Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight Volume 6

1. Auflage 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7183-3110-5
Verlag: J-Novel Club
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 430 Seiten

Reihe: Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight

With the death of the emperor, Veight's plans to have Eleora take the throne are thrown into disarray as the various factions begin to move. Everyone expects Crown Prince Ashley to become the next emperor, but then Lord Doneiks, second in line to the throne, is assassinated. Believing Ashley's faction responsible, the Doneiks house raises an army to crush him. Ashley fights back valiantly, but his troops are overwhelmed by the Doneiks army's superior morale. Who is truly in the right? And what will Veight do during these troubling times?

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hyougetsu

Weitere Mitwirkende

Nishi(E)da

Ningen

Leseproben

Chapter 6

Winters in the northern empire of Rolmund were long and cold. And this one would prove longer and colder than most, since the emperor, Bahazoff the Fourth, had just died.

“Oh, I got another letter from Airia.”

* * * *

—Airia’s Reply: 3—

Dear Veight,

The news that Rolmund’s emperor, Bahazoff the Fourth, has died is deeply disturbing. While I have been receiving regular reports on the empire’s political happenings, could you give me an update on the current state of affairs? The information I’ve been receiving isn’t enough to give me a complete picture of such a complex situation. While I personally regret that we had to send you to maneuver such a turbulent environment, Meraldia is fortunate to have you, Lord Veight. If anyone can survive the violent maelstrom that will surely follow the emperor’s passing, it’s you.

Incidentally, the Commonwealth Council has decided to formally extend its condolences to the empire. However, we are currently unable to send anything more than a hastily penned letter by Lord Belken, so please supplement it with an offering of your own. Be sure to continue aiding Princess Eleora as well. She needs your support now more than ever. And never forget, everyone in Meraldia is behind you.

Things in Ryunheit have been rather quiet. Thanks to the demon army’s support, our construction efforts are on schedule, and Meraldia’s roads are safe. Things have all settled down to the point where I’m considering leaving the city for a while to come support you in Rolmund. Though, I suppose you would never allow it. I pray that Rolmund’s winter comes to an end soon.

* * * *

I took out my pen and a piece of paper, and began to write.

* * * *

—Veight’s Letter to Airia: 5—

Dear Airia,

With the passing of the emperor, the succession struggle has grown far more turbulent. I’ll list out the main factions currently vying for the crown.

First, there’s the man who’s next in line for the throne, Crown Prince Ashley. Most of West Rolmund’s nobles are part of his fold, but he’s made no big moves recently. That makes sense, since he doesn’t need to do anything for the crown to pass to him. His supporters are resting on their laurels too. They’re likely convinced he’ll ascend the throne. Prince Ashley’s older sister is fifth in line for the throne, and she hasn’t made any overt moves either.

The next big faction is the Doneiks faction. Lord Doneiks is second in line for the throne, while his sons Prince Ivan and Prince Woroy are third and fourth in line respectively. They’re probably the most dangerous faction. All of North Rolmund’s nobles are behind them, and they have both prestige and influence. The biggest problem is that the sons of the Doneiks family are upstanding individuals, worthy of respect. To be honest, I don’t want to fight them if I can help it.

Lastly, there’s our faction, under Princess Eleora. She’s lying exhausted on the couch right next to me, actually. She’s just returned from the emperor’s funeral. Honestly, I’m quite tired as well. That aside though, Eleora has mellowed out a great deal these past few months. You wouldn’t believe how often she smiles now. Reconciling with her uncle, Lord Kastoniev, seems to have done wonders for her. Thanks to her increased sociability, our faction’s steadily growing in number. Had she been this personable when she invaded Meraldia, she might have managed to win the northern viceroys’ loyalty. In hindsight, I’m glad we chose to support her bid for the throne. Don’t worry, Lady Airia, I’ll support her to the best of my abilities.

* * * *

This world didn’t have an organized postal service, so sending letters was an expensive affair. Because I couldn’t send too many, I naturally picked my words with care. As I finished writing the final paragraph, Lacy walked in and glanced over at my desk.

“Mister Veight, are you really going to send that letter?”

“Yeah. The sooner it reaches Airia the better. I’ve outlined the current situation for her, which is information the council definitely needs right now.”

I brought out an envelope to put the letter in while Lacy turned to Eleora and asked, “Princess Eleora, are you sure it’s okay to let him send that letter?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Because I mean...you know?”

“I’m sorry Lacy, but I have no idea what you’re trying to say.”

Back on Earth, my friends often teased me about how businesslike my texts sounded.

“Lacy, could you check over my letter for me? I’m a demon, so I can’t really tell if there’s something wrong with my tone or anything.”

“Oh... Uh, sure. I can.”

Lacy nodded, and I handed the letter to her. I turned to Eleora and asked, “I never got the chance to meet the emperor, but his life wasn’t too exceptional, right? I’d like to tell Airia more about him, so could you tell me a few stories?”

“Yeah, sure. When Emperor Bahazoff’s father died, there was a similar power struggle to see who would ascend the throne.”

Eleora shrugged off her mourning robe and sighed in relief. Until recently, I’d been stuck giving my condolences to everyone too, so I understood how she felt. Since I was here as a representative of Meraldia, it was important that I looked solemn and dignified and such. On top of that, I’d basically just been reciting a speech Kite had written for me, so the whole ordeal had been pretty tiring. Eleora took a sip of the tea Natalia had brewed for her and continued her story.

“At the time, Bahazoff was the crown prince, so everyone expected him to take power. The coronation went smoothly...on paper.”

Many of the nobles who’d been critical of Bahazoff suddenly became embroiled in scandals and had their lands confiscated. In retaliation, the emperor’s mistress, a famous singer, was forced to retire and enter a monastery. But for the most part, those power struggles at least ended without bloodshed. However, shortly after the coronation ceremony, Bahazoff’s cousin went missing during a hunt in North Rolmund. The next day, his body was found in a completely different location. Officially, the cause of death had been a bear attack, and his death had been chalked up as an accident. Eleora smiled thinly.

“Only a few people even within the royal family have access to coroner reports, but I guess bears in North Rolmund wield swords and don’t hibernate. They wield them pretty well, too.”

I was suddenly reminded of the Sword Saint Barnack, Lord Doneiks’ trusted confidante. Originally he’d been a noble who owned a small parcel of land in Northern Rolmund. At any rate, the hunting incident Eleora was talking about was infamous enough that even I’d heard of it. Apparently, the cousin who died had been the one most obsessed with taking the crown. After his death, Bahazoff’s other cousins backed off.

“Lord Doneiks had been part of the hunt Bahazoff’s cousin died in. Of course, officially the reports just claimed that he, too, was attacked by wild bears and was saved by Ser Barnack.”

However, the common belief was that Lord Doneiks had been behind the assassination, and that he’d done it to protect his brother’s position. After that, Lord Doneiks had continued protecting his brother’s crown, and shown no outward interest in taking the throne himself. In truth, however, Lord Doneiks simply used protecting his brother as an excuse to do as he pleased. On the other hand, Bahazoff had little ambition, which was why most nobles preferred having someone like him on the throne, especially because of how conservative-minded he was. In the thirty or so years of his reign, the empire progressed very little, but at the same time, it was left in a stable position where the baton could easily be passed down to the next ruler. I sighed, realizing why everyone had called him things like “the most boring emperor in history”.

“In times of peace, not rocking the boat is a valid strategy. If you think about it that way, he was probably a competent emperor at least.”

Eleora nodded in agreement.

“You could say that.”

“It doesn’t sound like he was a terribly interesting person, but I still would have liked to meet him at least once.”

Eleora shook her head, her expression troubled.

“You’re Meraldia’s representative. Had you been granted an audience with him, you would have been forced to negotiate the details of Meraldia’s surrender. But as you can see, he was no master of politics. While our current situation isn’t entirely his fault, the empire is on the verge of collapse.”

Considering his personality, Bahazoff’s style of leadership had probably been to allow anything that had a precedent, and disallow anything that didn’t. There was no way governing like that would help break Rolmund out of its gradual decline. Most nobles seemed to have realized...