A few days later, Prime Minister Madrin and Commander Almond returned to the Lamaronic Empire. During their stay in Agartha, they had been going from place to place to gather information greedily. Prime Minister Madrin, for example, moved his huge body from place to place. He seemed to be quite conspicuous in that way.
Almond, on the other hand, had been going to the headquarters of the Agartha army for a long time. Not only did he carefully observe the soldiers' drill, but it seems that he himself was trained together with them. He said that one can never know how much strain is placed on the body unless one actually experiences it. In addition, he had discussions with military commanders such as Matkal and Knogen about what the military should be like. Knogen said that he was born to be a military man, and I think that is generally true.
Now if only things would go the way Madeline and her friends want them to. .......
I hope that the country will do what Madeline and her friends want.
You hear that?
Yeah. I just heard.
Two men are in a room, looking at each other. One man's face is flushed bright red, probably from anger. The other man looks anxious and his face is pale.
The two men in discussion were the Marquis of Tskaka and the Marquis of Siaki. The two men were the heads of two of the oldest and most prestigious families in the Kingdom of Lamaron. The Marquis of Tskaka was a member of the military staff, and the other, the Marquis of Siaki, was in charge of procuring goods for the military. Although Siaki was a member of the general staff, Tskaka, of course, rarely participated in operational meetings. So to speak, although they were both military personnel, they were in a quiet position.
The Marquis of Tskaka, his face bright red, took a bottle from his pocket and gulped it down.
"You are drinking again. You like it too, don't you?
Siaki looks stunned. But Tsukaka slurps down the bottle again.
"I can't stay calm if I don't drink, can I? How dare you choose Falco as the Crown Prince?
Tskaka roughly slammed the bottle he was holding onto the table. In his mind, Siaki was thinking how strong the bottle was, seeing that it had not even a crack in spite of the force with which it was hit. Not caring about his condition, Tskaka continued to speak.
"In the first place! Falco's mother is that Matkal. It is true that she is of the Emperor's blood, but she was not recognized as a member of the royal family by the Emperor. And her husband is the king of Agartha. He was a slave. How dare you allow a child born to a man of uncertain identity and a woman reduced to a commoner to inherit the throne! This will lead to the complete annexation of our empire by Agartha! The Prime Minister must be out of his mind!"
"You ......, my dear ......, would do well to refrain from using such words."
"Don't worry about it. It's just you and me in this room. It doesn't matter. Besides, you're just as hungry as I am, aren't you?"
"......"
"Not only you. All the Lamaron nobility feel the same way. Why not Aukhan or Clahara? They should know the country and our noblemen better than you do. Why would they do such a thing when the most suitable person to succeed to the throne is here!"
"......After all, it is Prime Minister Madeline, isn't it?"
Siaki mutters in a small voice. Tsukaka hears this and stands up, kicking his chair.
"Ah, it's the traitor! That raccoon dog is taking advantage of His Majesty's authority. In the first place, it is wrong for His Majesty to be in the presence of that traitor! I knew I shouldn't have let you out of the palace after all."
"I have repeatedly asked His Majesty to return to the palace. But His Majesty stubbornly refused to accept the request. ......"
"But it is not as if His Majesty himself said it! It was all done through that traitor!"
"Rumor has it that His Majesty is already in no condition to speak: ......"
It has been rumored for a long time. But that Madeline fellow ...... has been unable to find any information about His Majesty. I've tried every possible way, but nothing."
"That's probably because the imperial army is surrounding the madrins."
Siaki mutters in a small voice. Tskaka clucks his tongue and takes his seat again.
"This is what happens when you give the position of commander-in-chief to Almond.
"Almond is a commoner, too. And Sheba, the commander-in-chief of the Kempeitai, was originally Almond's second-in-command. He's also a commoner. The commoners are taking over this empire. It is an abomination.
Tskaka picks up a bottle lying on the table and puts it in his mouth again.
"We must change this situation, no matter what it takes. If we leave things as they are, the kingdom will indeed be destroyed.
"After all, we must have Mr. Auhan or Mr. Clahara stand up ......."
"Yes! Siaki, you are right! Let Master Aukhan or Master Clahara stand!"
"...... You, calm down. We all think so. But the Kempeitai are watching you. If you approach Master Orhan or Master Clahara now, you will be considered a rebel.
"Then, the kingdom is at the mercy of this traitor!"
Perhaps that is what the Prime Minister is after. He may be trying to nip any rebellion in the bud by keeping Master Orhan and Master Clahara away from everyone."
"I won't let that happen! Whatever it takes, whatever it takes, let Master Aukhan or Master Clahara stand!"
"......"
"I'll talk to the other chiefs of staff in secret. Wait a bit."
Tskaka told Siaki to come to the house tonight and left the room quickly.
The next day, he leaves the room.
At the same time, Almond received reports of the movements of the nobles.
"Oh, the Marquis of Tskaka and the Marquis of Siaki are having secret talks ......? You needn't worry about those two. But the Marquis of Tskaka is a man who does not do his own work, but rather relies heavily on others. There is a possibility that he will try to move someone else to make things happen. If the Marquis of Tskaka makes a move, the Marquis of Siaki will make a move. If he does, some of the military will make a move. Keep an eye on these two.
Almond commands the man standing in front of him. The man was dressed as an ordinary person walking in the streets of the capital. He stood erect and immobile, raised his hands in salute, and left Almond's presence.
"You moved faster than I expected."
He muttered to no one in particular and ordered a soldier standing by to call Sheba, the military police commander.
"Sheba, I'm coming in."
Sheba came up to the desk where Almond was sitting and raised his hands in salute.
"There seems to be a lot of activity among the nobles."
"Yes. Yes, that's right. In the past few days, there has been a sharp increase in the number of dinners held at noble residences.
"Ha ha ha. That's pretty straightforward."
Almond had a cheerful smile on his face, which was soon replaced by a sharp look in his eyes.
"Keep an eye on the movements of the nobles. And keep a sharp lookout for Orhan and Clahara. Keep an eye on all who approach."
"Ha ha."
"It would be a blessing in disguise if either His Highness Ohan or His Highness Clahara were to be crowned and raise an army. Who and who will be part of this ....... Let us give them time to find out. ....... We can bury them all later and save ourselves a lot of trouble."