Chapter 83 – The Gaze of Luanfiene

Prince Vilgard’s invasion of Kamurakku Territory and the defeat of the Silver Spear Knights, followed by the proclamation of the founding of the Northern Zeltreich Empire.

Receiving such news plunged the empire into its most chaotic state in the past ten years.

Furthermore, the successive defeats of the Imperial Knights reignited the smouldering distrust toward Arloston, which seemed ready to flare up again at any moment.

Every day, knights visited Barkdine, voicing their concerns. However, he now showed a stance of defending Arloston.

“In this situation, we cannot afford to split the knights.”

No longer the head of his faction nor the leader of the Bihickturk family, Barkdine had retired a bit early. He had no intention of stepping back onto the public stage.

“Haaa…so many visitors… But Fine, it turned out just as you said.”

“Hehe…”

Today, as always, Barkdine conversed with his granddaughter, Luanfiene, in the courtyard. Luanfiene directed her emerald gaze at Barkdine.

“Indeed, Prince Vilgard had already brought most of the coalition of lords under his control at that time. The efficiency of the Kamurakku Territory invasion and his talent as a commander make him stand out in the current empire.”

“For him to achieve so much, it’s a thorn in the side of the empire’s side.”

With a sigh, Barkdine remembered his conversations with Vilgard when he was a captive. The man he spoke with then had now founded the Northern Empire.

Across the empire, there was still the semblance of internal strife with three factions, but the reality was significantly different. After all, a legitimate member of the royal family was now leading the opposing side.

“Well then… if what Fine said is true, it means there’s a significant chance the prince will seize the capital in this state”

“Yes, but only if he postpones the conquest of the west…”

“What do you think will happen?”

“Well… I can’t say for sure”

Luanfiene replied, taking a calm sip from her cup of hot tea. Barkdine followed suit but he found the tea hotter than expected and quickly pulled the cup away from his lips.

“Ouch… Fine, tell me straight. Will the Empire win or will Prince Vilgard achieve unification?”

“……The possibilities are still evenly split, I would say.”

“What? But if the prince postpones the west, won’t he seize this land?”

“It’s only a possibility, Grandfather”

Luanfíne replied, looking at her reflection on the surface of her tea.

“And besides…my words are nothing more than baseless predictions. I’m not some seer or prophet who can see the future.”

“Yet your insights have been accurate on many occasions.…Just as always, let me hear your thoughts. It seems to me that the times favour the prince now. But you say there’s still a fifty percent chance the Empire could win?”

Barkdine feared that the recent defeat of the Imperial Knights would put them on the defensive indefinitely.

In warfare, the attacker usually holds the initiative. While defence doesn’t necessarily mean a disadvantage, Vilgard had consistently held the upper hand.

“The Empire indeed missed a prime opportunity to crush Prince Vilgard’s ambitions. But this alone doesn’t tip the scales. The prince knows this too, so he won’t make any bold moves for a while.”

“Oh…?”

“In that time, it will be crucial how well Arloston prepares and alleviates the knights’ and lords’ anxieties. However, if it’s Arloston, he should be able to rebuild the knights during the time Prince Vilgard has created.”

Luanfiene had never met or spoken with Arloston directly. Her knowledge of his character and personality came solely through Barkdine.

Yet, despite this, Luanfiene spoke with certainty, confidently advancing her perspective.

“But as you mentioned, that time was created by the prince. He will also use it to prepare, correct?”

“Yes. Whether the prince seizes the west or the capital, it depends. But when the conflict resumes, it will likely be initiated by the prince.”

In other words, they were conceding the initiative. Whether they could regroup and counterattack depended on Arloston’s preparations.

“…So, the initiative won’t come back to us. Just as you predicted before, Fine.”

“Yes. However… there are still two ways the Empire can seize the initiative.”

“What!?”

Previously, Fine had suggested the only chance for the Empire to take the initiative against Vilgard was to advance the knights north at the right moment. With time slipping by, they seemed poised to concede the first move to Vilgard.

Yet, even in this dire situation, there were still two ways for the Empire to take the lead.

“What are they…?”

“……………….”

“What’s wrong, Fine?”

“Hehe… Do you want to know? It’s about Grandfather, but I think he might get very angry…”

Barkdine considered the meaning of Luanfiene’s words. And soon reached the answer.

“…Foreign powers’ help, huh?”

“Yes. The Empire has many enemies… But in this situation, there are two countries that might lend us their military forces if certain conditions are met.”

Barkdine immediately frowned. But since he had listened this far, he wanted to know what Luanfiene was thinking.

“It’s not amusing but I’m not angry. Tell me the rest of your story.”

“Okay. Grandfather might have already guessed… The two countries are the Kingdom of Ferlog and the Kingdom of Brenark.”

As expected… thought Barkdine, as he began to drink his now cooling tea.

“Ferlog is the country where Emperor Creyval’s sister married. The relationship isn’t good..but it’s not as bad as it used to be. You want to ask them for reinforcements?”

“Yes. Their naval power is arguably the strongest in the world. If they land in the former imperial territories, they can suppress the imperial rebels. Just this alone would allow us to call back the imperial forces, including the Steel Knights, to the capital.”

“Hmm…”

“But the Kingdom of Ferlog won’t help us for free. The compromise would be joint governance of the former imperial territories, perhaps?”

Indeed, the Kingdom of Ferlog has strong naval power. However, there wouldn’t be naval battles in a fight against Vilgard. Therefore, they would solely support the Empire from the rear.

“Until we occupied that land…and even to this day, a significant amount of blood has been shed. This deal would face a lot of opposition within the military. …What’s the other option?”

“It’s about the Kingdom of Brenark. This one is simple, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

“Huh?”

“The Kingdom of Brenark originally seized the western lands during our civil war but was betrayed by the mercenary demon king Seazack and had their knight order destroyed. I don’t know why they haven’t retaliated against Seazack… but we could get them on our side depending on the conditions.”

The Kingdom of Brenark once invaded the imperial territory alongside Seazack. However, despite being betrayed by Seazack, they still haven’t deployed their army.

There was a baseless rumour that Seazack had taken the princess of Brenark as a hostage.

“In other words…cooperate with Brenark and defeat Seazack before going after Prince Vilgard?”

“Yes. We should seize the western region first. This would greatly expand the Empire’s strategic options, while forcing Prince Vilgard to prepare anew.”

However… Luanfine added.

“The relationship between Brenark and the Empire is poor. Negotiations and time will be necessary to secure their cooperation. For the time being, we could offer a portion of the western region controlled by Seazack…”

“That’s not a feasible negotiation…”

Moreover, fighting Vilgard by conceding part of their own territory is challenging because, for now, Vilgard isn’t behaving as ruthlessly as Seazack.

While harsh to his enemies, Vilgard isn’t plundering the populace and is negotiating for the release of prisoners.

Despite being aggressive, there’s a hint of willingness to negotiate, making him less of an enemy they need to fight alongside foreign powers.

“Ultimately, the only way to gain the upper hand is to ally with foreign powers. It’s regrettable. Is it due to Prince Vilgard’s capability…?”

“Hehe… Grandfather. This is just my speculation. I’m sure Arloston-sama will come up with a way to confront Prince Vilgard that I haven’t thought of.”

“That’s not your speculation but your personal opinion, right? Even I can see that.”

Haaaa…Barkdine sighed once more. The tea in his cup had gone completely cold.