Chapter 74: She-Devil (3)

Unlike the surprised Milton, Princess Leila was calm.

“Do you find that odd? Even if I sit on the throne, I’ll need an heir, and for that, I need a husband.”

“No, that’s…”

“You’re competent and we have a good relationship with each other. But above all, you didn’t want to take over the Capital or the country… you’re my first pick for husband material, Count Forrest.”

“……”

Milton was dazed for a moment. He never thought he would hear something like this, and so suddenly at that.

“You look very confused. Don’t overthink it. I won’t ask for you to love me.”

“You’re saying you would be alright with a loveless marriage, Your Highness?”

“Yes. Not only am I tying a strong ally like you to my side, Count Forrest, but I’m also fulfilling the politically mandatory marriage requirement at the same time. And, Count Forrest…”

“What would I be gaining out of this, Your Highness?”

“You would get a beautiful woman. Congratulations.”

Milton looked a bit reluctant.

“You’re saying you’re enough? That’s some amazing confidence you have, Your Highness.”

“Is there any reason I shouldn’t be confident?”

Princess placed her hand on her waist and lifted her chin arrogantly.

“……”

Seeing her posture, Milton couldn’t help but admire her. 

‘It’s a bit annoying, but her self-confidence is well deserved.’

Princess Leila was beautiful enough to burn away all the sorrows of all the men in the world. Any man who says he doesn’t want to marry such a beautiful woman is either a liar or gay. Milton wasn’t either. To be honest, he was fascinated by her, but…

“It’s a bit sudden.”

“Is it?”

As Milton took a step back, Princess Leila sighed as if she had run out of energy. Standing a bit apart from Milton, she spoke in a small voice holding a glass of wine. 

“Did I push too hard?”

“Your Highness? Did you say something?”

For a second, Milton thought she had said something that didn’t fit the dignity of a royal family. 

“No, it’s nothing. Hm. Anyway.”

Princess Leila straightened her posture.

“I’ll get to the main point. As I said, it’s a difficult war. So, I intend to send you an assistant in order to help you.”

“An assistant, Your Highness?”

“Yes. Along with Duke Palan, it’s one of the trump cards I have in my hand.”

Her words surprised Milton a lot. 

‘She’ll send someone who is second only to Duke Palan as an assistant?’

Exactly how much was the princess hiding? Milton shook his head as though it couldn’t be helped. 

“Then, since our business has ended, it’s time I head back.”

“Very well. Ah! After the war, let’s positively celebrate our wedding.”

“That death flag is a bit…”

“Count Forrest?”

“Never mind, there’s just something like that.”

“……?”

No matter how smart that she-devil of a princess was, there were words that just couldn’t be understood.

“So, when will you be introducing this person you’ve been hiding away till now, Your Highness?”

“That person isn’t in the capital right now. They’ll[1] be arriving in a few days, so I’ll introduce you once they arrive.”

“And I’m guessing the name is a secret, Your Highness?”

“You know very well it is.”

Milton shrugged at her.

“I understand. Then, in the meantime, I’ll begin making preparations for the war, Your Highness.”

* * *

Even if he was making preparations for deployment, he could order someone else to handle the small details. But, there were some things that had to be done by Milton himself. For example, hiring a new person to join his staff. 

“Viscount Sabian, won’t you lend me your strength?”

During a war, the existence of a competent staff was more valuable than gold. Viscount Sabian, with his 91 Intelligence stat and many war-specific traits, was the number one pick for Milton. In the previous war, Milton had utilized Sabian’s strategy and had reported his achievements without any lies once the Ceremony of Triumphant Return had concluded. Because of that, his goodwill towards Milton had increased, but Sabian’s Loyalty was still at 61. It was a very awkward number. While he was leaning towards Milton to some extent, Sabian still wasn’t Milton’s loyal man. So, Milton had boldly offered him a position, but Viscount Sabian looked troubled.

“I’m sorry, Count Forrest. While you honor me with the offer, unfortunately, I have to say no.”

Milton sighed at Viscount Sabian’s polite refusal. 

“Can you explain why?”

“That’s… My Master has passed away.”

“Master? By Master, do you mean… Marquis Trauss?”

“Yes, that’s right, Count Forrest.”

Marquis Trauss, a remarkable teacher, had personally taught Viscount Sabian tactics and strategies. While Viscount Sabian had surpassed his master’s abilities, he didn’t choose to become independent and instead, followed his master into the First Prince’s army. Viscount Sabian’s affection for his master was remarkable. And such a master had died.

He had been an old man to begin with, but had suffered a great mental shock from the First Prince’s death and had died himself because of it.

Believing that the First Prince had died because he hadn’t properly counseled and advised him, Marquis Trauss fell ill from the guilt, until eventually, he closed his eyes, never to open them again. Marquis Trauss had stubbornly stayed single his whole life and didn’t have any children or family to hold his funeral. So, Viscount Sabian, the beloved disciple of Marquis Trauss, decided to wear mourning clothes for a while and hold funeral rites for his master. 

“I hope you’ll be understanding, Count Forrest. Marquis Trauss was more than just my master, he was like a father to me.”

Asking for patience, Viscount Sabian politely bowed to Milton. It seemed as though Viscount Sabian felt guilty for refusing to participate in the war for personal reasons. In face of those reasons, Milton was calm.

“Raise your head, Viscount Sabian.”

Once he did, Milton held his hand.

“I understand you. I also lost my father a few years ago.”

“Count…”

“Send him off politely so there are no regrets on his last travel.”

Viscount Sabian looked greatly moved at Milton’s understanding. 

“Thank you. I might not be able to follow you to war this time, I will pray for Count Forrest’s success from afar. And…”

Viscount Sabian hesitated for a moment before making up his mind.

“As soon as my master’s funeral rites are over, may I join your advisor staff immediately?”

Milton immediately checked his stats. Viscount Sabian’s Loyalty went from 61 to 81. 

‘It went up 20 points all at once?’

Milton was very satisfied. 

His charisma trait seemed to have overflowed. 

“I’ll be waiting.”

“Thank you, My Lord.”

That day, Milton failed to bring a competent advisor to war. But, he succeeded in recruiting said competent advisor into his own staff. 

The day before departure. 

Just as Milton was all set, the talented person that Princess Leila had spoken about, arrived.

Upon hearing that, Milton immediately went to find her.

“Come in, Count Forrest.”

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

After officially greeting Princess Leila, he turned to look at the person next to her.

‘Who is that?’

The person had wrapped their whole body in a robe and pulled the hood down low, making it difficult to see their face. 

“I will formally introduce you, Count Forrest. This is the person I’ve been getting a lot of help from, Bianca Cornelius.”

As Princess Leila introduced her, Bianca took off her robes.

‘Woah…’

Milton exclaimed in his head. 

When she took off her robe, Bianca revealed a different type of beauty from Princess Leila. 

She was maybe in her mid-20s with red hair and golden yellow eyes. She had an hourglass shaped figure that had been hidden by the robe but what drew the eye were her proud eyes. While she was arrogant, that arrogance wasn’t awkward at all. The more she looked confident, the more she exuded competence and sex appeal.

Cough

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As Princess Leila signaled at him, Milton got himself together. 

“You’re very beautiful. Without my knowledge, I was captivated by your beauty.”

Looking at the dazed Milton, Bianca frowned.

“Ya a man, why are ya so cheesy[2]?”

‘Southern continent dialect?’

Contrary to her appearance, she was a beauty with a folksy accent.

“Are you from the Southern continent?”

Without any shyness, Bianca answered him clearly.

“That’s right. But why?”

“It’s a bit difficult to understand. Can you speak the standard language?”

“Can’t. Ya got a problem?”

“……”

Putting aside the words, her argumentative personality was a tad annoying.

“Princess Leila. Were you serious when you said this person was second to Duke Palan?”

Princess Leila smiled at Milton’s doubts.

“She is a magician.”

“Magician?”

Milton was shocked, then immediately looked at Bianca’s stats. 

[Bianca Cornelius] 

Magician LV.6

Strength — 07         Command — 45 

Intelligence — 99         Politics — 22 

Loyalty — 00

Special Traits- Magic, Enchantment, See-through.

Magic LV.6: Ability to use magic. The higher the level, the more magic you can use.

Enchantment LV.3: The ability to craft items with magical effects.

See-through LV.6: Innate observational power, gives the ability to grasp the truth of the conversation partner's words.

‘Woah… I’ve never seen an Intelligence stat at 99 before. 

When Milton had heard she was a magician, he had some exceptions, but Bianca truly was skilled.

“You must really be amazed?”

Princess Leila spoke as she saw Milton continue to stare and subtly admire Bianca.

“Yes, Your Highness. A magician…”

Milton continued to look at Bianca in admiration. 

Milton didn’t care that Bianca’s facial expression seemed to be asking him, ‘what’re you looking at?’

‘I never thought I’d see a real live magician with my own eyes.’

It wasn’t unreasonable for Milton to be like this. After all, magicians really were rare. At one point in time, there were a lot of magicians in this world. Every country had an institution to train magicians as well as a guild where they could gather and practice with each other. It is said that at that time, magic was deeply entrenched and magical artifacts were casually used in everyday life. This was the ancient era, and it is said that not only magic, but human civilization itself was developed beyond comparison to the present times. 

The reason is lost in history, but that era collapsed and the number of magicians gradually decreased as they increasingly became secretive and closed off from society. The magicians didn’t involve themselves with the world around them and only paid attention to cultivating magic hidden from the rest of the world. That’s why a country would treat any magicians discovered in their country extremely well. However, there were very few magicians and they themselves hated being affiliated with one country, so their rarity was on par to that of a Master.  

“To think you had such a talent under your command, Your Highness.”

But Princess Leila shook her head.

“She’s not ‘under my command,’ Count Forrest. She, like you, is allied with me.”

“Ah, I see. My apologies.”

At Milton’s immediate apology, Bianca nodded. 

“It’s fine. If ya din’t know, it could’ve happn’d. Eh. Anyway…”

Bianca smiled and stretched out her hand towards Milton.

“Let’s work hard together, ya?”

“Ah… yes, let’s work together.”

Milton was bewildered, but he shook her hand. This was the first time he had shaken hands with a woman in this world. Was Bianca just straightforward or was the Southern Continent’s culture different?

* * *

With all the preparations completed, the Southern Army led by Milton, and the Strabus Kingdom’s army led by Duke Brans began to advance North. Of course, this news had already reached the ears of Siegfried in the North. 

Siegfried immediately called for a meeting.

“Secretary Siegfried, the enemies are coming in two different directions, from the East and the West.”

“And what are the compositions of the enemy’s troops?”

“Coming from the East is Strabus Kingdom with a total of 50,000 men and led by Duke Derek Brans, Sir.”

“So a Master is commanding 50,000 troops?”

“So the Strabus bastards have finally decided.”

While watching his staff members loudly debating, Siegfried calmly turned towards the messenger.

“And what is the composition of the army coming from the West?”

“Sir, The West is the Southern Army led by Count Milton Forrest with a total of 20,000 troops.”

Siegfried seemed surprised at the report.

“20,000? You’re sure about that?”

“Yes, Sir, I’m sure.”

‘How odd.’

Siegfried doubted the messenger’s report. According to the information he had, Lester Kingdom currently had up to 40,000 troops. Then, even if 10,000 were left to defend the Capital, at least 30,000 troops were still available. Seeing how important this battle was, Siegfried had assumed they would mobilize as many troops as possible, but it seems as though that was a mistake. 

‘Are they trusting their allies that much to leave so many men behind? It’d be great if they were that foolish, but…’

Several possibilities ran through Siegfried’s head, but it was too soon to decide upon any one of them. 

‘It can’t be helped. I have no choice but to be careful as much as possible.’

Having come to a decision, Siegfried organized what he knew of the war so far in his head. 

The enemy’s total men was 70,000.

The Republican military force, including the reinforcements sent from their country, was currently 50,000

‘That’s more than enough.’

Having decided the overall strategy in his head, Siegfried began to conclude the meeting.

“Captain Alfred.”

“Yes, Secretary Siegfried.”

“I’ll give you 30,000 troops. Take them and defeat the Southern Army coming from the West.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“I’ll take care of the Strabus Kingdom’s army coming from the East.”

One of Siegfried’s staff spoke up.

“Secretary Siegfried, the Strabus Kingdom’s troops are stronger. Are you planning on fighting them with only 20,000 troops?”

“Why? Does that seem risky?”

“Actually… Yes, I do think it’s risky.”

Siegfried’s staff members thought his orders went beyond risky, they thought it was reckless. 

Seeing their expressions, Siegfried smiled.

“The enemies will probably agree with you.”

“Is it a military feint, Sir?”

“Just trust me. If you do as I say, I promise I’ll give you Duke Brans’ goods and valuables as spoils of war.”

At his generous promise, all of Siegfried’s staff stood up.

“Yes, Sir!” 

They had no further doubts. His staff knew that Siegfried was a man who kept his promises. 

1. in the raws, it was an ungendered noun

2. I tried to make it nonstandard English to reflect the dialect used in the raws

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