episode_0280

Eastern Front (1)

With the signing of the Peace Treaty, the Balkan Army occupied the Streve Fortress, and the Teseito Army also began withdrawing its forces as promised.

The Duke of Tiruen was directly in charge of the withdrawal of Tesseito’s army.

Although it was an unsuitable mission for the duke to handle directly, everyone supported his opinion that he wanted to take care of his subordinates as a leader, so Tiruen personally comforted the soldiers and moved little by little towards the west.

‘In any case, Count Mula must remain on the southern front of the capital and rebuild the collapsed cavalry, and the Marquis of Graze has only recently recovered from his injuries, so we must quickly return him to Carmarthen to complete his recuperation. If so, you might be able to reach a slightly higher level. I guess I should take this opportunity to slowly cool my head and analyze the cause of this war.’

As he slowly led the withdrawal procession with his troops, he was frightened to learn that a corps of the Balkan Empire was ambushed on his way back.

“Hwiyu~ It’s such a shame to see those buggers… The Commander-in-Chief ordered our corps to finish the job, so I was relishing it as an opportunity to make achievements day by day… Damn it!! Tsk tsk tsk”

“Hey guys~ Goodbye~ Don’t forget that if we had fought a little longer, our heads would have fallen on us~ Now you know how scary our imperial army is, right? If you don’t want to waste your life, don’t even look at our Balkan side~ Hahaha”

Although the soldiers’ morale was completely broken as they had to continue their march despite all kinds of ridicule, they trudged along with their heads down, but Tiruen’s eyes were shining.

‘Our Tesseito has found the target that must be eliminated first. It’s not the Red Emperor, it’s not the Liechtenauer, it’s not the damn Aragon years… From the plains of Zenon to Streve… it all went according to Count Mayer’s plan. Although the friendly army achieved a great victory at Symenotra, it was only because the enemy commander was still inexperienced… If he had avoided fighting as the prisoners said and engaged in a delayed battle, of course, Streb would have easily fallen, and the southern region would have fallen easily. The whole thing could have passed. When Mayer plans a plan, the emperor and his associates make it happen. If more talent like this appears in the Balkan Empire, our kingdom will never be able to surpass the Balkan Empire. Before that happens, we have to get rid of Count Mayer somehow.’

Tyruen was convinced that it was Mayer who had provoked him through Catherine and set the plan, and if it had not been for Mayer, he was confident that this war would have resulted in his victory. And while he was returning to Carmarthen, he began to gradually formulate a plan to eliminate Mayer.

Meanwhile, Mayer, who never dreamed that the enemy leader was making a long-term plan to target him, returned to Adria with the contributors of this battle and was enjoying a victory feast.

“Secretary Meyer! I heard that His Majesty granted you territory for your achievements in this war, right? It is also a huge territory that integrates all the territories near Streve Fortress. You don’t know that your rights as a margrave are enormous, but you refuse such a reward… Are you serious?”

“Oh my… Has the rumor spread that much already? His Majesty said he would make an official announcement tomorrow at the podium ceremony… tsk tsk”

Originally, they would have been nobles who did not speak to Mayer, a commoner-born nobleman, unless it was in a public setting, but he is greatly favored by the emperor and has a good relationship with other members of the imperial family, and this time, Mayer has achieved tremendous achievements and will immediately emerge as the core of power. There was no nobleman so foolish as to ignore .

That’s why Mayer was shaking his head as if he was in pain, surrounded by a group of nobles.

‘Since I, a top contributor, refused the reward of receiving the territory near Streve, including the County of Le Delmo, as my fief, other people can’t just ask for the reward. And I have no intention of doing such a bothersome margrave mission anyway… As Minister of Defense, I am busy just managing the legionnaires!! Haha~ Anyway, my wife will be really angry when she hears this news… How can I appease her?’

Mayer was more thorough than anyone else when it came to his duties, but the reason he demonstrated his outstanding ability was to deal with all kinds of troublesome things in the most convenient way. Mayer thought that even if he were given a fiefdom, he wouldn’t have it, but he lived an elegant life as a countess in the fiefdom. In order to appease his wife, who dreamed of enjoying life, he had to think about what gift to buy.

“Wait! Minister Meyer. Let me ask you this. Why was the ceasefire period set to three years? Isn’t the damage from this war a level that our empire can recover from in just one year? It would be better to quickly occupy southern Tesseito without a ceasefire…”

Mayer sighed when he saw an old count asking him a question.

He was a noble whose territory suffered a great blow during Tesseito’s invasion, and because his resentment towards Tesseito seemed so deep, Mayer opened his mouth with an embarrassed expression.

“Ha… That’s…”

“I cannot explain that part here. Please understand that this information can only be disclosed to those at the vice minister level or corps commander level or higher. I know very well that the Minister is someone who will not divulge information, but I ask you to be especially careful”

The person who interrupted Mayer was Baron Robles, head of the Intelligence Department.

“Director of Information! What kind of information is this? Are you saying this is information that even we high-ranking nobles shouldn’t know?”

“Yes, that’s right. If you really want to know, the Count, please ask His Majesty directly… His Majesty will let you know at any time if he deems you worthy. Of course, it would be up to the Count to prove that ability”

Although he was a baron, the intelligence department’s authority was extremely brutal as it was an agency directly under the emperor, so the count gave up on obtaining additional information from the two men and returned to his post.

The same applied to other lower-ranking nobles who surrounded Mayer and tried to give him even a crumb of power, and when the surroundings finally became quiet, Baron Robles whispered to Mayer.

“Minister. His Majesty has summoned all the ministers and vice-ministers. As you may have guessed…”

“I guess it’s because of courtesy… Sigh~ As soon as the problems in the West ended, problems broke out in the East…”

“Her Majesty also said that after only seeing the princesses briefly, she would immediately attend with the two empresses. Please go quickly”

During the Battle of Streve, Juno, who had been keeping the northwest in check in the County of Akel in preparation for any unexpected situation, returned to the imperial palace as soon as the battle was over.

Diane, Rachel, and Hiria, who were unable to meet Eliza during the war because she was taking care of the babies, and who supported the war effort by focusing on internal affairs; Kurimu and Miruku, who helped Eliza raise her children; and Yuno, who met Miri and shared stories for a day. Immediately returned to his duties as emperor and held a meeting.

And the fact that Yuno, who cared for his women more than anything else, returned to government work in just one day meant that this case was that serious.

When Maier and Baron Robles entered the royal palace, other ministers and vice ministers were also sitting in their seats, so they bowed their heads for a moment and then took their seats.

And finally, as Chancellor and Minister of Finance Rachel stood on the podium, Liechtenauer dismissed all the knights and guards, and at the same time, Juno, Eliza, and Catherine sat down at the head table, and the meeting began.

“Before the meeting begins… Thank you for giving up your territory according to Mayer Jim’s wishes. Thanks to you, strengthening the Western Front will become a little easier”

Yuno began his speech by praising Mayer, who obediently gave up the territory according to his will, as he planned to establish the territory near Streve under the direct control of the Western Corps instead of ceding the territory to the nobles.

“It’s no big deal. Instead, I need to appease my wife, so please give me a generous reward”

“Hahaha, you really are the same. I’ve been saying for a long time that I need to know one thing about revealing money?”

Thanks to the conversation between Yuno and Mayer, the slightly frozen atmosphere of the conference room melted and the air became slightly warmer.

“Okay then, let’s start the meeting now. Baron Robles Please explain the situation once again. The executive branch, judiciary, and cultural propaganda department probably don’t know the details”

“Yes. your majesty. As you said, I will explain the current situation in our country. Thanks to the efforts of His Majesty the Emperor and Minister Mayer, our country succeeded in repelling the invasion of the Zenon Plains by the Kingdom of Tesseito, taking advantage of the previous civil war, and regaining Fortress Streve. In addition, in that he succeeded in subjugating the Holy Kingdom of Johannes to a vassal state and that internal affairs were stable even during the war, it can be said that he created a national power greater than that of the previous era of His Majesty Charles III. This is all thanks to His Majesty’s excellent governing policies and generous benevolence”

“Baron Robles. Stop painting Jim’s face with gold and continue explaining”

Perhaps due to his excessive ability, he stopped Baron Robles, who was showing off his abilities despite flattery, and Yuno demanded that he continue to explain.

“Yes. Intelligence came in that the political war that had been causing chaos in the Kingdom of Leon while the Tesseitos were rampaging in the west had come to an end. It is said that King Charles IV of Leon eventually subdued Princess Fiona, and Princess Fiona and her followers fled to Polygal Island”

Eliza and Rachel’s eyebrows twitched at Baron Robles’ explanation.

Even though they were naturalized in the Balkans and are each in charge of empress and prime minister, and the sisters simultaneously serve Juno as their man, Fiona was their precious older sister, and they received the favor of protecting them when they were in Leon.

*Prime Minister Rachel entering the meeting illustration modern version*