The more he thought about it, the more Rexford felt that the movement of the nobles was weird.
It was one thing for the low ranking male nobles who only know how to chase after power and appearances to make such moves but the women from the higher nobles… they should be aware of the problems with their marriage.
"They supported the side not because they wanted to marry lower ranking nobles but instead they wanted to…"
A terrifying premonition emerged in Rexford's mind-
"Indeed, high ranking nobles need titan blood. The current heads are likely to take control while their sisters or those from branch families are sent to become the future emperor's, Regulus' and your concubines"
"I'm-"
"The words you are about to say are the exact reason why they supported the lower ranking nobles"
Rexford stopped, he knew full well why the three "special" high ranking families acted the way they did.
"The Empusa's, Sanguine and Beastmen… their aiming for me aren't they"
Although he didn't want to admit it, the reason why those three groups were acting was Rexford himself.
"The prince who ran away from the throne, who lives a hedonistic life, that worthless prince is also the one with the purest and strongest blood among all three brothers"
The titan bloodline, its origins were still unknown but the power it holds was proven by the empire's very existence.
How could a single family rule for millenia?
Even on Earth, Emperor was just a title, families rarely hold imperial titles for long yet the Diabolus Imperial Family held onto power for not decades, not centuries but millenia.
It was power built on an inherent superiority by blood, a right given to the imperial children by birth and the right that made Rexford turn away from his own heritage.
"If only Rutherford or Regulus got it"
"Then you would be tossed away"
"... better than this…"
It was a question that many would ask if it was known, "why is the worthless third prince being spoiled?".
Rexford's absence was not because he wanted to sleep around with women and was afraid of fighting, no, it was because the nobility protested against his deployment.
None spoke up when his brothers took a stand, none tried to protect them, hell, his two brothers were cheered on by the very same people who cried for Rexford to be put under house arrest during the war!
The reason?
Simple, despite his own rejection of the throne, should Rutherford and Regulus perish, Rexford, no matter how reluctant he is, would NEED to take over.
Moreover, the secret connection between the higher ranking noble families and the imperial family was a secret known only to the families involved.
Even Rexford's father had many concubines, Rexford himself had many brothers and sisters, most of which he didn't know off.
The reason?
The Imperial Harmony System which the empire had was not used to ensure the bloodline of the imperial family but to ensure the bloodline of the nobles under the imperial family.
Children born to the Imperial Concubines were not "Imperial Children" but children of "___ noble family".
The empress is chosen not through love or ability but through "bloodline purity".
How was purity tested?
A tool used to estimate the purity of titan blood within an individual existed.
Created for the sole purpose of maintaining the Titan Blood of the Imperial Family, it was a custom that existed for years and it was also the tool used to select emperors.
"The longer you delay, the more danger your people will be in, I know Ortrun and Ratna won't complain, so long as you spend time as their lover they'll be satisfied, Elise is more duty bound but she won't go against the Imperial family, moreover, she's more likely to just attack you when push comes to shove. The problem is Sofiya…"
"Sofiya…"
Before the problems that were created by the war, before the maneuvering that the imperial family did, before everything, Rexford had been initially engaged to a vampire noblelady, the daughter of a marquess.
Sofiya Morozova, a woman who, despite being born in a noble family of vampires, had inherited titan blood of high purity.
It was a miracle as her blood was more pure than that of the crown prince! This also gave her power, great power which was made even more terrifying as she still inherited the vampiric blood of her father.
She was initially planning to be engaged to Rutherford- that was until Rexford was born and the engagement was immediately made between the two.
Then the war happened, many died including the Marquess, Sofiya's father.
With the Hall Family threatening to cause chaos, Sofiya was forced to accept the cancellation of her engagement.
But that didn't mean that she gave up-
"She's quite dangerous, the lass still thinks that your doing all this for her"
"Ugh… don't remind me, I thought I got away from one dangerous woman only to be shoved towards another one"
"But I'm not THAT dangerous am I?"
"..."
Rexford went silent as he stared at Delilah who was still flashing a bright smile his way.
"Lesser evil"
*glare*
"You just proved it!"
Rexford didn't like his current situation, others may see it as him being a wuss or fearful of women but the women around were just that dangerous!
Delilah, the woman in front of him, was an example of that!
Many knew that the reason why the war was stalled was because of the development of magic that could end the battle in a mere second. It was basically a magical nuke, the power of such a spell was demonstrated, purposely misfiring to show off the level of damage the spell could cause.
'And the woman who developed that is her! Delilah Hall, the Witch of Knowledge!'
Rexford had a powerful bloodline, he had powerful inherent abilities. In fact, he believed that even if he participated in the war at the southern border, he would have survived.
But before the sheer talent and skill of someone like Delilah? Rexford was just a petulant child who could swing a warhammer.
He had powerful inherent abilities and strength but he did not have the intelligence and talent to wield them to their full potential.
Just like a sniper rifle, anyone could hold it, pull its trigger and make a bullet fly for four kilometers but only a skilled sniper could hit the head of a target from such a distance.
That was Rexford, an idiot with a powerful sniper rifle, a dog with a legendary blade.
So in the face of women who could use their abilities to their absolute limit, even transcend the limits of their inherent abilities, Rexford was nothing more than a bumbling buffoon.
"I don't know what you plan on showing the world, but Rex, even if you make people forget about the difference between races, even if you make people treat each other better, the structure that kept the empire strong for millenia will still hold on."
Delilah spoke without filter as she hammered Rexford with the truth.
"I know… but- even then, I still need to try right?"
It was a fool's errand, after all that, Rexford still refused to accept his position.
"Fine, I'll deal with Rutherford"
"Thank you!"
"But I will need your cooperation"
"Huh?"
"The Empire needs an heir, the only way to stop Rutherford from defecting and running away is to ensure that he could get what he wants while taking the throne"
"Wait wait wait! STOP! PAUSE! What the hell? Defecting? Where did that come from?"
Rexford panicked, he knew that Rutherford was planning to shove more women to his "beloved youngest brother" but he never thought that his "dear eldest brother" was planning to defect!
"Eh? You didn't realize it?"
"HOW?!"
"The movement of young nobles are planning to rebel, forcefully instate Rutherford as the emperor and have him follow through with his plans"
"..."
"But Rutherford will purposefully lose, this way, Sofiya would lose credibility, the rebellious lower nobles would be dealt with, it also removes the group of nobles who still continue to secretly indulge in slavery, especially of humans."
"..."
"By the end of it, Rutherford would be exiled, the emperor won't kill a prince after all, then you would be instated as the crown prince. At that point, the people you hate would either have completely lost power and influence or be completely annihilated. Sofiya wouldn't be able to make a move on you as she would be branded a traitor. At best she would become a member of the imperial harem, at worst she would be executed"
"..."
"While all that is happening, Rutherford would escape to the Elven kingdoms and marry his beloved priestess~"
Rexford fell silent, he felt like he had just been given a complete spoiler of an anticipated movie he was dying to watch.
The whole plan was sound and after going through all that he knew, Rexford could easily see it happening.
"Since when?" Rexford asked, the whole plot by his eldest brother wouldn't have emerged suddenly. It was likely planned and was worked on for a while now. Yet, the answer he got to his question made him wish he never asked-
"Since the first ceasefire"
'THAT HORNY BASTARD!'
Rexford wanted to scream but he kept it all in, but, the thought of his brother plotting to turn him into the emperor…
"Wait! The ceasefire happened before the Hall… fuck-"
Delilah chuckled as she watched Rexford squirm as the realization struck him.
Even she felt utterly stupid when she realized the scheme Rutherford was plotting.
'The crown prince is truly deserving of his title'
Rutherford Diabolus had earned a certain nickname throughout the war.
"Loki"
It was the name of a God known for their trickery.
Rutherford had led his men to fight battles with overwhelming superiority.
Zero casualties coupled with complete decimation of his enemies.
Without the use of the newly developed magic, Rutherford was winning battles with rapt efficiency and wicked cunning.
'That should have been the first sign'
Delilah sighed as she also felt helpless at how things seemed to fall right into place.
'But, stopping this would give me more leverage… Sofiya oh Sofiya, being lovesick is normal but letting it take over would lead you self destruction~'
While Rexford scratched his head in frustration, Delilah was happily watching him but her mind had long drifted elsewhere.
'In the first place, Rexford is a sharp man, he could feel the strings wrapping around him. That's why we need to move carefully, purposefully and silently. Snatching him away would only make him run, the way to get him in your net is to make him willingly swim into it~'
For a moment, Delilah's eyes were shrouded in darkness but it quickly vanished as Rexford turned back towards her.
"How do you plan to stop it?"
Aware of his brother's plans, Rexford was obviously going to stop it at all costs but with his current resources and knowledge it would take a miracle to even cause a disruption.
That is, if one only considered Rexford's power and forces.
"All we need to do is strengthen the alliance between nations, Rutherford to the elves, Regulus to the Dwarves and Rex to the humans~"
"Huh?"
"Princesses would be sent to the empire, the lower ranking nobles sent to the kingdoms. The Empire is not the only nation that lost men. Moreover, the reason why the human king wants to send his princes here is to prevent an internal conflict…"
Delilah explained the whole situation, unlike Rexford's assessment of a "Plot to undermine the empire", the human king only wanted to prevent his sons from forming their own factions by marrying powerful nobleladies who ended up as matriarchs in their own kingdom.
"Our own situation could be explained, "the Imperial Harem carries the blood of the fallen nobles, the current matriarch would take control only until a successor is born" we don't need to explain the titan bloodline, the Empire's bloodline supremacy ideology has already taken various forms. We could simply explain things that way"
"..."
Rexford had now realized just how powerful Delilah truly was-
'She prepared this didn't she?'
Alas, it was too late, although reluctant, all Rexford could do was-
"What do you want?"
Rexford steeled himself as he waited for Delilah to answer but he still shivered when he saw her smile-
"Let's see…"