NOVEL NEXT Chapter 297
297 – It’s not time yet. (3)
Amelia felt a strong intent to kill the moment she saw Ghislaine.
‘Should I kill him now?’
He’s too much of a nuisance and too dangerous to leave alive. Just look at this situation.
Watching her slowly raise her hand, Ghislaine smirked.
“Stay still, Amelia. It’s not time to kill you yet.”
Amelia is a double-edged sword, a rose filled with poison. The Duke still doesn’t know her true nature or her real abilities.
She has no genuine allies. She’s a woman who knows only her own ambitions. That’s why she could actually be useful to him.
“You need to keep doing the unexpected against the Duke for me to have an easier time dealing with him.”
Right now, there’s no place he can confront the Duke and win. That’s why an unpredictable variable like Amelia is necessary.
In her previous life, the Duke’s power was weakened because of her, and she immediately showed her fangs. She even tried to stab Harold, who had become the Duke of the North.
So now, the more he moves around, the more Amelia will try to use that gap.
Of course, even Ghislaine, who prides himself on knowing her best, couldn’t guarantee anything.
Amelia sometimes pulled off truly unexpected stunts spontaneously.
While that could pose a risk to Ghislaine himself, it’s a risk he had to take to confront the powerful Duke.
“So think carefully right now, Amelia.”
If he were going to kill her, he would have tried to do so the moment he returned to this world. It’s true that circumstances have gotten in the way, but if he’s going to use her, he might as well use her to the end.
However, if she comes at him now, he’d have no choice but to kill her.
‘Is there only one opportunity…?’
He gripped his spear tighter. If they fought, he would need to pierce Amelia’s head in one shot. If he fails, with his current strength, he wouldn’t be able to win.
The guys next to her were also no ordinary folk. With sharp gazes, they were ready to strike at any moment.
“If a fight breaks out, I need to take those guys out first.”
He was currently too exhausted and quite injured. If he fought against Amelia’s army, the Penris Army present here would also be in danger.
If that happens, even if he kills Amelia, it would result in a significant loss. All the effort in defeating Harold with minimal damage would go to waste.
If the two of them fought now, it would only benefit the Duke.
Amelia would definitely be aware of this.
In time with her slowly rising hand, Ghislaine began to raise his spear slowly as well.
Along with that movement, the knights of Penris behind him also started to exude a fierce momentum. Amelia’s close associates and knights began to radiate a murderous aura as well.
In a suffocating atmosphere, Amelia narrowed her eyes.
“This might just be the opportunity.”
Ghislaine is dangerous. He has pulled off almost miraculous feats until now.
Even now, he couldn’t quite grasp what exactly he knew or what abilities he possessed. He definitely had to kill him.
“It’s definitely possible.”
Just by looking, Ghislaine and the knights following him looked extremely exhausted.
They were soaked in blood, and from the looks of it, they had only recently arrived without even being able to shake off the dust.
No matter how strong Ghislaine and his followers were, they wouldn’t be able to fend off an attack from the Raybold Army right now.
They might be tired too, but they were overwhelmingly superior in numbers.
It’s definitely a chance, and he had to kill him somehow, but he couldn’t easily raise his hand.
“If I kill this guy right now… the 3rd Legion and Perdium will hit us right away.”
If he killed Ghislaine here, it would become incredibly hard for him to manage the aftermath.
He hadn’t even been properly recognized by the Duke yet, and he couldn’t openly fight against the Crown Prince faction of Marquis Branford right away.
He couldn’t just confront the Crown Prince Faction of Marquis Branford right away.
Sure, there was justification, but occupying the position first and negotiating was an entirely different issue from attacking an opponent who arrived first.
But that wasn’t all there was to it. Perhaps such assumptions were the result of unconscious rationalization.
What she was truly worried about now was different.
‘I might die too.’
Amelia trusted her instincts. If she attacked now, it would be dangerous—her instincts kept sending signals.
‘Why?’
Even though she was in a favorable position, she still felt that way.
Even if she ended up fighting the Crown Prince Faction, she believed she might somehow find a solution, but the signal in her head kept ringing that she shouldn’t.
She bit her lip and slowly lowered her raised hand.
Seeing that, Ghislaine also smiled faintly and slowly readied his spear.
‘Is that the feeling I had in my past life?’
It was the same in her previous life. Amelia bizarrely managed to evade danger well. She definitely had a unique sense of crisis detection.
Thus, even in the realm of the Seven Strong of the Continent, they ultimately couldn’t capture her.
Of course, Amelia didn’t stop just because of that sense. She was also observing the situation.
‘Anyway, there’s no benefit in us fighting right now. It would only do the Duke Faction good.’
As long as the Duke Faction existed, her ambitions were nothing but dreams. However, if Ghislaine, having defeated Harold, teamed up with the Crown Prince Faction to confront the Duke Faction, there would certainly be opportunities.
There was no need for her to take the initiative and risk fighting the Crown Prince Faction.
‘This time, don’t kill me, Ghislaine. Let’s see how well you can go wild.’
At any rate, both of them knew that attacking each other would not benefit either side. Both shared a strong aversion to suffering losses.
As the atmosphere between the two settled a bit, those around them also gradually eased their tension.
After a moment of silence, Amelia asked curiously, “How did you know I would come?”
“Isn’t it obvious? You wouldn’t miss such a good opportunity, would you?”
Amelia twitched her eyebrows at that.
This wasn’t something obvious. It was something few could do. If anyone could, all the lords of the North would have acted.
Yet, Ghislaine spoke as if it were natural for him to think that way.
“Looks like you know more about me than I expected.”
“Of course, I probably know you the best in this kingdom… no, on this continent.”
“The best? How dare you?”
“Yeah, I watch your every move, so don’t do anything reckless if you don’t want to regret it.”
Ghislaine grinned aggressively as he warned, but Amelia responded with a nonchalant expression.
“Don’t say things that others might misunderstand. I’m no longer your fiancée.”
“… Is that how it works?”
“…”
“…”
An awkward silence lingered for a moment.
Ghislaine suddenly recalled memories from his past life. In his previous life, she would rush over to plant her flag whenever she saw the territories she had passed through.
It was so extreme that even his followers gave her bizarre nicknames like ‘Witch of the Flag’ and ‘Queen of the Land Grab.’
Even after Raybold was trampled, her tenacity was impressive. She repeatedly ambushed the Mercenary King’s army and seized other territories whenever she got the chance.
It was a famous story that the nobles of the Duke Faction had to come up with countless excuses to persuade her to return what she had taken.
If Ghislaine swept everything away with storm-like strength, Amelia chased after him with tireless perseverance. That’s how she maintained her strength throughout the year of war.
It could have been possible.
‘Now the Duke has no choice but to reach out to Amelia.’
Even if the Duke’s faction starts a civil war soon, there’s no one to handle the North. Ultimately, Amelia will take the place of the fallen Harold.
But the situation is different from the past when Harold swallowed the North. Now, the strongest in the North is him, and Amelia is not someone who will act for the Duke’s faction like Harold did.
She will become a wild card… no, a variable that won’t be controlled by anyone in the upcoming civil war.
‘She’s probably thinking about what she can extract from the Duke right about now. If she keeps at it, Raoul will surely have a headache dealing with her!’
As that thought crossed his mind, Ghislaine couldn’t help but chuckle. Regardless of their relationship, it was clear that Amelia was an extraordinary woman in many ways.
Ghislaine retracted his spear and turned his horse’s head.
“I’ll take my leave for today. Consider yourself lucky, Amelia.”
“When we meet next, you’ll have to scream your head off, Ghislaine.”
“Feeling confident, are we?”
“Yeah, I’m not planning to let you off easily like last time. Look forward to it.”
“Don’t say anything that would be misunderstood by others.”
“…….”
Ghislaine returned the same teasing he just received, chuckling as he rode away.
Amelia glared at Ghislaine’s retreating figure with a cold gaze. Honestly, she wanted to smash that guy right now.
But not today. It wouldn’t do her any good to lose what she had just to kill Ghislaine.
He was just an obstacle in her path. Not a target. That’s why she could hold back for now.
She had grander ambitions and goals.
Of course, she could easily torment Ghislaine in minor ways. She could set all the nearby towns ablaze and plunder them right away.
‘Meaningless actions.’
But that would just be a brief outburst without any real benefits. She wasn’t foolish enough to waste her power on such trivial matters.
“Let’s go back.”
Amelia withdrew neatly. If not now, she could catch another opportunity next time.
Watching the Raybold Army retreat slowly, the small number of Penris’s troops in the fortress let out sighs of relief.
Fighting in such a tired state was guaranteed to be fatal, so they had no choice but to feel tense.
Standing atop the castle wall, Ghislaine looked at Amelia as she departed and shook his head slightly.
After shaking off some form of regret, he laughed heartily and said, “Alright! Let’s leave behind just the minimal guard and head for Desmond Castle!”
*
Boom!
The castle gate of Desmond opened, and Ghislaine along with the Perdium Army entered.
As the Kingdom Army and Perdium Army followed suit, the people in the castle whispered in fear.
“We lost…?”
“How could we lose to an army of 30,000…?”
“What will happen now?”
They took pride in their territory being the strongest in the North. They thought that with the internal circumstances, Raybold, which had been mentioned alongside Desmond as the strongest in the North, could no longer compete.
Therefore, this defeat in the war hit them even harder.
And far beyond their shattered pride, there was a much more realistic concern.
“With the war over, there’ll be a massive requisition. The Kingdom Army and Perdium Army have arrived.”
“Aren’t they well-known for being poor even in the North?”
“There’s nothing more to give…”
As those living in the center of the territory, they were generally doing well. Harold had meticulously divided and managed the residences according to the level of the territory residents.
Even so, these people had to endure enormous expenses because of this war. And yet, they had lost.
As strong as the Desmond Army was, the invading forces must have suffered considerable damage as well. It was evident that the invading army would carry out forced requisitions to make up for their losses, leaving the territory residents of Desmond with no choice but to worry.
You would have seen it. Certainly, the invading army would force conscriptions to compensate for their losses, so the residents of Desmond’s territory could not help but worry.
Thus, they held their breath, afraid to even glance at Ghislaine, who entered confidently.
The same went for the retainers who remained in the castle. The retainers, who thought they would win, had not prepared to flee at all.
Before the results of the war could be properly revealed, Ghislaine had come rushing in, leaving them unable to gather their belongings and escape.
Still unable to believe what was happening, the retainers were dragged out one by one into the territory’s square.
Ghislaine looked at them with cold eyes. A few of Desmond’s retainers, now pale-faced, cried out.
“C-count! The war was not our intention!”
“We opposed it!”
“How could we have suggested attacking the Kingdom Army! That, that is treason! Treason!”
Everyone desperately begged for their lives in a futile struggle. But there were others who didn’t.
“Shut up! You shameless wretches!”
“Count Desmond will never be able to close his eyes in death!”
“If we fought with all our might and lost, so be it!”
They were still retainers loyal to Harold.
Although Harold was strict and cold-hearted towards his followers, he was an exceptional ruler of the territory with the dignity of a noble. Many swore loyalty to him out of admiration for his abilities and followed him sincerely.
Watching the retainers quarrel, Ghislaine spoke with annoyance.
“Handle it.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, soldiers moved and began pulling the retainers away.
“Uwaaaa! Please spare us!”
“You scoundrel invader!”
“It’s because we couldn’t kill that bastard sooner that we’re in this predicament!”
Amid the chaos, Ghislaine’s interest was piqued as she heard the final cry.
Dressed in quite luxurious attire, he must have held a high position in Desmond. He glared at Ghislaine as he shouted.
“If only I had aimed for you instead of your brother back then! I should have killed you first!”
“Hmmm…….”
“You trash! I regret not having destroyed Perdium earlier!”
As Ghislaine watched him struggling, she approached him on foot.
“And who are you? You seem to know quite a lot?”
“I am the Chief Officer of this territory! I am someone who has never even dared to look at the likes of you!”
“Oh…… then you must have been plotting to remove me alongside Harold all this time?”
“Yes! I was so engrossed in more important matters that I let a nobody like you slip through the cracks, resulting in this tragedy! If it weren’t for the Kingdom Army getting involved, I would have surely killed you this time!”
Not knowing the progression of the war, he could only think that Penris had won thanks to the Kingdom Army’s support.
The difference in troop numbers was that significant.
The Chief Officer of Desmond continued to glare at Ghislaine with bloodshot eyes.
“Do you think it ends here? Though we may have been defeated, the Duke Faction will not sit idly by! They will come for your head! At that time, even the Crown Prince Faction will be powerless!”
“Oh really? Is the Duke Faction so idle? I had thought they were too busy to bother until now.”
Ghislaine, already aware of the situation, laughed while the Chief Officer of Desmond bared his teeth in frustration.
“They have already marked you as a dangerous individual! They sent someone else to deal with you! That’s why the Count rushed out to take you down!”
“Oh…… is that so?”
Ghislaine smiled, finding it amusing. It seemed the Duke Faction was indeed moving to eliminate her.