Forsaken Priest of the Hero's Party-Chapter 22: A Falling Eagle Has No Wings

Her eyes had been captivated by the Throne. Her mind was entranced by the Crown’s radiance.

Her soul was blinded by ambition.

But when she came to her senses, there was nothing left, only her blood-stained hands.

The grudge lurking in that blood, cursed her flesh, making it rot.

I just wanted the crown.

Ever since she was young, she believed herself greater than the others.

At 5, she was called a prodigy of the sword, awakening the feared golden eyes of the Imperial Bloodline.

A genius without a peer. Everyone around her said she would be Empress. Her arrogance grew.

Her foolish elder brothers and clumsy younger siblings,

They could never be a match for her. Because she believed to be destined for the crown.

I am different from my weak father and older brother.

I am different from the fools who can’t even muster the courage to take the crown.

My name is Ardein. And I have never known defeat.

The woman who brought glory to the Empire, elevating the prestige of the Imperial Family to unprecedented heights.

Sadly, the eagle who flew too close to the sun, had its wings burnt away and fell to the depths of the abyss.

With her fall from grace, she realized that her ‘greatness’ was just an illusion.

No...From the beginning, all her accomplishments were unstable, built on a shaky foundation, she merely suppressed the cracks with her authority.

Even if her flesh hadn’t rotted away, she would have collapsed someday.

*****“The War Loans we took are starting to come due. Unless we wish to tell all the major bankers to ‘shove it’, a major war is out of the question for now.”

The Finance Minister had been saying there was no money for some time now.

In this world where might make right, you can indeed tell people to shove it if you’re broke.

But you can only do that once or twice. Overdo it, and the nation’s credit rating will plummet right after its founding.

What banker would lend or loan to a country that brazenly says “shove it” from the get-go?

If the flow of funds freezes up and financing doesn’t work properly, there will be difficulties every time we undertake large projects. Even I knew that much.

And my pride was too great to default on debts.

“Prosecute all the nobles who broke to law. Confiscate their illegally amassed wealth.”

“...Do you really think you can run a country on money raised that way?”

“Of course, when ill-gotten gold piles up like mountains and silver flows like the sea.”

In fact, I don’t think I took that issue seriously.

I thought that if we cracked down on those who accumulated wealth illegally and confiscated their assets,

that money would be more than enough to run the country.

The finance minister’s concerns fell on deaf ears. I always thought he was a pathetic person, and my authority was at its peak then.

“Your Highness. We are not some marauding tribe. This huge ship called the Empire can never be run this way. The money a nation uses is on a completely different scale from an individual’s fortune.”

Even when there was talk of the country being broke, those around me adorned themselves with flashy jewels,

They wore luxurious clothes embroidered with gold, and spent fortunes on feats and celebrations.

So I thought that money could be used for national affairs. My mistake was that the money needed for properly running national affairs is endless.

And that I did not stop the wars.

Every time I tried to start a war, the finance minister vehemently opposed it, citing the economy.

“Your Highness! We cannot afford a war right now! As long as I am here, I will not allow it!”

At that time, I simply thought he was defying my authority.

So, I got rid of him and put someone who would listen to my orders in his place.

The new Minister went along with my will, and my will alone.

We burned through the Empire’s coffers to finance the wars I desired.

Only later did I realize,

The extent of the burden I had placed on the empire in order to preserve my authority.

When war breaks out, first you have to conscript soldiers and send them to the battlefield.

That alone consumes enormous costs and administrative expenses. And sending them to the battlefield isn’t the end of it. It’s just the beginning.

You could tell them to bring weapons from home. But then you shouldn’t expect quality.

You could also tell them to buy shields or leather armor at their own expense. Then maybe one in ten people will show up wearing at least a padded jacket.

In the end, to ensure combat power, you have to supply all the combat gear.

Another astronomical expenditure is needed, and the next part is even more problematic.

People cannot live without eating and cannot march without drinking. To distribute just one rye bread to a thousand soldiers, you need a thousand rye breads. Three meals a day is three thousand, and a week is twenty-one thousand.

Originally, these were people who would have taken care of their own meals at home,

But you can’t tell them to pack their own food from home during the war.

On the other hand, when you’re conscripting people, you can’t also tax them for the food they’ll eat.

The farmers have also been drafted, and since they won’t be eating at home, if you tell them to pay taxes instead for their food expenses, the people will start a revolt first thing.

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Moreover, if you give the soldiers only rye bread and tell them to fight, will their morale be high?

At important moments, you have to slaughter a pig to feed them or boil a chicken to at least give them chicken broth so they can muster strength. Weapons are consumables, so they will frequently break or lose their edge.

Perhaps they will rust and corrode just from marching.

You have to bring replacement weapons for these, but you can’t have people carry all these supplies.

You have to prepare at least ox-drawn carts to carry them. You can’t have high-end combat horses pull the carts, so you have to massively requisition livestock that could have been used for productive work in normal times.

It’s a no-win situation. If the enemy were humans or other races, you might be able to make up for the losses by waging war like this and looting something.

Perhaps you could even profit by receiving war reparations.

But our main enemies were monsters from the north or impoverished barbarian tribes. What on earth can you loot from such things? Stone axes used by goblins? Or rabbit roasted over a fire with only the skin removed?

The only thing you gain by waging those wars is an empty ‘victory’.

Everything else is lost.

All these things need to be taken care of.

And I drove away the person responsible for it. Now I can’t even apologize. He died of illness in exile.

In the end, all I did in my life was to salvage a measly bit of authority.

I couldn’t even achieve that much.

One day, my skin started peeling off,

After a few years, it began to rot away.

The Gods have cursed me.

That’s what everyone said.

No matter which temple I visited or who I met, they all just shook their heads. Some even yelled at me.

“Leprosy cannot be cured by divine power. It is the wrath of the Goddess, their punishment made manifest, and the greatest proof of your lack of virtue!”

In the first place, the temples are a prime example of forces that do not want the imperial power to increase.

They attacked first when they saw an opening. It was as I expected.

What I did not expect was the knife plunged on my back.

“Princess Ardein claims to be a war hero, but her achievements are nothing more than looting the accomplishments of her subordinates. Here is a document recording her lack of virtue.”

“Your Highness. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can serve Your Highness any longer. Please understand.”

“The princess is nothing but a fraud! The Goddess has proven it!”

“Drive the leper out of the imperial palace! Let us petition the Emperor to expel that unclean thing!”

My subordinates, no. Those I thought were my subordinates,

Suddenly changed their stance and tore into me. Only then did I wake up from my beautiful dream.

To accept that I was not actually fit to be an emperor,

I had to fall a little further.

*****“I cannot allow that. She is my daughter and the rightful heir to the Imperial Throne.”

“Your Majesty. However, the Goddess has punished her. If the princess remains, the Goddess’s wrath may descend upon the imperial family.”

“You shall no longer discuss this matter. I forbid it.”

When those I thought were on my side tore into me, those I never expected embraced me.

My father, the Emperor, whom I always despised for his weakness. Did not remove me from the family register, despite the swirling opposition.

“Princess Ardein. I had a talk with the cardinal and the nobles.”

“For now, step back from your duties and take some time to recover. There will be no further attacks. They will already be quite satisfied.”

“Yes. I also have decided to step down from the position of crown prince as well, Sister.”

My older brother, the one I always thought was a fool who could only smile with the nobles,

gave up the position of crown prince for me. The Emperor’s faction became gloomy, while the nobles’ and temples’ factions smiled.

They truly did not tear into me any further. Only then did I realize.

What they truly feared was not me becoming the Emperor.

A barking dog is not scary. What’s truly frightening is a dog that bites without warning.

My older brother always smiled and never gave them cause, hiding a blade in his smile and only acting with justification behind him.

Everyone loyal to the Empire other than him feared him becoming the Emperor, but only I, not knowing my place, was ignorantly coveting the Emperor’s seat.

The moment I realized that I despaired. And I clung to my older brother’s pants and wept.

My older brother did not hate me, who had already become filthy and disgusting.

Even though I had looked down on him and despised him so, he simply embraced me warmly.

“Remember this Ardein. A fallen eagle has no wings.”

That was my first and last embrace with my older brother.

“From the moment I gave up the position of crown prince, I had made up my mind, but I probably won’t live long. There are so many siblings who want this position, you see.”

No. Don’t lie. Even if my body is rotting, my mind is still sound.

Do you think I’m a fool? It won’t be our siblings who will wish for your death.

The temples, regional nobles, and central bureaucrats all wish for my older brother’s death. Because they do not want an Emperor they cannot control.

But then why did you voluntarily give up the position of crown prince? Why on earth...?

Why for someone like me, for this younger sister who never said a kind word to you, did you give up the position you should have rightfully had and put yourself in danger?

I should have asked those words.

I was too afraid to hear the answer, so I didn’t ask, and now I will never hear it.

“Your Highness the 1st Prince, Your Highness the 1st Prince, please open your eyes! Someone, call the imperial physician and the Archbishop! Hurry!”

My older brother was poisoned to death soon after, just as he had prophesied,

And the light in my heart also shattered and vanished.