CH 277

Chapter 277 – Grand Coalition(5)

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We immediately sent out diplomatic documents.

「Our goal is to deal with Demon Lord Agares who is holding her ground on the western side of Frankia.」

「We have no intention to invade Frankia, but we ask of you to let us borrow your roads. ……Regent of Habsburg, Barbatos.」

This was similar to when Toyotomi Hideyoshi asked Korea to open the way for them so that they could attack the Ming Dynasty.

Asking them to lend us their roads was one thing, but, in this era, areas that armies went through were usually devastated by pillaging. There was no ruler who would sit idly by and allow their people to be ravaged.

Laura tilted her head when I said this.

“But, Lord. Are there not rulers like Emperor Henry of Frankia?”

“Uh, mm……. He’s a lunatic who got help from a foreign power to beat his own mother. He’s an exception.”

There are sometimes exceptions. Sometimes.

Laura and I were drinking tea in our tent. The Demon Lord army started to prepare for war once my strategy was accepted. Creating white uniforms in order to make our demon soldiers mesh together with the human soldiers, there were a bunch of tasks like this that sounded trivial but were incredibly crucial.

I declared that I was going to focus on diplomatic matters as an excuse to slack off. Laura and I were casually enjoying some tea while everyone else was busy.

“On a side note, this is also the last chance to compromise. Henrietta could actually open a path for us. It is fine if she does not go out of her way to fight us in order to protect Agares.”

In this case, her land will get destroyed a little, but it would not escalate into a war. Henrietta may be a fairly belligerent ruler, but this was something she should at least consider once.

“However, this would cause her to endure a political burden.”

“A political burden?”

“Currently, Frankia is basically under the complete control of Queen Henrietta. The reason why the nobles of Frankia are enduring this atrocity is simply because of how powerful Queen Henrietta’s army is.”

Small and large revolts have been happening every year in Frankia. Some of them were led by nobles while others were led by a minority of commoners who had been infected by the idea of republicanism. Every time this happened, Henrietta slaughtered the rebelling soldiers thoroughly.

“If Henrietta accepts our request, then the people of Frankia will undoubtedly become enraged. How could someone who did not waver when killing off other humans back away sheepishly when demons approach? What kind of person are you……?”

I sipped my tea. The warm liquid softly caressed the inside of my stomach. I don’t know how people thought tea tasted good, but I did like it when it warmed me up on the inside. I may be a cold city man, but it should be fine if my tea is warm.

“This would greatly increase the chances of a large-scale revolt occurring. It would naturally be a nuisance to Henrietta.”

“You are so shameless, Lord.”

Laura muttered in a baffled tone.

“It is not a chance. Your Lordship will get involved and start the revolt yourself. This suits your personality more anyway.”

“Oh, did I get caught?”

I chuckled.

“You are right. In truth, I do not care what Henrietta chooses to do. Her decision will only determine how long it will take.”

I want to crush Henrietta using this opportunity. If we leave things like this, then Henrietta will most likely take over Frankia completely. The Kingdom of Brittany and the Frankia Empire will be united under a single powerful ruler. Nothing good would come from the creation of a massive and powerful nation.

Laura clicked her tongue.

“What a bad personality. Your Lordship would be more charming if you were less shameless.”

“Henrietta will most likely choose war.”

I ignored her and continued. My creed is to disregard words that are unfavorable to me.

“She has confidence. Simultaneously, this must also look like a golden opportunity. If Henrietta is able to defeat the Demon Lord army, then her political standing would surge immensely.”

She would become the hero who protected Frankia while they were getting consumed by a foreign threat. There was no way Henrietta would back away with such an appetizing feast before her. War will happen.

“But there is a trap there.”

“Mm?”

“Look at this.”

I placed a document on the table. It was the manuscript for the diplomatic letter we had sent asking them to open a path for us. Laura skimmed over the document.

“This is a trap? This looks like a typical diplomatic letter fighting for justification.”

I chuckled.

“Read it carefully.”

“…….”

Laura read the document again. She furrowed her brows.

“……I don’t understand. I give up. Your Lordship should know that I am weak when it comes to scheming.”

“Read the name of the sender at the bottom. ‘Regent of Habsburg, Barbatos’ is written there.”

All of the diplomatic letters had Barbatos’ name on them. Barbatos is known as the strongest Demon Lord to the humans. She was the perfect person to represent the will of the Demon Lord army.

“Henrietta will most likely think that she is refusing the Demon Lord army, but she would be wrong. She would be refusing a request from the regent of the Habsburg Empire.”

“……! It gives us an excuse to make the puppet crowned prince participate!”

I nodded.

Prejudice, as they call it. No one would expect the Demon Lord army would appoint a human as their supreme commander. Henrietta will most likely think that she was refusing a Demon Lord when declining Barbatos’ request.

“We will make Rudolf give an announcement the moment Henrietta refuses our diplomatic request. Frankia has refused humanity’s request to subjugate a Demon Lord. Why is a fellow human trying to protect a Demon Lord……?”

Up to this point would be round 1. We’ll deal a surprise blow to the other party by utilizing deception.

“We are deeply disappointed by Frankia’s stance, but we must subjugate this Demon Lord. Regardless of whether they allow us to or not, I, Rudolf von Habsburg will step on the battlefield for the sake of humanity. Do you get it now, Laura?”

“No.”

Laura shook her head. I let out a sigh. Why is it that Laura is so smart, but is a complete child when it comes to these kinds of schemes and ploys? People are truly weird.

“It means we will not allow room for negotiations. Henrietta’s side will undoubtedly panic and dispatch envoys claiming that they did not know the request was from the Crowned Prince of Habsburg and that, if it is an army of humans, they would allow passage……. They will do whatever they can to buy time.”

There’s no reason for me to go along with that.

Henrietta will probably feel vexed, but it’ll be her mistake. We can’t give her the time to appease that mistake. We must advance stubbornly. No matter what the envoys try to say to us, we’ll just shout back, ‘So are you going to join us in subjugating Agares or not!?’.

I smiled.

“From this point on will be an instigation battle. If we advance stubbornly, then Henrietta will respond in kind.”

The start of round 2.

“Very well, then. Come if you are going to. You are nothing more than an underling for the Demon Lord army. All of the justifications you are claiming are lies. Well, this is probably how she will respond. It will become a muddy battle.”

The person with the loudest voice will win in this instance.

It is partially true that Henrietta overlooked Agares’ asylum and it is also true that Rudolf is nothing more than an underling for the Demon Lord army. Which side is more in the wrong? The side that rationalizes and talks the most will win.

If both sides have faults and justifications, then the truth doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is which side can instigate the people more. 

And I’m an expert in ‘this field’.

I continued while sipping my tea.

“We will make the Republic of Batavia announce that they will cooperate with us the moment Henrietta tries to retaliate.”

“…….”

“On the surface, subjugating a Demon Lord will be their justification.”

Brittany supports the divine right of kings. On the other hand, Batavia is the leader of republicanism. The two nations had fought during the civil war within Frankia and are hostile to one another in letter and in spirit.

Henrietta will most likely feel as if she was struck from behind.

From the sudden involvement of Crowned Prince Rudolf and Batavia’s support following after, the flow of events will go in a completely unpredicted direction simply because she initially thought she was only facing the Demon Lord army.

“But, would Batavia alone be enough?”

“We will instigate the free cities that became independent recently.”

I immediately answered.

“They will not help that much in terms of manpower, but if several cities announce their support of us one by one, then our political influence will increase.”

“I see. We have the free cities…….”

Laura nodded her head several times while in deep thought.

Henrietta will most likely claim that we’re deceiving everyone. She will do her utmost to make the free cities leave. However, she doesn’t know that Paimon’s Liberation Alliance is behind all of those free cities…….

With this, we will occupy the side with ‘the loudest voice’.

“Father, I have returned from my errand.”

It was at that moment that Daisy entered the tent. Daisy was holding a long box while wearing a maid uniform. I stood up in glee.

“It has finally arrived. Laura, this is my gift to you.”

“Gift?”

“I wanted to give this to you before, but it was only now completed. Now then, open it up.”

Laura furrowed her brows as she approached Daisy.

“Lord, this isn’t another outfit where there is a hole in the panty area, right?”

“Dear me. Have you been tricked all your life? I guarantee you with my conscience on the line that this is not that kind of gift.”

“There are not a lot of things that are as untrustworthy as Your Lordship’s conscience.”

Laura received the wooden box half in doubt. She placed the box on the ground before opening it. Inside the box was a rod-shaped object wrapped in a thick piece of cloth. Laura picked the item up from the box and unfurled it.

“This is……?”

Laura’s green eyes widened.

The gift was a flag—a flag with the symbol of a blue hydrangea drawn on it.

“Laura, this is your flag.”

It was the flag that represented the house of Duke Farnese.

“Crowned Prince Rudolf will be taking the supreme commander position of this expedition, but who do you think will be the deputy commander?”

“Of course, either Her Excellency Barbatos or His Excellency Marbas.”

“Incorrect.”

I smiled.

“We are planning to appoint you as the deputy commander.”

“I……will be the deputy commander?”

“Were you not listening earlier? We will be moving as Crowned Prince Rudolf’s army, and not as the Crescent Alliance. If a Demon Lord is the deputy commander, then people will suspect if we are truly a human army. If a human like you takes the position, then it would be beneficial for us in many ways.”

Laura was in a daze as she stared at the flag.”

“Of course, people will still be suspicious if we handle it like this. They might think that you are also a figurehead we had put forward in name only. You will appear as a young girl with no talent or accomplishments. The people within Brittany’s army will disregard you without a doubt.”

I brushed Laura’s front hair.

“I am aiming for that carelessness of theirs. Supreme Commander Rudolf is already a corpse. You will actually be the true supreme commander.”

Her smooth blonde hair brushed over my palm.

“Laura, this is the most I can prepare. I can take care of everything when it comes to diplomatic warfare and the battle of instigation. But when it comes down to the final part, the actual war, your power is crucial.”

“There is no way the legion leaders……would listen to this young lady’s orders.”

“Barbatos had no complaints whatsoever.”

I grinned.

“Paimon also confirmed your talent when we captured the fortress. They are both people who support the merit system. They are not foolish or so haughty that they would ignore your commands because you happen to be human. I will convince Marbas.”

“…….”

A thin tear trailed down Laura’s cheek.

“I……I am a sex slave who was kicked out of her family. I do not have the right to use this flag…….”

“I will give you that right.”

I carefully brushed away Laura’s tears with my hand.

My small commander.

My first precious lover.

To this girl who was not treated like family and sold off as a sex slave, she both loved and hated her family. However, she was now representing that family. Not only was this akin to getting revenge against them……but it was also a great achievement.

You are more than qualified to stand proudly.

“The House of Farnese has already fallen. Laura, you are now Farnese itself. Show it to the world. Show them who they had abandoned. Get revenge on the humans who threw you away.”

“…….”

At that moment, a sound effect rang in my ear.

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「Laura de Farnese’s affection has risen by 1!」

「Laura de Farnese’s affection has reached 100!」

「Noble and pure love! The other party considers you completely as their lover. A new title has been bestowed upon them for this outstanding love.」

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Was the affection lock broken? The affection points that had stopped at 99 exactly had finally reached 100. This was my first time capturing a target completely and it was worth being celebrated, but that didn’t matter to me. My eyes were fixed on Laura’s face.

Laura wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, but the tears kept coming out. She kept trying to wipe her tears away before she eventually gave up and looked up at me while hugging the flag tightly against her chest.

“……I will, Lord.”

Laura beamed brightly with her tear-soaked face.

I can say with the utmost confidence that this was the most beautiful smile that I had ever seen.