The Gathering Storm and the Forbidden Manuscript
The camp of the anti-Deviang faction was buzzing with activity. Perhaps because they had already been quietly preparing for war with the Grand Duchy, they had managed to gather their forces with remarkable speed. They were currently stationed at a fortress along the border of the Grand Duchy.
"General Yohan."
"Ah, you've arrived."
As the lords of the anti-Grand Duchy faction arrived at the camp one by one, an old general named Yohan stepped forward to greet them personally.
"Count Wyton, it has been a long time."
"General Yohan. It is good to see you. You look as robust as ever."
A dignified man with striking brown hair, who appeared to be in his late thirties, smiled warmly and embraced Yohan in greeting.
"Now, since everyone seems to have arrived, I shall outline our strategy moving forward." Yohan scanned the gathered nobles. "First, we will adopt a defensive posture to repel the enemy's assault." He pointed to a fortress situated near a river flowing close to the Grand Duchy's border.
"The Grand Duchy will undoubtedly rely on their powerful elite forces and attack along this route." He indicated the traditional invasion route the Grand Duchy had historically used whenever they sought to crush rebellious factions.
"This path allows them to move a massive army while maintaining a stable supply line through the fortresses within their own territory. If they march this way..." Yohan tapped a square marker bearing a red flag with his baton, sliding it into the territory held by the anti-Grand Duchy forces. "We will engage them here, at Huntington Fortress."
The nobles nodded in agreement.
Hmm... Yes, that is highly likely.
Yohan nodded at the murmurs of agreement. "In the past, whenever the Grand Duchy attacked us, they chose this route seven or eight times out of ten. Since it is the only route that guarantees a stable supply line, they will almost certainly take it." He continued his briefing.
"Thanks to the financial backing of His Highness Yohanes, we have been able to hire a vast number of mercenaries, whom we have already stationed at Huntington. The moment the Grand Duchy's soldiers assault the fortress..." He pointed his baton at the forest surrounding Huntington Fortress. "...our cavalry, lying in ambush here, will sweep in to eliminate their mages. Then, we will overwhelm them with sheer numbers and annihilate them."
The lords listened intently, nodding in approval.
"Once we break them, the fortresses and castles along their border will be left undefended, as they will have mobilized all their troops for the invasion. Our ultimate goal is to exploit this vacuum, push forward in a single, decisive stroke, and march all the way to Wynn."
Though the Grand Duchy's terrifying reputation had waned somewhat since the death of Valorang, these nobles had spent their lives suffering under his overwhelming, monstrous might. Now, a spark of hope ignited within them. If they played their cards right, they might finally exact vengeance upon Valorang's son for generations of humiliation.
"But... the Ryan family is no ordinary house. Even if the current patriarch is weak, doesn't that monster's daughter still draw breath?"
At this concern, Yohan shook his head dismissively.
"Lady Mary is currently betrothed and will remain in Wynn. I have received word that Agrippa has been appointed as their commander-in-chief."
Hearing this, the faces of the gathered nobles brightened instantly.
"Haha... I heard he is merely a commoner, the Grand Duke's closest friend."
"Indeed. He may have graduated top of his class at the military academy, but he has absolutely no real battlefield experience, has he?"
Perhaps because of their deep-seated resentment toward the Grand Duchy, which had always looked down on them and issued arrogant commands, these nobles had watched their neighbor more closely than anyone else. They truly believed that this was their golden opportunity to bring the Grand Duchy crashing down.
"Wait a moment, if you please."
A man in his fifties, dressed like a wealthy merchant, stepped forward.
"And you are?" Yohan asked.
The merchant-like man bowed slightly. "I am Lord Renoir of Perven, owner of the Perven Bank."
"Ah, Baron Renoir."
Renoir nodded.
"According to the intelligence I have gathered from Roman, the Grand Duchy has recently issued bonds to the absolute limit of their capacity."
The room erupted into a flurry of whispers.
"Wh-What? Does that mean they intend to hire mercenaries as well?"
"I heard the Grand Duchy's finances were in shambles lately, but to think they are desperate enough to issue bonds... This means if we simply drag the war out, victory will be ours by default."
"Indeed. However, we must issue bonds of our own to match them. We cannot afford to lose our numerical advantage."
"He is right. The Grand Duchy's soldiers are already far superior in quality. If we lose our advantage in numbers, we will be in serious trouble."
The once-quiet war room grew increasingly chaotic.
"Silence... Silence!"
"Order, please!"
Count Wyton stepped forward, raising his voice.
"We have already hired mercenaries, but since our enemy is issuing bonds to recruit even more, we must do the same. Let us issue our own bonds and hire an overwhelming force. We should sweep up every available mercenary, even those from the Allied Kingdom and the Sardenya Kingdom."
Since the mercenaries within the Empire would soon be divided between the Grand Duchy and the rebel faction, the proposal to hire foreign mercenaries to secure a decisive advantage was met with enthusiastic approval.
"An excellent idea! After all, once we win, the Grand Duchy will be the ones paying off our debts, will they not?"
The loser surrenders everything to the victor. Such was the brutal law of war.
"Furthermore, we have His Highness Yohanes backing us. He has promised to provide substantial financial support, so this war is as good as won."
At Yohan's words, the nobles cheered.
"Indeed! My heart leaps at the thought of finally avenging the decades of oppression we have suffered."
"Death to the arrogant, cruel Ryans!"
"Death to the Ryan family and the Grand Duchy!"
With that, the lords raised their glasses in a triumphant toast.
After lunch, I was waiting in Joy's room for her to arrive so we could have tea together.
"Hmm..."
I stared at the book my mother had given me. It was an antique-looking volume bound in rich red leather. I gently opened the cover. What kind of book is this? It was a gift from my mother, whose favorite hobby was reading. She had impeccable taste; not a single book she had ever recommended had been boring. Naturally, whenever she suggested a title, I would stay up all night reading it with an excited heart.
I chuckled softly. I wonder what kind of novel it is this time. With that pleasant anticipation, I flipped open the cover.
For those who are full of love, yet do not know how to love.
Is it a romance novel? It reminded me of the heartbreaking love stories I used to read in my teens. I remembered staying up all night weeping over the tragic deaths of the protagonists. Skipping the preface, I turned to the first chapter...
What is the Difference Between Proper and Improper Sexual Relations?
Wait, what? Did I misread that? Bewildered, I rubbed my eyes with both hands and looked at the page again, but the words remained stubbornly unchanged.
"Wh-What in the world...?"
A sense of deep unease washing over me, I quickly flipped through the pages. There was an illustration of a completely naked man and woman embracing, their tongues entwined in a passionate kiss. Another showed a woman on her knees like a dog, her face contorted in sheer ecstasy. *What... what is this?!* My heart hammered wildly against my ribs at the sight of the illustration, where the woman was actually drooling from the sheer intensity of her pleasure.
Clutching my trembling chest, I turned the page. The next illustration showed a woman straddling a man, their lips locked as they engaged in the act itself. My eyes were utterly glued to the scandalous image. *This... this is far too obscene!* At that exact moment—
"What are you doing, Sister?"
"Aack!"
Startled by the sudden voice, I slammed the book shut as Joy slipped up beside me.
"Your face is completely red. Are you hot?"
I shook my head violently. "No! No... well, actually, maybe it is a little warm in here."
At my words, Joy walked over to the fireplace and sprinkled a bit of water on the embers. "Sorry, I was cold earlier so I piled on the firewood. That must be why."
Seeing her bright, innocent smile, a pang of guilt pricked my conscience. "No, it's fine."
"But what book is that?"
I stammered, completely at a loss for words. "It's... a book Mother gave me..."
Joy's eyes lit up. "Oh, really? Let me see! Mother hasn't recommended any books to me lately, and I've been so bored."
My face burned redder, and I shook my head, practically shouting, "No! You can't! Absolutely not!"
There was no way I could let Joy lay her eyes on such an obscene book. No matter what, she was still a minor, and I wanted her to view the world with pure eyes. As I adamantly refused, she narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
"Sister... you're acting weird. What kind of book is it that you're hiding it like that?"
I scrambled to find an excuse. "Th-This is still too mature for you!"
Joy tilted her head, her voice dripping with skepticism. "It's just a book. What do you mean 'too mature'?"
"Well... that's..."
I had never even heard of the existence of such scandalous literature in my entire life, so I had no idea how to explain it. Frankly, I didn't even understand why Mother had handed this to me in the first place. My mind was in utter chaos. Still, I absolutely could not show this to Joy.
"If I say no, it's no!" I snapped.
Joy's gaze turned even more suspicious. "Sister... are you reading something... naughty?"
I flinched under her intensely probing stare. "Wh-What? No, I'm not! Mother... Mother recommended this to me..."
Joy eyed the volume clutched tightly in my hands. "Hmm... then what's the title?"
"I... I don't know."
It was my first time seeing it, and since it had a custom book cover, I genuinely didn't know the title.
"Highly suspicious... Sister, you're definitely reading something weird, aren't you?"
I winced. "I said I'm not!"
But Joy only grinned, a mischievous, devilish smirk playing on her lips as if she had figured everything out.
"Hehe~ So you like that kind of stuff too, Sister? Actually, I've been writing a book lately myself. Hold on a second..."
I watched in bewilderment as she trotted over to her bookshelf. "What do you mean 'that kind of stuff'? And what do you mean you're writing a book?"
"Just something I've been writing to pass the time. It's incredibly popular among the maids in the Imperial Palace." Joy muttered as she rummaged through her shelves. "Hehe... I knew you'd like this sort of thing, Sister. It's a genre Elena introduced me to. Now, where is Volume 1? Ah, here it is."
She pulled out a book bound in a leather cover remarkably similar to the one my mother had given me and handed it over.
"Fufu~ Take a look at this. It's a BL novel I wrote, inspired by the beautiful friendship and love between Agrippa and my brother-in-law. The reviews have been absolutely stellar."
BL? It was a term I had never heard before.
"A BL novel?"
I was familiar with romance and comedy, but BL was entirely foreign. Was it some new genre? I took the book and casually flipped it open, only to freeze solid like a statue at the shocking descriptions within.
I had truly believed nothing could possibly be more scandalous than the book I had just been reading. That was how deeply shocking my mother's book had been. But this...
Snap!
This was a shock of an entirely different caliber.
Deviang and Agrippa... and the utterly filthy, depraved acts described between them. The moment those words registered, the final thread of my sanity snapped.
"Did you... did you actually write this?"
"Yep, I wrote it all! Hehe... Well, Sister? Isn't it incredibly hot? Hehe~ Brother-in-law and Agrippa are both so handsome, just imagining them together makes my heart—uh, Sister?!"
Riiip! Tear!
Shaking with pure, unadulterated rage, I began shredding the manuscript to pieces.
"You! You are so dead!"
As I lunged forward to grab her, Joy hitched up her skirt and bolted.
"Kyaaa! Sister, why are you doing this?! I thought you liked this kind of stuff too?!"
"What are you talking about?!"
"S-Save me~!"