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Volume 7 Chapter 2 Part 4

Lassic then continued towards Theo.

「If Lord Serge has no objections, then there’s no problem. By the way, are you confident that you can fight against Milza and win, Lord Theo? 」

「I cannot say that with absolute certainty. 」

Theo answered Lassic with a completely straight face.

「But Milza is an enemy we must defeat at all costs. 」

All the other Lords nodded thoughtfully at Theo’s words. One of the themes of this Lord’s Conference was supposed to be how to prevent Milza’s invasion from happening

「Do you have a plan in mind? 」

When asked by Lasik, Theo looks back at Siluca.

「Of course. 」

Siluca smiled. Actually, she had no plan at all, but now that it has come to this, she had no choice but to come up with one on the spot.

「Then, I will act as the leader of the Artuk Treaty until we defeat Milza and Lord Eugen’s funeral is over. After that, we’ll talk about my subordination to you again. 」

Lassic said that and looked around at the monarchs.

「I would like all of you to do the same. 」

There was no objection to Lassic’s suggestion from other Lords, and so they all nodded their heads, and thus the Lord’s Conference was adjourned. Since Artuk Treaty was in the middle of a war against Dartania and the Factory Alliance, there were no parties where the guests could drink and be merry afterwards. Instead, all the Lords simply returned to their respective territories.

After seeing off the rulers, Siluca took a deep breath.

「Was that really okay? 」

Lassic called out to Theo.

「I feel like we had no choice but to do this. 」

Theo smiles bitterly.

「After daring to accept responsibility for Lord Eugen’s death, you became the spearhead of the subjugation of Milza and Dartania. That is a very dangerous and disadvantageous role that you took upon your shoulders. 」

Lassic patted Theo on the shoulder.

「If we don’t do that, those people won’t accept your subordination to me. 」

Theo hit Lassic’s arm back. Of course, Siluca knew what he meant by that.

She wanted to tell the Lords how difficult it was to defeat the Rossini family, but she was sure that they’d just be indifferent towards them if they did that. However, Viceroy Milza is definitely a real threat. And since everyone wanted to maintain the current system until Milza was dealt with, they should have no more reasons to oppose Lassic’s subordination to Theo once he’ll be no more.

「By the way, what kind of strategy will you use to fight Mirza? 」

Lassic asked Theo.

「Not now. 」

Theo laughed and shook his head.

「But I’m sure you’ll think of something, Siluca. 」

「Looks like you’re going to have a hard time too. 」

Moreno looked at Siluca with sympathy.

「That is the duty of a contracted Mage. Didn’t Moreno-senpai also do well when you fought against Dartania? 」

「Well, I guess. 」

Moreno proudly flicked the unusually large piece of silver jewelry around his neck with his fingers.

「No, no, for me, it’s hard to imagine erecting a wall of mirrors against charging cavalry. The fact that you immediately chanted it meant that you were considering such a situation might happen, right? 」

「It was nothing that impressive, really. Blocking your enemy from fully utilizing their strengths is the basis of every battle strategy, after all. 」

Moreno ruffled his hair.

「The strengths of Dartania’s army… 」

Just thinking about it made Siluca feel sick and her head spin.

Dartania had a large army of over 10,000 men stationed in Artuk, entirely comprised of elite soldiers, and Milza himself is said to be the strongest warrior on the entire continent.

He is good at field battles that taking advantage of the mobility of light cavalry units. In order for that difference in strength between him and them to not become an insurmountable problem, the only option that they have is to avoid engaging him in an open battle. However, Siluca didn’t think that there was a whole lot of convenient measures that would allow them to go through with it.

However, after thinking about it for a while, something did end up flashing in her mind. She then tried it out a few times in her head, and it seemed like it was something that might just work.

Siluca nodded loudly and smiled at Moreno.

「Moreno-senpai, thanks to you, I think I might’ve just found a way for us to defeat Milza!

「You really did? 」

Moreno looked at her with suspicion.

「If you don’t mind, could you tell me? 」

「I’d love to hear that too, but there’s no need to just stand here and talk. Why don’t we move someplace else? It’s the first occasion in a while for us to talk slowly to our hearts’ content, so we shouldn’t be wasting it. 」

Lassic made a proposal and invited Theo and Siluca to a separate room.

「With that in mind, I brought wine and olive oil from Sistina as souvenirs. 」

As Siluca spoke, irvin and the twin maids appeared from behind a nearby pillar, holding souvenirs in hand, and the cat fairy Balgary sprang forth from the shadows, licking his tongue.

「That makes me happy. Other Lords also brought special products from their countries with them, so let’s enjoy them as side dishes. 」

「We’ll be happy to take you up on that offer. 」

Theo smiled and nodded at Lassic’s suggestion.

* * *

Marine Kraische, the leader of the Factory Alliance returned to the town of Bertha, where she resided, for the first time in a while, and she was happy to be back.

A fierce battle against Kurt Gallas, the Earl of Leclerc and his mercenary group continued, but recently there was a rebellion on the west side of Vanberg, which is his area of control, so Earl of Leclerc needed to go there in order to suppress it.

During this time, the Heavy Knights of Waldrind completely replaced their expeditionary force, and Marine herself had a chance to return home.

This morning, she took a leisurely bath, had her skin, hair, and nails carefully taken care of by her two maids, Laila and Cammy, and put on a new set of clothes and underwear. However, as usual, she was wearing black mourning clothes that didn’t show much skin.

After that, she invited the Viceroy of Dartania, Milza Kuches and the ruler of Stark, Ulrika, the daughter of the 「Ocean King」 Eric, to visit her.

Marlene took the two of them to her room, set out the sweets she had baked, and made them tea.

「Delicious! 」

Ulrika ate the sweets and let out a happy exclamation.

Milza didn’t change his expression at all, but he nevertheless tried all the sweets one after another.

Seeing this, Marine smiled quietly.

「Now then… 」

And then she got to the point of this meeting.

「First of all, congratulations on finally pacifying Artuk. 」

Marine bowed to Milza.

「It took longer than I expected, and I’m embarrassed for it. 」

「Those who don’t know how special Artuk is will say all sorts of things, but if it wasn’t for Lord Milza, it would’ve still resisted up even today. 」

「To people, it doesn’t really matter who rules over them. 」

Ulrika says while still boasting about the sweets.

「That’s not true? Depending on the Lord, people might be turned into slaves. 」

Milza threw out some obvious sarcasm.

「In fact, it’s better to make them slaves and give up on them. It gives them a lot of freedom, so they become rebellious. 」
「I heard that there was a rebellion in Stark recently? 」

Milza looked at Ulrika with his cold eyes.

「This side of the continent doesn’t know much about the Norse people. Even if you call them slaves, they’re guaranteed a decent living, and if they work hard, they can even buy their freedom back. 」

「It’s pathetic that they have to buy back their freedom, which has been taken from them against their will. 」

Milza snorted.

「If you have any complaints about Nord governance, tell them to my father Eric. 」

Ulrika changed her tone and glared at Milza.

「Okay. When we meet at the council of monarchs, let’s say it so the whole audience can hear it. 」

「Are you serious? He’s going to kill you if you do that. 」

「The reason your grandfather was able to kill Jurgen Kreische was because he caught him by surprise. I won’t let that happen to me though. 」

Mirza laughed out loud.

Ulrika was furious and was about to stand up, but Marlene put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her.