Chapter 79
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Exciting Picnic (2)
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“W-Well, I said it like that, but...”
Having raised my voice as imposingly as possible toward the rebel forces, just as Uriel sis instructed, I soon began to furtively glance at my sisters' expressions while mumbling under my breath.
“Is this really okay?”
Then, Lilien and Uriel sis exchanged glances for a moment.
“To be honest, the situation isn't great.”
As expected, Uriel sis's analysis that followed was chilling down the spine.
“Even if they are elite, the 2nd and 3rd Knight Orders moved out simultaneously, yet there's been no report.”
“Oh, come to think of it...”
“The fact that we only learned of the situation through Schwarz's report from the front lines is a problem in itself.”
Now that I thought about it, despite such a large armed force reaching right near Belverk territory, we had learned of it far too late.
Even if the perpetrator was Belverk's eldest daughter, there should have at least been a formal report.
“That means...”
“Most of Belverk territory might already be under their control. No, it's practically certain.”
In that context, Uriel sis decisively summarized the situation and then sharply scanned the forces before her eyes while muttering.
“They're called knight orders, but seeing them openly set up camp with armed troops like this... she must be pretty confident.”
Indeed, the rebel forces led by Eldest Sis were openly preparing to use the Mist Forest as a base, as if aiming for a prolonged war.
“In short, the current situation is essentially a siege.”
“......”
“The attacking force: Eldest Sis's faction. The defending force: Family Head's faction. Got it so far?”
I swallowed dryly at that sight, then asked Uriel sis, who was kindly explaining beside me, about something that suddenly came to mind.
“One question!”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Why isn't Mother stepping in personally?”
If the strongest Mother intervened, even a massive army would be dealt with in a single gesture.
Why had Mother sent me and my sisters for negotiations instead of deploying herself?
“Two reasons.”
As I tilted my head in thought, Uriel sis folded a finger to make a '2' and began explaining.
“First, the unique nature of the rebellion led by Eldest Sis's faction.”
The unique nature of the rebellion? Sure, it was an unusual situation deviating from the norm, but wasn't a rebellion just a rebellion? What made it unique?
“Actually, Belverk has frequent succession battles for the family head position. I've applied a few times myself...”
“Ah...”
“But Big Sis didn't go through Belverk's regulated succession battle; she raised her own faction and rebelled.”
As I pondered that, I recalled this was Belverk, where duels between successors or between family head and successors were taken for granted, and nodded.
“That means...”
Meanwhile, Uriel sis, who had been quietly watching me, suddenly lowered her voice to a whisper.
“...the moment these negotiations fail today, Big Sis officially becomes Belverk's traitor.”
“......”
“Of course, you've probably guessed the fate awaiting any rebel who turns against Belverk?”
The meaning of her words was immediately understandable, even without Belverk's common knowledge.
“In that situation, if Mother steps in personally and things go even slightly awry, there'd be no room left for negotiations, so she sent us instead.”
And with that, I could also understand why Mother hesitated to deploy herself.
'Mother was trying to resolve this as peacefully as possible.'
No matter that she wasn't her birth daughter, having to kill with her own hands someone she had made family would be too heartbreaking.
At least, the Mother I knew would naturally want to avoid that at all costs.
“Of course, the second reason is just as big.”
“What's the second reason?”
“...Simple.”
As I nodded in understanding, Uriel sis suddenly approached again with a darkened expression.
“If Mother and Big Sis clashed in Belverk territory, what do you think would happen?”
“Uh, wouldn't there be a massive battle?”
“Hehe... how cute.”
At my answer, where I spread my arms wide and described it as dramatically as possible, she narrowed her eyes and patted my head.
“Correct.”
I had thought my answer was wrong from her reaction, but surprisingly, it was right.
“Do you know why the strongest in the Eastern Continent is the leader of a rootless assassin group?”
Come to think of it, Uriel sis had mentioned last time that one of the top contenders for strongest was the Eastern Continent's Four Dark Clans Leader?
Of course, I'm a romance fantasy expert and don't know much about martial arts tales, but I know the Four Dark Clans Leader heads an assassin organization.
And I also know they're usually portrayed as relatively weaker than typical top figures like Martial Alliance Leaders or Heavenly Demons in those stories.
“During the Eastern Continent war, Mother obliterated the Martial Alliance, and Big Sis annihilated the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.”
“......”
“...Not a metaphor—literally.”
That tiny doubt I had evaporated the moment Uriel sis spoke in a low voice.
'Mom and Big Sis are both terrifying...'
Though the Monster Duchess Mother is gentle only to me, Big Sis is even scarier since she tried to kill me last time.
“So, if such a Mother and Big Sis went all out against each other, what would happen?”
As I pictured the two unleashing full-power strikes with me in between, per Uriel sis's words, I broke into a cold sweat and raised my voice.
“I get it!”
“Yes, so please understand how crucial these negotiations are...”
She began stroking my cheeks with a smile again, but...
“......Ugh.”
Suddenly, Uriel sis flinched, hurriedly drew her black sword, and glared ahead.
“...Fuck.”
And at the same time, Lilien sis, who spat a curse with an overwhelmed expression, began trembling as she aimed her knife.
“......”
The figure who had reversed the terror onto those who should have been objects of fear finally emerged slowly from beyond the Mist Forest.
- Rrrrr...
The perpetrator of the rebellion appeared with killing intent even denser than last time, wearing an equally chilling expression. It was Big Sis's entrance.
“......”
The Mist Forest, already silent due to the standoff, plunged into even deeper stillness at the appearance of the eldest daughter, Edelasia Nox Belverk.
“It's been a while.”
And breaking that silence first was none other than the eldest daughter, her eyes glowing red as she surveyed her siblings.
“Little sisters.”
At her eerily emotionless voice, Lilien, sweating coldly, gritted her teeth and glared fiercely.
- Tremble tremble...
But her legs, unadapted to the situation, quietly quivered.
“Hehe...”
And surprisingly, even Uriel, whose narrow eyes made emotions hard to read, was the same.
Having spent considerable time in Belverk now, their reaction was inevitable upon facing the eternal massive wall and greatest threat.
“O-Over there!”
Thus, it was Kairen, who had spent the least time in Belverk, who broke the stalemate.
“Explain why you violated the treaty with the Harkfried House and returned without contact!”
As he growled in his youthful voice made as fierce as possible, the eldest daughter, who had tilted her head slightly, quietly spoke.
“...A treaty.”
But as always, her curt response was extremely simple.
“Was there such a thing?”
Kairen was at a loss for words at her emotionless attitude, as if treaties were beyond her interest or concern, and began trembling belatedly.
“Well, nitpicking treaty violations in this situation feels a bit off, doesn't it?”
“......”
“But still, I'd appreciate it if you stated your purpose for coming here.”
Uriel, suppressing the encroaching fear with reason, stepped forward with her usual smile.
“That way, we can decide how to proceed.”
“......”
“Right, Sis?”
As her words ended, a brief silence followed.
“...Indeed.”
In that silence, the eldest daughter stroked her chin, then gazed at Uriel and spoke.
“The reason is simple.”
And the next moment, Lilien doubted her own ears.
“Picnic.”
“Pardon?”
“We're here for a picnic.”
In the renewed silence that followed, Uriel, who had been sending cold stares as if probing the eldest daughter's intentions, soon curved into a icy smile and spoke.
“Ah, yes. Of course.”
“......”
“You seized control of most of Belverk territory to block information, stationed armed troops in the Mist Forest, practically at our doorstep... all for a picnic?”
Uriel glared provocatively at the eldest daughter as she said that, but...
“Uriel.”
The eldest daughter, standing still ahead, suddenly uttered her name, and the smile on Uriel's lips involuntarily wavered.
“Is that not allowed?”
The eldest daughter merely asked in her flat voice, staring at Uriel with emotionless eyes.
“Answer me.”
But Uriel, flinching at each word, finally raised the white flag under the eldest daughter's probing laced with apparent killing intent.
“...You have a point.”
She bit her lip in frustration for a moment, then sighed and muttered.
“Treaty violation is between you and the Harkfried border lord, there's no proof of territory seizure, and Belverk's eldest daughter camping in Belverk lands with her subordinates isn't technically rebellion...”
Then, she stared at her eldest sister and pressed.
“So until you claim it's a picnic, we have no grounds to act.”
“......”
“Were you watching that closely?”
The eldest daughter tilted her head once more at those words, then replied in a low voice.
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“...Yeah, you've always been like that, Sis.”
At the same time, the 3rd Knight Order Captain felt the palpable tension rising between them firsthand, shuddering as chills ran through his skeletal body.
'Sure, it's a bit forced, but that leaves them without grounds to complain.'
His gaze fell on his liege, who had overwhelmed three successors with mere presence.
'But... what was scary in that exchange wasn't her scheme—it was something else.'
Honestly, Edelasia's words were, at best, a clever exploitation of a loophole; otherwise, mere sophistry and wordplay.
Yet why couldn't even Uriel, an expert in such matters, dare refute that wordplay?
'...This is the scheme of the strong.'
Simple. Edelasia herself was so overwhelmingly powerful that no one could dismiss her words as mere jest.
The mere fact that Belverk's eldest daughter was the rebellion's leader and vanguard made the Family Head's faction hesitate at direct confrontation.
And no one knew that better than Edelasia herself.
Thus, her playful sophistry tenuously spun in the Family Head faction's desire to steer toward negotiations.
'A mere strategist couldn't dream of imitating such a ploy. My liege...'
The 3rd Knight Order Captain, instantly deducing and piecing together the hidden meanings in his liege's statements, gazed at the eldest daughter with utmost admiration, lips curling up.
“Would you like to join the picnic?”
“......”
“You're welcome anytime.”
And right on cue, the eldest daughter's timely proposal landed.
But no sane person would accept such an obvious ploy.
Because her words essentially meant: if you dare become a hostage yourself, come monitor if this picnic is 'real.'
However, in a situation where the intent was blatantly obvious, no one there would voluntarily walk into the rebels' den as a hostage...
“...A-Alright!”
...Except for one person.
“I'll join!”
“Y-Youngster?”
“Wait...!”
As Kairen shouted in a trembling voice, squeezed his eyes shut, and dashed toward the eldest daughter, Lilien and Uriel, eyes wide, belatedly reached out to stop him—but
“...N-No complaints now, right?”
It was already too late; Kairen had already clasped hands with the eldest sister emanating a chilling aura.
About an hour later.
“...What?”
Astridje, seated in her office receiving the negotiation report, suddenly reddened her eyes and shot to her feet.
“Sorry...”
“We didn't have a chance to stop him...”
And astonishingly, before her, Lilien and Uriel bowed their heads, breaking Belverk's unspoken rule.
“...New information update.”
And right then, Schwarz's somber voice, handling the current situation report, echoed throughout the mansion.
“Young Master Kairen has become a hostage of the rebel forces.”
All in the mansion who heard the report could only grit their teeth in worry for Kairen, now hostage to the pitiless eldest daughter.
“Maybe I shouldn't have stepped up...”
Even Kairen, who had volunteered as a sacrifice for smooth negotiations, thought the same.
'...What should I play with my little brother?'
Only the eldest daughter, holding Kairen's hand and heading to the picnic tent, muttered that inwardly with a somewhat thrilled heart.