298 – Now, let’s prepare for the next step. (1)
Harold kept failing, so it seemed like the Duke Faction was starting to do something about him.
That’s why an impatient Harold moved faster than expected. After all, he probably didn’t like the Duke’s choice regarding his pride.
Curious Ghislaine asked if there was anything else.
“Is that it? Isn’t there anything more? Who were you planning to send?”
“Shut up! This land belongs to the House of Count Desmond! You made a mistake! Do you honestly think that just because you’re with the Crown Prince Faction, you can stop the Duke Faction? You’re finished! You pathetic, low-life scum!”
Ghislaine frowned slightly. It seemed that this guy didn’t know anything else.
“You have quite a foul mouth.”
“Your father is the worthless Zvalter Perdium, and your mother is a fallen noble lady! Do you think your title of Count and your victory in war changes your origins? How dare a trashy family like yours challenge us Desmonds!”
He was radiating arrogance. He still looked down on Perdium and Penris.
Zvalter approached angrily, but Ghislaine was quicker to pull out his hand axe.
Thud!
Before the Chief Officer of Desmond could say another word, his head was smashed and he fell.
As Ghislaine watched him bleed out, he muttered softly.
“It’s rather rude to insult someone’s parents in front of them.”
At the sudden attack, the territory residents nearby held their breath in shock.
What kind of lord walks around with an axe in broad daylight, killing people? The Chief Officer’s words were harsh, but still, terrifying is terrifying.
Ghislaine sensed the anxiety among the territory residents.
“Oh no, I shouldn’t have created such a misunderstanding from the start.”
He put the axe back and smiled cheerfully.
“Don’t worry; I’m not that bad of a person.”
The residents began to tremble. Usually, people who say things like that are truly dangerous.
It felt as if a terrifying individual had occupied their land.
In stark contrast to the terrified residents, the faces of the Penris soldiers were filled with pride.
They had fought brilliantly and won against the renowned strongest of the north, Desmond.
Even though they had help from the Kingdom Army and Perdium Army, it remained true that the Penris Army was the biggest contributor to the victory.
Riding again on his black steed, Ghislaine surveyed the soldiers gathered around.
Due to Amelia, he had to leave the battlefield organization to others and move quickly. Even though they had captured the Desmond Territory, everyone was rushing around in such a frenzy that it didn’t feel real.
War doesn’t simply end when you win. It’s only over when the one who led declares it done.
Now was the real time to declare “victory.”
Ghislaine smiled for a moment, then raised a hand and shouted.
“With your dedication and strength, we have achieved victory in the battle against Desmond!”
All the soldiers of Penris puffed out their chests. Especially the three former spies from Desmond stood prouder than anyone else.
“We have captured this powerful territory! It’s not just a victory in battle. We’ve shown this kingdom how strong we are and proven that we can subdue any enemy with our strength!”
Ghislaine’s voice grew louder.
“From now on, this place will symbolize our power and resolve. I thank you, who have brought victory with your hard work and sacrifices! Now…”
Pausing for a moment, Ghislaine looked around at all the Penris knights and soldiers gathered.
Then his low voice was clear in everyone’s ears.
“Penris is the strongest in the north.”
“Woooooow!”
The soldiers responded to Ghislaine’s words with loud cheers and shouts. They looked at each other, full of pride and confidence.
Especially the three former spies from Desmond were hugging each other and crying uncontrollably.
He was weeping to the point of embracing her.
The soldiers, all soaked in the joy of victory, endlessly sent respectful gazes and cheers toward their lord.
Leaving behind the soldiers’ cheers, Ghislaine and the key figures who participated in the war moved to the castle.
From now on, they had to deal with the aftermath of the war for real.
Zvalter looked at Ghislaine with eyes filled with emotion.
“You really… you really won… it’s just as you said…”
“It’s thanks to my father. He really timed it perfectly.”
“No, no. If it weren’t for what you did all this time, how could we have fought like that?”
Tears welled up in Zvalter’s eyes as he thought about how much he wanted to embrace his son tightly, if only there weren’t others around.
This was the House of Count Desmond, which had held the grand lord’s title in the North for a long time. Harold was no incompetent either, so Desmond had reached its prime.
If it were the old Perdium, just hearing that name would have made one tremble.
But who would have thought that Perdium’s heir would occupy the Desmond Territory and become a grand lord who embraced the North!
‘My dear… why did you have to leave so soon…’
Zvalter found himself missing his wife, who had passed before him, more than usual today. She would have been happier than anyone to see their son like this.
Once a destitute house, Perdium was now starting to flourish tremendously thanks to Ghislaine. It had never thrived this well in its history.
Unlike the immensely happy Zvalter, the commander of the 3rd Corps of the Kingdom Army, Baron Clifton, and Baron Etherean of the Investment Noble Alliance wore subtle expressions.
In particular, Baron Clifton’s feelings were so complex that they couldn’t be expressed in words.
‘I had just wanted to bring him back alive somehow… I never expected him to be this formidable.’
As a member of the Crown Prince Faction, he was well aware of Ghislaine’s reputation.
He thought of him as a fortunate young man with a bit of luck and cunning due to Marquis Branford’s backing.
However, the Ghislaine he saw in battle was far from deserving of such a trivial evaluation.
‘A monster. There are few who could rival him. He truly is the strongest in the North.’
While fighting against Desmond’s Army, Baron Clifton kept an eye on the Penris Army battling in the center. In the worst-case scenario, he had to find a way to ensure Ghislaine survived.
But such worry was even arrogant. Ghislaine’s power and tactical skills were beyond his reach.
‘And to think he has archer cavalry and a 6th Circle Mage… even we on the same side didn’t know enough about Penris!’
Ghislaine was growing tremendously strong. Yet, the high-ranking nobles of the Crown Prince Faction still underestimated him.
Nobles who spoke ill of Marquis Branford in the shadows for supporting Ghislaine continued to grow in number.
Baron Clifton had subconsciously looked down on Ghislaine until now. He thought he was just a lucky kid who had climbed to the rank of Count.
But now it was different. Baron Clifton found himself feeling more and more afraid of Ghislaine.
He broke out in a cold sweat and slightly bowed his head to Ghislaine.
“Congratulations on your victory, Your Excellency the Commander of the North.”
Ghislaine held the position of Commander of the North, at least in title. The command structure was different, but still, during wartime, it was a rank higher than a Kingdom Army Corps Commander.
Baron Clifton was treating Ghislaine as someone definitely above him.
Ghislaine responded with a slight smile.
“I couldn’t have won without the Commander’s help. I won’t forget the support of the royal family and Crown Prince Faction. I’ll be sure to repay you. Also, I will also provide sufficient compensation to the family of the 2nd Corps Commander.”
“Thank you. That dear friend can rest in peace now.”
Baron Dorren, a friend of Baron Clifton, felt both joy for Ghislaine’s thoughtfulness and a heavy heart.
‘Can we really control this guy?’
With the power of Marquis Branford and the Crown Prince Faction, they should be able to. They had been pushing for Ghislaine for this reason all along.
It was so.
But a strange sense of unease passed through Clifton, the viscount. After witnessing Ghislaine fight with his own eyes, that terrifying, evil spirit-like visage was hard to forget.
Someone like him is not fit to be under anyone. Rather, the more you try to rein him in, the more fiercely he would rebel and bite back.
“Enough. It’s not my place to judge.”
He is a soldier. He needs to be loyal to the royal family and follow their orders. He will merely swing his sword according to his master’s wishes without making his own judgments.
As Clifton’s greeting concluded, this time, Viscount Etherean approached.
“Ahem, I apologize for the late introduction. I am Viscount Etherean of the… no, the Capital Noble Alliance, victims of the investment.”
“Thank you. I won’t forget the aid of the investors.”
“Right. We brought only our soldiers this time, so we incurred a bit of a loss…”
All of them were nobles sensitive about money. They had sent troops to avoid losses, but with quite a few soldiers dead, that could also be considered a loss.
Ghislaine nodded in understanding and cheerfully said, “I will ensure you have plenty of food on your way back.”
At that, Viscount Etherean beamed with joy. Though the drought was passing and things were slowly recovering, food prices were still sky-high.
Even though he knew Count Penris was a generous giver, receiving such assurance made him exceedingly happy.
“Hahaha, thank you very much. I look forward to your continued support.”
“Not at all. We’re always in this together, aren’t we?”
Since they had invested a lot of money, it was indeed true that they were in this together. Viscount Etherean nodded vigorously.
“Of course, of course. We’ll be together for life.”
Viscount Etherean retracted his thoughts of withdrawing his investments. With Marquis Branford’s backing and having taken the Desmond Territory, who could dare touch Penris?
He felt reassured that he could continue investing without a worry.
Thus, a half-heavy, half-cheerful atmosphere was created.
After discussing the necessary arrangements, they scattered for some rest. They needed time to confirm casualties and organize their forces. Everyone would likely be busy for several days.
Just then, Belinda approached the now relieved Ghislaine.
Ghislaine offered his gratitude upon seeing her.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to delay Amelia’s advance. If Amelia had arrived first, things would have been quite troublesome. Once she settles down, she’s not one to give up her room easily.”
“Oh, it was easy to prepare since you alerted me in advance. It’s amazing, really. Are you not going to tell me how you knew this time as well?”
“Well, I know Amelia quite well.”
“Oh my, is that because you used to chase after her back in the day?”
“…That’s not it. Or is it?”
Upon reflection, it did seem like he had been chasing after her in his past life too. Though it was to catch and kill her…
Belinda laughed for a moment before continuing.
“You wouldn’t believe how much the dwarves complained about being dragged here unexpectedly.”
Galbarik and the dwarves were brought in right after finishing the bow production, working hard to set up traps.
It was Belinda who half-heartedly soothed them while preparing. If she hadn’t played a significant role, it might have ended up being a half-hearted victory.
Ghislaine had entrusted only the task of holding back Amelia to her.
“See, the past is indeed suspicious.”
Even after several inquiries, she avoided revealing anything, so Ghislaine decided to just give up and chuckled softly.
“Well, it all worked out well in the end. Now let’s prepare for the next step.”
“Yes, we need to quickly consolidate our newly acquired territory as well. The Chief Officer will cause a fuss again, right? Most of the retainers have died here, after all.”
“There’s no way we can keep them alive anyway. Most of them are just puppets of the Duke faction.”
This place was not like Count Cabaldy’s Territory, where the retainers were merely bribed. These were true servants of the Duke faction.
So they had to thoroughly clean out all of them. Even the lower-ranking stewards couldn’t be utilized until their identities were properly verified.
“Everything must be cleared out. The junior administrators can’t be used until their statuses are properly verified.”
As always, the administrators under Penris had no choice but to work while fainting.
“Hmm, we’re going to run low on manpower again. Piote can’t resurrect everyone on his own. At least it’s a good thing that the Academy has been continuously training administrators.”
“Still, this time Bishop Porisco sent us ten priests, right?”
“That’s right. Make sure to serve them well. Since they’ve come, we should build at least a small temple here and there so they can stay longer.”
“Sure! That’ll work! Our Young Master is really clever!”
Since the territory had expanded to a level incomparable to before, there were plenty of places to send them. Piote would be uncomfortable if they met, so the plan was to space them out.
Porisco didn’t even consider it, but Ghislaine and Belinda spoke as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
These two always clicked well in this regard.
“Alright, to handle things more quickly, we should move Claude’s residence here, right? I hope he doesn’t start whining about not wanting to come again.”
Desmond’s territory, unlike other northern territories, was vast and rich in resources. It was right to develop it from here, but for that, Claude needed to come.
As Ghislaine had thought, Claude was whining to himself, but the reason was vastly different from what Ghislaine imagined.
He hadn’t heard the results of the war yet and was nervously biting his nails.
“What should I do? Should I run away right now? But how do I go alone?”
No matter how he thought about it, he felt he couldn’t win. The lord was formidable, but Count Desmond was no pushover either. The difference in troops was just too great.
Surely, it was wise to wait for an opportunity to escape.
“But I want to run away right now!”
He had always lived with the motto that the outside world was dangerous. He had no confidence at all in returning home alone.
Plus, the guards who always kept him safe were now absent.
“Damn it! I should have left Wendy behind!”
The ones protecting him now were just a few soldiers and trainees remaining in the territory. It was only natural they seemed unreliable compared to Wendy.
When she was around, he always thought it would be nice if she didn’t nag him and watched over him. But now that she was gone, he felt an emptiness he couldn’t shake off.
And he was very scared. He was a cowardly man.
“Ugh… If those guys come here, they’ll definitely kill me first!”
He was the one who, along with Ghislaine, was called the ‘Lord of Bribes in the North,’ causing all sorts of trouble and making enemies angry. Count Desmond wouldn’t let him off.
If Wendy had been there, they could have run away together as soon as they heard news of defeat. That would have been so reassuring.
Claude had even begged Belinda, anticipating a potential runaway situation.
— I can’t live without Wendy! Please don’t take her away!
— Oh my, what’s this? You two were always together and became close like that?
— No, I mean I’m literally going to die!
Despite his pleading, Belinda just scoffed and took Wendy away.
As Claude was wilting away in worry, the long-awaited news finally arrived.
“Lord, you have achieved victory! A great victory!”
The messenger rushed around the territory, shouting loudly. With a broad smile on his face, he moved tirelessly to deliver the news to everyone in the territory.
“Wowwwww!”
The castle’s retainers, servants, and territory residents all cheered loudly. And Claude shouted louder than anyone, filled with joy.
“Whooooo! I’m alive!”
But just as Claude was rejoicing, another messenger rushed in, panting.
“Chief Officer!”
“What?!”
“The Lord commands you to come immediately!”
“Already? Why? We just occupied it!”
“He says there’s too much to do.”
“…How much?”
“It’s piled up like a mountain.”
The joy of being alive that Claude had just felt vanished, and he hung his head low.
He suddenly wished he could just die.
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