9th Grade Civil Servant In Another World Chapter 96 - War, Never Again War (4)

The capital of Rubellia, Le Chapen, was filled with lights as always.

The southeastern part of the continent doesn’t experience the bone-chilling cold even in winter, but instead has frequent snow and rain.

Today too, the pattering winter rain was making people feel melancholy.

Rubellia’s Core 1, a five-story stone building renovated from an old royal villa, welcomed guests with its modest yet splendid appearance.

The people who stepped down from their carriages headed straight into the building without sparing a glance at the beautiful garden.

Unlike the chilly outside air, the interior was temperature-controlled by magic, creating a warm atmosphere.

After they were guided to the conference room and each took their seats, a middle-aged woman in formal attire appeared.

Short stature with a dignified atmosphere, cheerful eyes and brown bobbed hair cut short to her chin.

She was the very picture of a typical Rubellia woman.

Silvia Bertrand.

A National Party member who had served in parliament for twenty years, holding the majority, and was elected Prime Minister by popular vote two years ago.

Perhaps it was the illusion created by her position, or perhaps there was something hidden behind her gentle face.

As Silvia entered the conference room, a heavy pressure weighed down on everyone.

Maybe they were just nervous because of the current situation.

On this quiet winter night, the Prime Minister had suddenly contacted all the embassies in Le Chapen to summon them. And she had specifically excluded only the Schufaben and Cortana ambassadors.

“Thank you all for coming. I apologize for calling you so urgently this late at night.”

Despite her kind tone, her expression was rigidly set.

“You must be surprised that I summoned you without following proper procedures. I apologize for the discourtesy.”

“It’s quite alright, Your Excellency Prime Minister. Something urgent must have happened?”

The Pontinell ambassador spoke politely while twirling his gray mustache. Pontinell was a major power geographically close to Rubellia and Schufaben.

When he politely conveyed the meaning of ‘stop beating around the bush and get to the point,’ Silvia placed her clasped hands on the table and looked around at the ambassadors.

“Schufaben is suspicious.”

“……”

Schufaben had always been suspicious. It always had been. The ambassadors demanded a more detailed explanation.

“You must have all heard the news. Three days ago, a massive red dragon appeared in Schufaben.”

The Prime Minister’s secretary spread newspapers in front of them. In the large photo, a dragon roared.

“Do you know about ‘Redan Company,’ which owns the dragon?”

The ambassadors nodded. Not knowing about a company where the Queen was the major shareholder would disqualify them as diplomats.

“The founder, Lucas Redan, is an ardent Friedrich Kruger supporter. He has continuously and actively shown himself, being called a ‘hero’ by the Schufaben people and collaborating with the regime. This time as well… he made himself bait to heighten the war atmosphere. He’s also the very person who was seriously injured by Cortana’s surprise attack.”

Silvia opened the report she had received from her secretary.

“Lucas Redan has strong ties with our Queen as well. Not only did he receive investment when founding his company, but as you know, he is a descendant of the Berg family, the last royal dynasty of Schufaben, and privately, His Majesty has taken him as a friend. His Majesty was particularly fond of him.”

She didn’t know about the relationship between Marianne I and Charlotte either. When Charlotte died, Silvia hadn’t even been born yet.

“Are you saying you find him suspicious now?”

This was a question from the Batalland ambassador, from a country north of Cortana that borders the North Sea.

“Let’s stop beating around the bush now. Yes, he is extremely suspicious. Don’t you all think so?”

Silvia smiled.

“However, isn’t the evidence clear? The examination of the corpses confirmed they were definitely Cortana military personnel, and they matched those who had deserted from Cortana’s border forces that day.”

The Batalland ambassador countered, but Silvia didn’t back down.

“But Cortana denies ever giving orders to attack. What benefit would come to Cortana from killing Lucas Redan and his subordinate officers?”

“Isn’t it possible they saw someone who had become a national hero of Schufaben and a close associate of Kruger as a dangerous element and tried to eliminate him?”

“Cortana is a very small country. They had been working hard not to offend Schufaben. If they were the culprits, they wouldn’t have handled things so sloppily. Cortana-hostile deserters getting into an impulsive fight—that’s rather hard to believe.”

“Then what do you think is the truth, Your Excellency Prime Minister? Surely you don’t mean…”

“This is Schufaben’s self-directed drama. That’s the only way I can understand it.”

As Silvia’s firm answer fell, silence descended among the dozen or so ambassadors.

“Your Excellency, with all due respect, can you take responsibility for those words?”

One ambassador asked with a diplomatically expressionless face.

“Of course. Do you think I would say such things without resolve?”

Determination crystallized in Silvia’s wrinkled eyes.

“But there’s no evidence, is there? And Schufaben won’t acknowledge it either.”

“Gentlemen, this is Schufaben.”

Silvia’s short, firm words carried many implications.

“Just 200 years ago, it was the warmongering nation that threw the continent into chaos.

As you all know, both the king and the people wanted territorial expansion and recklessly projected military force to swallow half the continent.

Though they failed due to rebellion and civil war caused by excessive mobilization and came to the armistice agreement. Come to think of it, Cortana also broke away at that time.

Gentlemen, do you remember the peace treaty signed at our Rubellia’s royal palace? What Rubellia and several other countries demanded from Schufaben was ‘eternal peace’ and ‘massive war reparations.’

But what did Schufaben do? They kept delaying and eventually the royal family that had signed the treaty disappeared. The revolutionary government declared they couldn’t pay reparations because it was a treaty the royal family had signed arbitrarily, not the people. They effectively denied governmental continuity. Supreme Leader Kruger did the same—after staging his coup, he declared a break rather than succeeding the revolutionary government.

Now Schufaben is free. Because there’s no real way to inflict damage no matter how much pressure we apply.”

Decades ago, the Schufaben royal family had massively expanded the military under the pretext of stopping revolutionary rebel forces.

There was no way the revolutionaries and Kruger would have disbanded that army after absorbing it. They would have absorbed it all. Even if they purged personnel, they maintained the scale.

“Of course, this is all just circumstantial evidence.”

“That’s right. And even if there were physical evidence, wouldn’t it be difficult to stop Schufaben?”

The Pontinell ambassador said.

They were diplomats.

Even if it were true that Schufaben was going so far as to fabricate evidence to harass Cortana, there was no reason not to stand by if it wasn’t clearly beneficial to their home countries.

Of course, Silvia was well aware of the diplomatic ecosystem. She spoke solemnly.

“Gentlemen, I dare to propose.”

***

“A Continental Conference, you say?”

“That’s right, Prime Minister.”

Turning back the clock, one day earlier.

The Prime Minister’s residence was located not far from the White Palace where the Queen lived.

It had been a royal villa where queens, royal documents, and princes and princesses would briefly stay, but for the past fifty years it had been occupied by Prime Ministers.

The Queen nodded peacefully while sipping fragrant tea.

Continental Conference.

About 200 years ago, an international organization created by various continental nations joining together to stop Schufaben, which had been bringing bloodshed to the world with its lust for conquest. Rubellia had been central to its founding.

They had planned to organize allied forces by recruiting troops from kings and nobles of various countries while waiting for a chance to counterattack, but since Schufaben pathetically self-destructed due to civil war and rebellion caused by excessive warfare, the allied forces never actually moved.

After successfully signing a peace treaty and trying to extract massive war reparations from Schufaben, they failed amid the ensuing chaos, and the hastily assembled Continental Conference, which had been creaking from its founding, dissolved without resolution.

“Your Majesty, is there really a need to stir things up? I naturally find Schufaben suspicious as well. Any Rubellia citizen would. Those despicable wolves of Schufaben simply cannot be trusted. But might our escalating things be exactly what Schufaben is hoping for?”

Marianne I studied the Prime Minister carefully.

Usually kings and prime ministers had an awkward relationship, but Marianne and Silvia didn’t. Silvia’s characteristically moderate and gentle nature meshed well with Marianne.

She wasn’t highly popular as Prime Minister. However, no major complaints arose among the people either.

To be precise, her presence was faint.

Marianne stepped forward as the nation’s representative face, while it was parliament, not her, that created issues.

In the past, she would have been called a ‘defensive ruler,’ or if not a sage king, at least a benevolent one.

But would she be satisfied with that?

“Prime Minister.”

The Queen called her calmly.

“Friedrich Kruger is a dangerous man.”

“Yes, you’ve said that before. That he’s like a wolf constantly watching for opportunities…”

Marianne recalled.

She had visited Schufaben as the first destination of her goodwill tour to meet Kruger.

Until then, Marianne had only seen him in newspapers and such.

She knew he was a dictator who controlled and shook Schufaben without being king.

She had thought he was steadily building up military strength while shouting about ‘Great Schufabens,’ so he would definitely cause some trouble, and that he was certainly a disagreeable character.

But the moment she boarded the airborne castle and faced the handsome man smiling brilliantly, she realized.

That she had been underestimating him.

When she had only superficially known him as a greedy dictator, it was a completely different sensation than what now shook Marianne.

He reeked of blood.

A very thick, absolutely indelible scent of blood.

“No, he’s not a wolf. Such a comparison cannot contain him.”

“But Your Majesty.”

“Prime Minister, we need a brake to stop Schufaben. If we just watch and interrogate Cortana like other countries, we will inevitably be caught up in great trouble.”

Somehow, without anyone knowing, they would be drawn in.

“Your Majesty, I naturally agree that we must check Schufaben. But a Continental Conference? The matter is far too large. Regardless of my thoughts, other countries won’t cooperate. Not unless there’s tangible benefit.”

“Silvia.”

The Queen calmly called her name. Startled, Silvia looked up.

Among the upper class, it was natural to delay aging through magical procedures these days, but Silvia had deliberately not undergone procedures and let wrinkles form naturally.

Following the natural order.

That obvious and clear attitude toward life made her appear as a more dignified figure.

“Why did you become Prime Minister?”

“To serve the people of Rubellia, Your Majesty.”

“That’s a lie.”

Marianne said quietly.

“Silvia, you want to be praised by everyone. You want to gain dignity through a strong image. But because your party didn’t want such a figure, you had to become a gentle politician so the party elders could manipulate you to their taste.”

“Your Majesty…!”

“Did you think I wouldn’t know? Silvia, I have watched you since you entered politics. No, not just you—I have watched all the parliament members.”

Silvia felt cold sweat trickling down her spine.

The woman kindly speaking to her was not the gentle monarch people knew. She was a cunning politician hiding a blade in her bosom.

“Having such dreams isn’t shameful. It’s natural for a politician.”

The Queen comforted her.

“But now the time has come. Prime Minister, become Rubellia’s bulwark. You won’t gain power equal to the Schufaben’s Supreme Leader, but you can grasp stronger support and influence to shake the entire parliament. Prime Minister, become the ‘Iron Lady’ you longed to be.”

“But Your Majesty.”

“You said tangible benefit was needed? Expose Schufaben’s fabrication. The fabrication exists. No, it must exist. While the investigation is conducted, revive the Continental Conference underwater and protect Cortana. When Schufaben’s atrocities are revealed, use that as leverage to extract concessions. We will devour the wolf that threatens the continent.”

The Queen commanded her.

Silvia bowed her head deeply.

Marianne recalled Lucas Redan’s letter.

「Your Majesty, please use me as bait. Let Rubellia condemn me, despise me as the dictator’s dog, and make me out to be a fabricator who self-harmed for war. Since I will become a community of fate with Kruger, the more I fall into hardship, the more Kruger will lose the cards in his hand.」