"Ugh, this is a disaster..."
On March 1st, Lijoun de Berkeley, the King of the Kingdom of Franz, sat with his head clutched in his hands.
"Your Majesty, what is the matter?"
Rotaro de Lafayette, the Northern Duke, asked the question out of concern for the pale-faced monarch.
He was in a position that could be called Lijoun's right-hand man, but in truth, the two did not get along well. This was primarily because Rotaro was constantly critical of the self-righteous and dictatorial Lijoun.
However, on this day, Lijoun was uncharacteristically timid. Or rather, he had always been a coward at heart.
"The Southern Duke, Lufort de Orange, has brought shame upon our nation's honor. Nay, there are even signs of rebellion."
"What!?"
"...What should I do?"
A dejected Lijoun showed the Northern Duke the document sent from the Celuroa Kingdom. Rotaro let out a long sigh as he scanned the contents.
"...It is no wonder Your Majesty is at a loss. If this is the truth, it is simply appalling."
The document was written by the new King of the Celuroa Kingdom, Cesar Valois de Celuroa. Furthermore, it bore the signatures of the Emperor of the Shouro Empire, the Prince of the Klein Kingdom, a Duke of the Kingdom of Egerea, a Marquis of the Kingdom of Elias, and the Lord of Kunlun. It was almost certainly genuine.
The content itself was the real problem.
In short, it detailed the events of the incident caused by Lufort de Orange and stated that the involved nations demanded an apology and reparations from the Kingdom of Franz.
The total amount of those reparations was equivalent to five years of the Kingdom of Franz's national budget. Even with installments, it would likely take decades to pay in full.
"If we refuse, the Celuroa Kingdom might very well invade and destroy us."
Because they did not know King Cesar's character, such fears felt very real. The King and the Northern Duke agonized over the situation together.
"Setting the reparations aside for a moment, we must first consider the apology."
"I suppose so..."
Lijoun was thirty-seven years old. Having been pampered by the previous King since childhood and having only ascended the throne four years ago, his sense of duty as a monarch was still weak.
Rotaro was only five years older than the King, but he was far more reliable. It could be said that the country only managed to function despite a helpless, spoiled brat of a King and a greed-filled Southern Duke thanks to Rotaro’s competence.
However, even Rotaro could not think of an immediate way to resolve this crisis.
＊ ＊ ＊
There existed an organization known as the Partisans.
They were a revolutionary group operating in the shadows of the Kingdom of Franz, resisting the oppressive rule that had persisted from the reign of the previous King, Wilson, through that of the current King, Lijoun.
On February 28th, a crucial piece of intelligence had been delivered to them.
"The Southern Duke, Lufort de Orange, has committed an international blunder at the Founding Anniversary Ceremony of the Celuroa Kingdom."
Upon receiving this report, the Partisans began to move. The plan they had formulated for such an eventuality was set into motion.
Messages flew out to members scattered across various regions.
"Plan 2-B, execution on March 3rd."
"All right, the day has finally come!"
"Let's do this!"
"We'll bring divine punishment down upon that foolish King!"
The morale of the members was high.
In August of last year, Regulus 41—using the name Schult—had infiltrated the Partisans and had been reporting to Laojun ever since. However, since less than a year had passed since he joined, the information he could obtain was relatively limited. Nevertheless, Laojun pieced the fragments together and formed a general deduction.
"I see. So they are aiming for a revolution."
Laojun drew an analogy from the historical knowledge within Jin's memories. It was reminiscent of an episode from the end of the Han Dynasty in ancient China, where ten eunuchs who had been manipulating the Emperor as a puppet were purged, and a young Emperor was deposed to install a monarch of the legitimate bloodline.
Of course, there were many differences, but if one aimed to complete the task in the shortest possible time with the least amount of bloodshed, it was a logical path.
"They must have seen this as a golden opportunity, given the absence of Duke Orange—one of the root causes of the problem—and the fact that he committed a scandal abroad."
Most likely, they would rise up simultaneously to suppress the forces aligned with Duke Orange while coordinating within the Royal Palace to detain the current King. Then, they would install someone as King who possessed the legitimate bloodline, had a good character, and was loved by the people.
This was the strategy of the Partisans that Laojun had seen through. And the name of the person intended to be the new King was Rotaro de Lafayette.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Hmm, I see..."
Laojun had contacted Jin once the deductions were complete.
"I've realized that sticking my nose too far into the affairs of other countries can be a problem. Unless it becomes a major disaster, let's leave that country's affairs to its own people."
However, Jin added a caveat.
"Continue the search for Lufort de Orange. I have a bad feeling about him for some reason."
"Understood."
＊ ＊ ＊
"It seems Lufort fled from the Celuroa Kingdom and has barricaded himself in Fort Crow."
The information that even the Quinta had not yet grasped reached the Partisans two days later. Sometimes, the power of human intelligence networks was not to be underestimated.
"That remote fortress?"
"I see. Since he'd be executed for defying the Celuroa Kingdom if he returned to the capital, he fled his own territory as well."
"In that case, let's send in agents to scout the situation. But first, we handle the transition of power!"
Thus, the Partisans charged toward revolution.
On March 3rd, the Partisans rose up simultaneously across the nation. Taking advantage of the royal side's negligence, they seized control of major cities in the blink of an eye. It was a decisive victory for the revolutionaries, who had already placed several comrades in key positions within the urban centers.
"What!? A rebellion? Why at a time like this!"
On March 5th, Lijoun turned pale upon hearing the news. Duke Orange, who always helped and flattered him, was nowhere to be found.
"Your Majesty, please prepare yourself for the worst," the Northern Duke advised.
"T-the worst!?...No! This kingdom is mine!!"
Duke Lafayette let out a quiet sigh as he watched Lijoun cling to his throne, shouting even as he trembled with terror.
Footsteps approached. Since some of the royal guards were members of the Partisans, seizing the castle had been a simple task.
"King! Prepare yourself!"
"..."
By the time over a dozen Partisans surrounded him, the King of the Kingdom of Franz, Lijoun de Berkeley, had wet himself and lost consciousness in a fit of terror.
＊ ＊ ＊
"...I see. It happened quickly."
Later that day, Jin heard the details of the revolution in the Kingdom of Franz from Laojun.
"Just as I predicted, Lijoun has been deposed, and it seems the Northern Duke, Rotaro de Lafayette, has ascended as the new King."
This meant the Berkeley Dynasty had fallen, replaced by the Lafayette Dynasty.
"The Celuroa Kingdom’s response to this is going to be complicated..." Jin muttered, feeling a fresh headache forming. "...And the matter of what to do with Lufort hasn't been settled yet."
Elsa also voiced her concerns. "Yes, you're right. Anyway, nothing can move forward until we catch Lufort."
"On that front, the members of the Partisans are currently tracking him," Laojun reported. "I have also slipped several Quinta units among them."
"Understood. Let's see how it goes."
It seemed the day the world would finally be at peace was still far off.