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Chapter 80 - Tell Him Precisely This
“No. Just what in the world is this all about…”
“What is all this, Your Highness?”
Nathan, Galon, and Fiosen couldn’t close their mouths, their faces rigid from shock.
They couldn’t help being so.
It was because of the things piling up in front of Ian now.
Those were valuable treasures, of course.
“These are all matchmaking portraits, right?”
“Isn’t this one a list of wedding presents here? If you agree to the marriage, he’ll give you all of this?”
All sorts of marriage-related items had arrived.
A certain count even went as far as offering his land. He even made a written vow stating that if Ian agreed to marry his daughter, he would support him with all the soldiers as well as his territory.
Things piled up on the table so much that some spilled to the floor.
Nathan said with an absurd look.
“No. Isn’t this much basically sent by all the nobles in the country? No, more than that, this nobleman doesn’t even have a daughter, so what…”
“He must have adopted a daughter. But he’s going to give his son-in-law his own territory?”
The game seemed to have changed a lot due to Ian’s victory.
It was a given seeing that the nobles of other factions were putting in the effort to jump on Ian’s camp by any means. In particular, those from the faction of the Second Prince seemed very desperate.
Some even stated that it wouldn’t matter were they to become a concubine instead of a legal wife if Ian wanted it.
But they were not the only problem.
Chk chk chk!
Soldiers were gathering at the Crystal Palace. They were sent to Ian by the nobles.
Most of them were waiting in camps outside the royal capital, but regardless, ten thousand of them had been sent by the nobles.
On top of it, the troops sent by the First Princess and the Third Prince. All combined, they would make a truly staggering number.
Due to this fact, Nathan sweated.
“No, aside from these, isn’t this too much? The prince is still a minor…”
“Well, he’ll be an adult in four years, right?”
“Ugh…”
Nathan gasped when he saw Ian’s expression. How could that prince be so calm after receiving something like this?
But it wasn’t a big deal for Ian.
‘Compared to the number, most of them are marriage partners with no lucrative value. Most of the more useful families put up children from branch families, not direct ones.’
It was clear that they were only intending to use Ian’s name. But Fiosen, unaware of that fact, was restless.
At this point, he thought that Ian might reject the marriage contract with Lavaltor.
Lavaltor’s name was in no way inferior to theirs, but an anecdote of a famous king suddenly came to his mind.
Harem King.
He was a king with an unusual anecdote in which he married the daughters of numerous nobles to win the competition and achieved victory with the power of over a hundred hidden families.
There was no law that prohibited Ian from doing the same either.
No, actually, putting that aside, what if Ian didn’t think deeply about his engagement with Lavaltor?
Thus, Fiosen hurriedly approached Ian and whispered.
“Your… Your Highness, my sister would like to see you.”
“If it’s your sister, do you mean Lavaltor’s young lady?”
“Yes, that’s correct. If you don’t mind, she’d like to visit here in person.”
“Hmm…”
Ian pondered for a moment.
He had to leave for the border area immediately. But he couldn’t possibly wait for her and go.
“Then please tell your sister to wait at the Crystal Palace. We will meet as soon as the mission in the border area is over.”
“I understand.”
But Fiosen didn’t look like he understood. He was half lying, and he was anxious for a moment.
‘I can’t let the others screw Prince Ian like this.’
So, he had to think of a way.
It was then that Fiosen came up with a brilliant idea.
The border was right adjacent to Lavaltor. It occurred to him that if he called his sister, she could meet him right away.
‘I can arrange for them to meet there.’
The supplies had to be airlifted anyway. If so, he simply needed to ask his sister, who was proficient in martial arts, to come.
And even Ian would have no choice but to fall in love when he saw his sister, who was called the Flower of the North.
Fiosen was determined to send a letter to his younger sister for now.
Oblivious to this, Ian said his order.
“Please take care of the soldiers. We’re all going together.”
The knights were all taken by surprise.
“What? Are you serious?”
No wonder they were surprised. Mobilizing close to ten thousand soldiers could have been perceived as a provocation by either Cantum or Bahara.
Although they had the Northern Expedition mission ongoing, Ian was definitely on the investigation mission.
Wasn’t that too risky a move?
But Ian only lightly smiled.
He had a reason for it.
‘Soon Kaistein will be deprived of Lavaltor’s territory.’
Along with the majority of the northern territories.
And Ian’s mission, the secret incident in the slash-and-burn village, became the trigger.
That’s where it all started.
‘Of course, we were able to get the land back through the Northern Expedition.’
But Lavaltor’s power got greatly weakened, and Garcia, after losing his rival, was in full swing.
Garcia’s means of making Ian the heir to the throne were to begin at that moment.
But now Ian and Garcia were pretty much enemies.
‘I will make Lavaltor’s forces safe somehow and start the Northern Expedition and seize the military power.’
It was for this reason that he accepted all the soldiers of the nobles.
Of course, resolving the hidden case in the border area would naturally lead to it.
If this went smoothly, Ian would no doubt become the greatest contributor in the Northern Expedition.
‘The throne is mine.’
Ian’s eyes shone brighter than ever.
***
Unlike Ian, who was preparing to leave for the border.
The First Princess had already left the royal castle and was in the north.
“The weather is cold. Please get inside the carriage, Your Highness.”
“It’s alright. Other soldiers are out there anyway. I will also travel on horseback for a while.”
The First Princess instead turned her head as if seeing something troublesome.
The cold was not what mattered to her right now.
Sure enough.
“Your Highness!”
“I have something to say!”
The aristocrats of the faction who followed the First Princess approached her.
However, their eyes were different from usual.
“Your Highness, did you really send your troops to the Seventh Prince? How can you make such a decision?”
“We are already busy preparing for the Northern Expedition. If our military power is to fall short, there will be a gap…”
Of course, they couldn’t openly challenge the First Princess.
However, they must have disliked the idea of sending troops to Ian.
Yet the First Princess replied calmly.
“Don’t worry. I did it all on purpose.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“Just wait. Lending my troops would choke the youngest instead.”
“!”
The First Princess flashed a cold smile.
She was the one who eventually gave up her troops to Ian, but she wasn’t one to just be taken lightly.
‘Anyway, that number of troops is just a burden for the investigation mission in that village.’
What was the use of war troops for a mere investigation mission?
They were not easy to manage and would only add to the chaos. It would probably bring failure to the mission.
That was not all.
‘He’ll regret choosing my man, Sir Nathan.’
She pretended to move on to play fair, but her younger brother was shrewd.
She might have fallen for it on purpose, but she was going to take care of him soon.
The nobles’ faces brightened upon seeing the First Princess’ smile, but some of the nobles still looked worried.
“However, Your Highness, what are you going to do with the others?”
“The Third Prince is also heading north with his troops.”
“The Fourth Prince has already arrived at his territory and is building a castle.”
Everyone else pretended to be doing their missions, but in truth, they were investing in the Northern Expedition.
“I guess it’ll be fine since the Seventh Prince is far away from the Northern Expedition…”
But the First Princess smiled.
“I have already sent a letter to the crown prince of the Cantum Empire. We’re going to meet here.”
“Oh!”
“As expected of Your Highness.”
The First Princess smiled.
She was going to join hands with the crown prince and end the Northern Expedition in a flash.
‘I won’t give my younger siblings a chance to butt in.’
Of course, it was originally intended to take advantage of the border incident.
If she were to meet the crown prince there, she could avoid the doubtful eyes. She planned to join hands with the crown prince under the guise of solving the disappearance case.
However, Ian’s active role snatched it away.
She had no choice but to contact him to meet at another fief in the north.
‘The crown prince is interested in the Northern Expedition anyway.’
The day of the slash-and-burn village investigation was to be arranged by an agent. She actually got the information.
She already knew where the crown prince would move, so she came this way.
And now this was the meeting place.
The First Princess called the lieutenant.
“Lieutenant, have you got a reply from the crown prince?”
“Yes. He is on his way now. He will meet you at lunch, Your Highness.”
Chloe Kaistein, the First Princess, was pleased.
‘While the youngest and the others are running around in circles, I’m meeting the prince.’
And she would lead the Northern Expedition successfully, be recognized by the king, the nobles, and the people, and finally become the monarch.
As the First Princess broke into a smile while basking in such thoughts.
“W-we have a problem, Your Highness!”
The lieutenant was running from afar, his face tensed up.
The First Princess looked on in suspicion.
“What’s this fuss about?”
“That, the crown prince of the empire…”
Just one word he uttered, and she felt her back chilled for a moment. And she always felt this ominous feeling whenever she dealt with Ian.
“What is it? Is there any problem?”
However, his report was unbelievable.
“He headed to the Labadom village instead of this way. He turns to where Prince Ian is!”
What?
The First Princess’s face hardened.
***
Ian’s northward journey proceeded very quickly.
Fiosen, Lavaltor’s successor, seemed to be capable of dealing with soldiers more than Ian thought. They succeeded in reaching the vicinity of the border with an astonishing marching speed.
Of course, Ian was the one issuing orders for deployment and management, so Fiosen was honestly surprised.
When the Labadom village was just within sight.
Nathan’s eyes widened.
“No. Wasn’t this just an investigation mission? But why are there so many of them here?”
It was due to the sheer number of soldiers of the Cantum Empire stationed in Labadom.
Not to mention, they weren’t just any soldiers.
“Those armor are no ordinary ones.”
“I don’t think they are soldiers of any noble.”
“Who the hell is in charge over there? What a force…”
Besides, from their momentum alone, they seemed ready to go to war.
The suspicious troops of the Cantum Empire. This was clearly not a normal thing.
Therefore, upon encountering this situation, the knights had no choice but to turn to look at Ian.
They were initially worried about why Ian was dragging so many troops, which were a hassle to manage.
“Did… you already know this would happen?”
It’s a good thing he brought them.
‘Had I made a blunder, I would have been dragged away, unable to do anything because they would have defeated my troops.’
Besides, it was the border area. He never expected Cantum to bring such troops from their homeland.
‘Suspicious.’
The atmosphere became sharp in an instant.
An ally, but once a kingdom that fought against Kaistein.
As much as they had changed since becoming an empire, they might be cooking up some ploy.
Ian also smirked fiercely.
‘Soon after the incident begins, Cantum will pull a scheme on Lavaltor duchy.’
That’s why the crown prince joined hands with the First Princess. All to break the power of Lavaltor, one of the strongest powers of Kaistein, the thorn in the eye.
Of course, his sister wouldn’t have known that either.
‘In my previous life, Lavaltor sided with the Second Prince. That’s why he must have been more disturbing than anyone else.’
Well, he wouldn’t have expected it until they swiped the land.
But this time it was different.
‘My card. I won’t let you touch my territory.’
There were soldiers to stop them. Unlike when he was powerless in his previous life, Ian had enough soldiers now. He would protect Lavaltor for sure.
As he strengthened his resolve.
Whiik!
A flag was raised by the Cantum Empire.
A giant black dragon was painted there. It was a flag symbolizing the crown prince of the empire.
At the same time, a carriage came into view, and Cantum’s envoy stepped forward.
“All get off your horses and show courtesy before His Highness the great crown prince of the Cantum Empire!”
Obviously, Ian’s side outnumbered him in terms of troops.
However, the envoy was giving orders to the soldiers of Kaistein with a fishy look.
“What the hell are you doing!”
All other knights’ moods immediately plummeted. It was when they were contemplating whether to get off the horse or not.
Ian, let alone getting off the horse.
Instead.
Chuck!
He raised his hand.
Then a flag soared behind him.
A golden lion.
It’s the flag that symbolized Kaistein. It would soon become Ian’s own flag.
Ian opened his mouth, his golden eyes gleaming.
“I refuse. Kaistein is not a servant of Cantum.”
Ian drew his sword.
“Tell the crown prince precisely this. If he wants to talk, he should be equally polite to us. Otherwise, we will speak with our swords.”
Author's Thoughts
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