Editing Tytania:Volume 3 Chapter 5 (section)

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From February to March SY&nbsp;447, Uraniborg, the stronghold of the Tytania Clan, became the epicentre of rumours that lacked all restraint. Ariabert’s resignation sent ripples far and wide; as time passed from the initial report, mid-level officers drifted through the flood of gossip amongst themselves, and soldiers did the same amongst their own ranks.

''“It felt as though the mere fact that Lord Ariabert had resigned his post as Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force caused all the accumulated rot the Tytania had gathered over centuries to erupt at once. In other words, the ''Pax Tytaniana'' had already reached a breaking point, and Lord Ariabert’s resignation was the final straw that broke the camel’s back.”''

That was a retrospective judgement, but for the time being, countless mouths and ears within Uraniborg were in extremely active motion.

“If Lord Ariabert intends to refuse even attendance at the Council of the Five Families, then there is no point in him holding the title of duke in the first place. Should he not first relinquish his dukedom?”

“That may be so, but if he does, a new issue regarding the succession of a ducal house will arise. Lord Ariabert is unmarried and has no children.”

“Lord Ariabert should be summoned from Bargash so that His Clanner Highness may conduct the inquiry personally. Of course, interstellar flight will be impossible until his injuries have fully healed.”

“Even so, unless a successor commander is decided upon, millions of soldiers and officers will be left abandoned on the frontier.”

“In the first place, now that it has come to this, what purpose is there in maintaining an expeditionary force of three million stationed in Bargash? Would it not be better to withdraw?”

“But the people of Bargash would be the ones clapping their hands in joy. They might well spread propaganda claiming they forced Tytania to retreat…”

And so, in the end, the eyes of everyone, both inside and outside Uraniborg, converged upon a single point. Lowering their voices even further, and wary of the ears of third parties, people posed the question only to those they trusted most intimately.

“What, in truth, is His Clanner Highness himself thinking?”

Clanner Ajman maintained an official silence and through that wordlessness, cast a sense of oppression over all of Uraniborg. People gazed upon the Clanner’s heavy silence through the lenses of their own intuition, reason, and self-interest, enduring a chilling dread.

To an outsider, Tytania appeared to be a solid crystal centred around the Clanner, yet it was also a human collective. Even within political parties or religious organisations, which were supposedly brainwashed by a single ideology or dogma, internal conflicts and struggles arose. These were, perhaps, only as mild as the gossip amongst lower-ranking members.

“Even so, tragedies have been following one after another since around last year. Duke Zarlisch met a violent death, and now Duke Ariabert has resigned due to his injuries.”

“Who will it be this time?”

Some spoke those words instinctively, only to hurriedly cover their mouths. Of the four dukes, only Jouslain and Idris could be considered unscathed. Unlike Zarlisch and Ariabert, they had been stationed relatively within domestic affairs or rear-guard departments rather than on the front lines and thus had few opportunities to sustain injuries.

Between the two of them, Idris maintained a close relationship with Countess Theodora Tytania. Although Idris felt no affection for her, he was unable to sever their ties, driven by both a fear of her approaching the Clanner and his own physical desires.

Idris turned twenty-five that year. He possessed an intense drive to surpass the other dukes, yet he felt no sense of temporal urgency. It would be fine if he secured the Clanner’s throne in the next twenty years. Until now, that is. However, he realised that by that time, different competitors would emerge. The Clanner’s biological children, who were currently young, would have reached adulthood by then.

It was Theodora who had suggested this to him in his bedroom. Having discovered the reasons why Idris could not leave Uraniborg, she had made the following proposal:

“Then there is only one conclusion. His Clanner Highness must decide to dispatch Lord Jouslain to Bargash as the acting commander.”

Theodora’s gaze spoke of her confusion as to why he was hesitating. Naturally, Idris took offence. Theodora was critiquing his lack of decisiveness, but Idris had long since reached the same conclusion herself. He knew that Ariabert and Jouslain must not be allowed to form an alliance. Idris rebuked her, wondering how she could fail to grasp something so simple, yet her reaction remained calm.

“Wouldn’t this be fine?”

“What…?”

“It matters not what Lord Ariabert and Lord Jouslain might plot in some far-flung corner of the galaxy, far from Uraniborg. To my mind, Lord Idris, your concerns are unnecessary—or rather, they are mere groundless fears.”

Idris was left speechless. He had feared the alliance between Jouslain and Ariabert might become manifest, yet Theodora had dismissed the matter with a light laugh. As Idris cast a suspicious gaze upon her, wondering whether she was being bold or merely foolish, Theodora smiled at him with complete composure.

“Lord Idris, even if Lord Ariabert and Lord Jouslain were to engage in some unsettling conspiracy, His Clanner Highness and you are both here at Uraniborg. Whether it be a conspiracy or an act of treason, why not simply brush it aside and be done with it?”

“Treason…? What on earth are you thinking?”

Idris’ voice deepened. This time, Theodora did not reply immediately. She merely etched a crescent-shaped smile upon her lips, gazed at her lover’s face, and twirled the stem of her brandy glass between her fingers.

Idris felt a trace of cold sweat on his forehead and under his arms. He understood. He had understood all along. And he had simply hesitated to speak it aloud. This woman was suggesting precisely this to him: send Jouslain to planet Bargash to meet with Ariabert. Once they had met, that meeting would serve as proof of a conspiracy against the Clanner, providing the means to bring them both down.

In this instance, facts held no meaning. What mattered were perception and interpretation. Meaning existed first, and facts were merely the means by which that meaning was given form.

''“Ariabert and Jouslain met on Bargash. Their purpose was to launch a rebellion against Your Clanner Highness.”''

Idris’ thoughts were defensive in nature. If Ariabert and Jouslain were to form an alliance to bring him down, his own strength alone would be insufficient to resist them. He could only resort to invoking the authority of the Clanner, yet he doubted the Clanner would stand by him to face Ariabert and Jouslain. Would it not be Idris himself who was at risk of being abandoned? If that were the case, then to bring the Clanner to his side, he had no choice but to prevent the alliance between Ariabert and Jouslain.

Idris’ thoughts were on the verge of turning into a maze of contradictions. Observing this, Theodora spoke with a thin, sharp smile:

“To allow Lord Jouslain to depart for Bargash while ensuring Lord Idris does not turn against you. There is but a single way.”

“And that is…?”

“How about we keep that little girl as a hostage in Uraniborg? I believe she is called Lydia, that princess from that impoverished nation.”

She was a woman of many little wits. Idris felt a sense of admiration, mingled with displeasure. He poured water from the ewer on the night-stand into a glass.

“That little girl, Lydia, is Jouslain’s pride and joy. There is no way Jouslain would agree to leave her behind as a hostage.”

“Precisely. That is the true purpose.”

Theodora brought a brandy snifter to her lips. A light that could only be described as cunning flickered in her eyes.

“To refuse to leave a hostage behind. Is that not in itself evidence of treasonous intent?”

“…”

“If he has nothing to hide, he will leave a hostage. To refuse would be proof of divided loyalties. Even if this logic is somewhat forceful, it should not be incorrect.”

“What manner of woman are you?…”

Idris could not suppress his tremors. Was he truly as lacking in the qualities of a conspirator as he believed himself to be? Doctor Lee might have remarked, ''“At the end of the day, he is merely a pampered boy from a good family.”'' However, what set him apart from his cousin Balamy was that he was bound by the traditional authority of Tytania more than by his own temperament. The notion of rebellion against the Clanner had never even appeared on his intellectual horizon.

“What guarantee is there that you will not betray me?”

Idris finally found a foothold for his counterattack when Theodora repeatedly urged him to accept her proposal.

“Rather, what guarantee is there that you have not come to test the loyalty of all the dukes, including myself, as an emissary of His Clanner Highness? For the record, there has not been a single second where I have truly believed in you.”

Idris used a tone that was pointedly threatening, yet Theodora showed no sign of being shaken, merely toying with her brandy glass in her hand.

“Duke Idris, you truly are a son of a noble house. You simply voice the very patterns of suspicion that cross your mind. And you tell them directly to the person involved.”

Theodora held the complete psychological advantage. Idris was being overwhelmed. He knew he was being overwhelmed. Furthermore, he was forced to recognise that the conspiracy presented by Theodora possessed an extremely powerful allure.

Layers of realisation besieged Idris, leaving him with an utterly bitter taste in his mouth. Given his usual tolerance, he should have been passed out by now, yet no matter how many cups he drained, no intoxication came. A single thought swirled endlessly through his mind: ''“At this rate, I shall never become the Clanner.”'' Theodora ceased her eloquent persuasion, watching with calm detachment as Idris sank deeper into the mire of ambition and calculation.

Would he accept infamy to become a conqueror? Or would he respect this so-called morality, only to emerge as a political loser, the sole object of pity and mockery from third parties? The latter was something Idris simply could not endure. As the burning fire of alcohol seared his stomach and surged into his brain, Idris continued his internal struggle amidst the flames. He was lagging behind Ariabert and Jouslain, particularly the latter. He wondered if it was possible to recover that lost ground through ordinary means.

And there was another problem. One that could not be ignored. Even if Ariabert and Jouslain were driven into the position of rebels, how would they deal with the fate thrust upon them? First, they would likely plead their innocence. If that were not accepted, would they simply stand together and hang themselves? Ridiculous; that was absolutely impossible. Neither Ariabert nor Jouslain were adherents of non-violent pacifism. Running away would only worsen their position and deplete their forces. If so, there would be only one path left for them to take: to resist with armed force. It would descend into civil war.

Should Ariabert and Jouslain resolve to rise in armed rebellion, Idris would, naturally, have to lead the campaign to suppress them. He did not fear this. Idris believed that he possessed both the courage and the military brilliance required. However, if he considered the matter dispassionately, what were his actual chances of victory?

Ariabert would command the combat forces, while Jouslain would use his political prowess to forge alliances with other factions and secure the rear. Should these two great leaders rise hand in hand, there would undoubtedly be those who rushed to their side to join their cause. Both within Tytania and beyond. But was it truly possible for Idris alone to withstand the fervent wave of rebellion that was surging throughout the entire universe?

''“Fan Hyulick…”''

The moment he uttered that name, the horizons of Idris’ thoughts and options expanded all at once. Fan Hyulick. The public enemy of Tytania, who had driven the brothers Zarlisch and Arses to their deaths. An exiled political prisoner. A terrorist with no place in the universe. And the man who had twice defeated the renowned commander, Duke Ariabert Tytania!

Regarding other matters, Fan Hyulick was nothing more than rubbish, but the final point was truly captivating to Idris. Once the restraints on his thoughts burst, Idris’ brain cells spun with a hint of recklessness, painting visions of the future in the air. He envisioned a plan to summon Fan Hyulick, pardon his crimes, and set him against Ariabert as a mercenary captain.

At least within his fantasies, Idris was not a miser. If that were to come to pass, he intended to grant a mere exile more than enough reward. A county, the title of fleet admiral of the Vardana Empire, an annual salary of five million dakar, and the hand of a daughter of Tytanian nobility. He could provide at least that much. If Fan Hyulick could suppress the “rebellion” of Ariabert and Jouslain, such a price would be a cheap one.

Once the rotation had begun, the increase in output was exponential. He had transgressed the greatest taboo<ref name="ftn18">“Taboo” (禁忌) is pronounced “taboo”.</ref> within Tytania: that the Clanner was sacred and inviolable. And as he descended the slope, his schemes had become an end in themselves.

His thoughts turned this time toward his younger brother, Baron Radmoth.

Radmoth was useful. He was shallow-minded and brutish, but that was precisely why he was useful. He possessed utility. Everyone knew of Radmoth’s brutality. In other words, should anything happen, would it not be possible to shift the blame onto him?

Radmoth was Idris’ younger brother. Although his resentment had grown, he had never harboured active hatred or malice towards his brother. Despite clicking his tongue in frustration, he had always intended to support him. However, the younger brother had shown no sign of meeting his elder brother’s expectations. Perhaps the time had finally come to abandon him…

Idris did not notice that Theodora had left the bedside.