Chapter 21 - Trials and Judgement

As morning approached, we were surprised by a letter sent directly by the messenger of the Flora Kingdom. The contents of the letter were not too important, just an invitation to a trial managed by the kingdom to find a peaceful way or chaos caused by "Us".

 Well... I don't care about all that. But, it seems our parents are a little worried about what will happen.

 We enjoyed breakfast a little with unusual pressure.

 But, Chiyuki and I enjoyed this breakfast. Especially with the long-awaited letter. The prediction that they would take the peaceful path was caused because some of their food supplies had been destroyed by our small troops.

 Which fool starts a war on an empty stomach?

 To win a battle is not calculated from the number of troops. Playing with the mentality and pressure of a large army is very satisfying. I can't stop smiling at this good news.

 "Onii-sama, isn't this what we've been waiting for?" said Chiyuki breaking the atmosphere.

 There was nothing wrong with that question. However, both of our parents were still confused by Chiyuki's words.

 Mercedes, who had been pouting all this time, also joined our conversation, "Master! Don't think I'm not involved in this! I've also tried hard!"

 This one is also true, all information regarding the storage of royal food supplies is inseparable from Mercedes' interference. Who would have thought that by giving her the privilege of managing prisoners, Mercedes immediately sought sensitive information regarding the military hierarchy of the Flora Kingdom.

 As a result, several weaknesses of the Generals and military leaders were successfully secured. As someone who upholds confidentiality, I will return it to them. Of course, their small scandals and corruption are nothing compared to the damage caused.

 "Good job, Mercedes," I said to praise her.

 Mercedes was still pouting hearing my praise.

 Well... it would be a shame if she worked in a bad mood. So, I forced myself to feed her mouth using my cutlery.

 This technique is usually used by lovers to feed each other and create a romantic atmosphere.

 How effective is this technique? We'll see later.

 I immediately took some of my remaining food, took it until it felt enough, and directed it to Mercedes' mouth.

 "Mercedes, open your mouth..."

 Mercedes who saw this rushed to open her mouth and approached my mouthful. One full mouthful was able to make both of her ears move together. I can understand why she was so happy with this technique.

 However, it all did not go smoothly with the terrifying aura emitted by my beloved little sister.

 Yep, that cold and piercing gaze penetrated me.

 Our parents who realized this change gave me a small code to calm Chiyuki down. With the remaining food that was not much, Mercedes forced me to feed her more and occasionally smiled at Chiyuki. She did it on purpose to provoke Chiyuki's reaction.

 Since when was I used as their toy pawn?

 "Master ~" This time Mercedes leaned her body on me. Chiyuki's reaction was quite dangerous because she was holding the meat knife that was provided.

 The knife was quite blunt because it was designed to cut meat that was not too hard. But, when Chiyuki threw it at Mercedes. The knife stuck in the wall and left only the handle. Quite fast for a blunt knife thrown from a girl's hand.

 "Mer-Ce-Des" with her stuttering words. Chiyuki immediately approached Mercedes who pressed her body against me.

 "Master~" Mercedes just ignored Chiyuki's words and pressed her body even more against me.

 What about me?

 I who was already a little used to this incident understood what would happen.

 Of course...

 Without power.

 What can I do?

 Right now, I can only surrender to the situation.

 On the other hand, the wolf girls who were looking at Mercedes also had the same reaction as Chiyuki. They held the small knife in their hands tightly.

 Oh! No!

 I hope this is just my feeling.

 One Chiyuki is already troublesome, let alone a platoon of Chiyukis wolfpack.

 I hope these girls are not what I think.

 Yep, I hope.

 At least, this time I feel what my parents feel.

 [...]

 The throne room of the Flora Kingdom looked different. Rows of benches and chairs were arranged side by side. Even the commoners were busy preparing benches to watch the trial from a distance.

 From the King's private room, the King was in his worst condition. He remembered his good friendship with Duke Flora, his childhood friend and confidant while studying at the royal academy. With this incident, their relationship seemed more strained than before. The King felt guilty about this incident when meeting with his General, he felt very guilty when he included Duke Flora as a traitor to the kingdom. However, all that changed after Duke Flora killed one of his war generals and allowed his troops to return to the kingdom.

 Allowing the remaining troops to retreat and cutting off food supplies. These two incidents indicated one thing, Duke Flora was angry with him. This was a big problem if Duke Flora became a traitor to the kingdom. He didn't know what would happen, but his instincts told him that it would be a big problem.

 A small knock was heard, and an aide to the King came in and gave some small news.

 "Your Majesty, Duke Flora has arrived and it seems he brought his small army. What are we going to do?" asked the aide.

 "Of course, we will entertain him, what else can we do? Our material damage is greater than the casualties. Don't you know our current situation?" The King's annoyance was heard loudly. The King was very upset with the state of his kingdom.

 Some rebellions from the people could occur, if they knew the current condition of the kingdom. Their food supply could only last for three months and they had to buy it immediately from the neighboring kingdom.

 The problem is.. will Duke Flora let them do it?

 The King knew very well what he was going to do. Duke Flora was the best student from the royal military academy and it was proven by turning back the royal troops and then beating them back.

 This news also spread widely to the people of the Flora Kingdom, where they were very impressed with Duke Flora's courage.

 The King immediately went to his throne and welcomed Duke Flora's arrival.

 Right in front of the entrance to the royal palace, a vehicle made of iron attracted the attention of several royal soldiers. On the iron body was the symbol of Duke Flora and they understood what was inside.

 The soldiers on guard stopped them while waiting for orders from their superiors. Before the order could be given, the vehicle left the gate of the royal palace.

 The King who heard this news panicked and ordered to return to see Duke Flora.

 One thing is for sure, the King was shaking with fear after hearing this news. At that moment, a bird carrying a letter on its leg came to the King. The bird sat on the King's hand.

 Realizing that the message was addressed to him, the King immediately read the contents of the message. Instantly, the King screamed and panicked.

 "Troops! Bring the troops here!" said the King in panic.

 Everyone on the throne rushed to form a security line to protect the King.

 Suddenly, a thunderous sound came from the sky. An object like a flock of large birds approached the royal palace. The bird seemed to vomit something on its back and fell on a red object.

 The King who witnessed this was surprised by a flag that fluttered down from the sky. It was the flag of the Flora Kingdom and the King suddenly fainted.

 When the King fainted, the letter in his hand fell and answered what they would see at that time.

 "I gladly accepted your invitation but you still blocked me? Don't blame me if your troops return in their worst condition."

 That day, the remaining royal troops who came to attack Duke Flora's territory returned in terrible condition. Their body parts were scattered in the capital of the Flora Kingdom.

 From a distance, Chiyuki who planned this surprise continued to hum happily.

 "Onii-sama, it seems they are very happy with this surprise."

 Beside her, Karl stood while hugging Chiyuki from behind.

 "Ahahaha.. it seems they like it," Karl replied with a forced smile.

 "Well, my nightmare for tonight seems to have increased..."

 "Chiyuki, why did you think of it this way?" Karl asked.

 "Eng? Aren't they just a burden on the security supply after returning?" Chiyuki replied innocently.

 "Yeah, but..." Karl, who felt sorry for her, was forced to close his heart after seeing Chiyuki's charming smile.

 [...]