Chapter 183
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 183
A few days later, personal letters from the First Prince and Lucian arrived simultaneously at the estates of every noble house.
The contents of the letters were remarkably simple.
“...What is the meaning of this? Marquis Roglan invited His Majesty the King?”
“Hmph, I have no idea what His Majesty is thinking. It’s a trap no matter how you look at it.”
The family heads tilted their heads at the sudden pretext, but they swallowed hard, sensing that the moment they had been waiting for had finally arrived.
They had expected that a request for military support for an external move would come eventually.
Thus, the request itself was not surprising; the problem was the number of troops being demanded.
‘If the number of troops the King demands exceeds my capacity, I’m finished. In the worst-case scenario, the family’s very foundations could be shaken.’
‘Besides, it’s not like I can just throw the troops at him and wash my hands of it. I’ll have to bear the full cost of maintaining the soldiers I send.’
The Royalists, who had supported Lucian from the beginning, had nothing to worry about. Lucian would never make unreasonable demands of his own supporters.
However, he likely wouldn't show such consideration to the nobles who had been at odds with him until now.
In fact, he might dump the entire burden of the troops the Royalists should have provided onto his former opponents. Or worse, he might intentionally demand an excessive number of troops just to weaken their power.
‘Please, let the number be something I can handle!’
The heads of the former opposition faction swallowed dryly as they checked the troop numbers in the letters.
Soon, their eyes blinked in a daze.
“...Is this all we have to provide?”
The number of troops Lucian requested was not just reasonable; it was barely a burden at all. There was no need to organize a separate force; they could simply pull a few men from their standing armies and send them off.
Maintenance costs would increase slightly as the supply lines lengthened, but even that was easily manageable. It was a level of demand so low that no one would complain even if the expedition lasted for years.
The Royalist nobles were just as bewildered by these unexpectedly low figures as the former opposition.
“No, isn't this far too few? Surely he isn't being too easy on me just because I’m a Royalist?”
“If he puts too much of a burden on the former opposition, it’ll spark a rebellion.”
The Royalists mistakenly thought the former opposition was carrying their weight, but they were shocked to learn that the opposition had been asked for the same small amount.
It was a situation where it wouldn't have been strange if Lucian had scraped together half of the North’s entire military force, yet his demands were incredibly light.
“I don’t know what he’s thinking. Isn't the House of Roglan one of the two greatest families, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Grand Ducal House of Valdek?”
“With Valdek shaken as it is, it’s no exaggeration to say Roglan has no equal among individual families.”
“The number of troops he’s requesting is far too small for entering the front yard of such a dangerous family. Is he really going to be okay?”
All the nobles of the North became of one mind, worrying for Lucian’s safety. If Lucian were to disappear now, the North, which had finally united under the name of a kingdom, would shatter once again.
However, there was one fact they failed to realize.
Their standards were still rooted in times of peace, not times of war. They had never seen for themselves just how massive a force could become when an entire region truly united its strength.
*
‘...How did it come to this?’
Ernst, the herald of the House of Roglan, clutched his head in his guest room.
Up until a certain point, everything had been going according to plan. A trap disguised as a gesture of goodwill, a proposal that had to be rejected, and inciting internal strife among the neighboring lords.
But all of that had been overturned in an instant.
By a single sentence: that there would be no limit on the number of escorts.
‘Damn it. I never imagined a fledgling kingdom would so boldly demand troops from its neighboring lords.’
Whether a King or an Emperor, the ruler of a country was expected to demand troops from their lords in times of emergency. It was a natural right of a monarch and a fundamental duty of a subject, a request that had to be met.
However, just as reality often differs from the ideal, it was a request that was difficult to fulfill if the monarch’s grip on power was weak. No matter the lord-vassal relationship, there was deep resentment toward sending elite troops, raised at great expense, into someone else’s battlefield.
Naturally, Ernst hadn't expected Lucian to boldly request military support in a Northern Kingdom that was essentially brand new.
‘It wouldn't matter if he had demanded troops before fully securing the kingdom. The other nobles would have just ignored him. The problem is that they actually sent the troops.’
The mere possibility made a chill run down Ernst’s spine.
Initially, he had planned to assassinate Lucian if the man was foolish enough to fail to read between the lines and actually accept the invitation.
But assassination was a method only attempted when infiltration was feasible. If Lucian entered the West surrounded by a massive army, assassination—or anything of the sort—would be impossible to attempt.
It might be possible inside the Marquis’s manor, but by then, the massive army would have already entered the Marquis’s territory. A leaderless army running wild in the Marquis’s own lands was even more dangerous than attempting an assassination outside.
‘This is madness. I can’t exactly take back my words now.’
It was too late to correct himself and claim it was a slip of the tongue. At this point, even if he tried to change his tune, they would likely proceed as if they hadn't heard him.
As Ernst agonized over the unexpected turn of events, a voice called out.
“Lord Ernst. His Majesty the King summons you.”
“...I will be ready immediately!”
Ernst replied to the knight’s shout and stood up. Since Lucian had accepted the invitation, it was impossible to change the flow. Since things had come to this, he would just have to accept a certain amount of loss.
‘As long as the gathered force doesn't exceed three thousand, we can manage. Even if they can provide support, a fledgling kingdom’s reach should only be able to project about two thousand troops at most.’
Ernst began to refine his plan. The picture had changed from his expectations, but looking at it another way, he might have achieved more than anticipated. Lucian himself was walking right into the House of Roglan’s front yard.
If he played his cards right, he might be able to eliminate the most powerful rival of this chaotic era right here.
Ernst had just managed to regain his composure by forcing himself to think positively when Lucian spoke.
“I intend to take five thousand soldiers as my escort.”
“...Pardon?”
“Did you not hear me? Five thousand. Five. Thousand.”
At Lucian’s declaration, Ernst felt his mind go blank. He thought three thousand would be the absolute maximum they could scrape together. But five thousand?
He was so stunned he couldn't speak, but Lucian wasn't finished.
“Oh, and three hundred knights will be coming along as well.”
“...!”
“Why so surprised? It’s common sense that knights aren't counted as part of the general infantry, isn't it?”
Common sense, my foot.
Ernst barely swallowed the curse that almost escaped his lips. Five thousand regular soldiers was already absurd, but adding three hundred knights on top of that?
“Y-Your Majesty. I apologize, but that number is far too high.”
“Do not worry about the numbers. I will only be accompanied by three close aides. There is no need to prepare banquet seats for the other knights.”
“That’s not what I meant...!”
“By the way, the aides accompanying me are Sir Hugo, Sir Felicia, and Marius. Take note.”
Ernst, who was about to say something, froze on the spot.
Hugo was merely a close confidant who had been with Lucian since his days as the Third Young Master, but the other two were not beings to be taken lightly.
They were none other than the Sword Saint of the era and the Court Mage of Asagrim.
“Your Majesty! I beg your pardon, but...!”
“I will not take no for an answer.”
“...!”
“I trusted your words and accepted the invitation. Personal letters bearing my name have already circulated throughout the North. Do you really think you can withdraw the proposal after things have come this far?”
Faced with such undeniable logic, Ernst could say nothing.
If Lucian were to withdraw the invitation now and send back the troops he had gathered? Beyond the sheer wasted effort, Lucian himself would become a laughingstock for issuing such an order.
Lucian smiled at the frozen, gulping Ernst and said, “Tell the Marquis. Five thousand soldiers and three hundred knights are coming to his territory.”
*
“Five thousand soldiers and three hundred knights?! Are you playing games with me right now?!”
Marquis Bernhardt Roglan was aghast when he received Ernst’s letter.
He had indeed told Ernst to convey the condition that there would be no limit on the number of escorts. But five thousand was simply too much. It far exceeded the level they could suppress, even if they were willing to take some losses.
“What on earth was Ernst doing to accept such nonsense at face value?! Tell him to scrap everything and return immediately!”
“T-The herald is currently being detained in Asagrim.”
“What is that supposed to mean?!”
“The herald tried to back out of the agreement several times, but the Duke is being stubborn. He says that once the words have been spoken, they cannot be taken back, and he won't let him leave. He says if the herald wants to return to the Marquisate, he must go with him...”
“That lunatic!”
A string of curses erupted from Marquis Bernhardt’s mouth.
He had experienced Lucian’s audacity firsthand when they met in the Allied Forces. But regardless of that audacity, Lucian had also shown a tendency to weigh gains and losses clearly. He would dig in deep when there was a profit to be made, but he would pull out just as easily if there was nothing but disadvantage.
Because of that, the Marquis thought Lucian wouldn't take useless gambles, yet here he was, coming to the West with five thousand troops.
“This is practically a declaration of war! Has he lost his sense of reality because he’s been so successful at such a young age?!”
“Lord Marquis, please calm yourself.”
“Do I look like I can be calm?! The bastard intends to start a war!”
“He likely has no such intention. It is a severe provocation, certainly, but if he truly intended to wage war, he would have brought far more than five thousand men.”
“...What do you mean?”
As Marquis Bernhardt’s fury subsided slightly, one of his aides quickly continued the explanation.
“Five thousand soldiers and three hundred knights are certainly a force that cannot be ignored, but it is also an awkward number for capturing strongholds one by one as they advance.”
It wouldn't be difficult to capture a few territories belonging to minor families, but the problem lay in what came after. To hold captured territory, one must inevitably divert and station a portion of the military. Naturally, the further they advanced, the more their numbers would visibly dwindle.
“If Asagrim and the West shared a border, it wouldn't be a big problem. Even with a small garrison, reinforcements would arrive quickly.”
“But the North and the West are quite far apart, so that’s impossible. If he wants to occupy somewhere, he has no choice but to split his forces.”
“Exactly. Therefore, the Duke likely has no intention of actually occupying the West. He is merely using an excessive army to threaten his surroundings and ensure no one can touch him.”
“Why on earth would he do such a thing? Why would he take the risk of being assassinated without even occupying land? What is the reason?!”
The Marquis’s voice rose again as he thought about it. The aide hesitated for a long time before finally voicing his suspicion.
“It’s a long shot, but... could it be that the threat itself is the objective?”