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Volume 4 Chapter 3 Part 11

Right now, the two of them were alone, but the mood and the situation were not right for them to get all bubbly with one another.

「Yes, it is most definitely to prevent them from going to rescue Lord Vilar. 」

「The fact that Lord Lassic is good at fighting is probably well known to the Factory Alliance, and that is why they do not want him to interfere. 」

Siluca heard that rumors were circulating on the streets, stating that the Great King had returned. It was possible that Moreno was using his Shadows to intentionally spread such rumors.

(He was always doing whatever he wanted.)

Siluca thought so.

Meanwhile, Theo and Siluca’s goal is to defeat Sistina’s Lord Pederico Rossini.

「It seems that Moreno-senpai intends to lure the Ozer’s army into Selvis’s territory.

Siluca said with a disgusted look on her face.

「Is it likely that their plan will succeed? 」

「If Lady Natalia and Lord Petr do not fail the tasks that they have been given, then it will surely succeed. 」

「Then everything it should be okay. I do not think those two will fail. 」

Theo nodded with a smile on his face.

Siluca also had no objections about that. After all, Lady Natalia’s army was known for not backing away no matter the circumstances, and Petr’s forces were moving across the battlefield so swiftly that they might have as well been a living creature, steadily carrying out their duties.

「Unlike the Ozer army, I believe that the army of Veltava will definitely invade Artuk. If Veltava’s ruler would use that invasion as a chance to strengthen the Crests of the crests of his subordinate Lords, that would be a great loss to Lord Vilar. 」

「I guess so. 」

「As for the people whom they might be targeting, there is Baron Eugen Niklae in the north, Baron Razvan Kamatal in the west, and of course you, Baron Teo Cornero of the Forest of Eternal Darkness… 」

「And what about Lord Vilar? Did he asked us to send reinforcements to him? 」

「No. I am sorry to say this, but so far, no request for reinforcements has been sent to us, which makes me think that he intends to fight this battle alone. 」

「But this is exactly the situation where we should be rushing to Lord Vilar’s help! 」

「Exactly… 」

Siluca drooped her shoulders dejectedly. Villar is now under attack by the Heavy Knights of Waldrind on land and by Dartania’s fleet from the sea, and yet, the only thing that they can do for him is to guard their own territory.
But what we can do now is protect this area.

「Let’s keep in touch with Lord Eugen and Lord Razvan, and cooperate with the neighboring Lords to deal with the situation as best as we can. 」

Siluca advised as such.

「Okay. I will be ready to move out anytime. 」

Theo nodded and went down to the soldiers waiting outside the castle.

It was not until sometime later that they have received reports of the movements of the army of Veltava.

Veltava’s forces headed north along the highway, which made everyone think that they were going to enter the territory of Waldrind, but then they suddenly turned east, towards the road that led to The Forest of Eternal Darkness.

「They really are coming here. 」

Siluca was surprised at such a turn of events.

「Well, I am surprised as well. I know that the territory that I possess is quite vast and I do not have all that many soldiers to protect it, but my title is still barely that of a Baronet, so it is not like they will have all that much to gain from attacking me. 」

Theo said jokingly.

「Putting the jokes aside, I am afraid that you might be right. Moreover, it is Lord Lassic and led the soldiers of Selvis who defeated the Heavy Knights of Waldrind in that battle, not you. 」

「Right? For someone like me, who is basically just a caretaker of The Forest of Eternal Darkness, my fame is uselessly high. 」

Theo shrugged his shoulders.

「What is the most surprising here is the fact that Veltava’s army actually has the courage to invade this Demonic Realm. After all, I thought that the terror of The Forest of Eternal Darkness was well-known. 」

However, if they attacked here, it was precisely what Siluca wanted to happen, because then the Veltavan army will earn the wrath of this Demonic Realm and its inhabitants.

「How many opponents are there? 」

「Roughly five thousand soldiers. 」

「And how many do we have? 」

「Right now, we have about 200 soldiers. Aishela is training them, so for the time being I left all the decisions on what to do with them in her hands. I have also imposed mandatory military service on the inhabitants of all the villages and settlements around the entire Forest of Eternal Darkness, but currently we have no way of knowing how many of them are actually going to comply with it. 」

Less than 100 people responded to the call in the previous battle, but they have no way to predict how many will gather this time.

「Therefore, I would like us to barricade ourselves in this castle. If the village is going to be invaded, the residents will have no choice but to fight back. 」

「We cannot get the people involved in this. Let them hit us here. 」

Theo said with a refreshing voice.
「Eh? 」

Siluca let out a voice of surprise. She was now stiffened in a strange position where her mouth was held agape from shock because that is how much she did not expect what Theo said just now.

「But I just said it would be better for us to be besieged, did I not? 」

Siluca stares at Theo.

「Yeah, I heard that, but I say that we should fight them before that happens. 」

「Yes, you said that…. and that is what surprised me. 」

「You should not be. A Lord’s duty is to protects his people, right? 」

「You say that, but these people do not even see you as their Lord, you know? 」

That was something that Siluca felt keenly when she went on patrol together with Theo.

「Whether they love me or hate me, the people are still people, and the Lord has a duty to protect his people. 」

「That’s right, I forgot that you think about it in such categories. It is not a very realistic approach to the problem, but… 」

However, for him, exposing the people of his territory to danger is a line he cannot compromise on crossing. If he goes beyond that, he will lose the qualification to defeat the Rossini family.

(But does he have any hopes of winning like that?)

Siluca tried to imagine in her head how Theo would fight against Pederico Rossini. She tried various simulations, but the image of winning did not come to her in any of them at all. But first, she needed to think about the incoming battle.

「What are you going to do if you end up losing? 」

Siluca tried to remind him of that possibility.

「It is a battle. You can lose at any moment. 」

「Even if you do not like losing almost as much as I do? 」

「I know. But it cannot be helped. 」

「Is that so? I understand. 」

When her Lord told her so, she had no choice but to obey him.

So far, he has not always won the battles that he engaged in, and it was not once or twice when he and Siluca were prepared to die as a result.

「Then let us move out. We need to do as much as we can before Veltava’s army enters the forest… 」

And so, Theo Cornero’s army left the Vampire King’s castle. Aishela chose glaive for her pole weapon and led two hundred soldiers. Priscilla, a priestess of the Order of the Crest accompanied her, while his chamberlain Arvin and twin werewolves Emma and Luna preceded the rest of the army as scouts.

「It may be useless for now, but please raise your banner, Lord Theo. 」

Siluca called out to Theo while advancing her horse.

「I have told you that I will impose military service, so hopefully there should be someone who will comply with it. 」

They cannot expect all that much, but it would be better for them to have as many allies by their side as possible.

They passed through the castle town and entered the highway that meandered through the forest, and when they looked back, they saw a growing line.