"The atmosphere is too heavy; the empire's situation is worse than we imagined..."
As Haidylin spoke, she looked at the capital city, which gave off an extremely rushed feeling, and said to Shara beside her, "This war has made the already divided situation even worse. The Duchy seems to have found our sore spot."
"..."
However, Shara did not respond. Instead, she glanced at her, sighed, and corrected her earnestly, "Indeed, you have hit the empire's weak spot."
"..."
"..."
Yes, it's the empire's sore spot, not that they've grasped [our] sore spot.
Strictly speaking, Shara and Hedylin belong to different factions and have different political affiliations, so it is inappropriate to use "we" to summarize them here.
It could even be argued that Shara and his faction, the Ira, were the root cause of the empire's instability.
"However, it's not entirely accurate to call it a 'pain point'."
Shara's words drew Hedylin's attention. Seeing the other woman's furrowed brow, he simply said, "Didn't Uncle Ira teach us that? Just like what the Duchy of Hazard did... if internal conflicts escalate..."
As if guiding her, Shara said this, but Hedy Lin only showed a puzzled expression... It seemed that Hedy Lin hadn't been paying attention during the lectures.
Maybe he's just spacing out...
"No wonder you were chasing after Uncle Ira so hard back then... Pfft."
Shara shook her head casually, thinking of Hedylin's bandaged body, and couldn't help but chuckle... For a governor, such a sneer was quite rare.
"Shala!"
"Alright, alright... If there are conflicts within the country, we can find an opportunity to promote righteousness and deep hatred, shift the conflict to a common enemy, and launching a war is the best option."
As Shara spoke, he looked around at the nobles who had been mobilized and were all preparing for war. He looked at the carriages shuttling back and forth and said, "How do you know whether war is a catalyst or... actually extends the fate of the empire somewhat?"
...
"You mean, a war waged with one nation against a common enemy is actually... for the Empire..."
Seeing the surprised and uncertain expression on Hedylin's face as she spoke, Shara remained casual and simply said, "I don't know, I'm just guessing... The key now is, who will be the [first person]?"
The first person... what does that mean?
"Don't you understand? I belong to Uncle Ira's side, but the structure on our side is far looser than you and your colleagues, or nobles and their colleagues, imagine... Therefore, there are far more people waiting for the first person to appear than the first person."
Even if Heidi was slow to understand, she should have grasped what Shara was saying. She stopped abruptly and lowered her voice as much as she could: "Defection?!"
Yes, defection.
Every member of the Iraqi faction was closely watching their surroundings, ready to flee with the first comrade to escape, and Shara was one of them... He would be the second (n) defector.
But why tell her? Wouldn't that embarrass her?!
“Defection… Ah, perhaps… But it’s also possible that it’s not about fleeing outwards, but about putting pressure on from within.”
Before Hedyll could figure it out, Shara said simply, "Most people know the truth, except for you, you idiot... We're waiting for the first person to make a choice."
Most people know this in their hearts... right?
"Who will be the first person? Why are you telling me this?"
Hedy Lin asked this question.
"The first person? Maybe Gurera? Maybe my second aunt... who knows?"
As Shara spoke, he looked at the magnificent south gate of the palace before him, and at the guards who had gone to deliver the message. He knew they might have to wait half an hour before being notified to go in and see the Queen. While waiting, he talked to Hedy Lin: "What will you choose then?"
There is absolutely no doubt about that.
"I couldn't make any other choice!"
Heidilin raised her voice a few decibels. There was absolutely no way she would flee with Ira's faction. She was directly under Her Majesty the Queen, and even if Ira wanted to harm Isabella one day, she would still stand on Her Majesty's side.
However, Shara never believed that Hedyline would betray the Empire.
"What I mean is, stop being stupid. Just pretend you know nothing and stay home, or find an excuse to leave the capital. It's an inevitable trend... you can't stop it."
"..."
"..."
Is it the inevitable trend...?
Hedy Lin had never before felt so aware of her complete ignorance of the situation. Just minutes before, she had naively believed that the situation in the Empire was still relatively clear.
That may indeed be the case, but it's not the bright picture she sees...
"Is it...that bad?"
Hedy Lin sighed silently...
"It is indeed bad for the empire itself, but it is not so bad for Your Highness and for me... The nobles will try to stop us, and they will be killed by us who have fled. In the end, it is you and Your Highness who will be the stronger side."
As Shara spoke, a very efficient guard announced that they should go inside. He and Hedylin walked towards the inner palace, and he said, "Actually, I don't need to say these things, because everyone knows them."
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