Weekly chapters (1/2)
Quite long chapter.
Our MC is steady gaining achievement~
Enjoy~
Translator: Raizu
Editor: Shirayuki
Chapter 70 – Three Countries Conquered
[This is…]
When Liliana opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a large chandelier. She was lying in the royal bedchambers.
[You"ve come around, Liliana.]
That voice belonged to her brother Wilfred, who was sitting next to the bed.
[Dear brother…why are you here? And why am I resting in this room instead?]
Liliana couldn"t made any sense about the situation. Wilfred them slowly told her what happened after she was defeated.
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[I lost… and the Kingdom is no more.]
Liliana muttered while biting her lower lip.
[That is indeed what happened. However… our country is still intact.]
Wilfred said as he looked out through the window.
Wilfred and Liliana were currently under house arrest. They are now at the western tower of the Fran Palace, waiting for their judgment when Emperor Sephiros arrives a few days from now.
The scenery of the cityscape of Fran was reflected on Wilfred"s eyes.
He then asked.
[Liliana, what makes a country?]
[A country is…]
[The country is made of its people, not its royalty.]
Wilfred then turned to Liliana.
[As long as its people remained, the country will be preserved as well… regardless of what form it takes.]
[B-but!]
Liliana woke up in a jump. She held Wilfred"s hand and raised her voice.
[Emperor Sephiros is known to destroy any resisting countries thoroughly. If he comes… the people, the city… and dear brother will be done for.]
[I still have "his" promise.]
Wilfred smiled rea.s.suringly to Liliana.
[The very same man who defeated you… Ares Schwarzer said that he"ll do something about it. I have chosen to believe in him.]
[No way… how would the Thunder Emperor be willing to listen to a mere army commander…?]
[Right. Normally I would think so as well. But this man is really a strange one.]
Wilfred cut in before Liliana could finish her sentence.
[When you meet Ares-dono…and talk to him, you"ll understand why. I feel that he"ll make do somehow, which make me feel at ease. This is why I chose to believe in him]
Wilfred gently smiled then turned to the window again
Liliana could only sigh as she watched her brother.
What this decision will bring in the future… she couldn"t tell. But she knew for sure that she and her brother would protect the country, even if it costs them their lives.
Liliana resolved herself as she looked at her brother.
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Emperor Sephiros arrived at Fran two weeks after Redgear had fallen.
Sephiros roamed around the palace alongside several aristocrats. Among them were the first prince Carlos and Archduke Saxon. They had a complex look on their face.
When Sephiros arrived at the throne room, there were already Ares and Silvia waiting there. In addition to them, there were also the former king of Trevoir Louis, Wilfred, and the new representatives of the merchants of Brittany. When Sephiros finally sat on the throne, he began by speaking to those who present.
[Everyone, what a great achievement. This way, We could march to Grants with ease. Your efforts will be rewarded in due time. But first of all, I will announce My decree to the surrendering Redgear, Trevoir, and Brittany.]
Emperor Sephiros signaled the person standing beside him, who in turn handed him a piece of parchment.
[I hereby decree, first of all, that the Brittany Federation is to pay taxes twice a year. The amount will be decided in the future accordingly. Other than that, Empire will not meddle in the businesses and autonomy as much as possible.]
Some, who were present, were surprised at this unexpected decision.
[As the King of Trevoir Louis has submitted to the Empire, henceforth he will serve the Empire as the Earl of Trevoir. His territory will include the entirety of Trevoir just as we agreed upon.]
[Thank you very much.]
Louis bowed deeply while throwing a glance at Ares, who responded with a smile.
[And lastly, regarding Redgear Kingdom…]
Sephiros was known to deal with any countries that went against him violently. This time, Redgear resisted the advance of both the first prince Carlos and Archduke Saxon. Kill the entire royal clan…raze the capital Fran… he would not hesitate in doing those kind of things. It raised the tension of everyone present.
[Fort La.s.se and Fort Soran are to be emptied and demolished immediately.]
The two fortress the Redgear was most proud of are going to be demolished. It"s something within everyone"s expectations. It"s nothing surprising. The most important thing is what follows afterward. The disposal of the royal clan and the people of this country. Everyone was waiting in apprehension.
He then resumed.
[The King of Redgear Wilfred is hereby given the status of an Earl. The Redgear Kingdom will henceforth become the va.s.sal territory to the Empire with the Earl of Redgear to govern it. Redgear"s aristocrats are given a choice to report to the Empire should they want to serve the Empire as a baronet or to remain on Redgear and be confiscated from their t.i.tle and land.
It was just as Ares said which immensely surprised Wilfred.
The other aristocrats couldn"t help but to discuss about this quietly.
[And that"s it? Just like that?]
[Such an unprecedented benevolence. But why..]
The discussion became more heated in a brief moment.
[Asking for permission to speak!]
A man stood up in the midst of that commotion. Everyone immediately turned to the source of that voice, which was the First Prince Carlos.
[We suffered great damage from the Redgear forces" resistance. That decision is too kind for what they"ve done. Please reconsider.]
Carlos glared at Wilfred then turned back to Emperor Sephiros.
Sephiros merely watched as Carlos shouted.
[Then do you have any suggestions?]
[Yes. Execute the entire Redgear royal clan. Raze the capital Fran to ashes. Otherwise, there will be others who dare to oppose the Empire.]
[You said so much. And yet you couldn"t even breakthrough the fortress.]
[!? T-that"s…]
Carlos couldn"t say anything to refute that. But he didn"t seem to be content yet.
Following that, another aristocrat also raised his mind.
[This lowly one feels that the t.i.tle of Earl is too high. Was it part of the agreement for the capitulation?]
Sephiros turned to the source of that sound this time then replied.
[Both Redgear and Trevoir are powerful. Only the t.i.tle of Earl would fit their strength.]
Sephiros then stood up.
[That is all for My decree. Now, Ares Schwarzer, as leader of the vanguard of the first team, has procured a great achievement. In regards to conquering Grants, I will leave it to him]
[Ha..]
[Now we start the full scale battle against Grants. As the vanguard, I will leave this to Ares Schwarzer once more. I hope he will continue his success this time as well.]
[Asking for permission to speak.]
Another one raised his hand, which Sephiros motioned to talk. It was the little lord of the Rozenheim, Scion.
[I wish to suggest that both the first prince Carlos and Archduke Saxon to become the vanguard this time. The forces of both generals are still in high morale and ready to play an active role. Ares-dono and Her Highness Silvia have gone through a lot of things in this previous battles, thus would it be better for them to take a rest for once?]
[Fumu…]
Sephiros gave some thoughts to Scion"s suggestion, then turned toward Carlos and Georg.
Both of them immediately strode forward.
[Please give me the chance to redeem myself!]
[We will do our best this time!]
The other aristocrats soon followed suit.
[We will follow His Highness and His Honor Archduke. ]
[Chance to redeem ourselves!]
Many raised their voices.
For other aristocrats, having Ares take the reins will not bring them benefits. The Schwarzer is already frightening as is. If they allow Ares to raise more merits, his influence will bring disturbance to the factional dispute in the capital.
Witnessing this, Sephiros finally made the decision.
[Very well. Carlos and Georg will be the vanguards this time. Ares and the rest are to lead the reserve forces. Good?]
[This Ares has no objection.]
Ares also deeply bowed.
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Everyone had different thoughts in their mind right now.
Scion was laughing in satisfaction.
It won"t benefit Scion if Ares were to gain more merits. And by offering a suggestion here and agreed upon by the Emperor himself, he could show his influence to the others. And if Carlos and Georg do well… it"ll also be a good development for him.
On the other hand, Carlos was struggling to restrain his anger. He was once again being done in by Ares. If he also failed this time, his path to the throne succession will be impeded. He also feared that he had played himself into Scion"s hands. But he had to take any opportunity that came in his way.
[I won"t forget… this humiliation.]
Keeping that in his mind, Carlos could only glare daggers at Ares.
Ares merely smiled as he listened to his surroundings.
Silvia looked suspiciously at Ares.
He didn"t object to Scion"s suggestion. No matter how one"s think, it"s the aristocrats" ploy to impede Ares" achievement. Ares should"ve aware of this as well… but why?
The person in question merely smiled calmly as if nothing happened; no, he"s enjoying this situation. This fellow is definitely planning something again…
Aside from all the speculations, Arcadia empire finally entered the phase of direct war against the Grants Princ.i.p.ality.