Ch.208Chapter 208. Return of the King (2)

“However, my lord. Lunarian Ineanne—”

Vanessa began with a trembling voice, but—

“I know. I understand what you’re saying and what you’re concerned about.”

Karelia raised her hand to stop Vanessa’s words, her deep green eyes gleaming as she spoke.

“Yes, she is an outsider. I’m fully aware that she was originally a sovereign ruler who threw her hat into the continental ring as one of the lords, and that there are not a few people in our nation who particularly follow her. However.”

“I don’t believe it’s proper conduct to demote a capable person simply because ‘there’s a high possibility’ they might commit treason when they haven’t actually done so yet.”

“It’s not a matter of possibility—”

“I’m sorry, Vanessa, but I have no intention of changing my mind, so please understand that!”

Vanessa closed her mouth, unable to say anything more.

No matter how much she enjoyed Karelia’s trust, it was nearly impossible to change the sovereign’s mind.

Even if it were possible, continuing to assert her opinion in front of so many people could undermine Sovereign Karelia’s authority.

“I remember the look in Lady Luna’s eyes when she pledged allegiance. Those clear eyes held concern for all the imperial citizens. Isn’t that heart no different from the ideals of our Karelia army? As long as we share the same ideals, we are on the same side. If I can’t trust her simply because she was once a lord and has ambition, who in our army would trust her? How lonely must it be to bear the responsibility of being a lord without anyone’s trust?”

To the seemingly resigned Vanessa, Karelia responded in a resolute tone.

“Vanessa, I respect you. Didn’t I hand over all military authority to you before the war? I want to trust everyone who works for me as much as I trust you. What’s so strange about trusting first in order to make them trust me? Regardless of their background, if they’re sweating for our Karelia army, they all deserve my trust as talented individuals.”

“……”

“There’s no need to worry. Lady Luna is an honest person. No matter what authority she gains, she’s not someone who would stab us in the back in a cowardly manner.”

Karelia nodded at Cecile’s words, who had been listening quietly, and rose from her seat.

“Well then, from now on, I will organize an invasion force for Ohana with Lady Lunarian as the commander-in-chief. How many troops can we prepare?”

“…After excluding the soldiers stationed at the border with Rolland and the minimum number needed to defend the capital, we should be able to organize about 120,000 men.”

120,000 men.

This was a large army that Vanessa had scraped together through months of intense conscription.

“I understand. Cecile, please prepare to provide maximum support for troop movement.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“And everyone, absolutely keep this matter confidential.”

Although war preparations in this era were impossible to completely hide, there was still a difference between explicitly stating this and not.

Those gathered were military officers of middle rank and above who served in the capital fortress. There should be no information leaks.

“Yes!!”

And then, Karelia—

Raising the sword at her side high, she declared:

“It will be our Karelia army that conquers the southern continent! Let us all join forces for the continental people who are groaning in pain under the incompetent empire that has been divided due to the House of Einhart’s misrule! We can do this!”

With Karelia’s resolute will, all her subjects bowed their heads in unison—

The Karelia army was just about to stretch its limbs across the continent.

*

After the emergency meeting hosted by Karelia, or rather, effectively by Vanessa, had ended.

In the audience chamber now emptied of everyone else, Karelia spoke to the bowing Vanessa in a much softer tone than before.

“Raise your head, Vanessa.”

“……”

“Are you still angry with me?”

“Angry? Not at all, my lord. How could I dare to…”

“Do you still dislike my decision?”

“……”

Seeing Vanessa bow her head without answering, Karelia burst into laughter as if amused.

“I like your honesty, Vanessa. You’ve always been honest with me.”

“…My lord.”

“Vanessa. As I said earlier, I understand your concerns well. But if I, as the sovereign, cannot trust Lady Luna, how could I face her while she performs her duties for our army? Without anyone’s trust, how lonely must it be to bear the responsibility of being a lord?”

“These are chaotic times. It’s an era where such personal values of humanity have died.”

“But isn’t it because of those values that I have risen to this position?”

“……”

Just as similar people tend to gather together—

Around Karelia gathered people similar to her.

People with warm hearts, who cherished their domain’s people above all else, and who were determined to quickly resolve the world’s chaos and usher in a peaceful era once more.

In a broader sense, Lunarian could also be considered the same type of person as Karelia.

And Vanessa too—

Wasn’t she serving Karelia because she was moved by such intentions?

“…As I said earlier, I have no intention of changing my lord’s will. I will follow whatever you command. However, there is one last thing… I would like to request.”

“What is it?”

“Please reduce the number of troops from 120,000 to 90,000. Even 90,000 troops is considered a very large number for invading the Ohana army.”

“…You’ll listen to me, but in the end, you still can’t trust Lady Luna, Vanessa.”

“I’m ashamed, but…”

“……”

Karelia slowly nodded.

“Very well. 90,000 should be enough to make an impact. We’ll also assign the best possible generals from our side. However, I want you to understand that troops may be reinforced depending on the battlefield situation.”

“That’s fine. Reinforcing troops would be clear evidence that my concerns were unfounded.”

Seeing Karelia laugh lightly at those words, Vanessa bowed her head once more.

Although the sovereign she served said she would trust Lunarian… Vanessa could never trust her.

‘I need to quietly prepare whatever I can.’

It would probably end up being a futile struggle, but preparing something in case Lunarian harbored unnecessary thoughts—

Under a sovereign who was too upright for these chaotic times, that was all Vanessa could do.

* * *

A few days later, at Tefel Castle.

“Huff, huff… G-General. Please, a break…!”

Thud.

Francis, a handsome blond young man whose looks would surely make many women cry when he matured, dropped his spear and fell to his knees, panting heavily.

And—

The red-haired female warrior Tifa, who seemed much more energetic in comparison, snorted and said:

“Tired already? I told you! If you feel the energy in the air while training, you can recover quickly!”

“W-Well, that… I’m sorry, but… I don’t really understand what you mean by ‘energy in the air’…”

“You don’t understand? With energy this abundant? Hey, close your eyes and try to feel it again. You really can’t sense it?”

“I’ve tried several times, but it’s always the same.”

Tifa clicked her tongue as she looked at Francis.

“Tsk. All looks and no substance. Fine. Take a break then. I don’t want to get scolded by Luna for pushing you too hard. I’ll continue my training.”

As Francis was finishing Tifa’s grueling training and looking up at the sky to cool off his sweat—

“Brother Francis!”

His sister’s voice called from the distance.

This voice… it’s my youngest sister, Violet.

“What is it, Violet?”

“Lady Luna is urgently looking for you. Oh, Lady Tifa. Hello.”

“Luna is looking for me?”

“Yes. She asked for Tifa to come to the mansion as well.”

“What’s it about? Hey, Francis. Do you have any idea?”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. You live with Luna, don’t you?”

“Well, living together is…”

Francis blushed deeply as he answered.

“We just happen to be under the same roof… I’m not sure if that can be directly called living together… Lady Luna is always busy with her lord duties, so I often don’t even see her face…”

“Ah, seriously, you’re so whiny. Just answer properly. Do you know or not?”

“I don’t know. I have no idea what it could be about.”

“Really?”

Tifa slung her weapon over her back with a disappointed look.

“I felt like I was just about to… breakthrough something! What a shame.”

At some point, Tifa had begun to vaguely notice that something different existed in the air.

Though she wasn’t sure exactly what it was… somehow she felt that by using this something, she could advance further as a warrior.

‘If I could just master this, I could definitely get my revenge properly.’

Tifa had never forgotten that moment.

The red-haired female knight, Irene Juliette, who had one-sidedly overwhelmed her despite Tifa’s confidence that there was no one stronger than herself.

Since the moment she was forced to kneel by her, Tifa had been enduring difficult training with the sole thought of getting revenge.

‘Is she stronger than Luna too…? No, no. Luna might be a bit stronger…’

She was lost in thought for a moment, but soon scratched her head.

“Ah, I don’t know. It’s complicated. Hey, Violet. Lead the way.”

“Yes, understood.”

And so, Francis and Tifa followed Violet to the mansion where Luna stayed, which was essentially their headquarters.