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Chapter

161. It’s Better to Strike First, You Know? (3)

Claude urgently spoke to the bewildered Ghislaine.

“When are we setting out? Can’t we take it slow a bit? We should plan while watching Count Desmond’s movements…”

Ghislaine shook her head firmly.

“No. We’re already behind schedule more than I expected. We must start preparations immediately. We’ll depart as soon as the next harvest season ends.”

There were only a few months before the next harvest—too soon.

Claude let out a shrill scream.

“Why does it have to be that time!”

“Because I have to fight when I want to.”

Ghislaine replied in a resolute voice.

She wasn’t rushing just because she wanted to seize the place quickly.

It would be great to get iron ore quickly, but finding the optimal timing was far more important.

Rushing without proper order would only increase the chances of failure.

For Ghislaine, just one failure—even a single time—meant destruction.

‘We must achieve an overwhelming victory to minimize damage. Reducing risks and seizing the mine the quickest way is… attacking at that time only.’

This was a plan that only Ghislaine, who knew the future, could conceive.

She must continue to direct every situation according to her intentions. To do this, Ghislaine drew Marquis Branford into the Crown Prince faction.

However, explaining this now would make no sense to anyone; no one would understand or believe it.

As it had been till now, even after results were produced, it was likely that they would simply regard it as luck.

Claude, who had been anxiously pacing around due to Ghislaine’s resolute attitude, said pitifully.

“Lord, how about we make a bet this time?”

“What kind of bet?”

“We bet whether I will defend the territory in my way or if you will set out as you plan.”

Claude’s face showed clear signs of urgency.

To protect this territory with his life, he couldn’t be dragged around by the lord’s crazy whims any longer.

If one were to be a sensible person living in reality, that was how it should be.

With tears threatening to spill, Claude’s voice prompted Ghislaine to nod willingly.

“Alright, tell me the details.”

Claude felt relieved internally and excitedly said.

“Actually, it’s true that I should follow your orders unconditionally, but… the situation isn’t good at all. Isn’t it better than everyone feeling anxious?”

Ghislaine had no choice but to agree with that statement.

Following the lord’s orders out of obligation held no significance.

The enemies they would face from now on couldn’t possibly be blocked with such a mindset.

If it was about instilling enthusiasm in the people, a bet could be made a hundred or a thousand times.

“Okay, what should we do then?”

“I will assure you of the preparation for departure as you said. But…”

“But?”

“If within two months, no one can handle mana, please cancel the departure.”

“Cancel the departure?”

“Yes, and focus entirely on defense. If we prepare well, even if the real Desmond attacks, I can somehow hold them off. I have that much ability, you know?”

Ghislaine clicked her tongue internally.

She knew Claude was capable.

However, it was certain that he wouldn’t be fully prepared to counter the Duke faction.

After all, even the royal family and the Crown Prince faction couldn’t fully grasp the Duke faction’s entire force and plans—how could Claude possibly know how to prepare?

Once the Duke faction’s power was revealed completely, it would be too late.

But this was a part Ghislaine couldn’t explain to her retainers no matter what.

At least right now, Count Desmond’s real movements were happening, which allowed for a sense of crisis to prepare for defense.

“Hmm…”

While Ghislaine fell into thought for a moment, Claude looked at her with a worried face.

The enemy was preparing to brazenly invade the territory.

In the meantime, betting the entire fate of the territory felt too reckless, even if the counterpart was a lord.

As Ghislaine’s pondering dragged on, Claude quickly continued.

“Oh, is that not enough? Then I’ll bet ten more years of slavery with Alfoy.”

“Hey! Are you crazy? Why are you involving me!”

Alfoy was aghast from the side, but Claude ignored him.

Two heads were more at ease than one.

Alfoy struggled to intervene but was met with the terrifying gazes of those around him and closed his mouth.

Everyone was trying to dissuade the lord’s departure by putting Alfoy on the line.

‘Ah, this cursed territory. I want to go back to the Mage Tower. I hope that chief officer wins.’

Ghislaine found Alfoy’s teary expression amusing.

“Wow, are you really betting ten more years? Are you really sure about that?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Claude replied earnestly. He had long lost track of how much his life had been wagered.

Still, living a few decades longer as a slave was better than dying this year.

Ghislaine suggested he think again.

“Wouldn’t it be better to do your utmost to help ensure success instead? Just think. Having a few hundred people who can handle mana—doesn’t that sound incredible? It must be phenomenal.”

No one could argue with those words.

In Perdium, a count’s territory, there weren’t even thirty knights.

But if hundreds of people who could handle mana gathered in one territory?

Even if each individual’s power was slightly weaker than the existing knights, their combined power would be immense.

Just imagining it was satisfying, but that was truly only a possibility in imagination.

Claude discarded any false hopes. He had lived through too harsh and strenuous a world to trust such things.

“Of course, we will prepare with our utmost to win the war. It’s just that the issue lies with the lord’s firm determination to set out. Therefore, we ought to attempt it but give up if the knight order isn’t prepared.”

It was indeed rude to oppose when the lord had decided to go to war and even betted against it.

However, other retainers did not reprimand Claude’s rudeness this time.

They had grown quite accustomed to such an informal atmosphere, and this time, even if it was rude, stopping the lord took precedence.

‘Courtesy is also maintained—when compared to whipping out weapons and fighting in front of the lord, this degree of rudeness is…’

As it seemed that other retainers agreed with Claude’s opinion, Ghislaine nodded willingly.

“Alright, let’s proceed according to the chief officer’s words. After all, everyone needs to see for themselves to feel at ease.”

He paused mid-sentence and narrowed his brows slightly.

“But isn’t everyone going to intervene in this bet?”

Usually, when a bet was proposed, someone would rush in to stop it, but now, everyone was silent as if nothing had happened.

Even Gillian, usually ready to jump into a fire at the lord’s command, was merely staring at the ceiling.

Everyone was united in wishing that Claude would win this time.

“Eh, I never expected you all to have this little faith.”

Ghislaine clicked her tongue unconsciously.

No matter how unreasonable the situation was, she couldn’t believe that not even a single person trusted her.

“I believe in you.”

“Eh?”

Unexpectedly stepping up was Kaor.

In reality, he didn’t particularly trust Ghislaine either. Still, he was in favor of going to war.

Because…

“I’ve been feeling a bit restless lately, so if we’re going to fight, let’s do it boldly and quickly! I’ll take out everyone!”

He had been bored recently due to the lack of fighting.

As the others looked at him with disdainful eyes, the shameless Kaor momentarily faltered.

“What? Why? Did I say something wrong? Hey, don’t you dare look down on our lord’s words? If he says we’re going, we’re going! Why is there so much opposition? You’re all so disloyal…”

Seeing how he treated the lord as a joke only added to the embarrassment, leading him to sell out the lord.

As Kaor continued his antics, Belinda and Gillian stepped in front of him.

“If it’s for fun, why don’t you just go and take on either Count Desmond or Count Almond’s head?”

“Stay out of this. Seriously.”

When the two pressed him with terrifying glares, Kaor flinched.

“Hah, come on! You want to get some practice in? Want to try drinking blood instead of alcohol today?”

Though his words were rough, his eyes kept darting.

If he made eye contact with either of them, he’d really have to fight.

Even for Kaor, taking on both at once would be tough.

With a strange gaze, Ghislaine looked at Kaor.

There’s something between them, but it was somehow prideful and irritating.

She clicked her tongue and shook her head.

“Anyway, the conclusion is that I’m going to win, right? If I win, we’re definitely setting out, so keep that in mind. Until then, we have to prepare properly.”

Everyone could easily guess what they were thinking by making such a bet, but she had no intention of postponing the departure at all.

However, Claude, who didn’t know Ghislaine’s true intentions, nodded repeatedly with a relieved expression.

“I understand. Whether it’s for defense or offense, the preparations needed for war are mostly similar. So don’t worry about that part.”

To create the Mana Convergence Circle would require a massive amount of Runestones, but at least he was able to prevent the ragtag bunch from being taken out as the knight order.

‘With that much Runestone, soldiers could be equipped with immensely good gear. Aah, it feels like such a waste!’

Still, it was better than not setting out, so he had to be satisfied.

As Claude shut his mouth, Ghislaine looked around and said.

“Everyone should focus solely on preparing for war and developing the territory as before. I will personally oversee the mercenaries’ mana training. Well, some will have to move more busily than now.”

Upon hearing those words, everyone’s gaze focused on one side. They realized whom Ghislaine was referring to.

Alfoy and the Wizards, who were singled out, turned pale.

To get the mercenaries to quickly learn mana, they would need to create the Mana Convergence Circle.

The only ones who could make that were the Wizards.

The problem was that they already had a pile of work lined up—from the construction of the territory’s waterways and reservoirs to the cultivation Runestone tasks. They were already short on sleep.

Alfoy trembled and asked.

“Do we… really have to do that?”

“Of course.”

“But… there’s already too much work to do…”

“No, you can do it.”

“I can’t do it!”

Alfoy shouted with gritted teeth.

“I can’t live like this any longer! I will cancel the contract with the Mage Tower and the Territory of Penris under the authority of the branch leader! I’m going back to the Mage Tower! Don’t stop me! I’m really leaving!”

As Alfoy took a strong stance, the Wizards began to rise as well.

“Yeah! We’re going back! Let’s stop this! We’re not doing it anymore!”

At that, Ghislaine put on a look of admiration.

“You’re going to cancel the contract? Are you sure you can handle that? The tower lord won’t just let you go.”

“I’ll think about that when that time comes! I’m definitely canceling!”

Ghislaine nodded in agreement.

“Okay, since a branch leader would say that, there’s nothing we can do. But we still have our personal contract left, you know.”

“Eh?”

“If you want to leave our territory, you can go. The slave traders are set to come soon, so you can go with them.”

If they went with the slave traders, the chances of reaching the Mage Tower were extremely low.

No, it wouldn’t just be low; it would be a 100% chance they would end up very far away.

“I don’t want to! I really hate it here!”

Alfoy and the Wizards collapsed, covering their faces. They had no concern for pride as Wizards.

Somewhere along the way, their lives had completely unraveled.

They felt they might die from overwork, that they might die in a war, that they might be sold into slavery if they ran away, and that they would die at the hands of the tower lord if they returned to the Mage Tower.

At that moment, Vanessa, who had been restless, stepped forward.

“Lord, how many should we make?”

“First, one hundred. The mercenaries will be taking turns training every day for two months, so we’ll probably need to make some more.”

The Wizards felt slightly relieved. They were worried about how many they would be asked to make, but since it was one hundred, at least it was half the amount compared to last time’s grain improvement.

However, Ghislaine’s demands didn’t end there.

“You need to make them all within a week. We need to start quickly.”

The murderous schedule drained the color from the Wizards’ faces again.

Others felt sympathy for them but couldn’t dare to support them.

Since the lord’s determination was firm, siding with the Wizards might risk delaying the territory’s construction and cultivation work.

But Vanessa confidently reassured the Wizards.

“Alfoy, you can definitely do it. I’ll help you. You are the heir of the northernmost Mage Tower, right? The other Wizards are skilled, too.”

With a soothing tone, Alfoy pouted. It stung his pride to be comforted by someone who used to be a maid of the Mage Tower.

At that moment, Claude interjected from the side.

“Hey, bro. You’re the greatest intellectual and magician! This should be easy, right? Why are you suddenly showing weakness? Are you just a bit tired lately?”

Others also started tossing in comments that they didn’t mean.

“Well, it is a lot of work. But if it’s those who came from the Tower of the Bloody Flame, it should be possible.”

“Of course, who could disagree? They came from the best tower, and they possess the greatest talent!”

“It seems the future great wizard is perhaps overreacting a bit. Hohoho.”

Since the decision was made to go through with it anyway, if the Wizards were to stage a strike, it would only tire others out as well.

If a few words could prevent that situation, it would be a worthwhile bargain.

“Hmph! Flattery from all of you…”

As compliments rained down, Alfoy subtly straightened his back and wiped under his nose.

 

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