Chapter 88
“I understand it that way as well. As far as I know, he had no forces of his own.”
“But how did he succeed in his rebellion? Did he prepare it in secret? Still, the First and Second Princes were no pushovers.”
Arelia’s brow furrowed more and more.
No matter how much she thought about it, she could not understand how the Fifth Prince had succeeded in his rebellion.
“Apparently, he happened to meet some wandering practitioners while traveling. People who wander the world and train. I didn’t know people like that still existed these days, but in any case, he happened to run into them in a village. Of course, the Fifth Prince concealed his identity and pretended to be a fallen noble, but somehow they grew close. They became so close they nearly swore brotherhood, but the astonishing thing is that these people were Sword Masters.”
“People?”
Arelia’s expression turned strange at the wording, which meant more than one.
Yet Lloyd, who was explaining, wore a similar expression.
Even he could not believe what he was saying.
“So far, three have been identified. Those three killed two Sword Masters from the Arhan Kingdom. The original number was five.”
“So the other two may also be Sword Masters?”
“Yes. Apparently, the five of them grew up together and were inseparable childhood friends. Since three are Sword Masters, there is a strong possibility the other two are as well. Even if they aren’t, we estimate they are at least at the level of top-class Experts.”
“Good grief.”
Arelia let out a hollow laugh.
She could not believe there were so many Sword Masters gathered in one place.
Of course, unreasonable and bizarre things happened frequently in the world.
But this incident reeked.
It reeked of something extremely foul and rotten.
Lloyd’s expression had hardened as well, as though he shared her thoughts.
“The problem isn’t only that they murdered my maternal grandmother. The Fifth Prince, now seated on the throne, is gathering troops at the border. More precisely, at the border adjoining our kingdom.”
“He intends to start a war.”
“He seems to think he can do it because he has at least three Sword Masters. It would divert the people’s attention while proving his own abilities. Besides, it’s also a good way to eliminate nobles who get in his way.”
Lloyd had also experienced a civil war, so he could easily guess what the Fifth Prince was thinking.
Yet at the same time, he could not understand it.
It was simply too extreme.
Lloyd’s head began to ache at the Fifth Prince’s actions, which seemed to have no middle ground.
‘But there is only one conclusion.’
In a sense, the Fifth Prince could be called a distant cousin, but that did not mean Lloyd intended to avoid a fight brought to his door.
After all, Lloyd had already killed the Second Prince himself, despite their being half-brothers.
Besides, the Fifth Prince was the one who had picked this fight.
‘The problem is the Fight Empire.’
The Polstein Kingdom had not maintained good relations with the Arhan Kingdom for no reason.
No matter how bloodily the two kingdoms fought, the Fight Empire would be the one to benefit.
The Fight Empire showed no particular ambitions now, but it had revealed its desire to unite the continent several times in the past.
That was why Lloyd could not understand what the Fifth Prince was thinking.
The Fifth Prince could not be unaware of this situation, either.
‘Or is he confident? Confident that he can swallow the Polstein Kingdom with minimal losses.’
Lloyd’s eyes gleamed sharply.
He could think of no other explanation.
If there really were five Sword Masters, then it was not strange for him to raise an army so confidently.
“It seems war is unavoidable.”
“If someone picks a fight with me, avoiding it would make me a coward. That’s what I think, at least. Nothing has been decided yet, though.”
“You seem to have made up your mind.”
“If they pick a fight with us, I have no intention of letting it go. Especially since he is the man who murdered my maternal grandmother.”
“Hmm.”
Arelia nodded.
Since Clora, of all people, was involved, it was right to regard war as virtually certain.
Of course, there were many variables.
A war could not be started over personal feelings alone.
“That’s why there’s something I’d like to ask you, Lady Arelia.”
“I’m joining the war. Clora was your maternal grandmother, but she was my friend and older sister. I have the right to avenge her too.”
“Thank you. But what about the others?”
“I can’t promise anything. I can contact them, but each person makes their own decision. Besides, I’ve already used my one favor. It’s probably best not to expect too much.”
“Ugh!”
Lloyd groaned.
He knew all too well that Arelia had used that one favor on him and his sister.
“Something about this smells suspicious.”
“Five Sword Masters?”
“Yes. It isn’t impossible, but it’s also undeniably absurd. It’s suspicious that five of them travel together, but isn’t it strange that no one knew anything about them at all?”
“That is what seems most suspicious and incomprehensible to me as well.”
Gent naturally joined Jade and Arelia’s conversation.
Both of them were from the Polstein Kingdom, but Gent was the Third Prince of the Arhan Kingdom.
Even so, he had never heard anything about the five individuals who had now appeared.
Since they had appeared out of nowhere, as if they had dropped straight from the sky, Gent had reached the same conclusion as Jade.
“Perhaps they are connected to the Fight Empire. After all, the Fight Empire is also known as the Knight Empire.”
“Even now, it is subtly revealing its ambition to unite the continent. It simply cannot act recklessly because the Western Empire stands in its way.”
“The Western Empire is no different in possessing ambitions of its own.”
Lloyd pressed his fingers to his temple.
Merely discussing the situation on the continent had made his head throb.
Besides, after receiving the report that the Fifth Prince was gathering troops at the border, he had not slept a wink and was mentally exhausted.
He was enduring it only because he was the Crown Prince.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. I plan to catch a little sleep after the meeting ends.”
“Your Highness, it is time.”
At that moment, the chamberlain’s voice came from outside the door.
It wasn’t a rude interruption; Lloyd had instructed him to let him know when the time came, just in case. Thus, Lloyd rose from his seat.
Gent rose as well, as if he had been expecting it.
“I don’t know whether everyone has gathered, but most of them should be there. Let’s go together, Marquis Jade.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll stay with Della. There’s no need for me to go as well, is there?”
“That would be best.”
“Della, stay with me. What about you, Whid?”
Della, who had been sitting quietly so as not to interrupt the adults’ conversation, nodded.
Then Whid glanced at Jade once before going over to Arelia.
Whid preferred staying with Della and Arelia to being in a place swarming with humans.
“Listen to Arelia and behave.”
-Yes!
-Yeah!
Seeing Della and Whid answer at the same time, Jade chuckled and rose from his seat.
Creak.
Although he was a marquis, this was Jade’s first time entering the royal palace’s grand conference hall, and he looked around at it.
The interior was dome-shaped, with each rank assigned its own level.
The higher the rank, the higher the level where one’s seat was assigned.
Lloyd sat in the highest seat.
“Everyone, take your seats.”
Gent sat one level below Lloyd’s seat.
As a guest, he had been given a seat alongside the duke and Princess Rainy.
Jade moved away from Steven and sat in the place assigned to him.
“It’s been a while.”
“You don’t look well either, Marquis.”
“We’re in wartime, aren’t we? It can’t be helped. Did you hear the explanation?”
“Only a brief one.”
As he sat beside Marquis Haines, Jade glanced around the room.
Despite having seen quite a few nobles at the banquet, there were still many faces he did not recognize.
Most of them were quite elderly.
The youngest of the lot were middle-aged.
“I hereby call this meeting to order.”
Lloyd, seated in the highest place, spoke in a far more solemn voice than usual.
Perhaps because of the magical device placed before him, Lloyd’s voice carried to every corner of the grand conference hall.
Yet even after Lloyd began speaking, no one readily offered an opinion.
Everyone was too busy reading the room.
‘It’s the same here as on Earth.’
The nobles’ reluctance to step forward first evoked a familiar sight in Jade’s mind.
It was something he often saw on television.
“I assume everyone is aware of the current situation.”
“May I say something?”
“Go ahead.”
While everyone else watched one another, an elderly nobleman with a head full of white hair raised his hand.
He must have taken excellent care of himself, for his eyes and voice were full of vigor.
His physique was sturdy as well.
Yet he was not a noble Jade knew.
“Personally, I don’t think we need to bow and scrape.”
“Then are you suggesting we fight?”
“I think it would be best to keep the lines of communication open while preparing to fight at any moment.”
“You mean we should leave room for negotiation.”
“That is correct.”
Lloyd nodded slowly at the cautious proposal.
The elderly nobleman seemed to be thinking of the Fight Empire as well.
“I disagree. Only three Sword Masters have been revealed on their side. There may be even more whose identities have not been revealed. Meanwhile, we have only two. If all five of them are Sword Masters, the outcome is obvious.”
“Then you’re saying we should bow our heads before even fighting!”
“Wouldn’t it be better to survive somehow than to die fighting a battle we cannot win? Only the living can seize opportunities.”
“In short, you’re saying we should kneel like cowards!”
“That is an unnecessarily harsh way to put it. I have not finished speaking. My opinion is that we should resolve the current situation through dialogue rather than war. Is there really any need to fight? The Arhan Kingdom is also in turmoil within its borders because of its civil war. For that reason, they likely do not want to make the situation any worse. The current military buildup may simply be for show as well. Therefore, I believe we should first propose peace. Perhaps the Fifth Prince is waiting for precisely that.”
A middle-aged viscount countered the elderly nobleman’s words.
Several nobles nodded at that.
They saw no reason to clash head-on with an opponent whose forces were so powerful.
Sometimes, taking shelter from the wind and rain was also a valid strategy.
“Once you bow your head, you’ll have to keep bowing! The Fifth Prince will demand more and more! You say that despite knowing this!”
“Then are you suggesting we all die together? Even with Lady Arelia’s help, our forces at the Master level number only three. What if the Arhan Kingdom has five? This is more than a matter of defeat! The kingdom itself could be destroyed!”
“Then all the more reason for us to unite and fight! Sword Masters aren’t invincible! If we all join forces, we can handle two of them well enough!”
“Hah! That is an assumption, an assumption! Can you really handle them? Can House Rotten take responsibility for handling them?”
The middle-aged man who had called for a fight to the death fell silent.
A marquis’s or duke’s house might have managed, but his house alone could not stand against a Sword Master.
“So you want us to throw away our pride and submit!”
“Not submit—we’re just taking shelter from the wind and rain for a while!”
“Oh, honestly!”
Shouts erupted from all around the hall.
Yet no one could properly bring the meeting to order.
There was plenty of talk, but no substance.
“There is something I would like to ask His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Ask, Duke.”
At that moment, Duke Caesars, who had been silently listening, spoke up.
At that, the hall fell silent as if by magic.