Chapter 453

Meeting with the Leader of the Resistance
"I am the new king, Varias! Bow your heads!"

That was the first thing out of his mouth when we met.
Honestly… I already knew I couldn’t expect much from this guy.

"Lord Varias, that behavior is inappropriate in front of our guests..."

"What are you saying, Graf! I’ve just destroyed the last of the ducal houses. There’s no one left to oppose me becoming the new king!"

"That may be true, but—"

"Then it’s settled. You lot will hand over the real Third and Fourth Princes, accept this letter demanding the return of tribute and the relinquishment of territories unlawfully occupied across the old kingdom, and get lost."

"What!?"

"What? You got something else you wanted to do?"

Now I was really mad!
Does he have any idea how hard the different factions have worked to govern the country!?
There’s no way I can have a proper conversation with someone like this!

"Don’t be ridiculous! We are not your vassals! We’ll hand over the Third and Fourth Princes, but we reject everything else! And even handing them over comes with conditions!"

"Conditions? How impudent. Well, fine. I’ll at least hear them out."

"First, you will not interfere in areas outside the sphere of influence of the Third Prince. Second, you will not pursue unification of the old nation by military or other forceful means. And lastly, you will devote yourself to the restoration of this region."

"Don’t be absurd! Why should I, the new king, give up my rightful territory!? And the region’s restoration isn’t something a king should be concerned with!"

This is hopeless. He’s utterly unfit to be a king.
So, what do we do now?

"Miss Lily, may I have a moment?"

"What is it, Mr. Graf?"

"In your eyes, does Lord Varias seem like someone suitable to be the new king?"

"No. Not in the slightest. I don’t intend to support whoever becomes king, but if this man becomes king, the region will only fall into deeper chaos."

"… Thank you. That confirms my decision."

Without another word, Mr. Graf suddenly drew the sword at his waist and impaled Varias, chair and all.
But none of the soldiers so much as flinched.
This was a betrayal that had been planned in advance.
It’s chilling to think about.

"G-Graf y-you…"

"Goodbye, Varias. I respect your efforts in uniting the resistance across the region. But your downfall was everything that came after. From the moment you declared yourself king, you lost everyone’s support."

"You… t-traitor..."

"Call me what you like. But you’re the true traitor to the ideals of the resistance."

Mr. Graf pulled out his sword, and Varias’s body slumped from the chair onto the floor.
Calmly, Mr. Graf instructed the guards to deal with the corpse, and they obeyed just as calmly.
This really had been arranged in advance.
It’s terrifying, honestly.

"Now then, I apologize for using you like that. I’ll be assuming leadership of the resistance from this point forward. I’m sure it’s unpleasant to talk in a room tainted by blood—shall we move to another room and continue our discussion?"

Mr. Graf wasn’t shaken in the slightest, even after killing someone.
I suppose this is the kind of presence someone gains after fighting as part of the resistance.
In any case, the next conversation will be with Mr. Graf.

What do you think about this chapter?