Chapter 86: The Third Conspiracy

In every organization in the world, hierarchy matters.
School, the military, the workplace—even among siblings.

If you had to pick the best spot in that hierarchy, it’s unquestionably the very top.
In the military, that’s the sergeant. In a company, it’s the CEO. Among siblings, it’s the eldest.

These people hold immense power within their group by default.
Everyone else is below them, which means they can issue orders freely or act however they please—it’s one of the perks of having authority.
There’s a reason people have always fought tooth and nail to climb to the top.

Of course, being at the top also means you’re saddled with responsibility and management duties.
And if your incompetence shakes the organization, you have to deal with the fallout—so it’s not exactly an easy job.

Still, while the top is undeniably the best position, the bottom surprisingly isn’t the worst.

As the youngest, you’re bombarded with errands, nagging, a need to be proactive, bright, and cheerful, and the pressure comes from every direction.
Everyone around you outranks you, so you have to constantly watch your step—there’s barely a moment of peace.

But being at the bottom also comes with a passive perk: sympathy.
If you play your cards right, you can wield unexpected power—like a heartfelt letter from a new recruit or a tearful plea from an adorable youngest sibling.
And because the youngest is generally seen as “cute,” they’re less likely to be hated and more likely to win people over.
It’s like playing a game character with low HP but an exceptionally strong shield.

---

So then—what’s the worst position?
Not the top.
Not the bottom.
That only leaves one answer.

---

The middle.
In military terms, it’s a private first class. In a company, a junior manager. Among siblings, the second child.

You’ve got someone above you with absolute power, so you can’t enjoy the benefits of being in charge.
And you’ve got people below you that you’re responsible for, so you can’t just coast along carefree.
It’s no wonder stories online about the suffering of second-borns or the struggles of middle managers resonate with so many people.
The middle is an inherently stressful place to be.

So, why am I suddenly going off on this philosophical tangent?

“Is that really true?”
“Of course it is.”

I locked eyes with Grace.
And lost in under a second.

It was a fight I never had a chance of winning.
What kind of lunatic trainee knight stares down the Duke of the North?

“What’s your opinion on the matter?”
“I agree with Your Grace. Since both of them are exceptional cases, I believe assigning them directly under your command will maintain order and make things easier to manage.”
“Very well. Then the decision is made.”

As the two highest-ranking individuals came to an agreement with a few quiet words, I let out a long sigh internally and accepted reality.
Yeah. The moment Grace brought it up and Elaine showed interest, I should’ve known it would end this way.
I was just clinging to a sliver of hope, denying it until the last second.

So, what was this headache-inducing idea of Grace’s?
She proposed that the two newest additions to the guard—Sophia Zenon and Rigrit DeepSnow—not be assigned to any of the four existing squads, but instead be placed directly under the command of the Captain of the Guard.

Since both of them were such outliers, it was hard to determine which squad to put them in.
Grace argued that, since they had the skills to serve right beside the Duke, there was no need to complicate things—just treat them as special assets and let Elaine take them along.
Elaine agreed, believing that having a senior-level mage and a talented, if inexperienced, archer by Grace’s side would strengthen her personal guard unit.

And honestly, they weren’t wrong.
Sophia wasn’t even officially part of the guard—she was temporarily assigned for the duration of the war, so placing her in a squad was out of the question.
As for Rigrit, he could’ve been assigned to Squad 1, but he was a newly introduced and rare type: an archer.
Placing him there would’ve required overhauling existing strategies and formations, and his presence would’ve made Squad 1 stand out too much in an organization where all units are supposed to have balanced power.

‘So now I’ve got juniors to look after.’

Anyway, since Elaine’s role as Squad 1 leader had been separated from her role as Captain of the Guard, her job was now solely to protect Grace.
That meant she could form her own specialized team, and both of them were a natural fit for this new unit.
But that didn’t make things any easier for me.

“Haa…”

Sophia looked bitter, like someone who’d resigned herself to reality after hearing the person she liked was dating someone else, only to end up working on a group project with them anyway.

“To think I’d get to work with you—I’m so happy! Ah, right, even if we’re friends, you’re my superior here, so I should be more respectful. I look forward to working with you, Sir Luke! I’m really glad we can fight side by side!”

Rigrit wagged his metaphorical tail like a puppy, oddly attached to me for some reason.

Just looking at the two of them was already giving me a headache.
Yeah… Forget their abilities. These two were just exhausting to deal with.

“From now on, the two of you will serve at my side, directly protecting Her Grace.
If you have any questions about your duties, ask me or Sir Luke.
Sir Luke, explain the Guard’s mission and responsibilities to them today.”
“Understood.”

I could’ve just taken it positively—after all, it meant I now had subordinates.

But one of them was a reserve elder of the Snowflake Tower, and the other was a direct descendant of a high-ranking noble. Not to mention, both of them were the children of the most powerful figure in the North. F*ck me…

Even if I was technically their superior and senior, how was I supposed to treat them casually?

Sofia had been my teacher just a few days ago, so it felt awkward giving her orders, and Rigrit was…

“Understood, Sir Luke!”

He was enthusiastic—too enthusiastic.

It felt like watching the son of a company’s executive trying to work hard as a new employee.

Ugh, past-life trauma resurfacing.

‘Haa, whatever. Let’s just think of them as teammates, not subordinates.’

Even though modern society nowadays talks about progressive military culture and innovative corporate systems, I didn’t think I’d have to experience that in a fantasy world like the North.

But hey, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

My personality was never fit for bossing others around anyway, so in a way, this might actually be easier.

And besides, one of them was a disaster I brought upon myself.

‘Actually, maybe what’s bothering me isn’t that these two got assigned to my team… but that someone else is now intruding on the space I shared with Elaine.’

Thinking that made my face flush with heat.

Had I really become so possessive and jealous after being around Elaine?

I gave my own cheek a light slap to snap myself out of it.

‘Come to think of it…’

It’s a really strange mix.

An extra with no presence and barely any power during the original timeline.

A nameless soldier number one.

A powerful but background character who originally belonged to another faction.

A villain who would become a traitor.

‘Hah, what is this, a superhero movie team lineup?’

And funnily enough, their abilities even made the group look decent.

The North’s fastest swordsman and the youngest person to pass the knight exam.

A magic swordsman with dual elemental mana.

An elite mage considered the next master of the Tower.

A rich genius archer.

Somehow, this really was starting to feel like a classic fantasy adventuring party.

---

In Episode 4 of Brave Road, the main villain Dorgon had prepared three major schemes.

The Snowflake Tower terror attack.

The betrayal of the Deepsnow family.

And one more.

Out of these, I’d managed to preemptively prevent two.

‘The Snowflake Tower issue is fully resolved, but I probably still need to do more about Rigrit.’

There’s a reason he’s called a “difficult case.”

Rigrit didn’t join the guard just to be here—his dream was to gain recognition through his own ability.

I went through all that trouble to rehabilitate him, but if nothing changes even after he joins the guard, he might fall into depression again.

Worse, if he betrays us after joining the guard, the consequences will be far worse than in the original novel.

If you want to train a dog, you have to regularly feed it so it learns loyalty.

The problem is, Rigrit is a purebred—he won’t eat just anything. He needs praise.

I was racking my brain trying to find something to praise him for when…

Maybe heaven was recognizing my hard work and decided to give me a gift.

“Your Grace, I will now report on the expedition arrangement for the guard. The main unit will be Squad 4, with Squad 1 as reserve. Squad 3 and the newly formed Squad 2, which does not yet have an appointed commander, will remain in Wintercannon to defend the Winter Palace.”

“Understood.”

An expedition for the Northern Army had been scheduled.

It was a preemptive move to clean up the surrounding areas in case monsters caused chaos before the war with the West began.

And within the Northern Army’s surveillance, signs of movement had been detected from a certain race.

I’d known about the Northern Army’s operation plans through the Grand Council, but I was still quite surprised when I heard about the expedition itself.

The target of this expedition was the “Orcs.”

The name wasn’t unfamiliar. As a reader of the novel, I already knew that orcs existed in this world.

The reason I was so shocked was that these very orcs were the war slaves Dorgon had prepared for his third scheme—an attack on the North.

‘In the novel, they didn’t move until the Western army began its assault. So why are they already showing signs of movement now?’

Thanks to staying close to Grace, I received unfiltered updates on anything war-related, including movements in the West.

The West hadn’t made any obvious moves yet, but the orcs had already begun to act, getting caught in the Northern surveillance net. This development was different from the original storyline.

Regardless, we couldn’t just let orcs cross the border and invade the Northern snowscape unchecked.

Grace immediately led an expedition to intercept their advance.

Leaving the defense of the West and Central regions to Knight Commander Arthur, just in case they made a move.

Grace led only two units of the guard corps, Gunter’s elite troops, and a small, highly mobile force to the West.

Upon confronting the advancing orcs, they set up camp on the plains.

“Sir Gunter, what’s the evacuation status of the nearby villages?”

“Thanks to quick reconnaissance, fortunately, everyone has evacuated to the rear. However, since we prioritized saving lives, we weren’t able to handle the supplies, so the orcs likely took them.”

“Sigh, I suppose that’s good enough. Lost supplies can be replaced, but lost lives cannot return.”

Grace gave a brief sigh of relief, then asked the commanders,

“But why did the orcs suddenly reappear after disappearing as a race since the Great War? And from the western direction, no less. It’s highly suspicious.”

Originally, the orcs were a different race that lived near the North.

Because they lived in a cold environment, they revered strength even more than northerners did. Other than that, they weren’t monsters, just a native species.

However, during the Great War in the past, they had cooperated with demons and attacked the North together.

After the demon’s defeat at the hands of the Hero’s party and the Northern alliance, the orcs also fell.

Later, in the current timeline of Brave Road Episode 4, they reappeared as pawns of the West and once again attacked the North, only to be completely annihilated.

“Did the West take them in after they disappeared from the North?”

“It’s possible. According to reconnaissance, although not to the same extent as during the Great War, the orcs have regained some of their numbers. Given their nomadic lifestyle, that wouldn’t be possible without external support.”

“They were raised to be arrow fodder. Even bringing in orcs now… Dorgon, that b*stard, what the hell is he trying to do…”

Grace clicked her tongue in irritation.

“Sending those orcs to our side must mean they’re nearly done preparing for war.”

“That’s likely the case.”

“My guess is… it’s to stir up war tension in the North before the actual fighting begins.”

“So we can’t remain at peace and are forced to stay on high alert.”

I silently agreed with the commanders’ assessment.

They may not be large in number, but orcs are strong and fierce. Ordinary people would be terrified if they invaded.

People panic even when a wild boar comes down from the mountain, after all.

“We need to wipe them out quickly. We’ve fought them before anyway. No need to leave such nuisances lingering around.”

After finishing the strategy meeting, Grace declared they would engage in battle tomorrow. The guard corps also prepared for combat by her side.

As captain of the guard corps, I shared a two-person tent with Ligrid.

“Hehe, this is thrilling. I never thought I’d be heading into battle, and now I’m even excited. Joining the guard corps is turning out to be pretty fun, huh?”

“Don’t get too excited. You’ll be super embarrassed if you mess up.”

“Ah. Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Your mission isn’t to fight, but to guard His Grace the Grand Duke. So don’t take your eyes off him. Well, you’re good at reading people, so you’ll probably do fine.”

Since he was a friend and also a bit nervous, I allowed Ligrid to speak informally with me—at least while we were inside the tent.

Being a true Northerner, Ligrid was clearly pumped for his first battle, chattering away while preparing his bow and arrows.

I kept him company and gave him little bits of mental training here and there while also falling into my own thoughts.

‘The orc race, huh.’

I had given up on them since there was nothing I could do until the war actually broke out—but now an unexpected opportunity had come.

If we stopped the orcs here and gave Ligrid a chance to shine, that would mean I had foiled all three of Dorgon’s plots.

I finally felt like a major burden had been lifted.

‘Now that I think about it…’

While pondering the coming fight with the orcs, a part of the novel came to mind.

In Brave Road, orcs appeared as pawns of the West and clashed with the North.

But calling them “arrow fodder” felt off.

That’s because they moved as an independent detachment, separate from the main army of the West.

‘Was it that they didn’t want to cooperate with the humans they once fought?’

Now that I thought about it, how did the orcs end up under Dorgon’s command in the first place?

They were only a mid-episode enemy that got wiped out, so their background wasn’t covered in detail.

Even in the scene with Dorgon, which focused more on Aran’s relationships with the Seven Heroes, the orcs weren’t mentioned.

However, if I remembered correctly…

One of Aran’s companions had watched a dying orc and said something like, “He looks desperate… just like me,” with a bittersweet smile—dropping a bit of foreshadowing.

‘Hmm…’

Maybe it was because I now had living proof right beside me that the novel wasn’t the entire truth of this world.

It left a bad taste in my mouth to just treat them as enemies and be done with it.