Chapter 13

The Emperor twitched one eye in anger at Jenna’s response. Then Evelyn, who had been quietly watching Jenna, smiled, revealing her beautiful teeth.

“Oh, indeed, the continent’s finest lady. It’s known across the continent that you possess titles and domains equal to ten men. Good. Then come up with a strategy in place of your father who is recuperating.”

“…”

“Ingénes has already lost over three thousand soldiers in the Battle of White Bloom. It’s regrettable to say this in the absence of someone, but it means your father couldn’t come up with a good enough plan. So, you should be different, right? How about it? Come up with a strategy within a week. A plan that can perfectly drive out those filthy Lucus from White Bloom.”

She was afraid. She had studied military tactics but had no actual experience, and now they were asking her to devise a real war strategy. It was a big deal. But if Jenna backed down to avoid the situation, Herbon would forever lose the Chancellor’s position.

She had already lost Graham; she couldn’t lose anything more!

She straightened her back and glared at Lady Evelyn’s white face.

“Very well, Lady Evelyn. I will try to devise a strategy to save White Bloom within a week. But promise me one thing. If my strategy works and completely drives Lucus out of that region…”

Evelyn smirked and glared at Jenna.

“If it drives them out?”

“Allow me to act as Chancellor in place of my father who needs recuperation.”

As soon as Jenna finished speaking, the laughter of the Emperor and Lady Evelyn echoed through Graham’s quiet grave. After laughing for quite a while, the Emperor spoke.

“Of course. Lady Jenna. If your strategy works, I will acknowledge you as my right arm. I will let you sit right next to me in court meetings. But if you are wrong? If the situation worsens instead? Then?”

“I will abandon my family’s position, offer up our domain, and go to the Countess Belbard family of my mother to atone for the rest of my life. At that time, my father will no longer be able to stay by your side, Your Majesty. Will that be enough?”

Without any real thought. Having never even properly looked at a map of White Bloom, she acted rashly in anger.

* * *

Three days had passed since the funeral. Only four days remained until the promise with the Emperor, and as expected, devising a strategy with just a map was not easy.

Damn Emperor!!

No matter how much she cursed, it was something she had done herself, unable to control her temper. Jenna was pacing back and forth in her father’s study, biting her nails. On the map, Lucus’s position was in the highlands, and according to the soldiers who had participated, they had already fortified the walls so well that it was impossible to break through.

They must have already attempted a siege. Damn, it would be nice if she could turn into the wind and fly over.

[A whirlwind.]

Stone Killer’s voice echoed in her mind.

[A whirlwind could blow.]

Ha ha ha, oh, a hollow laugh escaped her lips.

[If I could summon a whirlwind, would I have let my brother die unprotected?]

[While I can’t summon a whirlwind, I can accurately tell when one will come through me.]

[What?]

[Ah… you really don’t get it. I can tell the exact timing of a whirlwind! Through me!]

Even so, she couldn’t trust Stone Killer’s claims.

[How do you know such a thing? Please stop complicating my head and be quiet, will you?]

[Ha, I am  Stone Killer! If you lose the bet with the Emperor and die, I’ll have to live as a rock without speaking a word for at least 100 years. So don’t bore me too much or die, Lady Jenna.]

[You! Do you really know the timing of the whirlwind?]

Stone Killer chuckled in her mind.

[It is not only the timing of the whirlwind. I naturally know the climate. When the time comes, I know who will manifest as a Lion Stone, who’s the Red Eye Stone, and what dangers are waiting for you. You could say I’ve grasped the principles of all things.]

His arrogant attitude was quite annoying, but wasn’t this a crucial time when even Stone Killer had to be believed? In her haste, Jenna pulled out a book she had studied, one with relatively extensive content on geography, and flipped through it randomly.

The phrase “Seasonal winds of the White Bloom region” caught her eye.

Stone Killer, this guy has some useful aspects?

This means a whirlwind could go to the highlands, right? If a whirlwind climbs the highlands and she adds a fire attack to it…?

* * *

The plump Count Etienne was once again gorging himself on dishes like chicken and lamb at the luxurious restaurant in Occam Hall, which he visited whenever he stayed in Helibet.

Just a few days ago, such gluttony would have made him feel like he was soaring with joy, but ever since the private meeting with the Emperor, no matter how much greasy and sweet food he stuffed into his mouth, he couldn’t feel better.

The court meeting was about to start. Hosted by Lady Jenna Fleur acting as Chancellor.

He recalled his private meeting with the Emperor with a sense of unease.

***

Before the event now known among people as the tragedy of the Herbon Count’s family, the Emperor had summoned Etienne.

“Well, Etienne, you know. Morgan Herbon has to disappear for Theodore to easily vanish. As long as the Crown Prince and the Chancellor are on the same side, the world you and I dream of is far away.”

When they had ever dreamed the same dream as the Emperor, he didn’t know. But since the other party was the Emperor, he couldn’t respond.

“Oh, of course, I’m fine. Time is always on my side. I can wait until Morgan Herbon dies of old age and establish a strong imperial power without any problems. But you, you’re not like that, are you? How long will you keep fiddling with the lands passed down through generations, hearing comparisons with the Minister of Justice or the Minister of Finance? Even though you’ve never participated in a war, do you have to come and go to the knight school? I’m saying this because it’s frustrating.”

Lord Etienne, with his cheeks sagging, could only bow his head to Emperor Joseph.

“What should I do…?”

The Emperor clicked his tongue and shook his head as if in disappointment.

“Don’t you desire the position of Chancellor? Right below the Emperor, the highest position to which all ministers bow their heads. If you do well, I might even give you the position of Chancellor that the arrogant Herbon family held. How about it?”

The current Chancellor, Morgan Herbon, was not a man who was easygoing and weak as his warm appearance suggested. He was a deeply thoughtful man who might harbor a hidden dagger behind his smile, and he sharply rebuked the Emperor whenever he spoke unreasonably, refusing to accept the Emperor’s intentions.

Herbon above the Emperor.

The ministers even felt a slight fear of him and called him that behind his back.

The vast Herbon estate of Posys, which occupied one-tenth of Ingénes, was famous for its fertility, and it was rumored that the number of mercenaries and lower knights who took refuge there due to Morgan Herbon’s influence exceeded fifty thousand.

Fifty thousand trained private soldiers who would not listen to anyone’s orders, not even the Emperor’s! It was indeed a terrifying number. Naturally, the Emperor could not easily deal with Morgan Herbon.

To think of discussing the position of Chancellor, bypassing such a Morgan Herbon, with just a small piece of land to sustain himself, made the Emperor seem either naive or too dismissive of him, raising suspicions about his true intentions.

“Ha, but Your Majesty, Morgan Herbon is not as easy a man as he appears. He is a man who, if I’m not mistaken, has several daggers hidden within. Humbly, I do not understand your intentions.”

Etienne, as he had done throughout his life, stepped back. However, the Emperor, unconcerned, laughed heartily and spouted nonsense about how the world would change and collapse.

A few days later, something truly world-shattering happened.

Morgan Herbon’s cherished twins. Among them, the son Graham Herbon, who was expected to naturally inherit the position of Chancellor, returned as a cold corpse just three months after departing for White Bloom!

Morgan Herbon was… utterly devastated. Rumors spread that after his friend Theodore Henrique was struck down by a poisoned arrow, he did not step outside of the personal study in the Red Hall mansion.

Now, all that remained was his nineteen-year-old daughter, Jenna Fleur, and the Herbon family, which had survived a thousand years and was believed to be unshakable with its accumulated wealth and power, was trembling due to the early death of the young Earl.

Isn’t this a blessing from the gods to me or our family?

When Etienne was summoned by the Emperor for the second time, he naturally thought that the now-vacant position of Chancellor was his and was elated.

If he became Chancellor, he thought there was no reason he couldn’t fulfill the Emperor’s desire to purge the opposition and retrieve the Red-eyed Stone from Lucus, and he smiled. But his joy was short-lived as the Emperor’s voice deflated his spirits.

“Etienne, listen carefully. It’s not a big deal, but do you know Lady Jenna Fleur of the Herbon family?”

How could he not know the name of the most noble lady on the continent?

“Of course, I know.”

“She made an audacious proposal to me. That young girl says she will devise a plan to drive out all the Lucus from White Bloom.” 

“…”

“If she succeeds, she will act as Chancellor in place of her father. But if she fails to drive out the Lucus, she will spend her life in seclusion at the gloomy Belbard estate. Hahaha, what do you think? If she loses, she even promised to return Morgan Herbon’s estate to me.”

Return it? The crazy Emperor still thought of the land inherited by the Chancellor as his own. Etienne forced a smile to hide his displeased expression. Though he hadn’t interacted much with Jenna Fleur, if she was Olivia Fleur and Morgan Herbon’s daughter, she would be exceptional.

Damn, it was going well. How smart and bold must that young lady be to make such a gamble… against the Emperor, no less.

He sighed. His daughter, Lady Rebecca Etienne, spent her days searching for a husband with a chaperone and sewing clothes from expensive fabrics.

“So, there is something I need you to do for me, Lord Etienne.”

“Command me, Your Majesty.”

“When Lady Jenna Fleur attends the court meeting this time.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Whatever plan she proposes, pretend to agree but never act on it. Do you understand what I’m saying? Hmm? You… hahaha.”

Etienne forced a smile once more and promised to do so.