Dungeon Defense (WN)

The conference was over.

Imperial Princess Elizabeth undid her hair tie as soon as she returned to her office. She then threw herself on the floor.

“I cannot stand this!”

“P-Please compose yourself.”

“Compose myself? Do I look like I can compose myself? Sexual romances? You damn mongrels, if I could chew you up, then I would gladly become a cannibal.”

The Imperial Princess couldn’t overcome her anger as she struck the wall. Bang, a hole was punctured through the section she had punched. Since she was also a swordsman who was capable of controlling her aura at will, the wall couldn’t handle her excessive strength as it broke. The knight, Charles, closed his eyes as he flinched. If she gets worked up, then even the emperor himself visiting wouldn’t be enough to stop her.

“The people of the empire are continuing to die by each passing day due to the Black Death! Our finances have already fallen into ruin long ago due to those people’s merrymaking, while our military is the only thing that is functioning properly. And yet, those mongrels.”

“Please do not say such obscene words with Your Excellency’s sacred mouth…….”

“Those sons of bitches gathered at the assembly today and bickered shrewdly! They do not even do anything! They leave the management of their territories entirely to their stand-ins and lead dissolute lives gathered in the Imperial Palace!”

“This nation is hopeless. It is no different from a sewer.”

“Y-Your Excellency.”

The knight sweated profusely.

Not only were the people of the empire aware of the signs of the Habsburg Empire’s declining future, but the entire continent was aware of it as well. Despite this, this was the imperial palace, the heart of the empire. Who knows what crimes you could be charged for if people found out that you were slandering the nation. The Imperial Princess continued to shout despite the knight’s attempt at calming her down.

“Do they truly find my presence to be that sickening!?”

She already knew. The nobles were incompetent, but they were as crafty as foxes when it came to their own benefits. The reason why they wasted time chatting about something as pointless as sexual romances was⎯⎯none other than to chase the imperial princess out.

A long time has passed since the first and second prince had stopped participating in the supreme council. They are probably playing around with whatever maid they were able to get their hands on right now. The Imperial Princess participated in the supreme council despite their absence. The nobles who participated on the sides of the first and second princes most likely felt uncomfortable by this.

They were afraid that the agenda would proceed towards a more advantageous situation for the Imperial Princess if they made even the slightest mistake. That’s why they deliberately dragged the subject towards adultery and incest since they were things that would undoubtedly trouble a lady of virtue. In order to prevent the Imperial Princess from intervening. It was hard to imagine how much of a political impact there would be if a rumor that ‘the Imperial Princess seemed to have a sizeable interest in homosexuality and incest’ were to spread……. The Imperial Princess had no other choice but to silently wait for their obscene discussion to end.

The nobles were indirectly protesting to Elizabeth, the Imperial Princess.

⎯ We have no honor or dignity to lose even if we acted like fools.

⎯ And yet, does Your Excellency the Imperial Princess not have many things you could possibly lose?

⎯ This is a meeting room that only nobles can enter. Do not go out of your way to sully Your Excellency’s precious ears and please take your leave. We will come to an agreement regarding our nation’s general public on our own.

They thoroughly rejected the Imperial Princess from the council. Even a noble of her faction agreed with their sentiment. They’ll most likely claim that they only wished for her to leave the matters to her underlings and to be at ease, but how could the Imperial Princess not be aware of their true intentions? They did not want their authority of deciding on important empire matters to be impeded on.

In the end, time passed and the meeting was adjourned. The nobles dispersed without having resolved even a single agenda. That wasn’t all. An hour hadn’t even passed since the meeting had ended, and yet, rumors about how the Imperial Princess had unjustly punished two nobles had already begun to circulate between the maids. The Imperial Princess became keenly aware of how unseemly and tiresome the interest group that didn’t care about their dignity was.

“Oh dear. The vibrations caused by Your Excellency’s kicks are reaching the far corners of the palace.”

The door opened and a man entered the office. He had a pleasant smile on his face. He was a member of the Imperial Princess’ Faction and managed the Department of Foreign Affairs. The Imperial Princess glanced at the man before letting out a sigh.

“Sir Heidelburg. I am doing this for people to hear.”

“Those nobles would not care regardless. Your Excellency should know very well that they are commonly known as the most stubborn people on the continent.”

“I am going mad.”

She plopped herself down on a luxurious sofa. Her anger had finally subsided after venting it all out for a moment. She groaned.

“I am only 16-years-old and yet I feel as if I am going to prematurely start having gray hair……. It is fine to bet whether I will pass away or not due to a mental disorder caused by repressed anger and stress within the next 10 years.”

“Is Your Excellency’s hair not silver? No one would notice even if your hair started to go gray.”

“Are you trying to say that as a joke right now?”

The corner of the Imperial Princess’s mouth twitched. The manager of foreign affairs laughed.

He then promptly got rid of his smile and got serious.

“The messenger has arrived. The Brittany-Batavia Alliance has subjugated Rank 49 Demon Lord Crocell’s castle. They say that they mobilized a force of 3,000 men. According to the alliance, they say that the Demon Lord Castle was filled with valuables. A total of 10 gold coins were distributed per person, so it must not be entirely an exaggeration.”

The Imperial Princess’s expression became serious as well.

“Do you intend to resolve this matter by pouring the grievances of the nation onto the Demon Lords? That is quite distasteful.”

“They are quick on their feet. To a certain degree, the Demon Lords are the ones who spread the Black Death. Thus the royal family had punished them accordingly, so do not accuse the royal family……. I apologize, Your Excellency. We do not have any other options.”

“What did the higher-ups of our army say?”

“They say that they would act immediately as long as His Highness the Emperor gave them the order.”

The Imperial Princess let out a sigh.

“Sir Heidelburg.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“Do you know how this rotten nation was able to last this long?”

The manager of foreign affairs furrowed his brows with a troubled look on his face. He hesitantly opened his mouth.

“Because of the secret acts of virtue by His Highness the Emperor and because we have the blessings of the Gods…….”

“So you can release flatulence from even your mouth. There is only one reason. It is because our militia is excessively talented.”

Imperial Princess Elizabeth drank straight from the wine bottle that was on the table. Although this was a demeanor that a member of the imperial family shouldn’t be displaying, both Heidelburg, the administrator of foreign affairs, and Charles, the knight, couldn’t say anything to stop her. She emptied half the bottle in an instant.

“Kuh. Grievances have been piling up endlessly throughout the country. Constant years of poor harvest, a broken economy, policy errors, and an epidemic this year. Whenever these grievances pile up, our great Habsburg Empire always invades somewhere. We then come out victorious. Our people then get drunk off of that victory and, for a brief moment, forget about the suffering that is reality……. This is how it has been. We have been covering up our national failures with the successes of our militia.”

It might be thanks to continuous luck, but great generals kept being born in the Habsburg Empire. In the past hundred years, the number of wars the Habsburg Empire had lost could be counted on a single hand. Adding to this, they weren’t great losses either. The people took pride in the empire’s strength and comforted themselves by saying that despite their difficult lives, they were still better off than other countries.

“It is an excessively deformed system. The palace nobles believe that the militia will handle everything for them. The common people believe this as well. Instead of trying to put in the effort to solve something politically, they invest everything into our army……. When it comes to our army, the empire does not distinguish between commoners or nobles.”

“Our forces being capable is a great blessing.”

“I know that!”

She slammed her fist on the table.

“On the contrary, that talent is shaving away at the empire. Are the chief retainers not doing whatever they please because they believe they can cover up their political failures with war!? The same thing is happening this time as well. With no hesitation whatsoever, they suggested that we should relieve the grievances caused by the Black Death through a war against the Demon Lords!”

“Your Excellency.”

“What happened to taking responsibility for not carrying out proper preventive measures against the epidemic? What happened to being reprimanded for not acquiring Black Herb in large quantities……? I am sick of this. They do not have even the slightest sense of responsibility.”

A stillness fell over the room. The administrator and the knight stood silently. The Imperial Princess realized that nothing would come from venting her anger now. She gave a sincere apology.

“I apologize. I showed you two something unsightly.”

“Think nothing of it. We know that Your Excellency worries about the safety of our nation more than anyone else. Nonetheless, we simply wish to inform Your Excellency that it would be a good idea to hastily participate in the subjugation of a Demon Lord Castle as well.”

The administrator of foreign affairs spoke brightly.

“I have looked into an appropriate Demon Lord Castle beforehand. Your Excellency, have you perhaps heard about the Keuncuska Firm?”

“The Keuncuska Firm?”

The Imperial Princess fell into deep thought. Out of the approximately 300 merchant group she was aware of, Keuncuska Firm was a name which she did not know. She shook her head.

“This is my first time hearing of it.”

“It is a firm which only a small minority of people know. This is because it operates in the demon world. They are able to easily obtain items that humans normally cannot get their hands on, so only the highest of aristocrats utilize their services.”

“I see.”

The weariness in the Imperial Princess’ gaze vanished. A merchant group that is operating in the demon world was a rather interesting topic. Once the administrator noticed that her mood was improving, he spoke in a more casual and brighter tone. He entertained the Imperial Princess’ ears with his wide knowledge regarding the demon world.

As a rising noble in his twenties, the young man had both talent and aspirations. Thus, once he came to the realization that the future of the empire was with the Imperial Princess, he swore his loyalty to her. He had a habit of willingly changing his expression and tone if it meant he could make his lord happy. The Imperial Princess was aware of this as she felt pleased on the inside.

‘A fortune among misfortunes. There are many talented people among the young nobles.’

The chief retainers that were currently ruling the empire were all equally greedy; however, their successors were different. Not only were they so honorable that one wouldn’t believe they shared the blood of their fathers, but they were talented as well. After exactly one decade, they will inherit their fathers’ titles of nobility. The empire will be able to transform itself into an entirely different form by then…….”

‘What the empire requires is 10 years.’

The Imperial Princess managed to regain her smile. She has been enduring each passing day with her hopes of the future. As she chuckled at the administrator’s skill at talking, she suddenly had a question.

‘……How could those pathetic nobles have such competent children?’

It was a matter which she had never thought about before. She pondered deeply about it for a moment, but she soon set it aside. Even she was the daughter of an emperor who was crazy about his carnal desires. It seems the claim that children resemble their parents was a lie. The gap between the perfectly incompetent current generation and the perfectly competent next generation.

It almost felt as if someone had deliberately separated the generations like this.

‘There is no way that could be possible.’

The Imperial Princess berated herself. In any case, there was hope. In only ten years, the irresponsibility, greed, and current degree of incompetence that are currently covering the empire will quickly disappear. Covering up the political evils of the nation with war⎯⎯although this is nothing more than a temporary solution, it should easily be able to last another 10 years.

“According to the secret information I received from the Keuncuska Firm, Rank 68 Belial’s Demon Lord Castle especially should have a large number of gold coins.”

“Rank 68? Is their rank not excessively low? Generally, the higher the rank, the more goods there are to plunder in their Demon Lord Castle.”

“I was worried about that as well, but the people at the Keuncuska Firm said…….”

After a brief discussion, the Imperial Princess gave her seal of approval to dispatch the troops. There was nothing much to deliberate on. Compared to the retainers in the palace, the imperial army of Habsburg was vastly more capable. A thousand imperial soldiers were more than enough to take care of a mere Rank 68 Demon Lord.

For the Imperial Princess, the Demon Lords were nothing more than fools. They have never been able to unite. The past history of several thousands years proved this to be true. Elizabeth, the Imperial Princess, was certain that their attitudes wouldn’t abruptly change after a single one of their castles is conquered.

Revved up by her approval, the dispatch of troops was immediately permitted during the conference of nobles that was carried out the following day. Even the nobles welcomed the idea of sending out their troops in order to direct the grievances caused by the Black Death towards the Demon Lords. The imperial soldiers who had already been preparing to leave immediately set off as soon as they received the order.

There were two things that Elizabeth, the Imperial Princess, and the Habsburg Empire had overlooked.

First, it wasn’t only the Habsburg Empire, but every nation in the human continent had dispatched their troops towards Demon Lord Castles that were appropriate to them. Contrary to the Imperial Princess’ intentions, a total of 12 Demon Lord Castles were engulfed in the flames of war.

And second⎯⎯the information spread by the Keuncuska Firm was fabricated.

“And then they told me that the food in the demon world is normally spicy! Seriously, I thought a hole would melt through my tongue!”

“Fufu.”

The young Imperial Princess chuckled lightly in response to the administrator’s exaggerated body gestures.

In the end, she had no idea that all of this was going according to a single Demon Lord’s plan. It wasn’t only her, but the leading members of the 12 nations that exist on the continent all had no idea as well.

***

TL note: Thanks for reading the chapter. People really seemed split in half about the previous chapter. It was mostly clarified in this chapter, but I do admit the previous chapter went on for a bit too long. It did make a point, though.

In any case, life goes on. I’ll see you guys in the next release.

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