Otto Gladstone was sitting on the throne, trying to straighten his back, attempting to maintain the last vestiges of his dignity as an Elector.
He had already changed out of his military attire and into a relatively plain set of noble's casual clothes, but even that could not hide the air of defeat about him.
On the table before him were two wine glasses and an opened bottle of red wine.
Seeing Lacey and Serafina walk in, a complex emotion flashed in Otto's eyes. He did not rise, merely making a gesture to 'please' sit in the chairs opposite him.
Lacey sat down calmly, while Serafina chose to stand behind him, her eyes vigilantly scanning their surroundings.
Otto poured two glasses of wine for himself, pushing one of them toward Lacey.
"Have a taste. A fine vintage from Siracusa."
"Thinking back now, all I've pursued these years amounts to little more than things like this."
Lacey did not touch the glass, merely watching him in silence.
Otto gave a self-deprecating laugh and downed his own glass in one go.
"I have to admit, you are strong. Stronger than I could have ever imagined."
"But, I do not accept this!"
"Oh?" Lacey finally spoke.
Otto slammed the glass down on the table, raised his head, and stared directly into Lacey's eyes. "You won only because you were lucky."
"If it weren't for that bastard Casto stabbing me in the back in Kazdel, causing me to lose eighty percent of my elite forces!"
"If it weren't for me dispatching the Tower's last guards to suppress the rioting mob!"
"The one standing here today would not be you!"
After speaking, he tried to find a look of triumph or agreement on Lacey's face, but he was disappointed. Lacey's expression remained as calm as still water.
"You were just lucky!" Otto's voice suddenly rose, as if trying to convince himself.
However, Lacey just smiled.
"Luck?"
He shook his head. "Otto Gladstone, do you still not understand why you lost?"
"What do you mean?" Otto frowned.
"Did you think that the opportunity in the Wasser Fief was my only option?" Lacey said slowly.
"My success was no accident. And your failure was even less of one."
"Your expedition to Kazdel was a foolish move from the start. Did you think the Dukes of Victoria would genuinely help you?"
"They only wanted to use you to wear down the Sarkaz's strength, and while they were at it, weaken you, an Elector of Leithanien."
"Win or lose, you were the loser. Your defeat was sealed long ago."
"As for you sending troops to suppress the strikes within your fief, that was entirely within my expectations."
Lacey paced to a floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the red flag fluttering on the plain.
"A lord who has just suffered a crushing defeat on the front lines, desperate to save face and maintain his authority... when faced with an internal challenge, you had no choice but bloody suppression."
"The more brutal you were, the more the people of the Wasser Fief would turn to me."
"It was you who personally pushed them to my side."
"You sent out your suppression forces, emptying the Tower's defenses and creating the perfect conditions for my attack."
"So, there is no such thing as luck. All of this is your own doing, a result of the path you walked step by step to arrive at today's conclusion."
Otto sat stunned on his throne, the color completely drained from his face.
But still with some indignation, he asked, "I'm very curious... if I hadn't gone on the expedition to Kazdel, if my army had remained stationed in the Wasser Fief intact, what would you have done then?"
"You can't possibly say that was part of your plan too, can you?"
"I've told you, my success was no accident."
Lacey revealed his original plan: "Even without the foolish things you, Otto, have done, I would have achieved my goal all the same."
"The Schtong Grand Region of the Hochberg family," Lacey stated.
"Schtong Fief?" Otto uttered the name in disbelief.
Lacey nodded. "The previous Hochberg Elector and his eldest son died in the September Uprising. The one who has now inherited the title is his second son, Wolner von Hochberg."
"He is a young, inexperienced, and newly established lord whose position is not yet secure. His succession process was undoubtedly filled with internal power struggles and instability."
"Furthermore, the Schtong Fief's mineral resources and industrial base are just as strong, and the degree of oppression its people suffer is no less than here."
"'My Struggle' has a broad readership there as well. Taking the Schtong Fief would not have been much more difficult than taking today's Wasser Fief."
These words from Lacey completely shattered the last shred of wishful thinking in Otto's heart.
He finally understood that Lacey's success was not based on luck at all.
He himself was just unlucky; he was never part of the original plan, but was chosen as the priority target simply because a vulnerability presented itself.
Even if he had not fallen here today, tomorrow it might have been Hochberg, or some other Elector.
His opponent's gaze had been fixed on the Elector class of Leithanien from the very beginning.
His loss was not unjust.
Otto was silent for a long time.
Serafina could clearly sense the intense emotions in his heart—anger, indignation, despair—slowly fading away, until all that remained was a deathly gray desolation.
"I've lost," Otto said, his voice calm.
He looked up at Lacey again and said, "I have one request."
"Speak."
"After I am dead, please do not make things difficult for my family."
"Most of them are just parasites clinging to the Gladstone name. They pose no threat to you."
"In exchange, I will write a letter ordering them to swear fealty to you."
"Agreed," Lacey nodded.
"Thank you." Otto seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
He fell silent for a moment, then a flame of hatred suddenly ignited in his eyes.
"The one I hate most right now is not you, nor those damned Sarkaz."
"It is Casto! That treacherous Victorian mongrel!" he said, grinding out each word through clenched teeth.
"I hope that one day in the future, you will send that despicable coward to hell!"
"I cannot promise you that," Lacey shook his head.
"In my current position, even if I become an Elector, I cannot contend head-on with a powerful Duke of Victoria," Lacey stated honestly.
"I cannot promise you anything."
He was not lying. In terms of military strength, an Elector of Leithanien was no match for a Victorian Duke.
Hearing this answer, Otto was not disappointed. Instead, he let out a low laugh.
The laughter grew louder, eventually turning into a maniacal roar.
"Haha... Hahahaha!"
He laughed until tears streamed from his eyes.
"Well said! Brilliantly said!"
He stopped laughing and looked at Lacey with an unprecedented clarity in his eyes. "Lacey, I have misjudged many people in my life, and I have put my trust in many of the wrong people."
"But this time, I am certain I am not mistaken!"
"You are different from us. You will never stop at the position of an Elector."
"The throne of Leithanien... one day, it will be yours."
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