Chapter 46: The Niran Civil War (1)

“It’s remarkable. Judging by the reaction, we can proceed according to the original plan.”

Glenn gazed at the crowd-filled square, genuinely impressed.

He had expected some influence over the masses, but not to this extent.

Yet strangely, there was no response coming back.

“Princess?”

“…Yes, then let’s proceed.”

Isabelle barely answered, her face completely hidden behind a veil.

It seemed her embarrassment over her father’s display moments ago was immense.

To an uninformed third party, he might have appeared as a noble and inspiring leader.

But from an insider’s, especially a family member’s, perspective, it was a different story.

“Why is that? I was genuinely impressed,” Glenn said, unable to hide a hint of shamelessness.

These were actions beyond what he himself could do, even if asked.

“…Anyway, Prince, you proceed as planned. I will speak to my father.”

At first, he had doubts about whether such a hastily prepared plan would succeed—but seeing a response beyond expectations, it seemed those worries were unfounded.

Including the recent actions by Contrat, everything Glenn had to do now was part of the plan that had just been formulated.

More precisely, this plan had crystallized when Glenn first encountered Contrat in this life.

He naturally recalled the conversation from a few days ago.

***

“Welcome, our reliable new ally.”

That was Contrat’s greeting as soon as they met Glenn.

“…I see the rightful master of Arian.”

Did he hear that correctly?

Suddenly being called a new ally?

It was hard not to be suspicious.

After all, Arian and Lepent had a historically hostile relationship.

“Haha, don’t be so surprised. You came with the same thought anyway, didn’t you?”

“Well — yes, but…”

“Anyway, I’ve heard everything from Isabelle. So why drag this out any longer?”

“Then… you’re accepting my proposal?”

Contrat deliberately avoided specifying the details, to test whether it was a diplomatic bluff.

“There’s no real proposal. It’s not like we’re exchanging money or signing contracts. Just a simple façade of friendship. That’s the core, isn’t it?”

“Exactly… But — is that what the princess informed you?”

At that moment, Glenn pondered what he had shared with Isabelle.

He recalled only vaguely mentioning the broad strokes of the Lepent Territory plan.

“Isabelle? No, I just guessed. Judging by the reaction, it seems about right. Haha!”

Glenn was surprised again.

Even in his past life, he wondered if this person was using some kind of mind-reading magic.

“I don’t want the party we prepared to be ruined by the Lepent side.”

Calling it a ‘prepared party’ wasn’t an exaggeration.

So, Glenn had this fleeting thought.

“…Could it be — you’ve already contacted the Second Prince?”

He asked because the man in question was certainly capable of such moves.

“Oh, now that’s surprising. Where did you get that idea? I don’t recall giving any hints.”

“That was also a guess.”

“That’s pretty sharp, isn’t it? A smart ally is better than a foolish one. Don’t you agree?”

There was an underlying meaning: Don’t act like the foolish Lepent from before. Act smart, like now.

“Yes… that’s right.”

“Exactly. I’ve already been in talks with the Second Prince. Of course, direct help is unlikely.”

“If the Second Prince just causes some timely noise, that alone would be enough help. It would be troublesome if our empire got involved.”

“True. It’s nice to talk to someone who understands political language again. They called me a ‘promising knight who understands political speech,’ haha. It really feels like I’m talking with my daughter.”

“You flatter me.”

“Good, then let’s talk about the actual plan.”

***

After their private discussion ended, Isabelle, Glenn, and Contrat put their heads together to discuss the plan.

There wasn’t much to discuss, as the big picture had already been planned by Princess Isabelle.

She had even already instructed Clemens on it.

“But what about news regarding the Iron Mask Knight? It’s not something that would be easily revealed.”

Since the previous generation, there had been a knight serving the emperor who was now under the First Prince after being demoted.

That was Democleon Luch, the Iron Mask Knight.

He had been banished overnight from the capital to the frontier simply because he opposed the emperor.

Naturally, the Mesui Sect knights who followed the emperor rebelled, and a large-scale purge occurred in the capital.

Most of Democleon’s assets were confiscated.

In such a state, the Iron Mask Knight barely gathered his family, recruited the remaining disciples, and was assigned to the Seventh Army Corps in a miserable state.

Contract quickly discovered this and approached him.

As a result, he successfully recruited Democleon and his remaining disciples.

One lingering question was how Contract had known to take this action.

This was a power struggle involving the imperial capital and the emperor.

Such information was not something easily whispered among gossipers.

“You still don’t know our family well,” Isabelle said with a gentle smile.

Then, speaking with evident pride, she continued.

“All military units in contact with Arian have received gifts from our family at least once. Regardless of country or race. And they all become our eyes and ears.”

…What was she saying?

She was implying widespread bribery.

And she spoke about it so openly.

Glenn looked at her with eyes full of that meaning, but her gaze was bold.

“Why?”

“…You say it so confidently.”

“I don’t know what misunderstanding you have. They are literally just gifts.”

Not just her—apparently, the entire Stauffen House was shameless.

Glenn sighed briefly and stood up.

“Well then, I’ll go prepare.”

“No further contact?”

“Unfortunately, no. Probably under house arrest, so their actions are restricted.”

Isabelle’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Hmm, not very useful. Or maybe their heart is divided?”

It was natural, but Isabelle did not trust Clemens’ betrayal very much.

So the first thing she demanded was proof through actual defection.

In other words, to cut off their return path and leave no room for hesitation.

Clemens understood this and approached Francis again.

His role was to seize opportunities to gather information.

Of course, the current situation did not allow for high expectations.

“That’s not the case. Didn’t you notice?”

Glenn said, nodding toward one direction.

Looking that way, Monica could be seen quietly praying.

As a side note, Clemens had entrusted Monica with a magic stone.

It was specially made for communication, intended to contact only her.

From his perspective, Monica was the only person he could absolutely trust.

Isabelle, looking at her, let out a sigh.

“…You expect me to really believe that I was betrayed because of one woman?”

“I don’t know the details. But one thing’s certain: as long as she’s here, Clemens won’t betray us.”

In his previous life, Clemens had even become a knight for his deceased wife.

That alone said a lot about his character.

Even without that, Clemens and Francis were too mismatched.

Most likely, Monica merely acted as a catalyst.

“How can you be so sure?”

How else?

Would you believe me if I said he was that kind of man in his past life?

“…There really are people like that in the world.”

“That sounds like a story from a fairy tale. Was the prince really that naive?”

At that teasing reply, Isabelle pouted.

Glenn just chuckled.

“Fairy tales are made by adults.”

“That sounds like something an old man would say.”

Is this woman repeating that line?

How many times has it been now?

“…Let’s go.”

As Glenn rose, Isabelle sharply warned him.

“Out of respect, don’t touch anything except the place we discussed.”

You said you were an old man earlier—

“Are you acting like a child now?”

At his questioning look, Isabelle just smiled gently.

“Will you write it down? By the way, have you considered my proposal?”

“I’m still thinking about it.”

“Oh, what’s there to think? It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Isabelle offered to teach Glenn blood magic.

As she said, it was indeed a precious opportunity.

Northern territories, where blood mages themselves were rare, made receiving instruction from someone as skilled as her nearly impossible.

The problem was—naturally, she wouldn’t teach for free.

“…What is this favor you speak of?”

“Nothing much. You don’t think I’d make an unreasonable request, do you?”

Glenn nearly nodded absentmindedly.

He sighed and turned his back.

“I will consider it financially.”

“That means you’re refusing?”

“I’ll look into it later.”

The persistent woman only smiled.

Glenn clicked his tongue softly and walked off.

***

As soon as Contrat’s speech ended, ambushes broke out across the city.

The locations had been pre-investigated by Stauffen House and were suspected to be Francis’s strongholds.

“Stop them! I said stop!”

“Damn, where did they come from?!”

The guards, royal guards, and Falcon Knights all counterattacked fiercely, securing most of the objectives.

“L-Lion Knights!”

Among them, surprisingly, were the Lion Knights as well.

Officially, they participated in the civil war under the banner of an alliance with Arian.

Contrat was behind this as well.

At the end of his speech, he mentioned Glenn.

“The one who extends a hand in the hardest times is a true friend. In the name of Contrat, Lepent and Arian set aside a long history of misunderstanding — we declare a blood alliance!”

Of course, this was just showmanship. Officially, no alliance had been concluded.

But that didn’t matter to the already excited soldiers.

Rumors about the released slave hunters and the Red Guard stirred fervent support.

Thanks to that, Glenn and his group could move freely.

The Lion Knights achieved the impressive feat of capturing a villa on the very first day of the war.

Glenn’s active role in that was naturally unmatched.

“Damn it, Lepent scum!”

“Ugh—Red Guard! Damn bastards!”

“Mo-monsters!”

Charging alone to break through the defense line, destroying four or five knights in moments, Glenn was overwhelming.

Furthermore, under the influence of the Bloody Pack, he unintentionally killed his enemies during battle.

From the enemy’s viewpoint, his figure was truly the incarnation of terror.

But that didn’t mean the civil war was over.

“Holy war, holy war! Smash those heretics!”

Days after the skirmishes, Francis declared a holy war in the name of the imperial high priests.

He officially branded the Stauffen House and all its followers as enemies of the goddess.

Taking advantage of the chaos, he absorbed all remaining opposition forces and consolidated his troops.

“In the name of the Wise Tree, we shall achieve victory!”

Thus began Francis’s counterattack.