Chapter 195: Go Ahead and Wait. (3)
Thanks to Amelia, Ghislaine had managed to avoid the pressure from the Duke Faction and Harold up until now. But that couldn’t last forever.
In the end, Harold decided to actively target Ghislaine.
Of course, all of Harold’s retainers were taken aback by that decision. Harold was someone the Duke Faction trusted so much that they had entrusted him with the overall management of the North.
And yet, now he was defying the Duke Faction’s orders.
One of his retainers, sweating bullets, asked hesitantly, “Are you saying to prioritize the downfall of Penris and Perdium?”
“Exactly. All the funds, troops, and resources currently being used to prepare for Amelia’s rebellion will be redirected to attack Baron Penris. Amelia says she can handle it herself, so only review what’s absolutely necessary and provide support.”
The retainers could not understand his decision at all.
Sure, Baron Penris was doing well lately, but that didn’t compare to the importance of Amelia’s plans.
“If Amelia fails in her rebellion, it will be a huge problem. Currently, there is no one who can match the North’s best swordsman, Commander Jurgen, and they are severely lacking in troops to succeed in the rebellion. Are you really sure about this?”
“I’m going to untie the tangled knot first. If we leave him be, the situation in the North will worsen. Count Raybold is also struggling to mobilize his army due to the drought, so it’s better to deal with him first.”
“Baron Penris is still weaker compared to Count Raybold. It would be better to push through and finish Amelia’s rebellion quickly…”
“Enough.”
Seeing Harold’s expression twist, the retainer immediately fell silent. If he spoke one more word, he’d surely lose his head right here.
Harold looked around at his retainers once more and said, “I will crush him by any means necessary. Make sure everyone knows and prepares for that.”
Things were no longer the same. Harold recognized Ghislaine as a clear ‘enemy’ that needed to be dealt with immediately, not just a lucky kid that could wait.
He began to reassess the current situation in light of this new awareness.
“We can’t let him have the iron ore. If he does, it will cause a significant disruption in our power supply in the long run. Prepare the food and reinforcements to send to Count Cabaldy right away.”
“Right now? The Duke Faction is surely negotiating with the Crown Prince Faction. It would be better to wait and see the outcome of the negotiations before moving recklessly…”
“Too late. Prepare it right now.”
“A-Understood.”
Feeling the deadly intent in Harold’s gaze, the deputy immediately lowered his head.
As predicted by Count Proud, Harold made quick decisions.
This was partly because he had come to recognize Ghislaine’s abilities.
With no time to spare, there was no room for leisurely preparations. All he could do was prepare a contingent of troops and supplies to hold out, even if just temporarily.
“We will depart immediately, my lord.”
Emerson, who was in charge of command, saluted in front of Harold.
He was a distinguished figure known for his expertise in mobile warfare as the commander of the cavalry unit.
If Viktor hadn’t been present, Emerson would have taken command in the defense of Perdium.
That was how urgent the situation was when they were willing to send such a valuable person without hesitation.
It was an urgent situation that required immediate action.
Harold spoke to Emerson with a solemn face.
“Use any means necessary to deliver food to Cabaldy Castle as quickly as possible. As long as we can hold on, I will ensure the 2nd reinforcement army arrives soon.”
“Understood. I will succeed without fail.”
“I trust you.”
Emerson quickly rode off with a thousand soldiers and supplies.
Although they were at a disadvantage compared to the Penris Army, it wouldn’t be difficult to join up if the Cabaldy forces responded in time.
Harold believed that once they joined forces, the numbers on both sides would even out, discouraging the enemy from launching a full-scale assault.
“Don’t stop running! You can reach them before the Cabaldy forces crumble!”
Emerson had no doubt the operation would succeed.
Siege wars inevitably take time. Especially if the besieged drag things out further.
The territories of Count Desmond and Count Cabaldy weren’t far apart, and given Harold’s quick decision, they would likely arrive well before the Cabaldy forces starved or surrendered.
However, his hopes were swiftly shattered as soon as he stepped outside the territory.
“What… what is this…?”
There was a massive army of at least 5,000 troops stationed on the quickest route to Count Cabaldy’s territory.
They were the forces of the Ruthania Kingdom’s 2nd Corps sent by Marquis Branford.
As Emerson was taken aback, someone rode up to him on horseback.
“Who do we have here? Isn’t this the renowned Lord Emerson from the North?”
The beaming face belonged to Baron Dorren, the commander of the 2nd Corps.
He was currently monitoring the area near Desmond on the orders of Marquis Branford.
In the worst-case scenario, he was prepared to strike Count Desmond.
After recovering from his surprise, Emerson slightly bowed his head and bit his lip as he spoke.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Commander of the 2nd Corps. But why has the 2nd Corps, which should be guarding the north of Cardena, come so close to our territory? This is against protocol.”
“And where might you be in such a hurry to go, my lord?”
“We were… conducting maneuver training.”
“How fortunate! We were training right here as well.”
“What do you mean by that! We haven’t heard anything about this!”
Emerson openly scowled.
Regardless of being the kingdom’s army, they couldn’t just move troops into another lord’s territory without reason.
That would be just as good as a clear threat to fight.
“Hmm, it seems there’s a bit of misunderstanding on your part.”
Baron Dorren spoke politely.
Even as a commander of the kingdom’s corps, he couldn’t treat Emerson, a knight and commander of Count Desmond’s army, carelessly. Count Desmond was a powerful noble with considerable influence.
Instead, he casually smiled and pulled out a document from his coat.
“This is an official training exercise sanctioned by the royal family. It seems it hasn’t been delivered to Count Desmond yet. Haven’t we agreed to cooperate with the kingdom’s official training?”
“W-what about the profit…?”
Emerson gritted his teeth.
This was undoubtedly a scheme by the Crown Prince Faction. They were clearly trying to prevent anyone from aiding Count Cabaldy.
“Then please move aside for now. We need to finish our training as well.”
“Oh dear, that would be quite difficult. We already control this area. It would be uncomfortable for both sides if any unnecessary conflict occurs, so please concede for a few days.”
“Commander!”
“I’m just following orders here. Please understand my situation. If I can’t conduct this training properly, I’ll have to take off my uniform! My kid is entering the academy, and do you know how expensive tuition is? Ugh, raising kids these days is so tough because of money. Tsk tsk tsk.”
Emerson let out an exasperated breath at Baron Dorren’s crafty response.
If it didn’t involve fighting the Crown Prince Faction directly, it was a problem beyond his resolution. Reluctantly, he sent a messenger to Count Desmond.
A full day later, a messenger hurriedly delivered a letter to Baron Dorren.
Upon seeing the letter filled with threats of rage, Baron Dorren scratched his chin with a troubled expression.
“Ah, it seems Count Desmond is quite furious. We may not be able to continue like this.”
“Is there no way out?”
Baron Dorren couldn’t handle Count Desmond, the Great Lord of the North, alone. Yet, he had something to rely on.
“Well then, please wait a moment. I need to send a message as I have to obtain royal consent.”
“Commander! Please clear the way immediately!”
“Oh dear, I’d love to do that, but there’s a procedure to follow, you know? I can’t just act on my own. If I take off my uniform, will you take responsibility? You won’t pay our daughter’s academy fees instead, will you?”
What a ridiculous statement. Why is the Commander the Commander? He could stop training based on his judgment, and of course, it wasn’t difficult to clear a path.
Emerson kept protesting, but Baron Dorren remained steadfast.
“I want to return quickly as well. Our administrators are so slow with their work. We need an organizational reform ASAP! Anyway, since we still haven’t received a response, please wait just a little longer.”
They wasted a whopping five days in such squabbling.
With this much time, they could have easily reached Count Cabaldy’s Territory.
Furious, Emerson decided to force his way through.
Later, it might lead to a big disaster, but fulfilling Harold’s order was more important to him.
When he met Baron Dorren again for the last notice, a soldier rushed in, shouting.
“Baron Penris has captured Cabaldy Castle!”
‘It’s over.’
Emerson closed his eyes and heard Baron Dorren’s sly mutter.
“Oh dear, this is getting uncomfortable, I can’t even train properly. I guess I’ll just head back.”
‘I want to kill him.’
Emerson genuinely thought that.
*
The news of Ghislaine’s victory in the war reached the capital quickly.
The Crown Prince faction’s nobles, who had been gathering daily discussing ineffective measures, fell silent in shock upon hearing the news.
Particularly, Marquis Maurice McQuarry, the commander of the Kingdom Army, was in disbelief.
“Already… they’ve won? That duck-faced brat? Did he use black magic or something?”
Who is Count Cabaldy? He was one of the strongest who was renowned for his soldiers’ armament in the North.
No matter how much food was scarce and their strength diminished, to succeed in capturing so quickly!
It was too quick to claim victory just by starving them out.
“How is it possible that they’ve already won? Did Count Cabaldy surrender so quickly?”
Maurice asked the knight reporting to him. However, the knight shook his head.
“We need to gather more details, but it seems Count Cabaldy didn’t surrender. They captured the castle by fighting. The rumor is spreading rapidly.”
“Ugh…”
With Maurice’s sigh, the nobles around him gasped in admiration.
“Baron Penris was that militarily capable? To end a siege this quickly! Especially against Count Cabaldy!”
“Wasn’t it just luck? The Cabaldy forces would have been starving and couldn’t fight properly.”
“I disagree. Isn’t it said that Baron Penris made significant contributions in the Perdium siege as well?”
“If they had fought properly, Baron Penris wouldn’t have won.”
The opinions among the nobles quickly divided in half. As they hadn’t seen Ghislaine in action, there was plenty to discuss.
But everyone agreed on one fact.
“Anyway, it’s a good thing! The Duke Faction promised not to interfere for now, didn’t they?”
“That’s right! This way, our influence in the North will only grow!”
“Haha, Baron Penris has done a great job. When the other lords find out, the Crown Prince faction will think they’re not falling behind the Duke Faction.”
The nobles showed delight that was almost contrary to their efforts to avoid conflict with the Duke Faction.
They worried about whether the Duke Faction would step in and escalate things or about Baron Penris, who had invested in the royal family and their own properties, suffering a major defeat and losing influence in the North.
However, since the results turned out well, the Crown Prince faction nobles began to regain some confidence.
“Have we been too passive until now? Even if the Duke Faction nobles are formidable, we won’t know unless we face them, right?”
“The power of the Duke Faction nobles is high, but you only know what you’ve got when the cards are laid, right?”
“Indeed. Count Cabaldy may have made a lot of noise as a strongman in the North, but in truth, he was nothing special.”
“Well, if Baron Penris can win, then it seems we might be able to give it a shot too. The North isn’t exactly booming, is it? Hehehe.”
The nobles of the Crown Prince Faction exchanged cheerful smiles and well-wishes.
Seeing Baron Penris’s victory, they felt a surge of confidence that they could also take on the Duke Faction.
However, Marquis Branford did not hide his disdainful expression as he watched them.
“Tsk tsk, already making such a fuss. This isn’t the time to be so pleased. Can they really laugh this easily?”
A report had also come in that Count Desmond was moving his troops. If the Kingdom Army hadn’t been mobilized to stop him in advance, the situation could have escalated dramatically.
Thanks to Marquis Branford’s foresight, a potential catastrophe that could have blown up into a full-blown war was averted.
“Count Desmond is certainly aligned with the Duke Faction. He’s been quite brazen about it.”
He had suspected without solid evidence until now, but he could be certain now.
This alone was a significant gain. Knowing who the enemy was would greatly help in future strategies.
As was evident from Count Desmond, the Duke Faction’s reach extended throughout the entire kingdom. It was becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish friend from foe.
There might even be traitors within the Crown Prince Faction itself.
“Duke Delphine… If he’s included Count Desmond within his ranks, he truly intends to go all the way.”
Marquis Branford thought of Duke Delphine, his long-time friend and rival.
The duke wouldn’t remain idle. No, more accurately, Raoul, the duke’s staff officer, wouldn’t let things lie low.
Duke Delphine would have no interest in Count Cabaldy anyway.
“Speaking of which, I do wonder how he’s been doing.”
It had been over ten years since he last saw him.
Since then, the duke had not stepped out of his territory a single inch. He was cooped up in his castle, hardly making any appearances.
With the situation dragging on, rumors were swirling that he had become a mere puppet, with all power wielded whimsically by Raoul.
However, Marquis Branford never believed that.
He knew best, having watched him for a long time since their youth, that Duke Delphine was no one to be manipulated by others.
What thoughts went through his mind during this self-imposed isolation? Even after being friends for over ten years and then opponents for another decade, Marquis Branford couldn’t guess.
Except for that last encounter… He still couldn’t forget that contradictory gaze of his that seemed both indifferent yet yearning for something.
Marquis Branford shook off his distracting thoughts and collected his mind.
“Right, this might actually be a good thing.”
Someday, the Duke Faction would surely draw their swords. Until now, it had only been about barely keeping them at bay.
Meanwhile, Ghislaine’s activities had brought a fresh breeze into the Crown Prince Faction. Even the timid nobles began to gain a bit of confidence.
They needed to be wary of those who didn’t know their place, but ultimately, if a fight was inevitable, showing confidence was far better than being afraid.
“Thanks to that guy, our atmosphere is slowly changing. Not such a bad thing after all.”
At that thought, the marquis felt an inexplicable sense of delight. Since becoming Ghislaine’s guardian, he had experienced a myriad of emotions he had never felt in his life.
“By the way, his ability to surprise people hasn’t faded one bit. It’s astonishing how he gathered troops that way, and to achieve success in the siege so quickly. I’ll have to support him more if he asks for what he needs.”
Marquis Branford, unbeknownst to himself, closed his eyes and wore a content smile.
The nobles of the Crown Prince Faction, who had been busy chatting amongst themselves, were taken aback and fell silent at the sight.
This was the same Marquis Branford who hadn’t smiled at all when his daughter was treated. To see such an ice-cold man laughing at the news of Baron Penris was truly remarkable.
All the nobles gazed at him, intrigued, for a long moment.
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