episode_0068

* * *

A few days ago, Annel Castle.

“Master. Chelbrans, we have just arrived at the royal castle of Anel Castle.”

Chell, the first sword of Branth who guarded the southern front and Lin’s eldest brother, knelt in front of Lin who was sitting on the throne.

“Welcome, big brother. Is this the first time I’ve seen your face since we attacked Zeeland Castle?”

“… … .”

Chell doesn’t respond to her words.

Even though he was stationed on the southern front, he was also a man with ears and eyes.

A man who was the target of Zeeland Castle, and unbelievable things that happened on the northern front.

Until the rebellion that occurred after that… … Aren’t these facts that I heard with both ears?

And the starting point of it all was the battle to conquer Zeeland Castle, in which he and his now betrayed Irene were at the forefront.

okay.

Irene Juliette’s betrayal.

For Cel Brans, it was a very shocking thing.

When I was still young.

A story that my father always told to himself, the eldest son, when he was alive.

“Chell. You will be the person who will lead this Brans family in the future. And just as Kafka is there for me – Irene will be there for you.”

Of course, as his father said, it never occurred to him to inherit the Brans family.

As he grew older, it seemed that his father had excluded him as a successor because, instead of studying politics or diplomacy, he spent all day longing for battles.

Actually, it didn’t really matter to Chell. Chell was more suited to getting off a horse and swinging a sword himself rather than giving orders to someone from the throne.

The virtues of a monarch included not being at the forefront unnecessarily. If the leader takes the lead in fighting too much and dies, it will only be a matter of time before the country collapses.

Moreover, if you become a monarch, you will always have to make complex political calculations, and I thought that my quiet younger sister would be much better at that.

The problem was Irene.

Her father, Orland Brands, had a very high opinion of her.

It was the same for Chell himself. Back when we clashed swords in a sparring match with her, she was the only person in a woman’s body who showed similar skills to hers.

Even from Chell’s point of view, where she never acknowledged others, she couldn’t help but acknowledge Irene.

Of course, her strength was not the only reason why Orland thought highly of her.

That is – tremendous loyalty to the Brans family.

A loyal servant who lives only for the Brans family, taught and raised by Kafka Juliette throughout her life.

That was Irene Juliet.

Every time Chell watched her, he felt confident that she would never betray him no matter what.

That’s why I was shocked by the news of his betrayal.

Not anyone else, but Irene Juliet?

Why on earth?

From his perspective, who stayed far away from central politics while guarding the front lines, it was difficult to even predict what had happened to bring him to this point.

Kalinz, the younger brother, is on probation for making a huge mistake, and Lin, the younger sister and lord, was betrayed by the loyal Irene… … .

Without knowing what was going on, a three-month ceasefire agreement was suddenly signed with two countries adjacent to the southern border.

And I was called to this place.

“Did you hear what you said too? Roughly what happened.”

“Yes.”

“Okay, okay!”

Lin said with a bright smile.

“There is only one goal. To erase Aishous County from the map forever. And, the capture of Irene Juliette.”

“Are you talking about capture alive?”

“Yes! I hope that they will never be killed on the battlefield and that their lives will be at stake and that they will be brought safely to my eyes.”

“Why?”

It seemed unlikely that Irene would be hired again now.

No, shouldn’t we just kill them unconditionally?

She betrayed our military. And that too, taking all 30,000 soldiers with him.

If you can kill it, wouldn’t it make sense to kill it?

“I know. I don’t understand why they tell you not to kill them? Of course I know how you feel.”

Lin lightly touched his lips with his finger.

“But the price of betrayal is only her worthless life… … Don’t you think we’re losing too much money?”

“… … Yes?”

“Despair.”

Rin spit out the word ‘despair’ and then burst into laughter.

Her dreary laughter filled the castle.

“After making that damn traitorous bitch feel the greatest despair she could feel… … Just kill him then and that’s it. It won’t just kill you either. If you cut off his fingers one by one, what would he scream? It’s painful, and I know that no one can help me, but I keep asking someone I can’t reach to save me… … Finally, he will look at me and beg me to save him… … !”

“… … !”

“In front of the eyes of that bitch struggling in pain… … I will swallow the Swen that that bitch seduced… … ♥”

Creepy!

Very funny, Chell is now-

He was unable to respond due to being overwhelmed by his younger sister’s spirit.

If it’s Swen… … Is this the white-haired man who was hired during the battle to conquer Zeeland Castle?

The man who used something similar to magic in the northern fortress.

That guy seduced Irene?

I wanted to ask what the story was about, but I couldn’t.

In Rin’s blue eyes… … Because a very dark and sticky resentment was leaking out.

“Hehehe… … How would it feel to have the man who tried to take me away, right in front of my eyes, taken away from me again? … ? What kind of expression will Iren make at that time? Aren’t you curious about your brother too? Kuhuhuhuhu… … ♥”

She twisted her body for a moment and let out an inexplicable laugh.

Soon he spoke again with a very refreshing smile, as if nothing had happened.

“So, oppa. I’ll give you 53,000 troops, so get rid of the Aishous army as soon as possible. Got it?”

‘53,000 people?’

This figure is the sum of all troops on the southern front and the capital defense force.

It was virtually the entire army, excluding the western forces, which are currently being organized, and the northern forces, where the Serpina Army is located.

It would be nice if things went well, but if things go wrong here… … The situation that had been maintained somehow could have been greatly shaken.

‘That’s enough.’

From what I heard, there are a little over 40,000 soldiers in the Aethus Army fortress, including those who were originally our army.

Separately, it is understood that a similar number of soldiers exist in Balharat Castle.

Moreover, due to good timing, it seemed that the troops on the side of Balharat Castle were currently engaged in a battle with the Alefel army.

And crucially, the first target to attack was not the castle but the fortress.

It was judged that if this number of troops could be equipped with enough siege weapons, there was a good chance of victory.

Not just anyone else, but even more so if Chell himself is at the forefront.

What bothered me the most was not the presence of anything else but the traitor Swen… … I was confident that I would win if I could somehow prevent that strange trick.

“We will send additional troops as soon as the western front is cleared, so please allow us to attack Balharat Castle with this dispatch. Got it?”

If you receive soldiers from the Western Front, roughly speaking, you will be able to control over 90,000 soldiers.

I thought that at this level, I would be able to attack Acious Army.

“Yes! I will obey your orders.”

Chell composed herself by answering like that.

okay. What is so important about how things are going now?

If you tell them to go to war, they just go.

If this sword had to be stained with blood, it would just be stained.

That was Chelbrans’s way of surviving difficult times.

* * *

As we quickly arrived at the royal castle, Yuuri with a serious expression sat on the throne and greeted us.

“Irene Juliette, I have just arrived at the castle after receiving orders.”

“Irene, you’re here. Swen came too.”

She gave us a quick greeting as we knelt down, then got straight to the point.

“Did you hear what I said? It looks like the Brans guys have moved.”

“… … Sorry.”

Yuuri shook his head and said at Iren’s words.

“No, well… … I’m not blaming you or holding you accountable. The choice to receive you was made by myself, not by anyone else, but by my own will. First of all, we have to deal with what happened.”

“Are you planning to fight back?”

Jinor, who was standing next to him, asked with a serious expression.

“First of all, Epinel seemed to have that intention.”

“But… … If you choose to fight for no reason and lose your troops, you will suffer great disaster. Now, the idea is to give up the fortress and gather at Balharat Castle and stage a sit-in with the troops-”

“… … Jinor. I’m really sorry, but I’d like you to go to where Epinel is first. If you want to persuade him, I would like you to persuade Epinel directly rather than talking to me.”

“… … .”

Jinor had no answer to Yuuri’s words.

‘I see.’

Only now did I see what the problem was with Atious.

Epinel. Emma. And some of the founding figures, including the ‘3 Atcious Girls’, including Hernandorf.

In this country, the influence of the founding public figures was too strong.

If Rin and Serpina were monarchs who ruled as absolute beings above those below them, Yuuri and Lunarien were closer to the type of monarchs who were the heads of a horizontal group.

Regardless of which side is right or wrong, let’s just divide it into two categories.

However, if Runarien knew how to push his own opinions aside from his weak nature, it would be a fair assessment to say that Yuuri felt like he was being swayed by those who contributed to the founding of the country.

When I think about it that way, I understand why the results came out that way at the last meeting. Emma was one of the contributors to the founding, so it was natural that Jinor, who came in later, would be pushed out.

I have personally experienced a group that operates like this before being possessed.

The military.

A mysterious group where all logic revolves around the fact that ‘how much time did you spend?’

The most valuable thing in Atious County is not the individual’s abilities, but how long they have stayed here and contributed –

In other words, it is the same as ‘Jam’ order.

A monarch who cherishes his colleagues, treats everyone like family, and has the leadership to make everyone follow him –

Behind such monarchs, ironically, was a weakness that made it impossible for them to rule absolutely.

Wouldn’t it be impossible to trample on your beloved colleagues and rise above them?

Although it may have been an outstanding virtue for a leader of a bandit group, she was the leader of a country.

It was bad to act like a tyrant, but it was also bad to continue to be manipulated like her.

In the first place, there was no need for Jinor to persuade Epinel. If she, the monarch, said, ‘Come back,’ it was natural for Epinel, as a subject, to return.

But she doesn’t do that. As a subject, he was asking me to ‘convince’ his subject.

Not someone else, but a monarch!

‘Is that the reason why Yuuri can’t unify?’

Around the time I was thinking that.

Yuuri, who seemed to have decided on something, stood up and spoke.

“Irene. I will give you about 3,000 additional troops, so take the lead and join Epinel at the fortress. I would like to give more soldiers, but they have already been deployed. Once you arrive at the fortress, I hope you will consider her instructions as mine and follow them.”

“Yes, I understand!”

“Zinor. Join Irene’s army and head to the fortress. Got it?”

“… … Yes, I understand.”

“And Swen too.”

Yuuri then looked at me and spoke.

“Because there are so many things to look forward to from Swen. If you can be active, I hope you will be active. For more details, you can listen to Epinel’s story. Got it?”

There is a lot to look forward to, D.

I guess I’m expecting something similar to the miracle that occurred in the Northern Fortress… … .

Of course, I didn’t have the ability to call something like that.

Still, if the predicted results come out like back then… … I’m sure you will find a way.

“Yes, I understand.”

Including me, Jinor, and a few unnamed generals from the Aishous army-

About 3,000 soldiers led by Irene moved to the fortress located to the west of Balharat Castle, which once belonged to the Brans army.