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"I refuse."

The messengers were taken aback by Jiselle's firm words.

"Why? Do you still think that Leipold was the territory where Desmond and the North fought for supremacy? You are sorely mistaken."

"Why?"

"First of all, the usurper Amelia is a woman. She has no experience in ruling a territory, and even less in war. She is just a young lady who knows how to hold a teacup gracefully. Her rebellion was only a lucky success by attacking a banquet."

"Hmm… … ."

"You can see it in the way we are fighting the Baron of Valois now. It's been months already, and we haven't even taken the castle. And yet we have five times as many troops."

At those words, Giselle snickered.

Baron Valois is a great general. Amelia is passively opposing him. So it was only natural that the war would be prolonged.

If I had thought about either of those, I wouldn't have said something like that.

The messenger continued to persuade her earnestly, perhaps mistakenly believing that Jiselle's laughter had convinced him of his point.

"We are a territory that was allied with Count Leipold. The heir, the 4th Duke Daven, is still alive, so we have sufficient justification. If we attack, Baron Valois will also come out of his castle and respond."

"Then you can win?"

"Well, how could a mere woman who can't even handle one Baron Valois stop our alliance? Please take this opportunity to raise a hand."

Jiselle waved her hand as if she was annoyed.

"Okay. I'm not interested, so you guys do it yourselves."

"Leipold's rightful heir is still alive. We cannot set a precedent by allowing a usurper to remain. Furthermore, the North has a long tradition of not recognizing women as lords. Now, something absurd has happened in the North."

There were several reasons why the lords joined forces to attack Leipold.

First of all, leaving a traitor alone would set a bad precedent.

It was necessary to show that the other lords would join forces and not let the usurper off easy, so that such a dangerous thing would not happen in their own territory.

The fact that Amelia was a woman was also an annoyance to the northern lords.

In the harsh and rugged North, a strong man must always lead and rule. Living by such customs and traditions, a woman has become the lord. And it was through treason.

I could never let things that influenced others go unnoticed, because these little things add up and change people's minds.

The lords, always anxious to maintain their power, did not take such risks lightly.

There are these reasons, but there was another, more important reason.

"Leipold is a vast and rich land. If we help the fourth prince, Daven, we will be able to receive some land as compensation according to custom."

This was the truth. They were going to hit the confused Leipold and split him up. The fact that Amelia looked funny also played a part in their decision.

At the earnest persuasion, Giselle smiled again.

'You're going to kill Amelia? By just you guys?'

In Jiselle's previous life, even the mercenary king couldn't kill Amelia. If he could, he would have killed her as soon as he returned.

Desmond was after Ferdium, and I just left him alone because I couldn't touch him right away.

She was that dangerous. I couldn't imagine these sloppy guys beating her.

Her ambitions from the beginning would not end with the Countess of Leipold.

However… … . These guys were necessary for the strategy that Jiselle was taking now. To buy time while making the most of her ambition.

"I won't go to war. Instead, I'll help with something else."

"What is that?"

"You came here to get food anyway, right? I'll give you some food."

The messengers laughed heartily at those words.

In fact, I didn't need Fenris's troops. I was confident that I could easily defeat Amelia with just the troops from the six territories.

But it wasn't easy to secure food to feed them. So he decided to somehow persuade Giselle. Even if it meant giving up the best land.

But if Jiselle had offered to give food first, there was no need to include it.

'Hehe, Aesong is scared by Leipold's reputation.'

'That's only possible if Count Leipold and his successors are in good health. What's there to fear from an army led by a mere woman?'

'Since we are not directly participating in the war, we can discuss among ourselves and take the best land. Just give us an appropriate compensation.'

The messengers who had received Giselle's promise returned in joy. Since the preparations for war were almost complete, they planned to move as soon as they received the food.

After sending the messengers away, Giselle fell into thought again.

'I can only hope that they will stall for as long as possible until I am ready.'

They couldn't win anyway. There was no way Amelia couldn't have predicted this situation.

In her previous life, there were those who tried to attack Amelia during the war with the Barons of Valois, but none of them succeeded.

If he had intervened, the results might have been different, but right now he couldn't move.

'There's not much left.'

Because of him, everything was happening faster than in his previous life. That means the civil war is not far off.

The fact that Count Desmond was gathering an army was proof of this. So now was the time to waste my energy fighting Amelia.

I had to buy as much time as possible and finish preparing to the level I wanted. Amelia could be dealt with later.

'You must not allow them to do anything during this time.'

She is a woman who is good at stabbing others in the back. That is why she supported Baron Valois and other estates and tried to hold them back. That way, her options would be reduced by one.

'Just wait a minute, Harold.'

All the boards were going the way he wanted. Now all that was left was the showdown with Count Desmond.

'Everything in the North is messed up because of me, so the Duke and Harold can't just sit still.'

If civil war were to break out, Desmond would most certainly want to strike here first, since he was now the strongest pro-royalist force in the North.

Still, there was still some time left. In his previous life, the Duke had not even started a civil war in the North.

Even if a civil war were to break out in the North, there would be no sudden attack as the Royal Army was watching over Desmond's territory.

We must complete all preparations during this brief gap. If we do so, we will be able to push Desmond out as soon as the civil war begins.

'If a civil war starts, I will kill you first.'

At that thought, Jiselle's heart began to beat a little faster.

Although the mastermind behind it provided the most fundamental cause, it was Count Desmond who directly destroyed Ferdium.

In his previous life, he must have torn apart his corpse several times. Jisel had been so angry that his subordinates who were watching nearby had to stop him.

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Even if the destruction of Ferdium had been set aside, he and Count Desmond had no choice but to fight. In order to conquer the North, he had to kill that bastard.

'There's not much time left. If we prepare as we have planned, we will win overwhelmingly.'

In this way, Giselle silently devoted herself to preparing for war and training the soldiers.

And then one day not long after.

While Jiselle was meeting with her followers, a messenger came into the palace and shouted urgently.

"The Earl of Desmond has raised an army! They are marching towards this place!"

Jiselle's face hardened. She wasn't fully prepared yet.

'That guy… …has already moved?'

There was no movement in the duke's house. The guy who had been moving as carefully as possible and only following the duke's orders was moving on his own.

Even though the royal army was watching right in front.

For the first time since returning.

An incident occurred that shook the board that Jiselle had woven.

* * *

"Move quickly! Quickly! There is word that Count Desmond is moving his troops!"

The commander of the 2nd Corps, Viscount Doren, woke up in the dark of the night to hear the news and hastily moved his troops.

The destination was a different location from the one that had been blocked when Giselle attacked Count Cavaldi. He had to go first and set up camp to block it. That was his mission.

'Crazy… … How the hell is this happening?'

Count Doren could not come to his senses. There was no contact. There was not even a pretext for starting a war.

Earl Desmond simply raised an army and began to march towards Fenris.

Behavior that is completely unbecoming of a nobleman.

But that was what made Viscount Doren even more fearful.

The great lord known as the strongest in the North has thrown away that pretense? It means that he will no longer be picky about the means and methods.

Viscount Doren asked the adjutant beside him.

"You said the speed wasn't that fast? Are you just going slow to show off your force to Fenris? That would be nice!"

"It doesn't seem like they're just going there to protest."

"why?"

"They say there are 30,000 troops. That's why it's slow."

"...oh."

Viscount Doren was momentarily dumbfounded. Does this make sense? Even if he is a great lord, can he gather that many soldiers?

The unbelievable numbers made my stomach churn.

Viscount Doren, who soon came to his senses, cried out loud as if he was being wronged.

"Damn it! How can we stop 30,000 troops with just the 2nd Corps?"

I had absolutely no confidence that I could win by sticking with them. Desmond's army was the best in the North.

The soldiers who had participated in the road construction returned and numbered 5,000. This was a number that could wipe out most of the northern lords, but it was nowhere near 30,000.

"I hope it goes smoothly. I guess it's just because I want something."

The order had been given to inspect and prepare the army for civil war, but there was no news from elsewhere.

That meant that Earl Desmond had acted alone. Viscount Doren had pinned his hopes on that.

"I don't think he'd want to fight the Prince's faction alone. Even if he takes over Fenris, we'll just have to spit them out again once we've all moved. There must have been some kind of misunderstanding, right?"

"...."

The adjutant was unable to say anything even as Viscount Doren continued to ask hopeful questions.

To be honest, the adjutant also had no idea what the situation was.

"Hey! Just run fast! Since he's a big army, he's slow, so I can get there first and block his way. Then I'll try to appease him over a cup of tea. What's your problem? Just tell me. I'll listen to everything."

Count Doren was constantly talking while moving. That was how anxious he was.

Doo doo doo doo doo!

The sound of horseshoes coming from afar was loud. Hearing that sound, Count Doren had a strange premonition.

"Why does it sound like cavalry is running at full speed?"

The 2nd Corps is more than half infantry. They are moving at a brisk pace, but they cannot keep up with the speed of the cavalry.

So the cavalry was moving at the same speed as the infantry. There was absolutely no chance of them running at full speed.

Doo doo doo doo doo!

Viscount Doren was now the commander of the royal army. He was no fool who did not know what this situation meant.

"It's an attack! Everyone, prepare for battle!"

As soon as he shouted, the soldiers immediately got into battle formation. It was indeed a quick movement worthy of the elite royal army.

Doo doo doo doo doo!

The sound of horse hooves grew closer. But the sound was coming from more than one direction.

"What, what is this… … ."

Suddenly, a sound was heard from behind. That means that they moved with a time difference.

'After hearing the first sound, form a formation and then attack from behind… … .'

Doo doo doo doo doo!

Soon the sound of horse hooves could be heard from the side. Viscount Doren's eyebrows twitched.

Since we were moving at night, we couldn't properly look around. And the enemy took advantage of that to great effect.

Viscount Doren also quickly grasped the situation and immediately came up with a countermeasure.

"Put out the lights! Darken the surroundings and lead to chaos!"

All the lights around were out. The first charge was inevitable, but given the nature of cavalry, after that the enemy would lose their bearings and engage in melee combat.

There was no other way right now.

"Ha, damn it… … why is it so bright today."

But Count Doren was unlucky. The moonlight was too bright. And his opponent seemed to have anticipated how Count Doren would respond.

Wow!

Suddenly, a large number of lights appeared on one side. There were nearly a thousand of them.

Viscount Doren looked at it with a bewildered expression and muttered.

"There was even an ambush… … ."

The opponent was serious. He really wanted to wipe out the royal army and attack Fenris.

Paaaaang!

A large number of fire arrows began to fly towards the royal army.

Looking at the lights that decorated the sky, Count Doren muttered.

"It's clear that Count Desmond is mad."

His words could not continue. The arrows of fire rained down mercilessly.

Papapapapak!

"Eww!"

The soldiers of the 2nd Corps, suddenly attacked, fell helplessly. They were on the move, so there was no way they could properly defend themselves.

I didn't know that the other person would come out like this without any proper notice.

To fight the royalist faction alone? No one in the kingdom would do something like that. So I couldn't help but think that Earl Desmond was crazy.

Doo doo doo doo doo!

Fires spread everywhere, illuminating the surroundings. The sound of horse hooves grew louder.

The 2nd Corps formation was in disarray as cavalrymen charged in from all directions.

Kwaaaaang!

"Eww!"

"Get back into formation quickly!"

"Lure them into a fight somehow!"

Officers of the 2nd Corps shouted everywhere, but it was no use. Desmond's army swept away the so-called strong 2nd Corps with astonishing ease.

Count Doren had no choice but to admit it.

"Wow… … . So it's Desmond after all."

They predicted when, how, and where they would move and made all the preparations.

Even the main force was still moving slowly towards Fenris.

Clearly, the first information said that the cavalry was also part of the main force. This means that the cavalry quickly escaped in the middle, successfully completing a surprise attack at the right time.

Desmond has one commander who can do this: a man renowned in the North as a master of mobile warfare.

"Emerson."

He had previously failed to support Cavaldi by blocking his path. If he had moved, it would have been understandable.

"This… …They won't even accept surrender."

Because of what happened at that time, he must have built up a grudge inside him.

Sure enough, Emerson was running towards him with a devilish grin on his face.

"Count Doren!"

Hearing Emerson's cries, Count Doren sighed and raised his sword. It seemed that he would not return alive today.

I gave up on life a long time ago.

but....

"What are we going to do about our daughter's academy tuition…?"

That was the only worry he had left.