Chapter 165: Wicked Plot
I was dressed up in the waiting room for the New Year's party entertainment.
The knightly families from all over the territory had gathered at New Nellie Castle to greet the new year.
It was two days ago that all the knights in the service of the Quardenze family had gathered, and today the banquet had begun in the morning.
How is your neck?
I am fine.
This armor was actually used by Kasia-sama.
The main event of the day was a trick that Fanny and I would each perform.
This year, my performance will be a one-woman show called “The Red Devil and the Princess Goryohime,” A play based on my grandmother and grandfather's old tale. I play two or three roles by myself, but basically I play the grandmother's role .
I was not particular about the costume, but Tesh took the trouble to prepare armor from the warehouse for me.
It was a little awkward to use such a relic for a banquet performance, but my father had given me permission to do so, and I could not refuse the old servants who were peacefully talking about my grandmother's past her and taking care of the armor.
'Ah. I understand.'
The shape of the armor is the same for men as it is for women, so I can wear it and not be seen as a cross-dresser.
If it had been a video game-style bikini armor, I would have been a complete pervert.
I thought it was small, but it's surprisingly wearable.
This armor was worn by my grandmother when she was still young, in her early elementary school days in prehistoric Japan.
Each part seems to be divided into smaller pieces, and thanks to the servants who adjusted it to fit my body shape, I was able to put it on without too much difficulty. If I were on my own, I would never have been able to put it on, and it would have been difficult to take it off.
Fortunately, I did not know my grandmother's face, so the perverse act of wearing the girl's armor barely gave me an erection.It was a close call.
I had prepared a replacement for the treasured sword. Please take this one.”
It seems that the props used in the play were prepared to look as good as the armor.
One of the servants, holding the sword in both hands, kneels down on one knee and offers it to us with his arms outstretched like a school principal handing out a certificate of merit.
The sheath of the treasure sword has a mosaic pattern of alternating pale blue, blue-green, and white minerals embedded in it, and the picture of a snake expressed in an abundance of bright jade is quite a sight to behold.
It looked as if a snake was swimming on the surface of the water, glistening in the sunlight.
Is this a water snake?
Yes, it is. I prepared it for you because I thought it would fit in with your story.
The water snake is a folk tale widely believed in and around New Nellie City.
It is a fairy tale about a snake that swims up a large river to reach a mountain that rises upstream. Eventually, the snake reached the top of the mountain, where it is said to have transformed into a serpent with powerful magical powers.
The scabbard of this treasure sword seems to be made in the motif of a serpent fighting against the torrent of a great river.
As I put my hand on the scabbard to see if there was any design on the sword body, the door was opened.
The door was opened. I am sorry, but please come to the hall immediately.
As soon as he entered the room, Tesch sent a servant in charge of the wardrobe behind him.I could tell from his appearance that this was an urgent call.
I wondered if I should take off my armor, but it had taken me an hour to put it on.
The fact that Tesh had the wardrobe mistress down means that there is no time to spare to change.
I'll head there right away. I'll be right there.
We leave the dressing room and walk down the corridor at a brisk pace.The sound of metal scraping against metal was grating on his ears, perhaps due to the unfamiliarity of his armor.
I don't know what the call is about, but I don't think Tesh has heard the details either.
Excuse me, sir. I have brought the boy with me.
The hall was supposed to be the place where a banquet was being held since morning, but from the other side of the door, I could not feel any of the lively atmosphere that is characteristic of a drinking party.
The silence made my heart beat a little faster.
I enter.
When I stepped into the hall, I could smell the smell of the military.
My father and the knight are sitting around a long desk in the center of the large room with difficult expressions on their faces.
The knight's family members who would have been with him seem to have already left the room.
The knights were dressed in neat, military-like clothes, probably because they were in the middle of a banquet.
“Father, is there something wrong?”
A couple of old men's eyes widened when they saw me.
I wondered what their surprise was, but I guess they realized that the armor I was wearing belonged to my grandmother. I felt their eyes were not on my face, but a little lower down, on my armor.
The armor was similar in shape, but different enough in design to identify the individual. No wonder some of the older generation remember their grandmother's armor.
'Wilk, come here too.'
I follow his words his and take the seat that is conveniently left open for me, facing my father.
As soon as I sit down, the knight sitting next to me opens his mouth.
The territory of Evenapis has been attacked. A message was received earlier today, and a report has just been sent to the castle.
I see.
It seems that the Evenapis family, which is also my mother's family, was attacked by another family just after the new year.
The Evenapis territory has enemies to the west and south. That area is a region where a large number of noble families of halfway independent power that do not belong to either the Kingdom of Levioth or the Jinkaen Empire are huddled together.
Could it be that the western part of the region, left thin by the absence of the knights, was attacked?”
I look at my father and ask the question.
Just as the knights of the territory are currently gathering in the city of Newnery, the knights of the Evenapis territory gather in the city where they are based during this time of the year.
The city of Hartinos, the home of the Evenapis family, is located in the eastern and southernmost part of the territory, so the western side of the territory will be thin on the ground this time of year.
It is a simultaneous invasion from the west and the south.”
My father answered shortly. This meant that more than one noble family had attacked the Evenapis.
Even independent forces can join hands or flip-flop when their interests coincide.
Due to the spread of a strange disease caused by the magical beast Elsinia, the Evenapis family is currently in a situation that could be called a windfall.
The reason why they have not been invaded by independent forces so far is due to their alliance in the name of the Kingdom of Levios and their strong relationship with the Silopea and Quordenze families in the north.
To the west, the enemy's main anancetral army has already crossed the border and entered the city. To the south, there seems to be fighting in the city of Hartinos, but fortunately, the enemy forces have only been confirmed to be mainly knights.
One of the knights added, as if continuing his father's words his.
In light of the contents of the report, it is highly likely that the noble families on the west and south sides are working hand in hand. The west side.
Considering the strength of the territory, it would not be difficult for the Evenapis family to repel one or two independent forces with their military strength. Rush of other independent noble families to join the war.
As allies of the Quardenzes, it would be better for them to send out reinforcements and cooperate with the early crushing.
What do you think?
In response to my father's question, I told him what I thought.
I think that if we send out reinforcements from the Kuordenze, we can kick them out of the country early.
The problem is the main ancestral army coming from the west, but considering the number of troops, I think we can kick them out without the need for the nobles to leave.
Since the geographical advantage is on the side of Evenapis, the enemy nobles will flee back to their own territory if the number of troops is reduced to a certain extent. Defense and invasion are different.
Hmm.”
…… And I am sure that the enemy is well aware of that. There may be some other movement, and we should explore the surrounding area while preparing reinforcements.”
Even if there were no alliance, there is no way that a small aristocratic family could defeat the martial Evenapis family even if they joined forces somewhat.
Ironically, it is the independent noble families that understand this the most, as they have been exposed to the violence of the Evenapis family for many years.
It's the beginning of the year and the knights are away, so let's attack them. I don't think there are any fools who think optimistically that if they are lucky, they will get the territory ……. If there were If there were, I would like to ask them how they have been able to maintain their independence until now.
In other words, there must be some kind of scenario that will lead to victory in this invasion.
My father affirmed my statement, still looking at me with the same difficult expression.
I knew my father suspected that there was something behind this invasion.
I already know something,” He said. There was an uproar in the Galiana household.
The Galiana family?
'It seems that some members of the family who were unhappy with the current head of the family have rebelled against him.Many of the families there are close to Atterahan, and they probably moved to eliminate him before he could consolidate his position in his position. The capital in the spring.
The Galiana family had joined the Quardentze allied forces in the Battle of Nambonan City.
If the spring comes as it does, the Galiana family will be completely recognized as a Levios Kingdom Quordentze noble family. Although it may be too late for them, this winter is their last chance to escape.
And because of his commoner background, Viscount Galiana has been taken lightly within the Galiana family, so it is not surprising that there are those who are considering eliminating him, whether they actually do so or not.
It is a pity that Viscount Galiana was killed in a silly power struggle, because he was an aristocrat and a good man who understood what he was talking about.
If he survived, I wonder if he could be employed as an official merchant of the Quardenze family or as my commercial advisor. It would be impossible to have a male ancestor who is not related to me by blood.
Is Viscount Galiana safe?
He has been aware of the discord in the family for some time, and has taken refuge in Quardenze with his own forces.
My father tossed the letter, and it glided across the desk to me.
I skimmed through it and read it. “I'm sorry to just barge in. A member of the family has rebelled, and I was wondering if you would be willing to lend the Quardenze family your assistance. As the rightful head of the Galiana family, I fully accept the intervention of the Kuordenze family.”
The text could be interpreted as the Galiana family vassalizing the Kuordentse family.
I wonder if it is a characteristic of the Nambonan merchants that they do not just get up when they fall down.
I have been consulted about it for some time.”
As can be seen from the current five noble families of the Kingdom of Levios, the current era of miscellaneous noble families will soon come to an end. I have heard that Viscount Galiana also has similar thoughts.
Viscount Galiana may be thinking of consolidating his position as the oldest member of the faction by quickly vassalizing the Quardenze family.
Considering his skillful evacuation and his villainous face, the rebellion seems to have been Viscount Galiana's strategy.
It is hard to believe that the entire Galiana family plotted the rebellion ineptly, “He said. There are too many followers in Galliana Milord's hands, and she will not be defeated so easily.
If they wanted to easily succeed in their rebellion, they would have to kill the Viscount Galliana within Galliana's territory.
If you kill him in his own territory, he can be stopped from talking as much as he wants, and no matter who becomes the new head of the family, it is like non-interference in internal affairs,……, And the other families can't complain.
But sometimes that is harder than it seems.
As my father said, Viscount Galiana has a very large number of follower soldiers as his pawns.The reason is simple: Viscount Galiana is a slut.
Among the main ancestors, the main ancestor born between the slave ancestor and the slave ancestor, that is, the child born with the blessing of the spirit, has a strong sexual desire. Comparable to that of ordinary men.
Naturally, they do whatever they want, and they can do what they want.
I could n't decide if this was serious or a joke, but Viscount Galiana told me that he had never performed a hand job in his life.He is a man full of romance whose spigot is always inside a woman.
The squires in Viscount Galiana's hands are, in essence, children he has made by having women here and there. With such a large number of guards, it would not be difficult for him to escape from Galiana's territory.
If he missed it, that would be the end of it. No nobleman would support a member of the House of Galiana who was a renegade vassal. Especially the head of the House of Aterahan.
The Aterahan family values righteousness, so it is not that they do not accept rebels who go against reason, such as the expulsion of the head of the family,…….
As with any aristocratic family, to allow or support the banishment of the head of the family would be to sow the seeds of disaster in the family.
Unless the head of the family is a dark lord who cannot exterminate magical beasts and spreads misfortune to the surrounding area, he will not be recognized so easily.
In order not to destroy one's own house by the boomerang theory, it is unlikely that a rebel will be recognized as long as there is a legitimate head of the family.
…… Even if the other house were to recognize the rebel, it would be after the dust has settled.
Even if the rebel is recognized, it would be only if the rightful head of the family abandons his attempt to regain his position or fails to return for an extended period of time, thereby solidifying the rebel's effective rule.
It is very difficult to say whether this would really be possible.
If the Quardenze family, which has the cause of helping the unjustly chased Galiana family head, makes a move, the surrounding Quardenze noble families will also move in tandem.
The city of Avraur, the Galliana family's stronghold, would soon fall.
If they were to plot a rebellion, they would have to consider what to do if they missed Viscount Galiana.
Is it possible that the invasion of Evenapis territory and the disturbances in the Galliana family are linked?
It is not impossible.But that alone is a very poor plan.It cannot even be called a plan.
With the power of the Quardenze family, it is not impossible to deal with both problems at the same time.
It would be much more realistic for Galiana Milord, intended to be exiled by her family members, to move to invade the interior of Quordentse.”
It is true that my father is right, and there is even a possibility that Viscount Galiana will betray the Quordentse family.
The knights and soldiers who are on the ground, such as the nobleman's army led by a large number of followers, must be very tense.
The father exhaled and left the rest of the explanation to the knights.
The most pressing issue was the countermeasure against the invasion of the Evenapis family, and the conversation proceeded with the idea of preparing reinforcements for the time being.
In particular, it is important to deal with the main ancestral army that has entered the western part of the country, and the Galiana family disturbance does not require such an urgent response.
With all the knights in attendance, the military discussions proceeded smoothly.
The basic policy was for the knight families in the southern part of the Quordenze territory to form an army and suppress the enemy in concert with the local Evenapis army.
It was at the stage where they had to gather troops for reinforcements.
A loud “Come in!” Was heard from the other side of the door, and one of the military officers entered the hall as if he had just fallen down.
“Urgent news! General Gulfis is engaged in battle with the old Voestra's main ancestral army! At the same time, a detachment is approaching Nambonan City! The general of the detachment is Spierzeig Verret! This is also the main ancestral army!
Since everyone in the room except my father and I were knights or ex-knights, we were not as buzzed as the rest of the small army at this news.
In fact, the room was filled with an ear-splitting silence. I looked at the military officer with such attention that I stared at him and kept my mouth shut.
Go on.”
My father threw a low voice to cut through the silence, and the military officer straightened his posture, raised his voice, and continued his report.
He said that at the frontline base, his grandfather was engaged with several main ancestral forces of the former Voivostra, and that another unit of the Spiaseik family was approaching the city of Nambonan.
According to the military officer, the battle at the frontline base, which began on January 3, is expected to be still ongoing today, January 7, and the city of Nambonan may have already started fighting depending on the troops.
When the report was over, the military officer collapsed and fell to the ground, as if he had lost strength in having accomplished his role.
His dingy clothes and facial expression indicated that he had been riding his horse through the night.
Even so, it was a very early arrival for a messenger from Nambonan City. It was a good thing that I had instructed them to strengthen the communication network within the territory in response to Roomon's recommendation.
My father did not try to hide his grim expression his and muttered under his breath.
I have no doubt that …… Spierzeig is behind this.
The invasion of the Evenapis family, the rebellion of the Galiana family, and the large-scale counteroffensive against the Quardenze territory.
My father was convinced that the Spiaseik family was definitely in control of all of this.
The Galiana family, which has discord within the family, “Will not have time to interfere with the Kuordentse family if they rebel in line with us.
To the independent forces opposed to the Evenapis family, he said, “If you invade with us, the Quardenzes will not be able to send reinforcements.
The Quardenze family's influence was weakened as a result, a development that was desirable for the old Voivodeship, even though they were trying to show advantage to their opponents.
The financial problems of the old Vojstra, as mentioned by Roomon, would be relieved if the city of Nambonan could be looted.
It was no exaggeration to say that they had once called themselves a royal family.
He said, “It is imperative that we reinforce General Gulfis. This is our first priority.”
The knights replied in unison. Their voices were filled with a sense of urgency.
It is not good to have the city of Nambonan taken now. Raise an army as soon as possible, and fast.
What?
Each knight straightened his back and waited for his father's next instruction.
Evenapis,” He said, “But we will only reinforce the city of Hartinos. The command is at …….”
The Quordenze family has no choice but not to send reinforcements, as it would be a matter of reputation to abandon the Evenapis family in its hour of crisis.
My father named several knightly families in the southern part of the Quordenze territory who would be in charge of reinforcements and told them who the general of the reinforcements would be.
I think the most pressing issue is with the main ancestral army advancing in the west, but can we leave that side alone? As I pondered this, my father added, “Merly told us.
Merly told me that there are reinforcements on the western flank. I don't know where they are, but we can count on them now that we need as many troops as possible. Careful, the main ancestral army may appear in the city of Hartinos as well. Our priority is to hit them first.”
I thought of the map and wondered where the reinforcements would come from, but the Silopea family was the only one I could think of in terms of location.
Perhaps the knights were wondering where the reinforcements were coming from, but they were not in the mood for such carefree questions right now.
Well, since my mother, who is from the Evenapis family, said it would be all right, it would be better to trust her.
The Galiana family's disturbances will be put on hold for the time being. Keep a close watch on Galiana Milord to make sure she doesn't get too carried away.
If this happens, Viscount Galiana, who has taken refuge in the Quordenze territory, is like a bomb.
If the Spierzeiks were to sweet-talk him into agreeing to their demands, an enemy would suddenly appear in the interior, and this would be a major crisis for the Quordentse family.
My father presented a general policy for the defense of the city of Nambonan, and the knights hurriedly worked out the details.
As I watched this scene, I felt a sense of irritation that bordered on indignation.
I wondered how long it would take to get to the city of Nambonan with the army up and ready to go.
Even as I was doing this, the city of Nambonan might be under attack by Spiaseik's army.
According to the message, Spiasek's army was estimated to have less than 40,000 soldiers, while the Quardenze army, which was originally stationed in Nambonan, was estimated to have 64,000 soldiers. There will not be much time, but if we recruit from the surrounding villages and towns, the number of soldiers will increase even more.
I think it would be better to rush in and fight with the local soldiers while the number of soldiers is still higher.
As a lover of love and double peace, I would prefer to avoid fighting against the nobility, but there is no way I would feel nothing if my city were to fall.
Father.”
And what is my father hesitating to do, he has not shown me the most important thing. It is the nomination of a general for the defense of Nambonan City.
Right now, I am the only one who can take on the main ancestral army that is attacking Nambonan City.
Even an army with a large number of knights might be able to drive them back. Is something we should not do.
Under the current circumstances, where we cannot read how deep-rooted the Spierzeig family's schemes are, it would be a bad move for my father to leave the city of New Neri.
My father must order me to be the general-in-chief of the defense of Nambonan City and reinforcements for my grandfather.
……What?”
It was a reply, as if he didn't want me to call out to him.
Come to think of it, Viscount Galiana had told me.
In the Battle of Nambonan, the only enemies were commoners.But this time, my opponent was Spierzeig Verret, the heir apparent and next head of the Spierzeig family.It would be a battle between the main ancestor and the main ancestor.
My father must have already decided in his mind that I would be the general.
I knew better than anyone that he would not be so foolish as to invite a crisis into the Quardenze family out of love for his own child.
If I waited, my father would appoint me general by the end of the war council, but right now I feel that even the time to wait for that is too short.
I know that I am just one step short of being ready.
All I have to do, then, is to encourage him to take that step.
I put my hand on the Water Serpent's Treasure Sword that I carried at my waist.
