Chapter 52 : Lana’s Testimony of the Frost (1)

This social gathering surely ended in grand success.

Of course, from the perspective of the Saint faction, it was a funeral, but for the Royalist faction, it was the perfect opportunity to set the stage for a counterattack.

As evidence of this, the sudden return of Lana Frost and the declaration from Crown Prince Jaiha caused the nobles to begin wavering like reeds in the wind.

Of course, the infamous reputation from ten years ago didn’t just disappear.

In fact, even now, quite a few nobles still supported the true Saint Jeanne.

However, due to this declaration of war, many nobles began to waver.

Especially regarding the unilateral exile of Lana Frost ten years ago, many nobles still harbored doubts.

Was the exile truly justified, when the truth hadn’t even been properly confirmed?

But Wolfgang brought that long-forgotten incident back to the surface.

Thanks to this, the completely solidified situation began to shift like a lie.

After the chaotic social gathering ended, Crown Prince Jaiha summoned Wolfgang and her companions to his office.

They were meeting again to exchange greetings and discuss future plans.

“I never imagined you would appear like this, Lord Leonhardt.”

“An ambush should always be done in an unexpected manner for it to be effective.”

“Thanks to that, we now have room to breathe. But still, the Royalist faction is in a difficult position.”

In truth, the Royalist faction’s situation was much worse than expected.

They had lost most of their interests to the Saint faction, which had rapidly expanded its influence since ten years ago.

All that remained was a royal crown with no real power.

Given the situation, even nobles who didn’t believe in the Saint would inevitably have to side with the powerful Saint faction.

The few nobles left in the Royalist faction were the truly loyal ones who had stayed faithful to the royal family.

Yet, even they had to endure various disadvantages and discrimination.

It was a painful reality for Jaiha, their lord and Crown Prince. But he couldn’t turn away from the reality either.

“Still, thanks to this, we now have a chance to fight back.”

“Thank you, but what’s important now is what we do next.”

“True, you’re right.”

“How do you think the Saint will respond?”

Wolfgang asked Jaiha for his opinion.

Ignoring those on the ground was rarely a good decision, based on experience.

The people on the ground always had their own struggles and hardships.

Moreover, Crown Prince Jaiha had endured against the Saint Jeanne for a whole ten years.

Though most had been pushed back, the ten years of experience were undeniably valuable.

And Jaiha didn’t disappoint Wolfgang’s expectations. He combined his own experience with the information he had gathered about the Saint’s hand, and predicted the next move.

“First, they’ll try to take away your legitimacy.”

“Legitimacy?”

“They’ll question whether you’re truly Lana Frost. If you’re not Lana Frost, then your legitimacy will disappear.”

Legitimacy can be trivialized, but it remains a weapon for one simple reason: even if it’s a fabricated legitimacy, if it has power, it can be used as a pretext.

That’s why Wolfgang Leonhardt could stay in the kingdom.

She came as a kingdom citizen, not as an imperial subject, and she had the power to back up that legitimacy.

But if that legitimacy disappears, Wolfgang could no longer stay in the kingdom.

Without legitimacy, she would just be an imperial subject.

Of course, the fact that the Frost family had officially recognized her as Lana Frost was almost as good as proof, but that too could be questioned.

After all, a traitor had come out of that family.

The opponent wouldn’t be unaware of this.

They would likely target this as their first move.

Even though Wolfgang had been taken by surprise, now was not the time to underestimate the enemy.

“We will do our best to defend against this, but Lord Leonhardt’s cooperation is crucial.”

“I understand.”

“That’s a relief. Then, for today, please rest in the accommodations I’ve arranged.”

The noble meeting was likely to happen soon.

Even if not, there was no real reason to return to the distant Frost estate. Her target was the Saint, after all.

Luckily, Crown Prince Jaiha had provided a place for Wolfgang to stay at the palace, so she and her companions would be accommodated there.

After several discussions, the day ended.

Later, as they were heading to the accommodations arranged by Jaiha, Galina quietly whispered to Wolfgang.

She wasn’t sure if her commander had forgotten something.

“Commander, you haven’t forgotten, have you?”

“Of course, I remember. We must achieve results.”

“Thank goodness. I was worried you might be thinking of settling down here in the kingdom.”

Whether one liked it or not, news from the kingdom would inevitably reach the Empire.

That meant the truth about her being Lana Frost would eventually be revealed.

Of course, Emperor Raipen wouldn’t just sit idly by. 

He would surely act and silence the nobles. But in this world, no secret could remain hidden forever.

Especially now that things had gone so chaotic. It wouldn’t be long before the Empire would know.

The war hero from the Empire, Wolfgang Leonhardt, was actually the wicked woman, Lana.

Not just any wicked woman—she was the one who had once attempted to assassinate the true Saint Jeanne out of jealousy.

In modern terms, she could be considered a terrorist.

It was like South Korea accepting Middle Eastern terrorists with no conditions.

Public opinion would surely be outraged.

However, given his impressive performance in the Winter War, there were likely far more people supporting Wolfgang.

But there would certainly be nobles who would use this against her.

‘That’s exactly my big picture.’

Wolfgang smiled secretly to herself.

She would personally visit the kingdom, deal with the Saint, and return to the Empire.

Then, she would reveal her true identity to everyone.

That would become the pretext for her to request retirement.

After revealing that she was Lana Frost.

Nobles who supported her would undoubtedly emerge.

It was a perfect plan, and Wolfgang couldn’t help but smile.

***

Three days later.

As expected, the noble meeting was scheduled.

The topic of the meeting: Is Wolfgang Leonhardt truly Lana Frost?

Naturally, it was none other than Saint Jeanne herself who had brought up this issue.

On one side, Wolfgang would desperately deny that she was Lana Frost, while on the other, it was their job to prove that she was indeed Lana Frost.

Until that time, Wolfgang Leonhardt would not be recognized as a kingdom citizen and would have no rights or privileges.

Wolfgang clicked her tongue and said,

“How blunt.”

“Indeed.”

Without rights or privileges meant that she could not be protected by the kingdom, and if anything happened, the kingdom would not help.

Thanks to this, Wolfgang was kicked out of the accommodations arranged by Crown Prince Jaiha.

The reason was that it was too dangerous to keep someone who was not even a kingdom citizen in the royal palace.

Jaiha tried to stop it, but his faction was still too weak compared to the Saint faction, so he had no choice but to accept their demands.

So now, Wolfgang had no choice but to settle in an inn in the capital.

The only reason she accepted this was that she had to kneel for the sake of momentum.

If she could prove she was Lana Frost at the upcoming noble meeting, she could turn that into a pretext for an attack and take many things.

“Most importantly, the ability to observe part of the enemy’s forces is the most appealing.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Mm? What does that mean?”

“Mirina, it’s time for you to sleep.”

From here on, the story was too cruel for a child to hear, so Wolfgang took Mirina and returned to her room.

But Galina understood her intentions.

She felt a presence nearby, watching them.

Unless the person was a fool, they wouldn’t send an assassin openly. But still, it couldn’t be ignored.

Galina went to find Jackal, who shared a room with Theodore.

Jackal always had a naive smile, and to the casual observer, he appeared to be a normal boy.

“Jackal, orders.”

“What’s the order?”

“You must have sensed it too, right? The commander’s orders are to deal with them quietly.”

“What do you mean…?”

But the moment the order was given.

The innocent boy’s demeanor changed completely.

As Galina watched, she nodded.

“Yes, Jackal.”

“You may go ahead.”