Episode 195: Go first and wait. (3)
Thanks to Amelia, Giselle has been able to avoid the pressure of the Duke and Harold so far. But that cannot last forever.
Eventually, Harold decided to seriously pursue Giselle.
Of course, all of Harold’s vassals were shocked by the decision. Harold was such a great man that the duke trusted him to lead the North.
He, who is like that, has now refused the Duke’s orders of his own accord.
One of the men asked back, sweating profusely.
“Are you saying that the destruction of Fenris and Ferdium should be given top priority?”
“Yes, all funds, troops, and resources currently being used to prepare Amelia’s rebellion will be directed to attacking Baron Fenris. Amelia has said she will do it on her own, so review only what is absolutely necessary and provide support.”
His followers could not understand his decision.
Although Baron Fenris had been doing well lately, his plans were incomparable to those of Amelia.
“If Amelia fails to revolt, there will be a big problem. Right now, there is no one on your side who can deal with Commander Jurgen, known as the First Sword of the North, and the number of troops is significantly insufficient to successfully revolt. Are you really okay with that?”
“Let’s start by untangling the knot. If we leave him alone, the situation in the North will get worse. Count Leipold is also having a hard time raising an army due to the drought, so it’s better to deal with him first.”
“Baron Fenris is still weak compared to Count Leipold. It would be better to put an end to Amelia’s rebellion as quickly as possible, even if it means pushing things a little too far… .”
“stop.”
Seeing Harold’s expression distort, Gasin immediately closed his mouth. If he had said one more word, he would surely have his head blown off right here and now.
Harold looked around at his followers again and said.
“I will trample on that bastard by any means necessary. Everyone, be aware of this and prepare.”
Things were different now. Harold saw Giselle not as a lucky cub that could be dealt with later, but as a definite ‘enemy’ that had to be dealt with immediately.
And with that awareness in mind, I began to reread the current situation.
“We can’t let him take over the iron ore. If he does, it will cause a major disruption in our power supply in the long run. Prepare food and reinforcements to send to Count Cavaldi immediately.”
“I, you mean now? The Duke’s family must be negotiating with the Prince’s faction. Rather than making a rash move, please wait and see the results of the negotiations… .”
“It’s late. Get ready right now.”
“Oh, I understand.”
The adjutant immediately lowered his head at Harold’s gaze, which seemed to be filled with life.
As Earl Forde had predicted, Harold made a quick decision.
That was also because they now recognized Jiselle’s abilities.
Because of the lack of time, there was no room for leisurely preparation. All that could be done was to prepare a small number of troops and food to be able to hold out for a short while.
“I will leave right away, Your Majesty.”
Emerson, who was in command, saluted Harold.
He is a renowned figure known for his expertise in mobile warfare as a commander of a cavalry company.
If Victor had not been there, Emerson would have taken the position of commander in the Battle of Ferdium.
The situation was so urgent that they would not spare this person and send him away.
Harold spoke to Emerson with a grave look on his face.
“Deliver food to Cavaldi Castle as quickly as possible, by any means necessary. If you hold out, I will send a second reinforcement force soon.”
“Okay, I will definitely succeed.”
“I will believe you.”
Emerson rode quickly with a thousand men and food.
Although they are inferior to the Fenris Army, it is not difficult for the Cavaldi Army to join them if they respond within the castle in time.
Harold judged that once they joined, the numbers on both sides would be even, so the enemies would not rush to fight an all-out war.
“Run without stopping! This is the distance you can reach before the Cavaldi Army collapses!”
Emerson had no doubt that the operation would succeed.
Sieges are bound to take a long time, especially if you stall for time by besieging.
The Earls of Desmond and Cavaldi are not far away, and given Harold’s quick decision, he should be able to reach them before the Cavaldi army starves to death or surrenders.
But his expectations were shattered as soon as he left the territory.
“What, what is this… … .”
A large army of at least five thousand men was encamped on the shortest route to the County of Cavaldi.
It was the 2nd Army Corps of the Kingdom of Lutania sent by the Marquis of Branford.
Someone on horseback approached Emerson, who was looking flustered.
“Who is this? Is this not the famous Lord Emerson of the North?”
The one smiling brightly was Viscount Doren, the commander of the 2nd Corps.
He was on watch near Desmond on orders from the Marquis of Branford.
At worst, to hit Count Desmond.
Emerson looked embarrassed for a moment, lowered his head slightly, bit his lip and said.
“I greet you, Commander of the 2nd Corps. But why is the 2nd Corps, which is supposed to guard the northern part of Cardenia, coming all the way to our territory? This is against custom.”
“Where are you going in such a hurry?”
“We were… …in the middle of mobile training.”
“What a coincidence! We were training here too.”
“What are you talking about! We haven’t heard anything!”
Emerson was clearly impressed.
Even if it is the royal army, it cannot arbitrarily move troops to another lord’s base.
Because that’s no different from blatantly threatening to fight.
“Hmm, Your Majesty, it seems there is a slight misunderstanding.”
Viscount Doren said politely.
Even as the commander of the kingdom’s legions, he could not treat Emerson, a knight and commander of the Earldom of Desmond, lightly. To that extent, Earl Desmond was a nobleman who boasted great power.
Instead, he took out a document from his bosom with a leisurely smile.
“This is formal training approved by the Royal Family. It seems that it has not yet been relayed to Count Desmond. Isn’t it agreed that we will cooperate with the formal training of the Royal Army?”
“This, this is profit… … .”
Emerson gritted his teeth.
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This is clearly a trick of the royalist faction. They used this trick to prevent anyone from helping Count Cavaldi.
“Then please get out of the way for now. We need to finish our training.”
“Oh, that’s a bit difficult. We already have control over this area. If any unnecessary conflict occurs, it will be inconvenient for both parties, so please give in for a few days.”
“Commander!”
“I’m also following orders, so please be considerate. If I can’t do even one training properly, I’ll have to take off my clothes. Now my kid is going to the academy, and the tuition is so expensive… … Oh my, it’s really hard to raise a child these days because of money. Tsk tsk tsk.”
Emerson gasped at the sly answer of the Viscount Doren.
It was a problem he could not solve unless he fought the royalists right away. He had no choice but to send a messenger to Earl Desmond.
After a full day, a messenger came rushing in and handed a letter to Viscount Doren.
Viscount Doren scratched his chin with a troubled expression after seeing the letter full of angry threats.
“Oh, it looks like Count Desmond is really angry. We can’t keep doing this, right?”
Viscount Doren alone could not handle the Count Desmond, the great lord of the North. But he also had a corner of him that he trusted.
“Then please wait a moment. I will contact you to get royal approval.”
“Commander! Get out of the way immediately!”
“Huh, I want to do that too, but there’s a procedure for everything, a procedure. I can’t do it as I please. If I take my clothes off, Kyung will take responsibility? Kyung won’t pay for my daughter’s academy tuition either, right?”
It’s funny. Why would a corps commander be a corps commander? It wasn’t difficult for a commander to stop training at his discretion, and of course, it wasn’t difficult for him to get out of the way.
Despite Emerson’s continued protests, Count Doren remained adamant.
“I also want to go back quickly. Our administrators are really slow at getting things done. I told you we need to reorganize this organization quickly. Anyway, I haven’t heard back yet, so please wait a little longer.”
We spent five whole days fighting like this.
By this time, it would have been more than enough time to reach the County of Cavaldi.
Emerson, furious, decided to force his way through.
Although he would be in big trouble later, carrying out Harold’s orders was more important to him.
When I met with Count Doren again for the final notice, a soldier came running up to me and shouted.
“Baron Fenris has captured Castle Cavaldi!”
‘It’s over.’
Emerson, with his eyes closed, heard the Count Doren’s sly monologue.
“Ugh, I can’t even train because it’s so uncomfortable to keep saying this. I guess I should just go back.”
‘I want to kill you.’
Emerson truly thought so.
* * *
The news of Giselle’s victory in the war quickly reached the capital.
The nobles of the pro-Prince faction, who had been meeting every day to discuss countermeasures with no answers, were shocked and shut their mouths when they heard the news.
In particular, Marquis Maurice Macquarie, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army, was greatly shocked.
“Already… … won? That duckling? Did he use black magic or something?”
Who is Count Cavaldi? He was one of the strongest men in the North, even when it came to arming his soldiers.
Even though our power was reduced due to food shortages, we were able to successfully occupy the area so quickly!
The news came too quickly to say that they had won by starving the enemy during a siege.
“Oh, how come we won already? Count Cavaldi surrendered so quickly?”
Morris asked the reporter who was reporting, but the reporter shook his head.
“We need to find out more details, but I hear that Count Cavaldi did not surrender, but fought and took the castle. Word is already spreading quickly.”
“Ugh… … .”
Maurice’s sighs were followed by exclamations of admiration from the surrounding nobles.
“Is Baron Fenris really that good of a military man? Ending the siege so quickly? And against Count Cavaldi at that!”
“Wasn’t it just luck this time? Cavaldi’s army was probably too hungry to fight properly.”
“I think differently. Didn’t you say that Baron Fenris played a major role in the Battle of Ferdium?”
“If it had been done properly, Baron Fenris would not have won.”
The nobles’ opinions were split in half in an instant. Since they had not seen Giselle fight in person, there was bound to be much talk.
But everyone agreed on one thing.
“Anyway, it’s a good thing! Didn’t the Duke promise not to intervene for now?”
“That’s right! This will only increase our influence in the North!”
“Hahaha, Baron Fenris has done something really big. If the other lords find out, they’ll think that the Prince’s faction is not that far behind the Duke’s faction.”
The nobles showed such delight that it seemed pointless to try to avoid a fight with the duke.
There was great concern that the Duke’s intervention would escalate the situation, and that the Barons of Fenris, who had invested their wealth with the Crown, would suffer a major defeat and lose their influence in the North.
But thanks to the positive results, the pro-Prince nobles also regained some of their confidence.
“Haven’t we been responding too passively so far? The power of the Duke’s nobles is high, but we’ll have to wait and see if we lose, right?”
“That’s right. Count Cavaldi was only rumored to be a strong man in the North, but in reality he was nothing special.”
“Well, if Baron Fenris can win, I guess we should give it a try too. The North isn’t doing so well, is it? Hehehe.”
The nobles of the royalist faction exchanged pleasantries with friendly smiles.
Seeing Baron Fenris’ victory gave them confidence that they too could fight the Duke.
But the Marquis of Branford did not hide his pitiful gaze as he looked at them.
‘Tsk tsk, you’re already making such a fuss. Now’s not the time to be having fun. Are you saying that you laugh so easily?’
There was also a report that Count Desmond had mobilized his troops. If he had not mobilized the royal troops in advance to stop it, things would have become very serious.
The foresight of the Marquis of Branford prevented the immediate catastrophe of a escalating war.
‘The Earl of Desmond is definitely on the same side as the Duke. He’s been quite shameless all this time.’
I had been suspicious for a long time because there was no solid evidence, but now I can be sure.
This alone is a huge gain, because knowing exactly who your enemy is will be of great help in your future strategy.
As we can see from the Earl of Desmond, the Duke’s hand has spread throughout the kingdom. It is now difficult to tell who is friend and foe.
There may have been traitors even within the royalist faction.
‘The Duke of Delphine… … If you’ve embraced Count Desmond, then you really intend to go all the way.’
The Marquis of Branford thought of his old friend and political rival, the Duke of Delphine.
The Duke will not stay still. No, to be precise, the Duke’s chief of staff, Raoul, will not stay still.
The Duke of Delphine would have no interest in Count Cavaldi.
‘Now that I think about it, I’m curious about how you’re doing.’
It’s been over ten years since I last saw your face.
Since then, the duke has not taken a single step out of his domain. He has only stayed in his residence and remained in seclusion.
As this situation continued for a long time, rumors even began to circulate that the Duke was a puppet and that Raoul held all the power as he pleased.
But the Marquis of Branford never thought that way.
I knew best that the Duke of Delphine was not a man to be swayed by anyone, having watched him for a long time since he was young.
Even the Marquis of Branford, who had been his friend for over ten years and then his enemy for another ten years, could not guess what he was thinking.
But when we last met… … I still couldn’t forget those contradictory eyes that were indifferent yet wanted something.
The Marquis of Branford tried to clear his mind of distracting thoughts.
‘Yeah, maybe it’s a good thing.’
It was clear that the Duke would draw his sword someday. Up until now, all he could do was barely hold it back.
In the meantime, Jiselle’s activities brought a breath of fresh air to the pro-prince faction. It even gave some confidence to the timid pro-prince faction nobles.
You should be wary of those who don’t even know the subject, but if you have to fight, it’s much better to show confidence than to be afraid.
‘Thanks to him, our atmosphere is changing little by little. It doesn’t seem so bad.’
The thought made the Marquis feel strangely happy. After becoming Giselle’s guardian, he felt emotions he had never felt before in his life.
‘By the way, you still have the talent to surprise people. It’s amazing that you gathered troops in that way, but it’s also amazing that you succeeded in the siege so quickly. If you ask for anything in the future, I’ll have to give you more support.’
The Marquis of Branford closed his eyes without realizing it and smiled happily.
The nobles of the pro-Prince faction, who had been chattering amongst themselves, were so shocked at the sight that they fell silent.
It was the Marquis of Branford who didn’t smile at all even when his daughter was cured. How could such an icy man be smiling when he heard the news about Baron Fenris?
All the nobles looked at the sight for a long time, as if it was a miracle.
