It went without saying that the Kingdom of Jinas was now in the same situation as the Queendom of Theresis, plagued by both internal unrest and external threats.
After the king had been assassinated, many nobles had been killed, and the entire royal capital had descended into chaos, the Royal Faction and the Duke Faction were still locked in a fierce struggle over the throne.
Under such circumstances, Jinas’s national situation had undoubtedly become extremely unstable.
With matters having reached such a state, the Kingdom of Reiburg, which had long coveted Jinas’s territory, had already begun showing signs of preparing for war. At the same time, the neighboring smaller nations were also beginning to stir.
If the succession dispute could not be resolved soon and a new king could not be chosen quickly, the future of Jinas would be in serious danger.
For that reason, if they wanted to put an end to the current turmoil, their first priority was to determine the rightful heir to the throne and crown a new king. Otherwise, this state of internal and external crisis would continue until Jinas was ultimately torn apart by the wolves surrounding it.
"We’ve reached the point where no one can stay out of this anymore."
Yuri spoke to Riezel with a solemn expression, her voice carrying a weight that made it clear she wasn’t speaking lightly.
"I heard the Royal Faction and the Duke Faction have both been trying to persuade the major neutral noble families to pick a side."
"The Borley family has remained neutral so far, but if they keep refusing to take a stand now, it’d be the same as ignoring the kingdom’s safety. They’re probably still watching the situation, but sooner or later they’ll choose someone to support."
"The same goes for my family. Even with you, Ms. Euryale, and Ms. Lilith here, we’ll still have to make a choice eventually."
"No matter what, I can’t just stand by and watch Jinas remain in chaos until it’s invaded by the surrounding countries."
As she spoke those final words, Yuri’s expression grew increasingly troubled.
A faint trace of hesitation and worry surfaced in her eyes, as though the burden of the inevitable decision already weighed heavily on her shoulders.
"Judging by the look on your face, you still haven’t decided who you’re gonna support, have you?"
Riezel immediately saw through Yuri’s concerns and pointed straight at the heart of the matter.
"More or less..."
Yuri replied with a quiet sigh, a hint of helplessness creeping into her voice.
"If this had happened before, I would’ve supported the Duke Faction because the Royal Faction was represented by Sorren Jinas."
"But now, the Royal Faction is represented by Crown Prince Reinhard and Seventh Prince Benedict."
"They’re not as capable as Sergius Cordelion, but the crown prince is gentle and courteous, while the seventh prince may be somewhat timid, but he’s steady and cautious."
"If either of them takes the throne, the kingdom should become more stable than it was under the previous king, and ordinary people would probably live better lives."
Yuri spoke honestly, sharing every thought that had been weighing on her mind with Riezel without holding anything back.
It was obvious that she had been struggling with this decision for quite some time, unable to determine which side she should ultimately support. Her conflicted expression alone was enough to reveal how heavily the matter weighed on her heart.
"It’s fine. Take your time thinking about it. There ain’t no rush."
Riezel, on the other hand, sounded as though the matter had nothing to do with him.
"No rush? Reiburg is practically on the verge of invading, and you call that no rush?" Yuri said irritably, glaring at him with obvious dissatisfaction. "Choosing the next king is the most urgent matter right now, so the sooner it’s settled, the better. And don’t think this has nothing to do with you. You have voting rights too!"
Her words caught Riezel completely off guard, leaving him momentarily stunned.
"Voting rights? Me?"
Riezel pointed at himself in surprise, unable to hide the disbelief in his voice.
"That’s right."
Yuri nodded without the slightest hesitation, as though there was nothing unusual about what she had just said.
"According to the kingdom’s laws, if the first-in-line heir to the throne hasn’t been determined and the king either dies unexpectedly or is forced to abdicate, then the next king must be chosen through an election."
"Every heir with succession rights was eligible to participate. In other words, it wasn’t just Sergius, the crown prince, and the seventh prince—the other members of the royal family, along with the descendants of the ducal families who possessed succession rights, were all qualified to run as well."
"After that comes forming alliances. Every candidate has to win over nobles and powerful individuals because both groups have voting rights."
"Of course, not every noble or powerful individual gets to vote. Only a select portion of them do."
"For example, among the nobility, only the duke families, marquis families, and count families have voting rights. Minor noble families like viscount families and baron families don’t."
"As for powerful individuals, that refers to the Sword Saints and Strategic-Class Magicians, who serve as the pillars of the kingdom."
According to Yuri, not everyone’s vote carried the same weight, as it was determined primarily by their influence and strength.
For example, the Frenzel family was not only a marquis family, but its head was also a Strategic-Class Magician.
As a result, they possessed a maximum of ten votes.
Likewise, because the Borley family was also a marquis family and its head was also a Sword Saint, they also possessed ten votes.
Meanwhile, the remaining nobles and powerful individuals possessed anywhere from one to ten votes according to the same standards.
"And you aren’t a member of our family. You’re a Sword Saint in your own right, and you even have two Sword Saint-level attendants under your command. You’ll definitely be treated as an independent force."
"You’ll probably receive the maximum of ten votes as well."
"No one’s approached you yet because they probably haven’t figured out how to win over a force as powerful as yours."
"But once they do, someone will definitely come asking you to pick a side."
Yuri also mentioned that, because of the election, the Guardian Sword Saint, who was guarding the border, and the Meteor Sword Saint, who had been wandering abroad, would both be recalled to the royal capital.
Jinas’s other Strategic-Class Magician would also arrive in Yeluvia within the next few days.
Likewise, the dukes, marquises, and counts from all across the kingdom would also be summoned to the royal capital to participate in the election.
When that happened, every major noble, Sword Saint, and Strategic-Class Magician in Jinas would gather in one place.
"Oh, and by the way, Grandmaster Nibald, whom you met in Mavros Territory, will be coming too. He’s not a Strategic-Class Magician, but he’s a unique magician whose abilities rival those of a Sword Saint, so he also has voting rights."
"And there’s also Academy Director Ferras Lacremis of Spriller Academy. As one of the godfather-like figures of the magic world, he may even have greater voting power than Grandmaster Nibald."
"Considering all that, the royal capital is going to become very lively, so don’t think this gloomy atmosphere is going to last forever."
"Once the powerful figures and nobles from all over the kingdom start arriving, this country will surely come back to life."
Yuri’s words entered Riezel’s ears one sentence after another.
"So, all the kingdom’s nobles and powerful people are coming?" Riezel immediately became interested. "Now that’s kinda interesting."
He wasn’t particularly interested in who would ultimately become king.
However, he was quite interested in Jinas’s strongest individuals, as they were the people who truly stood at the nation’s peak.
For example, he had never met Jinas’s other Strategic-Class Magician and only knew that such a person existed, having heard of them through scattered bits of information.
Likewise, he was curious about the Meteor Sword Saint, who had earned the title of Sword Saint before he had, making them one of the few renowned figures who had reached that realm ahead of him.
"Looks like you’re not planning to ignore this election after all."
Yuri, who understood Riezel’s personality fairly well, smiled the moment she noticed the interest on his face.
"I guess not," Riezel said with a shrug, not denying it. "I mainly wanna see what the people at the top of this kingdom are like."
"In that case, if you had to choose, who would you support?" Yuri looked at Riezel and asked curiously. "Sergius Cordelion? The crown prince? Or the seventh prince?"
"Me?" Riezel raised an eyebrow. "Nah, I don’t wanna support any of them right now."
It was only natural, considering that of the three leading candidates Yuri had mentioned, he wasn’t familiar with any of them.
Needless to mention the crown prince or the seventh prince—he had never even met either of them, let alone learned anything about their character or abilities.
As for Sergius, Riezel had met him once before, but the two of them had never actually spoken properly, so they could hardly be considered acquainted.
Needless to say, he didn’t know any of the three leading candidates, so how could he possibly choose to support one of them?
With no understanding of who they truly were, making such a decision would have been meaningless.
"I’ll just wait and see. If someone catches my eye, I’ll vote for them. If not, I’ll just abstain."
Riezel spoke with complete indifference.
"...Only you could be this carefree."
Yuri could only smile helplessly, unsure whether she envied him or not.
Beside them, Lilith, Marilyn, Ain, and Ian quietly listened without saying a word.
In the end, Riezel and Yuri chatted casually for a little while longer before Riezel stood up to say goodbye, deciding not to disturb Yuri and the others while they handled their family’s affairs.
Right afterward, Riezel went to visit Mediste and Isaac, whom he had not seen for quite some time.
Yuri’s younger brother and younger sister had been living very fulfilling lives lately.
Influenced by Riezel, the two of them had been learning swordsmanship from Ain and Ian for quite some time, and they had already made noticeable progress.
As soon as they saw Riezel, both children were overjoyed.
Isaac, the younger of the two, even clung to him and begged him to teach him swordsmanship. It was only after Mediste smacked him to the ground that he finally gave up.
Riezel only spent a short while with them before waving goodbye.
Unlike before, the two of them were no longer wasting their days away. They were working hard to improve their swordsmanship and living fulfilling lives, so Riezel did not want to interrupt them.
Next, Riezel met with the Frenzel family’s steward and learned about the situation of some former
Naturally, those so-called referred to Archie, Carrera, and the others.
Ever since Riezel had become a Sword Saint and earned fame throughout the Akasha Continent with a single battle, Archie had apparently been trying every possible way to contact him in hopes of rebuilding their relationship.
However, because Riezel had never paid him any attention and had always left the butler to handle everything, Archie’s dream of using Riezel’s influence to secure the position of family heir had completely fallen apart.
According to the butler, after Archie’s father confirmed that Riezel no longer wished to associate with Archie, he gave up on the idea entirely and passed the position of family head to Archie’s elder brother.
As for Archie himself, after losing any chance of inheriting the family, he was reportedly assigned to the frontier as a local civil official in a remote region. Meanwhile, his two followers were sent there with him, and they would likely return to the royal capital only rarely in the future.
All of that had happened before the chaos broke out in the royal capital.
In other words, although the three of them had been sent to the frontier, they had fortunately escaped the disaster and avoided being caught up in the turmoil. Ironically, Archie’s elder brother, who had become the family head, had apparently met an unfortunate end.
It truly showed that fortune and misfortune often went hand in hand.
As for Carrera and Sylvanie, both of whom had served as Serena’s followers and whose families were vassals of the Cordelion family, there had been no escaping this disaster, and they had inevitably been caught up in the chaos.
According to the information gathered by the butler, the Elliott family, to which Carrera belonged, had suffered a devastating blow.
Carrera’s father, the current Count Elliott, had died during the turmoil, and the family had sustained catastrophic losses. Members of the direct bloodline had either been killed or seriously injured. Even Carrera herself had suffered severe injuries and had nearly lost her life.
Sylvanie had also been seriously wounded, and many members of her family had perished.
At present, the Cordelion family was using its influence to support both families, barely managing to preserve them from complete destruction.
It went without saying that their lives would likely become much more difficult from now on. With their families having suffered such heavy losses, even if they managed to recover, it would probably take a tremendous amount of effort before they could return to their former strength.
After learning everything from the steward, Riezel could not help but sigh.
Clearly, the events had not affected him very deeply, but for everyone else, the turmoil had been absolutely devastating.
It truly felt as though the sky had fallen.
If there was anyone who had not only suffered no losses but had actually benefited from this chaos, it was undoubtedly Riezel.
Not only had he defeated Sorren and finally avenged a long-standing grudge, but he had also forced the mysterious organization known as the Holy Temple to expose itself. On top of that, he had captured two people from the Hidden Land, obtaining the intelligence he had wanted for so long.
As a result, Riezel was probably the only person who had truly profited from this turmoil.
"Oh, right... where are those two now?"
As they walked through one of the corridors of the Frenzel residence, Riezel suddenly asked Lilith, who was walking beside him.
Hearing the question, Lilith answered honestly.
"Following your instructions, they’ve been imprisoned in the basement of this manor," Lilith reported. "As for the maid you mentioned, she’s already been brought out of the royal palace. Ms. Yuri hasn’t decided what to do with her yet."
"Just leave that little maid with Lizbeth," Riezel said, shaking his head. "She doesn’t wanna stay in the royal palace anymore and just wants to stay by Lizbeth’s side. But we won’t gonna be in the royal capital forever. We’ll be leaving sooner or later, and it wouldn’t make sense to bring her with us."
Riezel’s next destination was undoubtedly Theresis, because only by going there could he enter the Hidden Land.
At the moment, he was simply waiting for the summoned creature he had sent ahead to reach Theresis and provide him with a teleportation coordinate. Once the coordinate had been confirmed, he would leave immediately, travel to Theresis, locate the teleportation magic circle leading to the Hidden Land, and enter it.
As for before that...
"Before that, I’ll just watch this fight for the throne and see how it all plays out."
Riezel chuckled softly, completely unaware that behind him, Lilith’s eyes were quietly flickering with a dangerous glint.
Lilith thought coldly, her unwavering conviction leaving no room for even the slightest doubt.
Unfortunately, Riezel knew nothing about the thoughts quietly running through her mind.
Otherwise, he might have experienced what it felt like to be forcibly pushed onto the throne against his will, just as Ainz himself had once been.