Chapter 159
Chapter 159: Better to Strike First, You Know? (1)
The murderous energy that had been swirling around vanished without a trace, leaving only an awkward silence hanging in the air.
Belinda glared at the newcomers and said, “Who are you people? Do you want to be kicked out right after you arrive? Do you think our territory looks like a joke?”
“Uh, no… It’s not that…”
“What do you mean it’s not that! You’ve already put on quite a spectacle! Should I just throw everyone in jail instead?”
Belinda decided she couldn’t hold back any longer. No matter how she looked at it, someone had to establish some discipline in this chaotic territory.
Originally, the castle’s butler wasn’t just a position for managing the household; it was responsible for overseeing everything from the nobles’ etiquette to people’s decorum.
She resolved to wield the authority she had not used until now with abandon.
“What are you doing? Why aren’t you going back to your places? Do you want to be punished or something?”
At Belinda’s threat, the reserves stepped back with awkward expressions.
Being the castle butler put her in a position close to the lord. They still hadn’t adjusted, and getting on her bad side wasn’t going to end well.
Belinda glared at them, like a strict teacher scolding students, as she delivered her warning.
“If you act disrespectfully in front of the Lord from now on, I won’t forgive you. Got it? Let’s maintain at least a minimum level of manners among ourselves.”
“Yes! Understood!”
At the boisterous response, Kaor snickered. It felt like Belinda was siding with him, which made him puff out his chest.
“Look, everyone’s behaving so well now that they’re keeping their tails tucked in. If you keep this up…”
Before he could finish, Belinda spun around and shouted at him, “Hey! What’s with you always stirring up trouble everywhere? Are you good at fighting? Do you want to spar with me first? Because from where I stand, you seem completely pathetic!”
“Uh, no, why are you suddenly talking like that?” Kaor stammered, taken aback. They had always had their conflict, but seeing her this angry was new.
He lost the chance to retort like usual.
Furthermore, it was hard for him to respond when Belinda wielded her authority as the butler.
Ghislaine and Claude could only blink in surprise as they watched Kaor gawk in confusion and unfairness.
It was a bit scary to see someone who usually didn’t get angry, getting angry…
“Oh, it would have been entertaining.”
Ghislaine clucked her tongue inwardly in regret. She had already thought up a bracket in her mind, but the mood had just died.
Most of the newcomers had a fiery temperament, so she thought discipline was inevitable.
Even if left alone, Ghislaine would have handled it, but since they were stepping up first, there was no need to intervene.
Belinda glanced at Ghislaine, who was licking her lips in anticipation, and asked, “Why does the Lord look like that? You seem disappointed.”
“Not at all. I’m not disappointed. Just… I was wondering if it was necessary to intervene. There’s something about organizing hierarchies…”
“The hierarchy will be handled when Ghislaine trains. Do you think I wouldn’t know that?”
“Uh… right. Ghislaine will take care of it.”
Belinda narrowed her eyes and shot a side glance at Ghislaine.
“Don’t tell me you’re already planning the seating and making brackets while enjoying the show with the chief officer, are you?”
“Of course not. As I always say, I’m a non-violent pacifist.”
“Phew, I just wish we could live normally. I have work to do, so I’ll head out first. And you all, be careful. I’ll be watching.”
With a sigh, Belinda shook her head a few times before leaving the scene.
Once she was gone, awkward silence enveloped them again.
“Cough.”
“Cough.”
“Cough.”
Everyone started clearing their throats, stealing glances at each other.
Ghislaine, having had her authority undermined by Belinda, crossed her arms and pretended not to notice.
Claude quietly whispered in Ghislaine’s ear, “It’s a bit disappointing, isn’t it? I was hoping to try something for about five years this time.”
“Oh, it was a chance to extend the slave contract, so that’s unfortunate.”
“You mean to say you’re glad the time didn’t shorten? You’re not trying to imply that she was going to extend their contract, right? Anyway, it seems I’m seeing her angry for the first time. Was she always this scary?”
“Oh, she was scary when angry from a long time ago. That’s not the end of it. If she gets even angrier, the sword’s out. Then comes the poison.”
“Yikes, we should be careful.”
“As long as you don’t cross the line, you’ll be fine.”
Claude nodded, then suddenly realized something was off and tilted his head.
“…How do you know that if she doesn’t cross a line, the next step is a sword and poison?”
“Right, how did you find that out?”
As Ghislaine reminisced over old memories, her expression suddenly changed.
“By the way, we should start planning for the next task soon.”
“Next task? We’re all dying from work right now. What more tasks do you have in mind?”
Claude exclaimed in disbelief. Starting more work now would really kill everyone.
But Ghislaine just smiled kindly and replied, “Don’t worry. This next task requires very little of your involvement.”
“Really? Does it mean no more work for me here?”
“Ah, you’re just so full of doubt. Don’t worry! Have I ever forced you to work too hard? Never!”
‘Wow, how shameless can she be?’
Claude’s face betrayed his disbelief as he looked at Ghislaine.
If this isn’t pushing them to their limits, then what is?
He felt like once he died from overwork, she’d say, “Oh, it was tough; I’m sorry.”
Claude was about to press further but held back for now.
It would be troublesome if he sparked her anger and ended up with even more work.
“Yes, let’s just agree on that. But, what’s the next task?”
“Preparing to acquire iron ore. It’s lacking.”
“…How do you plan on getting it?”
“I have a plan. I’ll let you know, so just prepare for the meeting.”
Seeing Ghislaine answer confidently, Claude only became more anxious.
*
When hurriedly preparing for anything, problems were bound to arise.
In a territory with nothing, like Penris, acquiring resources was a major issue.
Especially iron ore, which was incredibly difficult to acquire in bulk even if you had money, made it an even greater headache.
But Ghislaine wasn’t worried. She had thought about solutions to the iron ore problem long ago.
As the retainers gathered, Ghislaine immediately brought up her conclusion.
“We will strike Count Cabaldy’s territory.”
The unexpected words left everyone blinking in confusion.
They had clearly gathered to discuss the resource shortage, but now an outrageous topic had come up.
Count Cabaldy was a prominent figure within the Duke Faction and was known for being the largest producer of iron ore in the North. Moreover, he was actively supplying iron ore to Count Desmond.
Claude shook his head a few times, rubbed his ears, and asked again, “Wasn’t this a meeting about how to acquire iron ore?”
“Right. So, we’re going to strike Count Cabaldy’s territory.”
This lord was starting to spout nonsense again.
Claude took a deep breath to calm down his anger.
He was already preparing to develop their territory while also prepping to defend against Count Desmond’s potential attacks.
To propose starting a war when their lives depended on merely holding off attacks made no sense.
In the first place, Count Cabaldy was not a place that could be attacked carelessly, and even if they did, they stood no chance of winning.
“Lord? This conclusion came too suddenly. Could you explain why?”
Realizing that no one comprehended her statement, Ghislaine began to explain.
In any case, they all had to move as one toward the same goal. A few more words of explanation were no trouble at all.
“Count Cabaldy is currently supplying all the iron ore exclusively to Desmond. He barely sells us any.”
“Right… So, you mean to say you want to attack him out of spite because he’s siding with Desmond?”
“Who fights a war just out of spite?”
Ghislaine looked at Claude with a look of disappointment.
‘This was me talking down to your level!’
Claude felt wronged but couldn’t bring himself to speak.
“What happens if we take that territory? Desmond loses his supply of iron ore, and we gain tons? A brilliant strategy to slow down the enemy’s growth while we grow quickly!”
“So… in conclusion, we’re just planning to attack to take iron ore that we desperately need.”
“Well, yeah, when you put it that way.”
‘Are you a robber now?’
Claude grabbed his spinning head as he swayed to regain his balance.
To say they’d hit a place rich in iron ore just because they lacked it was simple yet incredibly ridiculous logic.
If slowing down the enemy’s growth and quickly advancing one’s own was a good thing, then—
But even discussing it meant planning to hit a third party, which sounded like something only a madman would do.
“Lord, can we please not act irrationally? Count Cabaldy is not in any way related to us. We can’t attack someone like that.”
“He isn’t an immediate threat, I agree. But ultimately, Count Cabaldy is also our enemy.”
“Why? Because he’s part of the Duke Faction? Unless you have real proof that the Duke Faction is attacking us behind Desmond’s back, you’re just guessing.”
“Trust me; because he’s behind Desmond, Count Cabaldy will attack us. So, let’s take out one enemy and gain their iron ore while we’re at it.”
For Ghislaine, who knew the future, it was obvious, but for the others, it was just absurd talk.
Claude shook his legs anxiously, pacing back and forth before saying, “But there’s someone out there we’ve never even had trouble with, and you want to attack them because they might attack you in the future? Doesn’t that sound crazy?”
“True, it sounds a bit odd when you put it like that, but it’s still true.”
“Milord, is there something wrong with your judgment?”
Claude couldn’t hold back that question about Ghislaine’s character, which caused Belinda to shout, “Why are you putting our young master down like that? How sweet and kind he is!”
“Listen! Don’t you find this strange at all?”
“Our young master would simply deal with what bothers him as it comes!”
“Earlier, you said he was sweet and kind! If he was really that way, wouldn’t you have trained him differently? What kind of education did you give him?”
“Don’t you know that interfering with someone’s educational methods is extremely rude?”
“I’d prefer not to know. I want to stay ignorant.”
As the two raised their voices, Ghislaine interjected to calm them down.
“Honestly, it’s not about hitting just because I don’t like it… can’t say that’s not part of it, but it’s not the only reason. Claude, don’t you believe the information we have? Count Cabaldy is currently supplying a massive amount of iron ore to Desmond, right? It suggests they’re definitely in league with each other.”
Claude had doubts whether the Duke Faction was really behind Desmond because of that.
If they weren’t allies, they wouldn’t be pushing as much ore to Desmond.
But starting a territorial war just on a hunch was far too dangerous.
In a tone that felt almost like comforting a child, Claude reiterated, “Milord, I understand your intent. But… Count Cabaldy is part of the Duke Faction.”
“So?”
“If we attack Count Cabaldy first, we’ll definitely become enemies of the Duke Faction, regardless of Desmond! The Crown Prince Faction and the Duke Faction aren’t openly clashing yet!”
“Right now, we’re already enemies with the Duke Faction. Didn’t we agree on that?”
“But outwardly, we’re not showing it! Let’s not give them an excuse to strike! What if the Duke Faction retaliates?”
Ghislaine expressed her frustration. “We’ll have to fight them anyway, so why worry about that now? We can deal with those issues when they arise.”
“……”
“Let me explain it very simply. Suppose you were to fight, Claude.”
“I don’t fight. I’m a dignified scholar.”
“Regardless, let’s pretend you do. What’s more advantageous, catching the first hit or hitting first?”
“Well… hitting first is more advantageous… that saying ‘the first blow guarantees victory’ exists for a reason.”
“Exactly! So isn’t it better for us to hit Count Cabaldy first rather than receive the first hit? No matter how I think about it, this is a better option, right?”
‘Finally, she’s totally lost it!’
Claude’s expression went blank at the monstrous words that treated war like a neighborhood brawl.
Just as he was debating whether or not to curse, Ghislaine continued.
“To continue waging war, we need to secure iron ore stably. We absolutely have to take Count Cabaldy’s territory. Count Desmond wouldn’t even expect us to strike there first. That means he’d be unprepared.”
Count Desmond was currently mostly focused on Amelia’s rebellion. Following that, his priority was to charm the remaining Northern lords and establish control over the North.
He believed he could dispose of Penris at any moment if the opportunity arose.
Naturally, Count Desmond would be unable to imagine that Ghislaine would instigate a war.
With that in mind, Ghislaine planned to leverage the current situation and the opportunities ahead.
‘It’s just a brief opening. I must not miss this excellent opportunity. Without securing iron ore now, a prolonged war will become difficult.’
Thanks to Amelia, they didn’t have much time left.
The moment they grasped the territory of Count Raybold, Count Desmond would immediately shift his target to the territory of Penris.
But there was no way to explain this with mere suspicion, so it had to be glossed over.
The lack of persuasion was met with stubbornness.
Claude, with a defeated expression, stated, “Lord, it’s already a dangerous situation just dealing with Count Desmond. Do we really need to increase that risk? One wrong move could mean death for all of us.”
“I know. Just one mistake can lead to death; for us and everyone in my father’s territory.”
“Then, do you still insist on going after Cabaldy?”
Claude’s voice was almost sorrowful, echoed by cautious additions from Belinda and Ghislaine.
“Milord, the Chief Officer may be a bit odd, but it sounds like he’s making sense now. Can’t we just let it go?”
“Lord, the Chief Officer is right. It’s too risky to outright make the Duke Faction our foes right now.”
The retainers collectively voiced their agreement.
“For now, it would be best to focus on stopping Desmond.”
“Perhaps it would be better to look for iron ore in other regions, even if it takes a bit longer?”
Despite everyone opposing it, Ghislaine firmly stated, “We still have to do it. If we don’t prepare now, we’ll miss our chance.”
Claude clutched his aching head.
Preparing to defend and developing the territory was already overwhelming.
Now they wanted to initiate a preemptive strike on top of that.
The current Penris territory was not in a position to do so.
“I fully understand your intentions, milord. However, there are practical difficulties as well.”
“What is it?”
“Going after Cabaldy is one thing. But can we truly win? The power disparity is too great.”
Count Cabaldy’s territory, like any Northern territory, had its shortcomings, but it was wealthy enough to make up for them with money. Plus, there was something special to mention.
“Above all else, the soldiers’ armaments in Cabaldy are probably the best in the North.”
It’s natural that a place with iron ore would develop refining techniques.
Thanks to that, Count Cabaldy was famous for providing high-quality equipment to his soldiers.
How could they hope to defeat such a place with their current forces?
In response to Claude’s question, Ghislaine looked at him incredulously.
“Don’t you trust me?”
The others avoided her gaze, unwilling to answer.
