“Milord, don’t tell me that you’re considering surrender,” Elisabeth seriously snapped as she placed a teacup on Henry’s table. “It’s…unimaginable, the fact that you sent a letter to that ‘brat.’”

  “Aren’t you quite the ‘brat’ too?” Henry smirked as he took the teacup in his gloved hands, leaning back in his chair with a relaxed pose.

  “I hope that you do not view me that way, sir.” Elisabeth gripped the plate in her hand tightly as she stood on the side of his table.

  Henry just laughed, casual and relaxed, as he sipped his coffee. “Of course not. You’re far too mature for that. It’s why you’ve easily adapted into your new position in life, after all.”

  New position in life…

  Just being reminded of it was enough to make Elisabeth’s mind bubble in silent rage. From a duke’s daughter to a disgraced traitor who attempted regicide, now turned into a servant girl of the leader of a massive rebellion, one could say Elisabeth had quite the tumultuous period in her young life. Still, even through all of it, her pride shone as she raised her chin even under Henry’s thinly veiled insult.

  No matter what anyone would say, Elisabeth made do with the hand she was dealt in life. Even now, in her lowest, she was plotting, making arrangements, and doing everything else to restore her honor. The man in front of her was her master for now, but, now that the war was coming to a close…

  I just need to stab him in the back well and good.

  Elisabeth believed that if she were able to do that, Alexa would be able to pardon her. Maybe she wouldn’t return to her previous height, but at least she had to do something to salvage the honor of her house and to make herself look better in any future court of justice.

  “This new life of mine—I’m proud of it,” Elisabeth declared. “I work honestly, and I now am a part of a cause greater than myself. It is a great honor to me.”

  “Pfft, don’t make me laugh.”

  Henry shook his head bitterly as he looked at the piles of papers stacked high on his desk. “My cards right now are running low. Anyone with a brain can see that; that’s why all those ‘loyal’ officers suggested negotiations.”

  “...I suppose that simply is to be expected when those fools are raised in commoner values.”

  “Says the one who tried to kill the next empress.”

  “Hmph.”

  “In any case, I know you have a brain, Elisabeth. You’re not a moron. You know what’s happening, so why keep up the little act? Does it amuse you? I mean, I am quite amused right now. Very much so.”

  “Are you perhaps doubting my loyalty.”

  “I don’t give a stone’s toss about your loyalty. All I’m saying is, you better start deciding well for yourself. No one’s going to save you.”

  Those words were both a threat and genuine advice, enough that it both surprised and made Elisabeth feel cold feet. He wasn’t just warning her to call off whatever plan she had, but also, it was almost done in a protective manner. It was like he wanted her to make the decision to just run away now from the inevitable trouble—to save herself.

  A pout grew on her face. “Milord, are you perhaps suggesting that you won’t at least save me in the worst-case scenario?”

  Her entire display was more of an absurd joke, mostly just to put Henry off balance and to try to act nonchalantly about his overly serious and unexpected behavior. Meanwhile, Henry stared at her with an easy smile.

  “Do you believe that I have no heart?”

  “No, sir.”

  “You do, don’t you?”

  “What are you even saying?”

  Henry looked away from her, staring at a painting on the side of the wall of his office. It was a simple one, representing a famed old general on horseback, riding on the battlefield, his saber aimed straight at what must be the enemy formations. She looked at it with keen interest. Quite frankly, for a lower noble, whom Elisabeth viewed as someone beneath her in cultural matters, Henry appeared to have quite the refined tastes in art and music.

  It was certainly intriguing.

  “I have my grand ambitions,” Henry said. “I’ve worked, toiled, struggled, and sacrificed so much just to reach it. And I’m so close, so close, Elisabeth! You wouldn’t believe it, but to create a republic, where all stand equal with each other, is an achievement almost impossible to grasp today.”

  “I…I do see the brilliance in such an ambition, sir,” Elisabeth said, holding back venom in her tongue. The idea that all people would be equal was alien and repulsive in her mind. She may be a fallen noble, but she was no commoner. No matter what anyone said, Elisabeth was born of noble blood, and she was simply at a different rank from the masses.

  “But I see now that I am a madman,” Henry laughed. “This world should be my playground. I should change it, after the ideals I’ve constructed in my head. Unfortunately, I suppose, I’m not the only one with that kind of thinking around, and the other person who wants to do what I want to do…”

  He looked down.

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  “She’s had too many great things handed to her. Freely and easily. I don’t. So yeah…I’m…”

  Henry laughed.

  “I’m outmatched.”

  “So you’re considering surrender, is that it?” Elisabeth’s tone turned icy, almost as if she was reprimanding him. That was when his fist made contact with his table, causing her to yelp in fear.

  “There will be no unconditional surrender!” Henry suddenly said, his face red. “You hear me? You understand? My ambitions will not crumble until they are completely out of reach. I will change this nation, one way or the other. Whether I lose or win, Lotharingia will not be old Lotharingia. I poured my life into this. It will not go in vain!”

  “...But you said—?”

  “So what? So what if I’m on the back foot? I still have my cards. I will fight until there is no fight left, until all of my cards have been taken from me. I sent them that letter because I know that woman will have to agree to at least some of my terms.”

  Henry’s other hand crumpled to a fist. “Every point on those demands will be paid for by blood. I intend to make sure that the stunt I pulled is not for nothing. I may not achieve all that I wanted, because that’s the reality of this world. But I will not go down in history as some noname footnote. No, I, Henry Richard von Hecker, am the first man to fight against the old order and snatch the first victories for the common man.”

  His outburst was full of both despair and pride. It was something outside of what Elisabeth expected. Why is she telling me all this? She didn’t understand why he would even reveal this side of him to her. Or maybe he just wasn’t able to control himself? No, that couldn’t be it; Henry was always so calm and composed no matter what.

  But, I suppose all men have their limits too.

  Elisabeth took a deep breath, trying to keep herself steady as her nervousness flared up. She truly didn’t like it when men raised their voices, especially in front of her. “I…I’m sorry. I apologize for even bringing up such an insensitive question. I should keep watch of what I say.”

  “No.”

  Henry’s hands relaxed, and he smiled as he looked at her. “It’s all good. I wanted to get that out anyway. Yeah, that felt good, actually.”

  “You…wanted to vent out?”

  “Hmph. I suppose so. I’m quite a terribly lonely man, you see. I have no true close friends. I’m…just me…”

  For a brief moment, Elisabeth felt a hint of pity for the man.

  “But that’s just the consequence of the path in life I chose. In any case, my point is…I’m not giving up until I lose,” Henry said, sitting back on his chair. “And if I lose, I shall, as they say, ‘go out with a bang.’ What about you though? Are you going to do the sensible thing for your self-preservation, or will you ‘go out with a bang’ too?”

  +++

  It was now the first week of December. Winter was getting closer, and the cold was becoming more noticeable each day. It was under these conditions that the continued campaign of the Army of the Leine and the Army of the West to drive back the revolutionaries to their rumored center of power—Hesdorf, a populous fortress city in the central region—continued.

  Most cities and towns around the central region were rapidly falling into the hands of Alexa’s loyalist forces. For the past days, they had been battling the disparate rebel forces in a sporadic manner. It appeared that the enemy, unable to send a new army in their way, opted for a more elastic form of defense, wherein they would have small brigades that would hold off the vanguard forces from Alexa’s side before retreating.

  It was quite a consistent, valiant, if not annoying, strategy. But, even if such a headache was real, so far, things were going good. Casualties were low, morale was high, and largely, the population of the central region was faring relatively well, enough that whenever Alexa rode in on her horse to join liberation parades, the citizenry would mostly quietly welcome her.

  It was even true here, in Rondheim, where the Free Republic was said to have been proclaimed at the start of the rebellion. They had captured it earlier after the rebels attempted to hold off Max’s light cavalry at the city’s outskirts. A brief skirmish happened before the enemy’s cavalry force decided to move out, allowing the rest of the Army of the Leine’s infantry brigades to enter the city unopposed.

  When that was done, Alexa and her friends decided that it would be time to present herself to the city’s populace. She wanted to gauge, after all, how the people where Henry made the famous speech that recruited so many to bolster his army would react now that their crown princess had returned.

  And to that, she was quite satisfied. A bright smile was on her face as she looked around. The parade in the city was going so well that there were some flowers and confetti raining from the skies. On the side, crowds of civilians were lined up, most of them watching with neutral faces, but many of them also cheering and waving their hands.

  She could even see some fighting for a better view just to get a better glimpse at the crown princess and the saintess riding on their white horses side by side. It was a sight that made her feel all the better, because, she realized, that perhaps Henry’s support base was just that brittle.

  She still was the most popular person in the empire. It did wonders to boost her ego.

  “Seeing this…” She waved gently at her subjects. “I almost can feel that the war’s end is close.”

  “The light at the end of the tunnel indeed,” Phoebe nodded. “I just hope that Sir Henry will see sense at last and lay down his arms. Quite frankly, I don’t see any way for him to win.”

  Indeed, after many deliberations and consultations, Alexa decided to accept terms 1, 2, 3, and 7 in the list of demands given by the rebels. It was the best compromise she found that would satisfy both the nobility and commoners. When everyone in the army’s officer corps had a look at Alexa’s response, most were quite neutral about it, but no one was displeased.

  It was, in essence, something everyone both didn’t like and didn’t hate. Still, the rebels refused to agree to Alexa’s current terms. They demanded that terms 4 and 5 be non-negotiable, citing that the people needed to have a full voice, but, well, even Alexa didn’t want the terms, simply because she wanted to have a level of control in the nation until everything was stabilized. The eighth term, she rejected, on the basis that it would be her who would decide when to make a move against the demon horde, and it seems like they didn’t make much of a fuss about it.

  “All that’s left is to wait them out,” Alexa said. “I think I’ve been more than generous at what I accepted. The fact I’m even letting them have their general amnesty is already massive.”

  “Indeed.” Phoebe smiled proudly. “At this point, you can probably match me in being a ‘saint,’ as they say, Lady Alexa.”

  “I’m not too sure about that…” Alexa awkwardly chuckled. “But, well…I’m sure, with this, they’re only a few battles away from accepting my response.”

  “I hope so. Though…will you budge? If, say, they do resist further.”

  Alexa took a deep breath, looking up at the sky. She didn’t want war, but she couldn’t bend over to her enemies either. Not when she was going to officially rule an entire empire soon.

  “I don’t know, Phoebe…” Alexa sighed. “What do you think? Should I accept being a figurehead empress if it meant saving another person from death?”

  “...Hmm,” Phoebe furrowed her brows. “But Lady Alexa is an amazing leader. If you don’t have any powers left…I fear for all of us.”