Chapter 441

“First, the contaminated Acqua Panna sent from Austria-Hungary arrived in Prussia and Bavaria two hours ago. According to the experiments, only nine of Prussia’s twelve Special Management Grade divine power mages are actually capable of purifying Atropos. Unless the divine power is of high purity, Atropos’s mana structure breaks it down.”

The calm voice melted into the warmth of the fireplace, pleasant against my ears. I closed my eyes and repeatedly clenched and relaxed my right hand, fitted with a mana extraction device. I was extracting divine power and storing it. All of it would be deposited into Bavaria’s treasury.

“Second, the Prussian government is discussing whether to kill Mikhail Ismailov or add him to the roster of divine power mages. When they tested Ismailov’s purification ability, they found that he can purify an area of 10,000 square meters at a time, just like Lord Narke Farnese.”

“……”

“Third, Sir Nikolaus Ernst, Vice Chairman of the Advisory Committee, has been summoned to the Supreme Council by six tomorrow morning. It seems they aren’t planning to assign Sir Nikolaus Ernst a specific mission, but rather want to hear the measures Bavaria has prepared. Fourth, negotiations are continuing regardless of Atropos. The prisoner-exchange channel has not yet been cut off. That concludes the report.”

Leo lowered the sheet of paper he had been holding and looked at me. After receiving the dismissal order, Leo, Elias, Narke, and I had gathered in my room at the quarters.

As for Leo, he was a member of the Bavarian Senate, so he couldn’t simply remain confined to the quarters. With the Headquarters’ permission, he had set up a domestic portal in his room. Thanks to that, he could pull in all sorts of information and equipment. If Leo had remained merely Crown Prince and not also been a senator, we would have had no way around it. Fortunately, there was a way. I rubbed my chin as I looked back at him.

‘Hmm.’

Interesting. To be perfectly honest, it didn’t seem so bad to let the Empire fall once, just like the Second Reich in the world I came from. I lazily moved my left hand, which had been supporting my chin, and spoke.

“The part about Ismailov wasn’t something my advisory office knew. And apparently he really can use divine power.”

“I compiled the report myself. Why are you bringing up your advisory office?”

“Right. Sorry. …And thanks for putting it together.”

I briefly looked away from Leo’s clear, steady gaze as I answered.

I wonder why His Highness the Crown Prince keeps volunteering to play the role of my aide. Still, it was useful information that I needed, so I couldn’t complain. I closed my eyes again and pressed my fingertips to my temple.

‘I had thought that maybe watching the Empire fall once wouldn’t be such a bad thing…’

Of course, I couldn’t possibly let that happen. For one thing, if it did, the situation would be no different in essence from what nearly happened in Austria-Hungary. The only difference would be the outward form; we would still end up living as someone’s puppets. And knowing how the national resentment that had been festering after defeat and the fall of the Second Reich in my world eventually contributed to the massacres that came years later, I can’t help but feel a chill run down my spine. It’s not something I can afford to think about lightly.

If the Empire were to collapse now, then, fortunately, a republic might be established under the right circumstances. But we would just end up with a Pleroma dictatorship ruling that republic.

Intellectuals frustrated by France’s failed Enlightenment might cheer for it. But the fundamental reason we need a democratic republic isn’t because republican ideology is some absolute truth. It’s because we need a system that protects everyone’s rights and promotes their happiness. The blood spilled throughout the first half of the twentieth century is proof of what happens when people forget that and let ideology take precedence over human beings in pursuit of ideological legitimacy.

So, the conclusion is…

“Pleroma has changed its strategy.”

Tap.

Tap. I closed my eyes and drummed my fingers against the table. The steady rhythm helped me focus.

“…They tried to seize control of the imperial family in the multi-ethnic state of Austria-Hungary and install a puppet government, but they failed completely and their plan was exposed to the world. So now they’re going to start killing nobles here and there instead, and try to plunge the international community into a state of tension…”

It was obvious what they were trying to accomplish. Division, conflict, chaos, waste. Their ultimate goal was war, and as always, when a war ended in defeat, the emperor would take responsibility and abdicate. Pleroma had neither the Habsburg-Lorraine nor the Hohenzollern bloodline. They had no name to rally supporters around.

To understand Pleroma’s revised strategy, we had to recognize that more people in the Empire than one might expect supported and loved the Hohenzollerns, and considered Prussia’s success their own.

If they couldn’t rally people around a name, they would rally them around an ideology. Unable to rely on a royal bloodline, Pleroma would establish a republic instead of a Third Reich, giving itself legitimacy in the process. A new emperor with a lifetime term—in other words, a dictator-president—would be elected to rule the republic under Pleroma’s control. The cult leader would probably take that position.

No matter how poorly I might regard absolute monarchy as a person from the 21st century, Pleroma’s rule would still be incomparably worse.

And if this was the future Pleroma was aiming for, then we had to act immediately. Unless we stopped Pleroma’s war against us—stopped the madness of this German cult—or, in other words, stopped the massacres of Italian nobles, Germany would end up turning Italy into an enemy.

Tap―…

‘If that happens, our relationship with the Papal States will obviously be in danger too.’

The supply of divine power would be disrupted. The fact that the Papal States still exist here already gives me some idea of their relationship, but they still maintain a reasonably friendly relationship with Italy. Just look at where many of the cardinals who have made a name for themselves there come from—they belong to Italian clerical families. Once those families start exerting their influence, the Papal See is bound to be affected as well. Italians make up nearly half of the Papal See’s personnel to begin with.

The political map Pleroma was drawing was becoming painfully clear. For now, Pleroma could make the entire continent close ranks against them, but if this situation dragged on, the German people would eventually become isolated from the international community.

I opened my eyes and looked at Leo.

“How many New Humans have died in the country today?”

“None.”

“What about Austria-Hungary and Italy?”

“None in Austria-Hungary today. Four in Italy.”

“Ah damn… my head is killing me, ugh…”

Elias groaned in the same manner he did at school. Leo looked thoroughly disgusted.

Four now, when there had been only two before. More people were falling victim to Atropos. At any rate, Elias had clearly drawn the same picture in his head.

‘They’re deliberately leaving the German states alone.’

This was different from yesterday, when Austria-Hungary was their target. If they couldn’t swallow the government whole right away, they would change tactics—shooting in every direction and isolating Germany from the international community.

I downed the potion Leo tossed me and continued extracting divine power.

“Leo. Has Prussia started working on an antidote?”

“No. They’re still relying on divine power.”

“Are those guys insane…?”

Again, it was Elias who said it. Leo turned away with an expression of utter resignation.

Whatever stupid decisions Prussia made were none of my concern. Good thing I’d already warned Bavaria. In the worst-case scenario, what would save us wouldn’t be the Papal States’ divine power mages, but technology developed in time to prepare for this kind of situation. As I sat quietly thinking, Leo continued in a low voice.

“Foreign currency keeps flowing out.”

I nodded with my eyes closed.

There was nothing good about the atmosphere of war. The ports were half-shut down, tariffs were soaring as governments imposed retaliatory measures, and money was no longer circulating. Interest rates were rising—though the central bank could force them back down if it insisted. But if they dropped too sharply under circumstances like these, we would soon find that the money in our hands had become little more than worthless paper. The continent’s economy was frozen solid. At the same time, the stock prices of railway, steel, and arms companies were shooting through the roof. Countless wars must have gone through this same process. I was standing in the middle of one brief moment of it. And in that brief moment, the lives of countless people hung in the balance. From nobles to commoners. No—the commoners were already suffering economic damage from this strained atmosphere.

Countless interests moved through my mind like pieces on a chessboard.

‘We need one more ally.’

We could not stop Pleroma’s plan to overthrow the state with the pieces we had. We needed an ally from among the enemy’s allies. A good candidate came to mind.

“You’re tired, aren’t you, Lukas?”

Leo was watching me as he spoke. I slowly opened my eyes and looked at my friends. No, not really. Why would I be tired when I hadn’t even been the one running around? It was a little embarrassing hearing that while I sat alone in the room’s best chair, since I was the owner of the room and all. I glanced at the clock and answered honestly.

“No, I’m fine. You were just in Bavaria yourself, so you should get some rest.”

And—

There were less than three hours left until Sunday.

It was finally time to meet the holy relics thief. I had returned to Germany on Saturday morning, so barely half a day had passed. The timing was perfect for meeting the thief. Everyone would soon be confined to their quarters. There couldn’t have been a better time.

‘That doesn’t mean I can just go meet the thief right away, though.’

I needed to watch what happened at the residence first. It would be great if we met on the night between Sunday and Monday. Right on cue, whether Narke read my mind—or perhaps just guessed it—he suddenly asked me, “Lukas, Lord Savelli is asking if you have another message for him. Anything you want to say?”

“Munich, Giesing. And as late as possible.”

“Around 11:50?”

“Yeah.”

Leo looked back and forth between Narke and me.

“11:50…? For what?”

Elias also raised an eyebrow and simply watched us. I exchanged a glance with Narke before looking back at Leo. With Sunday just around the corner, it was time for a strategy meeting.

“Leo. There’s something I haven’t told you guys yet.”

At midnight, I put down the Bavarian documents I had been reading when I heard a knock at the door. When I opened it, Mecklenburg was standing there with a stiff expression.

After that, I naturally had to change into formal wear. I warped with the 91st Unit’s representative and Mecklenburg, then entered the palace alone.

Creak—

“They have completed the mind manipulation drug.”

“You have not seen me in some time, yet you do not even offer a greeting. How surprising.”

Abraham closed the book he had been reading while lying on the sofa and slowly turned his head toward me. For someone complaining about the lack of a greeting, there wasn’t even a servant outside to announce my arrival, and the door was already wide open. He was dressed in nothing but a shirt, too. Made all that effort to dress properly for nothing. What did I expect from a person who couldn’t even be bothered with proper decorum himself?

He hadn’t told me to sit, but I dropped into the seat across from him anyway.

“‘Some time’? It has been a little over a week since I last saw you, Your Highness.”

“…….”

“What do you intend to do now? They have perfectly replicated Gregorio.”

Yesterday morning, back at the Austrian Imperial Palace, I’d had a thought. Doesn’t someone come to mind…?

The first-stage of Atropos, the mind manipulation drug, was a perfect imitation of Abraham’s Special Ability. In fact, as I had deduced, the mind manipulation drug itself had originally been developed to reduce Pleroma’s dependence on Abraham. It had been crude at first, but Pleroma was no longer the same.

They had finally freed themselves from their dependence on Abraham. They were still hunting him down to kill him, since he held their secrets and assets in his hands, but unlike before, they no longer needed his ‘revelation’ ability.

“What would you have me say? That I am offended because Pleroma no longer needs me? Or that I ought to punish them for daring to imitate me?”

Abraham drawled the last part of his sentence in his slow voice before letting out a soft laugh. His lemon-colored hair swayed with the movement.

“I should be honored. They have gone so far as to recreate my ability as a magic potion simply to imitate me. I am not sure whether I should find that amusing… But, Sir Ernst, you do not seem to realize that what they produced is not even a quarter of the real thing. It is nothing more than a shoddy imitation.”

Abraham slowly rose from the sofa and sat upright. His yellow eyes glimmered faintly in the darkness.

“Well, the Archdiocese of Brandenburg has always been under my grace, anyway.”

“…….”

“Just a joke. Though it is true that they have benefited from my favor. I am tired. I have only just returned, and after taking the trouble to invite you, all I hear is this sort of trivial talk.”

“Your Highness, do you really have time to avoid the subject?”

“What you wish to know, Sir Ernst, is how Prussia intends to deal with Atropos.”

“That is correct. I imagine that is also related to why Your Highness summoned me.”

Abraham lit a cigarette and exhaled slowly. He spoke as casually as ever.

“I have no intention of dealing with it.”

“You are insane.”

“Indeed. I am.”

As if to prove it, his eyes flashed, and his tone changed.

“But what is so different? Just as I am leaving you alone, I am simply doing the same elsewhere. Even knowing that you will take advantage of what you can from me and eventually turn a knife against my back, do you really expect me to leave only you—an opponent like you—alone?”

Could someone sitting in the position of a ruler really say something like that? I had never expected anything from him to begin with, so I wasn’t disappointed. It was simply typical of Abraham. Even knowing that Pleroma had recreated his ability in the form of a drug, he was willing to let everything go unchecked. Perhaps the contempt showed in my eyes, because Abraham, who had been studying me, gave a quiet hum.

“Your Highness has the power to stop Pleroma from taking innocent lives in Italy.”

“We already agreed, when we met as Crown Prince and vassal, that I would not use my ability. Do you want me to break that promise and use my Special Ability? Would that make you happy? Should I use it to conduct intelligence operations and interfere in Italian affairs? Ah… should I have the blood of Habsburg-Lorraine and Österreich-Este brought here?”

Talking to him was like preaching to a brick wall. No matter what I said, he had no intention of listening. Just as always.

I crossed my legs, folded my arms, and sank back into the seat. It was hardly a posture one should show in front of the Crown Prince, but neither of us cared. He didn’t seem to have any intention of feeding me blood today. He had none of the information I’d asked for, after all. Since I was already here, though, I might as well hear what nonsense he had to say.

Abraham closed his eyes, drew in a breath, and slowly exhaled a long stream of smoke.

“Look at the countless interests colliding within it.”

“…….”

“Place them inside a camera obscura, on the stage of a microscope, or in the crosshairs of a scope. Hold your breath and observe them. See who is central, who is a variable, who meets whom, and what kind of reaction follows. For example, Lord Heike…”

At that moment, Abraham’s brows drew together for a moment before he suddenly burst out laughing. He rubbed a hand over his chest and said, “It is almost suffocating. Listen to the end. Why would Pleroma need Lord Heike Einsiedel’s remarkable Special Ability? I was the only person in the government who ever took notice of him, so why? Who would oppose him, and who would welcome him? Unfortunately, Heike Einsiedel has been kept in check, leaving Pleroma unable to make use of him. All because of Österreich-Este’s sapphire parure…”

Leaning forward, Abraham clasped his hands beneath his chin and continued.

“Unless they can replicate his Special Ability, of course. Regrettably, if Lord Heike Einsiedel had not been recruited into Eszett, he would have disappeared much sooner. Pleroma wants his Special Ability.”

“…….”

“Was that helpful? Those are probably the answers you needed. Unfortunately, I am too tired to give you any blood right now.”

“That is good to hear.”

“More importantly, I heard about what happened in Passau. Have you figured out why you are their target?”

“That is not something Your Highness needs to know.”

“You are already at the center of this. Pleroma is watching you.”

“…….”

“Why, though? Assuming the mastermind is the Brandenburg Diocese, why? Or, assuming the mastermind is some group other than the Brandenburg Diocese, why?”

I smiled back at him.

“So that is what you wanted to hear, Your Highness.”

“More precisely, I called you here to see your expression. You know why you became their target.”

“You are rather confident about that.”

“…….”

Abraham simply smiled as though he’d expected that answer and took another drag from his cigarette.

I had already been thinking about it myself. Who could become an ally? At heart, Abraham was still someone I would eventually have to bring down. That hadn’t changed. But there was plenty I could make use of in the fact that he was an enemy of Pleroma. And this time, Atropos itself was a perfect copy of Abraham’s ability, which meant he might have reason to strike back.

‘And yet, he refuses to cooperate…’

I smiled as I met Abraham’s gaze. So what, did he think Pleroma imitating him was less significant than an ant riding on an elephant’s back? He had always been the type to remain completely unfazed no matter how much the other side tried to provoke him.

And there was a reason for that lack of reaction. Abraham had someone he wanted to observe in the current state of Pleroma.

That someone had always been me.

Abraham had always wanted to see for himself how I would respond when faced with a crisis. But not this time. This time, he wanted to watch the conflicts and alliances within Pleroma. Why?

The ‘why’ mattered too, but not right now.

What mattered was that he could not offer the state any meaningful help in this situation.

Around the time Abraham finished his cigarette, he rose from his seat, tightened his tie, and put on his waistcoat. Why was he only getting dressed properly now, without even a servant to help him? I watched him in silence.

Without even looking in the mirror, Abraham neatly smoothed back his hair and said, “Come with me, Young Lord Askanien.”

“…….”

I slowly tilted my head. Abraham held out a hand to me with the smile I had often seen him wear in formal settings.

No. I had no intention of taking it. I got to my feet on my own. Abraham didn’t seem to mind at all and walked a step ahead.

By then, the once-dark corridor had been lit. The polished marble floor gleamed beneath the light, while Baroque wall lamps lined the corridor. Even beneath their warm yellow glow, the air remained cool.

After following him for some time, the servants standing before the reception room opened the doors for us.

There was a guest inside. The guest’s lips parted softly.

“Your Highness.”

“…….”

I had been hearing from everyone around him that he hadn’t had a moment’s rest, yet his face showed none of it. Neither the light in his vivid blue eyes, nor his hair, nor his clothes bore the slightest trace of exhaustion. An elegance no one else could imitate, along with the air of a victor, flowed calmly and quietly through even his smallest movements. Nothing unusual. Just as he always was. A serene smile, utterly free of impatience, slowly turned toward me. At the same time, I could feel Abraham’s gaze settling on me.

I pulled the political map I’d been thinking about last night back into my mind. Ah. So this is really how it is… I smiled and finally addressed the guest.

“Brother.”

Translator Note

Happy birthday to Narke! 🎂🩷 Today, September 8th, is Narke’s birthday, so I decided to celebrate by updating today! Also, I recently found out that Julia’s birthday was August 22nd, and unfortunately, I had no idea at the time 🥲 So I’m making up for it by releasing 10 chapters for his birthday too! Happy birthday to both of them!