Marquis Branford pressed his fingers to his temple. He had no idea where to even begin untangling this mess.
Marquis Rodrick had schemed to launch a surprise attack, but instead, he had been the one caught off guard.
"This idiot…"
That greedy man had finally caused trouble. And Ghislain, as if waiting for it, had gladly accepted the fight.
'Well… Ghislain is just as greedy.'
In some ways, he was similar to Marquis Rodrick, taking everything he wanted by any means necessary.
But Ghislain's greed wasn't for personal gain. All the benefits he accrued were poured back into his territory. That's why Fenris had developed so rapidly.
It was greed of a different nature.
Marquis Branford still couldn't fully understand what kind of person Ghislain was.
After much deliberation, he turned to the nobles of the royalist faction and said.
"Keep your forces ready to mobilize for war at any time."
The nobles leaned back in their chairs and sighed. They understood why Marquis Branford was giving such an order.
If Marquis Rodrick issued a full mobilization order, an enormous army would gather. And Count Fenris would not sit idly by.
Whether they liked it or not, these two men were accelerating the civil war.
To respond to a war that could erupt at any moment, preparations had to start now.
"I'll try to prevent a full-scale war for now. But with the Duchy having lost the Crimson Magic Tower, who knows what they'll do next? Be prepared for surprise attacks."
Everyone nodded grimly.
They had only recently celebrated Count Fenris becoming a Master, and now they were on the verge of war.
What could have been resolved amicably had escalated into a situation no one had anticipated.
The royalist nobles weren't the only ones shocked by the news.
"Ghislain's really a Master? And he's already clashing with Marquis Rodrick?"
Amelia looked incredulous upon hearing the news.
She had destroyed the Crimson Magic Tower to spark conflict between the two, but it turned out Ghislain had already killed Delmude. The fight she had hoped to provoke was already underway on its own.
Half of her plan had succeeded, which was fortunate, but the way things kept deviating from her intentions was frustrating.
"Ha… I can't believe that brat is really a Master."
Amelia still couldn't fully accept it. She knew Ghislain's past better than anyone.
She didn't believe he had been hiding his power all along. She had seen his true self far too clearly during their engagement.
'There's no way he was hiding his power.'
She still remembered how he would blush and squirm whenever he saw her. If he had been hiding his strength, he had done so in the most pathetic way imaginable.
Her disdain and disregard for him had been justified.
'Come to think of it… he doesn't resemble that old self at all anymore.'
Compared to his current demeanor, it was hard to believe he was the same person.
There had to be someone—or something—behind him. Someone who had turned that pathetic man into a Master and provided him with knowledge.
If not a person, then it was an artifact of similar power.
'I have to find out what it is.'
Amelia bit her lip.
Whoever—or whatever—had transformed that fool into a Master within a few years, and filled him with mysterious knowledge, could be the key to realizing her ambitions.
Beyond Ghislain's skill, the fact that he had picked a fight with Marquis Rodrick was a shock in itself.
'He really is a battle-mad lunatic. Charging into conflict after conflict without rest.'
Marquis Rodrick was a far more powerful lord than Count Desmond, a key figure in the duke faction.
And Ghislain had gone all the way to the West to stir up chaos with such a figure.
He truly wasn't normal.
Then, a dangerous impulse flickered in her mind.
'If I attacked Fenris now…'
Fenris was strong, but its heart—Ghislain—was absent.
If she struck with all her forces in one swift storm, she could take Fenris in an instant.
'No, no, I must hold back for now.'
Just as Ghislain saw Amelia as a variable, she saw him as one as well.
If she seized Fenris, the royalist faction would lose the North. That would only hasten their defeat in the civil war.
If she were loyal to the Duchy, this opportunity would be irresistible. But for Amelia, the Duchy was also a future enemy.
She had no intention of doing them any favors.
The duke faction and royalist faction had to bleed each other dry until they both collapsed.
Ghislain was a nuisance, but not her target. For her grand ambitions, personal feelings had to be set aside.
Calming her regret, she turned to Conrad and said.
"Send people to the West to keep monitoring the situation. Use the merchant guilds as much as possible."
"Understood."
"What about the representatives sent here?"
"Vulcan has handled them all and sent word that they've been dealt with."
"Good. And the troops and supplies?"
"All ready. We can deploy at any time."
Satisfied, Amelia nodded and continued.
"When the civil war begins, I'll provide the routes. Prepare to move accordingly. We must act faster than anyone else."
"Yes, my lady."
Amelia rested her chin in her hand and closed her eyes.
With Ghislain and Marquis Rodrick clashing, the civil war would come sooner rather than later.
Ghislain was with the royalist faction, and she with the duke faction. Neither listened to anyone else, making them equally insufferable.
'The war won't go as either of you plan.'
It would go exactly as she planned. She smiled to herself, eyes closed.
***
Marquis Rodrick blinked in disbelief as his vassal delivered the report.
"The raid… failed? A thousand men, and they couldn't destroy a single cosmetics merchant guild?"
"Yes, they were completely wiped out. It's said that Count Fenris was there in person."
"That brat… he brought a mere few hundred men into the West to face me? What does he think of me…"
Marquis Rodrick chewed his lip and glared daggers at his unfortunate vassal.
Opinions about Count Fenris's strength were still divided.
But the fact that a thousand men had been annihilated suggested there was something extraordinary about him.
Rumors of him being a mage added fuel to the fire.
That was plausible enough. A figure as renowned as Count Fenris might indeed require more than a thousand soldiers to subdue.
The real problem lay in what followed.
"And now he's attacking the territories of my vassals?"
"Yes, three territories have been attacked and looted so far. Mercenaries are suddenly appearing everywhere, transporting the plundered goods to Fenris. And… another territory has just been reported as attacked."
"Grr… AAAARGH!"
Crash!
Marquis Rodrick roared and smashed the armrest of his chair.
"That insolent brat dares! Dares to humiliate me like this!"
It was humiliating. He had declared war under the guise of avenging his son, yet he was the one being humiliated.
Meanwhile, cries for help flooded in from all over as Fenris plundered his territories.
"Gah… that brat is running rampant without fear."
The territory of Marquis Rodrick was vast, and the West even larger. But most of the forces meant to defend that land were concentrated with Marquis Rodrick.
Many of the Western lords were his vassals, and their individual forces ranged from 500 to 1,000 soldiers. At most, a few reached 3,000.
This had been Marquis Rodrick's long-standing strategy.
By dividing the land among many vassals, none could grow too powerful. If forces were needed, they relied on the Marquis Family.
It was a system that had allowed Marquis Rodrick to dominate the West for generations.
But now, it was his Achilles' heel.
His vassals lacked the strength to handle Ghislain.
Marquis Rodrick shouted in fury.
"Summon the army immediately! Track down that brat and kill him! Don't let him attack any more vassal lands! Tell all neighboring territories to mobilize and encircle him!"
It was a system effective for internal control, but the excessive fragmentation left them vulnerable to external threats like this.
Marquis Rodrick wasn't ignorant of this weakness, but he never believed anyone would dare attack his territory. His house was simply too powerful.
Regardless, he couldn't leave his vassals defenseless. Each time a vassal fell, the Marquis Family's overall strength diminished.
Individually weak, but together, they formed an army numbering tens of thousands. That was the true strength of the West—the power of the overlord who ruled it.
As Marquis Rodrick raged, his vassals began to speak.
"With the rumored Count Fenris here in person, some losses are inevitable. However, we have a plan to capture him."
"A plan? What plan?"
As befitted a noble house of their stature, the Marquis Family had many brilliant vassals. They had devised a response as soon as they received news of the situation.
"Count Fenris hasn't invaded with a proper army. There's no way he could win a full-scale war against us. That's why he's resorting to raiding instead of occupying. If we force him into one location and surround him, we can eliminate him."
Intrigued, Marquis Rodrick leaned in and listened carefully.
"What's your idea? Tell me."
Tenant, the commander of the Marquis family's knights, spread out a map and began to explain.
"After discussions with the strategists, we believe that if Count Fenris continues his raids, he will inevitably target this location."
He pointed to Baron Dacre's territory, one of the larger vassals with a force of 3,000 men.
Although it lacked knights, it was strategically significant, with more troops stationed there than in other territories due to its importance.
"He must break through this location to reach other vassals. Otherwise, he'll have to take a long detour or approach our territory directly."
Baron Dacre's territory also served as a fortress for the West. Any invasion of the West had to either breach this territory or bypass it entirely.
"We've already sent official letters to the nearby territories. The lords are gathering their forces to establish a defensive line around Baron Dacre's territory."
"And then? How do you plan to kill him?"
"We've instructed Baron Dacre to leave only the bare minimum of food supplies and hold out."
"Ho…"
Marquis Rodrick nodded, beginning to grasp the strategy.
"If he goes in, he'll starve."
"Exactly. Even if he manages to capture the territory, he won't be able to hold out for long without food. Once he's weakened from starvation, we'll strike and kill him."
"How long will it take?"
"If Count Fenris successfully occupies the territory, it should only take about a week of encirclement. If we're cautious, we could wait a month. Either way, he won't last and will eventually be forced out."
A week of starvation wouldn't kill anyone, but it would sap their strength, making them incapable of fighting effectively.
"How many troops will we need?"
"Considering Count Fenris's reputation, we estimate 10,000 men will be required."
"Can't Baron Dacre's forces handle it on their own?"
"It would be difficult without knights."
According to their intelligence, Count Fenris had not brought siege machines. Instead, he had scaled walls at night to carry out massacres.
They also reported that mercenaries followed in his wake to transport the plundered goods.
The vassals speculated that Count Fenris had brought a considerable number of knights with him. Even if the vassals' forces were small, such feats would be impossible without a substantial knightly contingent.
"How many knights does he have?"
"By our estimates, at least 50. The rest appear to be elite soldiers. He likely hand picked his best for this raiding mission."
In truth, Ghislain had brought no regular soldiers—only 400 knights. But no one could imagine he had brought so many knights. The estimate of 50 was intentionally generous.
Rumors about Fenris's knights did circulate, but they were also accompanied by talk that most were low-level.
Most lords didn't fully believe the rumors anyway.
Marquis Rodrick shifted his inquiry.
"What if we assist Baron Dacre directly? If we take all their food, they won't last either."
"They would likely flee. Even if we abandon Baron Dacre, it's more important to trap the enemy inside. Once the fortress is occupied, we will immediately encircle it."
Tenant spoke matter-of-factly about using their own ally as bait, even though it was certain death.
Marquis Rodrick, unbothered, nodded as if it were a trivial matter. The cruelty of the vassals mirrored that of their master.
After hearing the plan, Marquis Rodrick readily approved it.
"I'll give you 5,000 men. Gather the remaining 5,000 from the neighboring vassals. Make sure to finish him off this time."
"Understood."
"Who will lead the operation? You can't go yourself."
Tenant was an important figure in the Marquis Family. Marquis Rodrick couldn't risk sending him into a skirmish like this. If Tenant were injured in a fight with the rumored Master, it would be a significant loss.
"I'll send Senior Knight Howard. He's skilled in both swordsmanship and strategy. He's reliable."
"Good, good. Proceed with that."
Marquis Rodrick finally looked satisfied, nodding in approval.
No matter how strong Count Fenris was, he couldn't turn the tide of battle with a small force. A starving army wouldn't stand a chance against 10,000 soldiers.
Even if he were truly a Master, killing 10,000 men—including knights—on his own would be impossible.
Of course, Marquis Rodrick had no intention of letting him off with just death.
He had planned to tighten the noose slowly, to torment Fenris thoroughly. But that insolent brat had dared to challenge him.
Killing him outright was far too lenient a punishment.
"Capture Count Fenris alive, if possible. Destroy his mana core so he can't use magic, or sever his limbs if necessary."
Marquis Rodrick let out a cruel, wrath-filled laugh. He had no intention of letting that Northern brat go.
He resolved to keep him alive, only to make him suffer endlessly.
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