Chapter 88

"I have a request for everyone. Please lend your strength to the kingdom."

When Erika said this, the conference room fell silent.

What are the nobles thinking?

I can predict it, but they probably don't have good feelings about it.

"The enemy is the former nobles who have received support from a foreign country. If we continue like this, the enemy country's army will invade the kingdom. If that happens, the kingdom will be engulfed in flames everywhere."

Some nobles will likely take advantage of this situation to move.

A noble with his arms crossed glared at me while speaking to Erika.

"Do you mean, Lady Erika, that you want us to follow the orders of that young Baltfort boy?"

He doesn't seem to like me.

Erika nodded confidently.

"I understand the concern that the duke is too young. However, I believe this is the best course of action."

The noble who had his arms crossed fell silent at Erika's firm words.

A gentlemanly noble, with his hands clasped, asked me.

"Does Duke Baltfort have the confidence to navigate this chaotic situation?"

Few people truly understand the current situation.

It's hard to gather information.

But I have Luxion, so it's not a problem.

I can't help but think:

Cheat powers are amazing, aren't they?

"I have confidence. If you follow me, I'll lead you to victory."

At my words, the people around me made bitter faces.

"The upstart is full of bravado. It would be reassuring if it were true, though."

"The enemy is a coordinated uprising. Can we win when we're already on the back foot?"

"Anyone can win. The problem is what comes after."

Indeed, this coup is expected to fail from the enemy country's perspective.

They just want to stir up chaos within the Holfort Kingdom.

No one expected it to succeed from the beginning.

"I need those present to head to the border immediately. We will deal with the domestic enemies at the palace."

A muscular noble laughed at me.

"Really? You think you can handle it all by yourselves?"

"Yes. The biggest problem is the border."

The gentlemanly noble nodded.

"—It's a relief to know you're not incompetent. Indeed, the rebels within the country are likely just pawns."

Gilbert, representing the Redgrave family, gave me a cold look.

"Duke Baltfort, which border do you want us to defend? The kingdom is vast. We can't dispatch forces to all sides, can we?"

It feels like he's testing me.

"The priority is to send reinforcements to the Frazer family."

I pointed to the map on the table, indicating where to send reinforcements.

Mottley, the earl, was surprised.

"That's a very biased deployment."

The other nobles felt the same way.

"Are you leaving the Van Ouse family alone?"

"That's unusual for them to move."

"If this deployment fails, the enemy will flood into the kingdom."

I requested such a biased deployment.

The reason is that I had already investigated the countries that might move.

"The Van Ouse family won't move. They don't have the resources."

Mottley stroked his chin.

"Are you certain? The Van Ouse family would seize this opportunity, wouldn't they?"

"I thoroughly defeated them in the previous battlefield. They won't attack unless they're foolish. Besides, they can't prepare a substantial force."

Most of the nobles present were on the border during the duchy war.

The gentlemanly noble asked the question everyone wanted to hear.

"It's by the king's command. We should follow it. However, I want to make something clear. We are concerned that Duke Baltfort might use this chaos to benefit the Redgrave family."

Gilbert closed his eyes.

The nobles present seem worried that I might use this situation to my advantage.

—Of course, I will use it to my advantage!

"Don't worry, I'll do my best to protect the kingdom. I'll continue to do so in the future. If you want to usurp the throne, go ahead. I'll crush you all."

Erika, surprised, grabbed my sleeve, but I ignored her and continued.

"I hate Roland, but I don't want to start a war. I have no intention of settling old scores now."

When I conveyed my feelings to Gilbert, the nobles around me started to complain.

Some of them have suffered under the kingdom's policies.

"Even after suffering unjustly, your loyalty to the kingdom is admirable."

"You don't seem to harbor any grudges."

"You don't seem to understand our suffering."

I slammed my fist on the table.

"Unjust? Grudges? Suffering? —You don't know why I got the Lost Item. I'll tell you. I got the Lost Item because I was almost forced to marry a woman in her fifties. And it was for her pension!"

The expressions around me softened a bit.

Some were rubbing their eyes.

"To support his legal wife and children in the capital, my father sent money every month, even though he was a noble. Do you understand the feeling of having to farm to ensure your own food? The legal wife and her children lived in luxury and never even thanked him!"

Thinking about it now, it was unjust, but back then, I didn't have to deal with such complicated matters.

"I'm angry too. I want to wake Roland up and punch him right now! But the one who decided this wasn't Roland. It wasn't the queen either. Getting angry now and burning down the royal family won't solve anything."

Gilbert, who had been listening, opened his eyes and said to me.

"But it's true that the current royal family can't unite. Isn't it a problem to prolong their rule? You say to forget grudges and suffering, but it's not that easy to forget."

I understand.

But I have something to protect.

"Do what you want. If you think you can defeat me, come at me. Or defect to the enemy? If you do, I'll fight you without holding back."

If you have complaints, step forward.

At this, Mottley clapped his hands.

"Young hero, you're quite radical. But I understand your sincere desire to face this crisis. Everyone, why don't we follow Duke Baltfort's command? It wouldn't be fun to let the enemy country have its way, would it?"

Thanks to Mottley's words, they reluctantly agreed.

But their dissatisfaction was obvious.

◇

After leaving the conference room, I spoke with Luxion, who approached me.

"Luxion, what's the situation?"

"It's better than planned. Too good, in fact."

"What do you mean?"

It seems the results are better than planned.

"The facilities the enemy attacked had troops deployed today. Armed airships were also on standby for drills, allowing for a quick response."

"—Mirene?"

"It seems Roland arranged it. Well done, Master."

What is he trying to do?

Or did he foresee this?

As I was confused, Erika, who was following me, spoke up.

"Uncle, why did you say that? Didn't you want to live a peaceful life?"

I stopped at Erika's words.

—I want to live a peaceful life, and I still do.

I turned and smiled at Erika.

"I don't want to put my niece on the executioner's block. —A peaceful life will have to wait."

"But—!"

"Now, even if I wanted to be a recluse, the situation won't allow it. It's like the price I paid for this."

I nudged Luxion, who looked displeased.

"Are you that dissatisfied with getting me?"

"No, just not satisfied."

It feels good to retort, given how she usually says whatever she wants.

"—Uncle, there's no reason to dwell on your past life. You don't have to push yourself for my sake."

To Erika, it probably seems like I'm dwelling on my past life.

But that's only natural.

"If I have memories of my past life, there must be a reason. Otherwise, I wouldn't have those memories."

"I've never heard that before. Did you just come up with it?"

"Yep."

As I was joking with Erika, Luxion reported to me.

"Master, we've located the conspirators' hideout."

"That was quick."

"They were foreign agents, after all. Their goal was to create chaos in the kingdom, and they didn't expect much. The real battle starts now."

"I understand. Erika, I'm sorry, but Uncle is a bit busy. I'll talk to you later when I'm done. I have a lot of questions too."

About her parents.

About Erika.

I have so many things I want to ask.

Erika was looking down.

"—Uncle, I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I just need to rely on Luxion a bit."

"I wish you had made that decision a little earlier."

I held out until the last moment.

If there's no other way, I'll have to do it.

◇

After Leon and Luxion left, Erika grabbed her skirt.

She was crying, looking down.

"Uncle, you don't have to push yourself for me."

In the end, she couldn't say it.

If Leon found out, he would surely suffer.

◇

In the capital's alleyways.

The members of the Forest of Ladies were running around.

"This can't be happening. This is impossible!"

"What about the support from the foreign country?"

"Why are we failing? You said it would succeed!"

They were running in dresses, their clothes torn and catching on debris.

At the end of their escape, they were met by Zirk, who was aiming a gun at them.

He was on an air bike, surrounding the members of the Forest of Ladies.

Around him were soldiers on air bikes.

"There's no place to run. Surrender."

The women sat down, and the soldiers approached to restrain them.

Approaching Zirk was a man who used to be part of Claris's entourage, now working as an air bike rider.

"I never thought I'd be working under you."

"Same here. But I hope you understand."

"Sure, I trust your boss."

Zirk was Claris's ex-fiancé.

The man, who used to be part of Claris's entourage, probably wanted to complain.

But he was holding back and following Zirk for now.

"Anyway, what are we going to do next?"

"We move on to the next target. There are several groups that have rebelled."

Zirk and his team handed over the members of the Forest of Ladies and moved on to the next target.

◇

"This is the sixth one!"

Gregg, in his armor, was wreaking havoc with his spear.

The armor Luxion created was overwhelming the enemy's new models.

Chris was confirming the palace's instructions while watching the scene.

"Gregg, we're moving on. There are still more armors wreaking havoc in the capital."

"These guys brought a lot of armors."

Gregg was amazed, but Chris felt the same way.

There were a considerable number of armors wreaking havoc in the capital.

"There must have been a lot of collaborators. We need to investigate this further."

They weren't shut down, but dissatisfied nobles must have helped.

Some armors even came from noble estates.

"Besides, it's not a problem to take them down, but is Blood okay?"

Blood was the only one not in the capital.

"No need to worry. He's a good commander."

With that, the two moved on to the next target.

◇

Six flying warships were heading for the capital.

Waiting for them before they reached the capital were Leon's friends.

Leading them was Blood.

"Really, Baltfort knows what he's doing. I'm suited for a command position."

They were on Daniel's airship.

Daniel was annoyed.

"Why is the son of a border baron on my ship?"

Blood patted Daniel's shoulder and pointed forward.

"Don't be so cold, Daniel. Let's deal with them."

They had twelve airships prepared, twice as many as the enemy.

"I don't expect to lose, but please don't get in the way."

"No problem. Look, they're exposing their flank. Shall we target and sink them?"

Daniel gave orders based on the enemy's movements.

"Ugh, already! Fire the cannons. Fire! Tell Raymond and the others too."

He gave orders to his subordinates and began firing on the enemy fleet.

Blood, watching the scene, turned his gaze to the map.

"After we take them down, we'll go after the other fleets heading to the assembly point. This one next, right?"

Daniel grumbled.

"Leon is using us again. Next time, he's buying us a fancy meal."

Blood was smiling.

"Sure, it'll be perfect for the victory party. We'll join too."

"—What, you're coming too?"

"Of course. We're friends now, aren't we?"

Daniel, reminded of something unpleasant by the word "friends," covered his face with his hands.