[Chapter 261] Joyce McKinnon's Kaleidoscope

The Imperial Family made no secret of their intention to stop the Maindeland Army in the Wickaster County.

"They haven't hidden it before."

Cledwin muttered cynically, watching the countless silver helmets rise and fall like waves in the distance. Aidan, standing beside him, didn't understand his lord's words, but he didn't ask. He wasn't particularly curious.

For him, his lord's words were not something to be understood. They were something to be believed in.

Cledwin knew his close friend's heart, having been with him since childhood. He chuckled at Aidan's face.

"It means that you and I have successfully broken through the flimsy defenses the Imperial Family has been building all this time. There are just a few more opponents today than usual."

This time, he understood. Aidan nodded in agreement.

"That's right."

"It's good that they've gathered so many. Once we get past them, there are no obstacles to the Imperial Palace. It's beyond their capacity to gather such a large army."

A significant portion of that massive silver wave was made up of soldiers sent by the McKinnon family for Joyce McKinnon.

"Let's finish this quickly and go home."

Cledwin's not-so-funny remark caused the aides standing around him to erupt in laughter. It wasn't entirely flattery.

"Of course. How much do you miss your Highness?"

"The first child is the most exciting. I felt like I had the whole world."

"It's a pain in the neck, but it's really infuriating if your husband isn't there."

A female aide who had given birth to a child chillingly provided the final touch. "Of course," the other aides with children chimed in.

The reason why these people, who had originally revered and feared their lord, were now able to make jokes that straddled the line between disrespect and familiarity was because the atmosphere around the Grand Duke had become much softer since the arrival of the current Grand Duchess. And it was slightly endearing that he had immediately given food and drink to the entire army upon hearing the news of his wife's pregnancy. To all these people!

"Our Highness is human after all." "Did you just realize that? I knew it when I saw the way he looked at the Grand Duchess." "Quiet down. I knew it from the moment I heard that he had first come as an advisor." Of course, when a Maindeland person meets someone they think is the one, the world changes...

There was also a desire to tease their lord, who for the first time looked like a young man of their age, but there was another meaning to their happy murmurings.

The succession of Maindeland was completely secure.

Yes, everyone thought this war was "well begun." There were almost no casualties on their side, and the enemy was falling like straw. There was no reason for an army that was in high spirits, an army that was even engaged in a war to wash away a long-standing shame, to discuss the necessity of this fight now.

However, on the other hand, they were also uneasy. The fact that the only bloodline of the Grand Duke's family was directly on the battlefield. Of course, even if something happened to the Grand Duke, the Highness could rule... but what after that? And this was not just any place, but a full-scale war against the Vista Imperial Family. A bleak future was imagined in many ways.

Therefore, there were whispers that Cledwin should be in the rearguard and Aidan should be in the lead. Their worries were now completely dispelled.

The Grand Duke always wins. Everyone in this army, and most of the enemy, believed that. His track record made that belief possible. But now the people of Maindeland could declare it more solemnly and with peace of mind.

The Grand Duke will win. So we will win too.

The Grand Duke's direct participation in the war, which could have been seen as reckless, was now the prelude to a myth. Glancing at his subordinates who were overflowing with joy, Cledwin said briefly.

"It's just a matter of timing."

The Wickaster Earl was fond of the McKinnon family, who had a close relationship with his daughter-in-law, and therefore, to get him to testify that Joyce's death was the Grand Duke's doing, Caymil would have to carefully time the operation. Perhaps after the battle had begun.

With such a large army to fight, Cledwin wouldn't be able to spare any attention for Joyce, so the detachment he had hidden in Parisher beforehand had to do well.

Cledwin glanced at the sun to gauge the time. When he decided it was right, he raised his hand.

A clear trumpet call, signaling the advance, echoed across the entire field.

***

A faint trumpet call could be heard in the distance.

Joyce looked down at his teacup with a heavy heart. Despite being stationed on the front line and facing battle, he could still afford to drink tea... It was clear that the command staff didn't expect anything more from him than being a "rich kid."

But Joyce's gloom didn't stem from such a trivial matter. He was simply worried to death.

About his sister, whose whereabouts he didn't know at this moment.

He knew it too. Diane had escaped well before entering the devil's lair of the Imperial Family. The Grand Duke's shadow, sent by Nerys, had reported that the escape operation was very successful. As both families had foreseen, the former Duke of Lycanthrope had tried to kill Diane, who would be an obstacle to his daughter, and Nerys's subordinate, taking advantage of the opportunity, had taken sole responsibility for Diane's protection.

Joyce trusted Nerys. He trusted her friendship with Diane and her abilities. So Diane was probably receiving the safest protection anyone in this world could offer.

But no matter how capable, there were limits to what a person could do. If something unexpected happened, who would be able to help her from that far away?

Whether my "baby," my own flesh and blood, was comfortable, or if she was facing other dangers in a place even Nerys couldn't reach... compared to that worry, his own safety wasn't much of a concern.

"I knew it would be like this."

Last summer's trip to Maindeland. The barrage of advice Nerys had given him then, like a prophecy, had allowed the McKinnon Trading Company to reach the pinnacle of the upper echelon amidst the collapse of the Empire's existing powers. The McKinnon family's talent and effort had built the company to this extent, but without her precise advice, they wouldn't have been able to establish their position as the top trading company in the Empire so quickly.

It was simply that the last of the advice she had given him was finally coming to fruition.

After nearly dying at the hotel in Dreicum, he had braced himself for his own life, and indeed, his family's lives, to be targeted again. Nerys's prediction had been along those lines. There would be great turmoil in the Empire related to her, and the Imperial Family would inevitably target Diane, her only friend and the owner of a vast dowry.

At that time, she told him to trust himself and send Diane away from home for the time being. She said she would use her shadows to pull Diane out of the midst of this power struggle.

The prediction didn't end there. Nerys had subtly asked Joyce his opinion. Did he have any intention of using their plan to turn the McKinnon family and the Grand Duke of Maindeland against each other, by becoming bait himself?

Wasn't it obvious? Joyce was born stubborn and principled. Once he decided he needed to do something, he wouldn't resort to tricks. Moreover, if he could prevent his family from getting hurt, he would do it a hundred times over.

However, this plan was dangerous. The place he was in was teeming with soldiers loyal to the Imperial Family, and any one of them could be an Imperial assassin. The Wickaster Earl had even taken all the McKinnon family's soldiers with him under the Imperial order, so he was literally surrounded by enemies.

"The Grand Duke will take care of it."

How great a man was Cledwin Maindeland, whom he had seen firsthand in Maindeland? And how many and how dazzling were the achievements he had made since this war began?

So Joyce was playing the role of bait, sipping tea in this leisurely Parisher Castle while Cledwin's main force clashed with the Imperial troops led by the Wickaster Earl. He was looking forward to the end of it all so he could meet his sister.

"Di... are you doing okay? Can I rest assured, sis?"

That's when it happened. A commotion arose outside the reception room where he was sitting. Bang! Crash! Chase them! ... Assassin! Run!

The sound of something falling and breaking, followed by shouts from several people at once. Joyce bit his lip.

"Now."

His hand drew the sword that was strapped to his waist. A cold weapon he had learned to use for self-defense, but he wasn't very good at wielding it.

Tap-tap-tap. Footsteps, faster and lighter than usual, approached the reception room door. And when Joyce raised his sword and aimed it at the door.

Two men in black cloaks burst into the room.

The Grand Duke's knight order, "Platinum," would now be famous throughout the continent. So would the black cloaks they wore like messengers of death. Joyce scoffed at the attire, which made it obvious who they wanted to frame as the mastermind behind the assassination. If they were rescuers from the Grand Duke's side, they wouldn't have come dressed like that.

He had hoped that people from the Grand Duke's side would have taken care of this before it happened... but it seemed the timing wasn't right.

"Well, it's not like I can blame anyone, since my people are less skilled than the people of Her Highness the Princess."

Honestly, he was frustrated. He kept thinking.

If the McKinnon family could have protected Diane themselves.

If they could have prevented the Imperial Family from seeing the McKinnon family as mere pawns.

The Elandria family still had Valentine Elandria, didn't they? Even if the ducal family decided to send her to the Imperial Family someday, the exact timing would have reflected the opinions of the family members. At least that's what Joyce thought.

But the McKinnon family didn't receive that kind of treatment.

"They think we're just a lowly family with money."

It was tiresome. Not being someone worthy of respect, meaning, or value, someone they wanted to win over. The aristocratic society of the Empire, where the number of generations your ancestors had been nobles ultimately mattered more than actual power.

"That's why Mother and Father bet on Lady Nerys."

The McKinnon family's decision to join Maindeland was not solely due to past favors. The Earl and Countess were talented at selling good goods to good buyers that others couldn't see, and this time, they had decided to sell the McKinnon family to Maindeland.

However, business always had sunk costs. This time, the McKinnon Viscount was about to become that sunk cost.

"I have no complaints if we can make a good deal. Even if I die, our parents know who the real culprit is, so they will surely avenge me."

Joyce's eyes hardened. The men in black cloaks lunged at him simultaneously. Their eyes were emotionless, accustomed to killing.

Clang! Clank! The swords held by the men clashed against Joyce's sword, making a terrible sound. He managed to block them once, thanks to the teachings of his excellent masters over the years, but Joyce knew he would die before he could even take two breaths.

By now, soldiers should have been rushing in from outside. They had already caused a commotion outside, and even though it wasn't a battlefield, this place was still a kind of military base. But the hallway was quiet. It was as if the commotion earlier was just a play to create witnesses.

A silver blade flashed before Joyce's eyes. Clank, clank, screech! The blades scraped against each other, making a chilling sound. After a few exchanges of blows in an instant.

The opponent's blade, not missing a very short opportunity, rushed towards Joyce's neck.

"I'm going to die!" Joyce had a gut feeling. Suddenly, Diane's voice rang out.

"Brother!"

This must be a kaleidoscope.

***

"Brother!"

The dagger thrown by Talprin narrowly saved Joyce just as his head was about to be severed. The assassin's dropped sword flew high into the air before falling and striking Joyce's crown in a comical theatrical manner. Seeing her brother collapse, Diane screamed in horror.

The hallway, cleared beforehand by Silver Moon, was now filled with the shadows belonging to the Night Banquet. Talprin looked at the man in the black cloak still beside Joyce and raised one corner of his lips.

"It's a shame my subordinates almost failed their mission so foolishly..."

The shadows, who had infiltrated Parisher beforehand, were a little embarrassed because there were too many enemies and they were a step behind. Silver Moon wasn't an easy opponent, so they felt a little wronged, but if Talprin hadn't arrived in time, they would have completely failed their mission, so what could they say?

Talprin bared his teeth a little more.

"We'll settle that later. Now, let's start the party."

A blood feast, perfect for a night.