episode_0039

3 days later. When we arrived at Torgenberg Castle.

“Franz Mayer! Why are you coming so late! Didn’t you wait for me?”

The lord came running out with a mischievous face full of laughter. He was clearly the world’s greatest genius, but if you look at what he did, he was no different from a child. The lord needed to follow Lucille’s example.

“Franz Mayer! While you’re away… Huh?”

The lord’s voice stopped for a moment. Her expression hardened. Her eyes turned to my hands. With his right hand he holds hands with Lucille.

“Franz Mayer. What about that girl?”

The lord asked in a calm voice. Why is this happening all of a sudden? I was embarrassed, but I explained calmly.

“This is my younger sister, Lucille Meyer. Since you are my assistant starting today, I followed you.”

Then, the lord’s stiff expression suddenly brightened and he began to laugh like before.

“What~ was it like that? Aren’t you surprised! I thought Franz Mayer brought a woman to the castle.”

“Yes? What on earth are you looking at me for? Even if you make a woman, you end up outside the castle. There’s no way you can bring her to the castle, right?”

“A guy who doesn’t even have a woman for that is bluffing~”

“That’s… !”

I couldn’t refute it because it was true. Why am I not popular with women?

“Now, now! My younger sister, I will have my subordinate guide you, so please follow quickly. There are a lot of things to discuss.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course. You want to climb the mountain with me right now.”

She grabbed my hand. Because Leona was small, her hands were much smaller than Lucille’s, but her grip strength was extraordinary. Her strength was 81. I’m not sure, but she probably boasted strength that was on a different level from that of someone in their 20s or 30s.

Tremendous grip strength unsuited to small hands. Leona’s grip grabbed my hand in an instant. Without realizing it, I let go of Lucille’s hand and was forced to follow Leona.

“My lord, I need some pain… ”

“What do you think? It’s between you and me.”

What is our relationship, you idiot… It was absurd, but I pretended not to be able to win and followed my lord.

However, if there was one mistake, it was not paying attention to Lucille’s expression at this time.

—–

meeting room.

“You came up with a plan.”

“There are several, but which one are you referring to?”

“The most cunning plan.”

“Ah, is this a plan aimed at diplomatically isolating the Ambrosia family?”

She nodded. Yes. I came up with several plans for her, but the most cunning of them all was to diplomatically isolate the Ambrosia family.

“Your plan was like this. Our army won an overwhelming victory over the central families. The Ambrosia family also avoided fighting by hiding within the castle, despite having more soldiers and geographical advantages. As a result, the impression that the Krusenstein family is strong and that the central families are weak will spread around the world.”

“Yes.”

“If rumors spread that the Ambrosia family is weak, it is certain that several families, starting with the Western Carter family, which were Ambrosia’s rivals, will look down on the Ambrosia family and attack them. The Ambrosia family will have no choice but to take the opponent’s territory in the process of counterattacking.”

I nodded.

“Finally, this is where the armistice agreement comes into play. [C. The two families will stop fighting for the next 10 years and will not invade neighboring small countries to increase their power. If this is violated, all negotiations become invalid.] If the Ambrosia family takes the other party’s territory as a counterattack to an invasion, they cite this item to claim the invalidity of the armistice negotiations. This was your strategy.”

“Yes.”

In the original story, Leona went around defeating diplomacy with a fuck it attitude. But as long as I’m around, I won’t tolerate such reckless behavior. My plan was to diplomatically isolate the Ambrosia family and get rid of the weakened Ambrosia once and for all.

“The operation seems to have been successful. It seems like the Carter family led several small families to invade the central region.”

“What… The Ambrosia family is, in one way or another, the loser of the central region. The rumor that it is weak may have spread, but it is not as weak as you think, so it will not fall easily.”

“What should we do next? While the Ambrosia family is fighting the Carter family, it would be good to attack them in the back, or it would be good to advance in another direction and expand their territory.”

“Isn’t Ambrosia yet to take over another family’s territory?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s wait a bit. Until we can claim the invalidity of the Armistice Agreement.”

“So you’re not doing anything in the meantime? Isn’t it a little disappointing?”

“Your Majesty, which direction do you think is the border with the weakest defense among our troops?”

“South.”

I nodded. I had the same thought.

“Kruzenstein is a port city on a flat land, showing enormous agricultural and commercial production, making it a wealthy land, but there is a problem. There are few mountainous areas that are good for defense. So if the enemy advances in the direction of Kruzenstein, we have no way to stop it.”

“Then what about the Duchy of Letlis, even further south of Krusenstein?”

“It’s the exact opposite of Kruzenstein. Although production is low, the terrain is rough, making it quite advantageous for defense. Moreover, aren’t they said to have been fierce for generations in the Letlis region?”

“Yes. It is said that he had a ferocious nature, and when he entered the battlefield, he instilled fear in many enemies.”

“You wanted us to occupy the Lettlis region while the Ambrosia family was unable to do anything due to the war with the Carter family?”

“Yes. If we occupy Letlis, our army’s border will have rough terrain and strong people, so let’s occupy it and strengthen the defense of the south.”

“But the Lord of Letless is my friend?”

I grinned.

“Charge. Do you feel guilty for taking your friend’s territory?”

“No. I thought it was a delicacy.”

She also laughed. Leona von Krusenstein is a person with a clear distinction between public and private affairs. I knew in advance that he would value strategy more than his emotions.

“But Lord Mayer.”

“Yes.”

“You were walking hand in hand with your younger brother?”

“Yes.”

“Is our relationship really good?”

Oh, don’t siblings usually walk holding hands? If I had a cute little sister like Lucille, even if it was my own sister, it would be worth holding hands and walking.

“Yes. My brother and sister get along quite well.”

“Is that so? Are siblings particularly good together? Or other family members?”

“Oh, my mother returned to her original home due to circumstances, but the remaining family members are all getting along well.”

“Is the friendship between family members strong?”

“Yes. The family gets along very well.”

“Ah… ”

She was deep in thought. I waited for her to finish thinking for a while. Finally she said.

“Why don’t you tell me your family’s story?”

“A story about your family? There is nothing particularly interesting about it.”

“I will judge that after listening. I want to hear it personally. Won’t you let me hear it?”

“Ah… ”

Only then did I understand why Leona was making this request.

Leona’s father considered Leona his own child, but he loved his wife much more than Leona.

And Leona’s mother did not love Leona. Not only that, he hated and even despised it.

Mother loved her younger sister instead of Leona. The younger sister only saw Leona as an enemy who had to be defeated someday.

Leona did not receive love from anyone in her family. The fact that Leona is now alive as the head of the family was a result of her luck because she was born with an outstanding ability.

That’s why Leona wants to know. What is family affection? What kind of family is a family with good friendship?

Because I knew that fact, I sympathized with Leona and tried hard to explain the happy stories among her family. So that Leona can feel vicarious satisfaction from other people’s family stories.

‘Will she be happy someday?’

In the original world, she dies without feeling even an inch of happiness.

But I thought it would be nice if that wasn’t the case in this world.

——

Meanwhile, the Duchy of Letlis.

Walter von Letlis, the duchy’s master, read the letter from Krusenstein and covered his face with both hands to hide his despairing expression.

The vassals were also in a mixed mood. The vassals of the Letless family were desperately searching for a solution, like cancer patients who had been sentenced to death.

“Damn… ”

One person muttered softly. It was Victor, a high-ranking official of the Letlis family.

“Krugenstein is saying that he will invade if the allies do not surrender. What should we do?”

“… ”

“… ”

The Letlis family’s troops are at best 20,000. On the other hand, Krusenstein was able to mobilize at least 100,000 to as many as 150,000 men.

“Let’s request reinforcements from the eastern families!”

“It can’t happen. Eastern families are also targeting the Letlis family. If you try to avoid Krusenstein, you may end up being subordinated to another family. We have to solve it among ourselves.”

“Then, let’s fight!”

It was Bernardis who shouted that. He was the leader of the Letless family and an invincible leader who had not suffered a single wound in dozens of battles.

“Bernadis. I know very well that there is no one in the world who can compare to your dancing. But think about it carefully. The number of enemies exceeds 100,000. How can you fight back with just 20,000? Moreover, it is not an ordinary army, but a strong army like Krusenstein’s monster.”

“… ”

“… ”

After a period of silence passed. Vincent, the Letless family’s bookkeeper, said.

“How about subjugating?”

“Subordination?”

“Surrender to the Kruzenstein family, but retain territory and autonomy.”

“I heard that the four major small countries in the central region who offered to surrender under the same conditions were coldly rejected?”

“Our situation is different from the four major small countries in the central region. What Krusenstein wants is to solidify the southern border. So, it is not necessary to be greedy for our poor territory. If we prove that we can fight better than them on our own soil, we may accept subjugation.”

“That means… ”

“First of all, fight, but it is not a fight to kill or defeat the enemy. It is a fight to negotiate subordination.”

It was humiliating. I have to fight just to beg to be allowed to go under the enemy. But the enemy was Krusenstein. Even the loser Ambrosia family in the central region gave up. That’s why Walter von Letlis thought it was impossible.

“We used to have fun together when we were young… ”

Leona von Krusenstein and Walter von Letlis were childhood friends. But now it seemed like there was a big difference.