354

Episode 354: How is it to live in my body? (4)

"Join the prince's faction… … and fight the duke's family?"

Giselle nodded obediently at Count Mowbray's heavy words.

"Yes, that's what I want."

"… … ."

Count Mowbray, who had been glaring at Giselle for a long time, let out a deep sigh.

"Are you from the Prince's faction? Are you from the Marquis of Branford?"

"It's similar. But it wasn't sent by the Marquis."

"It's like asking me to give up my entire family and land in exchange for saving my son. That's impossible."

There is one reason why the Earl of Mowbray, despite being a nobleman in the south, did not join the Duke's faction. He did not want to lend strength to the rebellion.

So he declared neutrality, something he could do because he had some confidence in his own strength.

Whether it is the prince's faction or the duke's faction, there is no great gain in attacking them, as they will only be weakened.

But if you stick to one side, it's a different story. The other side will definitely try to destroy you.

"I can't fight the Duke."

No matter how powerful you are, you cannot compare to the Duke. If you fight the Duke, this territory will inevitably be destroyed.

It was as if the reason for saving his son from the evil spirit had disappeared.

"I'm sorry. But I believe you will understand my circumstances. Instead, can I compensate you in some other way?"

Still, he was the benefactor who had cured my son. I couldn't just let him go like this. If you receive a favor, you must pay the price. That is the honor and pride of a nobleman.

Giselle nodded to Count Mowbray's words. This reaction was expected.

"Then I'd like to ask you for something else."

"What is it?"

"First of all, I hope you will continue to maintain neutrality."

"That goes without saying. I have no intention of becoming a traitor either."

"The other one… …please give me a way later."

"The way?"

Count Mowbray tilted his head to the side. I couldn't understand what he meant when he suddenly asked me to give way.

Giselle chuckled, ripped off his beard, and took off his wig. Count Mowbray's eyes widened at the sudden change in his appearance.

"Who are you? Why are you here in disguise… ?"

"I am the Earl of Fenris."

"… … !"

Count Mowbray was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a while.

These days, rumors about the Earl of Fenris are rife in the kingdom.

He defeated the Earl of Desmond, the great lord, and seized power in the North through force.

The mere appearance of the Duke and the Duke of Cheokjin here was shocking enough to cause a commotion.

"Excuse me, are you really the Earl of Fenris?"

"Yes."

After a long while, Count Mowbray nodded, calming his startled heart.

"Indeed, it wasn't just a rumor that the Earl of Fenris cured the illness of the Marquis of Branford and created excellent cosmetics."

If it was Earl Fenris, he would be able to drive out even evil spirits.

There were many unbelievable rumors about him. When I only heard rumors, I honestly didn't believe them, but when I experienced it myself, I realized that he was a person with a lot of amazing knowledge.

Count Mowbray sat up straighter and continued.

"I think there must be a reason why you revealed your identity like this. What do you mean by asking for my help?"

"The pro-prince faction and the pro-gong faction will eventually engage in a civil war."

"I know. The atmosphere is becoming more and more unsettling."

"When I attack the Duke's house in the future, I plan to enter by taking a detour through this territory. That is what I am asking you to do, so that my army can make way for me."

"… … ."

Count Mowbray finally understood Giselle's intentions completely.

This is a territory that is at the southern entrance, but is also located at the edge. If a civil war breaks out, the battlefield will spread to areas other than your own neutral territory.

Now, Giselle was saying that she was planning to take advantage of that and attack the dukedom directly, bypassing the Mowbray County.

It's a dangerous military plan. It will fail if he opens his mouth.

No, even if he didn't open his mouth, it was an operation whose success was uncertain. In the first place, Earl Fenris, who was in the North, had to overcome numerous difficulties to get here.

Only when the Prince's faction, led by Earl Fenris, grows to that level will the Duke's faction's forces be able to establish a defensive line, and this operation will become meaningful.

Count Mowbray stared at Giselle for a long time before speaking.

"Do you think that's possible? The opponent is the Duke. Everyone predicts that if a civil war breaks out, the Duke will win. The Count won't even be able to come to Ye."

"You have to see the long and short of it."

"Even if we come this far, I can still bring up that plan and hit the Count in the back of the head."

"That's a problem we can solve when we get there."

Count Mowbray licked his lips at Giselle's leisurely answer.

"I… … can capture the Earl now and then contact the Duke's family. We are closer to the Duke's territory than the Fenris territory. If I capture the Earl and bring him to you, the Duke's family will give me a great reward."

Then Giselle laughed fiercely and said.

"If you want to try it with me, I won't stop you. Are you sure?"

At those words, Count Mowbray leaned back in his chair and glared at Giselle.

He had heard of Earl Fenris's abilities. In particular, it was rumored that he had displayed martial prowess comparable to that of the Master during the war.

Rumors tend to be exaggerated, but there's a reason why Earl Fenris is called the strongest man in the North.

'Confidence is truly the greatest thing in the kingdom.'

The Earl of Fenris was also known for his complete lack of fear. If he were to do something truly foolish, the Earl of Fenris would never shy away from a fight.

It is said that the person known as the best swordsman in a region can fight dozens of knights alone.

Even Earl Fenris is rumored to be on par with the Master of the Northern Swords. If he were to run wild here, most of the knights and soldiers in the castle would die.

Count Mowbray chuckled and shook his head.

"It's just as the rumors say. How could I do such a cruel thing to my benefactor? I was just trying it out."

"I also thought that Your Majesty would not do that."

The Earl of Mowbray is one of the most stubborn men in the kingdom. He belongs to the South and is convinced that the Duke's house will win the civil war, but he has declared neutrality simply because he does not want to be a traitor.

There is no way that such a person would do such a fatal thing to his benefactor.

Count Mowbray hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

"Okay, I'll keep your secret and let you through this once. But I can't help you with anything else."

"That is enough."

"But is it really possible? It won't be easy to get here from the North."

"If I can't come, it can't be helped. Wouldn't it be less burdensome for you, Count?"

The Earl of Mowbray laughed at Giselle's words. She was right. If you give way to the Earl of Fenris and get caught, you could end up in trouble.

In that case, Earl Mowbray would try his best to keep his mouth shut and pretend not to know anything. If Earl Fenris had snuck in, he wouldn't be able to blame himself openly.

But Earl Mowbray was not overly concerned. He thought it was next to impossible for the Earl of Fenris to reach this point.

'If a civil war breaks out, the area around the capital will become an arena for the two powers to fight over. How can they easily come here?'

Even Margrave Rodrik, the great lord of the West, has enough troops to overthrow the kingdom on his own. Even if he were to break through there, the defense line would be set up right around here.

No matter how much I thought about it, it was impossible to break through that defense line.

"I'll keep an eye on you for a while. If you make it this far, I'll gladly give you permission to go."

"Thank you. Then, should we write a contract?"

"contract?"

Count Mowbray frowned slightly. What do you mean by writing something like that about this body?

Giselle ignored his reaction and took the contract out of her bosom and handed it to him.

"This is something that should be done with certainty. Now, please stamp it."

"Ugh… … ."

It looks like he had anticipated this situation and had even prepared a contract. Count Mowbray gave a hollow smile and stamped his seal on the contract.

So the contract between the two was concluded.

Count Mowbray was a little excited. Could this so-called Divine of the North really make it this far in the civil war?

If that happens, the Duke will not be able to easily predict victory.

"You must be tired. Rest for a few days. I plan to throw a grand banquet."

"No. We should quickly return to the territory. There is no benefit to staying here too long, is there?"

"Um, that's true, but… … ."

There is nothing good about the Earl of Fenris staying in the South for too long. The Earl of Mowbray nodded, putting aside his regret.

Jiselle stayed for only about three days and then prepared to leave.

As Giselle and Arel were slowly preparing to leave, they heard Count Mowbray shouting from somewhere.

"You pathetic bastard! You've already forgotten this! What on earth are you planning to do later?"

"Please stop! I'm not even fully recovered yet!"

"Are you rebelling against your father's words now?"

"I won't just listen anymore!"

"What, what? You're possessed by an evil spirit and your liver is swollen!"

"What do you want me to do!"

Arel looked blank at the loud noise coming from afar, and Giselle shook her head with a bitter smile.

* * *

"The Red Flame Tower… is moving more actively?"

The top floor of the huge tower. Among them, a middle-aged man sitting at the highest seat opened his mouth. Despite his skinny physique, he had a fierce look in his eyes and did not give off an easygoing impression at all.

"Yes. They are expanding their power at an incredible rate. I believe they have acquired a large quantity of runestones."

Glenn answered cautiously. He had once been humiliated when he went to buy food from Jiselle, but he still held his position as an elder and one of the strongest men in the Crimson Tower.

And the one reporting to him was the tower lord here, Delmud, a wizard who had reached the 7th circle.

Delmud looked around at the three other elders present and asked.

"There's no way there could have been so many runestones all of a sudden. We've already swept away all the runestones that the northern merchants are selling. What do you think happened?"

"I guess… … it seems that Earl Fenris has provided it again."

"Fenris… … Earl of Fenris… … ."

Delmude muttered the name several times with a sharp gaze.

The presence of the gnome was quite annoying. Because of him, Earl Desmond died and support for them was cut off.

Although the Duke had sent troops to provide support, transporting supplies from the south to here was not easy.

He had spent a long time trying to destroy the Red Flame Tower. In fact, success was in sight.

But at some point, the opponent came back to life and began to expand its power in earnest.

It seemed that sales of magic tools, scrolls, potions, etc. were increasing. Among the nobles who were looking for the Crimson Tower, there were also more people buying from the Red Tower.

I guess it's because it's a traditional rooftop temple, so it has a lot of connections.

"Did you say that the number of wizards is increasing?"

"Yes, they are advertising that they have a large quantity of runestones to attract free magicians."

"You have a close relationship with Earl Fenris?"

"Yes. There is a Magic Tower branch in the Fenris territory, and I have sent my successor to be the branch manager there."

"Yes… … It's clear that Fenris's little girl is helping the Red Flame Tower. But where on earth does she get so many runestones?"

"This time too… … there is a rumor that it was obtained in the Forest of Demons."

The fact that the Forest of Demons had been cleared and the Runestones were obtained was bound to become a rumor. This was because so many workers had to come and go to clear the path and open up the territory.

But even after hearing that news, my doubts were not easily resolved.

The runestones coming from the Fenris domain were becoming more and more abundant. It was hard to believe that I had obtained so many of such precious resources.

Delmude muttered with a gloomy expression.

"The Forest of Demons… …. I didn't know there were so many runestones in the Forest of Demons. It wasn't for nothing that the Duke was after them."

The Duke's family still hasn't clearly stated why they were targeting the Demon Forest. However, looking at the current situation, it seems likely that they were targeting the resources in the Demon Forest.

It was still a mystery how he knew that.

Of course, the Duke didn't know that there were so many resources in the Demon Forest. Delmude just guessed on his own.

"Now that Earl Desmond has been defeated, we cannot destroy the Red Flame Tower with our financial resources."

Earl Fenris, known as the richest man in the North, is supporting the Red Tower. On the other hand, the Crimson Tower has seen its financial support significantly reduced.

The top brass also seemed to be slowly drawing their line back towards the red salt tower. There was no point in fighting over money any longer.

"This will be difficult. If we destroy the Red Flame Tower, we can safely attack the Prince's faction from behind during the civil war."

Now they say they have been pushed back by them, but at one time, it was called the best in the North. The Red Flame Tower still had more disciples than the Crimson Tower, and its connections were also thicker.

Up until now, the tower's owner's skills and financial resources had given it the upper hand. However, now that it had fallen behind in terms of financial resources, the only area in which the Crimson Tower had an advantage was the tower's owner's skills.

It is no exaggeration to say that all this happened because of Fenris's love interest.

"We can deal with Earl Fenris during the civil war, but… … If things continue this way, it's only a matter of time before we're pushed back by the Red Flame Tower."

The elders bowed their heads at Delmud's words. There was no way out at the moment.

They were very anxious as Jiselle had predicted, as the Red Flame Tower was gaining ground.

"There is no other way, so I have no choice but to show my strength."

"What do you mean…?"

Delmude gritted his teeth a few times and then continued.

"Request a meeting at the Magic Tower. I'll find a chance to kill them myself."

A chilling murderous look flashed from his eyes.