412 - 418

Survey

Hey Everyone.

Well, today is one of those special days when the universe conspires to crap on you. We just want to wish everyone a lucky Friday the 13th. May you step on all the cracks, spill a the salt, walk underneath all the ladders, see all the black cats, and so much more... and still come out fine on the other end! Here are our team's thoughts on today:

"Weird things are supposed to happen on Friday the 13th, right? Maybe I'll take the day off..." ~ Ryogawa

"Don't be supersitious. Nothing will happen on Friday the 13th that cannot happen on Saturday the 14th." ~ Prince

What are your favourite friday the 13th sayings? Do you avoid anything on this particular day?

Roughly four to five days after the wedding, Lorist brought Sylvia and his four concubines to Cherry Blossom Ridge. Logically speaking, newlyweds should have all the time with each other and it wasn't appropriate to have concubines come along. However, Sylvia had no choice as her body was more sensitive than most and she couldn't handle Lorist's vigor. Every time he reached his peak, she would've long been expended, slumping down like mud, unable to even move her fingers. So, he had no choice but to have his concubines help relieve him.

He left all his work to Charade when he began his travels and only returned to Ragebear in the snow of the 12th month. There wasn't a choice as the new year's celebration was on the horizon. It was the second celebration organized by House Norton and even more nobles would participate, landed or honorary. They all brought their families and filled up the city streets, bringing an aura of warm merriness during the cold, muted winter.

The most important part of the celebration would be the entitlement ceremony. With Iblia no more and Winston firmly in House Norton's hands, Lorist could finally realize his promise to the nobles of Delamock. There were 19 noble houses from the province to be enfeoffed land in Winston. As for the 17 Winston noble houses that had defected, they would be relocated to Delamock.

In contrast to the slightly down Madrasan nobles, the Winstonian nobles were elated. They had defected quickly and mobilized their forces during the barbarian army's attack on Pedro to help out. Also, since Delamock used to be the empire's main food store, its land was fertile and produced three times more than other areas. Those relocated there couldn't be happier. As for the nobles of the now-defunct Madras, they had picked the right side. Not only were they demoted when they were moved to Winston, the land there was also relatively poor.

Lorist also had to announce the list of House Norton honorary nobles. Most were merchants who had spent money to be given their titles, while others were house officials who had shown decent prowess; Boris, governor of Hanayabarta, Professor Balbo of the gunpowder research lab, Kriston, head of security, and several others. Lorist didn't entitle any landed nobles this time. It wasn't that he lacked candidates. Their contributions, time, or service just weren't enough to warrant it.

Usually, new year's celebrations would go on for three days. But many of the nobles who came to participate had already purchased houses in the wealthy area of the city. Kenmays had bought a large courtyarded house nearest the duke's manor to use as his residence. It was practically next to the central castle. Following the celebration, Kenmays hosted his own parties at his residence non-stop. As Lorist had said, he preferred silence while Kenmays thrived on merrymaking. He would spend most of the money he earned from the salt merchant committee on events like these instead of developing his dominion and military.

It took Lorist only a few days of residence in the castle to lose all patience with the noise coming from Kenmays's home. He took Sylvia and his four concubines to Cherry Blossom Ridge and stayed there until after the rainy season when the winter wheat was being harvested.

Lorist returned to Ragebear and settled in for the spring. Once the spring sowing began he finally went on a tour of the dominion with his lovers. He took his time on the trip, unlike the previous year. He planned to check every location in detail, especially the seven settlements' towns. He also wanted to tour the countryside with Sylvia so she could show herself before the commoners and make her status as the house's matron known.

The trip was rather costly. They handed out a large silver for each member of each garrison of each town they visited - about 300 thousand gold Fordes' worth. Luckily it had been budgeted for, so it wasn't an unexpected expense.

As their destinations were quite numerous, the trip took some time. They only reached Northsea in the 7th month. From there, they were ferried to Silowas by a small contingent of the fleet by the same name. During the voyage, Lorist received more details about the war.

The Union and the mid-southern nations were still engaged in minor skirmishes. However, a few nations' forces had suffered quite heavy casualties. Coincidentally, the three were near the Jigda kingdom. In other words, they were not far away from the Chikdor Merchant Guild's territory. The Union spotted the opportunity and launched a major operation in the area. Their forces came by sea and landed on the border. Within hours they were across the border and pushing everything out of the way.

Lorf Fustat, general of the mid-southern nations' military, was greatly shocked and launched an immediate counterattack. It managed to force the Union back across the border but the nobility that had lived in the area were already dead. None of the families now had any surviving heirs, save for one of the duchies, who now had but a single princess. Lorf had no choice but to station his troops in the decimated nations to keep the Union at bay.

Meanwhile, the conflict between the two southernmost nations, Romon and Khawistan, seemed to be escalating. Both sides had launched three large-scale offensives with hundreds of thousands of troops. Both sides had also suffered comparable losses. It had developed into a full-blown war and neither side could now call it off. They were constantly moving soldiers around and the battles couldn't be more gruesome. It was as if they were trying to vent all the hatred of the past two centuries at once.

Lorist stroked his chin.

While those involved might be ignorant, we spectators aren't. There must be a scheme behind all this! In fact, it seems familiar... Didn't something similar happen with House Windsor's dominion? The four noble houses around it launched a coordinated attack, and when their forces were mostly defeated, a sudden savior popped out of nowhere to eradicate the aggressors, conquering the dominions of the four houses without much effort. Right now, the conflict between the Union and the mid-southern nations seem to be going down the same path. The three nations' forces were first expended on the frontlines, then the Union launched a surprise attack out of nowhere. Duke Lorf then leads his troops to fend the Union off but the ruling families were wiped out already. He has 'no choice' but to station his troops in these nations now. I bet the three will soon be assimilated into Jigda.

They're working together!

When he read the news about the war between Romon and Khawistan, he suddenly had his doubts.

Why would these two nations go to war, and wipe out Kalia?

The three each had a swordsaint. Kalia was relatively small but they had managed to maintain the status quo for many years. No matter which side started a confrontation, Kalia would side with the other. Neither faction wished for the other two to mobilize their swordsaints against theirs, so nothing ever came of the stand-offs.

Romon and Khawistan actually united and wiped out Kalia, and made their swordsaint vanish. Then they go to all-out war? If they hadn't gone to war, they might've been attracted to the war to their north.

Even Kalia might have tried to expand while the mid-southern nations were in chaos. However, the outbreak of war between Romon and Khawistan allowed one ambitious faction in the mid-southern nations the perfect opportunity to expand.

The timing was too perfect. Duke Lorf's stationing of troops in the three nations and the inevitable absorption of their territory into Jigda kingdom wouldn't be opposed by anyone. In fact, it couldn't have been more welcome. After all, their enemy was the Union, and the Union had exterminated several of their royal lines. Only Jigda's duke could save them from their peril, so, they hurried to flock to his feet and side with him without hesitation.

Lorist laughed bitterly.

This scheme is truly wondrous. First, they incite conflict between Romon and Khawistan and have them tear each other's throats out. The bitter hatred brewed over two centuries won't be extinguished easily. Even if the conflict ends, both sides will be completely beaten up. It'll resolve the worries Jigda might have. They then incite war between the mid-southern nations and the Union and absorb the nations around them. It allows the kingdom to expand its territory and become another one of the superpowers on the continent.

Lorist had already designated the general, Duke Lorf, the main culprit. It should be expected for the playing field on Grindia to shift greatly after the war. However, he didn't know how ambitious that duke really was. How many among the 20 remaining nations would he swallow before he was satisfied?

He picked up a folder on his desk, flipped it open, and focused on a particular page. It contained information about some of the alliance's members. The first entry was of none other than Lorf himself.

Duke Lorf, member of the Jigda kingdom's royal family and chief military strategist. Controls eighty percent of the kingdom's forces. His personal dominion exceeds the entire royal family's. He is known as the non-king king and the shadow king. His first wife passed on many years ago. Currently, he is happily wedded to his second wife, Windsor Prinna. She has borne him three sons and a daughter. The couple is happily married.

Sol!

Lorist tossed the folder to the ground with an expression bordering on crying and laughing at the same time. He didn't know what kind of emotion to feel as he recalled the moonlit night. Within the dark room, the girl sat crying as she talked about how she had no choice but to marry the marquis for the sake of her house. Lorist could recall the grief and hate he had felt at the time. He cursed the shallow mistress for suffering misfortunes after leaving him and leaping into the marquis's embrace. It was too bad things hadn't panned out as he had imagined. It was obvious that his first love was living a blissful life.

Whatever, it's been so long. Maybe that young missy has forgotten me. I have Sylvia, Dilianna, Fennazali, Daisy, and Maria now, why should I feel vexed about a relationship that ended more than a decade ago?

Lorist smiled at himself mockingly and picked the folder up again. He analyzed the information about the duke. The more he read, the more restless he became.

Since the duke is so powerful in Jigda, why doesn't he seize the throne and become king? Is he really that loyal to the royal family? Or does he have other reasons for not doing so?

As he was on a ship, there was no one with whom he could discuss the matter. So, he put the thought in the back of his mind and had Jinolio archive the reports. He stepped onto the deck and saw Sylvia and his four concubines ordering the guards to toss the fishing net into the sea. Even though the ship was currently sailing, it didn't stop the net from being cast. Sometimes, there would be surprising catches. For instance, sharks lured into the trap by beef.

They arrived at Silowas three days later. Pajik and Hector had already been waiting in the harbor. After Lorist surveyed the garrison, Pajik reported something that surprised him. Blademaster Shuss, who had been training in seclusion in Seaview Manor, felt the time had come to advance a rank. He had taken his sword and entered the volcanic areas of the island alone. If he succeeded and broke through to become a rank 2 blademaster, he would naturally return. If he failed, he would not.

Lorist knew blademasters took quite a long time to make their breakthroughs. At the very least, it would take a year. It required summarizing one's insights and identifying one's weaknesses. During that process, the blademaster would continue training and refining his insights and feel for the next step to advance his swordsmanship. Blademasters usually headed to desolate, uninhabited places or harsh environments. It wasn't just a form of physical training, it allowed them to better attune to the changes in nature and gain inspiration to incorporate into their swordsmanship for further advancement. Since Shuss had picked that path, Lorist could only pray for his success.

He stayed at Silowas until the end of the 8th month. This time around, they would survey the eastern regions where Jaeger, Tigersoar, and Firmrock were. Out of Lorist's expectations, Jaeger's men weren't the least bit averse to Sylvia. In fact, they cherished the commemorative medals with which Lorist had come up. Who wouldn't cherish gold commemorative medals that could be traded for three gold Fordes?

When he finished his rounds and returned to Ragebear, it was already the 11th month of Year 1780. A year had passed in the blink of an eye. The dominion had truly grown too great. Before he could get two day's rest, Charade barged inside

"Your Grace... out of seclusion..."

"What? What part of me got out of seclusion?" asked Lorist, confused.

"No, not you..." Charade recovered his breath.

"His Majesty! He came out of seclusion after breaking through to become a rank 1 blademaster!"

Second Highness's Scheme

"Most schemes of political improvement are laughable things." ~ Norton Lorist

"What?! The second highness broke through to become a blademaster?"

After some thought, Lorist instantly came to an understanding. So the second highness had been cooped up in his palace for the past two years because he was making a breakthrough. No wonder he hadn't bothered to take advantage of the conflict between the Union and the mid-southern nations.

Charade took out a greyish-white silk cloth filled with words.

"Your Grace, this is the eagle message we received from the imperial capital. It says the second highness ended his seclusion three days ago. First, he secretly had an audience with most of his subordinates and officials to gain an understanding of the situation of the kingdom before he announced he had broken through to become a rank 1 blademaster. He will hold a large banquet in celebration tomorrow."

Lorist received the cloth, and tossed it aside after reading it.

"I wonder if he is a favored child of the plane... He has a freaking pest's vigor and won't die no matter how he's beaten. Although it seems like things are going south for him, he just pops up energetically out of nowhere and starts causing trouble. I was wondering why he was behaving so well when he was cooped up in the palace. I didn't think he had actually broken through and become a blademaster."

Charade, having spent lots of time with Lorist, knew he was referring to the second highness as a cockroach but he still asked out of curiosity.

"Your Grace, what is this 'favored child of the plane'?"

"Well, it doesn't mean anything complicated. Word is that there are some people exceptionally lucky across the multiple planes. No matter what danger they encounter, they will emerge safely and even make unexpected gains. For example, during a time of chaos, there will be a few exceptionally lucky people who manage to start great upheavals. Such people would eventually be known as legendary heroes. There are some who call them the plane's favored children. It's like they are loved by the plane on which they live itself."

"Oh," Charade mused, "He's considered a plane's favored child? I don't buy it. If not for the fact that you gave him Whitelion's equipment and the funds he needed ánd mobilized our troops to restore him to the throne, I doubt he could have regained his position. I told you he's not one to sit around and do nothing. I wonder how gleeful he must be now he's broken through to being a blademaster. Our peace will soon be disrupted."

Lorist nodded with a smile.

"It doesn't matter. Whether the second highness is a blademaster is irrelevant. He's a smart fellow. He won't target us. The same can't be said for the duchies and the Union. He might soon deploy his troops to reclaim a few provinces while the Union's at war. We just have to wait for the plot to unfold, though."

"You think the second highness will really mobilize?"

"Of course. It's been three years since he reclaimed his throne. I'm surprised he hasn't deployed his troops even once in the past three years. Though he spent most of his time training in seclusion, he did manage to succeed. Now the kingdom's situation is stable and his subordinates and troops have become rather well-trained, and, given how the Union won't want to fight a war on two fronts, there is no way this king won't cause trouble. His advancement will only make his attacks even more ferocious."

However, Lorist's guess was mistaken. Three days later, he received another eagle message from the imperial capital.

"What? The second highness will survey the kingdom? What the hell is he doing? Isn't this the time to mobilize his legions and reclaim the provinces? For him to survey the kingdom at a time like this... Is this really the second highness we know? He couldn't be an impostor, could he?"

Lorist was completely flabbergasted. He even suspected the second highness had been replaced. It wasn't weird for him to spend two years cooped up in the palace, neither was it odd for him to want to survey the kingdom afterwards. But, the eagle message staid he wasn't going to survey the provinces under his control. Instead, he was going to visit Sidgler, Delamock, Winston, and Southern.

What in the world is this bastard planning?

Sidgler was House Kenmays's dominion and Delamock and Winston territories of House Norton according to the agreement signed between the alliance and the second highness. Southern was Count Felim's domain. Why didn't the second highness survey the provinces under his control? Why was he going to go to places not under his jurisdiction? Lorist definitely wasn't going to believe the second highness didn't have something else in mind. Maybe he regretted the contract and believed he had better bargaining power now he had become a blademaster. If that were so, Lorist wouldn't mind teaching him a lesson. Rank 1 blademaster aside, he wouldn't even regard rank 3 blademasters. But, after some thought, he believed the second highness wouldn't be so irrational as to put up airs in front of him just because he had become a blademaster. Lorist had defeated Xanthi a rank three blademaster in front of the second highness' own eyes.

"Did the second highness make any other odd moves?"

Charade read the letter again. He shook his head.

"None, Your Grace. He only announced he was going to survey these four provinces. I wonder why he didn't include The Northlands. Is he planning something against us?"

"Impossible," Lorist said as he stood up and went to the map on the wall to check out the route announced.

"Based on the might he currently has, going against us is a pipe dream. No noble would answer his call. They aren't idiots. If the second highness really thinks they will rally behind him just because he's a blademaster, he wouldn't be the second highness we know. Also, there's no way he'd make his moves this public if he's truly going against us. I suspect he has other intentions. He didn't announce he would survey The Northlands, since Delamock and Winston are under our control, it won't be out of the ordinary for us to send a squad in the name of escorting him. He's our king after all. We'll make out what he's planning when we follow along."

"Who will you send?" asked Charade.

Logically speaking, Lorist was the most appropriate person to receive the second highness. However, he couldn't be bothered with meeting him, especially after the breakup between the second highness and Glacia. Lorist was filled with more animosity towards the little king than ever before. It wasn't unwarranted either. Glacia had followed the second highness into the battlefield at the tender age of 18. Not only had she been loyal, she had even been his lover. But they broke up after spending 20 years together. Not only was it uncalled for, it showed the second highness's hostility towards the house. Perhaps it was out of concern of House Norton that the second highness refused to let Glacia become queen.

"Do you want me to go?" Charade thought he was suited for receiving the king given his status as baron and the house's chief knight and administrator.

Lorist shook his head.

"You won't do. Don't forget your identity."

"What about my identity?"

"You're a gold-ranked knight. I'm worried he will ask you to spar with him. Given that he's now a blademaster, he won't have much trouble showing off in front of you. And since you can't really refuse him, I don't want to see you return with a missing limb or two. It's not like I can avenge you if he claims it was a sparring accident. That would be really troublesome."

What Lorist was describing wasn't without precedent. When Duke Loggins went to pay the second prince, a visit, his gold-ranked knight was messed with by the second prince's blademaster. In name, the blademaster claimed it was merely to give pointers. But it was actually a planned humiliation. It made the duke lose a lot of face and even think several times over making his duchy independent, ultimately his house was exterminated.

There was a good chance Charade would be challenged to a duel in front of the other nobles so the second highness could show off his abilities. Losing face was not really a huge deal -- the second highness wouldn't dare go too far -- but, given Charade's poor swordsmanship, the worst result would be him suffering wounds. It was quite likely the second highness would deliberately try to wound him knowing how important he was to the house. He would excuse himself by saying he was still unable to control his power after just breaking through and make it up to Lorist for heavily wounding Charade. Even if Lorist wanted to lash out, he wouldn't be able to and would have to swallow the loss.

"What if I have my father-in-law go along?"

Again, Lorist shook his head.

"Forget it. Even Engelich can't protect you. The second highness has other blademasters as well. What was that guy called... The one I met when I went to save Reidy... Manst or something... I think he's a rank 2 blademaster. If you bring Engelich along, he would have to face Manst if he stands up for you. Since the second highness definitely can't face Engelich, he will have good reason to duel a gold-ranked knight.

"I have a good candidate in mind," said Lorist as he pulled on the rope connected to the bell.

"Jinolio, where's Reidy now?"

"Your Grace, First Senior Brother went to Firmrock to check on Second Senior Brother."

"Send an eagle. Have Reidy come over. I have something I need him to do."

"Understood, Your Grace."

"You plan to let Reidy go?"

"Yes. Don't look down on him just because he's a silver rank. His training in my technique allows his swordsmanship to rival that of a rank 1 blademaster, maybe even exceed it. If the second highness wants to mess with him, he'll definitely be in for a pain. And Reidy is my personal disciple, no one can say I haven't honored the second highness. I'll just have Reidy take a thousand guards along so others can't say I didn't do what was due. Pajik is a three-star silver shielder so the second highness won't cause trouble for him. Also, you can prepare a gift for the second highness to congratulate him for his breakthrough."

"Understood, Your Grace."

Three days later, Reidy and Pajik took a thousand guards to Vanades in Delamock to await the second highness's arrival before escorting him around for his tour.

Lorist pushed the matter to the back of his mind and stopped caring. As a result, Kenmays hurriedly brought a squad of men to Ragebear ten days later.

"Why have you come? Wasn't the second highness going to survey your dominion?" asked Lorist curiously.

"Don't even bring it up. That guy's there to show off. I have no intention of meeting him," said Kenmays angrily.

"He asked your gold-ranked knight for a duel?"

"Yes."

"That's fine, right? What's wrong with a gold-ranked knight losing? If he can't defeat one after breaking through, it would truly be a joke. Also, why are you avoiding him?"

"It's no big deal if my household knight loses. The problem is His Majesty hasn't come to us just for a duel. He's here to have us deploy our forces."

"Deploy? Against the Union?"

"No, against the four central duchies."

"Oh..."

Lorist's eyes sparked. The second highness had been targeting the four central duchies all along. No wonder his route was so weird. Going through Southern and attacking the four central duchies truly was unexpected, but there were lots of benefits. Mainly, after supporting House Fisablen and fighting the four houses, they had suffered a huge loss and hadn't recovered yet. This would be a good opportunity to exploit.

An attack from Southern would also come out of nowhere. Even though the four duchies had already withdrawn their troops, they were still quite tight on the border. But, since they knew the four houses were more concerned with House Fisablen, they weren't in a rush to attack in fear of House Fisablen launching a surprise attack out of nowhere. After all, the duke bore the moniker Wargod of the Plains. The four houses wouldn't dare be so careless.

The part where the four central duchies faced the second highness was the swamp around Egret Lake. It was not suited to offensives since the four central duchies had greatly fortified the defenses there and even built a fort. As for the border between the duchies and the two southern provinces, they neighbored the Union. One would have to first breach Kanbona, Bodolger, and Anderwoff before one could push the duchies' border. It was a much longer route.

It appeared the second highness intended to first take care of the duchies as the Union fought their war before reclaiming the empire's provinces the Union took a few years earlier. Given that the Union was caught up in another conflict, they couldn't provide support to the duchies. Since the kingdom had the strategic location at their borders facing the Union, the second highness could transfer Whitelion to Southern and attack the duchies without anyone noticing. He obviously wanted House Kenmays's forces to join the offensive.

"Did you agree?"

"No. I managed to avoid him with the excuse of having gone to Northsea to meet a lover. My father was the one who received him and he didn't agree to anything either. He just said he would consider it. The moment His Majesty left, I rushed over here to meet you and hear your thoughts."

"Alright, I have to think this over."

Changes

"Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of the gods upon the children of disobedience." ~ A long lost holy scripture.

No one expected the second highness would cause so much commotion during his survey.

"Your Grace, His Majesty organized a large banquet at Kobo yesterday. He invited all the landed nobles we entitled. He didn't poach the nobles under our jurisdiction but promised those who were willing to pitch in to help the kingdom's war against the four central duchies would receive great rewards. They might even get promoted and have their dominions relocated," recited Charade the letter Reidy had sent.

Lorist didn't react at all. Charade looked at the letter again and digested its contents.

"Your Grace, if the Delamockan nobles are willing to go to battle for the second highness, what stance will we take?"

"Let them be," Lorist said as he stood up from the couch, "Such Nobles can only take around one or two hundred men. What help would they be? They might, in fact, make some contributions and be promoted and relocated, but isn't that a good thing? At the very least, we'll get their dominions back."

Lorist wasn't off the mark in that sense. Most of the current Delamockan nobles were relocated from The Northlands and Winston. House Norton only had them under control, unlike nobles entitled by the house as vassals like Potterfang and Charade, basically an extension of the house.

Delamock was a province controlled by the house. Like Winston, Lorist could entitle landed nobles or relocate others there. But he couldn't make the territory of the province his own. And though the second highness was the king, while he could promote those nobles, he couldn't increase the territory they occupied as it was power reserved for those in direct control of a province. All he could do was relocate the nobles and give them dominions elsewhere, taking the nobles under his direct rule out of the areas Lorist controlled.

As Lorist had put it himself, he couldn't be more willing to let the second highness do just that. If he relocated the landed nobles, the territory left behind could be used to entitle new nobles and increase the number of his direct vassals. It would only serve to increase his house's influence. Not only was it a good thing, it also decreased the number of unpredictable variables with which he had to deal. However, such good things never fell from the sky. It was no longer the time when a knight with a hundred scattered soldiers could be considered a strong force. Those who rushed to answer the second highness's call were only going to become meat for the grinder.

"That's true, let's see how many the second highness can rile up. I believe they'll begin to hate this king after they suffer huge losses on the frontlines. Without our forces, those nobles won't be able to glean any benefit by tagging along," snickered Charade.

The second highness's tour progressed quickly. He stayed for just a day in Shazin's dominion before heading straight for Winston. Similarly, he held a banquet there and offered the same call to arms. The second highness's promise was received with loud cheers. The Madrasan nobles felt rather beaten by the demotion and decrement of their territory, and the second highness had come to give them a chance to rebuild their glorious names. They couldn't wait to grab the chance.

On the 29th day of the 11th month, the second highness reached House Felim's dominion in Southern. After some talks, he casually went to the border where Firmrock was for a visit before he returned to the imperial capital. Though Felim offered to accompany the second highness, the latter refused politely. He wasn't going to bring many people with him; he was going to make a quick trip with ten knights. Since Reidy and the thousand guards were by the second highness's side, and given how safe the border was with Firmrock there, Felim didn't mind and wished him a smooth trip.

And then...

"What did you say?! The second highness rushed into Eastwild, House Fisablen's dominion, with only ten knights?!" Lorist jumped with surprise.

The news was far too surprising.

Charade smiled bitterly.

"It's true. We are all dumbfounded. Reidy wanted to enter Eastwild with the guards but he was stopped by Potterfang. They are now awaiting your orders."

Lorist was seething.

"How did Reidy allow that to happen? Why didn't he stop the second highness?"

Charade looked at the silk cloth letter in his hand.

"Nobody could have predicted this. The second highness acted completely normally. After he arrived at the border, he checked out the defenses before he dragged Potterfang along and talked about the tactics we had used to retake Southern. In the afternoon, he discovered a herd of wild goats and said he wanted to add something to the night's dinner. He didn't allow Reidy to follow him, saying it'd scare the goats away. He rode forward with his ten-odd attendants. It was near evening and they quickly vanished. By the time Reidy and Potterfang realized something was off, the second highness was already long gone."

"Wait a second, what about the goats?"

Charade didn't know whether he should laugh or not.

"What does this have to do anything? They're fine. Reidy realized something was off because the goats were completely undisturbed."

Lorist's expression was dark.

"The fact that the wild goats are fine means the second highness was merely looking for an excuse to leave, nothing surprising. It must've been something he's plotted for a while now. His visit to Southern and going over the tactics with Potterfang as well as his desire to hunt the goats are all excuses. I suspect his rallying of the nobles for the war against the four central duchies is nothing but a front he put up to divert our attention to ultimately allow him to enter Fisablen's dominion."

"But, but Your Grace, even though House Fisablen has signed an armistice with our alliance, the kingdom is still their enemy! Isn't the second highness serving himself up on a platter and seeking his death? Even if he's now a rank 1 blademaster, Duke Fisablen's rank 3. It would be far too easy for him to take the second highness's life!"

Charade didn't understand what was going on. Lorist leaned into his chair heavily and breathed a heavy sigh.

"You don't understand. He's not in the slightest bit of danger by going into House Fisablen's dominion. There's no way the duke will harm him. After all, the second highness is still a king. If House Fisablen really harmed him and became kingslayers, we could completely ignore the armistice and uproot them in the name of avenging the king. That old fox will not give us such an opportunity.

"I'm worried about why the second highness went to Fisablen without telling us. Is he going to start opposing us? It would be a valid reason for him to team up with Fisablen. With one in the east and the other in the west, there's no need for us to worry about them if they're not working together. But it'll be troublesome if they join hands. No, I have to head to the border immediately to see if there's something I can do to fix this."

Lorist grit his teeth. He really felt an urge to kill. If he could stop the second highness and the rest in Eastwild, he wouldn't mind killing them all and blaming House Fisablen before using it as justification to ignore the armistice and destroy them.

Since you're dense enough to take me for granted, don't blame me for not holding back. Even though you're king, you always have your eyes on me. You can't blame anyone for your misfortune if you actively seek death.

As Lorist saw it, the second highness was obviously trying to get House Fisablen to work together with him. As for who they were joining up against, it couldn't be more obvious. Who else was there apart from him? Since that was the case, he believed the one who struck first would have the advantage. He didn't really hold the taboo other nobles did against kill kings. If he managed to kill them all in Eastwild, who would be left alive to tell the tale? Since House Fisablen would be there to bear the blame, what was there to fear?

"But, Your Grace, it's already the end of the 11th. Winter is upon us and even if we deploy our troops, it'll be too late."

"There's no need to deploy. I will head there alone. I'll first stay with Firmrock for a few days to see if there's any lead I can follow."

"No, Your Grace, you can't go alone," Charade warned, his hand holding Lorist's sleeve, "You are the Duke of The Northlands and head of the house. You can't take this kind of risk! The new year's celebration will take place in a month and you cannot be absent! Otherwise, everyone will be unnerved..."

"It doesn't matter if I'm not there. It's not like we're going to entitle anyone."

"No, Your Grace, you really can't go."

A knock on the door interrupted their back and forth. Jinolio entered.

"Your Grace, there's a message from Firmrock."

The second letter said the second highness left Potterfang a note in his tent. The note asked them to not panic and said he had indeed left for House Fisablen. E asked Potterfang to not worry about his safety. The second highness mentioned that he had taken Blademaster Xanthi as his teacher and that he could break through thanks to her acute teachings. He had wanted to send Xanthi back to House Fisablen and would stay there for the winter and return the rainy season. Nobody had to be sent after him.

Upon reading the letter, Lorist's anger subsided. He really felt he had brought it upon himself. Why did he have to leave Xanthi in the second highness's care? It would've been much better to lock her up in a dungeon somewhere in his dominion.

I didn't think the second highness would take that old witch as his teacher and even break through. He must've been goaded to go. I'm really making one misstep after another. It's all my fault for not noticing the subtle changes.

With this in the picture, it was even more troubling to cause trouble for the second highness. Duke Fisablen, the old witch, the second highness, and Manst were all blademasters. Going into their headquarters, Crouchtiger Castle, alone was a fool's errand. He'd lost all intent on heading to Eastwild on his own.

"Tell Potterfang I've been informed. He doesn't have to deal with the second highness anymore. Have Reidy sent back as well. Don't let him wait there like an idiot."

"Understood, Your Grace," said Jinolio before he left.

"What will be our next move?" asked Charade.

"Now we prepare," Lorist said, "We'll use generals to deal with soldiers like we use mud to deal with water. I'd like to see what the second highness can do with House Fisablen. I don't mind wiping them out if they force our hand. We'll strike whoever lashes out first."

Ten days later, Felim and Shazin rushed over. Kenmays -- who had just received the letter -- also made his way over as quickly as possible. They were there to participate in the new year's celebration and to discuss the second highness' sudden visit to House Fisablen and how it would affect them.

"I believe Lorist's guess is correct. It's obvious the second highness is trying to recruit Duke Fisablen by going there and taking the house under his wing. Though we don't know what kind of price the second highness will pay to win the duke's loyalty, with Blademaster Xanthi guiding him, he will succeed. The duke's submission will also cause his reputation to soar," surmised Kenmays acutely.

"Do you think that the second highness's rallying of the landed nobles is merely a ruse to distract us from his true goal to visit Fisablen?" asked Shazin.

"I'm not too sure. I didn't meet him when he came to my dominion after all," said Kenmays as he shook his head.

Lorist's eyes brightened.

"Hennard, did the second highness promise you anything when he made his request?"

"He did. he said if we exterminated the four central duchies, I would free to pick a province as my hereditary dominion. He also said he'd make me a duke."

Lorist then looked at Felim.

"He said he would promote me to duke and make Southern my hereditary dominion instead of most of it being merely in my control."

Charade shook his head on the side.

"Our king is behaving like he always does. He's still promising things that don't belong to him."

"Are you persuaded?" asked Lorist.

"If it were only that, I wouldn't even bother with him. But he pointed out that the bottleneck to Southern's development was the lack of manpower. If we attack the duchies, we can bring in large numbers of people to develop the province. I'm a little tempted, but I'm still considering my options," answered Felim.

"I'm tempted," Shazin admitted, "You know I'm not into developing my dominion. But can still gain wealth through pillaging in war and it's really attractive. I was hoping to claim a mine or quarry as well. My descendants can only really have enough wealth if I did. The two silver mines and the copper mine in Sanderson Hills produces a tad too little..."

It wasn't wrong to say House Shazin was the most financially tight of them all. After taking Sanderson Hills as his dominion, Shazin was surprised to find that the mines' annual profit totaled just 300 thousand gold Fordes. While other landed nobles would consider it a fortune, for someone with a huge force like him, it was just barely enough to cover his military expenses. Had it not been for the bonuses Kenmays often gave him, he would have to consider downsizing his military.

"What about you?" Lorist asked Kenmays.

"Father says the second highness promised to let us trade unobstructed across the kingdom and he would even halve all our taxes for three years if we agreed to deploy our troops. I don't really mind since my title can no longer be raised and our house has already occupied the whole of Sidgler. Even though it's rural, it's safe and we don't have much ambition anyway. Starting new trade routes across the kingdom isn't appealing either and I can't be bothered by the meager tax savings I'll get. I'd rather he lock up our trade routes. I can simply travel by sea to access other areas for even better profits. But his offer is extremely attractive to the house's business my father runs. He wrote to me and hoped I would agree."

Lorist contemplated in silence.

"I believe the second highness wasn't lying about going to war with the duchies just to hide the fact he was planning on visiting Fisablen. First, he offered all of you different, but alluring, rewards. Second, he also made similar offers to the nobles. If he was lying about it, he would default on his promise and his reputation would fall greatly. But now he's gone to Fisablen, I can't really be sure what he's planning. It'd be best if we talk about this again when he comes back. There's no point in panicking now. I will meet him personally when the time comes."

Crossing the Border

"Politics don't make strange bedfellows - marriage does." ~ Queen Fisablen Cacanne

Though the new year had arrived, it wasn't really delightful. Whether they were the nobles who came over to participate in the festivities or the four houses' high-ranking officials, they were all rather disturbed by the commotion caused by the king. The hushed conversations went on nonstop. Even Lorist felt foreboded. The reason was simple: Felim and Shazin were rather attracted to the conditions the second highness had offered. To them, raiding the four central duchies for wealth before they recovered their might was an extremely tempting proposition.

Lorist couldn't hate the second highness more even if he wanted to.

He's a sneaky and insidious demon. I messed with him a few years ago and he suffered quite the loss from the agreement but I didn't think he'd come back after just three years as a blademaster and turn the tables. He's offered attacking the four central dutchies as bait. The moment he tossed it out, it caught everyone's attention and even managed to shake our alliance. He made his way to the dominion of the Fisablens immediately after...

If it were merely goading the nobles to attack the duchies, he couldn't be bothered to interfere. As long as the four houses didn't make any moves, the northeast would be stable as a mountain. Whether the attack ended in success or failure, it wouldn't affect his house's standing as the local hegemon. The problem now, however, was that Shazin and Felim had been tempted as well. If both decided to join, would House Norton just sit back and do nothing? How would it affect their alliance?

It wasn't that he hadn't considered reaping benefits for himself as well, but his plan could only be carried out in another two or three years. His most dangerous enemy was still House Fisablen. There had been many precedents of snakes not killed lashing out and biting back. House Fisablen might have admitted their loss, but they were far from completely beaten. Only after two or three years of economic and military pressure to make sure House Fisablen truly submitted could he turn his attention to the four central duchies.

But now he realized his allies didn't share his view. Like Felim had mentioned, House Fisablen was an injured beast. It would recover for the next three years, it was unlikely that it would try something in that time. As such, Felim believed the four houses shouldn't just coop up in their dominions waiting for the conflict to resume. He believed they should instead use the opportunity to increase their might, and the best target was the duchies, whose force of 70 thousand elites had already been wiped.

Shazin also believed raiding other nobles was the easiest way to get rich. Be it taking wealth or manpower, both approaches would severely weaken the enemy and decrease their ability to resist. The duchies had already crossed swords with the alliance in their attempt to aid House Fisablen; it went without saying that they saw them as enemies. A little over one year earlier, they had managed to exterminate 70 thousand elites. Surely they hadn't recovered yet. Even if they managed to get new recruits, their capabilities should be extremely low. Shazin was of the opinion that the four houses should use the opportunity to land an early strike instead of giving them time to recover. Even if the second highness wasn't there to lead the charge, the four houses would have to go to war anyway.

Felim had the intention to join in because he lacked manpower; Shazin intended to make a great haul. As for Kenmays, at first, he didn't care whether he deployed his forces or not. but after considering that attacking the duchies would allow more trade routes to be opened for the committee, and the fact that the committee would still be limited by the duchies if they didn't attack, he changed his mind and expressed his willingness to send his troops to join the offensive.

Lorist smiled troublingly at their reasoning. Ever since the duchies joined hands with the Union to defeat the second highness and exterminate Melein, they occupied eleven of the empire's 29 former provinces and had a total population of five to six million. In terms of weather and terrain, the provinces were ideal for agriculture, business, and industry. Even during the chaotic era, the duchies were still far from utter defeat and still a force to be reckoned with. There was also the fact that they were branches on the same three. No matter which was attacked, the others would join their side.

Back then, the first prince had lusted after their riches and led an army of 300 thousand men against them. The duchies didn't have that great a start, but they didn't submit and resisted with all they had. The conflict lasted three whole years and they managed to not only chase the first prince out of their territory, they even crossed the border into Redlissian territory, forcing the first prince to surrender and sign an armistice. There was no telling when history would repeat itself. While it was easy to start a war, it wasn't easy to end one. What Lorist worried about most was that he would be dragged into the quagmire. Should that come to pass, not only would the house not benefit, it might even affect the entire house. It might even allow the old fox to strike back. It was not the result he could accept.

That was also why he had a wait-and-see attitude. Bread had to be eaten bite by bite, and roads had to be traversed step-by-step. He wasn't prepared to start a war with another faction before completely defeating those he currently had. But so far, three out of the four members of the alliance hoped to do just that. It was quite the dilemma. If he supported them, it would disrupt the plan he had laid out. But if he didn't, the alliance might dissolve. Even if it didn't, they wouldn't see as eye-to-eye as they did currently and cooperate so well.

He suddenly realized why the second highness didn't visit The Northlands. If he did, he would have had to convince Lorist to participate in the war. If he refused, his allies, Shazin, Felim, and Kenmays would resolutely support his decision. If the whole alliance refused the second highness's call to arms, the war would end as a mere joke with the nobles the second highness managed to rally to join him. He would also be the butt of the joke.

Kenmays was rather witty in that he'd managed to avoid meeting the second highness altogether, but Shazin and Felim were convinced by his slimy words. The second highness's move was rather well-played. He had dug Lorist a pit to jump into without even having to meet with him. Whether he took the jump was his decision. If he jumped, he would prevent the alliance from dissolving at the cost of forcing House Norton into a corner in which they didn't wish to be. If he didn't, his allies would be alienated and the second highness couldn't be happier if the alliance fractured.

However, the duchies were not as easy to deal with as one might think. Their 70 thousand elites were completely decimated, but they had fought in the field. House Norton had lots of advantages and managed to win by taking them by surprise. But if they fought in the duchies, the enemy could coop up in their castles. Even if they relied on catapults, they would still have to suffer huge casualties.

Charade was easier-going.

"Your Grace, we have to fight. We not only have to fight, we have to pour in even more effort than others. We have to help Felim and Shazin achieve what they want."

"Why?"

Lorist was really unwilling to fight this war. He had constantly been searching for an excuse to avoid it.

"We don't stand to benefit at all. Felim wants manpower and Shazin wants wealth; Kenmays wishes to develop new trade routes... Even the lands we conquer in the war won't belong to us. Everything will belong to the second highness. Tell me what benefit is in this for us?"

Charade laughed.

"There will be benefits. They just aren't apparent. For starters, if we agree, Felim and Shazin will be incredibly grateful and the alliance will be even more secure. Additionally, didn't Shazin say he wanted different lands? A place with more mines? The two small silver mines and the copper mine in Sanderson Hills will be ours. We can claim a new dominion for House Shazin and the whole of Delamock will belong to us.

"Next, Felim needs manpower and Shazin wants wealth. We need both. The Northlands' population is just 1.67 million and, according to our development plan, we can only advance to the next step with a population of three million. We need at least double the resources and manpower we have now. Attacking the duchies and plundering their manpower and wealth is the best way to get what we need. Just look at our surroundings. Madras and Iblia have already been eliminated, the only target left is the duchies."

Charade's reasoning made quite a lot of sense. After a few days of consideration, Lorist came to a decision. He would deploy his troops and attack the duchies after the spring harvests in the 5th month. He wasn't that worried about field battles. His main focus was the duchies' strongly fortified and protected castles, raiding them for their wealth and manpower, and limiting the casualties he suffered in the process. Fortunately, the house had expanded the four sentry legions and it was time they gained actual battle experience.

Time passed quickly and it was the 17th day of the 4th month. A piece of news arrived that greatly shocked everyone. The moment the second highness arrived at Crouchtiger with his ten-odd knights, the Wargod of the Plains knelt and teared up and expressed his regrets for all he went through. The second highness absolved his house of its crimes and Duke Fisablen announced the house was once more under the rule of the royal family's legitimate heir. He submitted to the second highness and would fight to unify the empire once more.

Duke Fisablen didn't just make empty promises either. He presented one million gold Fordes' worth of horseshoe gold to the second highness as military funds and 30 thousand fine horses. House Fisablen's gift and submission were still within expectation. The truly surprising part was the second highness's response. He announced the days he spent at Crouchtiger was rather delightful and that he had fallen in love with the duke's one granddaughter, Cacanne. He proposed, the duke accepted, and the two were quickly married. The kingdom now had a proper queen.

"This... I have a feeling the second highness is ripping off the second prince," said Charade helplessly as he scratched his head.

The second prince had gone to House Fisablen and the duke allowed his promiscuous second daughter to marry him. The house's frontier legions supported the prince and he successfully founded the Iblia kingdom. Like Charade had mentioned, the second highness also found himself a wife after visiting House Fisablen.

"Haha," laughed Lorist coldly.

He was the one most displeased by news of the king's marriage. His cousin had loyally followed the second highness for 20 years, but he broke it off so easily. Nobody would sincerely believe he got married because of love.

"It's obvious. I was confused at first when Duke Fisablen submitted so easily. So he still had this move. I say, House Fisablen's women are quite fortunate. They all have the knack of becoming queens."

"Your Grace, Princess Sylvia is wedded to you. She's no queen."

Lorist suddenly realized that if Sylvia wasn't sent over by the duke, she might've been the one with whom the second highness 'fell in love at first sight'. Should word of it spread, he might really deploy his troops to fight the king and send the kingdom into another period of turmoil. Fortunately, Sylvia was already by his side. He couldn't be more relieved.

A week later, Potterfang's message was presented.

The second highness and Queen Cacanne had brought a division ten thousand strong to the border and requested entry. The division was the queen's guard and would follow her after the wedding. At the same time, Duke Fisablen had Blademaster Xanthi lead another division from one of his frontier legions to accompany the procession. She was going to travel with the king to the imperial capital. Also, Xanthi requested to visit Sylvia and send her belated blessings.

Lorist's face darkened.

Duke Fisablen you old miser... You gave your granddaughter Cacanne a division of ten thousand troops, but you only sent three carriages' worth of junk to your other granddaughter, Sylvia?! Are you looking down on me?! This is plain insult!

"Your Grace... Your Grace!"

Charade had to call out a few times to snap Lorist out of his vagary.

"What's up?"

"How do we deal with this? Should we allow the king across the border?" asked Charade as he pointed at the message.

"Let them in. I doubt the bastard would dare act rashly here. Have Loze lead Tigersoar there and escort them. I will take my guards to Windbury and await their arrival. Also, send Duke Kenmays, Count Shazin, and Count Felim a message. Have them meet me at Windbury. Since we're going to discuss our strategy for the upcoming war, we might as well settle everything in one go."

"Understood, Your Grace."

Meeting

"People think international politics is like a game of chess, with everyone sitting nicely on their side of the board. Everyone figures out their strategy, makes their move, and waits for the other side to respond. This is nothing like international politics. You want to screw your opponent as quickly and bloodily as possible, he should never even have a chance to react." ~ Norton Lorist, after that fateful meeting with the king, his sworn enemy cum peer Duke Fisablen, and supposed-to-be allies.

The horn blared loudly outside Windbury. Lorist organized a grand reception ceremony for King Auguslo, Queen Cacanne, and Duke Fisablen. Standing beside Lorist was Duchess Sylvia. Her godmother and teacher, Blademaster Xanthi, would be there to see her. Sylvia was incredibly excited and pestered Lorist to attend the reception with her no matter what.

Kenmays and Shazin were also present. Felim had left with Loze to escort the king over.

Charade and the acting mayor of Windbury, Viscount Eidis, stood behind Lorist. The two were engaged in a low-volume, heated debate. Viscount Eidis understood well the reason Lorist had appointed him as acting mayor. Lorist had hoped trade would restore Windbury to its former glory as the center for livestock trade. He was arguing with Charade because they had different opinions on how to redevelop Windbury.

Charade believed the trading center should be located outside the city to avoid affecting hygiene and the citizen's quality of life. Letting large quantities of livestock into the city would have severe effects on the environment. It was the main reason the king had killed the livestock market in the first place. Viscount Eidis, on the other hand, believed that, since the population relative to the available land was low, allowing trade to commence within the city would improve safety. As for environmental pollution, he believed limiting the livestock to special trade areas would prevent it from affecting the citizens too much.

Charade countered that the ratio of citizens to land might be low now, but it was in no way guaranteed to remain that way, especially not if the markets were reopened. There would be merchants flocking to the city after hearing word of its developments and settle down. Thus, as a measure of careful planning, keeping the livestock outside the city would save them the trouble of moving everything out later when the population increased, saving them much trouble in the long run.

But Eidis saw limiting trade only to the city outskirts a huge threat to safety. Charade proudly proclaimed there was nobody in the region that would dare provoke House Norton. As long as the forces existed, safety wouldn't be a concern.

Though Eidis was still filled with doubts, he yielded to keeping the trade outside the city due to Charade's overbearing. It, however, didn't stop him from having doubts on the time required for Windbury to regain its former glory. Seeing how gloomy he was, Charade secretly told him about Lorist's decision to attack the duchies and said the skilled workers and leather merchants they would force to migrate would be moved to Windbury. With the city's restoration to its former prosperous state guaranteed, Eidis's mood turned for the better. A light cavalryman appeared in the distance. He took out his horn and blew a long note. The king had arrived.

"Music!" instructed Eidis.

The band started playing. They played the tune used during the most formal of welcoming ceremonies for one's liege. Lorist was seated on his horse with a neutral expression on his face. Sylvia looked really expectant. It seemed she had really missed her godmother.

A handsome horse galloped in the distance. The moment the king heard Lorist was there to welcome him, he hurriedly rode ahead. He shouted before he was even close.

"Haha! Locke, my friend! Long time no see! I've missed you to death!"

You didn't miss me to death. You want to miss me after I die, thought Lorist.

However, he had no choice but to dismount and salute.

"Your Majesty, your loyal servant offers his greetings!"

The horse reared on its hind legs when the king pulled its reins. The second highness leaped off and took wide steps towards Lorist before giving him a hug.

"Locke, my friend, are you doing well?"

Lorist hugged back warmly.

"My king, seeing you safe brings peace to my heart," smiled he, "You should know I've been very worried since I heard you'd traveled into Fisablen's dominion... I couldn't eat or sleep well… Luckily I can finally rest assured. As the king, you shouldn't be taking such risks..."

The Auguslo glanced at Lorist's face blushing healthily.

Is that how a sleepless person with no appetite looks? I bet you can't wait for me to go back, huh? thought he.

In spite of his malcontent, he made the effort to look apologetic.

"Alright, Locke, we both know you would've stopped me if I told you I was going. As this matter is tied closely to the kingdom's future, I had no choice but to make the trip. Fortunately, Duke Fisablen was wise enough to change his ways and rejoin the kingdom. My rash actions paid off in the end."

Lorist didn't even bother to smile convincingly as he looked at the dismounting duke and the blademaster behind the king.

"It truly is a fortunate affair, Your Majesty. You were actually able to recruit the mighty Wargod of the Plains. It really is beyond expectation. I was preparing to uproot House Fisablen for good should you suffer any misfortune..."

Not only were Lorist's words incredibly rude, he also spoke them quite loudly. It was obvious the duke and blademaster had overheard him. The duke merely shuddered without a change in his expression. Xanthi, on the other hand, barked angrily.

"Would you have the guts?!"

Lorist laughed heartily.

"Well? What do you say, Blademaster Xanthi? Long time no see by the way. I see you've been having quite the good time at the imperial capital."

The look on Xanthi's face was both angry and fearful. She suddenly recalled being taken prisoner in just a few strikes. Since then, she had developed a phobia of the young man. Even when Duke Fisablen was beside her, she didn't dare draw her sword and start a fight. Fortunately, Sylvia pulled Lorist harshly before leaping into Xanthi's embrace to resolve the tension.

"Well," the king spoke, "Locke, I know the relationship between your house and that of Duke Fisablen is a little strained, you two even being at war just a year ago, but given that the duke has returned to the kingdom and is willing to put in an effort to unite the empire, and that you've already taken Duchess Sylvia as your wife - you're know in-laws - you should be more tolerant. As Duke of The Northlands, you should act as the role model for all other nobles. I hope Houses Norton and Fisablen can once again have amiable relations so the kingdom's citizens can spend their lives in peace and stability."

Lorist really felt like punching the king in the face.

Now you have what you want, you're advocating peace? You think it's really amazing to have House Fisablen doing your bidding, huh? Who knows what that old fox is planning. Do you really think House Fisablen would submit and return to the kingdom so easily? That old fox is already looking for a way out.

He cooled down after seeing the king's sincere expression. He was well aware that Auguslo knew what Duke Fisablen had in mind, it was just that he didn't mind. In fact, he couldn't be happier if the two houses were on bad terms. He was more than willing to ensure the alliance always had trouble with which to deal. Since he could sit stably in the capital and watch the battle, he couldn't wait for the two houses to tear each other apart.

Lorist bowed slightly.

"House Norton is willing to follow His Majesty's orders. As long as House Fisablen follows the alliance's regulations, we will naturally not consider him an enemy. Being able to get along will benefit the citizens."

Hehe, House Fisablen will just have to wait a little longer to be squashed. Our regulations will do what our weapons now can't.

Lorist wasn't going to just let House Fisablen off the hook. He couldn't be bothered to care whether the duke's granddaughter was the queen or not. He wasn't about to wait for the 'Snake and the Farmer' to happen. Once the beast was locked in a cage, it shouldn't be let out ever again.

"This..."

The king was speechless. Lorist was obviously not going to listen to him and let House Fisablen off the hook. However, it wouldn't be appropriate for him to flip out at the moment. Fortunately, Kenmays, Shazin, Charade, and Eidis came up to offer their greetings, stopping Lorist from saying anything else that might push the situation out of control.

The carriage in which the queen rode finally arrived. Queen Cacanne stepped out. Lorist went up to greet her all the while checking her out. She was quite the beauty; it seemed the Fisablen genes were rather good. The men were handsome and the women beautiful. Sylvia was a step above Cacanne, though. Cacanne's arrogant and stuck-up expression gave Lorist the urge to laugh. He also noticed that Sylvia was standing to the side whispering something to Xanthi without bothering to greet her grandfather and cousin.

After some commotion, everyone returned to their respective carriages and mounts and headed to Rose Palace under Eidis's lead. Since Windbury had come under Norton control, the palace had become a temporary noble abode. Apart from Lorist, nobody was allowed to enter. Now that the Auguslo was there, Rose Palace naturally became his residence. Eidis had had a grand banquet prepared.

After enjoying the delicacies, Kenmays stood up to ask the key question on behalf of all the nobles present.

"Your Majesty, forgive my abruptness, but you mentioned you were going to attack the duchies. Is this true?"

"Of course," the king replied seriously as he put the golden cup in his hand down, "I spoke the truth. The rewards I promised are still up for the courageous to take. I also have an announcement to make in this regard. Duke Fisablen, the Wargod of the Plains, will also deploy his troops for this endeavor. So far, there are only some minor details that have to be discussed. Once these negotiations conclude and the military preparations are ready, we will launch our attack. As the king, I hope I will have the fortune to witness the brave contributions of all the nobles on the battlefield as they fight and contribute to the kingdom."

Auguslo's words inspired loud cheers from the seated nobles. Lorist toyed around with the cup in his hand as he contemplated the king's revelation about Duke Fisablen's participation. Unconsciously, his eyes drifted to the duke and saw him raising a cup to him in a toast before he gulped down the wine.

Interesting, old fellow. I wonder what in the world you're up to...

When the banquet ended, the king asked Lorist, Fisablen, Kenmays, Felim, and Shazin to stay behind. He hesitated for a moment but eventually asked Charade to join them as well. Lorist knew the true meeting was about to begin.

After they took their seats, Auguslo came clean with his strategy. His plan was to mobilize the 56-thousand-strong Whitelion Legion. It would be moved to Southern before launching the invasion. The first step was to reclaim the provinces that used to constitute Melein, Messen, and Rimad, and use them as the main base and springboard for further offensives into the core of the four duchies. As it was rather far away, he hoped to first seal Southern and Rimad's border and wait for Whitelion's arrival. The operation was slated for the 8th month.

"Duke Fisablen, weren't you going to lead your frontier legions into battle? Can you tell me where you will attack?" asked Lorist, looking straight at the duke.

Duke Fisablen didn't reply or say anything.

Auguslo stepped in.

"It's like this. House Fisablen will mobilize two legions. They will join in after we conquer Messen. Messen is connected to Shabaj and Forund, so I plan to divide our forces in two. Whitelion will work with the frontier legions to attack one duchy while you and the four houses attack the other. Attacking on two fronts will make the duchies unable to regroup and resist. We can only take the duchies down in one move like this."

Lorist laughed coldly.

"It seems House Fisablen really is going to do its best for His Majesty's sake, for them to be willing to mobilize the only two legions they have left. What a rare breed of loyalty."

"Well, Locke, this is the part where we need your agreement," the king said sincerely, "Right now, House Fisablen is just like House Norton, a vassal of the kingdom. Since you two have signed an armistice, as king, I hope the two of you can make up and work together to reunite the empire.

"I hope you will release Third Frontier's captured soldiers so the duke can rebuild the legion. Since you know House Fisablen only has two legions left, you should also know that they will be the grassland barbarians' primary target when they send out both their legions. I hope you will be gracious and give the captured soldiers freedom so they can contribute to the empire's reunification."

Ah, old fox, so this was what you were planning.

Lorist merely smiled coldly without speaking. The king kept going on about thinking of the big picture for the sake of the empire, and that it was all only to be used to attack the duchies. Lorist looked at Shazin and Felim; the two had their heads lowered. He then shot Kenmays a glance and saw the latter was inspecting the teacup in his hand with intense focus. He suddenly felt his heart go cold. He waved smilingly to stop the king's rambling.

"Alright. I agree to release Third Frontier's soldiers. But House Fisablen must make our losses up to us. I'll leave the details to Baron Charade and Duke Kenmays. I am feeling a little unwell and have to excuse myself."

Lorist then left swaggeringly.

The Allies

"Taking an ally is unlike taking a friend. A friend you stand by through thick and thin, it is a choice made based on emotions. Taking an ally is a business transaction, you take them for the benefits they bring. An ally that is not a boon, is not an ally." ~ Unknown

"Did you guys come to an agreement?" asked Lorist faintly.

They were in one of the most lavish mansions in the Windbury's noble district. It originally belonged to an Iblian count from Southern but the mansion was sealed after the count received the death sentence for treason four years ago by Duke Fisablen. While Lorist could stay at Rose Palace given his status, he didn't want to mingle with the king, so he chose the mansion as his lodging instead.

It was already almost evening by the time Charade returned. He realized Lorist was seated in his dark study watching night fall. When he heard his question, he undid his cloak and handed it to Jinolio.

"Get me a bottle of wine. The tea I drank all afternoon left no taste in my mouth at all.

"Your Grace, we have come to an agreement. Duke Fisablen is willing to pay one million gold Fordes' worth of horseshoe gold as ransom for the Third Frontier's 40 thousand soldiers. However, he asked they all be armed properly," said Charade as he got a chair and sat beside Lorist.

"Hehe," Lorist chuckled coldly, "It seems House Fisablen still has quite deep pockets. Even though they just gave the second highness a million, they can still take out another for the ransom. It seems we'll have to increase our goods' prices even further. However, his idea of asking us to supply his soldiers with gear is a pretty decent one."

House Fisablen's third frontier legion's soldiers were originally armed with riding armor 103 which they ordered from the Nortons. Each set cost 65 gold Fordes. Following the legion's surrender, their gear was confiscated, but now, Duke Fisablen intended to resupply his whole legion and purchase their freedom with one million gold Fordes. The plan did indeed merit praise.

"Your Grace, this agreement will only pass if you acknowledge it. If you don't, we can continue to bargain. We're not the ones in a rush anyway."

Lorist shook his head slightly.

"It isn't that simple. What do our three allies say?"

Charade received the cup of wine Jinolio poured and enjoyed a sip.

"Count Felim and Count Shazin think since we're all nobles of the kingdom, not to mention our status as allies about to go to war together, we should spare House Fisablen instead of tightening the leash. Duke Kenmays tried his best to negotiate on our behalf, but Duke Fisablen harped on about it already being his baseline and that there was no more room for negotiation; they can't bring out even a single gold coin more than they've already offered. As for His Majesty, he will naturally speak on Fisablen's behalf. He had indicated on multiple occasions to accept what was offered without going overboard."

Lorist sighed.

"Whatever, there's no need to be so calculative at this point, lest others hail us as being stingy. Third Frontier is different from those we've caught in the past. Their family members live in House Fisablen's dominion, and, given that they were forced to surrender, they haven't really been convinced of their loss. They believe we won with underhanded tricks. It's especially the case with their general offing himself after the surrender to bear responsibility for his mistakes. The soldiers loathe us and are filled with the desire for vengeance, we can't use them in our own forces. The longer we keep them, the larger their hate will be. It's best we just let them go."

"Aren't you afraid you're releasing the tiger into the wild? Those soldiers will be quite the formidable force if House Fisablen goes to war with us."

Charade wasn't fond of the idea of releasing the 40 thousand veterans.

"Hehe, a formidable force? Just by themselves?"

Lorist laughed heartily.

"I admit their mental fortitude and morale will make them more powerful in the face of our forces in the future. But so what? Are we afraid of them? True might is not defined by morale, but good equipment, decent fortifications, and coordination over the long term through harsh training and confidence built by numerous battles. When they face us on the field again, they will be defeated again. They will be crushed and left with nothing. What other might could they possibly have?"

Charade gulped down the rest of the wine.

"Alright. We'll do it as you wish."

"Wait a second," Lorist said, "Don't let Fisablen off so easily. Ask Supervisor Spiel about the worn out armor and weapons we got after exterminating Madras. I believe they're gathering dust and moss in the storehouses. Give that to the legion and tell them that we'll sell them riding armor 103 at a discount. Fifty gold Fordes each should do. We'll outfit them with that if they can bring out another two million. If he's not happy, he can come to me."

"Your Grace, isn't this a little too insidious? Duke Fisablen will definitely spew blood. You're practically giving his face a slap... Nevermind. After all the agreement only stipulates we give them equipment, not what kind."

Lorist breathed a long sigh.

"I didn't want to do this either. I'm afraid the king will spread word of us not taking the bigger picture into account and House Fisablen will hate us all the way to the bone, but I really can't afford House Fisablen regaining their strength. Forget about the king, House Fisablen is our biggest threat."

Charade stopped laughing and sighed as well.

"Are you still mad at Count Felim and Count Shazin? They're our allies but they're dragging us into the mud. Maybe we should consider dissolving the alliance. Actually, there are many in the house who think that, had it not been for the alliance, our influence would have grown even more."

Lorist stood up and walked to the windowsill. He looked at the peaceful scene outside, at the houses and streets.

"Do you think so as well? That the alliance is a burden rather than a boon?"

Charade shook his head.

"I don't think so, but I feel you think a little too highly of our allies. Actually, even their combined might can't rival ours. Ever since our attack on Madras and Iblia, there are some in the house who started feeling you take care of our allies far too much. For instance, you allowed House Kenmays to occupy their own province and even form their own maritime trading fleet, giving them a huge cut of the profits of maritime trade in Northsea.

"As for Count Felim, not only did we send out troops to retake his dominion, we were also willing to go to battle for his sake, sacrificing tens of thousands of our loyal soldiers in the process. Many officials and knights believe we suffered quite a bit of loss after our conquest of Iblia and House Felim managed to profit a lot.

"There's also Count Shazin. He was just a gold-ranked knight when we met him. If not for our support, how would he even be qualified to be brought up in the same sentence as us?

"I don't personally endorse these views, but I believe you do in fact look after our allies a lot. But I believe you have your reasons, reasons beyond my short-sighted view."

Lorist chuckled.

"Alright, enough with the flattery. If you're trying to flatter me, at least make it seem more convincing. I don't think you don't have any talent for flattering though.

"Maybe you might not believe this, but at first, I didn't really regard the alliance with that much importance. I only wanted to establish a method by which to export our produce. Putting the alliance aside, I was more concerned with the salt merchant committee. I had hoped we could export our goods to other provinces through the committee. The reason I drafted the alliance at first was to put our allies' mind at peace," said Lorist with a lowered head as he paced about.

"Put their minds at peace?"

Charade was quite surprised, this was the first time Lorist had revealed his true motives.

"Yes. We all just happened to have the same goal of trapping the second prince. After that, we managed to eliminate the First Legion. We also sucked all the landed nobles across The Northlands dry apart from our three allies with the excuse that those nobles worked with the second prince to attack our house.

"Think about how The Northlands would have ended up had I not formed the alliance. It's obvious that the three houses would have united against us. Since we wiped out all the other nobles, the three would have had no choice but to fight an enemy like us as one. Though we can mobilize our forces to defeat them, it would come at a great cost and The Northlands will be even more chaotic.

"That was why I formed the alliance. We will all stretch our influences outward and face the threat of Madras and Iblia together. It helped us gain the precious time we needed. What I didn't expect, however, was how that Kenmays was actually able to run salt merchant committee so well and tied our four houses together with the profits he made. That's why the alliance still exists."

Lorist had already paced about half the room.

"At first, I didn't really regard the alliance much importance. It was after Silowas was attacked and our expedition to exterminate the Hanayabarta kingdom that I realized the alliance's importance. If we didn't have our three allies separating us from the outside world, we wouldn't have been able to develop as steadily and rapidly as we have.

"The Northlands is truly too large. It's a province, but its area is three times that of Delamock. Given how strong house was back then, even if we managed to control the whole Northlands, we would've attracted lots of other hungry factions vying for what we had. Especially given that there are only three ways from The Northlands to the rest of the empire. If those were sealed off, we would lose touch with the rest of the empire. In one sense, it makes it easy to defend, but also hard to rely on others. Bullhorn Bay can reach the outside world now as well, a maritime trade route alone isn't enough to export our produce.

"We might have the strength to hold The Northlands for ourselves, but we have to rely on our allies. Even if we want to occupy the whole province, we have to use dominion relocation instead of tearing up the alliance with military force. House Kenmays was one of our earliest enemies. When I first returned to the dominion, they were laying siege at Maplewoods. Back then, House Norton was turtling up and could only endure their attacks unable to fight back.

Logically speaking, I should hate House Kenmays to the bone, right? But Duke Kenmays's father turned out to be quite the far-sighted man. He instantly made the decision to avoid the brunt of my troops and went to the eastern Northlands to lay his foundations anew out of my grasp and even apologized sincerely. Later, I realized Kenmays himself was quite the talented man, not unlike yourself. You're better at taking the larger picture into consideration; Kenmays at business and social relations. It was my admiration for his talents that made us friends.

"Among our three allies, Duke Kenmays is the one with the most foresight. He knows as long as he can sustain the alliance, House Kenmays can transition smoothly from a merchant family to a proper house. That is why he toils away to run the committee. At the same time, as the influence of our alliance increases, salt merchant committee's reach grows. It's is a win-win for Duke Kenmays.

"I've heard a local saying that goes, 'A fence requires three posts, a good man requires three helpers'. Even though House Norton has a legacy over three centuries old, we were still a small house at the rural borders of The Northlands and couldn't compare to the ancient, powerful noble houses. In the days of the empire, we were synonymous with loyalty, and that's the reason we stubbornly support the imperial family's true heir, the Andinaq royal family. While taking up the burden is easy, putting it back down is not.

"You should know best how wary the king is of us. We can't go any higher under his wing either. We already have the highest possible vassalic title. Unless we found our own kingdom, which is impossible, there is no ladder left to climb. The second highness wouldn't allow it either. If we rebel, our reputation, earned over two centuries, would be ruined in a single moment. That's not something we can afford. 'Traitor' is not a pleasant lable to have and I don't want to be scorned by thousands either.

"The alliance is incredibly important right now. Think about how we made the king suffer through cooperating with our allies. We managed to rake in huge gains and the king got nothing. In his eyes, the four houses are one unit and he can't target any us individually. All he can do is try and destroy the alliance.

"Without the alliance, he only needs to deal with us. Using rumors, he can destroy our reputation. But now we have our allies, he has to think twice before pulling something like this. That's also why I was enthusiastic about forming the alliance in the beginning. No matter which house the king decides to take on, he has to consider the three others' retaliation.

"The duchies are bait and we have no choice but to bite. Count Felim has always wanted his house's glorious name restored and given that development of his dominion is bottlenecked, it's no surprise he has turned his attention to the duchies. Count Shazin has always been rather bad at managing his dominion and it's only reasonable for him to want to increase his wealth with plunder. The two swallowed the bait, so we have to stay with them through it all. Just like you said, our invasion will bring us benefits as well. This is a step we have to take to protect the alliance. We shouldn't allow a rift to form so easily.

"I didn't imagine that bastard would bring that fox into this, though. That old fox wants his men back to rebuild his forces. Count Felim and Count Shazin have their vision blurred from the potential benefits. they didn't speak out against his request because they feared the invasion would be called off. That's why I agreed to release them. The only con is that we lost free manpower. We'll have to stop many of our ongoing projects."

Plotting

Tales of the Reincarnated Lord - Chapter 418 - Plotting

"In summer I plot and plan

in autumn I plow the land

in winter I move the groove

in spring I drench my wench."

~ A poem from the emperor's diary

Charade left right away. Since Lorist had already given his okay, he had to start preparing the rest. He refused Lorist's request to dine with him and left in a hurry. As the chief administrator, there was much of which he was left in charge so he couldn't just rest right after a decision was made like Lorist could.

Lorist didn't expect Sylvia would return with an angry look right after Charade left. He was quite surprised. He had initially thought Sylvia would return late. At the very least, she should've had dinner with her godmother, Xanthi, instead of rushing over in a bad mood.

She dug herself into his arms and teared up soundlessly like a lost child, distressing him greatly. Sylvia didn't have much mental fortitude, so he was very worried she might develop some kind of mental disorder at some point. After consoling her for a while, he came to know what happened. Xanthi had told Sylvia that after she took the king as her disciple and aided with his breakthrough, she wanted to find a good husband for her. She thought considered the king was a very good candidate, given his high status, impressive reputation, reputable family background, good personal combat skills, and rank as king. If she had wedded him, House Fisablen could've shed the reputation of traitor and even be one of the kingdom's top noble houses, perhaps even get out of their current predicament.

But when the king was at the crucial point of his breakthrough, Xanthi received word of Sylvia's marriage. The news concerned the breakout of war between House Fisablen and the alliance and Iblia's extermination. Xanthi had been really believed her goddaughter would finally be over the Norton kid. So, it really made her wonder what was going on when she heard about their wedding. She couldn't write it off as a joke either; the wedding invitation arrived along with the news. No matter how much she thought about it, she still couldn't remotely guess what was happening. She decided that Lorist must have forced the house to make Sylvia marry him. Unfortunately, she couldn't leave the capital, or she would have slaughtered her way into the Northlands to save Sylvia. The biggest loss was that Sylvia would lose her chance to become queen. She really wondered why the house couldn't delay it for another year.

Counter to the picture Xanthi had in her mind of the situation, Sylvia couldn't be happier. She didn't care for the position queen and was more than satisfied that she could be with the man she loved. After finally meeting the godmother she had relied on from her childhood, she had told her everything about how she felt, including the harsh treatment she had received from the house and how hollow she had felt after she was abandoned and sent to Lorist as a gift. She also told Xanthi about what Lorist had done to nurse her back to health and the effort he had put in to make her his lawfully wedded wife.

Xanthi grew more furious the more she listened. Everything was the duke's fault! She dragged Sylvia over to her grandfather to settle the matter. The girl didn't want to meet the duke but she didn't have much of a say, not with a blademaster dragging her along.

The old woman and the old man argued incessantly and Sylvia became a potted plant watching the affair. She couldn't bear to listen to their fight and tried to move as far away as she possibly could. Unfortunately, she encountered her cousin, Cacanne, touring Rose Palace with a few others, as she tried to escape. Cacanne greeted her as the queen and even sneered at her in front of everyone. The girl couldn't endure the humiliation and slapped her before running away. On the way, she started to feel more and more anxious about what she had just done and came to Lorist to tell him about it.

Lorist laughed heartily when the story finished.

"Dear, it's fine as long as you didn't come out worse for wear. In fact, it was worth it if you gave that queen a slap."

"But... But my cousin is the queen!"

"So what? Slap her if you want."

Lorist wasn't taking it seriously at all. If Auguslo really wanted the alliance's support in the coming war, he couldn't bother with blame games now. He was too cold-blooded to care about the queen's face as long as it didn't affect him anyway. He wasn't the kind of king that would draw his sword for a beauty. Even if he did, he'd still have to consider whether a mere rank 1 blademaster could afford to do so against Lorist.

"Your Grace, His Majesty has arrived," reported Jinolio.

He informed the two that the king seemed rather angered, though he had only brought two guards with him.

Well, I suppose it's only to be expected. He'd lose quite a bit of face if his wife was slapped without any recourse. No matter how bad their relationship, a husband has to stand up for his wife. Since it isn't appropriate to go after Sylvia, he has to come to me.

Lorist let Auguslo in. He gave Sylvia's rear a light slap as he waited.

"Go hide this out. I'll deal with this for you. I hope you last longer tonight."

Sylvia gave him an embarrassed glance before leaving. He heard the king's loud footsteps as he entered. He didn't bother to stand up. Instead, he remained laid back in his chair as he stretched out his hand.

"Forget this matter and I'll give you 50 catapults. What do you say?"

"Ah," Auguslo mused, "One hundred, and I'll treat it as if it never happened."

"Hehe," Lorist laughed, shaking his head, "Fifty. That queen of yours ain't worth a hundred."

"No way, she is my wife and the kingdom's queen. Don't you think it's a slight on my reputation without at least a hundred catapults?"

The second highness's insistence was already clear.

Lorist withdrew his hand.

"Fine, if you don't want fifty, then you'll get none. Do whatever you want, I'll take it all. Just tell me if you want to end our friendship."

Auguslo was stunned.

"Locke, what's the meaning of this?! Why aren't you following the script?!" he cried.

"Script? What script?"

"Shouldn't we bargain a little more and settle in the middle? With that, we can both step down with our reputations intact. How could you end it all like this?"

Lorist laughed for a moment before his face sunk into a resting bastard face.

"My offer is final, 50 catapults and not one more. You should understand better than anyone that I offered you 50 catapults just because it's you. Do you think I would bother making it up to anyone else?"

"Fine, 50 it is."

Though Auguslo knew that it was already Lorist's baseline, he was still not satisfied.

"Why don't you go slap her again and give me a hundred catapults instead?"

Lorist laughed so hard he lost his breath.

"Those 50 and your Whitelion should be more than enough to take down quite a few walled cities and forts. You shouldn't be too greedy. Also, I can't be bothered to slap your wife. Come to think of it, I think you owe me an explanation for why you broke up with my cousin."

Auguslo sighed and took a seat.

"A cup of wine."

Jinolio served some wine and immediately left again, closing the door to the study behind him. Lorist got the wine bottle and poured himself a cup as well, which he downed in one gulp, before handing the rest to Auguslo. The latter didn't bother with the cup. Instead, he emptied the bottle directly into his mouth. After a loud burp and a sigh he began.

"I have wronged Glacia..."

"Of course you have. She joined you when she was 18 and has been by your side for 20 years. She charged into battle for you, fought wars for you, and served you in the night. She gave you all the time she had in the prime of her youth. Even if you're wary of us, you of all people should understand how loyal she was. I didn't think you'd abandon her so easily and let her leave. I really look down on you, 'Your Majesty'. This just confirmed I was right not to cooperate with you. If this is how you treat a woman so loyal to you, how much easier would you throw us away once you had no further use for us?" mocked Lorist coldly.

"You can't blame me," argued Auguslo.

Since Lorist was being forthright, he didn't bother with false pretenses.

"Your forces are strong enough to exterminate nations like it was a mere stroll in the park, yet you're unwilling to help me reunite the empire. Do you really think I can not worry about you? I'm afraid your methods would be far worse if you were in my position. I'm already really tolerant of you. Tell me. Do you think I could really take Glacia as my queen?"

"But, Your Majesty, you know we aren't the least bit interested in the throne. Our house's centuries-long legacy should be ample proof. We pledged allegiance to you because you were the legitimate heir to the royal family. You know I don't have much ambition either. All I want is to develop my dominion and spend my days in peace. It's really unfair for you to be so wary of us."

"No, no..." the second highness said as he shook his head, "Locke, I know you don't have much ambition. I have no choice. If I took Glacia as my wife, as the kingdom's strongest duke, you would influence its affairs one way or another. Given that Glacia is a Norton, you will always back her. Even if you pledge your allegiance to the kingdom, you can't promise that your descendants will do the same. I have to consider the future beyond those currently heading the houses."

"So you're saying you're taking a woman from House Fisablen so they can be our foil? You're willing to give up on Glacia, who has followed you for over two decades, just for that?"

Auguslo laughed bitterly.

"I won't deny I did hold the thought at one point. The real reason is to take House Fisablen back into the kingdom including the old empire's two border provinces they control and use them to attack the four duchies. Locke, you know my dream is to rebuild the empire. Through reuniting it, my name will be recorded and remembered in the annals of history.

"Blademaster Xanthi asked that I marry someone from the house. She said Duke Fisablen wouldn't be persuaded otherwise. At first, Princess Sylvia was supposed to be the one I married, but you'd already taken her as your wife. So, I simply chose another. I don't love her. I made it very clear to Glacia that I was doing this for the empire, nothing more. If she were willing I would have taken her as my second wife, but she would have none of it.

"Do you think I don't feel bad? I really don't have a choice. Since you were unwilling to help me, I had no choice but to ask House Fisablen. There's no way I can defeat the duchies with just three legions and 150 thousand men. I need to borrow the strength of others. House Fisablen has deployed two legions. Coupled with the four houses, we have more than enough to wipe out the duchies now. After reclaiming the eleven provinces and recuperating for a few years, we can finally take back the empire's land the Union now holds."

Lorist sighed deeply. He felt great pity for the king all of a sudden. For the sake of reuniting the empire, he was willing to take any step necessary like he was possessed by a demon. He didn't hesitate to slaughter the traitorous nobles. He was also ready to sacrifice his love to gain House Fisablen's support. But people couldn't come to agreements if they weren't on the same page. Had it not been for his allies, Lorist wouldn't have bothered to help with the upcoming war.

Fine, let's just consider this the last time.

"Alright, I'll join the war this time to sate your desire for revenge. I won't let you command our forces, though. We will decide how and when to attack. I guarantee we won't miss the opportunity should it present itself, so I hope you won't hold me back."

Auguslo cracked a smile and gave Lorist a high five.

"Deal!"

The king was quite happy with the results of his visit and refused Lorist's cordial invitation to having dinner together. He said he had to go back to Rose Palace and calm the slapped queen down.

"Do you really think you can handle the scheming old fox?" Lorist couldn't help but ask as Auguslo was leaving.

The king smiled brightly.

"What do I have to worry about with House Norton around?"

Lorist shook his head, a bitter smile on his face, as he watched the king leave.

Why, aren't you the real schemer here? You know the one I'm most wary of is Duke Fisablen. So you let them do what they please without much consideration. You understand that if House Fisablen regains their strength, they would slap me down hard first. You're letting them clutch your leg for a chance of surviving and rebuilding. I have been unconsciously made a weapon with which you threaten that old fox...