“Ah~”
The girl yawned, staggering out of the castle, her eyes clearly tired as if her body had been drained.
She looked up at the sky drowsily.
The eastern horizon was just beginning to show a faint fish-belly white, but it would be a while before full daylight.
Only a few early risers were on the street.
What time is it now? Looks like seven?
His Highness Ryan really is clingy.
“Yo! If it isn’t Lady Alicia!”
The person greeting her was Mosuosi, the newly promoted Sergeant Major of House Maximilian, holding the same military rank as the girl.
He had once been one of the fence-sitters in Lide’an City, but after Lemeng’s defeat, he read the wind and was the first to swear loyalty to Ryan.
Thus, Ryan retained his position as Civil Governor of Lide’an City.
Still, this guy was barely over twenty, yet he had real skill in internal administration.
Under his supervision, the vast Lide’an City remained peaceful and stable.
The girl had once had an official exchange with him over the stench in the Outer District, and the two of them quickly hammered out a plan for toilet sanitation and standardization, forging a friendship from it.
It could be said that Mosuosi was the only person among all of House Maximilian’s retainers that Alicia could truly call a “friend.”
Incidentally, this toilet standardization plan—which the girl had touted as “a merit for the present and a benefit for eternity”—had been sitting on the stingy Ryan’s desk for ages without approval due to its enormous cost.
“Ah, Lord Mosuosi, good morning!”
The girl forced a tired smile and offered a polite greeting.
“It’s great to see you so energetic this early!”
“Uh, what’s wrong with you?”
Mosuosi immediately noticed her weary expression.
“It looks like you didn’t rest well last night. Did something happen?”
Alicia let out a long sigh, waved her hand, and stamped her foot, putting on a “don’t even mention it” expression as she began to pour out her grievances.
“Lord and Master kept me busy all night! He didn’t let me sleep at all! I really can’t figure out where his energy comes from—how is he so vigorous!”
Mosuosi’s neatly trimmed goatee suddenly perked up.
His eyes grew subtle, darting back and forth between the castle and the girl.
“His Highness… all night?”
“What are you thinking?”
The girl immediately flashed a mischievous grin.
“You think Your Highness and I… did that, right? Filthy mind! Slandering a colleague and framing your lord—you’re dead meat!”
“Uh, then what did His Highness have you doing all night? Did you make another mistake?”
Mosuosi laughed awkwardly and stroked his beard.
“What do you mean ‘another’?”
The girl rolled her eyes at him.
“I was just discussing some new ideas with His Highness last night!”
‘Seriously, God knows what got into me last night. I just handed over “The Theory of a Strong Nation,” and Ryan latched onto it, discussing it all night long. I’m exhausted. What if I die from overwork? The boss really doesn’t appreciate me!’
After her internal grumbling, the girl switched topics.
“Speaking of which, what brings you here so early? Some important business?”
“Oh, nothing too big, nothing too small.”
Mosuosi’s expression looked as sour as if he’d swallowed a fly.
“Xipuaisi has rebelled!”
……
Xipuaisi!
That weak-willed, wavering opportunist!
A spy!
A traitor!
An ambitious man!
Just because the new military reform stripped him of his pathetic private soldiers, he dared to take his few hundred men and flee in the night, betraying the great, glorious, and righteous His Highness Ryan to join that declining reactionary force of Lemeng, now holed up in Saxon City to the north!
Tell me, isn’t that a damn mess? Harvest season is right around the corner.
Every able-bodied man in every household is counting on the crops to get through winter, and then winter itself—snow blocking the roads, freezing cold—is never a good time for war.
That Yang Pigu sure knows how to pick his moment!
Worst of all, his territory—Biluo’en Castle—sits right between Saxon City and Lide’an City.
It’s not only a strategic choke point but also one of the top grain-producing regions around!
Now with his defection, Lide’an City not only faces a food crisis but has also lost its last barrier against Saxon City!
Even Ryan himself had to admit that the step of reclaiming military power had been too big.
Now it had come back to bite him in the—well, it even hurt a little.
The atmosphere in the Council Hall was strange.
Senior retainers whispered among themselves, while Ryan sat on the main seat, tiredly pinching the bridge of his nose, silent.
Even Alicia, who had also been up all night, had been dragged in.
With her mere rank of Sergeant Major, she normally wouldn’t qualify for such a high-level military council.
She had no idea what Ryan was thinking—was he just dragging her along as company because the emergency meeting meant he couldn’t sleep?
What made it worse was that Alicia held no higher position, only the military rank of Sergeant Major.
So she had to sit behind a bunch of armored muscle-bound men.
With her short height, she couldn’t even see the table, let alone endure the fact that under this urgent summons, those burly guys had rushed over without bathing—the stench… oh, the stench!
“Hey, Alicia,” a middle-aged officer beside her, clearly higher in rank and wearing chainmail, suddenly leaned slightly and lowered his voice to address her, a hint of probing in his tone.
“Do you think… Your Highness will send troops to suppress the rebellion immediately this time?”
‘Is the sun rising from the west? I’ve always been invisible around here. Why would someone suddenly ask me something like this?’
She quickly scanned her surroundings and felt a jolt.
‘No! The atmosphere is off! Not just this guy beside me, but even several big shots in the front row who were ‘earnestly discussing’ things seemed to subtly tilt their heads, using their peripheral vision—or even half-turning—to look my way!’
“Oh—! So that’s it!”
Suddenly, an exclamation of realization burst out nearby—though deliberately lowered, it was still quite obvious.
The girl spun around.
A bunch of scruffy-faced men were gathered around Mosuosi, but every single one of them was staring at her with gossipy eyes, all focused squarely on her!
‘Damn! Mosuosi, you bastard, what rumors are you spreading now? Just wait till I catch you in the act!’
Still, this could be an opportunity—a chance to leave a deep impression on the big shots!
So the girl glared fiercely at Mosuosi, calculated for a moment in her mind, and spoke in a low voice.
“I think there’s a ninety percent chance they won’t fight. The earliest would be next spring.”
“What?”
Several officers clearly disliked that answer and became indignant.
“Lemeng has openly rebelled, and now he’s taken over Biluo’en Castle. If we don’t send troops to crush him now, are we going to wait until next year?”
Some went further and directly accused Alicia of “talking nonsense without a clue,” then slammed the table and addressed Ryan.
“Your Highness, let’s fight!”
With someone taking the lead, the repressed pro-war sentiment erupted instantly.
The Council Hall exploded like cold water thrown into hot oil.
“Your Highness, no need to hesitate now—let’s fight!”
“Yes, Your Highness! We can’t let the traitor go. At least take Xipuaisi’s head!”
……
Ryan looked at the impassioned officers before him.
Finally, he tiredly raised his hand and gestured for everyone to sit down.
The Council Hall fell into an eerie silence.
Everyone waited for his decision.
Ryan took a deep breath.
“Everyone, we can’t fight…”
The officers who had been glaring at her and angrily rebutting her just moments ago stood frozen like wooden figures, staring at her as if they’d seen a ghost.
“See? Told you.”
Alicia wore a mysterious smile, accepting the astonished gazes of the surrounding officers with confidence.
“Your Highness! How can you…”
“Alright, that’s enough. This autumn, we must put all our effort into harvesting the grain. If anything else goes wrong, we won’t need to fight next year!”
Ryan said decisively.
‘Since the boss has spoken, it looks like there really won’t be a war this year.’
In the oppressive silence, a white-haired old man slowly stood up from the front row.
Alicia strained to identify him through the gaps—it was Ryan’s Chief Retainer, the equivalent of a Chancellor, the Elder Lord Enlaike·Briduowa.
“Your Highness, since military action is postponed, then… what should be done about the traitor Xipuaisi’s wife and eldest son, who remain in the city? They are currently under house arrest.”
“Kill them!!!”
Before Elder Lord Enlaike had even finished speaking, it was as if another powder keg had been ignited.
The violent emotions that had just been suppressed found a new outlet.
“Cut off their heads and throw them into Biluo’en Castle! Let that bastard Xipuaisi see exactly what happens when he betrays Your Highness!”
“That’s right! Kill them now!”
“Yes! The traitor’s kin share the same crime—they must die! Kill them!”
“Execute them! Cut them all down! Let’s see who dares to have second thoughts after this!”
‘Sure enough… no matter what world it is, the trick of collective punishment and intimidation is always the fastest and most satisfying choice.’
‘Maybe two innocent lives are about to end for no reason… Is there really no way?’
Alicia sat at the back, listening to the deafening cries for blood around her, watching the officers whose faces twisted with bloodlust.
She pressed her lips together, unconsciously gripping the corner of her clothes.
Ryan still sat on the main seat, facing the surging bloodthirst below with no expression on his face, only lightly tapping his fingers on the armrest, now and then.
Finally, he slowly raised his hand.
He cleared his throat.
“Silence!”
Just those two words, and the boiling noise in the hall ceased instantly.
All the flushed faces, waving arms, and shouting mouths froze in a state of agitated anticipation.
Pairs of eyes, burning with lingering bloodlust or hidden worry, focused unblinkingly on the main seat, waiting for his decision.
“Mosuosi! Go and bring Xipuaisi’s wife and son here.”