40
Chapter 40
"Emilia."
"Yes."
"I will give you two thousand soldiers. Suppress the rebellion."
"Yes, sir."
At the Grand Duke of Kronor's command, Emilia set out to suppress the rebellion with a mere two thousand soldiers. To be sure, wiping out a rebel force of over ten thousand with such limited numbers was nearly impossible.
Yet, it wasn't completely out of the question. While the total number of rebels exceeded ten thousand, that was merely the sum of all groups combined; they were split into five or six factions, each consisting of anywhere from one to three thousand men.
Because the uprising lacked a central figurehead and remained fragmented, and since the rebels were of poor quality, suppression was still viable. They were a makeshift army of any man who could be found and handed a spear.
However, there was a reason why Emilia was sent with only two thousand soldiers. The Kronor army totaled roughly five thousand. Giving Emilia three thousand would mean she controlled more than half the force, allowing her to turn her blade toward the Grand Duke.
As the retreat from Seize Castle had proven, Emilia's leadership and combat prowess were unmatched. In a battle where they should have been wiped out, she had taken the rear and halved the casualties.
The Grand Duke believed that granting her too much power would inevitably lead to disaster, but he was mistaken.
He failed to realize that even two thousand soldiers were more than enough for Emilia.
Her first target was a small fortress called Manton, where three thousand rebels had gathered.
Two thousand against three thousand. On paper, the odds were unfavorable, but once the battle began, it was Emilia's force that held the advantage.
At the start of the assault, Emilia drew her sword and scaled the walls. No one could stop her as she leaped up the ladders as if she were flying. The moment she reached the ramparts, a living hell unfolded.
She began cutting through the enemies with ruthless precision. Her opponents were nothing more than a rabble of conscripts who had been handed spears simply for being male; they were no match for the strikes of a Sword Master.
In truth, not being able to defend themselves was the least of their worries. Even as a Sword Master, she couldn't possibly slay three thousand men single-handedly.
The real problem was that the rebels began to succumb to sheer terror after witnessing Emilia's insane display of power.
"Eek! A... a monster!"
"That's not human! Run!"
The enemies turned and fled, allowing her allies to scale the walls with ease.
Having effortlessly captured Menton Castle, Emilia tallied her remaining troops. Seventy-four wounded, eleven dead. Aside from a few who had been hit by arrows, the rest were fine.
Among the captives, she sent back those who were too young, too old, or sickly, while incorporating those with combat capability into her own army.
In an instant, her forces grew to three thousand. It was a miracle; she had fought a battle and ended up with more soldiers instead of fewer.
Hearing of this, the Grand Duke of Kronor ordered Emilia to return. He intended to demand a thousand of her three thousand soldiers before sending her back out. Meanwhile, Emilia...
"Behead the diplomat and send his head back."
"What? But if we do that, the Grand Duke will..."
"His Highness the Grand Duke has lost his capacity for rational judgment. As of today, our army declares independence. I shall claim the Grand Dukedom for myself."
She had declared her independence.
Meanwhile, at the Grand Duke of Kronor's military camp.
The envoy who had been sent to recall her did not return; instead, a small bundle arrived.
Upon opening it, the Grand Duke found the envoy's severed head. He flew into a rage.
"Rebellion? That damn wench finally turns against her own father!"
Though she had always been hard to read, he believed she would never go so far as to rebel. After all, Emilia had endured ruthless violence and every kind of irrational abuse without a single word of protest or defiance. He never imagined she would suddenly rise up.
"Is this your revenge for everything..."
However, the Grand Duke had completely misread the situation. Emilia's rebellion was not driven by a personal desire for revenge against him. Rather, it was a direct result of his failures.
Through his reckless attacks during the retreat from Seize Castle, the Grand Duke had cost the North thousands of soldiers, leading to lost territories and widespread uprisings. The catalyst for her rebellion was not the abuse she had suffered. Had the Grand Duke remained a competent monarch, Emilia would have had no reason to rebel.
But the moment he exposed his incompetence, Emilia had no choice but to revolt. To protect the North. To prevent a greater tragedy. Emilia fought not for herself, but for the sake of the entire North.
Mutual understanding was impossible. Emilia declared her intention to become the new Grand Duke of the North and claim her father's title.
The North thus entered a new phase. A three-way struggle began between Grand Duke Karl von Kronor, Emilia's ever-growing army, and the remaining independent rebel factions.
-----
While Emilia systematically crushed and absorbed the independent rebel groups, those rebels were not mindless and did not simply wait to be conquered.
They formed a coalition and gathered around a single noble.
His name was Raknar von Skone.
He was a tall man of about 185 centimeters with long hair, who specialized in the use of the shield and axe.
Raknar was a knight and noble renowned for his numerous achievements under Grand Duke Karl von Kronor. Because of this, the rebels chose him as the capable leader they needed.
Just as the rebels had hoped, Raknar proved to be a highly skilled knight. He swiftly unified the Rebel Alliance and pacified the surrounding areas, establishing a new power base in the northeast.
With Emilia in the northwest, Raknar in the northeast, and Grand Duke Karl in the south, the North was now split into three warring factions.
Yet, none dared to make the first move. Raknar held the largest force at ten thousand men, but he knew that attacking Emilia would leave him open to Karl, and attacking Karl would invite an assault from Emilia.
Emilia faced the same dilemma. Striking Karl would risk a betrayal by Raknar, while attacking Raknar would likely provoke Karl into action.
Karl, for his part, was relatively satisfied with the situation. He held the most fertile territories, as the land grew more barren toward the north, while the south remained productive.
It seemed as though Karl could eventually make a comeback, defeat both Emilia and Raknar, and reclaim his authority as Grand Duke. Or so it seemed, until a certain event occurred.
While his position was strategically sound, Karl's mental state was a different story. Having lost the war and been betrayed by his daughter, his spirit was completely shattered, regardless of how fertile his land was.
So, as he spent his days drowning his sorrows in alcohol, she came to visit him.
"Father... I'm sorry. I had no idea Unnie would start a rebellion like that."
Dorothea spoke, peeking through the door with a look of apology. Karl might have struck anyone else, but he couldn't bring himself to be violent toward his second daughter, the only person who was still kind to him.
"It's alright. It's that bitch Emilia who's wrong, not you."
The moment she heard those words, Dorothea realized it. Her father had grown weak.
No matter how much she had acted cute or tried to get on his good side, her father had never been this gentle. Abandoned by his daughter and his retainers, he was crumbling. Dorothea decided the time had finally come.
"Father-dear~ Drinking again? It's not good for your health if you keep drinking like that."
"But... what can I do? Everyone has betrayed me."
"I understand completely how hard it is. You've given your whole life to the North, and now that you're no longer useful, they're just tossing you aside like trash. Those horrible people."
"Dorothea..."
Tears began to stream down Karl von Kronor's face. He had believed that no one in the world understood his agony, yet here was one person who did.
"Don't rely on alcohol; try this instead."
As she spoke, Dorothea poured a transparent liquid from a small glass vial into his beer.
"Give it a try. It'll be completely different from anything you've had before."
In that instant, the Grand Duke of Kronor snapped back to alertness. A suspicion flashed through his mind that his daughter might be trying to poison him.
However, he quickly dismissed the thought. Dorothea had put the same substance into her own drink and downed it in one go.
Soon, Dorothea slumped in her chair, beginning to drift and haze over. Seeing her state, Karl von Kronor realized exactly what it was.
"Poppy..."
It was a concentrated extract of the poppy plant, the raw ingredient for opium. Karl had always loathed those who used drugs, believing only the weak in body and mind sought such things. But...
"You should try it too, Father-dear... it feels so wonderful. All the bad things just drift away... it feels like going back to childhood and floating in the sky..."
Going back to childhood. Those words caught Karl von Kronor's attention. His mother had been alive back then. Karl had only lost his way after her passing. To return to that time... Karl found the temptation impossible to resist.
Karl gulped down the poppy-laced beer, and Dorothea, watching him from the corner of her eye, smiled with satisfaction.
