– Rose, brambles, and lust for power

================ Royal Faction ==============

Madara was here.

Not only that, Count Randner had gathered an army of twenty thousand men in just two months in the Palas region, including three retainer knights with land deeds and soldiers.

With the addition of the mountain natives and other tribal forces, this force was no longer looking like a simple subjugation, but a show of force towards the people who dared to mock the Count.

This level of mobilization proved that Count Randner was a long way off from ‘retirement’.

He was still like a tiger that was narrowing its eyes, and once it opened them, it would be able to cause the entire southern mountainous region in Aouine to tremble, which happened several decades ago.

The entire Trentheim region was still under the tiger’s paws, and many people were starting to mock the fools who dared to tug at the tiger’s whiskers.

Grphyine’s Knight Commander, Count Assel immediately took this report when he received it, and promptly left his office for the Princess’s. Lord Cobb saw and followed him:

“My greetings, Knight Commander, I’ve heard the news from the south.”

Cobb’s position within the royal faction was not high, but he worked under Grandmaster Fleetwood. Since Fleetwood was princess Gryphine’s teacher and a court wizard, his position amongst the Royal Faction was respected. Even the bigwigs in the Royal Faction had to lower their heads when they saw this wizard.

Assel did not wish to deal with the trouble from Copp’s superior, so he nodded to acknowledge the latter’s words:

“Her Highness favors the rebellion army greatly but it’s a pity; she will be disappointed. In truth, many of our superiors doesn’t support the idea of getting involved with these rebels. It’s too dangerous since Count Randner is someone with strong military might.”

Kopp faked a sigh and nodded:

“Her Highness isn’t willing to speak with Duke Arreck. She’s just a child, regardless of how much the outside rumors that praise of her intelligence. Indeed, a girl is still a girl, it’s unavoidable that she would cling on to a few wishful thoughts.”

Aseel raised an eyebrow and replied:

“Politics is politics. The future of the kingdom is more important than anything else, and I believe that Her Highness will be able to see this point. Achieving an agreement with Count Randner is our best outcome. Only with it would the princess have enough clout to negotiate with that old duke.”

“Yes, but I’m worried about the princess being stubborn about it. Do you know this piece of information, Lord Assel— I heard that she secretly communicated with the rebels. If the evidence of her collusion gets to Count Randner’s hands, we will be placed in a passive position.”

“Don’t worry, Duke Lantonrand and Grandmaster Fleetwood and our knights do not agree to support these country bumpkins that are lurking in the shadows. I am certain Her Highness will not continue her ways that in light of this new information.”

Cobb secretly laughed. Princess Gryphine was much more stubborn than Assel thought, and it was not as if everyone was against her support for these rebels. But he was a smooth person and would not say this thought directly, and instead asked slyly:

“What of Lord Oberbeck’s position in this matter?”

“He……” Assel became quiet.

Indeed, that person who had the nickname of a ‘Wolf’ had an ambiguous attitude, making it impossible for anyone to know his thoughts. What was even more of a headache was that Oberbeck was the leader of his own clique, and his mind was no weaker than Makarov the ‘Cunning Fox’.

Because of Oberbeck’s silence in this matter, the opposition to the princess did not truly register.

And if all these voices were not aligned, then it meant that there might be a change to the perception of these rebels. But Assel did not favor them at all and even thought that putting the fate of the kingdom on them was akin to treating it like a game.

Cobb and many others had the same thought. In their eyes, Count Randner who controlled a large territory and forces was a hundred times more likely to win against a bunch of thieves.

Perhaps they were even more likable than these damn rebels—

Although the princess’s plans were feasible, it was just too dangerous. The alternate plans that she had were treated like a young girl’s naive hope to control her own fate.

The nobles had seen such acts in history one too many times and did not make a fuss about it, and instead had faces of pity and understanding.

A princess’s fate was to be used as a pawn for a political marriage. If the little girl wanted to struggle, then they would allow her to do it as long as it did not affect the overall outcome.

Assel made a signal to Cobb to get the latter to leave as they approached the princess’s office, before pushing the wooden doors open.

There were quite a few people in the study.

Oberbeck, Fleetwood, Makarov, Count Barre, and almost all the core members of the Royal Faction were there. Assel was not surprised. Ever since the southern situation became tense, a meeting was held almost in the study every day.

But the silent atmosphere in the room was a little stifling and uncommon. Assel presented the report in his hand to the princess amidst the glares.

“Thank you, Ser Assel.” The crisp voice of the princess was calm, but Assel felt a little guilty upon hearing it.

He was considered as a half-teacher to the princess since the skillful swordsmanship of hers was taught by him.

“It’s my duty, Your Highness,” Assel lowered his head and answered.

The princess and the others did not look at the report, and he knew that they had received this information already.

He could not help but steal a glance at the calm half-elven princess. She was still as composed as her usual self.

Her beauty seemed to stand out in this oppressive atmosphere with her silver hair reflecting a soft sheen from the candlelight, while her hands were placed on her thighs with an unflinching gaze and pursed lips.

But there was a rarely seen expression of graveness as she returned the stares from everyone.

“I understand, let us go ahead with your wishes,” she said.

It was a compromise, but her decisive voice did not allow any further negotiation.

It was as though she was the one who made the decision all by herself, without being affected by their bemoanings. Count Barre shook his head in disappointment. If this princess was actually a prince, then how wonderful would it be?

Unfortunately, there were no ‘ifs’ in history.

A peace treaty with Count Randner, then an arranged marriage of alliance after holding talks with Duke Arreck.

In the minds of every member of the Royal Faction, the damned invaders from the north would be treated like the threat of a barking dog.

Once the snow melted and the battles in the future were over, the revival of the Aouine kingdom would definitely be realized.

It was a perfect outcome.

============= Trentheim =============

Hadsh sneezed after a yawn. He rubbed his face and tried to stave off the cold from his face. Even though it was a new year, the freezing cold did not seem like it was going to end soon. It was instead getting colder, and the Gris river had a layer of ice over it from time to time. Trees were becoming as hard as stone.

He was standing on top of a watchtower and placed his hands on the walls while he looked out to the forest. Part of the forest had been cut down and the land was tilled, but the seeds had not sprouted yet. The farmers had already left the area, and there were only soldiers and mercenaries along with a number of knights. These military units were the best professionals from the various regions.

The watchtower he was in was a short distance away from Trentheim. There were many people who knew there would be a great battle ahead, and they thought there was no doubt at all in terms of their strength.

Even though Count Randner was slowly becoming an old man, his vigor had not decreased at all. His orders to the various retainers that he had were still seen as authority. An army of nearly twenty thousand was gathered in a short period of time. Most of Trentheim’s men also knew that there were tribal natives and undead assisting Count Randner as well. Even the northern lords would take pause at Count Randner’s strength.

But Hadsh and many natives had a different view from the other nobles watching the fight between the Count Randner and the rebels. There were twenty men that came to this watchtower in the past three days. But what was surprising to Hadsh and the others was that these men were true veterans.

He was formerly one of Graudin’s ‘private knights’, and though he could not compare to the knights working for high-ranking nobles, he was still considered as a skilled warrior, and there were no more than fifty of his caliber in Firburh. Private soldiers or militia were no match for him.

In this era, the fights between nobles were usually a bloody affair.

These nobles did not really directly participate in such battles, though there were unlucky ones who were shot by stray arrows. The soldiers and knights working for them were killed in great numbers, and Hadsh had experienced several such battles.

People like him who survived the battles would be seen as veterans, and they tend to look down on new soldiers who had trouble wielding a sword correctly and saw them as fodder.

A noble of considerable influence would have roughly a hundred men consisting of them and knights. That was the limit for a noble.

First of all, these lords could not afford to pay them.

Paying for the Knights’ armors and swords already required a considerable amount of resources, let alone paying off a seasoned knight like Kodan.

Secondly, there were not enough talented men. A small lord could not attract people with such skills, as the ones with even a little talent would rather go to Count Randner or someone else with similar clout.

In truth, a lord with a hundred knights could be seen as someone powerful.

Even someone like Graudin who was given excessive power as a Baron had no more than a hundred knights.

Yet Brendel was the exception that broke all common sense.

The men under this youth were gathered by coincidence, comprised of mountain warriors and mercenaries from a faraway region.

Even though they did not participate in a battle of a large scale, they fought bloody battles throughout the year and had keener senses than the typical soldier.

Jana, Raban, and Cornelius were the cream of the crop. Raban’s subordinates were formal cavalry from the Karsuk Highlands and they were elite scouts who had fought off Madara’s undead. Each member was more formidable than the ordinary mercenaries.

But they were not the strongest unit.

Leto and the mercenaries under him were even more impressive. They were not as strong as Raban’s men due to their old age, but it was precisely because of their age that they had exceptional combat experience. Their identities were suspicious, and Hadsh suspected they were actually veterans who survived the November War.

This conclusion was a little frightening but it was also the most likely hypothesis.

There were also other men from Bucce, soldiers and cavalry from Fortress Riedon who fought against Madara. There were even Lord Macsen’s knights who surrendered to Carglise who Brendel.

Therefore Brendel had close to three thousand men after recruiting new soldiers from Firburh, and eighty percent of his men were veterans who had enough fighting experience who would not lose to the knights under Count Randner.

The outsiders thought that Trentheim’s rebels were a disorganized mob, but Hadsh knew there was at least two thousand knights under the young lord.

[Marsha above, two thousand knights could easily lead a hundred thousand men…… King Erik had only two hundred knights when he founded Aouine.]

“There’s movement in the forest.” A voice suddenly called out behind him.

Hadsh jumped and turned around.

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