Chapter 173 (1) |
'I knew they would eventually sell.'
If the empire were to collapse, the bonds they held would become worthless.
'They must have been thinking of saving even a little money. But if they had known the power of the empire, they wouldn't have sold like that.'
"During this time, there was a reason why we didn't properly counterattack and kept retreating the imperial army."
Rockefeller, who had been quiet, spoke up, drawing everyone's attention.
"What do you mean? There was a reason?"
"Do you think we only retreated without a reason?"
"Of course there must have been a reason, but can't you see the current situation? The orcs have advanced all the way to the vicinity of the Imperial Palace. They have already taken all the advantageous positions, and it will take quite some time to drive them out. And we will have to pay a considerable sacrifice as well."
At that, Rockefeller shook his head.
As Rockefeller confidently declared, the nobles stirred and asked for the reason.
"Why are you so sure?"
Now that the goblins had thrown their bonds,
Rockefeller had nothing more to hide.
"It's because of the orcs' southern advance. It was planned from the beginning by me. So, I can take care of sending them back myself."
Upon hearing this, the nobles stirred even more.
One of them looked at the silent emperor and asked,
"Your Majesty, did you know about this story as well?"
As the nobles' gaze turned towards the emperor, he silently nodded his head.
Rockefeller's voice then reached them.
"Before executing this matter, I asked for permission from His Majesty first. So, of course, His Majesty knows."
The nobles questioned with an incomprehensible expression.
"Then why didn't we know about this until now?"
"Did you not tell anything to Tepez or Sinclair? They have been loyal to the empire for a long time. You should have informed those two families without fail."
To their questions, Rockefeller replied,
"I wanted this matter to be kept secret at all costs. That's why I didn't tell anyone except His Majesty."
The murmurs of the nobles didn't stop.
Then, one noble stepped forward and asked what I had been curious about.
"Of course, you must have had your own thoughts to do so, but was there a need to go that far?"
"Yes, there was a need."
"What exactly was the reason you kept it so secret?"
"It was to solve the issue of the bonds issued by the empire for this Gold Vein War."
"Bonds?"
The nobles were not unaware of the fact that the royal family had issued bonds to make up for the lack of finances.
"Didn't the Goblin Bank buy all the bonds?"
"That's right. They bought all the bonds and we pretended to lose to the orcs until now to buy back the bonds at a low price. That way, the goblins would sell the bonds cheaply, wouldn't they?"
At Rockefeller's words, the nobles finally began to show signs of acceptance.
There had been a reason why the imperial army had not fought properly and retreated all the way to the Imperial Palace.
"We didn't know anything. We've been misunderstanding you and feeling very sorry."
"No wonder. They retreated without fighting."
"Hahaha! The goblin fellows must have learned a big lesson this time."
"So when are we going to counterattack?"
When the topic of counterattack came up, Rockefeller smiled lightly.
"Why counterattack? If the enemy retreats on their own, there's no need to counterattack."
"No need to counterattack? Then what were you talking about earlier? Did you really plan the entire southern advance of the orcs, Rockefeller?"
"Yes, but I didn't plan everything."
In case the story went wrong here.
Rockefeller decided to avoid the issue to avoid problems later.
'In such cases, it's best to talk ambiguously.'
"Originally, there was a misunderstanding, and I've been dragging it along without resolving it."
The murmuring nobles raised their doubts.
"What exactly was the misunderstanding?"
“Simply put, the reason the orcs headed south this time is because their totem was destroyed by someone. And since the location was near the border of the Empire, the orcs assumed that it was done by the Empire's people and declared war on us. However, it wasn't our people who destroyed the totem.”
At these words, the nobles were surprised once again.
“Then who was it?”
“Who else could it be? Who would be happy if we were in trouble?”
Indeed, who could it be?
The restless nobles were able to identify the culprit without much difficulty.
“Don't tell me... the dwarves? The dwarves did such a despicable thing?”
Rockefeller smiled as he got the answer he wanted.
‘Honestly, who knows? The truth is unknown to anyone. Just like how the previous totem war started.’
“Yes, the dwarves did such a disgusting act and kept it a secret until now. After all, if the Empire's forces are dispersed or weakened, it naturally benefits them in capturing Montefeltro territory.”
The nobles gathered at the scene scowled and began to curse the dwarves.
“Despicable dwarf bastards. We knew they were cunning, living like rats underground, but we didn't expect them to be this disgusting.”
“They really don't care about anything in front of gold.”
“Can you believe that they were once related to the elves? I thought that dwarves, at least, had some conscience, but they're no different from the endlessly disgusting goblins in front of gold.”
Rockefeller spoke again to the nobles.
“Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, the orcs will soon turn their spears to the dwarves. Why would they bother advancing to the Imperial Palace when they have no ill will towards us?”
The orcs' declaration of war and invasion were all because of the destruction of their totem.
However, if it becomes clear that the culprit was not a human but a dwarf, the orcs would reflexively turn their spears to the dwarves.
