A Famous Traitor and Treacherous Genius

215 – War Is a Business (5)

I don’t really want to receive help from the Empire, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get help if there was a way to end the war quickly.

“This is the first time someone from the empire comes to my study.”

I invited Bathory Hergébet to his father’s study, and surprisingly, my father let Bathory into the study.

“I think this is my first time officially introducing you.”

“I think this is my first time talking face to face like this.”

“Yes. Most of the conversations were held through official documents or through Chairman Gray. Nice to meet you, Margrave. Bathory Erzsebet, Director of the Imperial Magic Research Institute and Vice President of Orosol Academy.”

“Crimson Margrave of Gibraltar.”

Wouldn’t there be a problem if a young woman – let’s just look at it from the outside – is brought into the study?

There was no such thing.

Bathory’s eyes as he looked at his father showed the energy of a rabbit standing against a wild beast without any equipment, and his father was somewhere-

“Hmm.”

What can I say?

It seems similar to the look in your eyes when you look at the Platinum Sutra.

Should I say so-called someone else in the shape of a woman?

‘It’s a good thing.’

On the outside, they look like young men and women, reminiscent of a photo book, but what we need to do is war, not love games.

“I heard a little bit from Gray. He said he would help us for Gibraltar.”

“Because I think that is the minimum duty.”

“Whose?”

“The emperor said he was sorry for causing inconvenience to his in-laws due to family issues in the empire.”

“It’s my in-laws.”

The father was in agony for a moment, tapping his fingers on the table.

In the past, I would have planned a scenario to see how my father would react, but-

“If this civil war ends with our victory, in fact, that title will become semi-official.”

“Yes.”

“Grey.”

“Yes, father.”

“If this civil war ends, what do you think about holding an engagement ceremony with Princess Astasia?”

“…Yes?”

Suddenly, out of the blue, what does this mean?

“Official marriage is of course something that happens after you become an adult. Although you announced to the world that you are in fact dating Gyeongryongjang and the Imperial Palace, you have not yet officially entered into an engagement.”

“Oh my, oh my?”

At my father’s words, Bathory’s eyes sparkled and he began to look at me and my father alternately.

“Well, we’ve already confirmed our intentions several times…”

“If you win the civil war against the marquess, you can’t turn back your anger toward the royal family. You’ve already insulted the royal family several times, but you’re practically on the verge of treason.”

The civil war has just begun and Lord Mente has not yet returned, but it is a bit funny to talk about it based on the situation after the victory.

But what can you do?

We are thinking of ‘safer and more certain victory’, not ‘defeat’.

“If you only want to have an engagement ceremony, I will fly up to the sky and land at Marquis Castle right now.”

“Father.”

“The entire city will be stained with blood, and as soon as they are all killed, they will return to the mansion. “Don’t leave Charlotte and her children to you.”

“We have to strictly protect it, but are you really going to do that?”

“Hmm.”

My father thanked me lightly.

“Why? You don’t want the engagement ceremony? Should I go and tell Astasia?”

“No, it’s welcome. It’s an honor. I’ve never even thought about having a formal engagement ceremony.”

“Why?”

“After your father told your mother that he was going to get married, did he ever hold a grand event like an engagement party? No, right?”

“That’s right… I guess so.”

An engagement ceremony is meaningless to Gibraltar.

From the moment you have already decided to get married, marrying someone else is impossible.

“But for political reasons, isn’t there a clear benefit of holding an engagement ceremony?”

“Father.”

“Did you tell them to seduce other women? Did you steal the hearts of noble ladies and make them commit adultery with you? Or did you bring in several women and then set up a harem and tell them to fight over who would be his wife?”

“That.”

Before returning home, he said this every time he came home, but the words got stuck in his throat.

“I’m asking you to have an engagement party with the woman you love. Do you hate that? Lady Bathory.”

“…Oh my, yes?”

Bathory’s reaction stiffened for a moment.

“Do you have any means of contacting Orosol Academy right now? It doesn’t matter. I will tell Princess Astacia what happened right now.”

“Wait a minute, father.”

“When I asked Gray Gibraltar if he would like to have an engagement party, he said he was reluctant-“

“I will do it, I will do it, just calm down.”

“Tsk.”

My father clicked his tongue as if he was somewhat disappointed, but for me, it felt like I was truly at a loss.

“Then we should prepare an engagement ceremony to commemorate the victory. Where should we hold it? In the Empire? Umm, no. …So, what do you think about inviting the Emperor to Gibraltar?”

“…”

“This is what happened anyway; It was completely confirmed politically.”

“As the Imperial Countess of Gibraltar?”

“Well, it may not be an imperial territory, but from the empire’s point of view, it can be thought of as the ‘Duchy of Gibraltar.’ Externally, it is only the Countess of Gibraltar, Kingdom of Nostrum.”

“…And then what if they accuse you of being a real traitor and kick you out?”

“Who? Us? Then we have only one choice.”

My father pointed at Bathory, and Bathory was continuously tasting her lips while touching her index finger.

“I didn’t know that the Margrave had this much heart. Hehe.”

“I’ve come this far, so I don’t think there’s any need to hide my true feelings. The whole world knows that I hate Saint Geo.”

“Oh my. It’s not just dislike, it’s hatred… ?”

“Is it January 1st, 100 years of the imperial calendar? That’s the day Princess Naria turns 20.”

My father exuded sharp force and pretended to swing a sword.

“The moment midnight strikes, I feel like running to kill St. Geo Nostrum.”

“…”

“Why is that? Is it surprising?”

“No. Just…Um.”

Bathory smiled bitterly and closed his eyes.

“If you had said that you were going to kill me right away, I was going to tell you to hold out, even if it’s because of a disaster.”

“Are the people of the Empire also worried about the Nostrum disaster?”

“Yes. Because it has never been missed. I don’t know if it’s in the records… No, someone must have seen the records, right? So I didn’t kill Saint Geo a long time ago.”

“Is this an old story? If so, sit here. Gray. Let the car go down.”

“…”

For some reason, my father’s attitude towards Bathory is all too familiar.

It was as if I was remembering a time when I would talk to Baek Jin-gyeong after a light sparring session, and for a moment I felt a sense of déjà vu.

‘Did my father feel the same way?’

Bathory Erzsebet.

At least he seems to be older than he appears on the outside, and if you look closely at what he says sometimes, he seems to be similar to Baek Geum-gyeong –

“Lady Bathory.”

A woman always wants to be a lady.

It’s new, but I feel like I’m learning something again.

“Is that part of the story something we need to know?”

“Yes, that’s right. Even His Majesty the Emperor knows about it. Um…When did he say it? Ah, that’s right. That person.”

In the place Bathory pointed to, there were portraits of the previous Earls of Gibraltar hanging.

“Lord Cadian.”

“…Isn’t he the most hated Sword Master from the Empire’s point of view?”

A man who proved that one sword master is worth 10,000 elite soldiers.

A man who went into the empire alone to seek revenge after his children were killed by what was presumed to be the empire’s assassination squad.

A man who tells us why the bloody wilderness is colored blood.

“Well, that should be true. But that’s because the emperor at the time made a mistake, and it has nothing to do with me. Ah, thank you for the tea.”

Bathory sipped the tea handed to him by me and pointed to Lord Cadian.

“What I want to talk about is King Nostrum when Lord Cadian was alive.”

“Not Lord Cadian?”

“Hmm…As far as I remember, it was around that time.”

“Imperial Intelligence appears to have a deeper understanding of history than expected.”

“…Well, right?”

Horok, Horok.

“Anyway, the King of Nostrum at the time died, and there was someone who succeeded to the throne. However, there was a problem with the succession to the throne.”

“Problem?”

“Yes. The crown prince, who had not yet become an adult, was so eager for the king’s position that he inherited the throne. He did not even think about who he would inherit it to.”

“…”

“The crown prince was a minor, and there was no king who was an adult.”

“Wait a minute. The king at that time was…”

“Everyone probably knew that he was a saint, but… The disaster that occurred at that time… Occurred in the direction of the Empire. The Empire helped with the assassination…”

“The disaster called Cadian has fallen on the empire.”

“Yes.”

I guess so.

Was that so?

If that’s the case, well.

“Anyway, if we go deeper here, I really came here to recite old stories.”

“I want to kill myself when I see St.

You can’t kill him right now.

Because strange sparks could jump out at us.

“But after a year and a half, after Naria becomes an adult, does that mean you don’t mind killing her right away?”

“…”

“Lady Bathory.”

“…Just in case, there may be a birthday issue or a time issue, so instead of killing it at 00:00, take about 3 minutes to spare…?”

“About 3 minutes. Hmm.”

I wonder if it’s true that there’s a story about him killing the king in the Margrave’s study, but-

‘Because this is the base of treason.’

For eight years now, the father and son have been talking about how to cut the St.

“Okay. I won’t be able to cut off Saint Geo’s head, but I will try my best this time to cut off all the limbs around Saint Geo.”

My father pointed to the ‘battlefield’ on the table.

“Gibraltar will lead the knights to the Marquis’ Castle. We will dispose of not only the trash within the kingdom, but also the remnants of the Golden Dawn. In addition, we will also remove the trash that has not yet been processed in the empire. Our Gibraltar .”

This is not a remark directed at Bathory.

“Tell the emperor. Since we will cleanly eliminate the enemy, the engagement ceremony will have to be prepared on a grand scale.”

It is a declaration of war(?) Against the emperor.

“If the circumstances allow it, I’ll think about holding an engagement ceremony at Gibraltar or Orosol Academy, so I’ll tell you to handle the preparations there yourself.”

“…I’ll tell you what you said.”

Bathory placed his hand on his chest and lowered his head.

“I, Bathory Erzsebet. I will do my best to help you postpone your son’s engagement ceremony as soon as possible.”

Suddenly, the victory celebration in the Battle of Territory turned out to be my engagement party.

‘I feel a little sorry about this.’

Originally, the main characters of the celebration plan after the victory were not me, but my father and ‘Queen Carmen.’

After the victory, Morgania intervened and persuaded her father, and at the celebration, Queen Carmen, with nobles on her back, painted a picture of her father dancing with music in the middle of the banquet hall. Br＞

‘If there’s another chance, then.’

I’m sorry Queen Carmen, but if I put this off, I’ll end up getting scratched by Astasia.

At night.

“But, Count. What I can help you with is alchemy and magical engineering, if you apply them to the knights… “

“Do as you wish, to your heart’s content.”

“…Yes?”

Bathory opened his mouth blankly at his father’s words

“Understanding alchemy and magical engineering. I have read the basic book you wrote up to intermediate level.”

“Well, you read that? It was written in the imperial language and had a lot of technical terms… !”

“I read it while studying with my wife. After reading it, I thought that technology should be left to experts.”

My father took a stance towards Bathory.

“If I am a sword master, then you can be said to be a master in alchemy, or even better. So, if you combine alchemy and magical engineering in warfare, you have no choice but to follow the opinions of experts.”

“Margin…”

“Please consult with Gray for details. Gray has full authority over this civil war. What I will support is…”

My father slowly got up from his seat and immediately brought a box and placed it on the table.

“This.”

“This is…”

“I would like to give it as much time as I want, but unfortunately, we are in a situation where war has been declared and we are at war.”

Inside the box.

“It’s a slush fund. It’s imperial tally that I’ve been saving for 5 years. It’s sent regularly through the imperial empress.”

An indescribable amount of Thaler was piled up neatly in the box.

“Use this to your heart’s content.”

“Eh…?”

Bathory raised his head with a surprised face.

“If it’s like this…”

“In return, bring victory. If necessary…”

The father thanked greatly towards Bathory.

“You can spend as much of your budget as you want.”

“…”

Is it an illusion?

“How much… ?”

The heart shape flashed somewhere in Bathory’s eyes as he looked up at his father.