Do Your Own Revolution-Chapter 184
< Emperor-008. >
“These worms dare to defy my orders?!”
Crash-!
An expensive wine glass shattered into pieces accompanied by a hysterical voice.
Margaret ground her teeth as her shoulders trembled.
In her hand was a crumpled letter sent from each noble family.
“This is strange. Normally, they would have sent their Knight Orders without question, but suddenly it’s as if they’ve all conspired together…”
“They must not like that a single family is occupying the imperial palace. They don’t know their place!”
Though she responded irritably to the guard knight Walther’s words, this was unexpected even for her.
‘Could it be… Has our plan leaked?’
Margaret furrowed her brow as she looked at Emperor Franz sitting on the throne with clouded eyes.
“Prince Friedrich will definitely appear in Ruin. If we can’t get cooperation from other families, we’ll have to use the knights in the imperial capital.”
With a deep voice, a man revealed himself as he opened the audience chamber door.
Karl Buckenheim.
Kneeling on one knee to show respect, he looked at Margaret and continued speaking.
“I will go. Please give me a chance to make up for my previous failure.”
“Karl……”
He appeared no different from any other loyal knight.
However, Margaret’s eyes looking at him were not the same as before.
‘Mental interference… doesn’t work.’
Magical power at or above commander level.
Initially, she had left him be, thinking to just play with him and discard him… but when did he grow this much?
And above all, why did she only notice this change now?
His recent failure to find the prince was also concerning.
Something felt off.
An indescribable something was slowly eating away at her.
However……
‘Without cooperation from other families, there really is no other way.’
Distrust and anxiety.
Yet even amidst these feelings, she had to make a decision.
To make the empire hers.
“Walther.”
“Yes, young lady.”
I told you not to call me young lady.
Margaret muttered with a slight smile, then spoke with a serious expression.
“Lead the Knight Order with your sword. Go and kill Friedrich.”
“No need to capture him alive?”
“No. But one thing.”
Margaret paused briefly, then spoke while looking at Karl with his head bowed.
“If you fail this time, there won’t be another chance. Understood?”
“Yes.”
Assigning him meant that even she no longer trusted him.
But Karl kissed her hand, saying not to worry, and left the audience chamber.
Thud. Thud.
Two people walking together after leaving the audience chamber.
“It seems the young lady has become quite sensitive.”
“I understand. She has a grand plan right before her.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Walther glanced at Karl and spoke with a slight sigh.
“To be honest, I never thought much of you.”
“Being called a fallen noble who desperately sold himself… I’ve heard it countless times.”
“But you’ve proven your worth in this family.”
Walther showed a faint smile as he looked at him.
“Your abilities and plans have elevated our family and the young lady to this position. To the center of magic nobles. To become a great noble family that holds the imperial family and leads the empire.”
“……”
“You’re an indispensable talent for our family. Now, no one in our family would deny that fact.”
By the time their conversation ended, they had reached the lower level of the imperial palace.
As they boarded the prepared carriage, Walther patted Karl’s shoulder and spoke.
“Once this is done, there will be a suitable reward. I’ll make sure to tell the young lady.”
“Thank you.”
The moment the carriage door closed after he finished speaking.
“Such fools.”
Karl, who had maintained a gentle expression throughout, glared at the lead carriage with deep mockery.
“Everything was going smoothly until now, but when things started to creak, they finally sensed something was wrong.”
They would struggle now, doubting and preparing to fix things, but…
“It’s too late.”
Because by the time they realized it, all plans were already complete.
***
“Look at all these people. Did everyone in the city come out?”
Ruin city center.
The central square, usually relatively quiet, was now packed with people.
The reason tens of thousands gathered here was one:
To watch today’s opening ceremony of Imperial Railway Line 1.
Flutter-!
“Wow-!”
“Is that the train? It’s huge……”
“To think something like that moves…”
Unveiled along with Line 1’s opening was an armored train built with House Buckenheim’s investment.
Though it was hastily made for this plan, Friedrich wore a satisfied expression as he looked at it.
“Imagine this. Railways spreading throughout the empire, and these armored trains exterminating monsters.”
“……”
All imperial cities connected to each other, with people traveling through these railways.
If that happens……
“It would be a fatal move against magic nobles who wrap their territories in walls and manipulate their subjects as they please.”
“Then, couldn’t they just not participate?”
That was Kassel speaking, standing beside him.
Hearing his words as he adjusted his glasses, Kalkas, who had been listening all along, asked.
“Maybe for direct territories, but local nobles control each region anyway. If those people don’t participate…”
“Then their cities will simply fall behind in logistics and distribution.”
What Friedrich envisioned was a logistics network centered on the imperial capital.
Once completed, even nobles in local regions would have no choice but to participate.
“Killing Margaret is just the beginning. This railway was meant to change the empire from its foundations.”
To think there was such deeper meaning behind what he thought was just imperial entertainment.
As Kassel muttered this, Friedrich noticed his reaction and spoke with a slight smile.
“Originally, this was Father’s cherished project.”
Connect all cities of the empire so people could travel freely.
That concept wasn’t Friedrich’s own, but Emperor Franz’s vision.
“Though his methods weren’t wise, he was certainly someone with the will to change the empire.”
“……”
“And Margaret imprisoned him, manipulated his mind, and made him her puppet.”
Crunch.
At the sound from Friedrich’s mouth, those watching him widened their eyes.
It was rare to see him show anger so visibly.
But it was brief.
Friedrich quickly regained his composure, returning to his usual self.
Father’s failure was an undeniable fact.
He had to move forward beyond that failure.
“It’s time.”
At Kalkas’s words, who saw the signal from the station side during the ongoing ceremony, Friedrich rose without delay.
“Let’s go.”
Bang-!
Opening the door, he emerged outside the city.
Not casual clothes for hiding, but formal uniform showing the presence of a prince.
And two seven stroke imprint mages guarding behind him.
“It’s Lord Friedrich! He just came out!”
“Your Highness!”
When these distinctively dressed figures emerged, citizens who recognized him cheered, calling his name.
With the railway connection, Ruin, once just a small city, became a gateway city directly connected to the imperial capital.
Jobs, resources, transportation.
Since he brought all of these, Prince Friedrich was nothing short of a hero in the city.
But at that moment.
“W-what?!”
“Knight Order?! Why here……”
“Make way! Quickly!”
With forceful shouts, the citizens gathered at the venue split into two.
What came looking for him was a group of knights.
Standing in their center was Margaret’s right hand, Knight Order Commander Walther.
“Prince Friedrich.”
“……”
“For the crime of disobeying His Majesty’s summons, we will escort you to the imperial palace.”
“His Majesty’s orders? No, you mean Margaret’s orders, don’t you?”
“I didn’t come here to argue.”
Shing-!
Drawing his sword immediately, Walther pointed it at Friedrich.
“Come with us. Or do you intend to face the entire Knight Order with just these numbers?”
“Not bad. Because……”
Friedrich trailed off, looking toward behind Walther’s shoulder.
“These people aren’t my only allies.”
Squelch-!
With those words, Karl’s sword behind him pierced through Walther’s neck.
“Gu, guh……”
“W-what?!”
“Karl Buckenheim! Suddenly, what is this……”
The confused knights rushed to stop Karl, but that didn’t last long.
Clang-!
Swords extending from within the crowd deflected their weapons.
House Buckenheim’s knights.
Dozens of knights had been mixed among the confused crowd.
“From the start… this was… the plan…?”
“I pity you, Walther. You were quite an excellent knight.”
As Walther convulsed with bloody foam at his mouth, Karl showed a faint smile.
“Your only crime was choosing the wrong master.”
“Do you think you’ll get away with this? A mere Buckenheim against great houses like Dvorak…!”
“Of course we couldn’t handle it alone. But…”
What about the power of all magic nobles combined?
Hearing these final words, Walther’s face turned pale.
“……What?”
Only then did he recognize the knights gathered around.
Duke Nachtval’s knights.
House Drexler’s Blue Lance Knight Order.
The knights with black blades were even Sutherland’s Black Knights.
All the magic nobles who had refused Margaret’s summons had been waiting here for him.
“No, this is……”
It was an emergency.
He had to inform Margaret in the imperial capital quickly.
If these people…
If all magic nobles were staging a simultaneous rebellion.
The imperial palace right now…!
“Young la……”
Crack-!
With a final cry, Walther’s neck snapped, and the waiting knights entered battle.
“Your Highness, please head to the imperial capital.”
Karl, throwing aside Walther’s corpse.
With numerous knights at his back, he spoke to Friedrich.
“We, the ‘Round Table’, will handle this.”
“……Round Table, is it.”
So they had already started unifying the magic nobles.
With wary eyes, Friedrich immediately boarded the train.
“It seems in exchange for grasping imperial power, our enemy has grown stronger.”
“Depart! Quickly-!”
With a whistle, the armored train rushed toward the imperial capital.
“This can’t be, Prince Friedrich……”
“At this rate……”
The knights lowered their swords, dumbfounded as they watched the departing armored train.
At that speed, His Highness’s party would arrive before news of their failure.
“Now then, knights of House Dvorak.”
A red-haired man approached the stunned knights.
Karl Buckenheim.
The man who had betrayed them and stabbed Commander Walther in the back.
“You now have a new choice.”
“Choice…?”
“Will you join the Round Table? Or share Margaret’s fate?”
Submit or die.
At these words that meant exactly that, the knights dropped their swords one by one.
“An excellent decision.”
Looking at the knights bowing their heads to him, Karl showed a chilling smile.
Author's Thoughts
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