Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: End of Winter
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Two months had passed since I arrived in Sneria's territory as reinforcements.
"In the end, even this winter is coming to an end."
I murmured alone atop the recently captured southern wall.
As if reacting to my soliloquy, the shadow writhed.
It was one of Yu Hana's retainers, ostensibly my guard, who resided within the shadows.
Of course, one might wonder who was guarding whom, but since I was a noble guest from a neighboring territory, this was a guard assigned out of courtesy.
Because of this person, I had no privacy whatsoever, but it was convenient in its own way. Whenever I put on airs, they would witness it in real time and spread the rumors, so I didn't need to worry about putting on a show.
- "Today, this and that happened..."
Last time, I saw him sharing with the other retainers the events that occurred while he was with me on the road. He had the makings of an excellent chronicler.
With this makeshift chronicler tucked away in the shadows, I murmured into the winter wind.
"Once winter ends, my role will end too."
The shadow writhed even more violently than before.
When winter ends, I return to my territory.
And when spring begins anew, he must have been fearing that the utterly devastating battlefield would reopen.
To reassure the retainer hidden in the shadows, I recited lines I had picked from a poetry anthology since the night before.
"Don't fear the end of winter. What lies before your eyes now may be a wasteland, but when spring arrives, flowers will surely bloom."
Yu Hana had been in a good mood lately.
It was because her achievements had grown steeply, merely from her exchanges with Duke.
Before she knew it, she had reached a level where one-on-one combat with other lords was feasible.
To think such a dramatic change could come from nothing more than enlightenment gained through words.
It was the first time since she had picked up shadow magic—an advanced spell—during her resistance army days.
'So that's why lords are always going on about masters.'
According to one legend, a certain lord had sacrificed about a hundred years of his lifespan to receive teachings.
Commoners viewed it as a tale mocking foolish superhumans blinded by the pursuit of higher realms, and Yu Hana had thought the same.
But now that she had experienced it, she understood.
A true master was more than worth sacrificing one's lifespan for.
As those thoughts crossed her mind, what she could offer Duke naturally came to her.
'The plan to treat him as a guest in the territory for ten years last time fell through.'
The scheme to host Duke as a noble guest for ten years, conceived during the demon tribe incident, had somehow failed.
He had shared the reward to save people, so there was no room for resentment.
But this time was different.
'He saved the territory and even raised my realm...'
With all that, wouldn't devoting her entire life be acceptable?
No, wasn't it the proper thing to do?
"Hehe..."
The corners of her mouth curved into a sly arc.
Clutching the now faintly scented cloth to her chest, she spun all sorts of fantasies.
While she was lost in those happy dreams, someone suddenly burst into her tent.
Tang!
Drawing on her overwhelming realm, she reflexively fired a shadow stake toward the entrance.
"Hup!"
In that split second when her soundless retainer was distracted by the spear grazing his cheek, she shoved her cloak into the shadows and straightened her attire.
"Ahem. Ahem. We're in the middle of a war. No matter how urgent it is, make some presence known. You could be mistaken for an assassin."
"I'm sorry, my lord."
"So, what's the issue?"
"Well..."
Anxiety swept over her as she watched her hesitating retainer.
Soon, that anxiety became reality.
"Well... the merchant, swayed by the other lords, has incited a rebellion..."
Embarrassment settled on Yu Hana's face at the report.
'Of all times, now...'
Originally, she had bridged the gap of her inferior realm with technique and ingenuity.
In that state, Duke's special training had elevated her rank further, giving her the edge even against lords of the same tier.
At this point, no barons could match her, and if she threw her whole body into it, she could even contend with counts.
Thanks to this, she had achieved the feat of shifting from one-sided defense—slowly being pushed back—to an offensive to reclaim her territory.
But she harbored no illusions.
The reason she could go on the offensive and press the lords was that the enemies were preoccupied wondering whether Duke was in the south or the east—not because she was purely strong enough on her own.
In short, her current momentum came from riding Duke's coattails, not her own power.
The enemies had exploited that vulnerability.
Once Duke returned to his territory, she would be pushed back again.
Then, unlike the relatively safe central cities, the peripheral ones would be sacrificed.
They persuaded the merchant: rather than swearing loyalty to such a lord, pledge to us first, and we'll spare your lives.
Thus, they swayed the merchant and incited the citizens.
"Haa..."
Her uplifted mood from moments ago plunged to rock bottom in an instant.
Fundamentally, lords don't bother with schemes.
It's easier to crush foes with raw rank in that time.
As a result, few lords excelled in strategy or tactics.
But that didn't make them fools.
'War really is a bitch...'
Incitement was the basics of warfare.
She herself had tormented other lords with her specialties—espionage, sabotage, and incitement—so she couldn't deem their tactics excessive.
Simply put, being on the receiving end was infuriating beyond measure.
After a brief moment of deliberation, she set her course.
"For now, while Sir Duke holds this front, I'll suppress the rebellion."
Using reinforcements sent to halt the war for quelling a rebellion was a grave diplomatic discourtesy.
Moreover, this incitement had worked because the territory's people still saw her as weak.
Thus, she needed to step forward personally, crush the rebellion, and reassert discipline.
"What's the ringleader's identity?"
"We've identified him."
"I'll head there right away. Secure his family's details too."
She was a lord who cherished and loved her people, but she was no pushover.
She wasn't some delicate girl who would indulge even those inciting rebellion.
"Inform Sir Duke as well. Tell him we entrust the front to him while we're away."
Perhaps the rebellion wouldn't be quelled until winter's end.
With such thoughts, she donned her overcoat.
Even amid war, a lord's duties never ceased.
Descending from the wall, Yu Hana brought fresh news.
"Sir. Shamefully, deficiencies in my rule have sparked a rebellion."
She told me this to request that I hold the southern front while she was away.
When she returned, we would slowly advance south once more.
I accepted her request while recalling the original story.
'It's finally starting.'
The trigger for the original story's tragedy had appeared.
Yu Hana's tragic arc in the original began with this rebellion.
Thinking it a mere uprising, she heads to the city—only to confront a 6th-rank superhuman.
A necromancer and hero named Hilly.
That woman was an unforeseen entity undetectable even by Sneria's intelligence network.
What she believed to be a simple incited rebellion was a trap: the hero manipulated the corpses of the merchant and citizens alike to lure her from the fortress.
- "The war's dragged on so long I've been getting bored."
She claimed as much, but in truth, she lacked confidence to defeat Yu Hana entrenched in the fortress.
A superhuman fortified in a stronghold could withstand a one-rank disparity, and the southern fortress—built in earnest with imperial engineers—was nearly impenetrable to ordinary superhumans.
Yet there, rather than raging at the deception, Yu Hana felt relief that the merchant hadn't betrayed her.
- "I wasn't wrong after all..."
And then she raged.
The merchant and citizens had refused to yield to the hero's threats to uphold their loyalty to her, yet the hero slew them and sullied their honor with their corpses.
That scene was why I had fallen for her.
Her character in truly cherishing her people, her prestige ensuring no one betrayed until the end.
And her spirit of sacrificing herself to honor her promise with them to the very last.
How admirable that narrative had been.
Thus, after her exit from the story, I alone professed to be her fan.
What followed was as I described.
With her retainers' consent, she consumed them and took her own life before Karma could strike.
This very city rebellion she was now heading toward was the origin of that entire tragedy.
'Should I tell her after all.'
My ultimate goal was to avert this tragedy.
In that light, informing her was the right call.
I contacted Rex to consult on the matter.
From past lives onward, I'd had rotten luck and always relied on physical prowess to overcome.
For someone like me, borrowing Rex's luck was infinitely better than meddling in the narrative solo and risking complications.
Plus, I held out hope that Rex might devise some ingenious plan to minimize casualties.
"My lord. That's how it is."
Rex, who had received only the report of the rebellion's outbreak, nodded.
[Yeah. It's a trap.]
"?"
I hadn't provided any other details?
But it seemed blatantly obvious to the strategy simulation veteran.
[For a rebellion to erupt mid-war, simple incitement won't cut it. Social preconditions must be met at minimum. You need to analyze it through double crisis theory or revolutionary opportunity creation theory...]
Hmm. No clue.
I followed up to the point of public sentiment dynamics and no observed collapse of trust or legitimacy, but beyond that? Lost.
One thing was certain, though: unnatural as it was, it had to be a trap designed to draw her from the fortress.
'Wow, this guy's sharp.'
I knew he was smart, but not this sharp.
He's just so damn unreliable otherwise.
Anyway, thanks to Rex, the plausibility was secured.
Now I could proceed under the premise it was a trap without issue.
[Cunning trap. Leave it be, and it'll balloon into a real rebellion spreading outward—no ignoring that. Plus, a rebellion demands the lord herself attend. What would Duke do in a pinch like this... Ah, slip-up.]
"?"
[You don't care if it's a trap anyway.]
"..."
What the hell. True, but why does it piss me off.
The handling feels so damn sloppy.