50,000 soldiers. He will most likely conclude that there is no way an army of 50,000 imperial soldiers could lose to a single legion of the Crescent Alliance. Once he becomes certain of their victory, he’ll thoroughly prevent the imperial princess from obtaining any military command. This is only natural. The crown prince must want all the credit to himself, after all.”

“Mm. The feat of wiping out the Demon Lord army by yourself would definitely echo throughout the continent.”

“That is correct. The nobles and the commoners would all support the crown prince. He would instantly knock the third imperial princess aside and stand first in line to inherit the throne. To the crown prince, this invasion most likely looks like a treasure trove and not a crisis.”

I mused as I tasted the whiskey.

“That is an interesting assumption. It seems plausible; however, there is no proof. We cannot determine the path of the 6th legion with only an assumption that sounds plausible.”

“I knew Your Lordship would say that.”

Laura took out a roll of paper.

“This is a list of generals from the main army that is joining up with the margraves. The third imperial princess’ name is not written anywhere here.”

“……When did you acquire this piece of information?”

“Previously, when Your Lordship suggested to Commander Barbatos to use humans as envoys.”

She smiled.

“Your Lordship’s actions already seemed suspicious at that point. The humans may serve the Demon Lord army, but that is only to avoid the immediate danger. They would not serve Demon Lords sincerely. They would betray us if even the slightest threat were to approach them. It was truly strange! This young lady knows very well that you are wicked, insidious, cowardly, and weak.”

I smiled bitterly.

“It is hard to believe such crude words are being said by my own vassal.”

“No, it is a compliment. It is because you are weak that you are able to detect when a threat is approaching better than anyone else. There is no way that Your Lordship would leave alone a force in the rear that could start a revolt at any moment. Your Lordship has a sense of smell like that of a beast when it comes to danger; therefore, you do not turn a blind eye to threats and instead try to tear them apart. Thus, it was not like Your Lordship to give such a suggestion to Commander Barbatos.”

Oh dear. Laura is capable of making people feel bashful since she’s always straightforward. 

“Well, that may be the case.”

“This is what this young lady thinks. The crown prince has done whatever he could to monopolize the military in order to gain a superior position in succeeding the throne. On the other hand, Commander Paimon and the third imperial princess have formed an alliance. They have only one goal. If the crown prince’s expeditionary force gets wiped out by our 6th legion, then the third imperial princess will try to start a coup d’état.”

I took another sip of my whiskey. Delicious. Mm, expensive alcohol definitely tastes different. I should prod Barbatos into giving me a couple more bottles.

“The third imperial princess will make a declaration as soon as she starts her coup. She will declare that this new Habsburg Empire does not possess any hostility towards the Crescent Alliance, so she will suggest an armistice for the sake of the people who are suffering due to the war. While every human and demon on the continent are confused by this proposal, Commander Paimon will respond: ―I, Paimon, will represent the rest of the Crescent Alliance as the Rank 9 Demon Lord and accept the new Habsburg Empire’s request for an armistice.”

Laura spoke theatrically. It suited her a fair bit.

“Lord, what would then happen to our 6th legion?”

“We would be trapped between the 1st legion and the imperial soldiers of Habsburg.”

The corners of my mouth lifted slightly.

“Laura, that was excellent. You figured me out. You are correct. The reason why Paimon, the commander of the 1st legion, is not moving is not due to the fact that she is lazy or a fool. It is because she is waiting for the right moment like a wolf.”

“Then the 1st legion’s goal is not the Teuton Kingdom.”

“Yes.”

I raised my cup.

“The 1st legion’s goal is here. The Habsburg Empire. Paimon intends to form an alliance with the imperial soldiers and surround us.”

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. The weather has been getting cold lately. I still feel mentally dead. Uh, I’m translating faster than usual still. Who knows whether this is a good thing or not. There’s definitely a lot more scheming in the WN than the LN. 

That’s all I have to say for now. See you guys in the next release.