Chapter 271
Chapter 271 – That Guy Already Moved? (1)
In a meeting of the Crown Prince faction nobles, discussions about Ghislaine surfaced. With the onset of the road construction project connecting the Kingdom, Ghislaine had become the hottest topic in the capital these days.
Therefore, it was impossible for his name to be absent from any meeting.
The Commander of the Kingdom Army, Marquis Maurice McQuarry, furrowed his brows and asked Marquis Branford.
“Is that guy really recruiting a large army?”
“Yes. It seems he’s gathering troops to the point where the territory is buzzing.”
“Ha, it looks like that duckling is finally scared after hitting Count Cabaldy. Well, it makes sense since he meddled with the Duke faction nobles.”
“The problem is he’s gathering them in excessive amounts.”
Although the exact numbers weren’t reported, word had it that the armed forces numbered at least several thousand.
Given Ghislaine’s history of causing major incidents, Marquis Branford couldn’t help but feel particularly uneasy about this rumor.
Maurice nodded and continued.
“Well… he’s unpredictable. Isn’t he gathering them to strike somewhere again? We’re just recovering from the drought situation; it would be troublesome if he causes another disaster.”
“For now, he seems to be preparing in case he clashes with Count Cabaldy since he’s opposing the Duke faction as well. Count Desmond is also gathering his army.”
At Branford’s words, Maurice made a disdainful expression.
“Still, he’s just a mere lord from the North. Unless the Duke faction instigates a civil war, Desmond can’t do anything alone.”
Other nobles of the Crown Prince faction also nodded in agreement.
If the Kingdom Army were far away, that might be one thing, but they were already keeping a close watch near the Desmond territory. Thanks to Marquis Branford’s foresight, Count Desmond’s hands were tied.
Branford was well aware of this fact and agreed. No matter how prominent Desmond was in the North, he couldn’t act rashly without the Duke faction’s support and commands.
However, the fact that Desmond was gathering an army was significant in itself.
“Chit, Desmond’s army mobilization means the civil war is drawing near.”
The nobles of the Crown Prince faction always thought this way. Though they had been pressured by the Duke faction for some time, now that things were getting somewhat bearable thanks to Count Penris, their arrogance was creeping back.
With the justification and legitimacy of supporting the royal family, they couldn’t help but feel that way.
In any case, if the Duke faction instigated a civil war, it would be a rebellion.
After taking a deep breath, Marquis Branford continued.
“Isn’t part of the 2nd Corps currently helping nearby lords with road construction?”
Maurice nodded.
“Since we’re doing it anyway, it’s better to do it quickly. I instructed them; is there a problem? The northern folks are all poor and can’t even work properly.”
“Recall all of them.”
“Why?”
“The presence of the 2nd Corps in that area is for monitoring the North and protecting Count Penris.”
At the indifferent words of Marquis Branford, Maurice grimaced even more.
“Why are you so concerned about that duck? When did he become so important to us?”
“If a civil war breaks out, the first to be attacked in the North will likely be Count Penris. The strength of the 2nd Corps must be maintained to fend off a joint attack from Desmond and the Duke faction nobles.”
“Why are you worrying about a civil war already! The Duke faction is quietly gathering their strength after the drought! If a civil war breaks out now, it would just mean mutual destruction; that guy wouldn’t do that! What they do is nothing but empty threats!”
“Other lords and the Kingdom Army are also preparing their forces in anticipation of a civil war. You never know when the Duke faction will draw swords. The construction work has made the Duke faction nobles increasingly on edge.”
“Sure, it’s good to prepare. But why are we only protecting that guy? If we keep going like this, he’ll become more arrogant since we’re doing everything for him!”
Maurice shouted as if to release the pent-up anger within him, and the other nobles nodded in agreement.
The usually calm Marquis Branford had been particularly attentive to Ghislaine, which naturally caused discontent among the other nobles.
Though Branford’s power was still strong, the others were quietly murmuring behind his back. However, if Ghislaine were to cause another incident or fail just once, the Marquis’s position would also be shaken.
Regardless of the atmosphere, Marquis Branford continued with an apathetic expression.
“I have warned you clearly. Do as I said.”
“Profit…”
Maurice couldn’t hide his displeasure and pursed his lips several times. He couldn’t understand why Branford was so fixated on that brat.
Though dissatisfied, he couldn’t ignore Branford’s request. After all, he was the leader of the Crown Prince faction and wielded more power than himself.
“Remember, once the Duke faction is down, I’ll have that brat’s neck. It would be wise not to interfere then.”
“When the time comes, I’ll pretend I know nothing.”
“Hmph!”
Having tossed another useless threat, Maurice left with a face of disgust.
The other nobles sneaked glances and followed Maurice.
They were contemplating where to align themselves.
‘Looks like even Marquis Branford is losing his judgment due to age.’
‘Even if a civil war occurs, the Kingdom Army should protect us. Why would they protect that guy?’
‘Could it be that he’s really picking that guy as a political successor?’
Other nobles of the Crown Prince faction shared similar grievances as Maurice. They felt that too many excessive benefits were being given to the brat while helpful measures were being extended.
If the Duke faction truly instigated a civil war, it would be correct to use him as a discarded pawn. There was no need to help him for no reason.
‘If a real civil war breaks out, the Kingdom Army’s forces would be better used to pressure the Duke faction instead of protecting that guy. We could attack a more manageable noble from the Duke faction.’
‘Up until now, we cultivated him just to raise our influence in the North, but if war actually breaks out, it would be better to discard him and lift up other nobles.’
‘The Kingdom Army is essentially our last bastion, right? It’s a waste to use them to help a brat like that.’
The thoughts of the Crown Prince faction nobles were mostly in sync. For now, they could be kept in check by Marquis Branford’s power, but as their discontent grew, it was only a matter of time before something explosive happened.
Knowing this, Marquis Branford was left alone, rubbing his forehead and closing his eyes.
‘So tiring.’
Just dealing with the Duke faction was hard enough, and internally they weren’t united either.
Despite Ghislaine demonstrating his abilities several times, the young nobles envied and resented his reputation. The older nobles continued to disregard him as just a poor, useless brat from the North.
Even as times changed, the thinking of the Crown Prince faction nobles remained outdated, making anything related to Ghislaine go sideways.
Though some of that was due to the trouble he continually caused.
‘If a civil war breaks out, we’ll just be overwhelmed.’
Marquis Branford was convinced that a civil war was inevitable. However, most of the Crown Prince faction nobles still believed they could contend against the Duke faction.
They were under the delusion that this was possible thanks to the power of the nobles belonging to the royal family. That was the political strategy of nobles seeking elegance.
‘The downfall of the country always happened when foolish people stirred things up.’
This kingdom couldn’t be handed over to ravenous beasts. For now, he could only keep pressing forward with his authority.
How long that would work, he didn’t know.
Suddenly, the face of Ghislaine popped into Marquis Branford’s mind.
A guy who always acts on his own, getting into trouble, yet delivering unexpectedly good results.
‘He is an interesting one.’
Perhaps the unpredictable guy was the last hope of the kingdom.
Neither he nor the Duke faction could predict what that guy would do.
‘Yeah, if I’m going to support someone, it has to be someone like him.’
A powerful weapon cultivated to battle the Duke faction, the young lord from the North growing his strength at a rapid pace.
That was Ghislaine Perdium.
At some moment, a faint smile appeared on Marquis Branford’s lips.
*
Count Harold of Desmond asked his deputy standing before him.
“Is that guy really recruiting a large army?”
“Yes, it looks like he’s openly preparing for war. It’s estimated the troop size may exceed 5,000.”
Currently, information from the Penris territory wasn’t being properly relayed to other territories. All suspicious individuals were being rounded up as part of the ‘Labor Assault Corps’, and information leaking outside the territory was being manipulated as much as possible.
Even so, with the growth in size, complete information lockdown was impossible.
Hearing the deputy’s report, Harold nodded slightly.
“Yeah, he’s definitely not a foolish one. He may be acting recklessly, but he’s not stupid.”
Harold’s demeanor was different than before. He wasn’t furious, nor did he show he couldn’t understand Ghislaine’s actions. He seemed to be deep in thought, suppressing the emotions spilling out from within him.
After nodding a few times, Harold asked the deputy again.
“What’s our preparation status?”
“We’ve gathered all the resources of the territory. We can’t collect any more at this point.”
Harold nodded several times, looking like he didn’t care what would happen next.
“The losses are quite significant.”
He had secretly nurtured a merchant group to assassinate Ghislaine, throwing immense resources as bait. Luring the lord out wasn’t an easy task.
However, due to the failure of the assassination, the merchant group was disbanded, and all the resources they had taken vanished.
Since they were used for the assassination of the lord, the disbandment of the group was not just a single loss. It meant the complete destruction of everything associated with that merchant group.
Even though he took all those risks to kill Ghislaine, he ultimately failed. The loss was beyond the scope of easy recovery.
In the end, Harold had no choice but to resort to his last option.
That is, to capture and kill Ghislaine by force.
“What’s the situation of the 2nd Corps watching us?”
“Half of the troops are currently supporting the Crown Prince faction’s territories. It seems to be because of the road construction.”
“Looks like they’re underestimating us.”
Count Desmond chuckled. If the Kingdom Army was keeping watch, they assumed he couldn’t act freely.
However, with only half their forces remaining, he could easily overpower them.
“What about our troop mobilization status?”
“I’ve issued a call for troops to all vassals. We are currently gathering forces from various regions.”
“If that guy has started recruiting a large army, we need to gather more too. We must crush them overwhelmingly and take that place.”
“If you’re talking about overwhelming…”
“There’s no need for conscripts. Secure 30,000 armed troops.”
“…30,000 you say?”
“Yes, tell them not to leave a single soldier behind and bring them all. If numbers are insufficient, I’ll behead them all. We’ll also concentrate the forces from all our strongholds and fortresses. It’s a total mobilization order. Got it?”
“Y-Yes, understood.”
The deputy broke out in a cold sweat and bowed his head.
Due to poverty, the average troop sizes of the northern territories were only about 1,000 to 2,000. Even a territory with a lot of troops would struggle to exceed 3,000.
Yet now Harold declared he would gather 30,000 troops. This would mean they’d need to bring even the soldiers responsible for maintaining order in the territory.
In other words, gathering those soldiers means it was possible to secure 30,000.
It was this kind of capability that led to Desmond being called the strongest in the North.
Leaning back in his chair, Harold continued to mutter with a still expression.
“It’s fortunate Amelia succeeded in the rebellion.”
If that hadn’t succeeded, it would have been a great ordeal. Raybold would have been too preoccupied with worrying, unable to focus on war with Ghislaine.
To be honest, he had underestimated Amelia, but he was surprised to hear she managed to take down Jurgen, the strongest in the North, and quickly captured the territory.
“She’s more capable than I thought. But how foolish to let a sole heir slip by. Tsk tsk tsk.”
However, upon recalling Davin Raybold’s presence, Harold clicked his tongue. Indeed, there were limits to someone who only read books all day in a corner.
Had it not been for Ghislaine, he would have dealt with Raybold’s rebellion neatly.
“Were they engaged in war with Baron Valua?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Stop all unnecessary actions. If I start a war, send the troops to join me immediately. I’ll crush Baron Valua.”
“Understood.”
The responding deputy hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking.
“If you start a war first… That would mean you’re instigating a civil war. If you kill Count Penris, it’s certain the Crown Prince faction won’t sit idle. This wasn’t part of the original plan, I’m not sure how the Duke faction will react. We don’t have a justification either.”
Upon hearing the deputy’s question, Harold closed his eyes for a moment.
Everything had unraveled because of Ghislaine. Although Amelia succeeded in the rebellion, they ended up facing Baron Valua, preventing Raybold from utilizing his full strength.
Meanwhile, Ghislaine had secured all his gains and was now even constructing roads connecting all the Crown Prince faction territories.
‘I can’t let this go unchecked.’
The Duke faction had already become furious with Harold for all the mess. No, to be precise, it was Raoul Joseph, the brain of the Duke faction, who was furious.
Up until now, everything had progressed according to his carefully devised plans, successfully.
That was until the emergence of Ghislaine.
‘Those arrogant bastards.’
These were Harold’s true feelings directed at both Ghislaine and Raoul.
One constantly interfered with his work, and the other stood above him giving orders.
In particular, there were even rumors that Raoul intended to dispose of Harold and elevate someone else.
It was an unbearable insult and humiliation for a great noble from the North. Failure after failure, and having someone dictate his life.
‘Now, nothing else matters.’
The threads were tangled beyond measure. As regrettable as it was, he had to cut it all off decisively. To do that, killing Ghislaine had to come first.
This had now become an act not bound by the Duke faction’s commands. As a great noble in the North, it had become a job he must accomplish to restore his fallen honor and pride.
So Harold decided not to worry about how the Duke faction would respond any longer. He resolved to wage war based solely on his own judgment and decision.
Killing Ghislaine and conquering the North. That was all he needed to do to showcase his abilities once more.
Justification? Civil war? What do they matter now? Washing away this wretched humiliation was the priority.
To take on a madman, one must become a madman themselves. If anything were to obstruct that, the Kingdom Army couldn’t just stand by.
‘Then I’ll negotiate with the Duke faction afterward.’
If the Duke faction still intended to strike him down, he would have to persuade them by force.
Even if it meant aligning with the Crown Prince faction.
He was cornered to the extent of being prepared to betray the Duke faction.
So he pooled all the power of the territory into one place.
Just to kill Ghislaine.
Harold reopened his eyes. A suppressed voice escaped his lips.
“This war has nothing to do with the Duke faction’s plans.”
“If that’s the case…”
“This is my plan. This time, I will definitely kill that crazy bastard and wash away all the humiliations thus far.”
The determination in Harold’s eyes was different this time. His gaze emanated a chilling killing intent.
