(What in the world are they going to say ... criticizing me?　(Or....)
A heartbeat that beats like an early bell. Anxiety and a hint of hope disturbed Lupis's heart.
　Right now, the two people under Lupis's command who understand politics the most are the Earl of Bergston and his brother-in-law. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this as well. In the beginning, when Lupis sat on the throne, the Earl of Bergston was the one in charge of carrying out the reforms and showing his skills to the fullest. It was a time when everyone had dreams and hopes for the future.
　But the honeymoon was not long in coming.
　Whereas Bergston had proposed the invocation of decisive force to advance stagnant domestic reforms, Lupis had refused to do so.　From that moment on, there must have been an invisible rift between the two sides.
　And the rift became decisive when Lupis and Count Bergston had a disagreement on the issue of reinforcements to the Kingdom of Zaruda. To be more precise, this was the result of trying to protect Mikhail from the cold gaze of those around him for forcing his righteous opinion on others without regard for his own faults, but that was the root of the problem between Lupis and Earl Bergston.
　In the end, it was Lupis' decision to send Mikoshiba Ryoma and Elena to Zaruda as reinforcements. There was no other option left for her.
　And since then, Count Bergston, although attending meetings, no longer actively formulated policy, and his brother-in-law, Count Zeref, also disappeared from the capital.
　The result is the current political turmoil.
　A man who is loyal but lacks political ability. People who have the ability but not the loyalty. And people who have problems with both.
　To use a chess analogy, the queen and the knight have disappeared and only the pawns are left in line.
　Just as a chess pawn can become the strongest pawn, the queen, by the rule of polo-motion if it advances to the recesses of the enemy's line, so too can a person's weakest pawn become the strongest queen, depending on how he or she is used.
(But I don't have the talent, skill, or experience to use them as well as Count Bergston does...)
　After all, it all depends on the skill of the player who is playing the game.
(If it were true, the best thing to do would be to apologize to the Earl of Bergston and ask for his help, but that's impossible.
　Lupis himself also feels guilty about his decision. Even though I understand that there was no other way.
　However, the current position of Lupis cannot simply admit his mistakes.
　In the first place, the king is the highest position in the country. No matter what the reality is, he is seen as an absolute by those around him. If a person in such a position apologizes easily, the weight of the ding will be called into question.
　It's not only that, but there are a lot of people questioning Lupis's competence as a politician, as he has no solid track record.
　And more than anything else, Lupis is afraid that by admitting her mistakes, the blame will be pointed at Mikhail Bannasch.
　For Lupis, he is the most trusted aide and confidant, along with Mertina. That hasn't changed even now that the people around her are looking at him with blank stares.
　Lupis himself fully understands that when considering the future of the country, it is logical to discard Mikhail.
　But even the king is not able to abandon all of his personal feelings.
　You're not going to be able to get a good deal more than just a few minutes of your time. At this moment, the Earl of Bergston, who had been silent until now, suddenly asked for permission to speak. It's inevitable that she would be unconsciously defensive.
　However, she couldn't show it here.

'Yes, fine, I don't mind. You're excused to speak, Earl Bergston.

'Thank you, Your Majesty. Your Majesty.

　Hearing Lupis' faint whimpering voice, the Earl of Bergston slowly stood up from his chair. Then he bowed to Lupis and looked around his desk and took a deep breath.

''As I'm sure His Majesty and everyone else understands, our country has several major problems at the moment.

　A loud voice that echoes throughout the room.
　It's not intimidating, it's calm, yet every word reaches your ears clearly.
　It's a man's voice, backed by overwhelming confidence and conviction.

'Basically every problem should be resolved as soon as possible, but if there's one problem that's particularly high priority, it's Oltmere's invasion of Zaruda.

　Everyone around the round table nodded in silence at those words.
　Because everyone in this room is desperately trying to rebuild their country for that time to come.　　

''The invasion of Zaruda by the Oltmere Empire that broke out last year has calmed down for now because of the alliance between our three eastern nations and Ernest Gura. However, no one thinks that this is the end of everything. For now, we hear that negotiations are continuing between Zaruda and Oltmere, but it's unlikely that this will ever come together. At some point, Oltomere will turn its forces to Zaruda again for some reason.

　This time, there is an outcry of approval from all over.

Then Oltmere will surely try to break up the partnership between the three eastern countries. What is most likely in this case? What is more likely than the war in Zaruda that our Roserian Kingdom will have to tear apart its national power?

　A small murmur escaped from someone's mouth at the Earl of Bergston's question.

''The Southern Kingdoms........''

　The air in the room froze in an instant.
　If there is even the slightest bit of intelligence that can think things through, it is a logic that even a child can understand that the Oltmere Empire, the champion of the central part of the western continent, would not back down quietly like this. If the Oltmere Empire, which has held other countries under its control by force, loses the battle against the national power of Zaruda, then the discontented groups within the empire, who are quietly looking for opportunities, will begin to act en masse.
　If that's the case, the next invasion of Zaruda will be a battle that Oltmere can't afford to lose. It's not hard to imagine that they will use a winning strategy.
　The most likely strategy that Oltmere will choose at this time is to take the bait against one of the southern kingdoms and open up a war against Roselia and Mist.
　In the first place, these ceasefire negotiations were prompted by the fact that the Mikoshiba Ryoumya attacked Fort Notis, a logistics base, and nearly isolated Oltmere's invading army within Zaruda, and at the same time, the rulers of the northern part of the Western Continent, the Emperor of Ernesgura and the Eastern Kingdoms of Zaruda, Roseria, and the Mist, were attempting to coordinate their efforts against the Empire, and the two countries were trying to negotiate a ceasefire. That's all there is to it. No matter how big they are, it is difficult to gain victory by force against the four countries.
　If this is the case, the next thing that Oltmehr will think about is how to separate these four countries from each other.
　When that happens, the easiest way would be to increase your own allies and divide your opponent.
　And the easiest way for the Oltmere Empire to bring in allies is a group of small countries in the southern part of the continent that are engaged in a bloody war.　The southern countries are small in size and not very powerful, but their soldiers are famous for their exceptional skills. In fact, the Roselia Kingdom has crossed paths with the southern countries on numerous occasions in the past, causing no small amount of damage.
　Since there is a large difference in national power, the country will not be lost, but even so, it will not be possible to afford to send reinforcements to Zaruda.
It's not just a matter of time before the country is stable and united under the king's leadership. In that sense, it's better to keep Lupis as a palanquin and have General Arleberg in power, or to have Duke Gerhardt running the country as prime minister in a straightforward manner.
　Count Bergston gave a small snort at the irony that involuntarily flashed through his brain.
　The now deceased General Hodram Arleberg and the former Duke Gerhardt were indeed troubled people.
　Both were arrogant, self-righteous, men who would do nothing for their own glory, ambitious people who tried to control this Roserian state by using the king as a puppet.
　If you evaluate them as a human being, they are undoubtedly a low-class species. That's why I even fought to remove them both from the national government and return real power to the hands of the royal family.
　But what would be the result?
　The Kingdom of Roselia is now a flock of sheep without a shepherd.
(But we'll have to do something about that and this should change everything.)
　The room was silent. Everyone waited for the Count of Bergston's next words.
　With the gaze of the place all around him, the Earl of Bergston pulls out his final trump card from the bag at his feet. For that he had been silent for many months.
　But the goddess of fate once again betrayed Bergston's thoughts.

''Now then...''

　Just as the Earl of Bergston was about to take a deep breath and continue his words, the door to the room was violently slammed wildly.