Chapter 95

"Long time no see, Carla-san."

"Likewise, Elise-san."

After our meeting with the Counts of Breihlader, we immediately returned to our field camp with Carla, the young lady in question.

She is the daughter of Count Brova and also serves as the acting commander-in-chief of the current coalition army.

We must treat her with respect, but since there are no women in the Breihlader army, we ended up taking her into our care.

First, I greeted her with a polite formality, then walked with her and the two maids who were looking after her.

Count Brova said there were no maids to look after her, but it seems there were at least two maids to take care of her.

Since they were both young women in their early twenties, I assume Count Brova thought it would be troublesome for me to manage them, so he left them in my care.

When we entered the tent in the field camp, Elise, who had just finished treating the soldiers, returned with her guard, Vilma.

And so, the two acquaintances greeted each other.

"Acting as the commander-in-chief?"

"Yes. My father is unconscious and could pass away at any moment."

Indeed, it seems Count Brova was in a state where he could die at any time.

"About... that kind of talk..."

"There's no point in hiding it now."

She had already told Count Breihlader.

The rest included the fact that her two older brothers were constantly by their father's sickbed, trying to outmaneuver each other, which led to her being appointed as the acting commander-in-chief.

"Regarding this deployment..."

"Both of my brothers are involved."

I thought it would be just the eldest son, Philip, giving orders since he is a soldier, but it turns out the second son, Christoph, is also involved.

Not all soldiers are loyal to Philip, and among the military administrators responsible for supply, there are those who support Christoph.

It seems the background of this sibling rivalry also involves the long-standing power struggle between military and civilian officials.

After all, if the finance officials who support Christoph don't approve the budget, it can't be allocated, so their involvement was inevitable.

"So, this deployment is a competition between the two?"

"At first, it was my brother Philip's decision..."

The situation began when Count Brova, who had been ill for about a year, finally fell into a coma.

He did so without deciding which of his two sons would succeed him.

"Philip and his supporters said, 'As the eldest son, it's only fitting that Philip should succeed, and there's no need for a will from the lord,' while Christoph and his supporters countered, 'Christoph is the son of the legitimate wife, Hildegarde. It's only right that he should succeed, given his noble lineage.'"

The two sides and their supporters have plunged the domain into chaos, as Carla explained.

Especially since Count Brova fell into a coma, they have been watching each other in the mansion to prevent any tampering with the will or false reports to the kingdom after his passing.

"Why didn't Count Brova designate a successor?"

"Because choosing one would have risked an internal conflict."

It was a dangerous situation, but with the two sides evenly matched, choosing one would have likely provoked a backlash from the other.

If the retainers supported the winner, it would lead to advancement, but supporting the loser could result in demotion or even dismissal.

The future of their children and relatives would be uncertain, naturally leading to a larger conflict.

"Additionally, there's the exclusion from the development of the new territory."

"You can't blame me for that."

"I understand the situation."

Considering the various provocations we've made against Count Breihlader, we can't really complain about being excluded.

However, we can't just bow our heads, and there have been many complaints from the vassals.

To resolve these grievances, Philip and the military retainers who support him initiated this deployment and the subsequent disruption of the Baumeister territory, which is the truth behind this conflict.

"Using a war to distract from internal strife... So, who's the main player?"

"Technically, my brother Philip is the main player. He has strong support from the military."

By using the war to seize some rights from the southern nobles and suppress the discontent of the eastern nobles, and if the coalition army, which would be credited for the victory, supports Philip, he would gain an advantage in the succession dispute while the lord is in a coma.

Carla, who is taking care of the unconscious Count Brova, has heard this from Philip.

"Is the second son, Christoph, against the deployment?"

"On the surface, yes, but not entirely."

Christoph, who has strong support from the retainers responsible for internal affairs, opposes the war on the surface, arguing that it brings no benefit.

However, the deployment of the coalition army requires a budget, and the fact that it is being allocated without issue suggests he is not 100% against it.

"Does that mean you'll get credit no matter the outcome?"

"Probably..."

If the supply lines are maintained, a victory would allow him to claim, "My support was crucial for the rear," and a defeat would let him say, "I told you so."

It's a common type in the capital, hedging bets on both sides to ensure a favorable outcome.

"By the way, Carla, you're being quite honest."

"Do you think I volunteered to be a figurehead commander?"

Until about a year ago, she lived in the capital with her mother, receiving a small allowance from Count Brova because his legitimate wife was intimidating.

Her mother was treated as a local wife during Count Brova's stay in the capital, and her family was a poor knightly family. In reality, her grandfather and uncles had sold her mother for money.

Despite this, they treated her and her mother as nuisances, and she spent her days in the church, learning and practicing archery, and hunting in the outskirts of the capital.

"But about a year ago, I was suddenly summoned."

It was because Count Brova's health had deteriorated. However, upon arriving at his sickbed, she found that his legitimate wife was stressing over the succession, and her married sisters were calculating which side would bring the most benefit.

The two potential successors, however, stayed away from the sickbed to prevent the other from claiming the succession if Count Brova passed away.

Seeing this, Count Brova must have been disappointed in his family, who showed no concern for his health, and summoned his daughter, Carla, whom he thought he had "protected" in the capital.

"He must have become weak due to his illness."

"Probably..."

It's likely as Iena suspected, but Carla couldn't refuse the order from the powerful Count Brova and entered his domain, taking care of him.

"His legitimate wife and married sisters would often say nasty things to me."

Even though she was summoned by Count Brova, they called her a 'vulture scavenging for carrion' and often said nasty things to her hysterically.

"That must have been tough."

"That's not the main issue."

From her past, it's clear that Carla is a very independent woman.

Her archery skills are far superior to those of most women, and she easily brushed off the insults from her stepmother and half-sisters.

"You're strong..."

"Until about a year ago, I was barely a noble."

She had been neglected, but the ill and weakened Count Brova, in a moment of weakness, summoned her to reconcile with his illegitimate daughter from the capital and spend his last moments with her.

She probably wanted to finish quickly, receive some compensation, and return to the capital.

"But would it go that smoothly?"

"No, it didn't."

As Louise suspected, Carla became deeply involved in the succession dispute of the Brova family.

Her two older brothers were kind to her, but their kindness was calculated.

"‘If you support me as the next Count Brova, I'll marry you to my son,’ or something like that, right?"

Both brothers would likely say such things to gather support from powerful retainers.

Indeed, it's not an uncommon scenario.

"If you marry Carla, your family's prosperity under the next lord is assured. Everyone must have been desperate to participate in the succession dispute."

As Elise said, the key issue is that Count Brova himself is still alive, and both potential successors lack a decisive advantage.

Thus, the coalition army's leaders, using Carla as a pawn, implemented Philip's deployment plan.

"Philip planned the deployment with the coalition army's leaders but did not lead the troops himself."

This was to prevent the possibility of Count Brova dying during the war, with Christoph claiming the succession and reporting it to the capital.

"A member of the family was needed as the commander-in-chief, and I happened to be there. That's the situation."

For Carla, it was a matter of taking care of her ill father and serving as a figurehead for the coalition army, so she probably doesn't care much about it.

She answered all our questions honestly, both from me and Count Breihlader.

"You're not motivated, huh?"

"Before that, my brothers are irresponsible."

At the very least, they should lead the troops themselves, but they assign the task to a 16-year-old girl to avoid being outmaneuvered by their rivals.

Even as a figurehead commander, it's not right, Carla thinks.

"The tragedy of leaving it to someone else..."

There were a few casualties on our side, and nearly a hundred on the Brova side.

Additionally, nearly ten thousand prisoners of war were taken, and Count Breihlader was struggling with their management.

Given the administrative burden, he could only say, "Send the responsible person quickly!"

"It's a reckless move, breaking tradition..."

He even called in reinforcements and switched to combat-ready weapons to plan a surprise attack.

Count Breihlader had to recruit more coalition troops and manage the prisoners, and his forces were growing daily.

Furthermore, as a noble, he had to aim for a complete victory in a real war.

Thus, he moved the majority of his forces, which had grown to 25,000, into the eastern territory and set up a field camp.

This was a reuse of the Brova army's facilities, and he also dispatched military administrators to several noble territories, villages, and towns to declare their occupation.

However, to avoid complications, he left the governance to local officials and only stationed military administrators.

Given the situation, he declared the occupation, but if his troops caused trouble with the locals, the royal government might raise objections.

With the casualties, there was a risk of retaliation against the locals.

If the victims sued Count Brova or the kingdom, the royal government, which does not officially recognize internal wars, would have to blame Count Breihlader.

Thus, he was controlling his forces while consulting with the ministers via the magic mobile communication device.

"Managing the territory, dealing with the development area, and handling the coalition army and occupied territories. Baron Baumeister, don't you have a spell to clone me?"

When Count Breihlader, with dark circles under his eyes, seriously asked me this, I didn't know how to respond.

"Baron Baumeister, please lend me the Thomas group."

They would serve as assistants to the military administrators in the occupied noble territories and towns.

Many of them were originally from the east and knew the geography well, and the workload for the military administrators had increased.

"Baron Baumeister, your group has captured everyone, so there's a shortage of people to govern."

An unexpected side effect.

In the conflict over rights, many lords and retainers were captured by us, leading to a shortage of people to govern.

"Even if it's just an occupation, the military administrators can help with governance."

"Now that I think about it, you're also taking care of the soldiers. Is that okay?"

The coalition army's soldiers, like the Baumeister family, are mostly farmers.

The harvest is over, and the farming season is approaching, but the absence of the main breadwinners is significant, and if the war continues into spring, there will be a shortage of labor for farming.

The eastern territories involved in this conflict were at risk of governance collapse.

"There's no choice..."

I decided to send them all back to their territories.

The lords, retainers, soldiers, captured weapons, supplies, and money.

All of it, including ransoms, was my and Katharina's right, but I had Count Knappstein calculate the standard prices and acted accordingly.

Additionally, I proposed to return the disputed rights and land distribution to pre-war levels and have the opposing noble families pay compensation.

I left the calculations to Count Knappstein, a serious and bureaucratic noble, who used past precedents to determine the standard compensation amount.

"Will these terms be acceptable?"

"There are no objections."

"I have none either."

Under the supervision of me, Count Breihlader, and Count Knappstein, the negotiations with the captured nobles and the nobles whose retainers and soldiers were captured went smoothly, with no objections.

The Brova side's nobles were disappointed by their absent patrons, and the Breihlader side's nobles were concerned that a prolonged war could lead to the collapse of neighboring territories, causing a refugee crisis.

They accepted our terms, recognizing the urgency and lack of time for negotiating higher compensation.

"For the ransoms and compensation, we would like to pay in installments..."

The Brova side's nobles, with tears in their eyes, requested installment payments for the ransoms and compensation.

Naturally, they couldn't pay in full and would be in debt for decades.

Moreover, with no support from the Brova family and the risk of governance collapse if negotiations broke down, they had no choice but to accept.

"Considering the possibility of this, it was quite a risk to send troops."

"That's why we did it."

To the incredulous Count Breihlader, the Brova side's nobles showed a contract written on parchment from their territory.

It stated that the Brova family would compensate for any damages in the conflict.

"Is this legally valid?"

"It is."

Count Breihlader confirmed its validity.

"The signature is not Count Brova's, but it is signed by the eldest son, Philip, and co-signed by the second son, Christoph, and several key retainers. When the lord cannot sign, such co-signatures are valid."

This document confirms that Count Brova cannot sign, making it valid.

Otherwise, the Brova side's nobles would not have broken tradition to send troops.

"It seems a bit late for that..."

"May I ask one thing?"

The concern of the Brova side's nobles at the negotiation table.

The risk of financial crisis due to installment payments.

According to the contract, the Brova family would cover the costs, but it was difficult to fulfill at this point.

They requested a delay in payments.

"Two hundred years of installments?"

"No, my lord. According to the contract, the damages are to be covered by the Brova family..."

Klaus whispered in my ear.

In essence, they wanted us to cover the ransoms and compensation, and then they would request payment from the Brova family.

"Such a good deal... But..."

It's clear from my childhood that it's hard for vassals to refuse their patrons.

If a significant amount of compensation were to arise from a future ruling, the Brova family, with a deteriorating financial situation, might prioritize their own debt repayment and neglect the compensation to other nobles.

"Count Breihlader would likely reject such a proposal. It's too risky."

While it's natural to consider his own vassals, they are vassals of the Brova family.

There's a risk that the Brova family might not be able to recover the debts, and he would never take on that risk.

"Essentially, they are suggesting a change of patron."

"It's not impossible, but..."

"It's not common, but the circumstances are unique this time."

Patron changes can occur due to compatibility between lords, and in cases like this,