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The Archduke has arrived!"

"Second Prince's position secured!"

"The third prince has just entered the castle!"

"The Four Princes will arrive soon… … ."

"The five princes are… … ."

Amelia, who was receiving real-time situation reports from her subordinates, frowned.

"You really gave birth to so many dirty children."

Currently, she and her subordinates were gathered in a mansion near the lord's castle.

Today is the day of the grand banquet. It is the day when almost all the successors to the estate and important figures gather.

So Amelia decided today would be the day of the uprising, to wipe out all those who would oppose.

But since my father had so many children, it was a lot of work to monitor them all. I couldn't help but get annoyed.

Amelia frowned and clicked her tongue as she asked Bernap.

"What's happening with Giselle?"

"The last word was that he was enjoying a banquet with the princes of each territory in the territory."

"Huh, you have plenty of food and land, so I guess you have a lot of free time now."

Amelia secured a large amount of food thanks to Giselle. She followed Giselle's lead, prepared to take a loss, because she thought she was up to something, but the gamble paid off handsomely.

However, we failed to determine exactly whether Giselle's success was due to luck or skill.

It would have been absurd to predict the weather and store food. Perhaps there was another reason for storing food.

However, it was a brilliant move to start a war when there was a drought. If he had lost, everything would have been ruined, but he quickly won the victory.

'That part is a skill. I have no choice but to admit it.'

Looking at what he's achieved now, he really is no pushover.

'Runestones, iron ore, I'll take them all. They were all mine originally.'

After taking over Leipold, he had no choice but to confront Giselle. He needed what he had to achieve his goals.

You must get them before Harold to proceed to the next step.

So, she had been watching his movements with great nervousness ever since Giselle took over the Cavaldi County.

"Still, there are some things I am grateful to him for."

Although we suffered losses because of Giselle, we also gained great benefits because of it.

Thanks to Giselle's great harm to Harold, Amelia was given the power to rebel whenever she wanted.

"It feels good to see Harold suffer a loss."

A sly smile appeared on her lips.

They were all going to have to be suppressed eventually anyway. It was a good thing for Amelia that Giselle was taking care of taking the pressure off Harold by fighting him.

'You can just force out those who get in your way.'

In order to do that, we first had to take over the Leipold Estate. We really prepared a lot for today's event.

She put the thoughts about Giselle and Harold out of her mind and asked Bernap.

"What about the other vassals?"

"No problem. We have secured all locations, and we are also monitoring their families."

"Okay, now we just have to wait for the time. Are you ready?"

Bernap was the first to bow his head and answer.

"All knights and soldiers of the escort team are ready."

Then, a middle-aged man with a cold expression wearing a gray robe bowed his head.

"I'm ready."

He was the leader of the wildcat smuggling group, Caleb, who had attacked Giselle just a while ago.

"Our kids are all done!"

A particularly large and fierce-looking man laughed loudly and shouted.

He was a famous bandit who once terrorized the North, and was called Ulkan, the 'Merciless Slayer'.

He carried a huge steel club, and he had a nasty hobby of beating people to death with it.

Conrad, the top lord of Actium, bowed next.

"Top troopers, ready to go."

In addition, heads of several groups bowed their heads to indicate that preparations were complete.

They were all people that Amelia had recruited and raised for a long time.

Amelia looked around at them and closed her eyes for a moment.

'It's just beginning.'

From the moment I first set my goal, I took my time and prepared step by step.

Originally, we had planned to prepare a little more thoroughly, but we had no choice but to bring forward the event because of Giselle.

Because of his rampage and the complications, Harold's plan to unite the North was ruined.

'It's not that bad though.'

After all, plans are just milestones. As circumstances change, plans change too.

What matters in the end is achieving your goals.

Was Amelia a little worried about how she was controlling her mind? Bernap said cautiously from the side.

"Miss… … Once you start, there's no turning back."

Amelia slowly opened her eyes and answered.

"know."

She wasn't doing this just because of her ambition and greed. Amelia's inner circle knew what she had in mind.

"Even after you obtain Leipold, it will be difficult. The lords and nobles of the North will not recognize you as Countess Leipold. In the long history of the kingdom, this has never happened before."

"This kind of thing happens often. There just hasn't been a woman who did it."

"Yes. That's why people will curse you even more, calling you a wicked woman and a witch. You'll lose all the fame and reputation you've built up so far."

"It doesn't matter. What other people think of me doesn't matter."

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"But as our notoriety grows, the whole world will become our enemy. We will fight a lonely battle for the rest of our lives. We will have to fight not only other lords and nobles, but also the prejudices of the people. Perhaps… … this fight may never end."

"… … It's something I was prepared for from the beginning."

"If you stop now… … . As the daughter of a great lord, you will be praised by the people as a noble and elegant noblewoman, and you will be able to live the rest of your life comfortably. Without any worries."

"That kind of life is meaningless. I don't want to live like a bird in a cage."

"If we fail… … we won't all die beautifully."

"No, we will definitely succeed."

Amelia closed her eyes again after saying those words.

Even the most generous person couldn't help but feel nervous before such a big task.

She took a moment to calm her mind and recalled past events.

Everything that made me who I am today.

– What? You want me to give more food to the people of the territory? That way the territory can live better? Hahaha! How dare you talk so brazenly, you woman. Where did you steal the knowledge of the art of kingship?

―Listen carefully. The people of the territory are like pigs and dogs. Just don't starve them and keep them alive. That will enrich our family and territory.

― What kind of politics is a woman involved in? Stop acting so arrogantly and prepare for marriage like other young ladies. You are nothing.

My father's reaction was always the same. It was so pitiful. He couldn't even think about what was more important in governing people.

It wasn't just my father. It was the same with his vassals.

― It is the young lady's role to strengthen the alliance between families. All you have to do is get married well. Stop reading useless books.

― The more serfs we have, the wealthier our estate becomes. That's a given. What rights are you giving us? Even this much is better than other estates in the north. It's a generous treatment.

― We are already a great power. It means that the way we have done things so far has not been wrong. It will be the same in the future.

― Miss, don't say such things out loud. I'm telling you not to make a fuss. You're a woman. You're not the heir to the family, or anything.

'It's nothing.'

Why did those words sound so poignant?

Why did everyone say that to me?

Why did everyone assume that I couldn't do anything?

– Be loyal to the Duke, and I will make you the master of Leipold.

― You can live a life of luxury. But that's it. Don't try to change the world with useless talk.

― Remember, Amelia. You are just a noble daughter. Without us, you are nothing.

Even the duke who pushed him said the same thing. When I thought about that, I laughed self-deprecatingly.

"It's nothing… … ."

"Yes? What are you talking about?"

Bernap, who was standing next to me, asked back with a curious expression at the unexpected remark.

She shook her head and laughed, her eyes still closed.

"No, it's nothing."

Yeah, those are things… … . They're really nothing.

Squeak… … .

The door to the hall where they were gathered slowly opened, and the maid serving Amelia came in.

"Ah, Miss… … ."

She opened her mouth with a trembling voice. She felt as if she was suffocating from the countless gazes on her.

The maid has seen many nobles and knights in her life, but she has never seen anyone as scary as those gathered here now.

Some are neat, some are messy, some are rough, and some are cool.

Although there were a variety of people gathered, their eyes were all the same.

Tonight, I resolve to dye this land with blood.

The maid closed her eyes tightly and spoke to Amelia, who was sitting at the head of the table. Her voice was still trembling.

"The banquet… has begun."

At those words, Amelia slowly opened her eyes.

From her mouth, which had completely made up her mind, a terribly cold voice soon leaked out.

"Dignified honor, undying loyalty, family glory and blood ties, these have lost all value in me. From now on, I will act only for my cause. Before it, no status matters, no good or bad, and even the institutions and customs that support the world are meaningless."

After taking a moment to catch her breath, she looked around at everyone again and continued speaking.

"Any being that stands in my way will be destroyed, killed, and burned. Remember this. From now on, my cause is the only righteous cause, and it is the goal you must pursue with your lives."

In order to fight the absurd, you have to become absurd yourself. That's how she decided to become a monster herself.

He will trample everything and create a new world of his own.

Even if it means burning this entire kingdom down.

As soon as he heard Amelia's firm determination, Bernap knelt on one knee and said:

"I will follow you till the end, young lady."

Then everyone around them also knelt on one knee and shouted:

"I will follow you to the end!"

Amelia's eyes lit up as she looked at them.

She announced the start of the operation with a voice full of firm conviction.

"Now, it's time for me to take everything."

* * *

Meow.

Bastet, a slender, gray cat, walked through the thick darkness toward the castle of Lord Leipold.

People on the streets fled in fear as Bastet passed by.

It wasn't the cat that scared him, it was the people following it that scared him.

Meow.

As the cat passed by, the number of people following it increased, one by one.

Some joined in from the street, while others came out of a mansion.

Their attire varied. Some wore gray robes, others were dressed like bandits. There were also knights and soldiers who seemed to be regular soldiers, well-armed.

As the number of people increased, the number of torches illuminating the streets at night also increased.

The group started out as a small group, but soon grew to hundreds of people.

The one leading them from the front of the group was Amelia.

The cat, who had been walking proudly, stopped walking when it reached the castle and rubbed its face against the leg of its owner who was right behind it.

"stop!"

The captain of the guard guarding the castle shouted loudly.

Today is the day of the important banquet. No troops may move without prior permission.

But the captain of the guard couldn't understand how so many troops had suddenly appeared.

'What the heck? How could so many troops have gathered near Yeongju Castle? What on earth were the security forces doing?'

While so many troops were approaching the castle, there was no news from the security forces. No matter how you looked at it, the atmosphere was not good. It seemed like something was wrong.

The captain of the guard looked at the face of the one standing at the front and spoke with as much composure as possible.

"My lady, no armed troops other than the minimum escort are allowed into the castle. Please quickly disband your troops and attend the banquet."

Amelia didn't respond to the captain's request. She simply extended her hand gracefully and said a word.

"Clean it up."