Inside the tent, I sat facing Henry.
His brow was furrowed tightly, and he stared at the object placed between us with a look of utter disbelief.
Sitting on the desk was the severed head of Eiler Noufe, which I had brought back with me.
For the time being, it rested inside a hastily made wooden box.
Neither of us had nerves so fragile that a severed head would make us scream, but leaving an exposed head sitting out on a desk was hardly pleasant.
"Is this... the genuine article?"
After a long pause, Henry asked somewhat timidly.
"Have someone who knows him well confirm it. I would like to know as well."
"Even Your Majesty?"
"After all, I attacked him in his sleep, and it just happened to work. I had never seen his face before. I have conviction, but no confirmation."
"...I shall have it verified."
With that, Henry called for a subordinate outside the tent.
The soldier entered and bowed to each of us, after which Henry whispered into his ear.
A look of pure shock crossed the man's face, but after Henry reiterated the command, he hurried back outside.
Since it had been a whisper, I couldn't hear the exact words, but given that the order was to positively identify the enemy commander's severed head, that level of shock was actually rather mild.
For a while after that, Henry kept a sour expression, looking as though he had bitten into a bitter bug.
He clearly had something he wanted to say, yet seemed entirely at a loss for words.
Deciding to wait until he was ready, I sat quietly until two young men soon entered the tent.
Both were young and dressed in the standard garb of common soldiers.
"I-It is an hon—"
"—name is Line!"
Because both spoke at the exact same moment, their words collided into a jumble.
Without even needing to ask, it was obvious that both youths were intensely nervous, which had led to the clumsy blunder.
Having witnessed countless screw-ups during first-time audiences, Henry didn't reprimand them, merely letting out a brief snort of amusement.
However, quickly remembering he was in the imperial presence, he cleared his throat and hastily composed himself.
"At ease. More importantly, there is something I need you to do."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
"Whatever you command, sir!"
Stiff as boards, the two responded with their backs straight as rods, looking as though they had swallowed broomsticks. As this was indeed their first time, their etiquette was nonexistent, but neither I nor Henry paid it any mind.
Without mentioning it at all, Henry continued.
"There is a head over there. Confirm its identity."
"Y-Yes, sir."
"A head..."
Henry jerked his chin toward the box.
The two soldiers approached the head timidly.
Following Henry's command, they lifted the wooden lid to verify the owner and peered inside together.
"T-This is—!"
"Lord Eiler?!"
"..."
"..."
The two were utterly stunned, while Henry and I exchanged a brief, knowing look.
Then, Henry massaged the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh.
He pressed the two for final confirmation.
"Are you certain?"
"Y-Yes."
"There is no mistake."
"I see. Good work. You may withdraw. Not a word of this to anyone."
Y-Yes, sir!
Overwhelmed by Henry's presence, the two snapped their backs straight once more and scurried out of the tent.
Once we were alone again, Henry let out another deep sigh.
"It appears to be the genuine article..."
"Indeed."
"What can I even say... Should I say you are as incredible as always, Your Majesty?"
"I am surprised as well. I never truly expected it would succeed. Naturally, I utilized my power, but their security was lax enough that one likely could have pulled it off without it."
"Meaning Your Majesty vastly overestimated the man."
"Say no more; I have already received an earful for that."
I gave a wry smile.
Right after pulling off the assassination and escaping, while I was still standing there dumbfounded, Bahamut had told me something very similar.
For my part, I had no intention of overestimating him, but it seemed both Henry and Bahamut saw it that way.
"Then allow me to say this plainly."
"Mm?"
"I must ask that you refrain from—no, absolutely put an end to doing such things in the future."
Henry cut himself off mid-sentence, deliberately choosing a firmer phrasing.
"That is not a danger the body of Your Majesty—the Emperor—should ever court."
"Yes, I shall take that to heart."
Henry's point was only natural, and his admonition was entirely justified.
Therefore, I accepted it without protest.
"I merely ended up dancing to an improvisation; I am reflecting on it."
"Ordinarily, I ought to have a word about the very notion of 'improvisation,' but..."
Henry sighed yet again.
"I suppose the fact that you could pull it off on an improvisation in the first place is what makes Your Majesty so extraordinary."
With that, Henry changed the subject with an "And then."
"It must mean things were truly that terrible over there."
"Indeed. Knowing you, Henry, you have already heard about the funerary sacrificial burial?"
"Yes."
Henry gave a firm nod.
A faint smile touched his lips.
"The enemy went out of their way to tear off their own arms; as a commander of troops, I was overjoyed."
"From your position, that would certainly be the case."
Saying so, I gave a small nod.
Unlike me, who believed that 'people are treasure,' an opposing general would either rejoice or suspect a trap.
"I suppose that is what they call seeing the whole from a single part. In short, it was appalling."
That was why I had "danced to an improvisation," I concluded.
Hearing that, Henry let out a soft sigh.
"Then I shall say no more on the matter."
"Much appreciated. Now, I have a favor to ask of you."
"What might that be?"
Henry tilted his head, looking puzzled.
"I called it an improvisation, meaning that until that very moment, I had no intention of doing this either. It simply appeared so remarkably easy that I acted on impulse."
"Indeed..."
Henry gave a brief nod, keeping his eyes on me.
His expression clearly asked: That is the premise, so what is the main point?
"Previously, when you asked whether I could assassinate him with this power, I said it was impossible. But there was another reason I kept to myself back then."
"Which was?"
"...Oscar."
"...?"
Henry tilted his head.
His expression asked why Oscar would come up here.
"According to reports from those I left behind after departing the imperial capital, Oscar has been scrutinizing budgets across every department, squeezing out every last coin to fund this personal campaign."
"Is that not a good thing?"
"The act itself is, yes. But why do you think Oscar suddenly turned so cooperative this time?"
"That is..."
Henry muttered, his eyes widening in realization as he glanced toward the box containing the head.
"Indeed. It is because this man insulted the 'Emperor.'"
"Not Your Majesty personally... but the 'Emperor'..."
"Precisely."
Henry and I looked at each other and nodded in mutual understanding.
"Most likely, Oscar wishes to tear this man limb from limb. By his own hand, or by his own order."
"I see... and Your Majesty ended up killing him."
"Indeed. I took matters into my own hands. The one who insulted the 'Emperor' was struck down by the 'Emperor' himself. One could argue there is no problem, but one could also argue there is."
"That is true."
"And so—"
"...Yes."
Henry understood.
He realized that what followed was the substance of the favor I wanted to ask.
"Normally, before a castle falls, an order is issued granting the soldiers a set number of days to pillage, is it not?"
"Yes. Generals do not require it as they receive rewards later, but the common soldiers fight for essentially that very purpose."
"I am not entirely well-versed in the practical realities of the field, so I will leave the details to you, but I want you to arrange things so that the males of the Eiler Noufe clan are captured alive as much as possible."
"...You intend to let Oscar handle them."
"Correct. Dealing with high-ranking prisoners falls under Internal Affairs—under Oscar's domain to begin with."
The Empire was a 'nation of warriors.'
Always engaged in war, the handling of prisoners had consequently become highly systematized.
Setting aside common prisoners of war, high-value spoils such as the ringleader's family were sent back to the imperial capital.
And the one who decided their fate was the Minister of Internal Affairs.
Normally, the Minister of Internal Affairs would consult with his subordinates and submit a proposal to the Emperor for approval, but unless something extraordinary occurred, no Emperor had ever contested it.
Furthermore, males related by blood to the ringleader were fundamentally destined for execution.
While women were often spared, leaving males alive meant they could become the figurehead for a new rebellion regardless of their own intentions, so execution was the default.
"In a lost war, their only outcomes from the start are either dying in battle or being captured and executed."
"And you intend to make maximum use of that to appease Oscar, then."
"That's right."
"As expected of Your Majesty. To think you had considered that far ahead."
"It is merely cleaning up after an improvisation; hardly something worthy of praise."
"No, if that is the case, leave it to me."
"Can you do it?"
"By any means necessary."
"Understood. I leave it in your hands."
"...You truly are extraordinary, Your Majesty."
"Hm? What is it this time?"
"Even while present on the front lines during a personal campaign, you refrain from micromanaging in the slightest and entrust the matter entirely."
"I did say I wasn't well-versed in the practical realities, after all."
"Even so, people tend to want to meddle. And that causes immense trouble."
"...Do you know of Milo II?"
"Ah... you refer to the one counted as the second among the Three Wise Emperors of the early Empire?"
"Yes."
I nodded.
I pulled that knowledge from the history texts I had taken to reading particularly often of late.
"Milo II was certainly a wise emperor, but he could not rest unless he handled absolutely everything himself. Despite being the Emperor, he reviewed and meddled in decisions down to the level of village chiefs."
"If I recall... he would rise before dawn and work well into the dead of night."
"Indeed. And that took its toll, leading to his demise after a reign of merely seven years. Of course, the accumulation of his efforts was passed like a baton to the third, Emperor Leo, leading to the Empire's First Golden Age, so there is no doubt he was a wise emperor. However... I have no desire to live so intensely yet briefly."
I thus conveyed without words that I would delegate whatever could be delegated.
Henry nodded. "I see."
"A sovereign who learns from history is truly extraordinary indeed," he concluded.