Semi-Coercive Imperialist

Imperial Central Hospital.

Even most nobles could not be admitted here, and I was waiting to visit a patient.

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

That clock on the wall.

I wanted to tear it down.

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

Was it challenging me?

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

"Sir Maximilian?"

A nurse called my name at just the right moment.

"Yes."

I stood and went to the door.

"You may go in."

I stepped through the door the nurse had opened.

"You've come."

The doctor greeted me, and I looked toward the bed.

A rather special patient lay there.

"......"

Leutern I. A royal noble and Leutern II's father.

He was dying.

Perhaps it was fortunate that he had lived long enough to have a son late in life, then watch that son develop ambitions of his own and seemingly take hold of the royal nobility.

"How is he?"

I asked the doctor as I arranged flowers in a vase.

"No change. The endocarditis..."

I did not know the details. Apparently, it was a bacterial inflammation of the heart valves.

Before my regression, Leutern I had died from this illness as well. After that, Leutern II had become an uncontrollable wastrel.

Of course, Leutern I had been Leutern II's brake.

The main reason Leutern II was not committing utterly deranged crimes even now was largely thanks to Leutern I.

His father was hospitalized, after all.

"His complexion is deathly pale."

"Yes. It is a symptom of the illness."

A wastrel son could not help but cherish his father dearly.

I was more curious than anything else.

How much indiscriminate love had his father lavished on him for Leutern II to become the person he was?

It was not envy. That was an emotion I had never possessed to begin with.

"If the new medicine you mentioned truly works, then in theory, he may be curable."

The doctor already knew about penicillin.

Antibiotics killed bacteria, and bacteria had accumulated in Leutern I's heart. In other words, he was a suitable test subject for a penicillin prototype.

"......Sir Maximilian?"

A hoarse voice suddenly came from the bed. It was Leutern I.

"Yes, Duke Leutern."

"What brings you here...?"

He looked up at me. With all the color drained from his face, he looked like a corpse.

"As I told you before, there is a new medicine."

"......"

A hollow laugh spread across his lips.

"I must have refused several times already..."

"I came to ask you not to refuse."

Did he mean he could not use some new medicine on his precious body? For reasons he had never revealed to anyone, he had kept refusing.

"......"

Leutern I seemed to ask me with his eyes why. Why was I trying to help him?

"I want you to recover, Duke Leutern."

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

The doctor tactfully excused himself.

"You know as well as I do... People like us never give or receive anything freely..."

I knew.

Politics always demanded a price and created debts. One favor could become a lifelong obligation.

"I... do not wish to leave a debt to that child, who has such a bright future..."

"......"

Only then did I understand Leutern I's meaning.

He did not want surviving to become a burden on Leutern II.

A pure father's heart.

Even villains, and the fathers of villains, had love.

"I see."

Unfortunately, Leutern I's words were only half true.

I wanted to save him so I could use Leutern II.

"But there is only one reason I recommend treatment."

Because it was not yet time for Leutern to die.

"You are Leutern II's father, are you not?"

That was no lie.

As long as he was alive, Leutern II would not go around pretending to be a commander.

"There was a time when he was known as my son, too."

Pride filled his voice.

Now, Leutern II was more famous under the name Leutern than Leutern I himself.

"I am satisfied... A life in which I thought I would never continue my line... has become so beautiful..."

"Duke, I consider Leutern II an academically outstanding person."

It felt fucking awful to say something like that, but he was useful for Imperial propaganda.

For one thing, he was not bad-looking. In fact, his face was far too good for someone who behaved as he did.

His best possible life was the one he had now, keeping Professor Ruben at his side like a trusted retainer and giving lectures.

"I know."

What did he know?

I continued calmly.

"But if you pass away like this, Leutern II will likely throw himself into the battlefield. He wishes to devote his talents there."

I met his eyes and added,

"It would be a grave loss to the nation."

"......"

Leutern I's expression changed. He seemed to understand my words. Naturally, he too must have wanted Leutern II to stay away from a dangerous place like the battlefield.

Leutern I's overprotectiveness had created the wastrel in the first place.

"......"

My final request to the wordlessly wavering man.

"Please accept the new medicine."

Leutern I remained still for a long time.

Perhaps he thought himself moved. A stream of tears rolled down from his eyes.

It was difficult to watch.

"If that is what you wish."

At last, he slowly nodded.

"Thank you."

I opened the hospital room door. The doctor entered and prepared the new penicillin treatment.

"You will likely need regular doses. It will be a long treatment."

Right now, a single syringe was as expensive as gold.

"If I remain alive, that is."

Leutern I smiled, and after watching him receive the penicillin, I left the room.

* * *

One spring day, the Bolska ambassador was summoned by Steller, the Imperial foreign minister.

Without much discussion, the ambassador was handed a demand for the [Cession of Genson]. The ambassador's hand froze around the documents.

"I will report this to my government, but..."

The ambassador answered with a troubled expression.

"Public opinion will never accept it."

"Why not? That land was cultivated by Imperials in the first place."

"But they abandoned Imperial nationality..."

"They abandoned their nationality?"

Steller frowned. For some time, Steller silently ground their teeth.

The ambassador broke into a cold sweat as the atmosphere grew hostile.

"If they are Aran, they cannot abandon Imperial nationality. And Aran live there."

"......"

The Bolska ambassador fell silent. The ambassador had quickly realized that reason would not work here.

"Anyway. Deliver it with the utmost sincerity. You never know. If you show greater loyalty, and do so more quickly."

Steller gave a faint smile.

"Some Bolskans may even receive quasi-applicable bloodline status."

Quasi-applicable bloodline. The ambassador understood the weight of those words. At some point, the Empire had become a society of bloodlines.

"......Yes. Then I should move quickly."

As the ambassador forced a smile and rose,

"Ah. This is a gift."

Foreign Minister Steller slid a small box across the table.

"I hear you have served in the Empire for ten years, Ambassador. The Ebenholtz household asked me to deliver it personally."

A mana stone gift from Ebenholtz. Even without opening the box, its weight made its value clear.

"No. I am only an ambassador. I cannot accept something like this..."

"A gift from an Imperial knight is only a gift."

Steller's voice lowered again.

It meant there would be consequences if the gift was refused.

"......Yes."

Faced with that threatening expression, the ambassador had no choice but to accept it.

"Then I will take my leave."

Steller waved a hand, and the box swayed heavily in the departing ambassador's inner pocket.

......

The Empire had demanded territorial cessions from the eastern "Aran-inhabited regions," including Bolska.

The issue immediately became Hailand's greatest concern, and this was their legislature, the 「Common Hall」.

"The Empire is now trying to ignore even national borders!"

Arthur Winston climbed onto the podium and warned of the Empire's ambitions.

"If we hand over Genson in Bolska today, tomorrow their ambitions will spread across the entire continent!"

Hailand's cabinet was already divided. There were conciliators watching Arthur with displeasure, neutrals sitting with folded arms in silence, and only a few hardliners who agreed with him.

"That is why we must take a hard line immediately..."

"Representative Winston!"

Henry Ashby, a three-term representative, shouted at him.

"What exactly is the problem? Is it not their rightful claim?"

"......Rightful claim?"

Arthur furrowed his brow as though he had seen something unbearable.

"That is right. Do Imperials not actually live in Genson?"

Aran lived there, and Imperial language had been designated as the official language.

The Empire had expelled so many of its subjects as traitors that, across the continent, those exiles had built cities by cultivating undeveloped land in other countries.

Representative Ashby continued.

"Aran developed unusable land from the start..."

"Imperials, Representative Ashby."

Arthur's correction made Ashby snort.

"......Representative Winston. Do you not know?"

"What?"

"Hailanders are classified as belonging to the Centric branch in racial studies, which means that strictly speaking, they are Aran. Study a little."

"......"

Arthur Winston's face went blank for a moment.

He was stunned. His eyes showed pure disbelief.

Mistaking that expression, Ashby proudly added,

"It means if a Hailander received a family register in the Empire, it would say 'Aran.' And you do not even know something as basic as this."

That damned man was using the racial theory those imperialists had championed, for the pathetic reason that it benefited him.

"Then..."

As though dizzy, Arthur pressed a hand to his throbbing temple.

"That means you're no different from those Imperial pigs?"

"What insane nonsense. Someone remove that madman!"

"You're the madman! You sick bastard trying to become friends with a crocodile!"

"It is a fact that Hailand's race is Aran under their classification, so what do you expect me to do? The Empire does not treat everyone as inferior, you crippled bastard!"

The 「Common Hall」 boiled over.

"Do you not understand that treating even one of them as inferior is wrong, you fucking idiot?"

"W-What?! Idiot?!"

Some fought, and some tried to stop them, but most were against war.

Cowards who recoiled from even speaking the word.

"Calm down! Calm down! Please calm down!"

At last, Prime Minister Gary Beaufort stepped forward.

"Let us not lean too far to one side."

He composed himself as he looked around the chamber.

"There is only one thing we know for certain. If we can avoid starting a war, then that is the right thing to do. I believe we all think the same..."

"No!"

Arthur Winston rushed onto the podium.

"I am saying there is no way to stop the war now! The Empire will start a war without fail! No matter what we do, no matter what we intend to do..."

The 「Common Hall」 grew noisy again. Gary let out a deep sigh, pointed at Arthur, and spoke as if he had no choice.

"Remove that man from the chamber."

* * *

[ This is an Imperial broadcast. To our compatriots in Genson, and to all citizens of the Empire. ]

The radio carried news throughout the Empire.

[ Yesterday, two Aran schools on the outskirts of Genson were closed by the Bolska authorities. The reason given was "unapproved curriculum." For ninety years, those schools had taught Aran students in the Imperial language. ]

The real cause was a budget deficit. Schools that had naturally closed as the population declined were twisted into a story of persecution.

[ Last week, twenty-three Aran supervisors at Genson's mines were dismissed all at once. Their positions were filled by Bolskans sent down from the capital. ]

The real cause was a change in mine ownership. When a mine was sold, its new owner brought in their own people. An ordinary reshuffle that happened at mines all across the continent.

[ Aran-owned shops were ordered to display Bolska-language signs, and forty shops that failed to replace theirs by the deadline were suspended from operating... ]

The real cause was a nationwide sign ordinance that had been in effect for years. It applied not only to Aran shops but to shops throughout Bolska, and most of the forty locations had already been vacant storefronts.

[ Compatriots. The Empire has not forgotten you. The Empire remembers every tear you shed... ]

Such voices rang out over the radio, while news reached Bolska that tanks and other forces had been mobilized from Gennen to the border.

Before my regression, there really had been a mobilization.

This time, I left them where they were in Gennen.

I only spread rumors. There was no military movement.

"......Bolska has mobilized its forces."

I nodded.

Fooled by false propaganda, Bolska had stationed real soldiers at the border to stop tanks that did not exist.

"Now Bolska will be seen as having moved its troops first, preemptively."

Johann Georg sat across from me. He looked satisfied as well.

"We have gained our justification. They will appear to have persecuted Aran, then added a show of force on top of it."

Aran was ultimately a frame. It was also a nonexistent illusion. The concept of Aran existed nowhere. It was simply a label cut and used however people pleased.

Yet since it lay before me like a weapon, there was no reason not to use it.

"Even if they offer to cede Genson afterward..."

"We demand something greater?"

"Yes. That was also the Sovereign's command."

"Continue demanding what they cannot accept."

Before long, Bolska would be occupied by the Empire. Without spending blood or resources, the Empire's borders would expand bit by bit.

Johann Georg truly was like a sly old snake.

Having changed from a devil into a snake, was he the very embodiment of slander and intrigue in my eyes?

"You did well, Johann."

"It is an honor. Every day, I think how fortunate it is that I can be of use to you..."

Even so, he was still moved by a single word from me.

* * *

[ Persecution of Aran in Bolska... ]

[ We must save the Aran, for the Empire! For the Aran! ]

Leutern II read the headlines in several newspapers and let out a deep sigh.

"......The battlefield is calling for me."

At the Imperial Palace's annex, just as he felt as though fate itself was drawing him in.

"Duke Leutern!"

The door burst open and an attendant entered. It was rude to enter without knocking, but Leutern sprang to his feet instead.

"Leutern I...!"

It had come at last. Leutern hurried away.

He did not even listen to the attendant to the end. He simply rushed by car to the hospital.

"Daaad!"

The moment he burst into the room with a loud cry.

"......?"

His father was sitting up, smiling beside the doctor.

"What happened... Wait. Dad, are you dead?"

"No."

Leutern I shook his head and pointed beside him.

"Sit down."

Confused, his son dropped down beside the bed.

His father spoke.

"I received the new medicine."

"There was a new medicine?!"

His son asked in surprise.

His father gently nodded.

"From Knight Maximilian."

"......Max?"

"Yes."

His son blinked blankly for a moment, then asked again.

"......How?"

As though gathering his thoughts, his father quietly looked at his son.

"Sometimes, there are people who expect nothing and ask for nothing."

The nurse beside him added,

"That knight came often. He even changed the flowers in that vase."

Leutern II turned his gaze. A bright vase of flowers sat by the window.

Leutern I said,

"My son. You have a good friend."

"Uh... I mean, Max..."

Leutern II's lips merely moved soundlessly. His father continued.

"He said this."

His father looked into his son's eyes and repeated Maximilian's words.

"Leutern II is an academically outstanding person. He has the disposition of a scholar, better suited to building and leaving something behind than to destroying things."

Maximilian had never said anything like that, but they were probably words embellished and rewritten in Leutern I's mind while he had hovered at death's door.

"A battlefield consumes one person's life, but a lecture hall plants one person's life in the minds of thousands."

"......"

The longer his father spoke, the redder his son's eyes became.

"As long as he teaches for the Empire there, the Empire will continue into the next generation through him... Therefore, I believe that is the most valuable sweat Leutern II can shed for the Empire."

"......"

Bubble, bubble. The tear that had welled beneath his curly hair fell with a plop.

"My son."

His father took his son's hand.

"Make your mark from the lecture hall. Do what you can there. Leave the battlefield to the knights..."

He took something from the drawer beside the bed.

It was a book Leutern II had written.

A book his father had read so often that its cover was worn.

......Though Professor Ruben had written most of it.

"......"

Leutern II stared blankly at the cover.

"So Max said that."

He accepted the book with both hands.

"That idiot..."

He bowed his head deeply.

He did not want anyone to see the tears about to fall.

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