episode_0017

In the end, as per the original agreement, Leona and Setia took 16 castles each.

There was an opinion within the friendly forces to push further, but Andeln rejected this. My guess is that the first reason was because the supply lines were stretched, and the second reason was that they had no confidence in defeating Leona’s main force.

After peacefully dividing the castle in half, they did not invade each other for a while. Leona’s national power had declined due to a long civil war, and Andeln’s power was still unstable because it was a regime composed of rebellion.

There was a reason not to fight with each other.

With Clozel’s death, Leona became the only remaining head of the Krusenstein family.

That means that from now on, Leona’s army will be called Krusenstein Army, not Leona Army.

Meanwhile, I received back the territory I had lost due to my victory in the last battle.

In addition to the return, he was also given 80,000 grains of territory, which was enough territory to mobilize 2,000 soldiers.

The number of troops that could be mobilized in an instant increased from 2,000 to 6,000.

‘In a way, it’s natural since he performed so well.’

In the last battle, I was clearly a major contributor to the victory. If it weren’t for me, our troops would have had to run away with only 5,000 soldiers losing their face.

Although we lost many soldiers, we saved face. Thanks to that, Andeln was quite happy.

‘I feel like I’m gaining more and more trust from Andeln.’

I can’t say that gaining Andeln’s trust is very beneficial to me. That was because Andeln would soon die and the government would also change.

—–

A few days later, Andeln fell ill.

“What is the name of the disease?”

“Same disease as Henrik.”

“Father? What kind of illness did your father have?”

Henryk kept his illness completely hidden from his vassals and even his family, so there were only a few people who knew what kind of illness Henryk had.

“This is Noche.”

To put it in modern terms, it was pulmonary tuberculosis.

“Noche?”

In this era, noche was a very common disease, and while it was common, it was an incurable disease with no cure.

And crucially…

“Isn’t Nochemyeon a contagious disease?”

It was an epidemic. In other words, Henrik was hiding his infectious disease from those around him. Only then did Andeln realize. The fact that Henrik transferred Noche to him.

“Damn it! Even death won’t help my father!”

Of course, it would be absurd to say that Henrik hid Noce after learning of Andeln’s betrayal. Henrik simply hid his illness for fear that his power would be shaken. However, it unintentionally became a form of revenge by spreading the disease.

“Noche, damn it. Nocera. So what should we do?”

“Duke As you know, there is no special medicine for Noche. All you have to do is rest well and not overdo it… ”

“How can a man called the Duke of a region rest well? Wow!”

“Being excited is also not good for your body.”

“Damn it!”

Clink! The glass that Andeln threw hit the floor and broke.

“To be old at this age! At this young age!”

“Calm down. The condition is in a fairly advanced state. If possible, we recommend that you step down from the Operation Committee and enjoy a leisurely life after retirement.”

“Damn it, how did I become a duke? Damn it!”

Tears began to flow from Andeln’s eyes. A diagnosis that came as suddenly as a bolt from the blue. Noche. The condition was also quite advanced.

In modern times, it is a disease that is hard to find except in underdeveloped countries, and even if you have it, it is a disease that can be cured. However, at this time, it was still an incurable disease.

Therefore, Andeln had no choice but to despair. I can’t live long. Moreover, Noche would haunt him for the rest of his life.

—–

The next day, the doctor who examined Andeln was found dead on his way home. It felt like I was attacked by someone.

And, perhaps by an incredible coincidence, Andeln hid the fact that he was suffering from Noche. Like Henrik, he did not tell anyone about his poor health.

When Andeln went about his business as usual, people around him said, ‘They called a doctor and it turns out it wasn’t a serious illness.’ He ignored it and ignored it, but Franz Mayer, who knew the truth, was just sick of it.

‘Did you hide your illness so as not to let go of power? ‘I could die like that.’

Noche. In other words, the worst thing for pulmonary tuberculosis is fatigue. A tired body further worsens the condition of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Nevertheless, Andeln could not give up his power, so he gave up his health instead.

‘This is true madness.’

That madness would devour Andeln himself.

—–

1 year and 3 months later. February 20, 552 Imperial Calendar.

Andeln is dead. In fact, it was like a predetermined task. This is because I overexerted myself while my pulmonary tuberculosis was already quite advanced. One year and three months could be considered a long life.

I turned 24 and caught up with my body’s age. Now I finally feel like my body and mind are coming together a little bit.

Lucille’s mood changed when she turned 18. The atmosphere became quieter and more feminine.

Lucille originally felt like she had thin lines, but as she became an adult, she felt even more delicate and pitiful. Looking at the atmosphere and impression alone, she seemed like a young widow somewhere.

I cared about Lucille so I deliberately fed her extra food and tried to make her smile often. Lucille, who was usually expressionless, often laughed when we were alone.

And when Andeln died, Lucille came up with a plan.

“In this situation, both Henrik and Andeln are dead. The most powerful family in the Setia family is the 4th generation. And there will be a movement to nominate the next lord centered around the four major families.”

“Yes. I guess so.”

“The only next lord is Adele. Because, except for Adele, Setia’s blood has been cut off.”

“That will happen.”

“If Adele is promoted under the leadership of the 4th generation, the center of power will return to the 4th generation, right? Adele will become a virtual scarecrow because she needs to study more.”

“Yes.”

“If you aim for that point, your brother can enter the center of power.”

Lucille’s strategy was like this. Adele will be swayed by the 4th generation family as she pleases. I am also alienated from the center of politics.

In order to one day regain the power that was taken away from her, Adele will seek out people who have been alienated from the center of power and try to create a new pro-royalty faction, and there I, who is not part of the faction but possesses a huge territory, appears and joins Adele and becomes the head of the pro-royalist faction. do.

That was the reading Lucille presented to me.

‘That’s interesting.’

What was interesting was that it almost matched what I had imagined.

‘I can’t believe you came up with a plan similar to the one with 100 intelligence. Actually, maybe my intelligence is quite high?’

I felt a little bit confident.

but…

“Actually, this plan does not end here.”

“Huh? Isn’t it the end?”

“There is a hidden element.”

“Hidden element?”

“That is the location of the territory.”

“Location of territory?”

Lucille took out a map. Some parts of the map are marked with blue dots, while others are marked with red dots. Blue meant allies and red meant enemies.

“This is the expected force map if this operation is successful. Is there anything that comes to mind?”

“This, this… !”

“Yes. The friendly faction’s territory surrounds the enemy from three sides: east, south, and north. Even if the four major families and the pro-royal faction that will be created someday are similar in terms of power, in reality, they are in the form of a semi-surrounding territory, so if a civil war breaks out, our army has an overwhelming advantage.”

“… !”

I didn’t even think about it that far. What I was thinking about was which families to bring into the faction and which to oppose. If you translate it to a map, it will look like this…

‘I had no idea… ‘

I had no choice but to not know. Just memorizing the names and histories of dozens of families was overwhelming, and my head was full just analyzing their tendencies and positions. Therefore, they were simply thinking about attracting as many families as possible.

But Lucille was different. There was a map in my head. I was thinking about how to create a counter siege by adding this side and deleting this side to the map in my head.

I felt like I finally knew the difference between a genius and a criminal. I can’t be a genius.

‘but… ‘

He could be a good older brother to a genius. I stroked Lucille’s expressionless head. She smiled slightly happily and closed her eyes.

—–

“Master! Please look at the kite I made!”

A middle-aged man held a kite and bowed his head to someone. Then, on the other side, there was a person who unfolded the kite in a familiar form and inspected it. Surprisingly, the person called Master was only in his teens.

“Hmm~ The quality is very good. Technically, there is no problem.”

“Thank you! Thank you Master… ”

“No, I don’t mean it’s good.”

“Yes? But it’s good just now… ”

“Yeon is the one. Ideas are more important than quality. No matter how technically advanced a kite may be, if it does not have its own originality, it is no better than an ingenious kite made by a child. Isn’t the design of your kite the same as the manufactured product sold in the market? You should cultivate childishness rather than skills.”

“Ha, but how can I become a child? ”

“It’s up to you to take care of it from now on. That’s all my advice.”

After saying that, the teenage man refocuses on making his kite. At that one word, the middle-aged man was astonished and stared blankly at his kite.

“Everyone. They only focus on technical skills and lack creativity. Creativity.”

The man was a kite maker and a star producer who had already created dozens of hits. The man’s name is Adele von Setia. Although he now only works under the name Adele, he was once the son of a lord.

One day, a group of knights appeared in front of him, who was making kites in large quantities in Krusenstein Castle Village and passing on dreams and hopes to children.

“Are you Adele?”

“Yes. Seeing that the knights came, it looks like some noble son asked them to make a kite, right?”

“Take it!”

The two knights grabbed Adele by both arms and began to drag her away. Adele’s disciples tried to stop him, but were unable to do anything as the other knights who followed drew their swords.

“Master! Master is being kidnapped!”

Adele was equally embarrassed. He thought he could live a quiet life after his older brother became a lord, but suddenly these guys came and dragged him away? Where was it taken in the first place?

That was how Adele von Setia was forced to become the next lord.