Rex pulled his blankets, ready to rest his mind and body to his comfortable bed that he missed so much lately, thanks to the Security Orbs and Grizel's assistance to solve the Southern port's issues, he got to finish his work on the disaster relief earlier than ever, but Rex seems to fit the role of the cursed Prince because his peaceful bedtime once again disturbed.
Wooosh...
A black circle suddenly appears in the air and getting bigger, he couldn't feel any mana from this mysterious gate-like circle which means this gate was made of a blessing, and he doesn't recall ever have an acquaintance with this kind of valuable blessing.
Rex jumped out of his bed and summons his Yin and Yang ancient dual swords reflexively pointing one of them to the dark circle in the middle of his rest chamber.
"Who dares to-"
He immediately erased his killing intent and draws back his swords as a silver-haired maiden with her black assassin attire appears from the dark gate.
The 'damsel who brings distress' strikes again.
Sighed...
"Sneaking into the private chamber of the Crown Prince can be considered a felony, Princess Belial"
Rex said as he stretched out his hand to pull her out of the black gate and welcome his fiance to his chamber.
"Or..."
He looked at his fiancee teasingly as the tip of his lips curled up forming an attractive devilish smile.
"Did my wife miss me that much to sneak into my chamber alo-"
"Tch!"
Rex clicked his tongue before he finished his words, his playful smile turned sour as he sees her minions came out of the gate one after another behind Grizel like the ducklings following their mother.
"Pfft..."
Lucy and Levi hold their laughs immediately while openly mocking the irritated prince by showing their annoying smug face, as usual, this duo took pleasure in seeing how the Prince's love life plumped down to the ground unlike the matured Deus and Mammon, they have the looks of pity towards Rex which annoyed him even more.
'Bwahahahaha you are embarrassing, now I know how it feels to get goosebumps because of your cringing act'
Like a stab, Athena made her voice could be heard by Rex through telepathy, because Grizel continuously ignores this annoying blessing, she seemed to find another suitable victim.
His face turned red because of embarrassment making Grizel looks at him sympathetically, but as long as the annoying Athena didn't bother her, Rex should be a good substitution for her.
"So, what business brought the Lord of Tartarus, the busiest lady to come here in person?"
Rex emphasis the word of business with a sarcastic smile to complain implicitly because his betrothed won't pay a visit without a business to discuss, and that could be anything but romance-related issues.
"We will ignite the flame of war tonight"
Like a thunderbolt in broad daylight, this girl abruptly talks about starting a war, she really has a hidden skill to create a heart attack.
"What are you scheming this time?"
Rex tensed up asking the source of the disaster with anticipation, where in the world exists a little girl who barged into the Prince's private room in the middle of the night and says 'Hey dude, I'll start a war' nonchalantly like it was nothing?
Well, that's none other than his out-of-ordinary fiancee.
"Before any further discussion, I think His Majesty's presence and an appropriate place to talk are needed"
Grizel comes here to discuss, no, rather than a discussion it's more suitable to say it is a one-sided notification about her plan for the war since she comes and goes as she wishes.
Sigh...
"Alright, wait a moment"
Rex took his Fortuna pendant from his storage ring and activated it, the blue crystal shines as the voice of the Emperor could be heard through it, he just shortly asked his father to meet him at the secret room that connects both his and the Emperor's bedrooms without telling what happened.
The communication through the pendant ended with a curious tone from the Emperor but it's better to explain it later in the secret room than speaking here in case a spy is nearby.
There is a secret passage that connected the chambers of the Imperial family members to the secret room, making it easier for them to meet with the Emperor with no one noticing.
Rex shoved a fake bookshelf in his chamber and opened a secret door that leads to the secret passage, it took a while because they have to pass a dark, narrow, and maze-like path of the secret passage before arriving at the secret chamber where the Emperor is waiting for Rex.
"Grizel?"
Emperor Drake is surprised by the black attired little girl and her subordinates who walk behind his son, he recalled these people as a maid, butler, inventor, and the representative of the Fortuna merchant, but looking at how calm they are right now, it seems like they are familiar with the shady meetings like this one.
"I'm sorry to disturb your rest, Father"
"Ah no, it's just..."
Emperor Drake looks at his unexpected guests' clothing, rather than guests they look more like a gang of assassins that were sent to kill the Imperial family.
"Nevermind this, Father. More importantly, I heard your preparation for the war is 95% complete"
Without beating around the bush, Grizel asked the Emperor, if what the information said was true then it's time for her to make a move.
"Indeed, everything will be completed in a week, but..."
Sigh...
It was a heavy desperate sigh comes from the Emperor, physically, the preparation is almost complete but he will never be ready mentally, war is the least desirable thing he expected because both the rebels and the Imperial troops are part of his people, he couldn't bear to see them killing each other like what the Westerners wanted them to be.
In that territory, some innocent civilians had suffered from the rebellion as well, they will be dragged into the battlefield without any defense during the war, if only there's a way to lessen the casualties, the Emperor will do anything to achieve it.
"Father?"
Grizel called Emperor Drake as she observed him who seemed to have difficulty in something.
"Ah, sorry. I was dazed because of some wishful thinking"
"Wishful thinking?"
Rex repeated his father's words, sometimes he could feel that his kind-hearted father is trying to shoulder all of the problems by himself, thinking that the Prince and the Princess are still too young to share the burden of the monarch, little did he know his daughter-in-law is more experienced than him.
"I wish there was a way to protect both the Empire and the people"
Right now, they have 2 options because of the teaching spread by the temple, the empire could only stay in a defensive position, but it doesn't mean they can do nothing.
The first option is to provoke the rebels and fight head-on in honor as the protector of the Empire, the name of the Imperial Family will raise and the trust between the Empire and its citizens will become stronger making it harder for the Westerners to infiltrate the Azure Empire in the future, it's a perfect method to deal with both the citizens' dissatisfaction towards the Empire and the Westerners' secret invasion at the same time, though it sounds like a great plan, the number of casualties during the war will be massive.
The second option is to sneak attack, this way, they could save more people and prevent unnecessary casualties, certainly, there will be less misery and damage during the war but the aftermath is more disastrous since the dignity of the Empire who did such an underhanded method will plummet beyond saving, it's like creating a huge opening for the Westerners to invade the Azure Empire.
As the monarch, Emperor Drake has to choose between the Empire or the people and shoulder the responsibility of his choice...
It's wishful thinking and sounds greedy but if he could he wanted to save both his home and his people.
"There is"
Grizel casually interrupts the conversation between this father and son, bringing hope to those who heard her reply.
"I-is that true, Grizel?"
Drake asked in hope, this will be the first war in the last peaceful centuries, it's not surprising to see how inexperienced they are compared to Grizel, or to be precise Angela Samael who had always been in the midst of conflicts.
Grizel doesn't like that heroic thought of wanting to protect all people, she will undoubtedly choose the first option and sacrifice those who need to be sacrificed for a better future, abandoning 100 to save 1000 people is not a hard choice for a logical thinker like Grizel, no, Angela Samael, that's how she lived her life, but...
She doesn't hate her naive Father-in-law, though not the best, he is a good ruler, and unlike the Emperor who wanted to save more people for humanity purposes, Grizel offered her help to thwart the grand scheme of the Westerners who threaten her life, although the reasons are different they have the common enemy.
"Father, don't you know that the rebels have been gathering power to attack the Empire?"
She emphasized the word of attack, it's an obvious thing that the rebels are planning to attack the empire which is why all of them are confused because everyone knows it, but as simple as that fact, the truth behind it is clear for an observer like her.
The fact that these rebels have been focusing on a plan to attack the empire means one thing...
"Can you see it, Father?"
Once again she asked, the tip of her lips curled upward giving an obvious hint for the clueless Emperor with eyes that are full of confidence as she said...
"These Rebels lack defense"
"!"
As if come to his sense, Drake and Rex just realized this weakness of the rebels, to attack the Empire, their main focus should be on the offense, if the Empire attack West region now...
"We could avoid heavy casualties and win the war easily by forcing the rebels into the position which they lack the most, which is defensive position"
Grizel nodded to Rex's comprehension of the enemy's weakness, the Westerners who sponsored the rebellion aim to weaken this Empire from the inside, instead of a shield to protect the rebellion, they will provide swords to make the people of this nation killing each other, the more casualties fall during their scheme, the closer they are to succeed.
Knowing this, Grizel won't stay silent, if their goal is to make sure that the Azure is weakened due to the heavy casualties, then she would protect the people as much as possible to ruin their plans, she would help the Emperor to save more people for that reason.
Strike the weakness and chopping the advantage of her enemies, always comes at the worst possible time for those who opposed this tyrant, Rex could see her experiences through the memories of her previous life, he glanced at the faithful servants who have been contaminated by the personality of his vicious fiancee, even though the goal is to protect the people, they have the look of criminals who are ready to swallow their victims.
Who are the real bad guys here?
"Do you mean we should be the one who attacks the rebels first to win the war and avoid heavy casualties?"
Emperor Drake summarized the plan of his daughter-in-law, he was preparing the war to protect his people because she said that the rebels are planning to attack the Empire in the near future, but she wanted the Empire to attack first?
No, the stigma of the bloody war still exists among the people thanks to the temple's teaching, if they recklessly attack the rebels first, the Imperial Family would be nothing but a tyrant in the eyes of the people because of the words spread by the Temple even if everything is going smoothly and they win the war against the rebels.
"Father, you are thinking about the aftermath of the war, aren't you?"
He just nodded weakly to answer Grizel's question, war is an evil deed, is a statement spread by the temple and believed by the people of Azure, now the word 'War' has negative connotations of woe, bloodshed, and tyranny.
If the Empire takes the initiative of the offense and initiates the war against the rebels, those three negative connotations will be applied to the Imperial Family, they might win the war but not the heart of the people.
Because of that strong opposition to war, the Empire has been in a passive defensive position since the beginning of the rebellion waiting for the rebels to launch the attack first, but the rebels are focusing more on building their strength than aimlessly provoking the Empire making it hard to find a reason to attack them first.
Grizel observed the gloomy atmosphere around the Emperor, he was optimistic about it just a moment ago and now he looks like someone who lost his hope.
"A General who slaughtered his enemies has praised as a Hero meanwhile an evildoer who killed the innocents was loathed as Villan, both were the act of murder but..."
"Father, do you know why the outcome is like day and night?"
Everyone seems puzzled by Grizel's strange question, isn't it obvious that Hero and Villain will be treated differently, even though it was the same action but the reasons are different.
"Because the Hero did the right thing to do and he deserved praises while the Villain is the opposite of him"
The Emperor answered with a suitable answer to match the common sense, right and wrong, good and evil, hero and villain, white and black, everything can be judged based on their actions.
"Right thing to do, is it?"
Grizel repeated the words spoken by the Emperor almost let out her chuckle, this Emperor knows the answer yet still couldn't find any solution for this situation.
"Then Father, why don't we make our first attack on the rebellion as the right thing to do?"
Grizel is someone who thinks logically and is never swayed by emotions, she doesn't judge things based on righteousness or wickedness, the fact that both hero and villain commit murder but treated differently is enough to serve as evidence that humans tend to judge based on their emotions.
Then, isn't it simple?
"If Your Majesty doesn't wish to be judged as a tyrant, we should manipulate the emotions of people to reverse their judgment"
Saying such a thing, Grizel's confidence didn't waver, there's no emotion in the words of manipulation as she continues to explain.
"The cause of the different treatment between the hero and villain is not their nature but..."
"Justification"
Yup, justification. What if that heroic General is a facade of a psychopath who loves to slaughter people? And what if that Villain is someone who fights with the hallucinations of his mental illness? Should we praise a psychopath and scorn the ill person?
But a Hero has justification for killing his enemies while the villain has none, even if they committed the same sin, people will say a hero is killing for the better.
That's the evidence of bias in judgment caused by human emotions.
"Justification?"
"Yes, Father. With a justification, instead of a tyrant, you will be praised as a hero"
Gulped.
Everyone in the room fell into silence, this little girl's comprehension of public manipulation can be said fearsome, how could she think of something like a justification of war at the age of 10?
"But we don't have any justification to initiate the war, the rebels isolate their territory and focus on building their strength, there is no bloodshed happened yet"
That is the main problem.
None of the Empire nor the rebels are taking the first move yet, even if Grizel is talking about justification, the rebels didn't do any harm to the Empire yet.
Unfortunately, right now the Empire has no justification to initiate the war.
"Father..."
Grizel called the Emperor as she looks into his eyes, it wasn't the gaze of a pure 10-year-old girl, there is someone beyond those cold eyes, someone who thinks that human emotions are something that can be easily manipulated and taken advantage of.
"If we don't have one, we just need to create one"
The thought of her plan sent shivers down the spine of those who present in the secret room, the chilling air creeps around their slightly shaking feet as they hold their breath.
"Are you suggesting us to harm our innocent civilians and frame those rebels to create justification of war?"
This time Rex as the fast thinker is the one who speaks, he was so surprised that he accidentally raised his voice towards Grizel.
Lucy, Deus, Mammon, and Levi glared at the Prince who accidentally yelled at their Lord, these 4 loyal subordinates are not the righteous heroes to begin with, they only obey their Lord even if they need to kill the innocents.
Killing innocent people and blamed the rebels to inflict the wrath of the nation is the best way to gain the sympathy of people to start the war, the words of the Temple won't reach their ears anymore, the more they sacrifice their innocent civilians, the more support they will gain, that is Grizel's thoughts.
After all, human is such a selfish creature, their judgment will be clouded by the fear of becoming the next victim of the rebels, those who were strongly against the war will be the first ones to beg the Empire to eliminate the rebellion.
Public manipulation is that easy, a sacrifice is all they need to trigger the start and erase the rebellion to end everything.
But Rex is not wrong, as the Crown Prince and the future monarch of this Empire, he has huge responsibility he needs to carry on his small shoulders including the life of the innocent civilians, of course, he would be surprised, even the Emperor is too speechless to add a comment on Grizel's insane plan.
Sighed...
Grizel sighed looking at her fiance and subordinates who glared at each other, why are they got so tensed up over nothing?
"Your Highness, why would I have to use the innocent civilians when I have someone more befitting to be the sacrifice of our nation?"
The tension immediately was replaced by relief then changed into confusion when Grizel said she has someone in mind already.
Sigh...
"I'm sorry for raising my voice at you earlier, Grizel"
After heaving a sigh of relief, Rex apologized, even though it was accidental, he should know that all the things she does are full of surprises, it seems like he needs to learn more about his betrothed.
"My Prince, I know you have to carry a huge responsibility on your shoulders, but as your Princess, I carry the same, I won't harm my people to achieve my goal"
'What nonsense are you talking about, Master? You would definitely use them as sacrifices if you don't have a better substitute for them'
Grizel reassured her fiance ignoring the annoying Athena who has close the connection of the telepathy to Rex, preventing him to hear their little secret, well, Grizel might be vicious, but as long as she has a better choice she wouldn't hurt some random people.
The Emperor regains his conscious after looking at these mature couples, he thinks that the day of his retirement is approaching quicker than expected.
"But who is it, Grizel?"
Grizel gives a sign to Mammon when Emperor Drake asked the identity of the sacrifice prepared by his daughter-in-law.
"You know him very well, Father, someone who has a huge influence in this Empire enough to shake the whole continent compared to some random civilians, and..."
Grizel stopped a moment as the tip of her lips curled upward showing her devilish smirk, she is clearly enjoying this moment.
"Fortunately, he doesn't fall under the category of innocent"
Fwip!
Mammon snapped his finger as a black gate appears in the size to fit a full-grown adult, Levi stretched his hand into the gate to pull something, no, someone from the other side of the gate.
"Urg..."
They could hear a familiar groaning voice comes from the person who was harshly pulled out of the gate by Levi, the one who is currently believed as a missing aristocrat.
"Judas?!"
Emperor Drake and Rex shouted in unison seeing the traitor dragged into the room, the one who used to be the Emperor's most trusted aide yet killed his beloved wife and made Rex lost his mother at a young age.
"Yes, there is no other suitable person to be our sacrifice than him"
To be continued...