Dungeon Defense (WN)

Chapter 295: Puppet War (12)

Chapter 295: Puppet War (12)

“Use their hatred? Please elaborate.”

Marbas asked in his usual calm demeanor.

If you had to pick out a Demon Lord with the most notable political viewpoint, then it would naturally be ex-Rank 5 Marbas. He will most likely understand me the most. I spoke while holding this hope.

“Sir Marbas, to put it simply, Frankia has two governments.”

First, there are the royalists and the republicans. This isn’t all. The royalists are also split into two sides. There are royalists who are hostile to Brittany and royalists who are friendly to them. People normally refer to the former as patriots and the latter as traitors.

The republicans are also split into numerous groups, but let’s narrow them down to two for now. If I make it complicated from the beginning, then the other Demon Lords wouldn’t be able to follow along.

“A fair number of people in Frankia support the royalists. Should I say about fifty percent of their total population? On the other hand, the republicans have the support of roughly thirty percent. If you compare this ratio, the royalists have an overwhelming advantage……but if you consider the safeguarding factions, then that changes things.”

“Safeguarding factions?”

“First, the republicans. I will preface this by saying that the republicans in Frankia were slaughtered. The north is where the people who barely managed to survive have gathered. Most of them do not have the spare manpower to create an army.”

There are free cities in the north. Calling them free cities gives them a somewhat imposing aura, but they are mid to small factions that wouldn’t stand a chance against a large nation.

“But they have an abundance of money. Not only is the northern region of Frankia a key trade point, but it is also a granary. The nobles there used that overflowing amount of money to create their defenses.”

“Mercenaries, I see.”

Marbas spoke. I gave him a nod.

“Yes, mercenaries. Adding to that, a majority of them are soldiers from the Republic of Batavia. In other words, it would be fine to say that the Republic of Batavia is the one safeguarding the republicans.”

This was why I sneered at these so-called patriots. It was unjust for the Emperor to bring in a foreign power like Brittany. That was clearly condemnable, but what are you trying to prove by bringing in Batavia as a means to retaliate? You’re just repeating tit for tat.

Frankia ended up suddenly becoming a battlefield for a proxy war. It sounds simple if you describe it as a fight between the Emperor’s faction and the Empress Dowager’s faction, but it was actually a fight between Brittany, the followers of royalism, and Batavia, the leader of republicanism. They were swept up by foreign powers.

“Next is the royalists, but they are also in a bad situation. The Emperor, who should be protecting them, is incompetent. The high nobles who were being represented by Duke Guise were also wiped out. In the end, they have also been split into two sides…….”

My throat felt dry.

At that moment, my servant-cum-bodyguard Daisy courteously handed me a cup of water. I received it and gulped it down in an instant.

Marbas stroked his beard.

“Dantalian, by two sides, are you referring to the faction that supports the Queen of Brittany and the faction that does not?”

“Precisely.”

As expected of Marbas. He didn’t betray my expectations in a good way. He immediately noticed the implications of my words.

“There are many people among the royalists who do not mind serving Brittany. They do not care who they have to serve as long as their horrendous civil war comes to an end……. There are those with this belief. This faction is obviously being supported by the Kingdom of Brittany.”

They want the Emperor and the Queen to get married and to run the nation together. In other words, a joint monarchy.

“Finally, there are the royalists who are against the Queen of Brittany. Their vigor is praiseworthy, but it lacks a little realism. They do not have any backing.”

“Be it the republicans or the royalists, they have foreign factions backing them. That is what you are pointing out.”

“Indeed.”

It was hard to call them a normal country.

It was the nobles of Frankia that pushed their country into such a state.

The Emperor is an idiot? There’s a simple solution for that. They simply have to abandon the Emperor and choose the Empress Dowager. If they create a puppet ruler, then they could prevent foreign nations from being asked for reinforcements. It would also prevent Henrietta from having a cause to run rampant.

Despite this, the nobles waited things out with the Emperor and Empress Dowager in front of them. They made it so that neither side could win with an overwhelming advantage. Why did they do this?

It’s obvious. If the imperial family’s authority becomes stronger, then the nobles would become weaker. This means the nobles would become stronger if the imperial family became weaker…….

Both the Empress Dowager and the Emperor borrowed the strength of the nobles. They asked for their support. This probably made the nobles prideful. They must’ve acted arrogant and raised their values.

While a mother and child were making a mess of the royal palace, most of the nobles stood idly by as they watched them. They most likely sat in their luxurious estates and drank wine, making comments such as, “What is His Excellency the Emperor doing?” and “It would be better if Her Excellency the Empress Dowager showed some restraint.”

To be perfectly honest, they didn’t have even a sliver of patriotism. If they do claim to have patriotism, then it was towards a nation that suited their specific taste.

While the nobles were busy furrowing their brows at each other and arguing about their definitions of patriotism with fancy words, the ones who actually got swept up by their civil war and suffered were the people. Wiseman Bartholomew’s massacre was a good example of this. At most, 10,000 people had perished.

Naturally, there were 10-year-old children among those who were slaughtered. Could the nobles talk however they please before those oblivious children who were killed? They lived for the sake of the country? That wasn’t even a funny joke.

In the end, they only live for the sake of their own lives and their ideals. It wasn’t only the nobles. It was the same for Queen Henrietta as well. She’s the queen of Brittany and has always lived for the sake of Brittany’s glory. From our perspective, the patriots and the Queen were peas in a pod.

However, all they did was say lies. They lied to themselves by saying that their actions were justified and for the sake of the nation, and by doing so, they tricked others as well…….

Henry the 3rd most likely felt this. He was undoubtedly the most foolish man in the world, but his loss of sanity was understandable. Think about it. All of his vassals would say that they were working “for the sake of the people” and “for the sake of Your Excellency the Emperor”, but, in truth, they only looked after their own interests.

He was probably frustrated. This is just my opinion, but I feel like one of the reasons why he asked Henrietta for help was in order to screw those nobles over.

Every side only thinks for themselves……. Despite this, they lie and say that they are acting for the people. To make matters worse, the people in question aren’t even aware that they’re lying. The culprits aren’t the ones who take responsibility for this hypocrisy, it’s the people of the nation who end up having to take responsibility. In the form of slaughter. This was why everything was a mess.

Well, it’s already common knowledge that the world is fucked. It’s not even a good drinking topic. This was the problem.

Where does the grudge of the people who get slaughtered go?

Someone had clearly lied. Be it nobles, Henrietta, the Emperor, or even the people themselves, they all lied. The nobles weren’t the only ones to participate in the slaughter. Naturally, commoners went around killing fellow commoners as well.

They don’t realize that some of the slaughters were started by them because they perpetuate the lies. They simply fought while believing that everything was happening because of the royalists or the republicans. They had no intention of taking responsibility for the slaughters.

The grudge of those who were sacrificed will gradually fade away as everyone turns a blind eye toward them. After about two generations, people will talk about these events casually like uninvolved bystanders. No one will bring about justice and avenge them…….

In that case, it should be fine if I act as a proxy for their grudge.

It was a grudge that would’ve been forgotten anyway. A grudge that no one would’ve taken responsibility for. If it’s going to be abandoned and forgotten anyway, then it shouldn’t be a problem if I picked it up like a random stone on the side of the road.

I smiled.

“Brittany is currently in an extremely precarious situation. Since they have lost their supplies, they have to either defend the capital or retreat. Our goal is to restrict the number of actions they can take.”

“Restricting their actions, is it?”

Marbas continued to look this way while stroking his beard. His cold eyes were stoic as if they were trying to assess my intentions.

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s simple. Your Excellency, we will slaughter all of the citizens that belong to the royalist party.”

The Demon Lords stirred. Brother Beleth, Sitri, and the other Demon Lords who were letting out bored yawns quickly turned to face me.

Brother Beleth’s gaze was especially prominent as I could tell that he was asking me to elaborate. He was dozing off when we were talking about politics, but he suddenly became interested the moment the word ‘slaughter’ was mentioned. I couldn’t help but laugh because of how straightforward he was.

“Slaughter? Dantalian, I do not understand.”

Did my laugh sound unpleasant? Paimon spoke up with an anxious tone.

“It is as I said. We will start with the villages and cities around us and slaughter the royalists indiscriminately. We will be reenacting the slaughter from four years ago, but in reverse.”

“But why do we have to carry out a slaughter…….”

“This is a dichotomy, Your Excellency.”

Paimon, I know that you like humans more than the others, but this isn’t a bad thing for you.

“If our army slaughters the royalists, then how do you think the nobles and commoners who belong to the royalist party will react? They will resist fiercely. However, they do not possess any sort of manpower to actually retaliate against us.”

“…….”

“They would have only one option left. They would have to go to the Queen of Brittany and beg for help. Brittany is claiming to be the guardian of royalists. For better or worse, the Queen would have to consider their request seriously.”

To Henrietta, they’re the base that’s supporting her. There would be no future for her political faction if she ignored her foothold.

“As a side note, Parisiorum is a sacred place for royalists. It is where their slaughter was carried out most thoroughly, after all. My main point lies here……will the Queen of Brittany be able to simply leave Parisiorum at this point?”

“……!”

Marbas clenched his fist.

“So you are saying that she would not be able to leave the city with ease!”

The other Demon Lords got serious as well. I felt pleased by their reaction.

“That is correct. If they abandon Parisiorum, then the Queen would be betraying her backing faction. Even if they succeed in running away, the Queen would be condemned for abandoning her duty.”

Frankians wouldn’t be the only ones condemning her, Brittans would condemn her as well.

In comparison, this would be like the higher-ups of an Islamic army running away when they know that their city was about to get slaughtered by a Catholic army. For what purpose did their army exist? Didn’t they exist to protect royalists……? The voices complaining about the Queen will grow louder.

“Moreover, if the enemy chooses not to escape, then that is fine as well. They will have to defend endlessly against a siege. Without any supplies, at that. It would be advantageous for us.”

“I see…….”

Marbas was moved. He slowly nodded his head as if he were savoring my plan.

“No matter what option they take, their future is extremely bleak.”

With this, it’s checkmate, Henrietta.

If you want to save your army, then abandon your backing faction. If you want to preserve your backing faction, then abandon your army. It seems like royalists and your army are both precious to you, but you can’t have everything.

You can’t survive unless you throw one side away. This is the simple truth. However, you’re greedy. You’re trying to have your cake and eat it too. I’ll use this opportunity to teach you what having only one choice is like. Well, don’t worry too much. I won’t take a lecture fee from you. I’m a rather gentle person, after all…….

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Man, the heat is really getting to me. I almost didn’t manage to get this chapter out. I usually work on translating in the morning, but it was just so humid these past few days that I couldn’t get into the mood. Please bring back the rain. The weather forecast keeps lying and telling me that it’ll rain tomorrow, but that keeps getting pushed back day by day. I cry. If a chapter comes out late, then it’s because I’m burning up.

I’ll see you guys in the next heatwave.