The Martial Unity

Chapter 3765: Self-Shackled Power

”Not even this will be enough to stop big brother, I’m afraid,” the Anti-Beast Prince spoke with a tone of hopelessness. ”He’s too personally powerful, has too much military and naval power at his absolute command, controls the negatron supply, and has near-absolute faith from the people. It’s utterly hopeless.”

It was difficult for the gathered princes and princesses to refute those words, for each of those was almost irrefutable. Even nations that once hated Rui, like the Solaris Kingdom, had come around to supporting him, even if it wasn’t as intense as other populations. The military power at his disposal, with beasts and sea monsters, was also undeniable. His own personal power was also completely absolute.

”There is no such thing as absolute.”

The harmonious voice of a woman hung in the air, seemingly dispelling the darkness of hopelessness that hung in the air. The other princes and princesses turned towards her with a hint of wariness and envy.

”Every power is conditional,” she spoke with a tone of certainty. ”So long as power exists in the hands of man, it cannot be absolute. You are merely looking at the power itself and not the man who wields it.”

A simple smile emerged on her face.

”Once you look at the flawed and shackled man who wields the power you so fear, then you will realize that there are chinks in the armor you perceive as impenetrable.”

She leaned forward, steepling her fingers as her golden eyes swept across her half-brothers and half-sisters.

”We need merely engineer a set of circumstances that will allow us to make the ministers of our government not choose whoever Rui chooses to support. And once you understand how the ministers in the government are hand-picked by our late father, you will understand that this situation is not as hopeless as you might think. You can take my word for that, after all...”

Her smile deepened. ”I am the Minister of Foreign Affairs.”

The other princes and princesses stirred as they studied her, sizing her up with a complicated expression.

The Princess of Harmony, Ru Kandria, was nearly a spitting image of the Emperor of Harmony.

She had a face structure that was very similar to his, if more feminine, while her eyes and hair were the exact shade of gold as that of her father. She had been merely five years old when the previous throne war took place, and despite that, had been installed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs at an astonishingly young age after entering the government as a simple peon under a different name and guise.

She and Princess Ranea held a more esteemed place among the distended Royal Family, for they were the only ones acknowledged by the Emperor of Harmony and personally appointed to important positions of power.

None of the others had managed to earn Emperor Rael’s approval and acknowledgment in such a demonstrable fashion. And yet, despite her achievements, shockingly little was known about her aside from the fact that she aided Emperor Rael in foreign affairs silently.

Unlike many of the other princes and princesses, she was content maintaining an extremely low profile, making her the most mysterious of the contenders for the throne.

”...Explain.” The Human Prince narrowed his eyes. ”What do you mean when you say that power is conditional and that we are not looking enough at the man who wields that power?”

”It’s rather simple,” she continued with a calm, relaxing tone. ”Think about what Prince Reol mentioned prior. He has absolute Martial power. He has absolute power over the beasts and sea monsters. He has absolute support from the people. Such a being would be unstoppable and yet...”

She turned towards them with an illuminating gaze. ”He does not use this power for anything truly significant. He could upend the Kandrian Empire and the Panamic Alliance and declare himself Emperor of Panama itself. He could try to become a tyrant the likes of which exceed the Dragon Emperor’s tyranny and match the mind slavery of NOVA. And yet, he doesn’t.”

The other princes and princesses frowned as they began comprehending what her words were moving towards.

”He doesn’t use his power to force people to do what he wants,” she continued. ”Whether it’s because of ideological reasons or a personal distaste for tyranny, it does not matter. What matters is that what you fear most from his power is something that he himself has restricted and restrained. Look at all of his actions since the death of our father.”

She raised a finger. ”He decided to partake in the Royal Funeral Committee. In order to secure more manpower, he decided to personally go around using his power to clear up rubble, heal people, and fix the worst of the crisis to free up personnel for his ambitious funeral plans. Ask yourself, are those the actions of a man who is willing to act with force?”

The other princes widened their eyes with realization.

”It is not,” she remarked. ”Assuming he is planning to support a prince or princess he agrees most with or will control as a puppet, would the most effective path not be to execute each and every single other prince and princess that is unwilling to concede the throne? That would instantly stop the throne war and stabilize Kandria as only one candidate would be left.”

Chills crawled across their skins at those words, but it also showed them that they had subconsciously registered this fact.

”From his actions, we can deduce two facts about Rui Quarrier Silas Kandria,” Princess Ru smiled at her half-brother and half-sisters. ”The first is that he is not willing to use force. The second is that while he is willing to use his extraordinary power, he is only willing to use what he can achieve with his power as a negotiating tool. This...”

Her expression grew a little more confident. ”...is an extremely high self-limitation, and it makes him less scary as an opponent. I am grateful he has principles, but those principles are weaknesses we can target, among others. That, is our only hope for victory.”

For the first time since the meeting began, the princes and princesses gathered in the room felt a spark of hope.