Chapter 194
Chapter 194: Wait for Me Up Ahead (2)
Count Cabaldy couldn’t hide his confusion as he met Ghislaine’s gaze.
This wasn’t the look of a victor. Instead, it was filled with an unknown hatred and rage.
That made it even harder to understand.
He had no grudges against this punk. Only plans to hold a grudge in the future.
Count Cabaldy squinted and asked, “You… didn’t come here out of simple greed, did you? What’s your purpose in attacking me?”
“I have many objectives. One of them is to kill you here.”
“Cough, ha ha ha, you think you can kill me? Do you believe you and your father will get away unscathed? Your family and territory will be wiped out without a single blade of grass left!”
“You’re quite confident, aren’t you?”
“Indeed! So back off now! You know who’s behind me, right? The Crown Prince Faction will not protect you!”
Count Cabaldy continued with a mocking grin. “I acknowledge your skills and cleverness. But you’re still young and don’t seem to understand politics well. The Duke Faction will never sit idle. If you kill me, things will truly spiral out of control.”
“……”
“This is your last chance. If you spare me, I promise to hand over half of the iron ore production for the next twenty years during our surrender negotiations.”
Ghislaine listened silently to Count Cabaldy’s desperate pleads.
Count Cabaldy was convinced Ghislaine would accept this proposal.
Even though he lost the war, he was still a member of the Duke Faction and a renowned noble in the North.
If Baron Penris took this place, he would surely choke on it. The other nobles, especially the Duke Faction, wouldn’t just stand by.
Even the dumbest person should be able to think on this level.
“Letting me live is more beneficial for you than killing me. Regardless of the opposing factions, killing a surrendered noble does no good. It’s half! Half of the iron ore production!”
If Ghislaine were an ordinary noble and this war had been a simple dispute, she would have taken this condition.
It would ease the political burden and provide enormous benefits. Claiming victory over a stronghold in the North would be a bonus.
But Ghislaine was not here with such thoughts.
“Why? Is it because a civil war is about to break out soon, so it doesn’t matter if I give it?”
“W-What?”
Count Cabaldy was taken aback. Saying the Duke Faction was preparing a rebellion was a secret that couldn’t be openly shared.
With the conflict against the Crown Prince Faction escalating, they might have some suspicion, but they couldn’t just admit it.
“What kind of dangerous words are you saying? The factional conflict is just a power struggle…”
“Don’t play dumb, Count Cabaldy. Did you really think I wouldn’t know?”
“What are you talking about…?”
“I’m talking about how the neutral Count Desmond is swallowing up the northern territories at the orders of the Duke Faction.”
“Wha, what…?”
Count Cabaldy’s face turned pale with shock. How did this punk know something even the Crown Prince Faction wasn’t sure about?
Ghislaine didn’t stop there.
“Do you think this is just a guess? Want to hear more? How about the Tower of the Bloody Flame being the Duke Faction’s hidden blade? It seems it was raised to stab the Crown Prince Faction in the back at the right moment.”
“Y-You….”
“And what about making a rebellion happen from inside Raybold? Amelia was also being supplied with iron ore and was getting armed up, wasn’t she?”
“U-Uh…”
“More than half of the northern lords have unknowingly fallen under Count Desmond’s influence. Their retainers are all feasting on Desmond’s money and have been compromised.”
“Y-You, who the hell are you… How the hell do you know this?”
Count Cabaldy was covered in goosebumps.
This was not speculation. This punk knew every underhanded trick Count Desmond had pulled over the years.
Ghislaine fixed her eyes on Count Cabaldy, her gaze terrifying.
“Surrender negotiations? Twenty years? Do you think I wouldn’t know that you’re planning to attack Count Desmond and Perdium? You want to cut off our iron ore supply and trample us before making us your slaves, don’t you?”
Seeing Ghislaine’s eyes, Count Cabaldy’s head spun.
Only now did he understand why the other party was looking at him with such eyes.
No one would forgive someone trying to kill them.
‘But how did they know? Is there a traitor on our side? Either way, it’s dangerous, this guy is dangerous. I must kill him. I absolutely must kill this punk.’
Baron Penris knew of plans that even the Crown Prince Faction did not grasp. All their schemes were being leaked.
He had to find a way to inform the Duke Faction of this. They could end up moving according to the enemy’s plans.
‘Wait? If it goes well, I can…’
Count Cabaldy, momentarily lost in confusion, suddenly showed a glint in his eye.
So they found out about the plans. So what?
Their faction was the strongest in the kingdom. They could crush any petty trick with sheer force.
Being someone with decent political acumen, he quickly donned a sycophantic grin. “Ah, truly clever of you. You’re right. I don’t know how you found out, but seeing as it’s come to this, I’ll give you a real final chance.”
“A chance?”
“From what I can see, you staged a display of strength to show off your abilities. If you’re that smart, you must know the Duke Faction’s strength… No, there’s no need to go that far. You must know Count Desmond’s power well?”
Ghislaine smiled silently. Who in the North didn’t know of Count Desmond’s strength?
Seeing her smile, Count Cabaldy continued with even more confidence.
“I’ll speak directly to the Duke about your excellence. Come under the Duke Faction’s shadow. Then you and your father will be safe and enjoy eternal wealth and rank. What do you say? Joining us?”
Count Cabaldy believed Ghislaine wouldn’t refuse this offer.
Knowing their secret plan meant she also understood their power.
If she truly wanted to live, she had to grab their hands. That was the only way.
Ghislaine straightened up, clutching Count Cabaldy’s hair. Naturally, this forced Count Cabaldy to look up at her.
Though she didn’t particularly like this position, it was time to soothe this punk.
Ghislaine nodded and replied, “Yeah, I know well. How strong and great Count Desmond is in this North. No need to go to the Duke Faction.”
“Hehe, indeed a sharp one. I’ll overlook my rudeness today. From now on, we shall join forces to rule the North. Now, untie me and help me up.”
Count Cabaldy smiled. After all, no matter how brilliant, a punk was still a punk.
This kid would soon be used up and then discarded. But still alive. He could repay this humiliation when the chance came.
Looking down at Count Cabaldy, Ghislaine said with a cold voice, “But I have no intention of joining hands with you.”
“What?”
“Why bother making it difficult when I can just kill you all?”
“What are you saying right now…”
Whoosh!
Before Count Cabaldy’s words could finish, Ghislaine’s sword darted forward like lightning.
Even as his head flew off, Count Cabaldy’s face was filled with shock and confusion.
Before his consciousness completely faded, Ghislaine’s final words reached his ears.
“Go wait for me up ahead. I’ll send Count Desmond to you soon.”
*
Boom!
Count Desmond’s punch shattered the armrest of the chair.
His expression was as if he were desperately holding in his rage, frozen cold.
In the suffocating heavy atmosphere, the retainers gathered in the main hall couldn’t muster a word.
After a moment of silence, Harold asked the deputy in front of him, “Say it again.”
“Baron Penris has… launched a surprise attack and surrounded Count Cabaldy. Currently, Baron Penris is with an army of three thousand…”
The deputy reported the war situation once more in detail.
Harold, who was listening to the report with a terrifying expression, soon closed his eyes.
He didn’t mock or belittle Ghislaine as usual. He just suppressed his rage as much as possible, quietly reflecting on past events.
He was furious enough to want to destroy everything, but he had to conserve his energy for now.
‘Was my judgment wrong?’
It was more urgent and important matters that made him temporarily overlook it. He had thought it was merely an irritating nuisance that he could sweep away at any time.
Now that he reflected, it seemed he couldn’t admit his own failure and dismissed the other’s success as mere luck.
In truth, if viewed objectively, everything that punk had done was anything but ordinary.
He developed the Forest of Monsters, won the battle at Perdium, developed cosmetics, gained support from the Crown Prince Faction, and even bought food in bulk as if he had predicted the drought.
While Harold was looking elsewhere, that punk was quietly pocketing his gains and growing alarmingly.
‘It’s my mistake. No need to blame anyone.’
When he heard Raoul’s evaluation, he should have thought it more seriously. He should have removed that punk, even at the risk.
In fact, he still believed his success was more due to luck than skill. Predicting the weather was something no one could do.
He simply got lucky and succeeded greatly by aligning with the immigrant plan.
‘But he’s not just a lucky guy.’
Now he had to admit it. Luck goes to those who have skills.
That punk didn’t just waste that luck; he struck Count Cabaldy at an extraordinary moment. That level of judgment and action was definitely not luck.
Harold’s head cleared.
‘A wolf tearing into the opponent’s weaknesses.’
Count Cabaldy certainly had a powerful armed force.
But he wouldn’t be confident enough to fight in the current starving situation. Just one defeat would mean the end.
He would probably be holed up in the castle waiting for support.
‘Count Cabaldy can’t withstand the siege.’
Count Cabaldy’s territory already had poor food supply conditions. There was no way they would have enough stocks to endure a war.
If all went as it should, they should have sent a large amount of food a while ago. But they were too busy handling their own issues as they sold off all their reserves to Ghislaine.
They would first need to sort themselves out before lending help to anywhere else.
But that small gap was where Ghislaine had struck.
‘Yes, it was because of that punk.’
Everything began to unravel because of one little kid. What started as a small tangle had now turned into an uncontrollable situation.
It meant he had miscalculated the importance of the matter.
‘I was complacent. Both I and the Duke Faction.’
Raoul had given Ghislaine high praise, but he hadn’t considered it more important than Amelia’s situation.
The result of everyone looking down on that punk was now turning into a significant burden.
‘That punk has the Crown Prince Faction backing him as well. Before he grows further, we need to stamp out this sprout completely.’
He needed to reorganize the messed-up power dynamics in the North. Thus, Harold made an arbitrary decision to change the priority of the situation.
Regardless of the Duke Faction’s orders.
There was no need to report. Reporting now and discussing again would take far too long.
He looked at the deputy in front of him and asked once more, “Earlier, Amelia… If she grants permission, she said she would prepare and carry out the rebellion herself, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Relay that to her. I’ll give her decision-making power, so let her request what she needs.”
“W-What? My lord, isn’t that the matter the Duke ordered to be prioritized? Assigning decision-making power to them is…”
Harold interrupted the deputy’s words with an emotionless tone. “From now on, we’ll set the destruction of Penris and Perdium as our top priority.”
