Emperor Carol of the Holy Empire
A powerful monarch who ruled over the largest territory on the continent, rivaled only by the Tarkic Empire, a formidable nation in the east.
Despite his position as the emperor of the continent’s strongest empire, both in name and reality, Emperor Carol, in his mid-twenties, was young and brimming with ambition. His ultimate goal was to achieve the great feat of continental unification, something no one had ever accomplished before.
To this end, immediately after ascending to the throne, he personally ventured onto numerous battlefields, earning countless martial accolades.
However, his relentless pursuit of power now faced a significant crisis.
The vast territory of the Holy Empire, while impressive, also meant that there were many regions to defend.
The number of countries bordering the Empire was so great that they could not be counted on one hand, and among them were several nations with considerable power.
The Kingdom of Frank, which separated the empire’s territory from the center, possessed formidable national strength based on the most fertile land on the continent, even though its territory was smaller than that of the empire.
The Kalmar Alliance in the north, the headquarters of mages, was another traditional powerhouse, small but incredibly strong.
Unlike these nations, which shared a certain level of communication with the Central Church, the eastern enemies of the empire posed a real-time threat.The Dragona Empire, an emerging power that had rapidly risen over the past 80 years, had even claimed the title of an empire. It was a nation founded on the ideology of being a haven for witches, sorcerers, and demons, who had been rejected by the Church.
Above all, the current Dragona Empress was a witch of immense power, and her husband was a demon, not an ordinary human, leading to a deep-seated grudge against the Church.
Inevitably, this put the Dragona Empire on a collision course with the Holy Empire, the representative of the Church’s forces. Although they were not yet in direct conflict with the Holy Empire, it was already clear who the next target would be once the situation with Hangury was resolved.
Moreover, behind the Dragona Empire stood an even more formidable enemy—the traditional power of the Tarkic Empire, whose national strength rivaled that of the Holy Empire.
This was a dangerous and powerful nation, often seen as the Holy Empire’s primary adversary.
The current ruler, Padishah Shreman, was regarded as the most competent leader in the Tarkic Empire’s history. He actively supported the Dragona Empire to check the Holy Empire and Hangury.
During this time, Shreman was gradually neutralizing the threat posed by Bennett, a maritime powerhouse that had long safeguarded the continent’s seas.
There were even reports that, despite religious differences, he had secretly allied with the Frank Kingdom, which was under pressure from the Holy Empire.
This indicated that a full-scale war might begin as soon as the preliminary arrangements were completed.
“It’s comforting that Hangury’s national power is recovering… but this is probably just a temporary reprieve. It’s unreasonable to expect Hangury to contend with both the Dragona Empire and the Tarkic Empire.”
In such a situation, where he possessed significant power but faced dangerous enemies on all fronts, Emperor Carol needed a new strategy to overcome this predicament.
“In that respect, even though I don’t favor the woman’s recommendation… it’s definitely something worth considering.”
Until now, the emperor had attempted to solve these problems through war, diplomacy, and politics, inevitably consuming vast amounts of resources in the process.
The associated costs amounted to hundreds of thousands of talets each year, an expense that the emperor could no longer sustain, even with the enormous tax revenues at his disposal.
In the end, to proceed somehow, additional funds were needed, and as a result, the emperor was forced to seek assistance from the Uranus Merchant Company, the most prestigious merchant guild of the Holy Empire.
The emperor secured an enormous loan amounting to millions of talets from the Uranus Merchant Company, which allowed him to avert an immediate crisis.
This financial aid was instrumental in preventing the worst-case scenario, where the Frank Kingdom might have allied with the Tarkic Empire.
Thus, while the emperor’s powerful army and his exceptional political acumen had been unable to address the situation alone, it was resolved with the help of a merchant he had previously underestimated.
Although this incident elevated the prestige of Uranus and its leader, Bertina, who wielded significant influence within the empire, the emperor, preoccupied with external enemies, had no capacity to engage in internal matters.
However, this incident led the emperor to recognize that money and the power of merchants were far greater than he had previously acknowledged. Consequently, he slightly revised his views on merchants.
‘I’ve been too careless about the power of money until now… To win, one must consider numbers in more diverse ways. Perhaps this incident could be the catalyst for change…’
The reason the emperor accepted Bertina’s request this time wasn’t merely because he had borrowed money from her.
The person in question himself was recognized as the continent’s best merchant and regarded as the savior of the Kingdom of Hangury, as well as the Holy Empire’s most crucial ally.
The Colossus of Schwyz, Bahamut Fernandez, had such a brilliant reputation that the emperor allowed the meeting with Bertina, largely due to his impressive background.
‘Merchants were once considered lowly, dependent only on money… but that person might be a little different. I’m eager to see what kind of person he will be.’
This wasn’t simply because of the large sum borrowed from Bertina; even the emperor could not ignore her influence.
Never…
***
Vienna, the capital of the Holy Empire.
As he surveyed the scenery of the city he hadn’t visited in a long time, Bahamut felt a mixture of anticipation and anxiety.
‘At last I’m about to meet Carol, the emperor of the Holy Empire… He was a significant figure in the original work, so I know what kind of person he is, but I can’t let my guard down.’
Of course, the current event hadn’t been mentioned in the original novel, and it was highly likely that it hadn’t happened in reality. Bahamut was uncertain about how things would unfold, especially after the Eastern trade incident in Benessa.
The only things he could rely on were Bertina, the organizer, the character of Emperor Carol as he knew him, and the occasional flashes of good ideas that crossed his mind.
‘I lack information, especially compared to the disaster that will happen in the future… But I’ll face it head-on. He’s someone I was bound to meet eventually anyway…’
With these thoughts, Bahamut slowly stopped the carriage and began to disembark. As he did, the woman he was pleased to see appeared before him.
“How are you, My Lady”
“You!”
***
The two entered the bedroom inside the mansion.
After confirming that there were no more obstacles around them, she joyfully embraced Bahamut, her body full of delight.
Bertina Minerva’s voluptuous figure and sweet scent immediately overwhelmed Bahamut’s senses.
“I missed you… really…”
“I, too, always wondered if My Lady was doing well. So, shall we enjoy the next story for the first time in a while? It’s quite late, so…”
“Yes, that sounds good… really.”
Bertina blushed slightly at Bahamut’s words. The two of them then slowly lay down on the bed to spend some time together.
It had become as natural as saying hello.
It felt as though they were the only two people left in the world…such familiar yet intense moments.
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