Chapter 159: It’s Better to Strike First (1)
The once swirling killing intent disappeared, leaving only an awkward silence around them.
Belinda glared at the newcomers and spoke up.
“What are you all doing? Do you want to be kicked out right away? Do you think our territory is a joke?”
“A-actually, that’s not what we meant…”
“Not what you meant? You were practically dancing with knives just now! Shall I just throw you all in prison instead?”
Belinda decided she had enough. No matter how she looked at it, this chaotic territory needed someone to establish order.
The position of the castle’s butler wasn’t just about managing the household finances; it was meant to oversee everything, from the nobility’s ceremonies to the etiquette among the people.
She resolved to wield the authority she hadn’t used before.
“What are you all waiting for? Hurry back to your posts! Are you itching for a scolding?”
At Belinda’s threat, the reserve forces stepped back, looking sheepish.
Being the castle’s butler placed her close to the lord. They hadn’t even adapted yet, and being in trouble wasn’t going to do them any good.
Belinda glared at them like a strict teacher about to reprimand a student.
“If you behave rudely in front of the lord from now on, I won’t forgive you. Got it? At least maintain some basic courtesy with each other.”
“Yes! Understood!”
At their booming response, Kaor chuckled. He felt like Belinda was taking his side, which puffed up his shoulders.
“See? Everyone looks so much better when they’re all obedient and with their tails between their legs. Keep it up like that….”
Before he could finish his sentence, Belinda whipped around and shouted.
“Hey! Who do you think you are, stirring up trouble everywhere? You think you’re tough? Want to have a go with me first? Because to me, you look like total rubbish!”
“Uh, no, why are you suddenly…?”
Kaor was taken aback for a moment. They always bickered, but he had never seen her this furious before.
So, he missed the timing to retort as he usually would.
Moreover, with Belinda using her position as the butler, it was hard for a contracted mercenary like him to fight back.
Seeing Kaor’s stunned expression filled with confusion and grievance, Ghislaine and Claude just blinked in surprise.
It’s scary when someone who usually doesn’t get angry finally does…
‘Ah, this could’ve been entertaining.’
Ghislaine quietly felt regret, clicking his tongue inwardly. He had already mapped out the matchups in his head, but now the atmosphere had completely died.
Most of the newcomers had fiery tempers, so it was necessary to establish some discipline at some point.
Even if they left it alone, Gillian would organize things. There was no need to stop them from stepping up.
Belinda turned to Ghislaine, licking her lips in curiosity.
“Why does the lord look like that? You seem disappointed.”
“No? Not disappointed at all. Just wondering if it’s really necessary to step in. Sorting out the ranks…”
“Gillian will handle the rank sorting during training. You think I wouldn’t know that?”
“Uh… right. Gillian will handle it all.”
Belinda narrowed her eyes, giving Ghislaine a sidelong glance.
“Don’t tell me you’ve already set up the matches and drafted the lineup while watching the Chief Officer like a spectator… Is that what you were thinking?”
“Of course not. As always, I’m a non-violent pacifist.”
“Sigh, I wish we could just live normally. I have work to do, so I’ll take my leave. Everyone, be careful. I’ll be watching.”
“I wish I could live a normal life. I’m busy with work, so I’ll head out first. And everyone, be careful. I’ll be watching.”
Belinda sighed, shook her head a few times, and then left the room.
As she departed, an awkward silence settled around them once again.
“Ahem.”
“Hmm.”
“Um, um.”
Everyone cleared their throats awkwardly, glancing at each other.
Gillian, whose moment was stolen by Belinda, crossed his arms and pretended not to notice.
Claude whispered quietly into Ghislaine’s ear.
“Bit of a letdown. I was hoping to take a leisurely stroll for about five years this time.”
“Oh, what a missed opportunity to extend the slave contract period.”
“You did mean to say it’s fortunate the period won’t be shortened, right? Either way, it’s the first time I’ve seen the butler that angry. Was he always this scary?”
“Oh, he was terrifying when he got angry back in the day. And if this isn’t the end, just wait—when he gets even angrier, out comes the knife. After that, it’ll be poison.”
“Whoa, better be careful then.”
“As long as you don’t cross the line.”
Claude nodded but then realized something odd, tilting his head.
“…If you’re saying not to cross the line, how do you know the next steps are a knife and poison?”
“Well, how indeed.”
Ghislaine wore a nostalgic expression and then suddenly shifted to a bright one.
“By the way, we should start preparing for the next task.”
“Next task? We’re already drowning in work here! What more could there be?”
Claude exclaimed in shock. If they took on more work, they’d all be in serious trouble.
However, Ghislaine responded with a gentle smile.
“Don’t worry. This next task won’t require much from you.”
“Really? You’re not handing us more work from this point?”
“Wow, you’re suspicious as ever. I’m serious, I’ve never been unreasonable with you, have I?”
“Wow, look at that audacity.”
Claude’s face openly displayed his incredulity as he stared at Ghislaine.
If this isn’t unreasonable, then what is?
He felt like he’d only hear “It was unreasonable, sorry” after he worked himself to death.
Claude wanted to argue further but held back for now.
He didn’t want to provoke her into piling on more work.
“Well, I guess that’s fair. But what’s the next task?”
“Getting ready to procure iron ore. We’re short on that.”
“…How do you plan to do that?”
“I’ve got a plan. I’ll tell you, so just prepare for the meeting.”
Seeing Ghislaine respond confidently made Claude even more uneasy.
*
Whenever anything is rushed, problems are bound to arise.
In a territory like Penris, which had nothing, securing resources was a major issue.
Especially iron ore, which is notoriously difficult to obtain in bulk even if you have the money, making it a significant headache.
But Ghislaine wasn’t worried. She had long been planning how to solve the iron ore problem.
When her retainers had gathered, Ghislaine got straight to the point.
“We’re going to attack Count Cabaldy’s Territory.”
At the mention of this crazy idea, the people blinked in surprise.
They had certainly expected a meeting about resource shortages, so such an unexpected topic threw them off.
Count Cabaldy was a member of the Duke Faction, and his territory was known to be the largest source of iron ore in the North. Plus, he had been supplying Count Desmond diligently.
Claude shook his head a few times, cleaned his ears, and asked again.
“Um, wasn’t this a meeting about how to secure iron ore?”
“Yes, and that’s why we’re attacking Count Cabaldy’s Territory.”
Once again, the lord started spouting nonsense.
Claude took a deep breath to calm himself.
They were currently developing their territory while simultaneously preparing to fend off Count Desmond’s attacks.
With their lives on the line just trying to hold back, starting a war was completely absurd.
In any case, Count Cabaldy’s Territory was not somewhere one could attack recklessly, and even if they did, victory was not guaranteed.
“Lord? This conclusion came too suddenly; could you please explain your reasoning?”
Realizing no one understood her plan, Ghislaine began to explain.
After all, they needed to move together, united towards the same goal. A few more words of explanation wouldn’t hurt.
We all need to move as one towards the same goal. A few more words of effort can be easily managed.
“Right now, the iron ore from the Cabaldy territory is only being supplied to Desmond. They hardly sell any to us.”
“True… Are you suggesting we attack them because we’re jealous of Desmond?”
“Who goes to war over jealousy?”
Ghislaine looked at Claude with a disappointing expression.
‘I spoke at your level!’
Claude felt wronged but couldn’t find the words.
“What happens if we take that place? Desmond’s import of iron ore would be cut off, and we would have an immense supply. It’s a brilliant strategy to slow down the enemy’s growth while we grow quickly ourselves.”
“So… you’re saying we’re just going to attack to take the iron ore we lack?”
“Well, broadly speaking, yes.”
‘Are you a robber?’
Claude held his spinning head and stumbled, barely managing to stand upright.
Attacking a place with a lot of iron ore because we lack it was both simple and brilliant logic.
If we can slow the enemy’s growth and quickly enhance our own, it should obviously be a good thing.
But attacking a third party while claiming to help ourselves feels like something only a madman would conceive.
“Lord, can we please play this a little more reasonably? Count Cabaldy has no connection to us right now. We can’t attack someone like that.”
“True, he’s not an immediate threat. But ultimately, Count Cabaldy is our enemy too.”
“Why? Because he belongs to the Duke Faction? There’s really no proof that the Duke Faction is attacking us behind Desmond.”
“We believe that because they’re behind the scenes. Count Cabaldy will team up with Count Desmond to strike at us. So, it’s better to reduce one enemy beforehand and get some iron ore in the process.”
For Ghislaine, who knew the future, it was obvious, but for the others, it was just ridiculous.
Claude trembled and paced back and forth before saying,
“Wait, let’s think this through. There’s a person we don’t even know, let alone have fought before. But just because he might attack you in the future, you want to preemptively attack? Does that even make sense?”
“It sounds a bit odd when you put it that way, but what can we do? It’s the truth.”
“Do you perhaps have an issue with your character?”
Claude couldn’t hold back and brought up Ghislaine’s character. Belinda immediately yelled out,
“Why are you putting down our Young Master! Our Young Master is such a kind-hearted and good person!”
“Wait! Don’t you see anything wrong here?”
“Our Young Master always thinks to remove those who don’t suit him first!”
“But just now you said he was kind and good! If that was his original personality, you should have taught him to change it! How on earth did you educate him?”
“Interfering with someone else’s education method is extremely rude, you know?”
“I’d rather not know, I don’t want to.”
As their voices rose, Ghislaine intervened.
“To be honest, it’s not like we’re attacking just because we dislike him… or at least, I can’t say that’s the only reason. Claude, can you really not trust the information? Count Cabaldy is supplying an enormous amount of iron ore to Desmond right now, right? That clearly means they’re in cahoots.”
Claude was indeed suspecting that the Duke Faction was behind Desmond because of that.
If they weren’t on the same side, there would be no way they would provide that much support.
But wagering territory on mere suspicions was far too risky.
Claude spoke in a tone as if he were soothing a child.
“My Lord, I understand what you mean. However… Count Cabaldy belongs to the Duke Faction.”
“And?”
“If we strike Count Cabaldy first, we’ll undeniably become enemies with the Duke Faction without any ties to Count Desmond! The Crown Prince Faction and Duke Faction aren’t openly at each other’s throats yet!”
“We’re already enemies with the Duke Faction. Haven’t we agreed on that?”
“Not yet. It’s not out in the open! Let’s not give them a clear motive to attack us! What are you going to do if the Duke Faction directly intervenes?”
Ghislaine spoke with exasperation.
“Anyway, we have to fight them eventually, so why worry about this now? We can think about it when the time comes.”
“…….”
“Let me explain it very simply. Let’s say you’re fighting, Claude.”
“I’m a dignified scholar, so I don’t engage in fights.”
“Whatever. Let’s say you do. What’s more advantageous, getting hit first or hitting first?”
“Well… hitting first would be advantageous… They say the first strike is the best.”
“Exactly! So, isn’t it better for us to strike first rather than getting hit by Cabaldy now? It just makes sense.”
‘He’s finally gone completely mad!’
Claude’s expression went blank at the absurdity of treating war like a children’s street fight.
Just as he was about to curse or not, Ghislaine continued speaking.
“To continue the war, we need to secure iron ore reliably. We must take Count Cabaldy’s Territory at all costs. Count Desmond would never think we’d strike there first. He won’t be prepared.”
Count Desmond was currently preoccupied with Amelia’s rebellion. Next on his list was to seduce the remaining northern lords and seize the north.
He believed he could eliminate Penris whenever an opportunity arose.
Naturally, Desmond wouldn’t even imagine that Ghislaine would start the war first.
That’s why Ghislaine was keen on actively using the present situation and the upcoming opportunity.
‘It’s only a brief moment of chance. I cannot miss this great opportunity. If we don’t secure iron ore now, a prolonged war will become difficult.’
Thanks to Amelia, the time was running out.
The moment they took Count Raybold’s Territory, Count Desmond would immediately shift his focus to Penris Territory.
But that was something he couldn’t explain even if he wanted to.
The weakening persuasiveness could only be covered with sheer force.
Claude, with a tired expression, said, “Lord, it’s very dangerous to even face Count Desmond. Do we really need to escalate the risks from there? If we mess up, we could all die.”
“I know. Just one mistake could mean death for all of us, including the people in my father’s Territory.”
“But do you really have to attack Cabaldy?”
Claude’s voice sounded unusually sorrowful, and Belinda and Gillian cautiously added their input.
“Young Master, the Chief Officer may be a bit odd normally, but it sounds like he’s making sense today. Can’t we just not do it?”
“My lord, the Chief Officer is right. Turning the Duke Faction into open enemies in this situation is too dangerous.”
The retainers spoke as one.
“It seems better to focus on stopping Desmond for now.”
“What if we look for iron ore in other regions, even if it takes a bit longer?”
Despite everyone’s objections, Ghislaine spoke firmly.
“But we have to do it. If we don’t prepare now, we’ll miss the opportunity.”
Claude held his throbbing head.
Preparing for defense and developing the territory was already overwhelming enough.
And now, on top of that, they wanted to launch a preemptive strike.
The current Penris Territory was not in a position to do that.
“I understand your wishes, my lord. But realistically, there’s another problem.”
“What is it?”
“Even if we go to the territory, can we really win? The power difference is too great.”
Count Cabaldy’s Territory, being a northern territory, had its own shortcomings, but it was rich enough to cover those with money. Moreover, there was one more special feature.
“Regardless of anything else, the soldiers’ armaments would be the best in the north under Cabaldy.”
It was only natural for regions rich in iron ore to develop smelting techniques.
Thanks to that, Count Cabaldy’s Territory was renowned for equipping soldiers with quality armor.
How could they possibly win against such a force with their current strength?
In disbelief, Ghislaine replied to Claude’s question.
“Do you not trust me?”
The people averted their eyes without answering.
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