CH 252

A few days have passed since Flora and the others held a meeting in Koenigsvelg about their future invasion strategy. In the royal capital of Berne, Wilhelm sighed as he read the letter sent to him.

“Fuh~…” he went.

“What did Princess Flora say?” Dietrich asked.

“…………”

Wilhelm silently presented both Flora’s official report and personal correspondence from Koenigsvelg to Dietrich. Dietrich takes them and goes through both.

“Huh?!” Dietrich yelled. “Has she already annihilated the enemy!?”

According to the report, the 3,000-strong Polsky army besieging Koenigsvelg was annihilated. In addition, it was written that 8 of the 9 navy warships that had sortied in conjunction with the army were sunk and the remaining 1 was captured. Against a total enemy force of 5,000 give or take a few hundred, in the face of such urgent circumstances, this emergency dispatch took 700 prisoners, and the rest were almost completely wiped out.

You can’t think of it normally. It seems impossible to bring in a God of War to win in just this many days with such a difference in strength. In the first place, these enemy forces and the numbers they have defeated were often exaggerated and written as if they were boasting of their feats of arms and military prowess. What of Flora’s report?

But here, the numbers, the process, and the results are written coldly, indifferently. There is nothing like boasting about one’s military exploits, the subjectivity of the spectators, or the excitement of the battlefield. It is terrifyingly blunt in its plain and clear language. And that’s why they know this report contains no lies or exaggerations.

In the first place… of course, this time the kingdom dispatched an observer to watch and report on the troops. That report contains the observer’s excitement and subjectivity compared to Flora’s report, but the content was almost the same. Rather, the observer was the one exaggerating. They read the document while thinking that it would be the opposite.

And for the private correspondence… it contained important information that could not be made public. This is important information that was obtained as a result of interrogating prisoners of war, and it seems to be highly accurate information because it matches the current affairs and investigations within the Kingdom of Ploiss.

“Well then, with this… goodness’ sake…” Dietrich muttered, “that tomboy princess always blows our minds.”

“Hmm… however…, fu~…, I’m in a bind here…” Wilhelm said, letting out another deep sigh.

He does not doubt those reports and information. They’re rather convincing. But… they don’t want to believe it, or rather, it’s troublesome to have to deal with it… but they can’t help but do so. But this is a massive crisis. If things go wrong, a civil war could break out across the country.

“Should we hold a military council first…?” Wilhelm asked.

“Sire!” Dietrich said, switching from his casual attitude and back to his Prime Minister’s Face.

He said his farewell to Wilhelm and left the room. And after seeing Dietrich off, Wilhelm let out yet another deep sigh.

The venue for the military council was silent. Upon hearing that report no one, not even the veteran generals, could speak. No, it’s because they’re veteran generals that they can’t keep up with the information. They can’t comprehend this great of an achievement in such a short period of time, which is so far from their common sense, and the more they think about it, the more they think it lies.

“Oh, hold a moment,” said Alfred von Waldeser, one of the veteran generals. “With just 100 soldiers, they overthrew over 5,000 of Polsky’s men and took 700 prisoners in just a few days?”

“That’s right,” Dietrich replied in his usual tone.

Dietrich understands Alfred’s doubts. If he, himself, hadn’t been informed in advance, he might have asked back with a stupid face, even if he didn’t doubt the accuracy of the report.

And Alfred suspected that it was false information because Dietrich was calm as usual despite all this. In the first place, it is too far from plausibility.

“This is impossible!” General Alfred cried as he banged the desk. “Are you saying that you believe such absurd false reports!?”

But Dietrich parries it with a cool face.

“First of all, calm down, General Alfred. You are in His Majesty’s presence. And then, there are certainly about 100 people on the ground, but there are also 2 warships and their crews. There was also a naval battle on the way, and did not defeat more than 5,000 men with just 100 of their own.”

“What do you mean by adding just two more ships?” General Alfred said, continuing to raise his voice. “The capabilities they can bring…”

“Silence,” Wilhelm said.

“–Sire…!” Alfred cried before he closed his mouth.

“This is information with a high degree of certainty, which we have confirmed with the kingdom’s observers dispatched with them,” Wilhelm said. “If you still do not believe it, so be it. You can go there and confirm it yourselves.”

“Sire… I beg you to excuse my rudeness…” Alfred said as he bowed his head.

Alfred is not incompetent. He pledges allegiance to the kingdom. He was not the kind of person who would make a fuss even if he was directly scolded by His Majesty the King.

“Putting aside whether or not the results of the battle are an exaggeration, there is no doubt that the advance troops secured Koenigsvelg, which had been surrounded in a siege,” Dietrich said. “So, looking forward to the future…”

“Please hold a moment.”

Even if the eyes of everyone standing here gathered to the voice, Johann von Nassam received their gazes without moving at all.

Even though the loss of House Lingerburg has cost them power, the influence of House Nassam remains high. Although he had the momentum stopped before they would have dominated the national affairs, he still has tremendous power in the political center. That Johann von Nassam opened his mouth, saying:

“In the first place, isn’t it ridiculous that the Kingdom of Polsky is besieging Koenigsvelg? Where did you get that information from? Why would the Kingdom of Polsky have to do something like that?” What is the Kingdom of Polsky going to gain by going to war with our country? Let’s start these discussions from there, shall we?”

“Hmm…”

“Certainly, I haven’t received that kind of information either, but…”

“”…………””

Duke Nassam’s words changed the course of the meeting. Dietrich and Wilhelm silently exchanged glances and shrugged.

“None of us have received such information, but for some reason, only His Majesty and Dietrich know. Moreover, his Majesty and the detachment under him have already driven the enemy away… isn’t this strange?” Johann said.

The people standing side by side exchanged words with those closest. “Certainly,” and “It can’t be…” we’re flying about. What Johann is trying to say is simple: for some reason, only the royal family and the duchy intimately close to them know about the invasion strategy of the Kingdom of Polsky and no one else, and now they report that it has already been solved with only the troops of the royal and ducal families. This is too good to be true.

Isn’t it a hoax without an invasion of the Kingdom of Polsky? That kind of atmosphere has been created.

Of course, time will tell whether the invasion of the Kingdom of Polsky was a hoax or a real thing. However, for those who want to delay the action of the Kingdom of Ploiss in the name of confirming that information, it would be nice if they could buy some time. At the shortest, it would take a few days to dispatch people and make a round trip, but you can buy time as much as you can by saying that it’s an investigation and delaying the report, or complaining about the findings being suspicious.

And the others who heard this certainly thought it strange. Why would the royal family and the Duke of Kreff make up such a lie? It can be considered in various ways.

For example, it is possible that they want to launch a war against the Kingdom of Polsky. In reality, the Kingdom of Polsky never invaded, but he explained to the domestic audience that the other side had attacked first, and launched military action to launch a war on the Kingdom of Polsky. It is also possible that the non-existent invasion of Koenigsvelg was fabricated as an excuse for this and that it has already been dealt with.

Or the purpose might be to collect temporary war expenses. Since the Kingdom of Polsky has invaded, they may be trying to collect money from the nobles for temporary war expenses or create a special budget to deal with it and use it as they pleased. As long as there’s no actual battle going on, you can freely use the money you collect that way for other things.

If you think about it, there are many other details. In fact, the goal may be to send troops under the pretext of protecting Koenigsvelg from a non-existent attack from Polsky, and to then use the force to obtain Koenigsvelg as territory of the royal family, Duke Kreff, or otherwise take the land under the direct control of the kingdom.

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It is possible to exploit this matter in as many ways as you can think, and no one has confirmed the Kingdom of Polsky was invading. The royal family and the prime minister sensed it on their own before they knew it, and had already completed their countermeasures. It would be extremely suspicious if they suddenly asked to talk about future measures from here.

“And also, if the enemy has already been driven away, what is the meaning of this discussion?” Johann asked. “If it’s over, there is nothing to discuss. Or don’t tell me… we’ve already defeated the enemy and yet we’re being asked to send more troops to Koenigsvelg or pay for the war, is that what all this is about?”

Hearing that, the participants of the meeting became noisier and noisier. As they thought earlier, if the invasion of the Kingdom of Polsky was a hoax… then if they were to send more troops to Koenigsvelg from now on, wouldn’t that be a ruse for the royal family to take over Koenigsvelg, they think?

Or if they are going to pay for the war, they suspect attempts at embezzling.

In any case, if it’s already over, there’s no need to take any additional measures, and if it’s not over yet, they can’t argue if they ask to confirm the invasion first.

““…………””

Again, Wilhelm and Dietrich exchange only glances. Convinced of his victory, Johann opened his mouth to finish off the two who couldn’t argue with him.

“Our troops are already deployed to Hessem to defeat a monster swell,” Johann said. “What are you going to do about that? You can’t possibly mean we’ll tell the people of Hessem to die by pulling out the army, is that what we’ll do?”

If you want to dispatch troops under the direct control of the royal family or the kingdom, you have no choice but to call back and dispatch the Royal Guard Division and the Crown Guard that went out to hunt monsters. If you try to summon and dispatch other normal soldiers, it will take a considerable amount of time. Those two units are the only forces that are ready and able to move.

Of course, there are normal soldiers who protect the royal castle and capital, but they cannot be mobilized or dispatched. It will take many more months to gather and prepare the armies of the feudal lords and the kingdom as a whole.

Information about the invasion of the Kingdom of Polsky army that no one else in this place has received, and even though they knew such important information, they had already annihilated the enemy without telling anyone. And, despite that, from now on, they will prepare war expenses with a special budget and dispatch troops. Few people could agree with that.

“Before that, the most important thing is to complete the subjugation of Hessem’s monsters. Protecting the people of Hessem is the only way for them to continue pledging allegiance to the kingdom,” Johann said. “And if there is any movement from the Kingdom of Polsky, let’s first investigate and confirm it. For that purpose, we will dispatch an investigator. Is that amenable to all of you? Gentlemen?”

“Hmm…”

“Surely, that makes sense…”

The flow of the meeting was almost decided. And then Johann unleashed the last trick to push his victory further.

“What do you think, Duke Otto?”

“Huh!? No… I’m… it’s an important matter, so I’ll go back to it once we carefully examine the information…” Otto said.

“You have to go back and consult with your father before making any decisions?” Johann said. “Good grief… how long are you going to be unable to stand on your own? Former Duke Alto has already been forced to retire. The Lord of Bayen is you now, Otto! If you can’t even make a decision here, your House’s future looks bleak indeed!”

“Uu…” Otto choked.

This man was Otto von Bayen, son of Alto von Bayen, the man being held responsible for the past large-scale fraud case and was forced to retire and give up his title to his successor. As expected, a rebellion could occur if a House the size of Bayen were suddenly destroyed. Therefore, apart from the punishment for the fraud case, Alto was ordered to retire and was replaced by his son, Otto.

But Otto has never been on a stage like this before. Alto was in charge of House Bayen exclusively, so Otto had no plans to succeed him, and had not yet been able to create a faction or confidants. He has no practical experience and neither the preparedness nor the determination to compete with other great nobles.

“Come now! Which side are you supporting? Make your intention clear!” Johann yelled.

“Uu… I think it’s important to complete Hessem’s monster subjugation and gather information from the Kingdom of Polsky first…” Otto mumbled.

Hearing those words, Johann grinned. The Nassam and Bayen Factions have turned against him. No matter how much the royal family and the Duke of Kreff try to exercise their authority, most people won’t move anymore. Johann, who controlled the majority of the assembled nobles, was convinced of his victory.

“Then, is it correct to say that the dispatch of troops to Koenigsvelg will be considered after the investigation is completed and that the special budget and war expenses will be prepared after their reports have been submitted?” Johann said.

“Mmm.”

“No objection.”

They don’t want anyone other than the Nassam and Bayen Factions to bear the burden of war expenses and soldiers. There is no reason against procrastinating if someone else will do something about it.

“Ah, that’s right,” Johann said. “If it is as His Majesty and His Grace say, and the advance party that is currently dispatched has already won, then are they going to liberate the rest of the stolen territory as well?”

“Oh, that would be good.”

“No, no, that’s exactly what we should be doing.”

“If it’s something we can take back… assuming we can!”

“Wahahaha!”

Johann’s jest had filled the meeting with excitement and laughter. Thus, the war council came to an end, and it was officially decided that the dispatch of additional troops and the formation of a special budget would be made after conducting an investigation. In addition, the already dispatched army was ordered to liberate the land that had been stolen from Ploiss by Polsky, and the first Kingdom of Polsky Countermeasures Conference was dissolved.