Chapter 237

Three days later, we finally joined Leopold’s army.

Leopold welcomed us with a bright smile. Leopold said:

“The Grand Archbishop, truly an unfamiliar term… A new word will be added to the Empire’s dictionary, won’t it?”

“Elpinel has bestowed upon me an excessive duty, so I am doing my best with all my heart to not disgrace His divine will.”

“Oh, indeed, the Grand Archbishop. You seem to know Elpinel’s will so well, as if you’ve heard His voice directly.”

“Not at all. Elpinel resides high in the heavens. A humble servant like me merely acts under His shadow, following the words He has left.”

…Why is the atmosphere like this?

—

Even though winter was still a long way off, Leopold’s command tent was as cold as if a blizzard was raging.

Inside the tent, Leopold, the three Electors, Lacey, Bels, and I were gathered.

They all welcomed me and Ludwig, but the problem was Lacey.

Leopold, whatever his true feelings, welcomed Lacey, but Duke Bien was openly showing his displeasure.

To the point where one might mistake them for enemies rather than allies.

Lacey politely responded, brushing off Duke Bien’s sarcasm, but Bels, sitting next to her, looked like he wanted to beat Duke Bien to death right then and there.

If allowed, he might have sent Duke Bien straight to the gas chamber… no, the execution ground. Such a thing wouldn’t be tolerated, though.

It was understandable why Duke Bien was acting so hostile.

To the Duke, who had dreamed of becoming the Emperor’s father-in-law and wielding power, the sudden rise of a new faction must have been incredibly irritating.

If the witch’s subjugation succeeded, Lacey’s authority would rise even higher, so he must have wanted to crush her spirit from the start.

The problem was, Lacey wasn’t the type to be easily cowed by such sarcasm.

“…If we have time to waste like this, I might as well return to the north. What do you think, Your Highness Leopold?”

As if annoyed by their bickering, Duke Pailoon growled and turned to Leopold.

It was a threat to shut them up or he would leave.

It was practically a threat.

Leopold, meeting his gaze, flinched slightly.

Understandable. It’s rare for someone not to flinch when a guy like that glares at you threateningly.

Freide’s father, Waldemar Rianndel von Pailoon, was a man in his early forties with an intimidating presence.

His silver hair, resembling his daughter’s, was grown to his shoulders and swept back to reveal his forehead, and his beard was cleanly shaved.

His axe-like fierce and sharp eyes, combined with his upturned triangular eyes, gave the impression that he was glaring at you as if to kill you.

The scars crisscrossing his face like graffiti added to his ferocity.

A long scar ran from the corner of his left eye, tearing through his lips to his jaw, and a knife wound from his right cheekbone across the bridge of his nose to near his left cheek.

There were also numerous small scars on his right eyebrow, below his left ear, and at the edge of his forehead.

He looked more like a mafia boss who had been rolling in the underworld for twenty years than the Empire’s highest-ranking noble.

The only resemblance to Freide was in his eyes and hair color.

“…Duke Pailoon is right, Duke Bien. This place is prepared to discuss future strategies, so it would be wise to postpone unrelated discussions.”

“But, Your Highness—”

“Moreover, you know how much help Grand Archbishop Elmain has given us, don’t you? He has revealed the despicable Isabella’s true nature to the world and brought so many clergy to subjugate the witch. We should bow our heads in gratitude.”

Leopold cut off Duke Bien.

The Duke’s face turned slightly red, but instead of openly showing his anger, he chose to quietly step back.

A natural decision. With the Crown Prince and the Duke pressuring him simultaneously, continuing to push would only result in loss.

“…If there are no objections, let’s begin the strategy meeting.”

Finally, everyone’s gaze turned to the map spread on the table.

Duke Bien’s face was still bright red, and Duke Pailoon was staring intently at the northern part of the map.

Lacey, quietly praying with an enigmatic smile, and Ludwig, sighing as if in distress.

‘What a mess.’

[With each holding different intentions, isn’t this to be expected?]

Leopold also looked down at his right hand with a gloomy expression.

Golden threads fluttered between his fingers, sparkling.

…The strategy meeting began.

—

“As expected, the rebels have conscripted even civilians who have never wielded a spear, amassing a force of up to thirty thousand… If we rashly engage in battle, we could find ourselves in a precarious situation.”

“But the east is still unstable. Before Kaharr’s main force arrives, we must suppress the rebellion as quickly as possible…”

“The same goes for the north. I don’t think Georg and Duver alone can hold the north. If this war drags on past the deadline His Highness promised, I’ll have no choice but to return.”

Duke Pailoon drew a firm line.

If the war dragged on, he’d drop everything, even the witch hunt, to stop the beastmen first.

It wasn’t something to criticize as selfish.

The chances were low, but if the north fell and the beastmen descended into the mainland… it would cause an unimaginable catastrophe.

“So, we’re saying we’ll have to fight a full-scale war against three enemies at once… Whether we win or lose, the damage will be enormous.”

Leopold sighed, clearly displeased.

But there seemed to be no other way. Time was of the essence for us.

If we wasted too much time defeating Isabella and both the east and north were breached at the same time, the Empire could be finished that very day.

…Ah, come to think of it, there was also the issue with the west.

“Are the fairies okay? As you know, Your Highness, they might take this opportunity to attack.”

“That’s fine. They’ll be too busy being wary of the half-humans to move right now.”

Half-humans? I’d heard about the plan to use the Dwarven Republic, Himmel, to keep Alvheim in check… but I didn’t think Himmel would agree so easily.

Not without some significant price…

“It seems you’ve already finished negotiations with Himmel. What conditions did they demand?”

“Well, that’s something we’ll never know. The letter requesting help from the half-humans was sent to Alvheim, not Himmel.”

Leopold smiled meaningfully.

“Alvheim?”

“Even if I discussed it with Miss Asha, there’s no guarantee she’d readily accept. And even if she did, if Himmel opposed or made unreasonable demands, it would be troublesome… So, I played a little trick. Instead of giving the letter to Miss Asha, I handed it to Miss Ferne, as if she had intercepted a letter meant for Himmel. In exchange for Himmel’s help, we’d accept any conditions.”

So, Ferne was used as a double agent.

That alcoholic fairy didn’t seem too fond of her own country anyway.

“Alvheim will be busy debating the authenticity of the letter right about now. Himmel will be confused as to why the fairies are suddenly wary of them. This way, we’ve blocked the fairies without any loss. At least for the time being, we can assume the fairies won’t attack.”

“That’s a relief.”

He’s certainly competent in this regard.

Though it seems like he’s being pushed around by the Electors…

But then again, Leopold is still just a prince, not the Emperor, so he has no choice but to rely on their troops for the war.

“Then the remaining issue is how to win a quick decisive battle against thirty thousand troops with only ten thousand… Any good ideas?”

“They’re just a ragtag bunch, aren’t they? Surprisingly, if we break through once, they might collapse like a house of cards.”

Duke Bien shrugged as if there was no need to worry.

“It’s a reckless judgment, but… it’s not impossible. You can give farmers spears, but you can’t instill bravery in them in a short time.”

“They’re also likely feeling guilty for going against Elpinel’s will. If the holy knights lead the charge, they might even hesitate to raise their spears.”

Duke Pailoon and Lacey also argued that the conscripted soldiers wouldn’t pose much of a threat.

Well… I’m not so sure.

Instilling bravery might be hard, but driving them to madness isn’t that difficult.

In any case, there was no other alternative.

I suggested that while Leopold’s forces distracted the enemy, a small elite unit could launch a surprise attack on the Venes territory to deal with Isabella first…

But unless Isabella is a fool, she’d notice the presence of the surprise attack unit as soon as I, Lacey, or other masters didn’t appear on the battlefield.

If that happened, the unit would be isolated, surrounded, and picked off one by one. So, I had no choice but to give up on that idea.

In the end, Leopold decided to engage in a full-scale battle with Ernst’s gathering forces, and the Electors agreed.

The battlefield would be the Zeren Plains—a vast plain about a week’s march from here.