Dungeon Defense (WN)

“Your Excellency.”

I rejoiced as I squeezed Baronet Bercy’s hands.

If the nobles of Frankia cooperated with us, then it would be no different from having already won this war. We held each other’s hands as we stared at each other. How sincere was he being? How resolved was he? —We confirmed these things with each other.

This wasn’t simply an abstract exchange of feelings. I checked Baronet Bercy’s status window. The Baronet’s mentality was revealed to me splendidly since his affection was higher than 20. The Baronet was definitely telling the truth.

I opened my mouth.

“The Royalists and Republicans must not oppose each other. ‘We’ must become united.”

“There is an illegitimate child who is a collateral blood relative. We intend to raise him up as the king and take care of things by arranging a parliament. We will take in Her Excellency the Empress Dowager as the parliament’s advisor.”

A constitutional monarchy, huh? By enthroning a young king with little obligations, the parliament would be able to seize sovereignty.

With the Royalists being able to maintain monarchy while the Republicans have their parliament’s superiority guaranteed, the two groups would be able to compromise. Empress Dowager Catherine de’ Medici, who is greatly respected by all her people, would act as the mediator. This sounded like a rather decent scenario.

“This is not a plan that can get guaranteed within a few days. When did preparations for this begin?”

“Immediately after we lost the civil war. Duke Guise may have fallen in battle, but his younger siblings were still alive and well.”

“Duke Guise’s younger siblings……You must mean the High Priest of Lorraine and Duke Mayenne.”

I tilted my head.

When the civil war occurred in Frankia, Duke Guise was the supreme commander of the Anti-Brittany Alliance, also known as the Holy Alliance. His vigor was so formidable that Henrietta was incredibly cautious of him. Guise’s family was sternly oppressed after the civil war was over.

The High Priest of Lorraine and Duke Mayenne were both quietly assassinated. The perpetrator was never revealed, but it was obvious who did it. Despite this, Baronet Bercy had just informed me that they had designed a grand plan. How?

Baronet Bercy lowered his gaze.

“……The Guise brothers prepared a scenario in case of their defeat as well. They predicted that the nobles of Frankia would dry up before being able to do anything if things were to continue like this. A small minority of high nobles made a promise. They promised to trick the eyes of Brittany even if they had to disguise themselves as traitors.”

“As traitors……? Do not tell me.”

I opened my mouth in surprise. Baronet Bercy nodded gravely.

“Our comrades were the ones who ratted out High Priest Lorraine and Duke Mayenne.”

“……That is surprising.”

The truth revealed by the baronet was shocking.

If the nobles of Frankia did not make any sort of countermeasures, then they would get drained and wiped out by Henrietta. Despite this, they weren’t confident that they could rally another army to take Henrietta down. They had only one resort left.

The nobles ‘pretended’ to sponge off of Brittany.

By ratting out Duke Guise’s younger siblings to Henrietta.

In other words, they had betrayed their strongest allies. Henrietta gladly accepted these traitors since, from the perspective of the people of Frankia, they were nothing more than traitors. However, the truth was different. High Priest Lorraine and Duke Mayenne had deliberately sacrificed themselves for their comrades…….

Thanks to this, Queen Henrietta put aside her doubt. The comrades that remained had waited up to this moment while being falsely tagged as traitors. They had been sharpening their blades of revenge…….

Frankia was by no means an incompetent nation. They may have lowered their heads before Henrietta’s militaristic greatness, but they were carrying out these sorts of schemes behind the scene.

I wonder what could’ve happened if the Emperor, Henry the Third, had been a little wiser. The emperor would’ve had competent nobles backing him. They probably wouldn’t have gotten swallowed up by Brittany this easily.

Baronet Bercy took a gulp from his wine.

“Hoo. The Queen of Brittany is formidable. She may have set aside her doubt, but she continued to keep her guard up. This is also the reason why she sent out an army that only consists of Frankian nobles.”

“Please tell me your total manpower.”

“A total of twelve cities are allied with us.”

Twelve cities.

It wasn’t a small number, but it wasn’t a big number either. If I ally with them here, then that would add the seven free cities on the north side of Frankia. In total, nineteen cities would be on our side.

Nineteen, huh? What a vague number. It wasn’t enough to flip the situation, but it was more than enough to at least be a kingmaker…….

“Your Excellency, you must be extremely cautious.”

I calmed myself before speaking.

“The Queen of Brittany is powerful. Previously, we were certain that our Holy Alliance would be victorious. And yet, we lost. We are currently weaker than that time.”

Even if we have an advantage in terms of justification and strategy, it would all be pointless if we lose the actual battle.

“Do not rally your armies right now. You must continue to be patient. We will defeat Queen Henrietta and you can start your uprising afterward!”

Baronet Bercy opened his eyes wide.

“You are going to defeat the Queen on your own? That is too dangerous!”

“Your Excellency, victory and defeat are determined by chance. There is no guarantee that we will win if we unite. We must always have contingency plans.”

I stared at the baronet seriously.

“Let us say that we were to form an alliance. It sounds nice, but what would happen if we were to lose because we lacked the grace of the Gods? The Queen of Brittany would purge the nobles of Frankia more fiercely.”

“…….”

“An extensive purge would be carried out. Even the seeds of revolt that you had managed to plant would get uprooted completely. Frankia would meet its true end at that moment. Your Excellency! We must also consider the worst-case scenario.”

Baronet Bercy rubbed his chin as he fell into deep thought.

Honestly, this wasn’t a bad proposal for them. I was offering to go to war in their stead, so, if anything, they should welcome this idea. We would be the ones taking on all of the burdens, so there would be no reason for Baronet Bercy to refuse.

“……If I may speak honestly, your proposal sounds too good to be true. Why would you voluntarily make a proposal that is detrimental to you?”

“Your Excellency, I may be in charge of the vanguard due to circumstances, but my essence still lies within Frankia. I wish to prevent any harm from falling upon Frankia.”

I smiled bitterly.

“It is hard to expect a good goal from Rudolf von Habsburg’s army. I cannot deny the possibility of the Crowned Prince of Habsburg taking the Queen of Brittany’s spot after managing to drive her out……. Do you not think so as well?”

“Mm.”

Baronet Bercy nodded with difficulty. He probably couldn’t say it to my face, but he must have considered this possibility.

“I said that this was a precautionary measure. This does not only refer to the possibility of our defeat. We must also consider the possibility of the Crowned Prince of Habsburg betraying us after being victorious. Your Excellency, you must preserve Frankia’s army as much as possible in the case of these situations.”

“So we should not take part in the war…….”

“Yes.”

Baronet Bercy was greatly moved. He stood up and hugged me. This man, who was usually like a stone statue, was surprisingly speaking in a weepy voice.

“You are a true patriot.”

“……I did whatever I could to gather a group after losing the civil war.”

I also responded back with a teary voice.

“Rudolf von Habsburg is Demon Lord Barbatos’ puppet and Barbatos is extremely afraid of Demon Lord Agares. I barely managed to create an army by utilizing their fear……. Your Excellency, I am sorry for being late.”

“Priest Jean Bole…….”

Baronet Bercy finally began to shed tears.

I soon heard a familiar sound effect.

「Baron Bercy’s affection has risen by 11.」

「Baron Bercy’s affection has reached 50. The other party now ‘trusts’ you.」

We shared another intense hug. The camaraderie between men was being expressed through a hug. The two of us drank wine for the rest of that day. Once the sun rose, Baronet Bercy snuck out of the camp.

“Hoo.”

I sat down in my chair.

I managed to get a completely unexpected harvest.

Baronet Bercy probably thinks I said all that purely because of my patriotism, but I obviously don’t have even a sliver of patriotism in me toward Frankia. I simply couldn’t let the Demon Lord army covet Frankia.

“Things are still barely going according to plan.”

Occupying the north-central region of Habsburg already gave the Demon Lord army enough power. If they conquered Frankia as well, then the balance between humans and demons might collapse.

The Demon Lord army forms whenever there is human resistance. If the humans get wiped out completely, then the Demon Lord army would enter the age of civil war. I won’t sit around and let something like that happen.

This current state where the Plains Faction, Neutral Faction, and the Mountain Faction exist side by side is the most ideal situation. It may be a turbulent period, but it was a turbulent period created in a way that gave me an advantage. I, Demon Lord Dantalian, have to establish my authority as a mediator whenever the groups compete or harmonize…….

Four days after Baronet Bercy left.

Our vanguard engaged with Frankia’s vanguard again.

It was a scripted battle that we had arranged beforehand. Queen Henrietta still had her doubts about the nobles of Frankia. We had to show her that they didn’t lose to us intentionally. For this purpose, we had to sacrifice General Gaspard de Tabarn.

“For Frankia!”

This old veteran, who was in his sixties, had served Frankia all his life. Earlier in his life, he was the captain of Frankia’s royal knights and he had also been the emperor’s deputy commander. He had literally led the most honorable life as a noble.

It was only natural, but Tabarn was the individual whom Henrietta was cautious of the most. The death of such a great individual should decrease Henrietta’s wariness by a fair amount. That was our aim.

As we arranged beforehand, General Tabarn charged at us as soon as the battle started. It was crazy for the supreme commander to take the lead and charge. Daisy rushed forward from our side.

Gapard de Tabarn and Daisy. The oldest veteran and the youngest warrior faced off in the center of the battlefield. Blades sparked. Daisy managed to pierce through the general’s chest with only a single strike.

“Retreat!”

“All troops, retreat!”

The Frankian army immediately retreated after they lost their commander pitifully. It was a hasty retreat. Honestly, it would probably be fine to say that they barely incurred any losses. Our plan was carried out without any problems.

“…….”

I looked down at the old general’s dead body. The old man had a broad smile on his face. His physique was so healthy that it was hard to believe that he was in his sixties. It almost felt like he could stand up and swing his sword again at any moment.

Daisy muttered next to me.

“He was smiling since the moment he engaged in combat with me.”

“……Is that so?”

“Yes, Father. It was the smile of a man who gladly accepted his death.”

It was for this reason that Daisy didn’t behead the old general. She pierced him through the chest in one strike in order to keep his corpse clean. She had treated the other party with great respect.

I calmly asked a question.

“Did he have any last words?”

“Thank you, was the last thing he whispered to me.”

The old man had undoubtedly lived a life with no regrets.

For the people and for his nation……. And even in his last moment, he devoted his death to the people and his nation as well. He most likely believed that this was the greatest death. Was that why he thanked us……?

“Daisy, remember this man’s final moment.”

I spoke as I closed the old man’s eyes.

“This is a death that people like us will never be able to experience. Remember it well.”

“……Yes, Father.”

Daisy and I stared at the old man’s dead body for a while.

A single life was meeting its end here. A peaceful and honorable smile on his lips. One day, during our final moments, the two of us will most likely recall this old man’s death and become jealous…….

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I feel so stressed and tired lately. The construction noise is over for now since they finished the demolition part and haven’t started the actual construction yet, but now we’re having like a regional district mayor election next week. It’s SO loud. Politicians are trying to get votes by having trucks blare loud music all throughout the day. I woke up the other day to a parody of ‘If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands’, but the lyrics were all replaced with the politician’s name. It was just so bad and obnoxious. Can I have at least one good morning?

God.

I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.

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