NOVEL NEXT Chapter 378
Chapter 378: I Brought a Gift. (2)
“Ah, what is it?”
As Ghislaine uncomfortably pulled away, Maurice tightly grabbed both of Ghislaine’s arms again.
“Hey, this little punk… this dark wizard… I thought you were a duck… when did you grow up and become a master… bringing gifts like this…?”
“No, what are you talking about?”
“Thank you! You little punk!”
Maurice embraced Ghislaine with a tearful expression.
Other nobles just clicked their tongues with a look of indifference.
Maurice was a very simple person. He had never hidden his feelings in life. He expressed his likes and dislikes plainly.
Feeling extremely happy, Maurice kept holding onto Ghislaine when Marquis Branford pushed him aside and asked.
“Are you really okay giving this much?”
“What’s too much?”
“…Isn’t this a lot?”
At a glance, it seemed to amount to the budget of a territory for several years. It could sustain all the legions of the kingdom for over a year.
But the following words from Ghislaine were even more surprising.
“This is the first round of support. I have planned up to the third round. It’s too much to bring all at once.”
At those words, the nobles of the Crown Prince Faction were all feeling dizzy.
What had come now was already an enormous quantity at a mere glance. And she claimed there would be two more times such amounts.
It was dozens of times more than what the Crown Prince Faction had previously supported Ghislaine with.
“Are you really saying you’ll give this amount two more times?”
“That’s right.”
What was no longer used for Ghislaine was just too much to keep around without throwing it away. It was just a pretense of giving for the sake of raising the power of the Crown Prince Faction.
That way, they would keep the Duke’s House preoccupied and hold them back.
“Whoa…”
Marquis Branford could no longer find words. Other nobles were busy swallowing their saliva while looking at Ghislaine’s gift.
‘Just how much money have they accumulated?’
‘If this is the amount for three rounds, just this alone could wage a war.’
‘If I just pocket a little of that, I could become incredibly wealthy, right?’
They knew that Penris had become the richest in the North. But they couldn’t accurately gauge just how rich.
Seeing someone casually giving away this amount, it was clear they had become a wealthier being than they could ever dream of.
Ghislaine swept her eyes over the nobles and said.
“Marquis, please distribute it as you see fit. Make sure no one takes any for themselves. It must all be used for war preparation.”
“Right, you don’t have to worry about that.”
At Marquis Branford’s words, the nobles licked their lips. If the meticulous man was in charge, it would become quite difficult to siphon anything off.
If caught, not only could they be humiliated, but they might even lose their own property.
As the situation seemed somewhat settled, Ghislaine gestured to the soldiers again. The soldiers brought a set of armor from the wagon.
At first, the nobles didn’t think much of it, but soon felt something strange.
‘What is this? Are the soldiers particularly strong? How are they carrying that armor so easily?’
Marquis Branford also looked at the armor the soldiers brought and asked.
“What is this? It looks like regular armor.”
“It’s armor developed from a new material. Please distribute it to the knights of the Crown Prince Faction. Its strength is equivalent to steel, but its weight is less than half of steel.”
“What?”
Marquis Branford was shocked and lifted the armor. Even without practicing swordsmanship, it was light enough for him to handle easily.
While examining it closely, Ghislaine said.
“Why don’t you check it out?”
Marquis Branford nodded and signaled to the knight beside him.
“Check it.”
The knight wasted no time pulling out his sword and struck down the armor.
Clang!
After confirming the rebound of the armor, the knight bowed his head.
“It matches steel level strength.”
“Whoa!”
As Marquis Branford expressed admiration, other nobles came over to check other parts of the armor.
“I can’t believe it! The armor is this light!”
“When on earth did they make something like this?”
“You’re actually giving this away?”
The nobles were left dumbfounded, staring at Ghislaine. She nodded.
“I brought about a thousand sets this time. While not everything, it will be sufficient to distribute to the main knights of the nobles.”
This time, everyone was left speechless with their mouths hanging open.
This armor was no exaggeration to call it a treasure. If it was this light, knights could conserve their stamina and mana longer.
Moreover, it significantly aided in maintaining the speed and endurance of horses. One piece of armor could greatly change the dynamics of a battle.
And yet, she claimed to be giving away a thousand of them. Everyone looked at Ghislaine like she was crazy.
‘Is that stingy nutcase out of their mind?’
‘Are they really just going to give away such treasures?’
‘What in the world for?’
Such equipment was like power for a territory. There’s no benefit in handing it out casually.
Though no one understood Ghislaine’s reasoning, she seemed unfazed.
‘It’s just extra material.’
Even the guards of the territory were fully equipped with Galbarium gear. The Penris knights even wore magical armor embedded with runestones.
So in Penris, such things weren’t particularly special treasures.
Still, since she was giving it, Ghislaine decided to make a clear show of it.
“We must all unite to fight against the Duke’s House, right? I am definitely not someone who holds onto such things.”
Ghislaine clenched her fist and continued firmly.
“I am prepared to share everything for victory. I absolutely despise those who want to take everything for themselves.”
If Claude had heard that, he would have grabbed his neck in disbelief. But the nobles had no idea of Ghislaine’s true intentions.
“Ooooooo!”
All the nobles gasped in admiration. Some even had tears welling up.
‘We misjudged Count Penris!’
‘Who knew he was such a profound thinker!’
‘How shameful of me to think about siphoning off the support!’
In hindsight, Count Penris had once been rumored to be a saint alongside Bishop Porisco in the capital. At that time, they had dismissed it lightly, but it seemed that rumor was indeed true.
Maurice, too, embraced Ghislaine again, overcome with emotion.
“You little punk! This little duckling! You really grew up!”
“Ah, why do you keep doing this?”
Ghislaine twisted her body and pushed Maurice away again.
Meanwhile, Marquis Branford, who had calmed down, spoke.
“Let’s go inside and continue our discussion.”
As the Duke’s House’s troops took over the wagons, Ghislaine and the nobles moved back to the royal castle.
The nobles originally intended to question Ghislaine about various matters. But receiving such gifts and hearing such emotional words, they couldn’t bring themselves to.
As awkward silence hung in the air, Marquis Branford was the first to break it.
“First, I gratefully accept the gifts. They will be of great help.”
“Please, it’s no trouble at all. I really scraped together the territory’s resources for this. It’s all for the Crown Prince Faction…”
As Ghislaine continued seeking praise, Marquis Branford cleared his throat several times.
“Ahem, anyway, thank you. But what are you thinking? How did it come to a situation with Marquis Roderick like that?”
Now was the time to prepare seriously against the Duke’s House and watch for opportunities. The longer they dragged things out, the better it would be.
That way, they could somewhat reinforce their strength and defenses.
At Marquis Branford’s question, Ghislaine thought for a moment and replied.
“I didn’t like it.”
“What?”
“I didn’t like that some guy from the West came all the way to the North barking orders.”
“So, you fought because of that?”
“You need to be precise with your words. I didn’t start the trouble. They provoked me first. I was just returning the favor.”
It was not incorrect. After all, it was Marquis Roderick who had initiated the conflict. He had attacked Ghislaine first, and she simply responded.
However, it was true that Ghislaine’s response was somewhat excessive for someone belonging to the Crown Prince Faction. Just as Branford was about to add more about how Ghislaine might not have considered the overall situation, she spoke first.
“Either way, a war would have broken out soon enough. Simply waiting calmly won’t do. You need to chop down the enemy’s strength when you can.”
“Chop down the enemy’s strength?”
“Yes. This time, Marquis Roderick lost twenty thousand soldiers because of me, and eight vassal territories were devastated. Those vassal territories will be hard to recover. This means they will undoubtedly be out of the upcoming civil war.”
Since Ghislaine had taken all the resources, it would take at least several years for them to recover. Though the residents would be plundered more, there was no time to consider that now.
Marquis Branford did not fail to understand Ghislaine’s meaning. However, it was like standing on a razor’s edge.
“It’s easy to say, but it’s not simple to weaken the enemy’s strength. This time, it was just a stroke of luck, wasn’t it? And Marquis Roderick has declared a full-scale war. Soon his army will mobilize.”
Since Ghislaine had set this situation up from the moment she recruited the Drake Mercenary Group, it was something the Crown Prince Faction could not know.
And if others besides Ghislaine rashly went about trying to weaken the enemy’s strength, it could lead to a much bigger war.
So Ghislaine did not feel the need to explain further. She didn’t want to bicker over this issue in the first place. What was important was not this.
“If we have to fight anyway, it’s better to strike first.”
“You’re saying to strike first?”
“Yes. Once Marquis Roderick sets his army out, the Duke’s House won’t just be able to sit back anymore.”
If they wanted to avoid losing Penris, the Crown Prince Faction had no choice but to move. And the Duke’s House would never let that opportunity slip.
Ghislaine took out several documents from her belongings and handed them to Marquis Branford.
“What is this?”
“It’s a list of the Duke’s House’s little minions in the capital and each territory.”
“What?”
Marquis Branford looked at the documents. They listed everything from quite famous merchant groups to obscure little organizations he had never even heard of.
“Are these all… the places the Duke’s House leads?”
“Yes. Various armed merchant groups, assassin organizations, intelligence agencies, etc. They will create chaos in the capital and each territory as soon as the war breaks out.”
Marquis Branford trembled with disbelief. Among the list were places that conducted business with the Duke’s House.
If it were true, it was a serious matter. They had been operating right under their noses without them knowing.
“How did… you find this out?”
“I investigated discreetly.”
This was information Ghislaine had gathered from her previous life.
Of course, Ghislaine didn’t perfectly know every minion of the Duke’s House. There were definitely places she was missing.
But those she didn’t know were likely to be of lesser importance, so it didn’t matter. Trivial places wouldn’t greatly impact the war.
Marquis Branford narrowed his eyes and asked Ghislaine again.
“Is it really reliable? If you’re just guessing, the consequences could be severe later.”
“It’s certain.”
“Evidence?”
“I don’t have anything I can show you. Just trust me.”
“…”
Marquis Branford and the nobles of the Crown Prince Faction were all dumbfounded and couldn’t get their mouths to work properly. Who would believe someone bringing just a list without evidence and claiming they were the Duke’s House’s underlings?
But no matter how much Ghislaine tried, she couldn’t bring the information from her previous life back to them. Nor did she have time to investigate each of those places one by one for evidence.
While that was happening, the Duke’s House would finish their preparations and march. Now was not the time to consider evidence or anything.
Ghislaine spoke gravely.
“Marquis, the war has practically already begun. We need to act first.”
“Act first?”
“Yes. I will handle stopping Marquis Roderick’s army advancing to the North. Since we have to fight anyway. You start with other matters first.”
“Is that so…?”
Ghislaine nodded.
“Please eliminate those little bugs hiding around everywhere. We need to start as soon as possible.”
“Attack those places without a justification…?”
“At this point, we don’t need a justification.”
“No justification…?”
At Marquis Branford’s words, Ghislaine smiled slyly.
“Yes, it’s time to prove things only with strength.”
They had prepared to the best of their ability. Penris had already reached a point where rapid expansion became difficult. And the Duke’s House was openly beginning to assemble troops.
Time was running out. So there was only one answer.
To start the war at the timing she desired and lead it as she wished.
That was necessary. It had to be done…
To prepare for the soon approaching Age of Turmoil.