Chapter 297
Chapter 297 – It’s Not Time Yet. (3)
Amelia felt a strong intent to kill the moment she saw Ghislaine.
‘Should I just kill him now?’
He was too bothersome and dangerous to leave alive. This was evident from the current situation.
As she slowly raised her hand, Ghislaine also flashed a sinister smile.
“Stay still, Amelia. It’s not time to kill you yet.”
Amelia was like a double-edged sword, a rose filled with poison. The Duke was still oblivious to her true nature and abilities.
There were no true allies for her. The only thing she cared about was her ambition, which could ultimately serve him well.
“If you keep doing unpredictable things, it will be easier for me to deal with that side.”
Right now, there was nowhere to confront the Duke and win. That’s why an unexpected variable like Amelia was needed.
In her previous life, as soon as her actions weakened the Duke’s power, she bared her teeth right away. She was even trying to stab Harold, the Duke of the North, in the back.
So now, the more she acted recklessly, the more Amelia would try to take advantage of the gap.
Of course, even Ghislaine, who prided himself on knowing her best, couldn’t guarantee everything.
There were moments when Amelia acted spontaneously in unpredictable ways.
While this risk could bring danger to Ghislaine himself, he felt such risks were necessary to confront a powerful Duke.
“So think carefully now, Amelia.”
If he was going to kill her, he should have tried to do so as soon as he returned. There were circumstances preventing that, but since he decided to use her, it was better to use her till the end.
However, if she came at him aggressively now, he would have no choice but to kill her.
‘Opportunities come only once….’
He tightened his grip on the spear. If they were to fight, he needed to penetrate Amelia’s head in one strike. If he failed, there was no way to win with his current strength.
The ones standing beside her were not normal either. With piercing gazes, they were ready to attack at any moment.
“If a battle breaks out, I need to kill those guys first.”
He was feeling too exhausted and had sustained quite a bit of injury. If he fought Amelia’s army, all the troops of Penris present would be in danger too.
If that happened, even if he killed Amelia, he would incur significant losses. The effort of having beaten Harold with minimal casualties would be in vain.
If the two of them fought now, it would benefit the Duke alone.
Amelia would surely know that as well.
In sync with her slowly rising hand, Ghislaine began to raise the spear as well.
Matching that movement, the Knights of Penris behind him began to exude an ominous presence. The retainers and knights surrounding Amelia also began to radiate killing intent.
In a suffocating atmosphere, Amelia’s eyes narrowed.
‘Perhaps now is the opportunity.’
Ghislaine was dangerous. So far, he had achieved remarkably miraculous feats.
What exactly he knew and what abilities he possessed remained unclear. He was certainly someone who had to be killed.
‘It’s possible.’
Just by looking, Ghislaine and the knights following him appeared extremely fatigued.
They were soaked in blood and hadn’t even managed to shake off the dust, indicating they hadn’t been here long.
No matter how strong Ghislaine and his subordinates were, if the Raybold army attacked now, they wouldn’t be able to hold them back.
They might be tired as well, but their numbers were overwhelming.
It was undoubtedly an opportunity, yet his hand hesitated to strike.
‘If I kill this guy… the Third Legion and Perdium will strike us immediately.’
Killing Ghislaine here would make it difficult for him to recover.
He hadn’t yet gained proper recognition from the Duke, and he couldn’t openly fight against the Crown Prince faction.
While there was justification, it was an entirely different matter from occupying a position first and negotiating than attacking an already arrived opponent.
But that wasn’t all. Perhaps such assumptions were also results of subconscious rationalization.
What she was truly worried about now was different.
‘I might die too.’
Amelia trusted her instincts. She sensed that attacking now would pose a risk, and her instincts continued to send warnings.
‘Why?’
Despite being in a favorable situation, she felt uneasy.
Even if she ended up fighting the Crown Prince faction, she thought she might find a way out, but the signals from her head repeatedly warned her against it.
She bit her lip and slowly lowered the hand she had been raising.
Seeing this, Ghislaine also wore a faint smile as he lowered his spear.
‘Is that the sensation I felt in my previous life?’
It was the same back then. Amelia had an unusual knack for escaping harm. She clearly possessed a special ability to detect danger.
That’s why, despite having reached the pinnacle known as the Seven Great Powers of the continent, they had never caught her.
Of course, Amelia didn’t stop solely because of that instinct. She was also observing the situation.
‘Anyway, there’s no benefit to us fighting now. It would only be beneficial for the Duke.’
As long as the Duke was around, her ambitions would remain an unfulfilled dream. But if Ghislaine defeated Harold and joined forces with the Crown Prince faction to confront the Duke, there would surely be an opportunity.
There was no need for her to be the one to step forward and fight the Crown Prince faction, risking losses.
‘This time, I’ll spare you, Ghislaine. Let’s see how well you can run wild.’
Anyway, both of them knew well that attacking each other would yield no benefits. Both had a similar tendency to avoid significant losses.
As the atmosphere between them settled slightly, those around them also gradually retracted their hostility.
After a period of silence, Amelia asked curiously.
“How did you know I would come?”
“Isn’t it obvious? You wouldn’t miss such a good opportunity, would you?”
At those words, Amelia twitched her eyebrows.
This was not an obvious matter. Not everyone could do this. If it were easy, all the northern lords would have moved.
Yet Ghislaine spoke as if it were natural for him to act that way.
“I guess you know more about me than I thought.”
“Of course, I probably know you better than anyone else in this kingdom… no, in this continent.”
“Know me best? How dare you?”
“Right, because I always observe how you move, so don’t do anything reckless. Unless you want to regret it.”
Ghislaine warned with a fierce smile, but Amelia responded with an indifferent expression.
“Don’t say things that could lead others to misunderstand. I’m no longer your fiancée.”
“…Is that how it is?”
“…”
“…”
An awkward silence ensued.
Ghislaine suddenly recalled memories from his past life. In her previous life, she would rush over to stick flags in any territory he had cleared.
She was so notorious that even his subordinates had given her bizarre nicknames like “The Witch of Flags” and “The Queen of Land Grab.”
Even after Raybold was trampled, her tenacity was formidable. Whenever there was a chance, she would raid the armies of the Mercenary King and keep capturing other territories.
It was a well-known story that when the nobles of the Duke faction requested the territories to be returned, she made excuse after excuse to stay put.
While Ghislaine swept everything away with storm-like power, Amelia had chased after him with tireless perseverance. Because of that, she had been able to maintain her full power throughout the year of war.
‘Now the Duke has no choice but to reach out to Amelia.’
Even if the Duke waged a civil war soon, there would be no one to take charge of the North. In the end, Amelia would take the place of the fallen Harold.
However, the situation was different from the previous life when Harold swallowed the North. Now, the strongest in the North was him, and Amelia was not someone who would act for the Duke like Harold.
She was going to be an uncontrollable wild card… no, a variable in the upcoming civil war.
‘Maybe she’s currently pondering what to extract from the Duke. Dealing with that woman will surely give Raoul a headache as well.’
Thinking that way made Ghislaine unintentionally smile. Regardless of their relationship, it was clear that Amelia was an extraordinary woman in many ways.
Having lowered his spear, Ghislaine turned his horse and said.
“We’re taking our leave for today. Consider yourself lucky, Amelia.”
“When we meet next time, you’ll be begging for your life, Ghislaine.”
“You confident, are you?”
“Yeah, I’m not planning to let you off easy this time. Look forward to it.”
“Don’t say things that could lead others to misunderstand.”
“…”
Returning the earlier jest back to him, Ghislaine chuckled as he walked away.
Amelia watched his retreating figure with cold, piercing eyes. Honestly, she wanted nothing more than to strike him down right now.
But not now. If killing Ghislaine meant losing what she had, it would be of no use.
Ghislaine was merely an obstacle on the path. He was not the target. That’s why she could endure for now.
She had greater ambitions and goals.
Of course, she could harass Ghislaine however she liked. She could immediately burn and loot all the nearby villages.
‘Meaningless acts.’
But that would be nothing more than a brief release of frustration with no real benefit. She was not foolish enough to expend her strength for such trivial matters.
“Let’s head back.”
Amelia withdrew cleanly. If not now, she could seize another opportunity next time.
Watching the retreating Raybold army, the small number of Penris troops stationed in the fortress exhaled in relief.
They had no choice but to remain tense, knowing that fighting in such a fatigued state was a certain path to death.
Ghislaine, standing atop the castle walls, shook his head while watching Amelia leave.
As he shook off some form of regret, he laughed heartily and said.
“Alright! Leave only the minimum number of guards behind, and we’re heading to Desmond Castle!”
*
Boom!
The gates of Desmond Castle opened, and Ghislaine and the Perdium army entered.
As the Kingdom army and Perdium troops followed behind, people in the castle murmured fearfully.
“We lost….”
“How could we lose to an army of thirty thousand…?”
“What happens now?”
They had taken pride in their territory being the strongest in the North. They believed that Raybold, mentioned alongside Desmond, was no match for them due to internal matters.
Thus, the defeat in this war hit them with a more significant shock.
And even beyond their pride being shattered, there was a far greater, more realistic concern.
“Since the war has ended, they’ll likely conscript a tremendous amount. Now that the Kingdom army and Perdium army are here…”
“Isn’t Perdium notoriously poor even in the North?”
“We have nothing left to spare…”
As residents of the central area of the territory, they mostly lived reasonably well. Harold had thoroughly organized residences based on the residents’ standards and managed them well.
However, even such people had to bear immense expenditures due to this war. And yet, they had still lost.
Given the strength of the Desmond forces, the invading army must have taken significant damage as well. It was clear the invaders were going to implement forced conscription to recover those losses, which was naturally a cause for worry among the territory residents.
Hence, they couldn’t even dare to look directly at Ghislaine, who strode confidently inside, holding their breaths.
The same went for the retainers of Desmond remaining in the castle. The retainers, who had expected to win, were not prepared to flee at all.
Since Ghislaine had rushed in before the results of the war could be properly relayed, they hadn’t even managed to escape with their possessions.
The retainers were brought out in a line, still sporting expressions of disbelief.
Ghislaine regarded them with cold eyes. At that moment, a few of Desmond’s retainers, now colorless, cried out.
“C-Count! The war wasn’t our intention!”
“We opposed it!”
“How could we suggest attacking the Kingdom army! That would be treason! Treason!”
Everyone was scrambling to survive, pleading desperately. However, not everyone felt that way.
“Shut up! You foolish ones who don’t even know the meaning of this shame!”
“Even dead, Count Desmond won’t be able to close his eyes!”
“We fought with all our might and lost! That’s all!”
They were still retainers loyal to Harold.
While Harold was strict and cold-hearted towards his subordinates, he was capable and noble. Many swore loyalty to him out of admiration for his abilities and followed him sincerely.
Watching the retainers quarrel on both sides, Ghislaine spoke irritably.
“Handle this.”
As soon as the words were uttered, soldiers began to move and drag the retainers away.
“Uwaaaaah! Please spare me!”
“You insolent intruders!”
“I regret not being able to kill that brat earlier, causing me to end up like this!”
Among the chaos, Ghislaine’s attention was caught by a final shout from someone.
He must have been quite high-ranking in Desmond, as he was wearing rather fancy clothes. Still glaring at Ghislaine, he bellowed.
“If only you hadn’t targeted my brother back then! I should have killed you first!”
“Hmm….”
“You trash! I regret not having destroyed your Perdium long ago!”
As Ghislaine watched him flailing in desperation, he stepped down from his horse.
“What’s your deal? You seem to know quite a lot.”
“I am the Chief Officer of this territory! People like you, a mere ruffian, couldn’t even dare to look at me!”
“Oh? So were you plotting with Harold to eliminate me all this time?”
“Yeah! I neglected you because you were such a petty issue and focused on more important matters, and ultimately, this tragedy unfolded! If only the Kingdom army hadn’t intervened…”
He could only believe that the reason Perdium had won was due to the support of the Kingdom army.
The difference in troops was simply too substantial.
The Chief Officer of Desmond continued to glare at Ghislaine with bloodshot eyes.
“Do you think this ends here? While we may have fallen like this, the Duke won’t sit idly! The Duke will kill you! When that time comes, even the Crown Prince faction will be helpless!”
“Really? Is the Duke really that free? I thought they were too busy to care about us until now.”
As Ghislaine smirked, knowing the situation, the Chief Officer of Desmond gritted his teeth even harder.
“The Duke has already labeled you a dangerous person! They were looking to send someone else to eliminate you! That’s why the Count moved out to deal with you quickly!”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Ghislaine smiled in amusement. Indeed, it seemed the Duke was moving to eliminate him.
