Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight Volume 6

by Hyougetsu

  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.

  * * * *

  She’s more worried about me than I thought. Guess I should write up a quick overview of what’s going on here. 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.

  * * * *

  Alright, that should be good enough. 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.”

  Is my letter too formal or something? 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. Guess there’s at least time to revise it before I send it. 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.”

  So he was killed by a swordmaster, huh? 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 ho
w 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 this as well, and they’d decided to wait until after Prince Ashley took the throne before bringing up the topic of Meraldia’s surrender. As a result, we’d been able to build up a decent base of power within Rolmund in the interim. Starting with Ser Lekomya, we’d begun bringing the younger nobles—most of whom possessed no land—into our camp. Furthermore, Lord Kastoniev was hard at work gathering the East Rolmund nobles to our cause.

  I sipped the tea Natalia had made and considered our options going forward. The hot tea warmed my frozen extremities.

  “It’s true the empire’s already beginning to buckle. You can see the cracks. Like you said before, it’s inevitable that people will begin to realize there’s an impending crisis.”

  The empire’s power was split between landed lords, the Sonnenlicht sect, landless nobles, the military, and the academics. There were just too many factions. The problem was, all of these factions had been built up over generations, so none of them wanted to relinquish any of their power or identity. I’d need Eleora to unify them by force once she became empress.

  “Now then, our immediate concern is who’s going to be the next emperor. Eleora, how about you just go up and grab the crown?”

  “Hahaha...”

  Eleora chuckled at my joke. I’d written as much in my letter to Airia, but it really did feel as though Eleora had mellowed out a lot recently. Maybe it was because she’d gotten more allies.

  “I’ll do that after I’ve crushed my rivals.”

  Well, I guess some things never change. At present, Prince Ashley was slated to be the next emperor. On the surface, Lord Doneiks and his sons approved of him becoming the new emperor. It was hard to be sure what they were really thinking, though.

  Naturally, Eleora and the other contenders for the throne couldn’t publicly claim they wanted it. If they did, the other factions would band together to shut them down. Since we were still in the mourning period of Bahazoff’s death, the coronation ceremony had been put off for a bit. But it was still almost guaranteed that Ashley would be the next emperor.

  “Most of the nobles in the capital support Prince Ashley, as do the majority of West Rolmund’s lords. On top of that, he has the backing of the Sonnenlicht Church.”

  The Sonnenlicht Church was what held the most influence with the common people, so anyone aiming to be emperor needed them on their side. Furthermore, the imperial capital was in West Rolmund. Militarily, it was essential that any contender for the throne had some support with West Rolmund’s nobles.

  “For now, Prince Ashley’s power is secure. He’ll almost certainly ascend the throne.”

  “Indeed. And usurping the throne through force won’t be easy.”

  Forget Rolmund, even the capital was far too big for my small werewolf squad to occupy. We needed more time to prepare before we tried anything.

  As I was musing over my options, Hamaam walked into the room. He and Monza were my primary spies in the capital. He seemed to be in a hurry.

  “Vice-Commander, I’m sorry for leaving my post, but I have an urgent message.”

  “What is it?”

  He brushed some snow off his shoulder and said, “Moments ago, a carriage left the Doneiks manor. My squad confirmed that Prince Ivan and Lord Doneiks are riding in it.”

  “Seriously?”

  This was way too fast. I hadn’t expected this. According to Ser Lekomya, Lord Doneiks had planned to stay in the capital a while longer. This sudden change in the Archduke’s plans did not bode well. I needed to move carefully.

  “Hamaam, you’re good at tracking carriages, right?”

  He never talked about his past, but I’m pretty sure he’d once been a caravan raider in the windswept dunes. As expected, Hamaam nodded.

  “Yes, Vice-Commander.”

  “Tail the carriage. I’ll have Monza’s squad take over monitoring the manor.”

  “Roger.”

  Taciturn as always, Hamaam said just that, saluted, and left. I turned back to Eleora and asked, “Did something happen with Lord Doneiks?”

  “I’m not sure, but solidifying his base in the capital should be the most important thing for him right now. It’s strange that he’d choose to leave.”

  Eleora furrowed her brow.

  “What’s even stranger is that he didn’t take his grandson, Ryuunie with him. Prince Woroy’s staying behind, but Ryuunie is Prince Ivan’s son so you’d think he’d be with him.”

  Good point. Prince Woroy and Ryuunie made for a strange combination to remain behind and hold the fort. I cocked my head.

  “Maybe they’re returning to their territories to prepare for a rebellion...but then they would have taken Ryuunie with them.”

  Furthermore, winter was almost here. There was no telling when the roads leading to North Rolmund would become buried in snow. It was possible Lord Doneiks had set some plan I wasn’t aware of into motion. I got to my feet and donned my thick fur coat.

  “I’m going as well. Fahn’s squad are your personal bodyguards, so you’ll be safe even in my absence.”

  “I’m not too worried about myself but...you should take care, Lord Veight.”

  “I know. Kite, you’re coming with me!”

  I called for my trusty vice-commander and dashed out of the room. He was a master of intelligence-gathering, so I wanted him with me.

  * * * *

  —Prince Ivan’s Tactics—

  I looked at my aging father’s visage and steeled my resolve. He looked at the light snow flurry falling outside and muttered, “For all his reign, people insulted my brother as an incompetent, unremarkable emperor. But do you have any idea how hard it is to be unremarkable as a ruler?” He added, “My brother was nowhere near as incompetent as the people thought him. The fact that he was unremarkable proves how diligent he was.”

  “But when he realized his death was near, he couldn’t bear to leave behind a legacy of mediocrity, right?”

  “That’s right, Ivan. When his symptoms first appeared, my brother told me this: ‘Zweinei, I wish to achieve something momentous, lest I end up nothing more than a footnote in history books. I would like to have at least a paragraph dedicated to me.’”

  Because I was scrutinizing my father’s expression, I could tell.

  “But, Father, you didn’t agree with his wishes, did you? You’re the one who made it so only Eleora and her personal troops would be used for the invasion.”

  “Indeed. My brother and I were sworn friends whose bonds ran thicker than blood. But that was because we shared a common goal. To halt the slow decline of the empire. I believed my brother’s campaign to conquer the south would only bleed our empire of resources.”

  My father’s ability to separate his personal feelings from hi
s duty was what made him strong. His eyes glazed over slightly as he stared out the window.

  “Do you think me a cold-hearted brother, Ivan?”

  I shook my head.

  “No. If you hadn’t stepped in, we would have lost countless soldiers to the harsh mountain crossing, and the unfamiliar climate of the south. I respect your decision, Father.”

  The late emperor truly had been a mediocre ruler if conquest was the only thing he could think of to leave his mark on history. If he’d truly been invested in conquering Meraldia, he should have spent much longer preparing. Though I suppose the same could be said for me. I was quickly running out of time.

  “Father, about my proposition to set up an agricultural research station in Darmarl...”

  My father shook his head.

  “Wait. That village may be under your jurisdiction, but we need to hear what the overseers have to say too.”

  “They’re too superstitious to agree to my experiment and you know it.”

  The sacred Sonnenlicht scriptures contained a detailed chapter dedicated to proper farming methods. Before Sonnenlicht had spread throughout the empire, rural villages used to hold sacrificial rituals to pray for a good harvest. The farming chapter had been added to the texts in order to stamp out such barbaric practices. However, the farming methods in the Sonnenlicht scriptures were outdated and inefficient. They were the shackles preventing Rolmund from improving its agricultural techniques.

  Father sighed and said, “In that case, I cannot approve of the station. If we anger the overseers, we risk losing control over the serfs. In the end, that would lead to revolt, and a steeper drop in agricultural production.”

  “You’re right of course, but...”

  We don’t have any time left.