The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 229
The first royal decree since the death of the previous king.
The royal guards who were on Joseph and Prince Landis’s side hesitated to follow this order, but then Lucretia opened fire.
“For Her Majesty the Queen! Execute!”
As she led her close guard to carry out the arrests, other guards joined in the action.
“T-This can’t be! Princess Rosa as king…!”
“Why is this happening!”
The nobles were in panic. They realized now there was no way out.
‘We’re cornered!’
This was the common thought flashing through their minds.
In fact, Rosa needed very strict conditions to ascend to the throne.
After all, only the Akasha and Bradford families were supporting Rosa.
Though both were noble families, their power wasn’t particularly outstanding.
So Rosa wasn’t in a position to face them head-on.
Even if she had recruited the royal guard and occupied the audience chamber alone to declare her ascension, it would have been nothing but an empty cry.
Joseph, Landis, and their noble faction would raise objections and try to forcibly remove Rosa.
That’s why there was one essential condition for Rosa’s ascension.
It was that she needed to be able to eliminate the opposition forces at once during the ascension.
Now was that time. The three princes and their core noble supporters were all here.
With Rosa holding their right of life and death, no one could raise opposition in the current situation.
“By royal decree, those who resist may be executed immediately! Do not hesitate!”
The nobles were quickly arrested and headed to the palace prison.
When that work was finished, Lucretia knelt on one knee before Rosa.
“Your Majesty, your royal command has been carried out!”
“Luc, when it’s just us, you don’t need to be so formal.”
“That cannot be, Your Majesty.”
Rosa looked sadly at Lucretia’s attitude and looked around like a chick.
“Where’s Wade?”
“He went to deal with the forces of other factions trying to enter the palace.”
“…”
Rosa said this worked out well and asked Luc “Luc, I want to entrust him with running state affairs from now on, what do you think?”
Rosa has no talented people around her. With Minister Railand dead, only Ars had the ability to clean up the aftermath.
“Looking at this incident, I think his ability is beyond doubt.”
“That’s why we must be careful. As he himself revealed, he is from the Magic Continent. He belongs to some kingdom. It’s far too dangerous to hastily entrust important state matters to such a person. I believe state affairs should be left to the internal affairs officials in the palace for now…”
“That person said he has no intention of making me a puppet and swallowing our kingdom. He only said he wants to integrate smoothly when his kingdom advances here in the future.”
“Isn’t that exactly what it means to swallow the kingdom?”
“Integration and conquest are different.”
“The result is the same.”
“The process is very different. After all, conquest means we’d have to war with the army he leads, right? The ones who get hurt from that are the soldiers and citizens. If peaceful integration is possible without war, I think that’s better.”
“But our kingdom’s long history…!”
“The kingdom is so corrupt that most nobles were plotting treason in collusion with the Alliance. That purity is gone now.”
“Your Majesty can purify it!”
“Yes, and I’ve judged this is the way to do it.”
Lucretia was speechless. What Rosa was saying now was, in extreme terms, no different from saying she would sell out the kingdom.
“Of course, before integration, we need to verify if the kingdom he leads is truly going in the right direction. If there are no problems there, there’s no need to hesitate. …Luc, will you understand my intentions?”
“…”
Lucretia squeezed her eyes shut.
In terms of patriotism, she couldn’t agree with Rosa’s words. But thinking of Rosa’s personal happiness, this method was best.
Luc knew how lonely and difficult the position of king was.
What kind of life one had to lead in that thorny seat.
In her opinion, Rosa shouldn’t live such a life.
She was someone who should meet a good husband, laugh and chat with friends at tea parties, and live a happy life.
Though she had no choice but to ascend to the throne now, it was clearly an ill-fitting garment.
‘If that will give the princess peace…’
Lucretia showed her respect for that intention by deeply bowing her head.
* * *
“Damn it, retreat!”
The enemy forces crumbled. Upon hearing news that the faction they followed had been defeated and captured, they collapsed like a sandcastle doused with water.
“Phew! Finally over.”
After subduing all the soldiers outside the palace, fatigue seemed to wash over me.
That was natural since I couldn’t get any sleep because most of the work was done at dawn.
The same went for Ash who had been acting as my adjutant.
“Hey, blonde punk, can I rest now?”
“What do you mean rest? You need to handle the aftermath while I rest.”
“What are you talking about? Our influence levels are different, unlike you, someone like me isn’t necessary. And anyway, all that’s left is political cleanup, right? Such internal affairs aren’t my responsibility.”
“…What you say isn’t wrong.”
“Right? Then I’ll go rest now.”
“No, it’s the opposite. You need to move right away. Go to the Northern Continent immediately and bring Sophia Veron here.”
“Princess Sophia? Ah, you want to use her for internal affairs. But if that was your plan, why didn’t you call earlier?”
“I didn’t expect things to unfold so suddenly. Anyway, the sooner the better.”
“Well, I can just sleep in the carriage…. Alright, I’ll go right away.”
“Be careful. The situation in the Alliance is quite turbulent too. They might be too busy with internal power struggles to pay attention now, but who knows when they’ll come to their senses. They’ll quickly figure out that I had a big influence in this matter.”
“We’ll have to reconsider the plan to create and operate an Alliance in the Northern Continent.”
“We’ll have to change the composition. Mainly people whose connection to me hasn’t been revealed. I’ll decide on that part soon and let you know.”
“Got it. Then take care, blonde… No, Ars.”
After seeing Ash off, I headed to the audience chamber.
There, Rosa was sitting on the throne, at a loss. She couldn’t figure out what instructions to give.
When I appeared, she brightened up and called out.
“Wade! Come quickly, I was just looking for you.”
Lucretia and some of the royal guards remained in the audience chamber. Luc made way with a complicated expression.
Rosa rose from the throne to greet me.
“I want your advice on how to run the kingdom from now on.”
“Your Majesty, as I said before, it’s not right to entrust internal affairs to me.”
“With prime minister Railand dead, there’s no other option. And I want to talk about the prime minister too.”
“…Alright. Let’s discuss that matter slowly when things quiet down. I also have someone I’d like to introduce you to. More importantly, now is the time to completely occupy the palace and expand that influence throughout the city. Lucretia!”
Luc squeezed her eyes shut before nodding.
“Give me your orders.”
“Although the external forces have been neutralized, there must still be remnants. So work with the city guard to eliminate them all.”
“Yes!”
The other guards stirred at this scene.
It must be hard to believe that someone who was just a low-ranking academy student until yesterday is now giving orders to the acting captain of the royal guard.
“Wade, please help too.”
“I was planning to rest…”
“There’s no time for that. We don’t know what variables might arise, so we at least need you here.”
“Sigh…. Can’t be helped.”
In the end, I had to work from dawn till night that day. Having stayed up for two full days, I fell into sleep as if passing out.
* * *
Four days after the political upheaval.
News of Princess Rosa’s ascension to the throne spread quickly.
The response was tremendous. It was the first time in the history of the Ellan Kingdom that a queen had ascended to the throne, and moreover, the princes’ ugly succession battle had been revealed without filter.
4th Prince Joseph who killed the previous king. 3rd Prince Paris who killed his eldest brother and pretended to be dead. 2nd Prince Landis who carried out countless illegal purges.
It was nothing short of a mess, so it was inevitable that public sentiment towards the royal family would hit rock bottom.
The immediate task was how to recover that public sentiment and establish royal authority.
Princess Rosa sought advice regarding this, so we set a date to discuss it.
I headed to the palace garden with Rinoa.
There sat Rosa, now queen, Luc who had become the captain of the royal guard, and her father Robarin Akasha, the head of the Akasha family.
‘That guy is Luc’s father….’
Though he had retired from the frontlines long ago, he was specially assisting at Rosa’s request.
Seeming wary of me, he wouldn’t take his eyes off my every move.
“I come before Your Majesty.”
“When it’s just us, you don’t need to be so formal.”
Rosa turned her gaze to Rinoa.
“Rinoa too, don’t be so stiff, treat me like before.”
“Yes…. I don’t know how to handle such a generous favor, Your Majesty.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying not to do.”
After sitting down, there was some casual conversation, but we soon moved on to the main topic due to the heavy atmosphere Luc’s father was emitting.
“I think you know the situation as well as I do. Citizens are questioning the existence of the royal family.”
“Well of course they would. All the princes who were supposed to be the next king turned out like that.”
“You’re the one who suggested announcing that, right? Did you have some plan?”
“Yes, but I won’t say it with my own mouth.”
“What do you mean?”
“As I said before, it’s not right for me to interfere with internal affairs. I’ve already interfered enough by putting you on the throne, but it’s not good for the future to extend my hand into state administration after this.”
“Why? Wouldn’t that be best from your position? Especially considering the future integration of both sides.”
“Various problems will arise. There will be voices of suspicion asking if you’re just a puppet, and in my kingdom, there will be talk about whether I’m trying to sell the kingdom to the Ellan Kingdom. So the integration will proceed slowly, minimizing noise while maintaining equal footing.”
“That’s not wrong, but can’t you handle that level of noise? Be honest. You’re just being lazy, aren’t you?”
“…Did Erina tell you?”
“Yes, I heard you’re planning to live leisurely while playing with the child?”
“…”
When I silently affirmed, Rosa says with disgust, “I won’t tolerate you starting something and then taking it easy alone.”
“That’s not all. I have other things to do.”
“Other things? What are they?”
“I’m trying to find a way to return to the Magic Continent. I’m going to start that research. So I’ve found someone to handle things here.”
At my signal, the waiting guard appeared with Sophia.
Rosa raised her eyebrows upon seeing Sophia. Sophia gave a formal greeting.
“I am Sophia. It’s an honor to meet Your Majesty.”
“Uh, yes. Nice to meet you.”
Rosa urges me with her eyes to explain.
“This person will work in my place.”
“This woman?”
“Her abilities are certain, so there’s no need to worry.”
Sophia looked at me, sighed lightly, and joined us at the table.
Then Robarin, who had been quiet, speaks up saying he doesn’t understand.
“Wait. Isn’t this different from what was said earlier? Having your vassal take an important position means you’ll have that much influence. Am I wrong?”
When Robarin pointed this out, Luc and Rosa also nodded and waited for my answer.
“There’s a misunderstanding… This person is not my vassal.”
“What…?”
Sophia also frowns. “That’s unpleasant. Why am I being treated as your vassal?”
“You heard her? She’s not my vassal. If anything, we have a somewhat uncomfortable relationship. We’re just temporarily cooperating now.”
At the mention that she wasn’t my vassal, Rosa showed great interest.
“Sophia, you’re also from the Magic Continent, right?”
“Yes. I am Princess Sophia Veron of the Beckavia Kingdom.”
“Princess…?”
I quickly added an explanation.
“She’s not just an ordinary princess. She was both a princess and the kingdom’s top strategist. She was praised as a genius princess by the public.”
“A genius princess? That’s impressive!”
“Right? Since you’re both princesses, you’ll probably have things in common and get along well.”
Rosa responded positively, seeming to like the fact that they were both princesses.
Soon, to test Sophia, she asked for measures regarding this matter.
Sophia answered without hesitation.
“It’s not difficult to establish royal authority and win public support. We’re currently managing the powerful nobles. If we intimidate them and confiscate their property, then use that property to satisfy the citizens, both royal authority and public support will be quickly restored.”
“What if the nobles rebel?”
“It’s already been revealed that the nobles were plotting treason. We have justification. No one will complain even if we suppress them forcefully. Besides, with Wade here, we don’t need to worry about finding a general to lead the suppression operation. If needed, I could command that level of suppression myself.”
Sophia fluently explained even the specific details.
Not just Rosa, but Luc and Robarin also asked questions, and Sophia satisfied them with answers that exceeded expectations.
“A-Amazing. The title ‘genius princess’ wasn’t just for show.”
“…Your Majesty, please don’t use that ‘genius princess’ expression.”
“Why? It seems to suit you perfectly. Weren’t you famous in the Magic Continent?”
“That was before this man destroyed me. After suffering humiliation from him, the term ‘genius princess’ became nothing more than mockery. So please don’t use that expression.”
“O-Okay, I understand.”
Rosa and Lucretia shuddered, wondering what kind of humiliation was inflicted. [TL/N: LOL]
Anyway, they seemed to have accepted Sophia.
Once this matter was settled, Rosa brought up the next topic.
“I mentioned this briefly before, but it’s about the Prime Minister Railand.”
“Was there some problem discovered with the deceased? Was he also connected to the Alliance?”
“In some sense, yes.”
Rosa continued with concern.
“The prime minister was already moving to avenge father. I don’t know exactly what it is, but the prime minister himself said it was a measure that could overturn the Alliance, so it must not be a trivial matter.”
“…Don’t tell me that operation is being executed now?”
That would be troublesome. Now wasn’t the time to provoke the Alliance. It could really lead to war.
“It probably hasn’t been executed yet. He said it needed a long preparation period.”
“Then can’t we just stop it now?”
“That’s the problem – we can’t. After the prime minister died, his subordinates started acting independently. They learned that the prime minister died under torture from the Alliance and burned with revenge. We tried to contact them somehow…”
“It didn’t work out.”
“No.”
The seeds of revenge sown by the deceased prime minister Railand.
It gave me a very ominous feeling, but even Rosa as King didn’t know the details, so I had no way to take measures.
So we decided to focus first on stabilizing the kingdom while staying cautious.
Hi guys, please check out the new novel I picked “I killed the Demon King. It was a mistake.”
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