The events unfolded in an instant.
After encouraging the soldiers for departure, Emperor Sijip faced the armed ministers again.
Watching them, the Emperor tried to give orders as a lord.
“Well, since we are ready, move to your respective positions. You all go to the western castle wall, and the rest…”
At that moment…
“Gah!”
“Gurkh!”
“What… what is this? Wha… what are you doing?”
Suddenly, the ministers drew their swords and started cutting down the guards.
A deep bewilderment began to etch itself onto the Emperor’s face at their unexpected actions.
“What… what the hell are you doing? Why… why now…?”
“Sorry, but this is the only way for us to survive, Your Majesty.”
“Because of you, the fate of this country hangs by a thread! No one can stop General Valenshtein!”
With cold voices, the ministers approached the Emperor, holding their bloodied swords high.
Seeing them, the Emperor began to rage with a mix of anger and betrayal.
“You… You bastards! You dare to betray me? No! You dare to betray the Emperor chosen by God!”
“Chosen by God? Ha, if that were true, we wouldn’t have ended up in this mess!”
“Your so-called faith can’t save you from more bloodshed. Surrender quietly!”
The ministers laughed mockingly at the Emperor’s outcry.
They then pointed their drawn swords at the Emperor’s neck, forcing Sijip to kneel in a fit of rage.
“Ugh… You filthy traitors… Just kill me! Until my last breath, I will curse you!”
“No, we can’t do that, Your Majesty.”
“Historically, those who kill their lord end up with a bad ending.”
“You are a gift we will present to General Valenshtein. Until then, you must behave.”
“Wh-what?!”
At the traitors’ words, the Emperor erupted with even more intense anger.
This meant they intended to inflict even greater humiliation on him for their own safety, making Sijip feel a shame worse than death.
However, even now, there was nothing he could do.
Just hours before, he thought he could do anything, but now he found it impossible to even take his own life.
“Damn it!!!!”
Captive and filled with pent-up rage, the Emperor screamed.
Watching his state, the ministers exchanged bittersweet expressions and began to wrap up the situation.
“Well, I’ll go hang a white flag at the city gate.”
“Please do. We’ll disband the soldiers.”
*
“Mmm…”
Valenshtein couldn’t help but feel quite awkward as he beheld the scene before him.
Before him knelt the Emperor’s closest entourage.
And the Emperor himself, bound, looked at him with a gaze filled with hatred.
To be honest, Valenshtein had expected a fierce battle, but the situation ended far more anticlimactically than he had imagined.
“General Valenshtein… please accept our surrender.”
“We’ve brought the Emperor who plunged the Empire into chaos; please ask for our mercy.”
The ministers were begging for their lives using the Emperor as a sacrifice.
Seeing them, Valenshtein nodded slightly.
“To be honest, you can’t deny your culpability for being so close to the Emperor all this time. However, if you hadn’t acted today, countless innocent lives would have been lost. Considering that, I will spare your lives.”
“Ooh…”
“Th-thank you, General Valenshtein.”
“I won’t forget your mercy. If you need any help, feel free to ask.”
The Emperor’s entourage felt profound relief that they had saved their lives.
After dismissing them, Valenshtein looked at the kneeling Emperor and said, “Now then… I’m sure you have something to say, so go ahead, Your Majesty.”
“You scoundrel… Valenshtein! How could you do this after all I’ve done for you! To repay loyalty to your lord in this manner! You beast! God will never forgive you!”
The Emperor, spewing anger-laden curses at him, made Valenshtein feel only a sense of regret.
But that regret was not because he had betrayed a lord.
The source of his emotion stemmed from the realization of his own foolish past, where he had pledged his loyalty to such a human.
‘Even in this situation, I couldn’t awaken from my delusion… How naïve I was to swear faith and loyalty to such a person.’
The Emperor, betrayed by his own subordinates without the chance to resist, was being dragged away.
What this meant was still lost on the Emperor.
Even his closest attendants who had sworn loyalty before him had abandoned him.
This was tantamount to saying that public sentiment towards the Emperor had fully turned against him.
Even his own allies had decisively turned their backs.
Yet, oblivious to this reality, the foolish Emperor continued to rage at Valenshtein, only cursing God.
“Go ahead and enjoy your victory! Soon, the judgment of God will fall upon you! How dare you disgrace this Emperor! Your name, Valenshtein, will forever be recorded as a traitor for the generations to come!”
“Sigh…”
Watching the Emperor endlessly spewing curses, Valenshtein slowly shook his head.
He had nothing left to say to this foolish man who could not even face reality anymore.
At least until this unnecessary venom dissipated, it would be correct to keep him locked away.
After making that decision, Valenshtein issued orders to his soldiers.
“Confine the Emperor in the inner chamber of the palace. Ensure he does not do anything reckless or attempt to take his own life.”
“Yes, General.”
“You insolent wretches! Let go of me! I am the Emperor! How dare you lay that filthy hand on me! Let go! I said let go!”
Thus, the Emperor Sijip, displaying rage from start to finish, was taken away.
Valenshtein then shifted his focus away from Sijip and turned to his next steps, questioning his two aides, Hestia and Otto.
“Now that we’ve captured the Emperor, and our forces have secured Vienna, what should we do next?”
“First and foremost, isn’t it urgent to abolish the Emperor’s decree? We need to end the war with the Heretic Alliance and dismantle the law separating the Church forces and the Heretic forces. With the Emperor’s seal and the following officials on our side, we can carry this out immediately.”
In response to Valenshtein’s inquiry, Otto answered seriously, and Hestia agreed with him.
“I share the same view. Above all else, we need to eliminate justifications for neighboring countries to intervene. Reports indicate that the Franz Kingdom to the west has already begun to seize the Lorend Region, and to the north, the Kalmar United States is readying their troops.”
“We were very close to things getting extremely complicated if we’d delayed even one step further… So we shall handle that matter like so, then what comes next?”
“Next, we must manage the aftermath of the war. We’ll need to engage in extensive negotiations with the Heretic Alliance, as well as with the Lorend and Franz Kingdoms, who are already somewhat entangled in this matter. After that…”
With that, Hestia glanced at Otto for cues before she fell silent.
Seeing them, Valenshtein nodded and said, “Understood. Then let’s handle those matters first. Prepare a diplomatic mission; the meeting will take place at Westphalia Castle.”
“Yes, General.”
