The day was cloudy and grey. Assembled were a host of high nobles, bureaucrats, ministers, and military officers. Warships from the Royal Fleet hung above the sky.

The funeral procession of the Emperor was grand, his coffin made out of the finest ironwood. Princess Katharin walked with heavy steps as she placed flowers on her father’s dead body. She did not cry. If she had cried, the Emperor would’ve looked from above with disapproval.

From Imperial Spymaster Klaris’ perspective, as tragic and sad and blahblahblah as the Emperor’s passing was, the more important issue at hand was the nobility. Her liege had—“stupidly”—antagonized a number of influential nobles.

The two biggest bastards, as Klaris viewed it, were the two Dukes: Duke Gerlach and Duke Dahl. The former was a textbook opponent with a son who could claim the throne. The latter had charisma, and could muster many imperial fleets under a banner of rebellion. As admittedly formidable as Karl von Marbach was, he was also nicknamed the “Thrice-defeated admiral”.

It took only one month for events to begin bursting out like pus. Duke Gerlach, having an infant son by the name of Heinrich von Gerlach, offered a proposal to Princess Katharin. The proposal could be summed thusly:

Princess Katharin would be betrothed to Heinrich von Gerlach to form a union between the Houses of Nassau and Gerlach. Furthermore, Heinrich would become Emperor, with Duke Gerlach and would-be Empress Katharin as regents. Katharin metaphorically (historians alleged literally) burned this proposal down. The background of this proposal was far more pragmatic than expected, however.

Duke Gerlach was having Marquis Knittlingen over for talks that day. The marquis, having vast resources and a fairly intelligent mind but no claim to the throne himself, begrudgingly allied himself with the duke. The duke had wooed him with these words: “once my son is Emperor, I will elevate you to a duke and give your house preferential treatment.”

Marquis Knittlingen nodded. “No matter what, we can’t allow that brat to become Empress,” he said, his words full of venom. “She may have noble blood, but her actions are that of a peasant.”

“Indeed, it is as you say, Marquis.” There wasn’t much sincerity in the duke’s words.

“Then, what do you plan to do? We may revolt, but we need a good reason—for publicity reasons, at least,” the marquis said. At his heart, the marquis is a calculator; and a pretty good one at that. He had joined this pact with the calculation that he had a greater than 50/50 chance of coming out on top—not just against Princess Katharin’s faction, but also the Duke, once the war would be resolved.

“I will deliver the princess a proposal that she cannot accept regarding the throne. We will then use that refusal as the reason to declare war.”

The Gerlach-Knittlingen axis was thus formed with a firm handshake—for now. The malcontent nobles were gathering under their secret banner.

Vice Admirals Thompson and Radbruch were watching events unfold with great interest. They had just completed a joint exercise, and were now playing cards and drinking wine with each other in a popular restaurant and bar for high rank officers. “I can’t believe we’re vice admirals now. I thought I’d be stuck at commodore,” Radbruch remarked. “Her Royal Highness is truly generous.”

“Generous towards us commoners and low nobles. The issue is, will the high nobles sit back and accept that?” Thompson said gloomily.

“Are you saying—”

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“It is customary for admiralty’s members to be high nobles. Marshal Karl von Marbach used to be the only exception. Now that us lowly folk are promoted to fleet commander, the paradigm is shifting. There’s no way they’ll just sit back quietly and accept it,” Thompson muttered pensively.

“Well, we’ll just have to be ready!” Radbruch proclaimed. “Come what may, I’m sure we’ll come up on top.”

Thompson’s prophecy could be proven almost immediately if they had just eavesdropped on a table far, far away in the restaurant. Duke Dahl, commanding the Tenth Fleet, were talking with Admiral Luvert, commander of both Fortress Thalassa and the Seventh Fleet. Admiral Luvert had been maneuvering himself out of petty court clashes, and was a true professional military man. He was the cousin of a relatively unimportant viscount, and a seasoned fighter, having even fought at the Battle of Istoria long ago. Marshal Karl once evaluated his abilities as “decent”—and the marshal was a harsh evaluator.

“Admiral Luvert, think about it. The princess is meddling with the military. She’s playing with personnel assignments without a care in the world, without paying attention to the courtly issues that lie beneath, as well as competency and experience. In short, she’s treating the military like her own toy. Will you sit back and relax even as we’re being castrated like this?”

Admiral Luvert scratched his not itchy head that was decorated with greying hair. “I don’t know about this, Duke. Complaining, protesting—but actually going against the throne with military force … I don’t know if this is the right path forward.”

“Admiral, think about it like this: for hundreds of years we’ve had emperors. My question is why should they rule?”

This blatantly treasonous talk made Admiral Luvert shudder a little. Duke Dahl smiled. “Why should bloodlines decide everything? For hundreds of years it has always been us, the personnel on the frontline, who fight and squander blood for the defense and interests of the Empire. Yet now we’re being played like marionettes on a string.”

A long, uncertain pause danced in the air as the admiral’s mental gears turned. “I heard about Duke Gerlach and Marquis Knittlingen’s alliance,” he said finally. “Are you part of it, Duke?”

“Certainly not. Why would I trade one monarch for a lesser one?” Duke Dahl said, disgusted. “What Duke Gerlach and Marquis Knittlingen are doing is nothing more than petty court struggles and power plays. What I’m aiming for is a better Empire. I do not seek to depose the person on the throne only to replace it with another.”

“Suppose you go with your plan and seize power. What do you plan to do?” Admiral Luvert asked.

“First of all, I’ll crush the Republic of the New Stars. They’re a constant thorn in our side, a monster that is draining our blood. And then I’ll form a military council to rule over the Empire. Of course, we’ll involve civil professionals as well,” he replied, tilting his wine glass. That last sentence of his felt like a rushed addition. “So, how about it, Admiral?”

“I understand. I’ll join you,” Admiral Luvert said finally. “For the good of the Empire.” Admiral Luvert emphasized that last part.

Uncountable light years away, the Kaufmann siblings, Wilson and Petra, were also watching the developments with great interest. “Marquis von Knittlingen just ordered 10,000 more ships. Everything considered, the Gerlach-Knittlingen axis have ordered close to 200,000 warships,” Petra reported. “They’re obviously gearing for all-out war, and Princess Katharin’s faction knows it. Their spies have been trying to track those ships.”

“You’re keeping them safe, I take it?” Wilson asked.

“I am. I’ve left enough red herrings to fill an ocean world,” Petra confirmed. “Also, it seems like the civil war will be more complicated than that. Duke Dahl has recruited Admiral Luvert. Their fleets combined would total 60,000 warships, and Fortress Thalassa is in their hands.”

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t care about the Imperial civil war’s result, or even how it proceeds. Monitor the situation as much as possible. We simply must ensure that the Empire doesn’t simply collapse,” Wilson said, the wine in his glass drunk with one big gulp, “if it does collapse, we’ll need to have solutions to weaken the Republic in turn. See to it.”

“Understood.”

The only important thing, as Wilson and Petra had put it, was that there was a balance. They couldn’t let the war end. Nor did they care who was fighting who. As long as mankind thirsted for blood in space, they’d need weapons. And the Kaufmanns would be there to supply them.

22 December 2602 was the date when Princess Katharin crowned herself Empress of the Empire.

28 December 2602. The Tollerwald Alliance gathered in the great forest world of Tollerwald, led by the combination of Duke Gerlach and Marquis Knittlingen. Almost two-thirds of the nobility joined them. They signed an agreement to revolt when timing is right.

The Imperial Civil War was on the horizon ….