Chapter 150

Upon hearing those words, I doubted my own ears.

Even though there were more than six princes eligible to dispute the succession rights, it was hard to believe that the civil war would end in just about five years.

Until the war with the Architel Duke was settled, three princes, excluding the fifth prince entrusted to Count Walong and the fourth prince entrusted to Marquis Rang, were engaged in a three-way battle…

Was it really possible for the situation to be resolved in just a few months?

Next to me, Count Walt, who had been listening to Alps’s report, seemed to share my thoughts. He grabbed Alps’s shoulder and shook it vigorously, asking, “What nonsense is that?! How can those who were fighting as three separate factions just a few months ago unite in an instant?! Who did you get that intel from! And that brat claiming to be Lord Laurent’s son actually fell for such false information? Are you an idiot?”

If it were any other time, I would have tried to calm him down for getting so angry, but this time, I agreed with him.

Because, logically speaking, for a group that had been divided into three factions just months ago to come together in an instant was absurd.

After all, it took fifty years for the three kingdoms to unify after their establishment; it wouldn’t change in just a year.

Alps, shaken by Walt’s outburst, spoke as if expressing his grievance, “Not long ago, when I received the report stating that the Eraline Empire had unified, I couldn’t believe it either. So, I called the intelligence officer, berated him, and inquired from the intelligence unit, the Medica Guild, and even the direct merchants under Count’s grace… All the information was proven to be true. In short, it’s highly likely that this decree was indeed written by His Imperial Majesty of Eraline.”

While it was an unbelievable fact, if the Medica Guild, my own merchants, and the intelligence unit all had the same information…

It seemed that the civil war of the Empire had indeed come to an end.

However, even so… it didn’t make sense for someone like me, who had contributed nothing to the Emperor, to be treated on the same level as a duke.

Because a duke is a title that can only be received by someone who possesses wealth and power far beyond a count, and has demonstrated loyalty worthy of being recorded in history.

Then, wanting to hear more details, I removed Walt’s hand from Alps’s shoulder and asked, “If, as you said, the Medica Guild and my direct merchants all provided the same report, then Eraline must have been unified already. Who unified it?”

“The second prince, His Highness Adolf de Eraline, supported by Duke Brussels, has become the Emperor.”

The man who had formed a secret pact with me during my time as Baron Croilet, supporting me from behind and later recognizing the strengths of both our army and the system, absorbing and applying everything like a sponge.

The same man who, despite being merely a count at that time, attempted to win me over by offering a ministerial post and his daughter but ultimately failed.

Lastly, a politician who has continuously gained immense profits and political advantages through intermediary trade between Eraline and our family ever since.

Given that kind of person, it was highly likely he would achieve victory, and no matter how bad it turned out, he wouldn’t suffer as miserable a defeat as the kings of France during the Hundred Years’ War without Joan of Arc.

After hearing my statement, Alps handed me a letter bearing the seal of Duke Brussels and the seal of His Imperial Majesty of the Eraline Empire, saying, “The letter I just opened was a general notice and therefore I opened it at my discretion, but this is a letter from His Highness the Duke that must be delivered directly to Your Grace the Count.”

As I received the letter, I immediately broke the seal and began to read.

“To Count Siel von Croilet, the young genius of the era and the wall guarding the west of Eraline. I sincerely congratulate you on your great victory in the war against the Architel Duke. Also, though it is late, I heard that the girl named Ela whom you met after becoming a count has given birth to a daughter, and I have sent some clothes and toys for the child to our artisans, so please use them well. … (omitted) That aside, the reason I am sending this letter is to praise your achievements for His Imperial Majesty and to inform you of what has transpired until now… (omitted)”

Thus, I spent about an hour reading the lengthy letter written by Duke Brussels.

And then, I quietly opened my mouth.

“Duke Brussels is indeed remarkable, but His Imperial Majesty is truly terrifying… I never expected him to use such tactics to pressure the enemy…”

After that, I passed the letter to Walt, who was sitting across from me.

Walt read the letter I handed him and, with a shocked expression, tightly clutched the letter, saying, “No matter how close Your Grace the Count is to Duke Brussels, we have never supported His Imperial Majesty… I never imagined it would be a lie that ‘Count Croilet, indebted to Duke Brussels, joined the second prince’s faction to repay the favor and press the first and third prince factions.’ Isn’t that right? After all, we have never received any favors from the Duke!”

Walt said that, but from the perspective of others, it would seem like Duke Brussels had supported me when I secured the Count Nante territory.

Because, no matter how much I had enough justification and military power to instigate a rebellion without any support…

One of the factors that made it possible was indeed Duke Brussels’s tacit approval.

So in a world where justification and give-and-take are sometimes more important than life itself, it wouldn’t be too strange to say that now I could intervene in the civil war of Eraline since I have already crushed the Architel Duke, even if belatedly.

Thus, I patted Walt on the shoulder to calm him down, saying, “Count Walt, calm down.”

“But Your Grace! We truly have not received any favors from them, and moreover, we did not join the second prince’s side. Of course, everything worked out well, and the prince whom Duke Brussels supported won, but…”

“Calm down. And though we have not directly received material or troops, that damn duke tacitly allowed Baron Croilet to subdue Count Schwabin. If he hadn’t, the other nobles would have contained us, and it would have been much harder to stabilize the territory. So, even if we haven’t received any favor directly, it is true that we owe him.”

Upon hearing those words, Walt no longer argued.

“But it’s really astonishing. Even so, I doubt they would believe that just because we owe them a favor, we would move our troops… Let’s see… I will say that if I contribute to stabilizing the civil war by moving the military, I will be granted the Marquis Rang territory. Who would have thought that I could make two plausible lies and make those in the southeast of Eraline surrender on their own?”

Especially since that lie came right at the time I had a decisive victory over the knights and infantry of the Architel Duke.

So, the faction supporting the first prince in the southeast, realizing that they would lose 100% when facing the strong forces of the second prince faction in the northwest, surrendered to keep their own territory safe… What a brilliant strategy.

In place of the dazed Walt, Alps, who was next to him, looked at me with a serious expression and said, “Moreover, to defeat the third prince faction, His Imperial Majesty married the princess of Britannia three years ago to form a marital alliance. And Duke Brussels gave up the Baron Sealon territory in exchange for borrowing the pirate fleet and navy of Britannia for the side of the third prince. Then… on land, he mobilized all the nobles supporting Duke Brussels to march east… while simultaneously unleashing unlimited piracy on the other side… It’s truly outrageous…”

This might tarnish one’s honor, but…

In a civil war, after all, each side regards the other as a usurper with a fake emperor not recognized by Deus.

In other words, since we are serving an emperor without divine blessing and orders, there’s no need to preserve honor, just like being considered a pagan.

Moreover, if we look at actual historical records, when the Pope would excommunicate those who used long-range weapons during wars in Europe, he would still have no problem using catapults, crossbows, and longbows to slaughter when hunting pagans, claiming it was good culture…

Bringing in foreign troops wouldn’t greatly undermine one’s honor or prestige either.

“That’s how war is. As long as you have a justification, you do whatever it takes to defeat the enemy. And this information… The reason Duke Brussels has given us the dukedom is…”

All eyes turned to me in anticipation.

“Anyway, I can sense a strong intention to deceive us. Honestly, it pisses me off to think that they have used us as false pawns and are now trying to feed us excrement.”