Just as when we had come, we made our way forward while using Leviathan for Misdirection.
"Th-This is—"
"Shh."
Caught off guard, Henry had nearly raised his voice.
Pressing a finger to my lips, I signaled for him to be quiet with the classic gesture.
Startled, Henry clamped his mouth shut and followed behind me.
Taking Henry along just like that, I toured the encampment.
At first, I had needed Leviathan's assistance, but gradually I began to grasp how the power worked, eventually managing to guide their gazes away with ease.
Having done that to complete a swift circuit around the entire grounds, we stepped right out the front with absolute composure.
Moving a short distance away, I looked back toward the camp.
Numerous bonfires blazed brightly; while not on the scale of the imperial capital, out here in the open field, that single area was illuminated as if it were broad daylight.
"There didn't seem to be any particular issues."
"..."
Turning around, I saw Henry standing there slack-jawed, completely struck dumb.
"Henry?"
"...Ah, f-forgive me."
"Is something the matter?"
"Your Majesty's power is leagues beyond anything I had heard in rumors. I was momentarily lost for words."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. To walk out of an encampment unnoticed by a single soul, and without an escort to boot, is a first for me....No, it would not be an exaggeration to call it unprecedented."
"You're exaggerating."
"Not in the slightest! Do you realize just how tremendous this is...? Ah."
"What is it?"
Henry started.
A look came over his face as if he had just realized something—a sudden mix of joy and conflicting emotions all tangled together.
"With this power of Your Majesty's, could you perhaps infiltrate enemy lines single-handedly and assassinate the enemy commander alone?"
"What, is that all?"
I chuckled softly.
"I could. However..."
"However?"
"Just as I said earlier, it doesn't work against large armies. For that exact same reason, in a scenario where the enemy commander has just been assassinated, a mere subtle diversion won't stop them from hunting down the culprit. I could land the fatal blow, but escaping would be difficult."
"I-I see..."
At a loss for words, Henry looked crestfallen.
Yet that lasted only for an instant.
"As expected of Your Majesty, to have thought it through to that extent."
"Hm?"
"What is the matter, Your Majesty?"
"Is that... a courier?"
"Eh?"
Henry followed my gaze.
He narrowed his eyes, knitting his brows tightly.
It seemed his night vision was rather poor, and he couldn't make it out.
"............Ah, indeed, the sound of hooves."
"Yes."
After waiting a moment, Henry seemed to have picked it up with his ears rather than his eyes.
"Could it be an urgent military dispatch?"
"Let us head back."
"Understood."
Accompanied by Henry, I made my way back to the encampment.
At the entrance, a man who had ridden in on a fast horse stood ragged and out of breath, locked in a heated argument with the gatekeeper.
"Listen to me! I'm telling you it's an emergency!"
"Out of the question! We cannot let anyone through without a pass."
"How could I possibly have a pass?! I rode here directly!"
"No means no. Go to the capital and get a pass from the Prince Regent or something first."
The courier pleaded desperately, but the sentry firmly brushed him aside.
"What is going on here?"
"Who goes—wait, Your Imperial Highness?!"
When I spoke and approached, the sentry bypassed me entirely and reacted to Henry, who was standing just behind my shoulder.
I let out a quiet chuckle.
It was a common enough occurrence.
Low-ranking soldiers on the ground had never laid eyes on the Emperor, so it was completely normal for them to react first to an imperial prince whom they might have barely caught a glimpse of before.
And then—
"You stand in the presence of His Majesty."
The one who had been addressed first would reveal the identity of the higher-ranking figure—the Emperor. That was how the standard routine always played out.
At that, both the sentry and the courier fell into a panic.
Y-Your Majesty?!
Flustered, the two paused for a beat before throwing themselves flat onto the ground before me.
"F-Forgive me! I was under the impression—"
The sentry was the first to stammer out an excuse, his voice trembling with sheer terror.
"It is fine. Turning away anyone without a pass shows good diligence. Henry, see that he receives 100 Rien later."
"Understood."
"And... what of you?"
"Eh?"
When I turned my attention to the courier, the man raised only his head while staying prostrated, looking thoroughly bewildered.
"You have urgent business, do you not? Was there not a report meant for us or the Imperial Prince of Military Affairs?"
"Y-Yes! For the Imperial Prince—ah, no! I was instructed to submit a memorial to His Majesty through the Imperial Prince!"
"I see."
I nodded and accepted the sealed letter presented by the courier.
I scanned it from beginning to end, and my eyebrows twitched.
"Your Majesty?"
"...Give this man 100 Rien as well. He must be exhausted, so provide him with a feast and wine."
"...Understood."
☆
Having returned to the tent ahead of Henry, I sat before my desk, staring down at the sealed letter I had just received.
Before long, Henry stepped inside after finishing the logistical arrangements.
"Your Majesty."
"Ah, you're here. Read this."
"By your command."
Henry stepped forward and took the letter from my hand.
As his eyes moved across the page, he began to tremble with rage.
"Their insolence knows no bounds!"
Henry slammed the report onto the ground.
A vein throbbed visibly at his temple.
In the twenty-odd years since my reincarnation during which I had known Henry, I had never seen him this furious.
"It falls within expectations, however."
"Your Majesty?!"
"Now, calm yourself. That the Rebel Army might presume to style themselves as Emperor was within our calculations. In fact, one could almost praise their audacity."
Chuckling softly, I picked up the report Henry had hurled down.
It was a dispatch from the front lines.
A report stating that the king of the Rebel Army had begun declaring himself Emperor.
"Praise them?"
"Indeed. To summarize, it comes down to this: using a line secretly added at some point to an ancient genealogy found in a history book of dubious origin as their justification, they claim that they, rather than us, are the legitimate rulers. Is that not it?"
To soothe Henry's anger, I deliberately laced my words with heavy sarcasm.
However, it did not seem to have much effect.
"Such presumption is utterly unforgivable."
"Quite so. But compose yourself, Henry. What we must do remains unchanged. Do not let your temper flare and leave you vulnerable."
"...By your command."
Rebuked, Henry reluctantly backed down.
After stating that he would "consider our countermeasures," he excused himself and left the tent.
I looked down at the report once more.
☆
At that very hour, back in the imperial capital.
Another fast horse galloped into the Eighth Imperial Prince's residence.
It brought a dispatch from Oscar's personal information network, arriving via a route separate from the one sent to the Emperor.
Upon reading that report, Oscar—
"Do not mock me!!!"
He flew into such a rage that anyone who knew him would have doubted their own eyes.
He smashed the furnishings in his room one after another, venting his sheer fury.
"A False Emperor... A False Emperor, you say?!"
It was a violent temper utterly uncharacteristic of the usually mild-mannered Oscar, leaving his family and servants equally petrified.
"Their presumption knows no bounds...!"
In Oscar's eyes, there was unmistakable wrath—no.
Murderous intent was taking root.
☆
Inside the tent, I stared intently at the report in silence.
"...As expected of the First Prime Minister."
I was well satisfied with the result.
The Rebel Army styling themselves Emperor and claiming legitimacy was entirely my design.
Having served as Prime Minister for so long, Jean maintained a certain degree of connection with the rebel camp.
Using those back channels, he had dropped a devil's whisper into their ears, subtly nudging them toward claiming the imperial title.
I had judged the odds of success to be exceptionally high.
Since they were already in open revolt, getting them to claim the title of Emperor and assert legitimacy only required a gentle push.
The real crux of the matter was the chain reaction it would trigger.
Oscar.
He believed that the Emperor must be an absolute existence.
Just how deep that conviction ran, I could not say for sure.
If it was as strong as I suspected, he would inevitably be incensed by the Rebel Army's claim to legitimacy.
Because that claim directly invalidated Oscar's own ideals.
Oscar was aiming for my throne, but this move fundamentally denied the very concept of the imperial seat he sought to claim.
"..."
I had taken the insight gained from my conversation with Indra, turned it into a stratagem, and set the gears in motion.
I hadn't known for certain whether it would bear fruit.
It was merely one of many seeds I had scattered along the way.
I had simply hoped it would work.
It was right at that moment.
――――――――――――
Name: Noah Ararat
Emperor of the Empire
Gender: Male
Level: 17 + 1 / ∞
HP: C + A Fire: E + S + S
MP: D + B Water: C + SSS
Strength: C + SS Wind: E + C
Stamina: D + B Earth: E + C
Intelligence: D + S Light: E + B
Spirit: E + A Darkness: E + B
Speed: E + A
Dexterity: E + A
Luck: D + B
―――――――――――
"—?!"
I caught my breath.
Regarding my status, I was every bit as shocked as the very first time my Water stat had skyrocketed.
Incredibly, the entire left column had gone up by a full rank!
Wondering what could have triggered this, I remained on guard—however...
Half a day later, the reason became clear.
A report arrived stating that Oscar had flown into a rage of a magnitude never seen before regarding the rebel's imperial usurpation.
"...Things that cannot be yielded, is it?"
That phrase—things that cannot be yielded—which I had heard from multiple people.
I had passed that idea to Jean and launched the scheme on the off chance it might work.
And it seemed to have struck Oscar dead center in the heart.
During this personal campaign, at least until the ringleader was struck down, there would be no revolt from Oscar.
Of that, I was absolutely certain.