Ch.319319. Starting Point (1)

-WHOOSH!

The shell soared into the air, glowing brightly before splitting into six rays and forming a pattern.

It was a signal fired from the Ripol River, the site where Ashpern had led his battle against the magical beasts.

Charlotte confirmed the signal and turned around with a faint smile.

“That’s the signal for mission success.”

“What…?”

Everyone tilted their heads in confusion, having only manipulated and released the river’s current according to the signals.

‘What happened?’

They were far from the actual combat. They weren’t even sure if what they did helped. The magical beasts discovered here weren’t numerous either, so they couldn’t understand what they had actually accomplished.

Yet here was the signal for mission success. Charlotte confirmed it was indeed that signal.

They had only controlled the flow of water, so how could they have defeated all the lured magical beasts at once? Since the commander hadn’t explained any context, it was natural to have questions.

But amid these enormous doubts, a feeling suddenly emerged.

‘Maybe… it’s okay to be happy about this?’

After all, the Imperial forces, which had been retreating after consecutive defeats, had achieved this much.

Initially, they had been skeptical about positioning mages upstream of the Ripol River for work that seemed completely unrelated to combat, but this result meant the commander’s strategy had worked.

So, perhaps they could rejoice.

Everyone thought so.

But now wasn’t the time.

“We’ll quickly cease operations and regroup at the main force’s location. Please hurry!”

Charlotte had confirmed the next signal and ordered them to quickly stop their work.

And when they went down…

All their doubts were resolved.

While the water mages who had been manipulating the current upstream of the Ripol River moved in bewilderment, the others couldn’t hide their astonishment.

‘This can’t be!’

What was happening before their eyes was hard to believe even when seeing it.

That awkward youngster. That green boy who seemed like he wouldn’t know the first thing about a battlefield, a mere academy student.

He had brought the first victory to the Imperial forces. A victory that even the Imperial forces led by the Grand Chancellor of the Artena Empire couldn’t achieve.

What would happen when the soldiers who participated in the Ripol River battle returned?

There would be overwhelming support.

They would follow the commander who brought the first victory with more trust than anyone else.

They would no longer tremble in fear but send unlimited trust toward Junon.

This meant that the standing of those who opposed Junon’s strategy would fall to rock bottom, and their plan to seize power by wedging themselves between the confused and anxious Imperial forces would come to nothing.

Moreover, news that the Belmehofe Count’s faction hadn’t participated in this battle at all would spread quickly. The officials wouldn’t be able to avoid the heavy criticism that they had avoided combat by putting other soldiers at the forefront to save their own lives. Many would likely defect from the faction itself.

But above all, there had been one basis for making such choices.

“Kheuk!”

The officials rushed toward one person, and one of them stepped forward as a representative, grabbing Kelnur by the collar.

“Didn’t you clearly say it?! That the commander would never have the capability to make this operation succeed!!”

That’s right.

The reason they had actively opposed Junon’s operation. The Belmehofe Count’s faction had made this choice because there was someone who had urged them not to doubt that Junon would fail.

That person was Kelnur.

***

“Kelnur, you bastard, didn’t you guarantee your analysis was certain!”

“You said the commander had no capacity for action, that he would lead other soldiers to their deaths!”

“Say something. Tell us what went wrong!”

The officials grabbed him by the collar and slapped his face. His glasses flew into the air and shattered under their feet as they swarmed around him.

Yet Kelnur said nothing.

No, more precisely, he couldn’t say anything.

Because only one thought was circling in his mind.

‘How did things turn out like this?’

What on earth had happened? Where had things gone wrong for the situation to reach this point?

Once, he had been their most valuable card, holding Junon’s weaknesses.

They had welcomed him, saying they had found a way to bring down someone unfit for the commander’s position, that they had gained a reliable ally to drive out the green commander.

When he presented documents organizing Junon’s petty secrets discovered through background investigations, they had cheered and applauded.

They had said that although his family had fallen, nobility was still nobility, and that his noble mindset remained intact. They had even accepted him as the adopted son of Count Belmehofe and a member of the faction in recognition of his efforts.

And they had said that because of his righteous mindset, because of his just courage, the Empire had been saved once more.

But now.

The faces that had once cheered, calling him their most valuable card and reliable ally, were nowhere to be seen, replaced by raised voices and rebukes.

Not only did they slap his face, but they also resorted to violence. His glasses had flown from their hands and now made only a crumbling sound on the ground.

The voices that had once cheered and applauded had already changed to rebukes and condemnation. Now they were saying that the weakness was gone, that because of him, the means to bring Junon down had disappeared.

The secret information he had discovered about Junon? They now said that because of it, their plan to seize power had completely fallen apart.

The noble and lofty mindset of nobility? He had become the end of a fallen family whose name no one knew.

Because of the advice of someone worth less than dust, he had become a mudfish that muddied every puddle he entered.

Nothing remained. Everything had turned to ashes.

What he had given them, what he thought he had shared with them, what he had received from them.

None of it remained with Kelnur.

But he couldn’t accept it.

‘Fuck, that can’t be right!’

He was wrong, and Junon was right?

That guy’s words, full of errors and schemes, were right?

“…don’t joke.”

“What? What did this bastard just say?”

“Don’t fucking joke with me, you bastards!!”

What did I get wrong? That guy can’t be right. A trash who’s just eating away at the Empire planned this entire operation?

‘No way. There was someone else. Yes, Tembris was there. Tembris must have helped our Lady Erica while keeping an eye on her!’

He must have used her. And then he didn’t tell anyone, pretending it was his own work, his own strategy!

Yes! That makes sense!

“Finally showing your true colors? You worthless insect…!”

“We should never have accepted someone like you!!”

The officials, enraged by Kelnur’s sudden change in attitude, unleashed their fury, inflicting all sorts of wounds on his body.

Soon Kelnur was rolling on the ground.

Blood flowed from his burst gums, and his untrained body quickly became covered in bruises and dust from the group beating he received on the ground.

But a man stepped in, laughing loudly, stopping the officials’ group assault.

“That’s enough.”

It was none other than Count Belmehofe who stopped them.

“We’ve been completely defeated. That young commander has shown his worth, and you still want to blame him?”

“But Count Belmehofe…!”

“From the beginning, Duke Zelbarten’s eyes were right. If you want to receive a lighter sentence, it would be better to surrender now.”

“Surrender… you say?”

“That’s absurd! What crime have we committed to surrender!”

“Heh heh. You still don’t understand?”

To his faction officials who were protesting, Count Belmehofe answered once more with a hearty laugh.

“Don’t you know why we’re here instead of on the battlefield? The commander has already seen through our intention to divert soldiers and avoid participating in battle.”

The reactions were split in two.

Some continued to argue, asking how he could know that, while others fell silent and lowered their heads, acknowledging it might be possible.

“I’ve done my calculations. If I surrender to the commander now, I might save my life by giving up my noble title and all my assets. Well, from here on, it’s your choice.”

Count Belmehofe left with a bitter smile.

But Kelnur couldn’t believe his ears. Looking at the back of the man who had briefly been his adoptive father, he couldn’t hold back his curses.

‘Fuck, surrender?’

Where was that determined will that had spoken of pulling down the incompetent commander and straightening out the misguided Empire? Now he’s talking about surrendering?

It’s obvious that Junon’s supporters will increase from here, but he has no intention of keeping him in check and is just washing his hands of it?

It was absurd. To give up after falling for such a shallow trick?

‘To think such a person was the head of a faction…!’

He had misjudged the person.

The reason things had gone so wrong was that he had made the wrong choice from the beginning.

If the person he was following was so powerless and weak, how could he remove the great evil that was Junon?

‘Indeed, it seems I have no one to follow but the Lady.’

Yes. If it’s her.

If it’s her who has never been wrong from the beginning.

She will recognize. She will acknowledge his righteousness.

Not these damn trash officials.

For that, he needs to escape this situation. He must shake off this immediate crisis.

The method…

There was one.

‘I don’t care what happens to you lot.’

Just by revealing the location of the soldiers these idiots had hidden, he could escape easily enough.

***

After the successful conclusion of the Ripol River battle, which could now be called the bloodbath of the Kempton continent, the Belmehofe Count’s faction split in two.

Senia, hidden in an unseen place, directly witnessed their internal strife and watched as Kelnur was severely beaten without stepping in.

She could have arrested them all if she had intervened. She had reason enough to punish them for not participating in the battle, for stepping back from the front lines to save their own lives.

In other words, she could have arrested them if she wanted to. She could have charged them with crimes and thrown them in prison right away.

But Senia didn’t step in.

-Whatever happens there, I’ll leave it to your discretion.

Junon had said this before heading into battle.

That one statement, leaving it to her discretion, was the answer to her request the day before to let Tembris handle the Belmehofe Count’s faction matter.

‘Junon would have known. That it meant letting us handle Kelnur ourselves.’

The reason for giving up the deputy commander position was the same. He had handed over the authority as if to indicate that he wouldn’t hold her responsible no matter what happened.

For this reason, Senia had watched everything but didn’t intervene.

To ensure that Kelnur’s punishment wouldn’t end with just being kicked by the officials.

─Lord Dusen, please…!

“Yes. Kelnur, you’re exactly that kind of person.”

The reason for seeking out Lord Dusen? Simple.

With Count Belmehofe essentially declaring surrender and abandoning the faction in ruins, Kelnur’s plan must be to report the entire faction and escape.

In other words, it’s a backstabbing move.

Backstabbing as easily as eating meals, being jealous and envious of others, and exuding malice toward his targets.

That’s the true nature of the person called Kelnur.

But it seems even Kelnur has a motivation.

─I don’t care what happens to those officials. But please find Lady Erica… I beg you!

“Erica…?”

Come to think of it, those two did have quite a connection.

But…

Thinking about it carefully, it wasn’t just “quite a connection.”

“Saved by Erica… survived thanks to Erica… followed Erica from that day on…?”

All the pieces fit together. It’s almost strange that she hadn’t noticed until now.

Could it be.

─Lady Erica… Lady Erica defected because of that bastard Junon!!

“Kelnur has feelings for Erica?”

It’s not a maybe. Wasn’t the reaction too obvious? Now, before, and in the past.

As always, Kelnur had been conscious of Erica.

If that’s the case. If that was the starting point of everything.

It seemed she could deliver the ultimate punishment to Kelnur.