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Volume 4 Chapter 2 Part 3

「You made the right decision. 」

Aubest called out to Marine.

「Because of my own pride and the conceit of the Heavy Knights who are feared as the strongest knights on the continent, I lost many opportunities that I could have seized during the Battle of Selvis. That, and there is also the fact that neither mine nor your words were able to stop them. 」

Their defeat at the Battle of Selvis must have been a great shock for the Heavy Knights. The former Knight Commander took responsibility for that loss and returned his Crest back to Marine, and a considerable number of old knights followed suit and did exactly the same thing, and in their place, the new, younger, freshly decorated apprentice knights were welcomed in the ranks of the Heavy Knights of Waldrind. Thanks to that, not only was the organization rejuvenated, but their loyalty towards Marine herself was also strengthened.

「I am a woman, and a young one at that. Because of that, no matter what I would have done or what I would have achieved, I would always be looked down on and be underestimated. That is why I must become cold and ruthless and unify the entire continent by force so that everyone could see that I am worthy of being called a true Lord. And at the end of it all, I will find those who are responsible for the death of my father. 」

Marine said with a determined expression.

「And I will do everything within my power to help you, Lady Marine. 」

Aubest nodded his head slowly.

「It is going to be an incredibly tough battle. Putting the Fantasia Union aside, it is entirely possible that going against those who wriggle in the darkness of this world is most likely going to cost me my life. 」

「Not while we are protecting you, Lady Marine. 」

One of Marine’s maids, Layla, whispered into her ear as she untied her hair for her, and the other one, Cammy, proceeded to was her hands and feet with hot water. The two have been serving as maids since Marine was a child. In addition to them, the Kraische family has nearly 100 Chamberlains and maids led by the Head Chamberlain, and each and every one of them was taking their responsibilities as seriously as their own lives. In addition to that, since Jurgen Kraische was more aware of the importance of information than anyone else, he also made sure that every servant of the Kraische family would receive proper training in information gathering and emergencies such as assassinations. The Artists who became Chamberlains and maids who were trained in such fields were collectively called Shadows. Marine’s father, Mathias, also inherited the organization from Jurgen and never hesitated to use its members whenever there was a need for it.

That being said though, he would probably never have suspected that he was going to be killed by a Demon Lord in the Grand Cathedral of all places, during his daughter’s wedding when the security could not have been any higher.

「So, you want to be of use to me, huh? 」

Marrine asked as she put on her jet-black dress.

「Yes! What is it that you require of us, Lady Marine?! 」

Layla asked happily. It is the greatest pleasure for her servants and maids to be asked to do something for her.

「I want you to contact Milza Kuches, Prince of Dartania. I made it sound vague at the military council, but it seems that Dartania’s support for Pavel this time is not what Count Artuk intended. On the contrary, rumors say that the two of tehm had a falling out of sorts. I want to know if it’s true, and if possible, I want Dartania to be incorporated into the Factory Alliance. Vilar Constance, the Earl of Artuk is a wall that Waldrind must overcome at all costs if we ever want to start moving towards a better future for us. To defeat him, we need to gain control of the South Seas, and if we have Dartania on our side, we can have a navy on par with Artuk’s. 」

「As you wish, my Lady! 」

Layla answered and made a signal to Cammy with her eyes.

「Milza is a fearsome warrior, so be careful. 」

Marine finished getting dressed and sat on her chair.

「Do not worry yourself, Lady Marine, we will! 」

The two bowed respectfully and left the tent. When Marine arrived at the table prepared in the tent, she also proceeded to Aubest.

「There should be no problems if we continue to proceed the way we are going now. 」

Aubest slowly shook his neck, and Marine did not comment on the subject any further.

「Once this battle is over, we will finally ready to proceed with the proposal that we discussed. 」

「I think it will be the perfect timing to do so, but I do know how the Lords will react to it. 」

「They will accept it. Anyway, I want to form an alliance with Dartania as soon as possible, and then move on to attack Artuk. 」

For Marine, Vilar Constance, the Earl of Artuk is her cousin, and she always held a great deal of respect for his talents. However, that does not change the fact that Artuk is still Waldrind’s nemesis, and that it needs to be destroyed so that it could continue to prosper.

(If Artuk is destroyed, the Fantasia Union, which has a kind-hearted but incompetent leader, will no longer pose any kind of threat to us.)

Marine murmured in her mind.

* * *

June 11, 2013 of the Continental Calendar.

Pavel Murad, ruler of Stark’s peninsula, was holed himself up in a fortified fortress built on the Isthmus of Penelope.

His subordinate Lords and independent Lords who are on his side numbered about fifty and nearly a thousand soldiers have been now stationed in the castle.

Milza Kuches, the prince of Dartania was also in this fortress.

「I am truly grateful for your support, Lord Milza. 」

Pavel bows to Milza.

Milzer called dozens of ships from Dartania in a short period of time and provided them with food and supplies, and the convoy remained on the peninsula, enforcing a naval blockade.

「Actually, I wanted to lead the army and fight together with you, but just as I thought, my father had no intention of intervening in the conflicts on the continent. If the continent gets unified by one of the major forces, he simply intends to offer his subordination to whoever ends up winning the war. 」

Milza remarked, clearly sounding unhappy about this. His father, Sayd, the Viceroy of Dartania, is a Lord who holds the rank of a Marquis, but his essence is closer to that of a merchant. Based in the port city of Tarocca, he amassed enormous wealth through trade in the South Seas and built a golden palace for himself, but he did not stop at that. He also build an inner palace where hundreds of beautiful women gathered from all over the continent were housed, and it was a place that was known all throughout Dartania.

Milza was then born and raised in the palace. He also has dozens of brothers and sisters.

Milzer himself was only crowned prince because his mother was a daughter of a powerful tribal chieftain. However, Milza himself was nothing like his father, the biggest difference being his ambitious personality, and he already managed to secure the loyalty of a number of tribes for himself, including the tribe that his mother was originally from.

In Dartania, the unspoken law that has existed for as long as the country itself did is that as long as you demonstrate your qualities as a leader, then the people of Dartania will follow you.

. He was also expected by his father’s retainers more than his father, since his reputation with them was not too great after he began to monopolize the profits from the dangerous maritime trades which they needed to conduct for him.

「Nothing ever seem to go as planned. I never thought that the Union would seek peace with the Alliance in that situation… 」

Pavel frowned.

「I am also disappointed with the Earl of Artuk. I did not expect him to miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to destroy Waldrind like that. 」

「I could not agree more. 」

Milza nodded. Of course, Vilar should know that too, and yet he decided not to move.

Milza had always thought that Vilar lacked any kind of attachment to anything, because what he really wanted has already been lost, and he will never have it again.

(So boring…)

After witnessing this battle, Milza intended to return to Dartania. It no longer made sense for him to stay in Artuk.