Chapter 60

A few days after receiving the imperial command from Prince Granade, Leidor once again set out from the capital, heading east to the border with the Arslane Empire.

Today, instead of riding in a carriage as he did last time, he rode his own horse, showing himself to the people as he advanced.

Following behind Leidor were a thousand cavalrymen, a unit led by Darren Galst, the commander of the Zain Kingdom’s thousand cavalry.

"It is an honor to meet you again, Prince Leidor."

Riding his horse, Darren pulled up alongside Leidor and bowed his head from the saddle.

"It’s a quicker reunion than I expected, Darren. You’ve gone to a lot of trouble to come and meet me."

"Your words are too kind, Your Highness."

Darren, the son of General Bazel Galst, had been stationed at Brain Fortress with his father since the battle against the empire, continuing to face off against the empire.

Hearing of Leidor’s departure, he rushed to join the familiar soldiers and officers, to whom Leidor offered words of encouragement.

"Still, for General Galst to assign you and a thousand cavalrymen to me, it’s quite a bold move. The war with the empire isn’t over yet, is it?"

"Whether the negotiations succeed or fail, it will take some time. For the time being, it seems unlikely that any battles will break out."

"Hmm, so the negotiations are at an impasse?"

"It’s not that the negotiations are going poorly, but it seems the empire is not yet prepared for them. It appears that General Gracos Bazan, who led the western invasion force, has gone missing, and there is no one in charge."

Darren’s explanation almost made Leidor burst out laughing, and he quickly covered his mouth.

It seemed that the capture of Gracos Bazan by Leidor had stalled the negotiations with the empire.

(If we can buy some time, that’s a good thing, right? We can prepare to counter Granade.)

"Is something the matter, Your Highness?"

"No, nothing... But with General Bazan gone, couldn’t we completely drive the imperial army out of the kingdom?"

"That has been considered, but it would be difficult. We don’t want to provoke the dragon by killing the snake."

If they completely annihilated the western invasion force that had invaded the Zain Kingdom, there was a risk that the empire would send a retaliatory force.

With Seara von Arslane and the holy sword Clausorus as negotiation cards, it would be unwise to continue the fighting unnecessarily.

"The current command of the imperial army is in the hands of General Bazan’s deputy. They are asking us to wait until a negotiator arrives from the capital."

"I see. So the empire is using this time to purge traitors and reclaim lost territories. The chancellor is certainly devious."

"..."

Leidor’s curse made Darren fall silent.

Darren, who had remained silent as if it was distasteful to speak, finally spoke up.

"...Prince Leidor. It’s difficult for me to say, but it seems that this expedition to purge the traitors is a plot to bring you down."

"Hmm...? What do you mean?"

When Leidor asked in confusion, Darren lowered his voice and continued.

"This time, Prince Leidor has been ordered by the king to purge the noble families in the eastern border region who have betrayed the kingdom. It seems that the palace’s intelligence department is working behind the scenes to tarnish your reputation."

"..."

"The eastern region of the Zain Kingdom is home to the ‘Eight Eastern Families,’ eight noble families. Among them, the Earl of Arveil and the Viscount of Ilkas fought until the end without submitting to the empire and were destroyed."

"...So the remaining six noble families are the targets of the purge?"

"Yes... And all of them surrendered to the empire out of self-preservation. They will never agree to surrender, and it will certainly be a fierce battle."

Of course, Leidor was well aware of this.

But how would this lower his reputation?

"I don’t understand. Wouldn’t my reputation rise if I go to the battlefield?"

"If the enemy were soldiers of a foreign country, that would be true. But this time, the enemy is traitors within our own country. The soldiers you will fight are our own people."

"Hmm..."

Finally, the picture was becoming clear.

In other words, by making Leidor fight his own people, they wanted to make him a threat in the eyes of the other citizens.

"That’s not all. It seems that King Granade intends to have spies set fire to enemy towns when we attack them. He will manipulate the information to make it look like you, Prince Leidor, have massacred the people..."

"Are you mad!? Even if they betrayed us, they are still our towns!"

Leidor couldn’t help but raise his voice.

Even if the lords had betrayed them, the common people had not all turned against the Zain Kingdom.

To burn them down just to tarnish his brother’s reputation was sheer madness.

"...His Majesty fears you so much that he is willing to use any means to ostracize you. Even if it means harming his own people, he sees it as a cheap price to pay to tarnish your reputation."

"..."

Leidor clenched his teeth and fell silent.

He had always disliked King Granade. He hadn’t expected Granade to sit idly by as Leidor rose to power.

But he hadn’t expected him to go so far as to involve innocent people.

(Has he fallen so far, brother...!)

"...So? Darren, why did you tell me this?"

Struggling to suppress his raging emotions, Leidor asked the general in front of him in a calm tone.

Darren was under Granade’s command, an enemy.

Why would he reveal the king’s plot?

"That’s..."

Darren’s gaze wandered for a moment, as if he were hesitating, but then he seemed to make up his mind and spoke.