Medieval Knight System: Building the Strongest Empire Ever!

Chapter 301: Who Incited the Queen?

Grand Duke Karlus had told me to get close to that boy.

But how exactly? I found this entire gathering uncomfortable.

"Why is a Habsburg intruding on this occasion?"

"Because the Grand Duke of Beren requested it. Is the Empire’s crown prince insufficient for a mediation like this?"

"The imperial house has the authority to mediate disputes between princes, so I’ll acknowledge it. But keep firmly in mind that my family and Your Highness’s family are not on good terms. The same goes for the count palatine."

"Which is precisely why I have come to mediate."

I couldn’t help thinking that if the Habsburgs got involved, this would balloon far beyond a matter between Beren and Bavaria. So I tried to quietly slip away, but the one who caught me was the imperial crown prince.

"Are you the crown prince of Beren?"

"No, Your Imperial Highness. I am merely a knight of Beren."

"Oh? Is a mere knight allowed to be present at an occasion like this?"

That’s why I was trying to leave, you know?

The crown prince seemed to have taken an interest in me, since I was around his age.

"He is more than qualified. Have you ever heard of the renown of the Gale Knight?"

"The Gale Knight? I’ve heard the heroic ballad. Could it be?"

"Indeed. This knight is the finest in Beren, and my pride."

If ever there was a moment I wanted to crawl into a hole, it was now.

Grand Duke Konrad made no effort to hide his displeasure the entire time, while my father-in-law seemed to consider it an honor in itself that his son-in-law was introduced to the imperial crown prince. The crown prince studied my face intently.

"You look so different from what I imagined."

"Your Imperial Highness! Do you intend to hold a leisurely knight appraisal right now?"

"My apologies, Grand Duke of Bavaria. That was not my intention."

When Grand Duke Konrad snapped, the crown prince apologized. Hm, so it isn’t an absolute hierarchy. The Habsburgs’ current power evidently isn’t enough to overwhelm the Wittelsbachs, which is why Grand Duke Konrad can push back like that.

In any case, thank goodness we were back to the main topic.

The crown prince asked,

"Grand Duke of Beren. What is your reason for joining hands with the count palatine?"

"Rather than joining hands, I merely received a proposal."

"The count palatine’s proposal to back the eldest son in the brothers’ feud?"

The rightful heir of Palatinate Wittelsbach was the eldest son, Siegfried, who governed the Franconia region as regent, but the second son, Gerhart, who governed Württemberg as regent, pushed back, and the conflict deepened.

And the count palatine, with one foot in the grave, extended his hand to Beren, which borders Württemberg, in order to covertly support his eldest son. But when this contact became known to Bavaria, everything went sideways.

Because if Beren and the count palatine joined hands, it could tilt the board deeply against Bavaria. The Palatinate was already difficult to face alone; add Beren to that, and it was nothing short of a nightmare.

Enraged beyond measure, Grand Duke Konrad threw his full support behind the Duke of Radensdorf and intervened deep in Beren’s civil war. Thank goodness the civil war ended quickly, before Bavaria could finish its preparations.

I could never understand why Bavaria had allied with the Duke of Radensdorf, but now the outline was clear. Sending the princess to Louis was also meant to thoroughly screw over Grand Duke Karlus.

But is it really okay for me to be listening to all this?

Judging by the fact that no one minds, it must not be top secret.

"Is the Grand Duke of Beren still favorable toward the count palatine’s proposal?"

"That will depend on what kind of offer Konrad makes."

"You provoked us first, and now you expect an offer? Out of the question!"

"So you’ll continue the war, then? The bedridden count palatine would love to see your strength drained. What will you do if his sons join forces and invade Bavaria while you’re busy fighting us?"

At the mention of the worst-case scenario, Grand Duke Konrad’s handsome face twisted. The Wittelsbachs hold justifications for war against one another, in the name of reunifying the family. It could become war, or it could become diplomacy.

Our Grand Duke Karlus, true to form as the worst sort of man with the Conspiracy disposition, is blessed with an exceptional talent for pressuring people. For Konrad, with his Resolute (Neutral) disposition, it might be a bit much to handle.

"May I say a word?"

The noble on the Bavarian grand duke’s side, who had been silent, introduced himself. He was the Count of Augsburg, known as the right hand of the Grand Duke of Bavaria. I knew because my father-in-law whispered it to me.

He’s probably the one who handles the scheming his lord lacks.

When the crown prince gave permission, the count continued.

"Relations between Bavaria and Altringen were never particularly bad, so I’m curious why the Grand Duke of Beren went out of his way to join hands with the count palatine. Did you truly have to make an enemy of us?"

"Are you trying to say I started this?"

"Before we negotiate, isn’t it only proper to settle that question first?"

Come to think of it, the reason Bavaria joined hands with the Duke of Radensdorf had come out, but nothing had been said about our grand duke accepting the Palatinate’s proposal and deliberately provoking Bavaria.

The Marquis of Augsburg seemed to intend to use this as justification to pressure the grand duke. As in, you provoked us first, so everything we did was legitimate retaliation.

"The Wittelsbachs truly are shameless beyond belief."

"Karlus, what exactly is shameless?"

"Did you think I wouldn’t know it was you lot who incited the queen?"

They incited Queen Gwendirente? The gazes of Grand Duke Konrad and Grand Duke Karlus collided fiercely. So the seeds of Beren’s civil war had been planted far earlier.

"The Jew the queen brought from Strasbourg was connected to the Wittelsbachs. Of course, I only learned of it recently. Marquis of Augsburg, aren’t you the one in charge of that?"

"I have no idea what you’re talking about. Is Altringen suffering from some mental illness?"

Grand Duke Konrad denied it as if it were preposterous.

The perpetrator of that incident, the queen’s own agent who had tried to use Schwarz Wolf to erase her dirty secrets, was presumed to be a Jew, and for a time a warrant was out in Breisburg, but he was never caught.

Now the puzzle pieces finally fit together. That agent was a spy Bavaria had planted on the queen from the very beginning. Grand Duke Konrad refused to admit it to the end, but the crown prince seemed to see it differently.

"So in the end, the two families have traded one blow apiece."

By simple arithmetic, both sides had thrown a jab and were now a hair’s breadth away from throwing the straight. Judging by the troops mobilized, it was at the level of all-out war, but the scale of actual combat so far amounted to no more than a localized conflict.

Depending on how the negotiations went, it could spread into total war or end as a localized conflict. And under international law, localized conflicts aren’t classified as formal wars.

"The fault clearly lies with Altringen. What are you saying?"

"If you hadn’t pulled your tricks on the queen, it would never have grown this far."

"Karlus! You dare insult me without a shred of evidence?"

"Enough! From a mediator’s standpoint, it seems this will never end at this rate."

I did feel sorry for the crown prince, struggling alone between the two grand dukes. He inserted himself, so he has to bear the responsibility, but they say this is one of the imperial house’s duties. How do they live with such an exhausting job?

"As the duke says, this seems to be a problem difficult to resolve through dialogue."

"This too is part of your education. What mediation proposal will Your Imperial Highness present?"

The noble who came with the crown prince appeared to be the one in charge of his education. Saying they would confer for a moment, the two spoke between themselves. In the meantime, Viscount Wittenfeld whispered something into Grand Duke Konrad’s ear.

Konrad looked at me as if in disbelief and said,

"Ha, not only the Knight of the Greatsword, but you fought fifteen Bavarian knights and sent every last one to purgatory? Rumors always exaggerate, yet to think you surpassed the rumors themselves."

"It was because of the Gale Knight that I could win the civil war."

When Grand Duke Karlus said it boastfully, Grand Duke Konrad’s expression hardened instantly. It felt like Karlus was taunting Konrad, as if to say, I have this magnificent knight, and you don’t. I wanted to crawl into a hole.

"I don’t know if it will please you both, but I will present my own mediation proposal."

When the crown prince returned, the glaring grand dukes turned their eyes to him.

And the mediation proposal the crown prince laid out was nothing short of groundbreaking.