Chapter 14: Political Problems

3rd Pov

It had been a few weeks since the attack on Kriegsparadies, and the dead soldiers had been identified and taken away for proper burial, with Joseph decreeing that the families of the deceased would receive pensions and care from the government so that they would not suffer any more than they would from the loss of loved ones, in addition to Joseph personally going to the families of the fallen soldiers to deliver the news.

Joseph knew that many would die in future battles in future wars, but Joseph wanted to show that he cared for his people, so that the other soldiers would know that they could fight knowing that their families would be safe and cared for.

Currently, in Joseph's "Palace" office, he was signing some documents while listening to Oliver, who was giving a report.

"After torturing the bandits, we got the necessary information, Mi'lord. To our surprise, it wasn't the Principality of Razia that was to blame for such an action, Mi'lord...it was the Duchies, with all 8 saying the same thing." Oliver said seriously, then looked away from the document and looked at Joseph, who had stopped signing papers, and looked at Oliver with a raised eyebrow.

"That doesn't make much sense, why would the Duchies try to do that?" Joseph asked before something clicked in his mind.

"They wanted to make the Principality look like the culprit so we would become their enemies..." Joseph said as he clasped his hands together, thinking about the matter.

"Yes, my Lord, the war, while still favorable to the Duchies, is still expensive and they have been fighting the Principality of Razia for a long time, they probably wanted to divide Razia's forces by going to war against them, giving the Duchies more chances to fight back and consequently win the war" Oliver said as he sighed at the end, rubbing his forehead knowing that the situation had become horrible for the Lordship.

".... Did they give any specific names?" Joseph asked after a while.

"Everything was at the behest of Baron Marcus Di Maria and Baron George Vasgi, the first being a Baron who has a fiefdom in the Duchy of Hyarlia, as for the other, he is a Baron in the Duchy of Gisla, they are basically our neighbors" Oliver answered after reading the document again to confirm the names.

"So we have our targets for revenge in the future, for now let's hope they don't try any more bandit attacks for a while, in the meantime I want us to fortify our positions, in addition to speeding up the development of Duloc, pay more if necessary, but Duloc needs to be finished before the start of winter" Joseph orders as he punches his desk in anger.

Oliver, hearing this, nods seriously, understanding that they need to be prepared as soon as possible.

"Also tell Thelonius that the surveillance in Duloc must be increased, the police presence everywhere in Duloc must be increased" After what was said, Joseph dismisses Oliver, who bows to him before leaving his office, leaving him alone.

'Shit... why is this happening? Is it because I'm a villain and as such I have bad luck?' Joseph, now alone, thinks as he puts his hands on his head, sighing tiredly.

???? POV

Nothing went according to plan, a mere outpost of a Lordship was able to deal with a force of 100 men mounted on horses and wearing armor, apparently underestimating Duloc.

"It's a shame that happened, at least it serves as a lesson, we shouldn't underestimate even a small Lordship" My long-time friend said as he sat in his chair, calmly drinking some wine.

"Yes, George, we should also be careful when dealing with Duloc now, since the attempt to turn them against Razia didn't work, so we'll just warn Counselor Adam that we should return to focusing on the battles we're having against the Principality" I say after thinking for a while, I still wonder if what the bandits said was true.

If Duloc really has sorcerers or is being supported by fairies, we shouldn't anger them, because we all know that magic users are dangerous people, you never know if your Bloodline will be Cursed because you messed with who you shouldn't.

"We also have to subtly start improving our trade agreements with Duloc, so that they don't start to suspect that this has something to do with us... We must also tell Counselor Adam that he should advise the Duchess to have better diplomatic relations with Duloc, we can't have another enemy" George said as he stopped drinking his wine, looking at me seriously, with me of course nodding my head, agreeing with what he said.

Joseph Pov

Those bastards will pay for what they did, that was my promise, but for now, I will continue to improve Duloc, also developing my army's weaponry is also a priority, currently we only have flintlock pistols, we need something more powerful... like cannons and muskets.

Once we have that, we will only need to properly train the Army before starting an invasion against the Duchies, perhaps make an alliance with the Principality of Razia to put enough pressure on the Duchies when there is a war.

'I'll have to talk to Oliver about the Army part, besides starting to try to create muskets' I think seriously, sighing at the end and rubbing my forehead, knowing how much of a headache I'll have.

Duloc will have a lot of work ahead of him, but I know that in the end, we will prevail, no matter what the cost, I will create the Kaiserreich that my people deserve to have.

3rd Pov

With that, days passed, with Joseph working without resting properly, having minimal sleep, but at least eating a lot, to take some of the worries that the servants of his "Palace" were having, since he was back in his "workshop" trying everything to create the firearm he wanted.

Thelonius increased the police presence in the city of Duloc and the rest of the Lordship, ensuring that security was always high, as for Oliver, after Kriegsparadies he intensified the training of the soldiers.

The Battle of Kriegsparadies was also publicized at Oliver's behest, serving as a means of propaganda, in addition to Joseph's actions being talked about, such as how he is now taking care of the families of the fallen soldiers, which caused Joseph's popularity to increase.

Meanwhile, the men who were hired to develop all of Duloc also began to work harder, as Joseph began to pay them more, which caused their motivation to exceed 150%.