The Crown of Rutile Quartz: Volume 2 [Parts 1 to 3] by Surume Enoki

Author:Surume Enoki
Language: eng
Format: epub

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Just as when he had been preparing to face the imperial army last fall, inspiration struck Slaine like lightning once more.

A few days after the attempted coup, he summoned Sieghardt to his office to inquire about the feasibility of his strategy.

After listening to Slaine’s explanation, Sieghardt stroked his beard and muttered, “I see, I see.”

“What do you think?” Slaine asked expectantly. “Could it be effective?”

“I think it may well be. It is certainly a novel strategy, exploiting the enemy’s psychology. However...”

“There are no absolutes in battle?” Slaine supplied.

Sieghardt nodded with a smile. “It is certainly worth a shot,” he said. “If we succeed, the conflict will conclude with minimal bloodshed on either side. But if not, we will have no choice but to engage in battle head-on. Please understand.”

“Of course. Even if my enemy consists of my own people, combat is combat. We cannot invite greater casualties to our side out of hesitance. If necessary, I give you my blessing to exterminate the enemy without mercy,” Slaine said calmly, a small, conflicted smile on his face. “Do you think it naive of me to strive to minimize casualties even among the duke’s people?”

“No, I do not think it naive,” Sieghardt replied straightaway. “I believe that your words at our recent meeting were quite appropriate, and that the late King Frederick would have come to a similar conclusion. My lord, you truly resemble your father more and more with each passing day.”

Slaine muttered, “Sergey once said the same. And I’ve been hearing it from several other vassals and servants as of late.”

“The relationship between parent and child is a curious thing. Even without daily contact, they naturally come to resemble one another,” said Sieghardt, affection in his expression. “Lord Nordenfelt has remarked that I resemble my own father as well, though I have few memories of the man—he was a stern soldier, and we seldom spoke. This strong impression you give to the people around you is the clearest proof that you are truly your father’s son.”

“Indeed,” said Slaine, touching the pendant around his neck—the same one his father had once worn.

Although he had never met the late king, he felt a connection between them nevertheless. Because Slaine had grown up without his father, he was very glad to feel any tie between them at all. But at the same time, it made him feel lonely—he wished he could have had the chance to meet his father, even if only once. Would that he could have spent his life with his mother and father together, united as a proper family.

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Over the next week or so, Elena and her ministry carried out propaganda operations to great effect.

The ministry of foreign affairs seeded rumors throughout the commons: the Duke of Wahlenheit was a rebel who had attempted to assassinate the king. He was the scum of the earth, a traitor who had invited the Galed Empire into the kingdom to save his own life. This shocking news circulated broadly and rapidly, not only within the royal domain but in the noble holdings to the east and west as well.

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