Water Magician

Editor: Tseirp

“As expected of Lord Aubrey, unlike the Imperial Expeditionary Force, he moves very quickly.”

Raymond, the king’s brother, said bitterly, without changing his expression.

“The area they intend to invade is…”

“Probably the Reims region…which the Kingdom took from the Union in the last war.”

In response to Raymond’s right-hand man, Parker Fletcher, Count of Kirkhouse’s words, Raymond replied and continued.

“The Union must have figured that Reims was up for grabs. With the royal capital taken over by the imperial army and the king missing. The Kingdom is now practically without a functioning government. Since that’s the case, now’s the best time since the Kingdom can’t fight back. The imperial army won’t go out of their way to take back Reims for the Kingdom, either. Goddammit… this is why I wanted to ascend the throne as soon as possible…”

After such a lengthy remark, Raymond sipped the coffee that was placed in front of him.

“The Reims region is as good as…”

Both Raymond and Parker had concluded that it was inevitable that the Union would take back the Reims region.

“Hey Parker.  The procedure required to ascend the throne is to wear the crown and declare my accession before the High Priest of the central temple, correct?”

“Yes. The crown, scepter, and royal seal must be present, so long as you have them, the High Priest cannot refuse.”

“Good…”

As Parker explained, Raymond, pressed his middle finger on his left temple and began to ponder something.

After thinking for a while, Raymond asked Parker.

“If I were to force the accession, how would Marquis Musel and the others react?”

“So that’s what you were thinking about.”

Parker said, looking at Raymond and shaking his head slightly.

“I’m afraid, they probably won’t say anything openly.”

“Figures…”

“But honestly, we can’t be sure of what they’ll do behind the scenes.”

“Hmmm…”

Once again, Raymond sank deep into his thoughts.

“Your Excellency, we have completed our advance into the heart of the Reims region, into Kashnin and Goth city.”

“Good work.”

Aide Lamber’s report was met with a single nod of acknowledgment from Lord Aubrey, the Union Governor.

“The Imperial Army won’t sortie, but…the Royal Army will, eventually.”

“I wonder about that …. If I were the king, I’d leave it until the country is completely stabilized… we’ll have to see.”

Lord Aubrey said and picked up the cup of coffee placed in front of him.

In Lamber’s eyes, it was quite refreshing to see Lord Aubrey taking his time with a cup of coffee after the murderous amount of work he had done since the annexation of Inbury, including a lot of paperwork and not enough time to sleep.

That is, until a few minutes ago, when he finally got to the point where he could take a breather.

Lamber was so close to applause involuntarily at that moment.

Since Lord Aubrey, his boss, being busy meant that naturally Lamber, his right-hand man, was also busy….

“Still, I knew that the Empire might invade the Kingdom, but I never would have imagined that the entire northern nobles would also betray them.”

“You mean support the king’s brother, His Royal Highness Raymond?”

“No, not that. Prince Raymond is not incompetent by nature, and reports had been coming in that he had matured a lot since he entered the Flitwick Dukedom. So I knew there were a good number of people who would follow him…”

He took another sip of coffee before continuing.

“Just didn’t think he would win the support of all the northern nobles.”

“But the reality remains that the entire northern nobles are with him.”

“That’s exactly my point, Lamber. I wonder how many of them are really with Prince Raymond.”

“How many? Do you think some nobles are not aligned with him but betrayed the Kingdom all the same? If so, it makes one wonder where their interests lie.”

“The logical conclusion would be…the Empire, right?”

At this point, Lamber frowned as hard as he could.

“Traitors…just thinking about it is making my stomach turn, even if it’s another country.”

“Well, nobles near the border are that volatile.”

Lord Aubrey suddenly thought to himself…but quickly raised his head.

“This doesn’t look good.  Lamber, as I thought, the political power of the Emperor cannot be underestimated. We must quickly prepare troops to be stationed in the Reims region.”

“Sir?”

“The eastern part of the Kingdom will soon fall into the hands of the Empire.”

Three days later, in the audience chamber of the royal castle.

“Your Royal Highness, you wanted to see me?”

“Marquis Musel, thank you for coming.”

Marquis Musel, commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, accompanied by chief adjutant Linus, stepped into the audience chamber.

There were several dozen nobles present, in addition to Prince Raymond.

All of them were nobles with fiefdoms in the northern part of the kingdom.

“What in the world is this…”

“Marquis Musel, I know it’s on short notice, but we are about to hold a coronation ceremony for the king. Please join the honored guests.”

Parker, Raymond’s right hand man, answered.

“The…hell…”

A startled gasp escaped from Linus’ mouth.

Of course, it is not that Raymond did not consider forcing his accession to the throne.

However, with the southern and western parts of the Kingdom still unmoved and the imperial army attacking the central cities, it would seem too reckless to act in clear defiance of the empire’s wishes.

Even though the northern nobles are accompanying him and have placed more than ten thousand troops in the royal capital…still.

“Your Highness, if you would hold on for…”

“Restrain yourself, Viscount Kruger. The coronation ceremony has already begun.”

Parker rebuked him again sharply.

In fact, the northern nobles were lined up, and Prince Raymond, was also standing in front of the throne, and beside him were the crown, the scepter, and the royal seal, the three sacred objects that signify the king’s authority.

Already, Linus, of course, and Marquis Musel, were in a helpless state.

Then, the final piece, a figure, entered through the front door.

“The High Priest of the Central Temple, Sir Gabriel, has arrived.”

At the annoucement, High Priest Gabriel entered and stood in front of Raymond.

High Priest Gabriel checked the crown, the scepter, and the royal seal according to the ceremonial order.

When he had done so, he only uttered a single phrase.

“They are all in order.”

Gabriel’s expression hadn’t changed since he came in.

The kind of face that said … he was doing the job given to him without any personal feelings.

Many people would call that being ‘professional’, but…that just proves that there are a lot of people everywhere who don’t understand the true nature of things.

Without a change in expression, Gabriel proceeded with the coronation ceremony.

“Raymond, the Central Temple recognizes you as king.”

At that moment, Gabriel’s expression wavered, just slightly.

However, it was a slight waver that might have been noticed if one had been watching closely, and none of those who were watching from a distance noticed it.

Also, Prince Raymond, who was looking down in front of him, did not notice it either.

Regardless of Gabriel’s feelings, Raymond’s coronation as king came to pass.

“Woo-oo! ”

Such cheers rose from the northern nobles lined up in the audience hall.

For them, this was the moment they became the new king’s closest aides, and they were elated about it.

However, if one looked carefully, it would appear that some of them were genuinely happy, some looked happy, and some were feigning it.

Sitting on the throne, King Raymond addressed Marquis Musel, who was seated among the guests.

“Now then, Marquis Musel. As you can see, I have ascended the throne.”

“Congratulations, Your Majesty.”

Marquis Musel stood up and congratulated him.

Even though it was another country, moreover in the city they had conquered, they had to be courteous when dealing with the king of a country.

“Now the chaos in the capital will die down. However, nothing can be settled if the army of another nation is present in the capital of a nation.”

“Uh, Your Majesty, what exactly are you…”

Marquis Musel was at a loss for words.

“I am grateful to the imperial army. You did a good job. However, I believe your job here is now done. I know it will be a bit difficult to do right away, so I will give you a week. You have a week to withdraw your troops.”

“Nonsense! ”

The one who stood up and shouted was the chief adjutant, Linus.

Marquis Musel was too shocked to say anything.

“Viscount Kruger, be careful what you say.”

Parker said to Linus again.

But this time, he didn’t back down.

“Cut the crap! You think you will get away with this? ”

“Stop.”

The one who stopped Linus, who was kicking up a fuss, was Marquis Musel next to him.

“Look around you.”

His words weren’t loud, but they calmed Linus down.

Both of them were surrounded by cold eyes staring at them….

“Ugh…”

“Your Majesty, I am terribly sorry. Viscount Kruger here is tired from the hard work he has been doing day after day. I beg your indulgence.”

“It’s fine.”

The new King Raymond nodded and replied to Marquis Musel’s request for forgiveness.

On that day, King Raymond’s accession to the throne was announced to every city in the Kingdom.

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