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Amelia felt a strong murderous intent the moment she saw Giselle.

'Should I kill you now?'

He's too annoying and dangerous to keep alive. This incident alone shows it.

Watching her hand slowly rise, Giselle also smiled bitterly.

'Hold still, Amelia. It's not time to kill you yet.'

Amelia is a double-edged sword, a woman like a rose full of poison. The duke is still unaware of her tendencies and true abilities.

She has no true allies. She is a woman who only cares about her own ambitions. That is why she will be of help to herself.

'You have to keep doing unexpected things so that I can deal with you more easily.'

There is no place where you can win if you go up against the Duke right now. That is why we need an unexpected variable called Amelia.

In her previous life, when the power of the dukedom was weakened because of her, she immediately showed her teeth. She even tried to hit the back of the head of Harold, who had become the duke of the North.

So even now, the more he runs wild, the more Amelia will try to take advantage of that gap.

Of course, even Giselle, who prided herself on knowing her best, couldn't guarantee everything.

Amelia sometimes did things spontaneously that were truly unexpected.

It may bring some danger to Jiselle herself, but it is something she must take on in order to deal with the powerful Duke.

'So think carefully now, Amelia.'

If I was going to kill her, I would have tried to kill her as soon as I returned. There were some parts where I let it slide because the situation wasn't favorable, but since I was going to use her anyway, it was better to use her to the end.

But if you attack me now, I have no choice but to kill you.

'Is this a one-time opportunity…?'

His hand holding the spear gained more strength. If he were to fight, he would have to pierce Amelia's head in one go. If he failed, he would not be able to win with his current strength.

The men next to her were also not ordinary in their prayers. They were positioned with sharp eyes ready to attack at any moment.

'If a battle breaks out, I'll have to kill those guys first.'

He was too tired and injured right now. If he fought Amelia's army, the Fenris army here would also be in danger.

If that happens, killing Amelia will be a huge loss. There will be no point in defeating Harold with minimal damage.

If the two of them fight now, only the Duke will benefit.

Amelia must know that too.

Jiselle also began to slowly raise her spear, matching her hand that was slowly rising.

In line with that movement, the knights of Fenris behind them also began to exude a slightly more menacing aura. The knights and aides surrounding Amelia also began to exude a murderous aura.

Amelia's eyes narrowed in the suffocating atmosphere.

'Maybe now is the chance.'

Jiselle is a dangerous man. So far, she has done amazing, almost miraculous things.

I still don't know exactly what he knows and what abilities he has. He was a guy that had to be killed somehow.

'It is quite possible.'

At first glance, it was obvious that Giselle and the knights following him were extremely tired.

It looked like it had only recently arrived, as it was completely covered in blood and the dust hadn't even been removed.

No matter how strong Giselle and his men are, they won't be able to stop Leipold's army if they attack now.

They are tired too, but they are overwhelmingly outnumbered.

It's clearly an opportunity, and I have to kill him somehow, but I can't seem to raise my hand.

'If we kill this guy now… … the 3rd Legion and Ferdium will attack us right away.'

If you kill Jiselle here, it will be difficult for you to recover as well.

He had not yet been properly recognized by the dukedom, so he could not openly fight against the Marquis of Branford's pro-royal faction.

There was a justification for it, but taking the first position and negotiating and attacking the opponent who arrived first were completely different issues.

But that wasn't all. Perhaps even such assumptions could have been the result of unconscious rationalization.

She had something else to worry about now.

'I might die too.'

Amelia trusted her instincts. Her instincts kept sending her signals that it was dangerous to attack now.

'why?'

I felt that way even though it was clearly a situation where I had the advantage.

I thought that I might be able to resolve it somehow even if I ended up fighting the pro-Prince faction, but a signal kept ringing in my head telling me that I shouldn't do that.

She bit her lip and slowly lowered the hand she had been raising.

Seeing that sight, Jiselle also smiled faintly and slowly lowered the window.

'Is this the feeling I saw in my past life?'

It was the same in her previous life. Amelia was strangely good at avoiding herself. She must have a special ability to sense danger.

So, even though he reached the highest level of being one of the 7 powers of the continent, he was unable to catch her in the end.

Of course, Amelia didn't stop simply because of that feeling. She was also observing the situation in her own way.

'There's no benefit to be gained from the two of us fighting now anyway. It's only the Duke who's doing good things.'

As long as the duke exists, her ambition is an impossible dream. However, if Giselle, who defeated Harold, joins forces with the royalist faction and confronts the duke, she will definitely have a chance.

There was no need for him to step forward first and fight against the pro-prince faction and suffer losses.

'I'll spare you this time, Jiselle. Go ahead and have a blast.'

Anyway, both of them knew that there was nothing good in attacking each other now. They both had the same tendency to hate taking a loss.

As the atmosphere between the two people calmed down a bit, those around them also slowly began to calm down.

Amelia was silent for a moment, then asked something she was curious about.

"How did you know I was coming?"

"Isn't it obvious? There's no way you'd miss such a great opportunity, right?"

Amelia wiggled her eyebrows at those words.

This is not an obvious thing. It is something that not everyone can do. If everyone could do it, all the lords of the North would have moved.

But Giselle was speaking as if it was natural for her to move like that.

"You seem to know more about me than I thought."

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"Then, perhaps I know you best in this kingdom… no, in this continent."

"You know best? How dare you say something like that?"

"Yeah, I'm always watching how you move, so don't do anything rash. If you don't want to regret it."

Giselle smiled fiercely and warned her, but Amelia responded with a calm expression.

"Don't say things that could be misunderstood if others hear them. I'm not your fiancé anymore."

"… … Is that how it is?"

"...."

"...."

There was an awkward silence for a moment.

Jiselle recalled her memories from her previous life. In her previous life, whenever she saw a territory she had swept away, she would run over to it and plant a flag.

Even her own subordinates gave Amelia strange nicknames such as 'Flag Witch' and 'Land Grabbing Queen'.

Even after Leipold was trampled, her tenacity was great. Whenever she had the chance, she would attack the mercenary king's army and take over other territories.

It is a famous anecdote that even when the nobles of the Duke's faction asked him to hand it back, he made all sorts of excuses and held on.

While Giselle swept away everything with her stormy power, Amelia pursued her with tireless persistence. That was why she was able to maintain her power throughout the One Year War.

'Now the Duke has no choice but to reach out to Amelia.'

Even if the Duke's family goes into civil war soon, there will be no one to take charge of the North. In the end, Amelia will have to take the place of the fallen Harold.

However, the situation is different from Harold's previous life when he swallowed up the North. He was now the strongest in the North, and Amelia was not someone who moved for the Duke's sake like Harold.

She will be an uncontrolled idiot… no, a variable in the coming civil war.

'He's probably thinking about what he can get from the duchess right now. Dealing with that woman is probably going to give Raoul a headache, too.'

At that thought, Giselle couldn't help but laugh. Aside from their relationship, Amelia was certainly a truly remarkable woman in many ways.

Jiselle, who had put down the window, turned her horse's head and said.

"Let's go for today. Consider yourself lucky, Amelia."

"Next time we meet, you'll have to let go of your neck, Giselle."

"Are you confident?"

"Yeah, I don't plan on just letting it go like this. Look forward to it."

"Don't say things that others might misunderstand if they hear them."

"...."

Jiselle returned the favor in the same way she had been treated earlier, giggling as she walked away.

Amelia glared at Giselle's back with cold eyes. To be honest, she wanted to pounce on him right now.

But not now. It would be of no use if I lost what I had by killing one Giselle.

Jiselle is just an obstacle in the way. She is not the goal. That is why I can tolerate her for now.

Because she had grander ambitions and goals.

Of course, if you wanted to harass Giselle in small ways, you could do so. You could immediately burn and loot all the villages in the vicinity.

'Meaningless.'

But that was just a fleeting venting of anger that had no real benefit. She wasn't foolish enough to waste her energy on such a trivial thing.

"Let's go back."

Amelia backed off cleanly. If not now, then another chance would come.

Watching the slowly retreating Leipold's army, the small force of Fenris in the fortress breathed a sigh of relief.

They couldn't help but be nervous, since it was clear that they would die if they fought in this exhausted state.

Jiselle, who had climbed up the wall, shook her head slightly as she looked at Amelia who was returning.

He shook off his regret for something and said with a big laugh.

"Okay! We're going to Desmond Castle, leaving only the bare minimum of guard troops behind!"

* * *

Kuung!

The gates of Desmond Castle opened and Giselle and Ferdium entered.

As the royal army and Ferdium army followed in, the people in the castle began to murmur with fearful expressions.

"We're losing… … ."

"How can an army of 30,000 men… … ."

"What happens now?"

They were proud of their territory being the strongest in the North. Leipold, who was considered the strongest in the North along with Desmond, thought that he was no longer a match for Desmond due to internal circumstances.

That is why their defeat in this war came as an even greater shock to them.

And there were more practical concerns than just a shattered sense of pride.

"Now that the war is over, there will be a lot of conscription. Even the Royal Army and the Ferdium Army have come."

"Isn't Ferdium a place famous for being poor even in the North?"

"I have nothing more to give… … ."

As they lived in the center of the territory, they were all relatively well off. This was because Harold thoroughly divided and managed the residences of the people of the territory according to their level.

These people also had to endure enormous expenses because of this war, but they lost the war.

As Desmond's army was strong, the invading army must have suffered great losses. It was obvious that the invading army would resort to forced conscription to make up for the losses, so Desmond's people could not help but worry.

So they held their breath, not even daring to look at Giselle who was coming in confidently.

The same was true for Desmond's vassals who had remained in the castle. Those who had thought they would win were not at all prepared to flee.

Because Giselle arrived before the outcome of the war was even known, he was unable to collect his belongings and escape.

The vassals were dragged out one by one to the square of the estate, still with expressions of disbelief.

Giselle looked at them with cold eyes. Then, several of Desmond's retainers cried out in thought.

"Come on, Count! War was not our intention!"

"We opposed it!"

"How could we have attacked the royal army! That, that is treason! Treason!"

Everyone was struggling and begging to survive somehow. But there were some who couldn't.

"Shut up! You don't even know shame!"

"Even after death, Count Desmond will not be able to close his eyes!"

"If you fight with all your might and lose, that's the end of it!"

They were still vassals loyal to Harold.

Although Harold was strict and cold to his subordinates, he was a man of great ability in governing his territory and possessed noble character. Many admired his ability and swore loyalty to him and followed him wholeheartedly.

Jiselle, who was watching the two sides fighting, said in annoyance.

"Take care of it."

As soon as those words were out, the soldiers moved and began to drag the men away.

"Eww! Please save me!"

"Like this reckless invader!"

"It's because I didn't kill that bastard sooner that this is what's happening!"

Hearing the words that spilled out amidst the chaos, Jiselle looked at the person who had shouted last with an interested look.

He was wearing some pretty fancy clothes, as he was quite high up in Desmond's ranks. He still glared at Giselle and shouted.

"I should have targeted you first, not your little brother! I should have killed you first, somehow!"

"Hmm… … ."

"You piece of trash! I regret not telling you to destroy my Ferdium sooner!"

Jiselle, who had been watching him struggle, got off her horse and approached him.

"What about you? You seem to know quite a bit."

"I am the general of this territory! I am the one who dared not even look at a scoundrel like you!"

"Hoo… … So you must have been planning to eliminate me with Harold all this time?"

"Yeah! You were just a worthless guy, so you were busy with other important things, and this is how this disaster happened! If the Royal Army hadn't intervened, I would have killed you this time!"

Not knowing the progress of the war, he could not help but think that Fenris had won thanks to the support of the royal army.

The difference in force was that great.

Desmond's general continued, still glaring at Giselle with bloodshot eyes.

"Do you think it will end like this? Even though we ended like this, the Duke will not stay still! The Duke will kill you! At that time, even the Prince's faction will be powerless!"

"Really? Is the Duke really that free? I thought you were so busy that you didn't pay attention until now."

Desmond's general sneered even louder as Giselle, who already knew the situation, laughed.

"The Duke's family has already labeled you a dangerous person! They were going to send someone else to deal with you! That's why the Count went out of his way to deal with you quickly!"

"Huh… … Really?"

Jiselle smiled as if she found it interesting. As expected, the Duke was moving to deal with her.