CH 179

Translated by Raizu

In fact, there is no need to rush to reply to letters received from Royal or Imperial Nobles.

Since I am currently someone who is standing on the front line against Spierzeig, it is natural that I am allowed to be a little late. Rather, it would be rude to ask me to be quick.

That’s why I spent the afternoon writing a letter to send to Princess Romilie.

I suddenly realized that in this world, Princess Romilie was the Princess of the Kingdom of Voistra. There is something very appealing about being a Princess of a fallen Kingdom. Isn’t it one of the romances of a man to have a former Princess who is proud of her bloodline to line up for his cock, waiting to be fucked senseless?

However, the higher her current position, the more likely it is for her to try to use me. Unfortunately, it’s still difficult for me to reach her.

Besides, if the all-important Princess Romilie wasn’t necessarily such an arrogant Princess, but rather a pretty Princess with a full unhappiness aura, I’d want to hug her gently with my arms.

Anyway, it didn’t bother me to write a letter addressed to Princess Romilie. This is because when you receive a letter from someone you don’t know, you can reply with almost the same text as the template.

This is similar to exchanging business cards in Japanese society. By replying in a non-offensive formal way, they mutually confirm that [From now on, we will be exchanging letters].

And above all, a letter is something you write while imagining the other person. Writing while fantasizing about a princess with a pedigree was extremely fun.

With my motivation fully erected, as soon as I finished the letter addressed to Princess Romilie, I reached out to clean up the other letters that had been piling up with that momentum.

By the time I finished several letters addressed to other Nobles, dinner was ready.

=====

When I sat down at the dinner table, I was doing a goo-pa-goo-pa exercise.

I spent most of the afternoon just holding my brush, so I can’t help but feel like I need to do it. Even if I have the body of a Highlord, and I would feel almost no fatigue no matter how much I wrote, let alone tenosynovitis.

[Something wrong with your hand?]

As I turned my wrist to make a crackling sound, one of the military officers spoke with a little nervousness.

I started regretting that I showed them something unnecessary.

[It’s nothing. I had a lot to write today, so I’m just feeling tired.]

[Is it the residue of magic from the duel in Nambonan City…?]

[No, it’s a matter of mood. Don’t worry about it.]

The military officers were worried about the aftereffects of the duel, but I lightly dismissed them as if I didn’t care, and brought the bread on the plate to my mouth.

They waited for a while, but soon resumed eating. However, it seems that the cafeteria has been deprived of the heat of conversation once it has quieted down. Only the clattering sound of tableware resounded in the room.

I felt the strange atmosphere, so I decided to bring up a topic myself.

[…Taking the duel aside, isn’t the decisive battle near? Will the army be advancing to the Voistra plains soon?]

For the time being, it’s convenient to raise a topic about war to the military officers, as they will get excited on their own.

If we were to advance ahead of Reisleaf Castle, a large-scale field battle would be unavoidable. However, the military officers only had a difficult look on their faces.

[That’s a difficult question, because outside factors have a strong influence.]

Hearing those words, I realized that I had brought up the topic in the wrong way.

I once heard from Viscount Galiana that [It would take 10 years for the Quordenze army to capture Reisleaf Castle, and another 5 years for the city of Othelloria to fall]. A military officer of the Galiana family seems to have said something like that.

It wasn’t until recently, in the midst of the chaos that took over Reisleaf Castle, that I realized that those predictions weren’t true in the truest sense of the word.

[Outside, huh…]

The 15-year prediction of the fall had a proviso like a high school physics test question.

Question 1: Guess how long it will take for the Quordenze army to take over the city of Othelloria. However, the movements of other families should not be taken into account…and so on.

This was based solely on the premise of a simple direct battle between the warring parties.

[Yes. Depending on the policy, the course of march, as well as the time and place of the decisive battle, things may change greatly. At this stage, I can’t say anything.]

Considering only one aspect of the war between the Quordenze faction and the former Voistra, the prediction is probably correct. But, that’s just a theory. Like dropping a ball in a world without air resistance. Not realistically correct.

The fact is, if the Quordenze family managed to devour the Spierzeig territory, it means that the only giant noble in the central part of the continent will be born. Will the nobles who have cooperated so far approve of it?

Of course, I don’t think so.

[The Levios family will be our greatest hindrance. I wonder how my father will handle it…]

Locally oriented, introverted and conservative Nobles’ acts of sabotage will surely come. It’s more of a “disturbance” than a hindrance. A war that takes place in a place far from one’s own territory is, so to speak, like a conflict in a distant foreign country that one sees on television, and there is no sense of ownership to the extent that one feels disgust.

But, the Levios Royal family is different.

The Levios family, which governed the turbulent eastern part of the continent and has overseen many Noble families for 80 years, has accumulated the know-how in Noble’s diplomacy and the skill to read and understand the situation on the continent. They will definitely use them to hinder the progress of the Quordenze family.

[Because of Young Master’s efforts, we were able to capture Reisleaf Castle early, so I think the policy will be completely different from before.]

And my father was worried and stuck thinking about how to avoid the interference of the Levios family that would come.

If it takes too long for the fall of Reisleaf Castle, it will give the Levios family room for diplomatic maneuvers. In order to avoid that, early fall is essential. But, Reisleaf Castle is known to be impregnable and cannot be taken down easily.

In fact, my father was quite impatient about being driven into a dead end diplomatically, even though he had the upper hand in the war. As a result, he was frustrated and made a series of mistakes, leading to a surprise attack by the Spierzeig family. ……As a result, I was able to obtain the great result of the fall of Reisleaf Castle. But, this was just a matter of luck.

It was after the fall of Reisleaf Castle that I received such a letter of repentance from my father.

I see. The military and civil officers were banned from discussing the 15 years prediction. As the one who had to spin his brain to plan ahead and deal with everything, hearing things like [Well~, we’ll naturally win in 15 years!] is a provocation to my father. It’s like mocking my father’s diplomatic abilities.

[What do you think, Young master?]

[… It will probably be an early march. If we can capture Othelloria before interference from other powers becomes serious, the rest will be fine.]

Military officers and civil officers reacted to my answer, but they didn’t express a different opinion. How to say it, I feel a lack of interest in the element of other families’ trends.

To be honest, there are many things that surprise me about the closedness of the military officers and civilians, or the narrow vision and conservativeness to their own territories.

When I first heard the 15 years prediction, I thought that the interference and sabotage of other families had already been factored into the calculations. Rather, it makes me wonder why they don’t consider it.

According to them, [It is common for neighboring Nobles to intervene, but never before has a distant Noble made an effort to interfere. 200 years after the upheaval of St. Navempos, war between Nobles has always been like that]. It can be said that their old-fashioned way of thinking is also unavoidable.

No. The feudal system of Nobles and Knights, whose purpose is to entrust a territory to their Lord and govern it, may be what narrows people’s thinking in the first place.

Former Earthlings can easily imagine a scheme in which other powers form a scrum to stop a military invasion. But that wasn’t common knowledge on the Eruo continent.

The Nobles of the Eruo continent recognize that it is a natural right for strong Nobles to eat weaker Nobles, although there is a difference in degree. Putting aside the neighboring Nobles who could suffer a direct disadvantage, the interference of distant Nobles was beyond the scope of their assumptions in the first place.

If you ask people who have such values, they would say, [Why would someone who has nothing to do with you from far away interfere?].

……Or rather, it might be more correct to say that the Eruo continent, where the war continued, could not afford to see the situation in the distance. In any case, their attention was fully occupied with protecting their own territory.

However, time on the Eruo continent has not stopped.

With the birth of mighty powers such as the Levios Kingdom and the Zinkaen Empire, and with the increase in the number of Nobles belonging to them, there is no doubt that the era will change from an era in which individual Nobles boast of their bravery to an era in which they create factions and gain supremacy through diplomacy.

Large-scale intervention through diplomacy to prevent other powers from making rapid progress will undoubtedly become a trend on the Eruo continent in the future.

It can be said that the Quordenze family is currently facing the modern diplomatic era.

I think that my father, who expected interference and interference from the Levios family from an early stage without being bound by old values, had a good sense of diplomacy.

Nobles living in the future should have such diplomatic power. I don’t think you can live with just relying on your sword arms.

I decided to raise a topic that would be easy to answer to the military officers who were silent.

[Then, assuming we don’t think about outside interference, how are we going to take down the city of Othelloria?]

However, the military officers immediately responded to the question with the condition that they should not consider the movements of other families.

[If that’s the case, we should destroy some cities that exist in the northern part of the Voistra Plains, and head straight south from the front.]

[If we can take control of the northern plains, we will be able to deliver supplies using the mountain roads from Nambonan City, so it will be much easier for the army to move.]

The outer lands of the Quordenze territory are shaped like a horizontal fish hook, and it takes a lot of time and effort to transport food and weapons to the front line.

[In the sense of preventing a surprise attack on Nambonan City like before, taking control of the northern plain would be a useful measure.]

[…However, there are many relatively large cities in the north, so it is expected that it will take some time to capture them.]

[Since it is a plains area, it is likely that many open battles will occur. If we can reduce the number of enemy soldiers in this northern battle, it will be easier to attack Othelloria.]

They must have been simulating the invasion of the Spierzeig territory on a daily basis, and their narration was smooth.

[I see.]

It was a solid and safe route for safe tiles.

If it’s the Northern Conquest course, it’ll be easier to go to the front line from Nambonan City. And that would likely make me the leader of the main army.

If it weren’t for the fact that it would take a long time to capture, I would definitely choose that strategy.

[Then let me ask again. Assuming that some sacrifices are unavoidable, how should we proceed to take down the city of Othelloria as quickly as possible?]

Despite me changing the condition, their answer was still as smooth.

[We’re invading the western Voistra Plain directly then. We’ll use Silknoon as a foothold to attack Othelloria in that case.]

Haa, I took a deep breath.

Despite the fact that an invasion of the West was a rather risky choice, the other military officers did not seem to object. Perhaps they vaguely believe that such instructions will reach them.

[That’s quite an adventurous plan. Tell me.]

I wanted to know what the military officers thought, so I urged them to speak.

[If you want the fastest route, the first thing you should think about is the easiest city to conquer.]

[The Silknoon City?]

[Yes. The Silknoon family lacks lords, to the extent that a young girl like Rose Silknoon has no choice but to become a Knight. As Young Master already knows, the current Knight Silknoon perished during the previous battle. That makes Silknoon’s power to be considerably weakened.]

Female knights are not uncommon, but not that many.

For a young maiden like Rose to become a Knight means that there are very few Lords left ​​in the family.

For most commoners, the most familiar rulers are Knights.

The people are afraid of the Knights, the symbol of power, and are also relieved by their presence. There is a refractive trust relationship that the weak can follow the strong.

However, the loss of Knights in quick succession would raise doubts about the strength of the Silknoon family. Without trust, it would be difficult to gather an army.

[…What about the possibility of a pincer attack?]

[I have to say that it is an unavoidable danger.]

The city of Silknoon is located northwest of Othelloria, near the boundary between the mountains and the Voistra plains.

This mountainous region has been the territory of several noble families who have followed the Spierzeig family since the times of the Voistra Kingdom, so if you march here, there is a possibility that you will be pincered from both the mountain side and the plain side.

[The Silknoon’s original role is defending against enemies coming from the mountains. If we can use their facilities, I think we can compete to some extent.]

[I see.]

Silknoon City is one of the cities annexed to the Spierzeig family during the unification of the Voistra Plain.

Seeing the turmoil that began with St. Navempos, the head of the Spierzeig family at the time…the first King of Voistra, later harbored the ambition to unify the Voistra plain. Because he had the ability to accomplish big business, and he also had the advantage of having his main city on Othelloria.

In unifying the vast Voistra plains, the first King of Voistra was wary of the Nobles from the mountainous areas rushing into the plains. That’s when he set his sights on a city close to the mountainous area, the current city of Silknoon.

The Spierzeig family decided to build a military base in this city to prepare for the Nobles based in the mountainous area. At this time, the name of the senior military officer who was entrusted with the head of this base was Silknoon.

In later years, in unifying the Voistra plains, he was praised for his skillful check on the mountainous area and preventing their invasion, and military officer Silknoon was entrusted with the control of the city he protected and its surrounding areas. It was at this time that the name of the city changed to Silknoon City and the Knight Silknoon was born.

During the times of the Voistra Kingdom, Silknoon City was one of the leading military bases in the Spierzeig territory, so the number of people coming and going increased. It developed rapidly as it became one of the traffic routes for merchants heading to Othelloria from the mountain area.

But now, the family was so exhausted that a maiden less than 20 years old had no choice but to serve as a Knight.

In any case, the original role of Knight Silknoon was to guard against Noble families in mountainous areas.

This is a part that can be called the roots of the Knight’s Silknoon family, their identity. And their defense facilities should still be maintained.

If we can take the city without damaging the defense facility too much, even if the Quordenze army is attacked from the side, we should fare a little easier.

[As expected, will the Nobles under the umbrella and the Spierzeig family collude and attack?]

[Since the capture of Reisleaf Castle, it seems that the Nobles of the mountainous region and the Spierzeig family are not on the same page. If they want to keep a tie with the Spierzeig, thinking that we Quordenze will come instead, they’ll endure a little dissatisfaction and collude.]

It would be a pity to have a tragic ending where the Quordenze family will not come after changing the Spierzeig family.

[…then, how about we secretly communicate with them?]

I cut the thick-haired rabbit meat on the plate into easy-to-eat sizes and say what came to my mind.

[As in, we try to win them over?]

[Yep. It can’t be helped if father and grandfather want to kill all the nobles under Spierzeig. But if not, we should consider it. On the condition that they do not invade the mountainous areas, wouldn’t it be fine to press them not to get involved in the attacks on Silknoon and Otheloria?]

Probably, but I think that my father and grandfather want to eradicate only the Spierzeig family.

Spierzeig and Quordenze have a long-standing rivalry. Not to mention the resentment of having their immediate family killed. If I don’t kill the octopus while I can, I’m sure I’ll get my head cut off in the future. As for father, I’m sure he wants to weaken the Spierzeig family as much as possible.

Of course, while not undermining the well-being of the Quordenze family.

In the first place, destroying the Nobles of the mountainous regions would be of little benefit. Rather, it will result in a large deficit.

The mountainous area to the west of the Voistra Plain seems to have a few mineral resources, but that’s it. It is said that it is not uncommon for them to ask the Spierzeig family for wheat in years when the food production is low and the harvest is poor. Due to the fact that there are quite a few houses, it is assumed that the army will clash with each other many times when it comes to attacking.

To be frank, it’s nothing more than hard work and loss.

It is also well understood that the Spierzeig family, who once unified the Voistra plains, made them vassals instead expanding their own territory into the mountainous area. It must have been exhausting.

If you poorly expand the area under your control, you will have the responsibility of managing the monsters of that land, and your workload will increase. It would be nice if there was a profit worth the trouble. But no matter how you look at it, it’s not worth it.

My father has a relatively solid profit and loss account, so he wouldn’t commit such a foolish thing as invading a mountainous area.

[If you’re going to go to great lengths to keep it secret, wouldn’t it be better to wait until the time is right to have them betray the Spierzeig family? With a non-interference agreement, you don’t know when it will be broken. There’s always danger behind you.]

[I agree. If you plan to set up a scheme, you should make them stand on our side when attacking Silknoon, and drive them into a position where they can’t turn their back on us anymore.]

[If one thing falls, it may lead to a chain reaction that completely overturns all the subordinates. In that case, the attack on Othelloria is easy to take in the form of a pincer attack, which is extremely advantageous.]

Military officers don’t seem to like the passive betrayal I proposed, and strongly assert the positive betrayal.

Certainly, from the point of view of those fighting in the field, it’s no wonder they feel uneasy about the betrayal. With a non-interference agreement alone, we don’t know when they will turn their back on us.

In order to increase the odds of obtaining Othelloria even a little, it would be better to do as they say.

[Your opinion is valid.]

I brought the tea in the goblet to my mouth. I quenched my thirst before having them listen to my thoughts.

[…But, I still think that they should stay out of the war.]

I think they are making the right decisions as military officers.

However, I am not one.

[May I ask why?]

Military officers looked towards me in a crisp posture. their eyes were serious, and their gaze piercing.

First of all, I plainly stated how futile it was to defeat Noble families in the mountainous areas and gain territory, and shared my thoughts with them.

They seemed to be thinking exactly the same thing about this, so they were just confirming it and didn’t raise any particular objections.

[It is difficult for the mountain Nobles to survive without relying on a large power somewhere. Right now they are submissive to the Spierzeig family, but what will happen if this is weakened…]

They need a strong leader. For Nobles with only small territories in mountainous areas, relationships with large nobles with food production and economic power are essential.

The Spierzeig family has played that role so far, but if the city of Othelloria were to fall, would it be possible to maintain that relationship? Of course the answer is no.

[If you try to take down Silknoon City and Othelloria City with their help, people around you might think that you’re their new boss.]

In return for their betrayal to the Spierzeig, they may demand to join the Quordenze family. Even if they refused this, if they actually fought together, the people around them would recognize that the Quordenze family had become their boss.

[It will be adjacent to the Imperial Territory through their territory. The Emperor may have a sense of crisis about this. We need them to act as buffers.]

From the point of view of the current Emperor, Emperor Ferolt, he would feel that the Quordenze family, which was located far away, is now approaching very close.

Until now, the indecisive Emperor has been unable to make decisions for fear of the Empire splitting up, but this may trigger a rampage.

After the war, in order not to cause Emperor Ferolt to be overly cautious, I think it would be better to make them think that the Nobles from the mountainous region were not under the control of Quordenze.

In addition, the newly acquired territory alone will be quite large, so it will take a considerable amount of time to fully own it. The Quordenze family is, so to speak, a serpent that swallows large prey and ends up looking like a Tsuchinoko. Even if war broke out in that state, it would not be possible to move satisfactorily.

[I see……]

[Certainly, I would like to avoid a new war until we stabilize.]

[Does that mean that we should stick to the line of non-interference with the nNobles in the mountainous region?]

That question was a good help to continue the conversation.

[No, I don’t know about that. The Kingdom of Voistra allowed them to serve as vassals in order to solidify their defenses in the west, so depending on the situation, I think it would be one way to follow it.]

The Voystra Kingdom’s diplomatic policy and governance structure are excellent in many respects, and it is highly evaluated that if Emperor Zinkaen hadn’t appeared, it would have become the hegemon of the central part of the continent. Good methods should be adopted more and more.

I don’t think it would be a bad idea to bring them under our control once we have stabilized and have sufficient reserve power.

[…Considering that, I can’t let their betrayal be even more blatant.]

[So, what will Young Master do?]

[If the situation deteriorates, they will betray their masters and aggressively attack them… Incorporating people with such criminal records into our umbrella will be a source of trouble in the future. That’s how heavy the precedent is.]

In the world of hereditary systems, the influence of precedent is very strong. The Eruo continent would be no exception.

They were able to survive because they took the Quordenze family’s invitation and turned their backs on the outnumbered Spierzeig family.

In the future, when the power of the Quordenze family weakens and we are attacked, it is conceivable that the mountain Nobles will follow the precedent of the past and quickly betray us.

[It would be better to force a non-interference agreement on them.]

Passive betrayal is easy to make excuses on, such as [I really wanted to go to the front. But my army was exhausted, so I couldn’t]. Even if there is pressure from the Quordenze side behind the scenes, the truth is in the dark. I don’t think they would go out of their way to openly show their betrayal of not interfering.

Even when adding them to the affiliation, it would be better to say, [Well, they didn’t betray the master until the very end. Let’s praise their loyalty and accept their vassalage] .Then, in the history of their family, a false precedent will be created that [The loyalty that did not betray the master even when outnumbered was valued and led to their survival].

And so, as time passed, their inaction and betrayal disappeared into the darkness of history, leaving only the beautiful story of how they survived because they were loyal retainers.

As generations pass, the number of sons who look up to the Quordenze family as their lord from the bottom of their hearts and who will never betray their loyalty even if the master’s family is put in a disadvantageous position will increase. Yes, because there is no such thing as a “precedent” of them betraying their master.

Then, one of the military officers agreed with my opinion.

[It seems that the post-war period will be troublesome if their military exploits in the Spierzeig attack are poorly rewarded.]

[Certainly, you are right. It would be troublesome for them to be active.]

Aggressive betrayal, in other words, making them fight according to the Quordenze family’s clear instructions, can be said as there is already an implicit master-servant relationship. From their point of view, naturally, they should expect a reward that matches their work.

If it’s a small amount of military exploits, we can just say, [You’ve been hostile up until now, but are you going to make amends with just this betrayal? Plus or minus zero… no, it’s still a bit of a minus. Be grateful that we didn’t destroy you, then]. And they may be able to throw away the spear in good condition. However, there is a possibility that we will not be able to refuse to confirm the master-slave relationship if they are very active.

Even though we have to keep vigilant to our surroundings just by suppressing the city of Othelloria, the diplomatic channel is a quick tact, and the Quordenze family is very steering.

On the other hand, if it was a passive betrayal, it would be easy to refuse to confirm the master-slave relationship. Because they didn’t do anything.

[…Did the story jump a little too much? The tea has become lukewarm.]

I spoke as I wanted, and then I started drinking tea again.

In reality, there is a high possibility that the Nobles in the mountainous area will take some action when the majority is decided, so I don’t think things will go well. This is a story that can not be helped even if it is ridiculed as an empty theory on the desk.

In addition, as the military officer said, it would be more advantageous to have the betrayal actively proceed with the war against Spierzeig. I wish I could go back to New Nelly Castle and talk to my father about how he will judge this area and what kind of policy he is thinking of taking regarding the mountainous area.

[No, I think it was a very good idea. The first and foremost duty of military officers like us is to think about carrying out the battles and operations in front of us. Please think about the future of Quordenze from a broader perspective.]

[Ah, your thoughts were also interesting. I wish I could return to New Nelly and talk to my father about the future invasion to Spierzeig…. As expected, I don’t want to exchange letters. I don’t want to have more envelopes on my desk than I do now.]

By adding a punch line at the end, the conversation about Spierzeig invasion ended.

When dinner was about to end, the dining room door opened quietly and a military officer entered.

He whispered to the civil officer standing near the door and immediately left the dining room. As I stared blankly at the end of the call, the civil officer approached me and whispered into my ear.

[The flowers that Young Master requested have arrived from Nambonan City.]

It seemed that the preparations for attacking Silknoon were completed.

Here comes my next battlefield: the bed.