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“Please save me, Your Highness!”
Heinley’s expression was really desperate.
It must be so.
He knew his father, Duke Garcia, and assassins in the shadows he didn’t even know were after him.
Unless he was an idiot, there was no way he wasn’t aware that his life was in danger.
No, actually, that might be Duke Garcia’s last mercy.
‘At least he won’t make him others’ laughingstock.’
However, Heinley still did not seem to fully grasp it.
‘Why on earth would Duke Garcia do such a thing?’
But Ian knew.
Because Duke Garcia did the same thing in his previous life.
Of course it wasn’t Heinley back then.
It’s Duchess Garcia.
She had to lose her life at Duke Garcia’s trick. No, she died on the guillotine.
Duke Garcia could not have discarded Heinley if he was the eldest son of the family or the beholder of Faith like Karan.
‘But Heinley doesn’t have that power.’
Naturally, there was no way he could escape the Duke’s grasp, let alone run away. He really had nothing but what Garcia had given him.
Actually, he knew this would happen, so he also had the wife under watch.
It was a little surprising that it became Heinley this time. But that wasn’t the point.
So, Ian asked Heinley.
“Why do you think Duke Garcia did that?”
“!?”
Heinley was perplexed.
“Honestly… I have no idea. I haven’t let my father down since that time.”
By ‘that time,’ it would have been that incident with Ian. It’s the shameful memory of having his head banged to the ground in front of everyone.
But Ian smiled.
“You are a peace offering.”
“What is that…”
Heinley’s face crumpled.
He couldn’t wrap his head around what Ian was saying.
“Who do you think will be the first to know that you’re in cahoots with the enemy? It’s Garcia. He’ll pin his sins on you, and then he’ll kill you and pretend to know nothing, and he’ll give me a peace offering.”
“That’s ridiculous…”
Bad blood with Ian.
Actually, unlike the previous life, this time he couldn’t even call it bad blood. From Garcia’s point of view, it was appropriate as a peace offering. Besides, pretending to be on Ian’s side, he had to pay the price for making a secret pact with the Second Prince.
It was to prove his sincerity by sacrificing his own child.
He was willing to go to extreme lengths just to get on Ian’s good side.
“Of course, it’s not just for my sake. It will even instill in others’ perception that Garcia is a faithful servant of Kaistein.”
“!?”
Of course, Duke Garcia would not shed a single tear.
“Perhaps it has reached His Majesty’s ears by now.”
Garcia was a cold-blooded man.
He must have had an audience with the king with physical evidence he had searched in Heinley’s room.
“And he’ll send soldiers to catch you.”
As soon as Heinley was caught, he would be brought to the guillotine for the crimes of treason and collusion with the enemy country. Just like his mother did in his previous life.
Even if it weren’t due to this, Heinley would have died sooner or later anyway.
Rather, his scheme was exposed for all to see. So, Duke Garcia actually made quite too big of a move.
‘In the first place, Garcia rakes in a lot of money from this Northern Expedition.’
Ian could roughly guess the method. It was by selling weapons. And if Heinley was spared, he would be a fitting hand. Ian intended to use Heinley to steal all of Garcia’s profits from the Northern Expedition.
“So, there are two ways you can live. Throw everything away, pretend to be dead, and crawl on the bottom as a beggar.”
Gulp.
Heinley gulped with trepidation at Ian’s words. He looked more focused than ever. His guts were telling him that he had to live such a life should he make a wrong choice.
But Ian had yet to stop talking.
“Either that or become my hand.”
Heinley sucked a deep breath at the remark.
It was because both were a difficult choice for him, who had been walking on the straight road as the Duke’s son.
Pride or comfort?
But he had to choose.
It was like his fate and life depended on what he said at this very moment.
So.
“If you accept me… I will lay my life for you, Your Highness.”
Heinley finally bowed his head in a solemn voice. It wouldn’t have been easy for him to follow the Seventh Prince who had made a mess of his face. But at the end of the day, he had to make a choice.
Ian smiled at the sight.
“Very well. Now, there’s something for you to do.”
Ian had Heinley bring a piece of paper.
Then he pointed his finger at it.
“From now on, write down what I tell you to write.”
And at Ian’s following words.
Jolt.
“You really want me to write it like this?”
Heinley couldn’t help dropping the pen in a fluster.
But Ian didn’t even care.
“Don’t forget to put your signature and thumbprint at the end.”
“…”
It was because it was full of nonsense.
A waiver of physical rights would have been better.
And it was indeed true.
[I, Heinley Garcia, delegate my full authority to the beholder of this letter and hand over the authority to identify myself.]
In other words, Heinley would relinquish everything he owned.
But he had no other choice. If he didn’t do this, he would be killed by his father, Duke Garcia. At least the Seventh Prince didn’t try to kill him even though he was harassing him.
‘Can I really trust this?’
However, as someone who made enemies left and right, this was his only way to live.
“Here… it is.”
Ian accepted the document that Heinley wrote.
“Good. Good job.”
It was when Ian took the paper from Heinley’s hand and put it in his pocket.
Knock knock.
“Your Highness, someone has come.”
Finally, the person he had been waiting for arrived.
***
A few days had passed since then.
The nobles of Kaistein, who were waiting for the Northern Expedition, were sneering at Ian.
“To cross the mountain with troops like that? The mountains of Bahara are not easy. He must be crazy.”
“Besides, aren’t those siege weapons? We haven’t even gotten to the entrance to Bahara yet, and he brings siege weapons. How ignorant…”
“If he brings them, he will fail on his own. I’m skeptical if he’ll be able to cross the mountain at all.”
Everyone was laughing at Ian’s troops.
Rangers were essential to cross the mountain guarded by the savages of Bahara, but Ian’s forces were not properly prepared to cross it.
While the nobles were looking down on him.
The successors were moving a little busily.
Especially Louis the Third Prince.
“Are the cavalrymen resting well?”
“Of course. Everyone is in their best condition, Your Highness the Third Prince.”
“What about the thing I asked you to prepare?”
“We have specially prepared the ones airlifted from Duke Lavaltor.”
In Louis’ case, the main force was the cavalry that would traverse the plain. That’s why he prepared Lavaltor’s war horses. It was made up of a staggering number of over 3,000 horses. But for some reason, he scrunched his forehead.
“Who is that one?”
Among the blue-blooded horses Lavaltor owned, he asked for the Blue King, who was the best of all.
He felt that he needed it to lead the soldiers at the forefront. No, for some reason, he had a gut feeling that he would need it in this war.
But the adjutant shook his head.
“I’m sorry, it can’t be released yet. Strangely, they say that if it leaves Lavaltor’s estate, it will die immediately.”
“Tsk, tsk…”
Blue King was said to be faster and stronger than any other horse. He couldn’t simply use any horse to wander around valleys and mountains as if taking it for a walk.
“Can’t be helped, then. Is the replacement ready?”
“I have got a famous horse from the East who is not of the Blue King class but is said to be its equivalent. It’s called White Mark.”
“What a wonderful fellow it is.”
A horse with strong-looking muscles. A white streak ran across the face from the forehead. Louis really took a liking to it.
“Excellent. Good job, adjutant.”
But he still felt uneasy.
It was because the crown prince visited him before he left. He put a covert condition on Louis. A price to pay with the life of the Seventh Prince, Ian.
Louis frowned.
‘I have no idea what he is up to, but…’
But it wasn’t a bad deal if it was possible. As long as there was a guarantee that he would be crowned. Soon Louis asked the adjutant.
“Is the Seventh Prince’s side ready?”
“They are just resting. Other forces are busy training. I didn’t know what they were doing.”
“Hmm…”
Did he give up already?
If not, he might be waiting for the troops of other forces to be defeated.
Then the adjutant added.
“I don’t think the horses are properly prepared. There are only porter horses that are not top-notch war horses like ours, numbering less than a hundred in total.”
“What?”
No way.
Even if he attacked through the mountain range, he would need enough horses to move things, right?
“Are you serious?”
“Of course, Your Highness. To deal with the savages of Bahara, he’d need a horse capable of climbing a mountain. It seems that he is shortsighted because he has never experienced a battlefield before.”
It was when Louis was about to say something to the adjutant.
“Urgent news!”
A letter came to Kaistein’s army, who was expecting news like any other day.
The messenger shouted urgently.
“Cantum is reported to have launched an attack! The soldiers of Bahara on the border are moving now!”
The First Princess rose from her seat, her eyes gleaming.
“All right. Scouts, go ahead and check the position of the enemies. As soon as it is confirmed that the enemy is away, all troops will advance.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Not only the successors, but the nobles alike were also all fired up and mounted their horses.
They seemed ready to spur at any second once the signal fell. The thought of starting ahead of anyone else burned everyone with enthusiasm.
Except for only one person.
“Your Highness, what are you doing? You have to hurry!”
“Take it easy, slowly.”
Ian leisurely held his hand behind his back.
He looked relaxed for someone who declared to seize Bahara first. Nathan was agitated.
“What if others make merit first?”
“Don’t worry, I have planned for everything.”
“Your Highness…”
It was then.
The Third Prince approached on horseback. Riding a horse called White Mark, he was perfectly armed like everyone else. However, he seemed to fail to understand the moment he saw Ian still not wearing armor.
“What are you doing not getting ready?”
“It’s not something you can do in a hurry, is it? You can’t have your food if you’re impatient and in haste.”
“But the early bird catches the worm.”
“If the prey is easy to catch, that is.”
The Third Prince and Ian locked eyes. The sense of competition against each other was burning in the air.
But the Third Prince then smirked and burst into laughter.
“We’re competitors anyway, so I believe you’ll do well on your own. Come to think of it, Youngest, I have something to tell you.”
“If it’s long, I refuse to listen. As you can see, I’m busy.”
“I know you have soldiers and knights, but war isn’t just about them.”
“So what?”
“Don’t look down on war. You won’t want your arrogance to get you into trouble.”
The Third Prince was not wrong.
Currently, the entirety of Ian’s army was composed of soldiers and knights. He had neither a general nor a strategist to lead them. Even if he had the Second Princess in charge of his supply, he could not conquer Bahara solely with that.
Moreover, the place he undertook was the most difficult path, the mountains.
They had not been specially trained, and it would be difficult to fight the soldiers of Bahara over that rugged mountain with an army that had only rested well so far.
But Ian was confident.
“Well, I don’t know who will get into trouble.”
“What?”
“Be careful, brother. The warriors of Bahara are not only strong in the mountains.”
“!?”
When the Third Prince tilted his head, Ian smiled.
That was obvious.
In the past, the Third Prince also chose the plain and had to pay the price for looking down on the warriors of Bahara. Bahara soldiers were pros in guerrilla warfare. By now, the plain should be full of their traps and hidden warriors.
At this rate, the Third Prince would have suffered a crushing defeat in no time.
So, Ian added one more piece of advice.
“Please watch your feet, brother. The grass in Bahara grows taller than you thought.”
“…I’ll keep your words in mind.”
If the Third Prince had kept Ian’s words in mind, casualties would be minimal. For future wars, as many of his cavalry as possible had to survive.
It wasn’t just him, but so were the other soldiers.
‘The best way is to capture Balrog in the shortest amount of time. Then we can preserve Kaistein’s forces.’
Furthermore, if the capital of Bahara was occupied in a short time, they could also absorb Bahara’s forces and overwhelm the enemy.
That was when the two were looking in the direction of Bahara.
“Bahara’s main forces are confirmed to have moved! The front is empty now.”
At the urgent voice of the messenger.
The war began with the First Princess’s cry.
“All troops forward! Begin the Northern Expedition!”
“Whoaaa!”
In no time, all the soldiers rushed out. The Third Prince also started to advance by driving his horse.
But even then, Ian did not stand up.
At the sight, the successors and the moving crowd snickered as they returned to the barracks.
“I was wondering what he was up to, but turns out it’s not a big deal.”
“We should thank him for giving our side a chance to build up military achievement. All we need to do is make merit while having him carry us.”
“I was wary because he made a strange choice, but I guess he was just aiming to stand out.”
“That mountain was impossible in the first place.”
“I bet he will fail for good.”
It was then.
Shhk.
Someone approached Ian. Ian asked, his head kept looking forward without looking back.
“Is it ready?”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
Ian stood up at the words he had been waiting for. Then he slowly headed to the tent he had set up. It was the innermost tent where no one could enter.
It wasn’t until they were inside did Fiosen look around and asked.
“Although I collected Blue King as you told me to, are you really sure about this?”
“They are the core of this Northern Expedition. They are absolutely necessary.”
“Pardon? The core?”
Fiosen didn’t seem to understand.
Ian asked with a smirk.
“So, how many do you have in your fief?”
“We have a lot of them, but… they all die once they come out.”
“Don’t worry about that. There is a way.”
“What?”
Ian broke into a grin.