186

The Marquis of Branford was silent for a moment, then asked again.

"War? Where?"

"I am Count Cavaldi of the Duke's faction."

The Marquis of Branford, who had been silent again, soon seemed to realize something and snickered.

"Oh, so you're saying that Count Cavaldi attacked Fenris to get food?"

"… … ."

The knight had no answer for the Marquis, who was trying hard to avoid reality even though he had clearly heard reports that Baron Fenris had started a war.

Instead, he simply handed over a hastily written report.

It had already been several days since the war began. Thanks to the various northern merchants and informants, news was spreading quickly.

"… … ."

The color gradually drained from the face of the Marquis of Branford as he read the report.

Now is the time for both the Duke and the Prince faction to be careful, because there is nothing good to be gained by fighting.

If a civil war breaks out now, both sides will suffer uncontrollable damage.

So it was just a little while ago that I warned the nobles to be careful.

But he already started a war. That crazy guy ended up causing an accident.

That was a very big accident too.

The Marquis of Branford, who had always lived with dignity, muttered a curse for the first time in his life.

"This crazy bastard… … ."

"yes?"

"No, no."

The Marquis of Branford put his hand to his forehead. Every word he heard about the bastard gave him a headache and made his head throbbing.

The nobles in the conference room were also embarrassed and didn't know what to do.

"What the heck is going on? Baron Fenris is starting a war! And against the Duke's faction!"

"That's why we shouldn't have supported such a guy! In this situation, to have a war? Isn't that completely crazy?"

"I told you to catch it right now and check if it weighs the same as the duck!"

The conference room was instantly turned into chaos by the nobles' shouting.

The Marquis of Branford was so troubled that his head was steaming.

I have never been in so much trouble in my life.

'What should I do? Was he really just a crazy person?'

I always knew he was a fearless and funny guy, but I still thought he was hiding something.

This drought was also able to avoid the worst situation thanks to Jiselle.

But looking at what he's doing now, I can't believe he's this crazy.

You're not even touching another noble, but a noble of the Duke's faction. Right now, we need to somehow suppress the civil war, but can't you see the situation?

While the Marquis was pondering, the nobles in the conference room began to speak more and more aggressively.

"Baron Fenris must be expelled from the faction and his hands must be off!"

"Let's explain to the Duke that this was absolutely not our intention!"

"Your Majesty, withdraw your guardianship! I don't care whether he dies or not!"

"That bastard is definitely a warlock! Bring him here right now so we can check!"

The Marquis of Branford still had his eyes closed and said nothing. He was dizzy and had tinnitus, so he honestly couldn't hear what anyone was saying.

My heart is boiling.

'Should I take a step back here?'

It's not hard to let go of this matter. It's humiliating, but it's over if you compensate the Duke sufficiently and give up Giselle.

The Duke will take care of Giselle. Ferdium will probably get involved and perish along with her, but it won't get any bigger than that.

Of course, the author who invested a huge amount of money in cosmetics will suffer a huge blow, and the author's authority will also fall significantly.

Still, it was worth the damage if it could save many lives.

'Should I throw it away after all?'

At that moment, the Marquis of Branford remembered what Giselle had said.

– Please nominate me as the representative of the North.

― Count Desmond is a suspicious man. Perhaps we have the same enemy.

'Count Cavaldi owns the largest iron mine in the North.'

'And I deal with Desmond a lot.'

'Desmond may be in league with the Duke.'

Something seemed off. I couldn't be sure, but at least it didn't seem like Giselle had started a war without thinking.

'We cannot give up our northern influence.'

If they give up Jiselle, the royalist faction will never be able to set foot in the north again.

It's hard at first, but if you keep giving in one by one, you'll eventually lose influence and be pushed out everywhere.

Giving up on Giselle was like giving up on the North. It was a one-sided move.

'This guy… … . Did he anticipate this and make me his guardian?'

If that's true, then Jiselle is a real killer. It means that she was planning to cause trouble from the moment she asked for a guardian.

It was annoying, but right now was not the time to be concerned about that.

'I am the only one who can stop it.'

The Duke's intervention had to be prevented in some way. It had to be packaged as a legitimate fight between the two territories, and both sides had to distance themselves.

No matter what the outcome, now was the time for him to step up and take charge.

When his resolve was made, the Marquis of Branford opened his eyes and spoke slowly.

"I will not give up on Baron Fenris."

"What do you mean!"

"Then we'll all die!"

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"This means that a civil war could break out!"

Despite the nobles' cries, the Marquis of Branford did not even blink and asked coldly.

"So? Are you saying that you are afraid to fight the Duke and will abandon your own side? Then what will you give up next? What will be left for us if we abandon Baron Fenris? Do you think there will be anyone left who will trust and follow us in the future?"

"… … ."

The nobles were unable to refute and kept their mouths shut.

As Marquis Branford said, in the end, the enemy is afraid and they are abandoning their allies. No matter how justified the cause is, if you strike down Giselle, the nobles who were watching will leave one by one.

It is a situation where you cannot kick him out even if you want to. Baron Fenris declared war at an exquisite time and in an exquisite place.

Looking at the anxious nobles, the Marquis of Branford spoke in a slightly more relaxed voice.

"I will not allow the intervention of the prince's faction. I will block the intervention of the duke's family. Fenris and Cavaldi are fighting for the right cause. If Baron Fenris loses, there is nothing that can be done."

The report contained a somewhat far-fetched, but logical justification.

Based on that, if it was treated as a personal grudge rather than a factional fight, it was not impossible to stop the spy faction.

Since the Marquis of Branford stepped forward to handle the matter himself, all the nobles nodded their heads without being able to voice their discontent.

Except for one man, who had authority rivaling that of the Marquis of Branford.

Maurice jumped to his feet and glared at the Marquis of Branford.

"So you're going to protect that kid? We could get hurt badly."

"Can we really hear that the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army is afraid of the Duke and is retreating?"

Maurice licked his lips a few times at the Marquis of Branford's provocation, then continued speaking with a menacing look in his eyes.

"After I sweep away the peacock, if that little punk is still alive, I will make sure that he weighs the same as the duck. And then I will cut off his head myself."

"When that time comes, do whatever you want."

"Just in case, let's prepare the military."

With those words, Maurice turned around and left. The nobles of the same faction who followed him also left.

The meeting was over, but the Marquis of Branford could not rest comfortably.

Because the very next day, a person sent from the Duke's household arrived.

The Marquis of Branford greeted him with barely concealed fatigue.

"Come in, Count Forde."

The Earl of Forde was one of the nobles who followed the Duke's family and was mainly responsible for important diplomatic affairs.

If Raoul was the head of the dukedom, Count Forde could be said to be the mouth of the dukedom.

The fact that they sent someone like that showed how seriously the Duke took the situation.

Count Forde greeted him briefly and got straight to the point.

"Baron Fenris attacked the nobles of the Duke's faction. Can we consider this as the will of the entire Prince's faction?"

Count Forde was strong from the beginning, because he knew that it was not the royalist intention.

'Count Joseph sees it as the brat's impulsive action. The prince's faction wants to avoid civil war more than anyone else right now.'

Raoul, the 'crippled devil', has met Giselle. After talking to her in person, he judged her to be a young, wild man.

People like that are bound to make mistakes if they act as they please. As Raoul had expected, Giselle had chosen war as her ultimate weapon.

He decided to take advantage of the opportunity to get the royalist faction to take their hands off of Giselle and sweep away Ferdium and Fenris.

Earl Forwood, who was staying in the capital, came straight to see the Marquis of Branford for that very reason.

'And you get a generous reward, too.'

The Marquis of Branford answered in a languid voice towards the Earl of Forwood, who was smiling confidently.

"I gave permission."

"I see! That guy did it on his own… … . Huh? What did you just say?"

"This person said he gave permission."

Count Forde was so taken aback that he could not continue speaking.

Raul's predictions were never wrong, so this situation was not on the table.

'What the heck is going on? The Marquis of Branford gave his permission? Are you crazy?'

The strategy that the pro-Prince faction had put forward up until now was simple. There was nothing to hide. All it really did was suppress the civil war so that it would not break out.

In addition, the Marquis of Branford is a cold-blooded politician. He hates doing things based on intuition and only looks at the practical side of things to make decisions.

Even if they were on the same side, he would get rid of anyone who got in the way, so there was no way he would take that kid's side just because he was his guardian.

Count Forde stammered, unable to comprehend the situation.

"What on earth were you thinking when you allowed war during these difficult times!"

"Baron Fenris and Count Cavaldi had a personal grudge. It was a good excuse. The Duke's family must have heard about it already."

"No matter what, there is a time! If you allow this, can I understand that you mean you are willing to risk civil war?"

"Civil war? Could it be that Count Forde is also dreaming of rebellion?"

Earl Forwood flinched under the cold gaze of the Marquis of Branford.

No matter how much he had the Duke's support, the other party was the most powerful person in the kingdom, no less powerful than the Duke.

"Don't you know that's not what I meant? But Count Cavaldi is one of our people. We cannot help but help him!"

"It's impossible. There is no reason for the Duke to intervene because of personal grudges. We have no reason to intervene either, so we are just watching. If the Duke intervenes, we won't stay still either."

Count Forde gritted his teeth at the firm answer. He simply could not understand the current situation.

'What the heck? Why is that little brat taking sides like that? He's willing to risk a civil war? He's just a brat from the north?'

He couldn't go back like this. He had to know the Marquis of Branford's intentions. So Earl Forwood made another strong provocation.

"Are you really going to solve it by force? Are you confident? I know that Your Majesty has stockpiled enough food. But don't you know clearly which side will benefit if we move while taking damage from both sides?"

"Are you threatening this man now, Count?"

The Marquis of Branford, who was already seething because of Giselle, distorted his expression at the Count of Forwood's arrogant remark.

Originally, the Marquis of Branford was not a man whose emotions changed that much. However, after becoming entangled with Giselle, his temper gradually became worse.

It's the same now. I'm not taking his side because I want to. He created a situation where I have no choice but to take his side.

Since I was forced to do something I didn't want to do, it was natural that I would get angry and feel like exploding at random times.

The Marquis of Branford continued, looking down at the Earl of Forwood with a cold expression.

"If you just send that mouth to the Duke, my intentions will be conveyed clearly."

Count Forde lowered his head, sweating profusely at the chilling atmosphere.

If the Marquis of Branford were truly determined to start a civil war, he could kill himself right here.

He was the kind of man who could do that.

"I… … got excited for a moment and made a slip of the tongue. Please forgive me."

"I accept it. You're not the same as you used to be. You've become very dull."

Count Forde bit his lip and decided to step aside for the time being. If the royalist faction is determined to protect Giselle, there is no way for the duke's side to stop them.

There were only two choices: either get involved with the royalist faction or pretend not to know at all.

'Ugh, they're going to be wiped out anyway, but who would've thought they'd move at a time like this? What kind of strategy did they come up with?'

No one could have predicted that the royal family and the pro-prince faction, who had maintained a defensive posture, would suddenly move like this.

And that was during a time when everyone was suffering. I had no idea what the plan was, if there was a trap, or what they were trying to accomplish.

'The Prince's faction also suffered great damage from the drought, so how can they act so confidently? Are they trying to induce us to act?'

If you were going to set a trap and wait, you would have to wait and see how things unfolded.

'But if Count Cavaldi is defeated, things will be difficult.'

The County of Cavaldi, the largest iron producer in the north, was also important to the dukedom.

I had postponed my application for a while because I had a more urgent matter, but then something unexpected happened.

'Damn, I didn't think that kid could gather that many troops under the pretext of providing food.'

If it were normal, I would have just laughed it off and ignored it. The armed forces operated by Count Cavaldi were considered the most powerful in the North. Even if someone like Fenris attacked them, they would never be able to win.

But Count Cavaldi has no food right now. If he were to be surrounded, everyone would starve to death.

Earl Forwood, who was at a loss as to what to do, asked the Marquis of Branford.

"Do you promise to remain neutral and not interfere?"

"If you don't get involved."

"Understood. We will convey Your Majesty's wishes and ask that we remain neutral."

"Do so."

Count Forde turned around, his lips quivering and his eyes looking cruel.

'If only Count Desmond could make a move.'

Just in case, Earl Desmond continued to pretend to be neutral.

Count Desmond was a smart man. It was clear that he would make quick decisions and take action even before the Duke's orders were given.

In any case, political relations are complicated laws, so it is sufficient to forcibly create a suitable justification after winning the war.

'Then the pro-prince faction, who do not want to be harmed, will have no choice but to step down.'

As Earl Forwood left the battlefield with those thoughts in mind, the languid voice of the Marquis of Branford was heard again.

"Do not forget my warning, Count. You must not interfere with either the Prince's faction or the Duke's faction."

Count Foud paused for a moment, then turned around again, smiled, and bowed his head.

"Are you saying this? We will never intervene."

With those words, Count Forde left the place completely.

After Earl Forde left, the Marquis of Branford closed his eyes and continued to think.

And then Giselle's words come to mind again.

― Count Desmond is a suspicious man.

If the High Lord, Earl Desmond, was truly a lackey of the Duke's family, he could have attacked Fenris under the pretext of helping Earl Cavaldi.

And if that happens, Perdium, including Fenris, will not be able to avoid destruction.

The aftermath is obvious. If the North falls completely into the hands of the Duke, the pro-Prince faction will be pushed further into a defensive position.

In the current situation, there was no room to trust and push forward the other territories in the north any longer.

'There's no guarantee that he'll win. If he loses, he'll lose the North, and if he lets go, he'll lose the North.'

I was happy that there was a lull in the drought, but one fearless brat made the situation more complicated than before.

'Is civil war inevitable?'

Marquis Branford sighed and then spoke in a firm voice, as if he had made up his mind.

"butler."

"yes."

"Tell Marquis Macquarie to move Viscount Doren's 2nd Northern Corps to the vicinity of Earldom of Desmond and keep watch there."

"That means… … ."

"First, target surveillance and deterrence. However, if Earl Desmond's forces attack Baron Fenris… … ."

The Marquis of Branford, who had been silent for a moment, continued speaking with a sullen look in his eyes.

"Tell them to hit Desmond right away."

Things were moving out of control.