Chapter 61: With Love from the Tower

Chapter 61: With Love from the TowerWar was approaching. Even the citizens living in the capital seemed to have sensed this even if they didnt have much access to information. The capital was in chaos according to the reports.

Security had deteriorated due to the mercenaries coming to the capital. Bars had become lively, but many citizens closed their doors tightly out of fear.

Some even concluded that the capital would become a battlefield and were trying to escape, and aristocrats were among those trying to escape.

Lord Warung was known for being a skilled warrior. His troops totalled 20,000. They were heading straight north toward the capital, and another piece of information came in that caused people to accelerate their plans to escape.

The surviving members of Marquis LMitedeaus House had raised an army Fabio had succeeded in raising his army and was now approaching from the east of the capital with 5,000 people at his command.

I think thats too many people, but I havent received any reports about whether its too much or not.

On the other hand, the punitive force that was gathering in the capital numbered 50,000 in total but their actual numbers are unknown because the mercenaries say they have more people than they actually have.

Mercenaries are considered dependable if they have more people in their group and they are paid more, so they say they have more people than they actually have. If they get caught stating that they have more people than they actually have then they will be charged but there wasnt any time to investigate all the mercenary groups.

I heard that Count Chamneaux, Matthieu le Chaplier was chosen as the general of the Defeat Duke Warung army. The Chancellor will formally delegate the command of the army to him, and he will leave the capital.

Why is the person who is commanding the army to defeat Lord Warung not the Chancellor or the Chief of the Ministry of Ceremonies? Well, because theyre not generals.

As a matter of fact, the Chancellor and the Chief of the Ministry of Ceremonies dont have the authority to command the Imperial Army. They can only command their own private armies, i.e. the Raul Army and the Aquicurl Army.

There are three positions in the Empire that have authority to lead the Imperial Army; those are the Emperor, a Marshal, and a General. Marshals and generals vary according to the times (e.g. there are more of them during wartime) but there are usually 1-2 marshals and 3-5 generals. Even the Crown Prince cannot lead an Imperial Army without one of these titles. My father had the general title when he went to war.

By the way, this rule was disregarded after I became Emperor, thats why both the Chancellor and the Chief of the Ministry of Ceremonies both refer to their private armies as the Imperial Army to increase their prestige.

But Lord Warung declared that they were oppressing the Emperor, so it seems that they, too, have decided to follow the rule this time.

Currently there was only one person in the Empire that held the marshal position. Count Zeefe, Justo de Zeefe. The rank of marshal is higher than that of a general in this nation, so he should have been in command if things went according to the law.

But he was a neutralist, and while Count Zeefe is a title without a fief, he also holds another baron title that came with a fief, and this fief was in the southern part of the Empire in other words, he was within Duke Warungs sphere of influence.

He was a man that the Chancellor and the Chief of the Ministry of Ceremonies had to be wary of and he was currently under house arrest in his residence at the capital.

Why did the Chancellor appoint such a person as the marshal? He probably appointed him because he and the Chief of the Ministry believed that it would be better to have someone from the neutral faction be in that position instead of someone from the opposite faction. Also, the Chancellor and the other aristocrats will likely suffer if they didnt have a competent commander if we did go to war with another nation.

Though, Count Zeefe isnt on my side. I asked Count Palatine Vedett to get in touch with him through a spy, but he said that he wouldnt get involved with civil war and that he would fight foreign enemies but wont interfere in politics.

Hes a stubborn person. Hes not a priority since hes not leading an army, so Ill leave him alone for now.

Next, there are three people who could be called generals. Among them there was one person who was in a very complicated situation.

That person was none other than Lord Warung, Richter du van Warung.

I recently learnt that the Chancellor had asked him to take the general position when he stepped down from being a marshal, but he put this proposal on hold since he wanted to keep his distance from the palace, so some people call him general while others dont.

This proposal was still on hold even after 10 years, but the Chancellor withdrew this offer when Lord Warung decided to raise his army.

The other two generals Well, one of them belongs to the Regent faction and the other the Chancellors faction.

The Regent factions general was Phillip de Aquicurl. He has the same name as Lord Aquicurl but he wasnt him. He was the legitimate son of Lord Aquicurls eldest son, Freed; in other words, he was the grandson of Lord Aquicurl.

By the way, he has no experience in leading an army, so naturally, he cant lead the punitive force. Why did Lord Aquicurl give such an important position to his grandson? That position isnt a present.

He may love his grandson since he gave his grandson the same name as him. Well, thanks to that, it was easy to decide who the commander should be.

I put down my cup and looked up. Count Chamneaux, who was accompanied by Count Palatine Vedett, was a handsome young-looking man. I see, he certainly looked like Vera-Sylvie.

He looked like a slightly grown-up Vera after the magic stopped.

Please sit down, Count Chamneaux.

I had an alternative plan when I met with Balthazar, but I didnt have one for Count Chamneaux.

But Count Chamneaux will definitely be on my side, because this is the best decision he could make.

If he doesnt side with the emperor and continues to lead the army against Lord Warung, then he will have to take responsibility if he loses. Worst case, his fief will be taken from him.

It would be even more disastrous if he wins. The factional dispute between the Chancellor and the Regent factions will regress. Count Chamneaux was a member of the Chancellor faction and was surrounded by the Regent faction, so he would be isolated again theres a high chance that he would be assassinated by the Regent faction without even being able to return to his fief.

He was able to come to the capital this time because the Chancellor and the Chief of the Ministry of Ceremonies made a temporary truce because of Lord Warung which removed the pressure from the fiefs surrounding his own.

Count Chamneaux was a hound that was kept alive because it had a prey, Lord Warung. He will be disposed of as useless when there are no more prey.

So, what will Count Chamneaux do? Leave the prey alone? No.

He should follow a new master, the Emperor, and change his class from hound to guard dog. That was the right choice to make as an aristocrat.

This was correct in terms of the relationship between a monarch and the aristocrats.

But a relationship solely based on interests cannot be trusted.

So, Ill go with a more backhanded approach this time.

Im sorry for doing this without notice but just give me a minute.

I channelled mana into the magic earring.

Ah! Thats

Vera. Im going to give the earring to Count Chamneaux now. Is that alright?

Yup. Im nervous. But, its alright.

I had told Vera-Sylvie that I might do this beforehand but she was still nervous.

Calm down. You dont have to stress about this Youre just talking to your family for the first time in a long time.

Ok. What, should, I talk about?

Just talk about whatever you want. You dont have to talk about me. Alright, Ill give him the earring now.

This earring worked normally even inside of a Sealing Barrier, but the call will stop if I stop channelling mana to it. I channelled a little more mana into the earring from inside my body and handed it to Count Chamneaux.

I have an urgent matter to, Count Chamneaux. Ill be back soon, so take care of this earring until then Well talk later.

Count Chamneaux quietly accepted the earrings. He held it in his palms as if it was very important.

His hands were trembling slightly.

I turned away and quietly left the room.