NOVEL NEXT Chapter 271
271 – Has That Guy Already Made a Move? (1)
In a meeting of the Crown Prince Faction nobles, the topic of Ghislaine came up. With the commencement of the road construction linking the territories, Ghislaine had become the hottest topic in the capital recently.
It was no wonder that his name couldn’t be left out of any meeting.
Marquis Maurice McQuarry, the Commander of the Kingdom Army, frowned and asked Marquis Branford.
“Is it true that guy is gathering a large-scale troop?”
“Yes. I’ve heard he’s gathering so many that it’s causing a stir in his territory.”
“Hah, that duckling must be terrified after hitting Count Cabaldy. Then again, it makes sense since he touched the Duke Faction nobles.”
“The problem is that he’s collecting troops in excessive amounts.”
The exact numbers hadn’t been reported, but there were rumors that armed troops numbered at least in the thousands.
Given Ghislaine’s history of causing significant incidents, Marquis Branford couldn’t help but be particularly concerned about this rumor.
Maurice nodded in agreement and continued.
“Hmm… Well, he’s the type that can bounce anywhere. Is he planning to strike again? We’re just managing the drought situation; we can’t afford another accident.”
“At least he seems to be preparing, having hit Count Cabaldy and made enemies with the Duke Faction. Count Desmond is also gathering his army.”
At Branford’s words, Maurice smirked.
“All that being said, he’s just a mere lord in the North. Unless the Duke’s house starts a civil war, Desmond can’t do anything on his own.”
Others from the Crown Prince Faction also nodded in agreement.
Unless the Kingdom Army was far away, they were already surveilling in close proximity to Desmond’s territory. Thanks to Marquis Branford’s foresight, Count Desmond’s hands were effectively tied.
Marquis Branford knew and agreed with this fact. No matter how prominent Desmond was in the North, he couldn’t act recklessly without the Duke’s assistance and orders.
However, even if a war didn’t break out immediately, the mere fact that Desmond was gathering troops was significant.
“Tsk, the fact that Desmond is mobilizing troops indicates that a civil war is approaching.”
The Crown Prince Faction nobles were always like this. Despite having been pressured by the Duke’s house, now that they were a bit better off thanks to Count Penris, their arrogance was creeping back up.
Since they held the justification and legitimacy of supporting the royal family, there was no way around it.
In any case, if the Duke’s house initiated a civil war, it would be classified as rebellion.
Letting out a sigh, Marquis Branford spoke again.
“Currently, some troops from the 2nd Corps are assisting nearby lords with road construction, aren’t they?”
Maurice nodded.
“Since they’re doing it anyway, it’s better to do it quickly. I gave the order; is there a problem? Those Northerners are so poor they can’t even get the work done right.”
“Withdraw all of them.”
“Why?”
“The 2nd Corps is stationed there for Northern surveillance and to protect Count Penris.”
At Marquis Branford’s indifferent words, Maurice’s face twisted in displeasure.
“Why are you so concerned about that duckling? Since when was he that important to us?!”
“If a civil war breaks out, Count Penris will be the first to be attacked in the North. The power of the 2nd Corps needs to be maintained to prevent a combined attack from Desmond and the Duke Faction nobles.”
“Why worry about civil war already! The Duke’s house is staying quiet to recover after the drought! If they started a civil war now, it would just be a mutual slaughter—why would they do that?! Everything that scoundrel does is just empty threats!”
“Other lords and the Kingdom Army are also reorganizing their strength to prepare for a civil war. Who knows when the Duke’s house will draw their swords? The construction of the road has put the Duke Faction nobles on edge.”
“Yes, preparing is good. But why protect only that guy? By continuously shielding him and granting him every request, isn’t he just becoming more arrogant?!”
“Giving him more just makes that brat more arrogant!”
Maurice shouted, erupting with the anger he had been holding in. The other nobles nodded in agreement.
Even the usually calm Marquis Branford was too focused on Ghislaine, which naturally bred some discontent among the others.
Marquis Branford’s power was so high that everyone only whispered behind his back for now. But if Ghislaine caused any more accidents or ever failed even once, the marquis’s position would also be shaken.
Despite the tense atmosphere, Marquis Branford continued to speak with an indifferent expression.
“I have clearly warned you. Do as I say.”
“Profit…”
Maurice couldn’t hide his displeasure and twitched his lips several times. He couldn’t understand why the marquis was so attached to that rookie.
Although he was unhappy, he couldn’t ignore Marquis Branford’s request. After all, he was the leader of the Crown Prince Faction and a powerhouse who overshadowed him.
“It would be best not to forget my words: once the Duke Faction is defeated, I’ll take that brat’s head. You’d better not stop me then.”
“By that time, I would pretend not to know you.”
“Hmph!”
Once again threatening with empty threats, Maurice left with a face like he had bitten a bug.
The other nobles quietly followed Maurice, glancing around.
They were contemplating where to make their alliances.
‘Looks like Marquis Branford’s judgment is clouded now that he’s getting older.’
‘Even if a civil war breaks out, the Kingdom Army should protect us. Why would they protect that brat?’
‘Could it be that he’s really marked that brat as a political successor?’
Other nobles of the Crown Prince Faction shared similar grievances as Maurice. They felt the rookie was being given excessive benefits and that he was being shown undue leniency.
If the Duke Faction really incited a civil war, that brat should be treated as a discarded pawn. There was no need to help him.
‘If a real civil war breaks out, the Kingdom Army’s strength would be better used pressing down on the Duke Faction than protecting him. They could attack some other noble from the duke faction.’
‘Until now, we’ve been raising him to boost our influence in the North, but if war happens, it’s better to discard him and support the other nobles.’
‘The Kingdom Army is like our last bastion, isn’t it? It’s a waste to use them to help someone like that.’
Most of the thoughts among the Crown Prince nobles were similar. Even though they were currently silenced by Marquis Branford’s power, if their dissatisfaction continued to grow, an incident was bound to happen.
Understanding this, Marquis Branford pressed his forehead and closed his eyes when he was left alone.
‘It’s exhausting.’
Just dealing with the Duke Faction was a struggle, and the internal unity was falling apart.
Even though Ghislaine had shown his abilities multiple times, the young nobles envied and resented his fame. The older nobles continued to disregard him, calling him a poor, pathetic brat from the North.
Even though times were changing, the old-fashioned mindset of Crown Prince nobles was making it difficult to handle anything related to Ghislaine.
Though some of it was due to him causing accidents repeatedly.
‘If a civil war happens, we will only be annihilated.’
Marquis Branford was convinced that a civil war would occur. Yet, most of the Crown Prince nobles believed they could still counter the Duke Faction and compete with them.
They were deluded into thinking that their power as royal nobles made that possible. This was the political style of nobles pursuing elegance.
‘The downfall of a nation has always come when foolish people run rampant.’
He couldn’t hand this kingdom over to wolf-like scoundrels. For now, he could only continue to suppress them with his authority.
How long that would last, he didn’t know.
Suddenly, Ghislaine’s face popped into Marquis Branford’s mind.
Always reckless and causing trouble, but miraculously bringing about fantastic results.
‘He’s an interesting fellow.’
Perhaps that unpredictable brat was indeed the last hope of the kingdom.
I felt like he might be the last hope of this kingdom.
Even he and the Duke Faction couldn’t predict the things that guy would do.
“Yeah, if you’re going to push someone, it might as well be that guy.”
The strong weapon he raised to fight against the Duke Faction, the young lord growing his strength the fastest in the North.
That was Ghislaine Perdium.
At some point, a faint smile appeared on the lips of Marquis Branford.
*
Desmond’s lord, Harold, asked his deputy standing before him.
“That guy is recruiting a large army?”
“Yes. It’s obvious he’s preparing for war. It’s estimated that the troop count will exceed 5,000.”
Currently, information from the Penris Territory wasn’t being properly communicated to other territories. Any suspicious individuals were being taken by the ‘Labor Assault Corps,’ and the information spreading outside the territory was being manipulated as much as possible.
Still, with such a massive operation, it was impossible to completely block information leaks.
After hearing the report from the deputy, Harold nodded slightly.
“Right, he definitely wasn’t an idiot. He may be foolishly rampaging, but he’s not stupid.”
Harold’s expression was different from before. He wasn’t angry, nor did he show confusion at Ghislaine’s actions. He was simply deep in thought, repressing the emotions welling up inside him.
After nodding a few times to himself, Harold asked the deputy again.
“How goes our preparations?”
“We’ve gathered all the supplies from the territory. It seems we can’t gather any more.”
Harold nodded a few times. He had the look of someone who no longer cared about the outcome.
“The losses are indeed significant.”
He had thrown in a massive amount of resources previously kept secret to secretly raise a merchant group to assassinate Ghislaine. Luring out a lord wasn’t a simple task.
But with the assassination failing, the merchant group was now dissolved, and all the resources they had vanished.
Considering it was used for the assassination of a lord, the dissolution of the group didn’t just end there. Everything related to that group also faced ruin.
Despite all they risked to kill Ghislaine, they ultimately failed. The losses were on a scale that couldn’t be easily recovered.
In the end, Harold had no choice but to resort to his last method.
To capture Ghislaine by force and kill him.
“What’s the status of the 2nd Corps monitoring us?”
“Currently, half of their troops are dispatched to support the Crown Prince Faction. It seems to be for road construction.”
“They’re underestimating us.”
Count Desmond chuckled. The kingdom army probably thought they couldn’t act recklessly if they were being monitored.
But if only half remained, they could crush them in an instant.
“What about our troop recruitment?”
“I’ve notified all vassals to summon troops. We’re currently gathering forces from various locations.”
“If he’s starting to recruit a large army, we need to gather more. We must overwhelmingly sweep them away and take that place.”
“If you say overwhelmingly…”
“No conscripts needed. Secure 30,000 armed troops.”
“…30,000?”
“Yes, tell them not to leave a single soldier behind and to bring everyone here. If they lack numbers, they’ll all lose their heads. We’ll also unify the troops from all our strongholds and fortresses. This is a full mobilization order. Do you understand?”
“Y-Yes, understood.”
The deputy bowed his head, breaking into a cold sweat.
Due to poverty, the average troop size of the northern territories is only about 1,000 to 2,000. Even for a large territory, it was hard to exceed 3,000.
But now Harold was talking about gathering 30,000 troops. This meant they would have to collect soldiers responsible for maintaining public order as well.
In other words, if they gathered those soldiers as well, 30,000 could indeed be secured.
It was this level of strength that led to Desmond being called the strongest in the North.
Harold leaned back in his chair, muttering with an expression still devoid of emotion.
While leaning and still wearing an expressionless face, he muttered.
“I’m glad Amelia succeeded in the rebellion.”
If that had failed, it would have been a huge disgrace. Raybold wouldn’t have been able to focus on the war with Ghislaine due to the worry.
Honestly, he had underestimated Amelia, but he was surprised to hear that she had taken down Jurgen, the greatest sword of the North, and quickly captured the territory on her own.
“She’s better than I thought. But how foolish to let just one heir slip away. Tsk tsk tsk.”
However, as thoughts of Davin Raybold crossed his mind, Harold clicked his tongue. After all, she was just a girl who had been reading books in her corner; there were limits to her capabilities.
If it weren’t for Ghislaine, he would’ve cleaned up Raybold’s rebellion himself.
“Are you currently at war with Baron Valua?”
“Yes.”
“Stop the useless things, and tell them to march their army and join me as soon as I start the war. I will push Baron Valua out of the way.”
“Understood.”
The deputy who answered hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking,
“If you start a war… it will mean you’re instigating a civil war, my lord. If you kill Count Penris, the Crown Prince Faction surely won’t sit idly by. This wasn’t part of the original plan, so I’m not sure how the Duke Faction will react. We have no justification either.”
At the deputy’s question, Harold closed his eyes for a moment.
Everything was tangled up because of Ghislaine. Amelia had succeeded in her rebellion, but because he had to face Baron Valua, he couldn’t fully utilize Raybold’s power.
In the meantime, Ghislaine had taken care of her own benefits and was now even constructing roads connecting all the territories of the Crown Prince Faction.
‘I can’t let this go.’
The Duke Faction was already furious with Harold for messing everything up. No, to be precise, it was Count Raoul Joseph, the mastermind behind the Duke Faction, who was furious.
So far, everything had been progressing successfully according to his plans.
Until that existence called Ghislaine appeared.
‘Damn those arrogant fools.’
It was Harold’s inner thoughts towards both Ghislaine and Raoul.
One was obstructing his every move, and the other was standing over him, giving only commands.
Especially, there were rumors that Raoul was planning to dispose of him and elevate someone else.
It was an intolerable humiliation and disgrace for the great lord of the North. Failing continuously and having someone else control his life…
‘Nothing matters anymore.’
The threads had gotten so tangled that they could hardly be undone. Even if it was regrettable, he had to cut through decisively. To do so, the priority was to kill Ghislaine.
This had become a matter no longer tied to the Duke’s orders. As the great lord of the North, restoring his fallen honor and pride had become an absolute necessity.
So Harold decided not to contemplate how the Duke would react. He resolved to wage war based solely on his judgment and decision.
Kill Ghislaine and conquer the North. That way, he could showcase his abilities once more.
Justification? Civil war? What does that even matter now? More importantly, he needed to wash away this wretched humiliation.
To deal with a madman, he had to become a madman himself. If anyone tried to stop him, the Kingdom Army wouldn’t sit idle either.
‘Then, I’ll negotiate with the Duke after that.’
If the Duke tried to push him away, he would have no choice but to persuade him with force.
Even if it meant aligning with the Crown Prince Faction.
He was cornered to the point of being willing to betray the Duke.
Thus, he gathered all the power from his territory without leaving any reserves.
All for the sole purpose of killing Ghislaine.
Harold opened his eyes again. A suppressed voice escaped his lips.
“This war has nothing to do with the Duke’s plan.”
“If so…”
“This is my plan. This time, I will definitely kill that crazy bastard and wash away all the humiliations up until now.”
The determination in Harold’s gaze was different from before. His eyes radiated a chilling bloodlust.