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Chapter 338

“Einberg is under attack!”

A message had just been delivered from the border. Silence fell in the audience chamber. There were many people inside the chamber, but no one talked. That was how shocking their current situation was.

“…We need to dispatch forces immediately.” Marquess Iron, a noble on the First Prince’s side, broke the silence first. After the Military Advisor Zegar, he was the most famous advisor and strategist in the Empire.

“It’s nothing to panic about,” Iron continued. “Didn’t we already expect that a war would break out?”

“It’s not something that you can conclude that easily,” Marquess Broy, the infamously greedy head of a merchant family, interjected. “Due to the long civil war, our Empire’s national power has already reached zero. We’re outnumbered, and we have no source of money. Are you going to fight against the Swallow Empire head-to-head in a situation like this?”

“That’s…” Iron trailed off.

“Hahaha, this is ridiculous. While we were at each other’s throats, the other two empires reached a level that we can’t even touch. Wait, you don’t really think we’re still as powerful as the other two empires, do you?” Broy sarcastically asked.

“Then are you suggesting we sit on our hands?!” Iron growled.

Broy shrugged coyly. “Well, it looks like the smart Marquess Iron is having a hard time understanding me.”

“Marquess Broy! Are you insulting me right now?!” Iron shouted.

“Shall I be more straightforward?” Broy’s eyes shone for a moment. “Even with the central and provincial armies, we could never stop those empires. In the end, it means that all noble families will have to join in on the war…”

“Isn’t that why we’re all gathered here today?!” Iron yelled at the top of his lungs.

“Let me finish. The majority of us here have been pointing our swords at each other until just yesterday,” Broy reminded Iron.

Iron’s mouth closed as he finally realized what Broy meant.

“Yes, a common enemy has appeared, and they’re trying to bring our country down. However, you can’t expect enemies to become friends overnight. There are people in this room who lost their family members to each other. This isn’t it. Over the past three years, many noble families have been annihilated, so how am I supposed to trust that nothing will happen after I empty my house and let my soldiers go?”

The more Broy continued, the more the tension inside the room increased.

“Bu-But you’ll lose all your noble titles if we lose the war,” Iron tried to refute.

“It wouldn’t be odd if one of you put a dagger in my back right now, so do you think I would care about the war?” Broy narrowed his eyes.

Kiser, who was sitting on the left throne, seemed to think it was time for him to step in.

“…All of you, stop,” he said. “I’ll… let the heads of the families decide how many soldiers they are going to dispatch.”

Most of the nobles’ eyes widened; they hadn’t expected Kiser’s decision.

“Brother!” Kaizen shouted.

“Stay put,” Kiser warned him.

“But—!”

“Do we have any other solution?” Kiser’s eyes turned cold. “We were the ones who dragged everyone into this mess.”

Kaizen bit his lip. Kiser quickly turned his attention elsewhere.

“But I’ll set a minimum—I request that all of you send at least half of your private soldiers residing in your houses.”

“Half…” Broy trailed off.

It wasn’t a difficult request for the noble families to accept, but there was an issue. Even the Imperial Family didn’t know the exact number of private soldiers that the families had. Therefore, the nobles could just send only a part of their army and insist that they’d sent half of their army.

Broy came to a decision.

“…Then who do you wish to be the commander-in-chief?” he asked on the behalf of all the nobles.

“For the commander-in-chief…” Kiser trailed off.

“In my opinion, I recommend Marquess Demir,” Broy suggested.

That made some of the nobles flinch. Marquess Demir, from the west, was surely a talented and experienced commander, but the problem was that he was on Kaizen’s side, while, of course, most of the nobles in this place were on Kiser’s side.

“Your Highness, how about Marquess Sten?” the quick-witted Iron swiftly interjected. “He’s experienced enough to be called the Commander of the North and also so skilled that he is a Superhuman. I believe he is just as qualified as Marquess Demir to be the commander-in-chief.”

“Do you think he can swing the ceremonial baton as commander-in-chief with only one arm?” Broy snarked back. It seemed he’d been ready for Iron’s suggestions.

Iron frowned. “You are speaking ill of someone. You go too far just because he’s not here. Why don’t you try saying that in front of Marquess Arie himself?”

“Well, there is no reason I can’t do that.” Broy shrugged.

“Are you kidding me?!” Iron growled, bursting into anger.

Zegar couldn’t stand watching the conversation anymore.

“How about Duke Tremblin?” he interrupted.

“Oh!” Some nobles exclaimed as if they had forgotten about him until now.

“Of course, he’s experienced and not in any faction. In addition to that, he’s so skilled that the people of the continent call him the Sword Emperor. Besides, Duke Tremblin was in charge of the battles that took place in the east, so I think he’s truly the man for this job…” Zegar trailed off as he noticed Kiser’s expression turn grim. “…Your Highness, is there a problem…?”

“Duke Tremblin has already headed to the border,” Kiser bitterly answered.

“…Pardon?” Zegar blankly asked.

“One of the people that had detected the two empires’ suspicious movements was Duke Tremblin,” Kiser clarified.

“Then…”

“He’s already turned his back on his family for over three years… so he must have been worried.”

Zegar quietly groaned. “…Then we should send back up as quickly as possible.”

Brow shook his head. “We can’t make Count Arie the commander-in-chief.”

“Marquess Demir definitely cannot be the commander-in-chief!” Iron shouted.

“Are you seriously trying to turn this into a political dispute right now?” Broy frowned.

“I’m the one who should be saying that…!” Iron griped, dumbfounded.

“…Then how about the Hero King?” Zegar suddenly suggested.

Broy and Iron’s eyes widened at the same time.

“Isn’t he the reason why all of us are here today?” Zegar shrugged.

“…It’s because of what he said, not because of him,” Broy cautiously said after glancing at the corner of the council chamber.

The first time was always the hardest, so once Broy had brought the topic up, all the nobles inside the chamber voiced their opinions at once. However, they were basically saying the same thing.

“Yes, if we knew the enemy countries were going to invade us, we would have come right away even without his request!”

“We can’t let Joshua Sanders be the leader of the army! We can’t accept him yet!”

“He’s still young, so he doesn’t have the experience. He might be skilled as a knight, but it doesn’t mean he has the ability to command.”

At least this time, all the nobles united and supported Broy.

“Some of you may already know,” Broy said, “but there is a rumor that he’s the descendant of the old Royal Family of Kunir.”

His remark silenced all of the nobles. Half of the nobles groaned and nodded, and the other half of the nobles held their breath as if it was their first time hearing about it.

“So after he takes command of the army… no one knows what he’ll do afterward.”

“The Royal Family of K-Kunir’s descendant…”

“I-Is that true?”

Broy nodded. “On top of that, Aden von Agnus, Joshua Sanders’s father, is the prime suspect for the murder of His Majesty.”

Shock hit the nobles in the council chamber like a storm.

“Master, things are taking an unexpected turn,” Cain quickly whispered to Joshua in the corner of the chamber. “Are you going to let them keep talking like this?”

“…This country can’t be saved unless they change their minds on their own.” Joshua shook his head.

“Well, I don’t think it’s going to happen if they’re asking the blackmailer holding the knife to stab themselves…”

Joshua quietly chuckled. “Let’s just watch them for now.”

“The problem is that it doesn’t look like things are going to get better over time,” Cain said, unconvinced.

At that moment, the incongruous click of high heels drifted through the tense air in the chamber.

“…Huh?” Cain cocked his head, baffled. He realized that the sound was coming from the chamber’s entrance and instinctively turned his head to find it.

“She’s—!” Cain’s eyes widened upon seeing the jaw-droppingly beautiful woman. In fact, he was quite familiar with the red-haired woman.

“Ah…!”

“Oh, my god. Such a beautiful woman exists…?”

Cain’s jaw wasn’t the only jaw that dropped. Here and there in the council chamber, the nobles broke into exclaim. Kiser was especially busy stealing a glance at the woman as he sat on the throne, so much so that he forgot about the current issue.

“You’re…” Kiser murmured.

“I’m sorry I’m late.” The woman came to a halt in the center of the council chamber and politely bowed. “I was quite far away, so it took a while even though I used a warp gate.”

“It’s been so long!” Kiser sprang up from his seat, forgetting about his dignity.

“I, Charles de Pontier, greet Your Highness as the substitute head of the Pontier Family,” Charles elegantly said.

“Welcome! I’ve been hearing all about your accomplishments. Welcome, Lady Charles!” Kiser frantically waved his arms around.

“I’m grateful for your hospitality, but I don’t deserve it.” Charles smiled brightly.

It was said that one beautiful woman was capable of bringing a kingdom down. The way Kiser became mesmerized by Charles’s rose-like smile certainly suggested that the saying was true.

Charles immediately cut to the chase; she’d been polite enough, in her opinion.

“I happened to hear some of the discussions on my way over here… So, please pardon me, but would it be okay if I asked all of you a question?”

Kiser readily nodded before the nobles even could say anything.

“Ask anything you want.”

“Your Highness, then I dare ask…” Charles looked at Kiser with her scarlet eyes. “If the Imperial Family requests, the noble families have a duty to dispatch their private soldiers. Since we are under special circumstances where His Majesty isn’t present, there is room for discussion regarding the number of the soldiers that the noble families dispatch, but…”

“But?” Kiser repeated.

“…The noble families have the right to select the commanding officer of their soldiers. Am I correct?” Charles asked.

“Of course, commanding the whole army and one unit are technically different,” Kiser replied.

Charles’s smile deepened. “Thank you for your answer, Your Highness. My Pontier Family is planning to dispatch twenty thousand soldiers and five knight orders. In addition to military supplies worth two million gold, the Pontier Family is planning to supply food to the entire family for the duration of the war.”

She was indeed the owner of the great merchant group. Who else could make such an offer in the current Avalon Empire?

But she wasn’t done there.

“And for the commanding officer that will participate in the war on my family’s behalf…”

The nobles stared at Charles, wondering what she was going to say next.

Charles slowly turned her head to Joshua.

“I will select Joshua Sanders, my best friend. On a separate note, the Mercenary King, his other friend, is planning to help him with his fifty thousand mercenaries.”