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‘As time passes, Ferdium will only grow stronger. Their forces will increase as well.’

The Runestone was a treasure of immense value. Not only was it valuable in itself, but it could also easily be converted into cash.

If the Runestone was sold and the money was used to expand the territory, they would be able to secure both troops and supplies quickly.

Even if a conflict with the Digald estate were to arise now, Ferdium would swiftly recover from any damage, and over time, it would become even more challenging to deal with.

“This isn’t something I can decide on immediately.”

If enough time were spent devising schemes, it would be possible to weaken them or create problems somehow.

However, discovering a Runestone resource, something rare even within the kingdom, was not something he could bury on his own.

Harold sent an urgent message using the fastest horse available.

― Ferdium, partial development of the Forest of Beasts. Secured Runestone. Awaiting orders.

It was a brief message, but it was sufficient.

After waiting for a few days, a response arrived from the Duchy.

― Annihilate Ferdium. The Duchy will intervene afterward. Use Digald to start a territorial war. However, ensure they are used and discarded. It is acceptable to take some risks.

The Duchy’s response was also short and to the point. It simply contained clear-cut orders.

Harold mulled over the returned orders once more.

‘Annihilate… turn it into a territory without an owner?’

The territory would revert to the royal family if neither the family head nor an heir existed.

Afterward, the Duchy’s involvement meant they intended to appoint a new lord themselves.

The order to use and discard Digald also implied that Digald should not be allowed to occupy Ferdium’s territory.

Although Count Rogues, being a relative, had a legitimate claim to Ferdium’s territory, the Duchy would handle that situation easily.

If not, they could just wipe out the Rogues estate as well.

“I see. Now I understand. It was because of the Forest of Beasts.”

The orders, which had been hard to comprehend until now, finally made sense.

The directive to continuously weaken Ferdium but not let it be destroyed and to prevent other estates from seizing it was intended to ensure that no one could take control of the Forest of Beasts.

However, now that Ferdium had meddled with the Forest of Beasts, they would no longer be spared and would be wiped out.

“But why are they so eager to seize the Forest of Beasts?”

At present, the Duchy was secretly preparing for rebellion.

They were moving cautiously to ensure a decisive victory, but engaging in a territorial war could potentially expose their forces to the public eye.

Harold couldn’t understand why the Forest of Beasts had to be secured, even at the risk of such exposure.

No matter how valuable the Runestone was, it seemed excessive to go this far for it.

Lowering his eyes and contemplating for a moment, Harold soon shook his head.

Deciding the direction was the Duke’s responsibility. His role was merely to minimize risks in the process.

“When the time comes, I’ll understand.”

There was no time to worry about reasons. He was already busy drafting plans to align with the new direction.

Harold returned to his office and gathered his advisors.

“How many of our people are in Ferdium?”

“We have two vassals and one knight left.”

“Send the two vassals to Digald. Use the pretext that Gilmore was killed in Ferdium and start a territorial war.”

The sudden order left the strategists looking flustered. It was a drastic shift from the previous plan of gradually weakening Ferdium.

“May I ask the reason for this sudden change in approach?”

“The situation has changed.”

Harold didn’t elaborate further.

Though the strategists were bewildered, they soon appeared to understand in their own way.

They, too, had heard the news about the Runestone.

“Our goal is the complete annihilation of the Ferdium family. We will participate as well.”

Once again, the strategists appeared shocked.

A territorial war wasn’t something that could be initiated at will.

If they started a war without a proper cause, the other lords would undoubtedly feel threatened and take measures to restrain them.

One of the strategists bowed his head.

“Digald alone will indeed struggle to capture Ferdium, but we don’t have any justification to intervene.”

Both territories were pretty equal, so predicting which side would win was impossible.

If the goal was merely to weaken Ferdium, Digald was the right choice. However, if the goal were to destroy them entirely, Digald alone would not suffice.

“We won’t directly intervene. Our forces will be disguised as conscripts and mercenaries and sent in.”

Most of Digald’s vassals were already under Harold’s control. Pushing Digald in the direction he wanted wouldn’t be difficult.

“Prepare everything within two months. We will wipe out both Ferdium and Digald swiftly.”

“Understood. Is there anything else we need to prepare?”

“Send Viktor as well.”

The strategists couldn’t hide their surprise.

Viktor was the best knight raised by Desmond, a hidden weapon of the estate.

The fact that Harold was willing to use such a valuable card meant he was genuinely resolute.

The strategists now believed that the fall of the Ferdium estate was inevitable. It would be a battle impossible to lose.

However, Harold couldn’t shake the unease gnawing at him, unlike the strategists.

Once more, he silently repeated the name of a specific individual.

A name that continued to stir an ominous feeling within him.

‘Ghislain Ferdium…’

* * *

Amelia was enjoying tea with Bernarf, using the pleasant weather as an excuse.

She gracefully set her teacup down and stroked Bastet, who was resting on her lap.

Lately, she had been in quite a good mood. She had personally manipulated information and swayed public opinion to cut off support headed to Ferdium.

‘Ghislain Ferdium, I wonder what happened to that bastard.’

Just thinking about it brought a smile to her lips.

Ferdium was such a poor estate that it couldn’t even sustain itself without Raypold’s support.

As soon as the support was cut off, chaos must have erupted, and Ghislain, the one responsible for it all, would surely have been captured and punished.

Given his past deeds and reputation, he had probably been imprisoned at the very least.

In that case, it would become all the easier to take his head. There wouldn’t be any grand security for an imprisoned man.

Watching Amelia smile for the first time in a while, Bernarf smiled as well.

“I was truly impressed by this recent strategy. It was far more elegant than brute force.”

“Meow!”

Even Bastet purred in approval, rubbing its head against Amelia’s arms.

“Tell those wildcats to seize the opportunity and be sure to sever Ghislain’s head. And that maid, too.”

“Understood. I’ll make sure the job is finished.”

Bernarf was genuinely impressed by Amelia’s boldness.

Despite having a weakness that needed to be hidden, she manipulated the truth and set up a trap, even at the risk of exposing it.

With that daring move, both the Ferdium Estate and Ghislain were simultaneously brought to ruin. It could be said that the gamble had paid off.

It was decisiveness and cunning that were rarely seen in others.

In high spirits, Amelia hummed a tune and picked up a cookie crumb to feed to the cat.

“Here, Bastet, you have one too.”

“Nyaaang!”

As Bastet happily ate the cookie, a maid approached cautiously and handed a slip of paper to Amelia.

“What is it?”

The maid answered carefully.

“It’s news from the Ferdium Estate.”

“Really? Hmm, I wonder if it says that Ghislain has been imprisoned?”

With a smile on her lips, Amelia unfolded the paper and slowly began to read.

As she read, the expression on her face gradually disappeared.

Her eyes grew cold as if they could tear through the paper, exuding a deadly aura.

Watching Amelia’s rapidly changing expression from the side, Bernarf felt a chill down his spine.

Amelia, whose face usually remained unbothered even in the face of death, turned red with anger.

Crumpling the paper in her hand, she screamed.

“Ghislain Ferdium!”

Bastet, sensing the situation, swiftly fled to hide behind Bernarf.

“How could this happen!”

Amelia shot up from her seat, the sudden motion shaking the table and spilling tea and cookies.

Bernarf quickly stepped aside to avoid the mess and cautiously asked.

“What happened? What did Ghislain do this time?”

Instead of answering, Amelia threw the crumpled paper.

Bernarf caught it as it flew toward his face, read it, and gasped in shock.

“What… what… they found the Runestone? What does that mean?”

“What do you think it means? The Ferdium Estate is in celebration, and that bastard Ghislain is being praised for his achievement!”

Amelia bit her lip hard and continued.

“And he used the 20,000 gold he took from me as the capital for it!”

Amelia trembled with rage.

Ghislain had delivered the greatest humiliation of her life.

There was probably no other noble lady who had been blackmailed and had her money extorted by such a lowly man.

It was the first time in her life she had ever been treated with such contempt and disgrace. She would only find peace once she had killed Ghislain.

She thought she had finally gotten rid of him, but now, he was soaring to new heights instead!

Amelia felt as if she would go mad from the desire to drag Ghislain in front of her and kill him on the spot.

“Ghislain! Ghislain Ferdium!”

Watching Amelia mutter Ghislain’s name like a curse, with bloodshot eyes, Bernarf tightly shut his mouth.

Outwardly, she was known as a gentle, kind-hearted, and elegant woman. Bernarf himself had thought she was such a person when he first met her, as she often showed those sides.

But many who had crossed her privately had ended up dead, one by one. It was impossible to tell what her true nature was.

‘Her personality may not be the best… but she’s rarely been this angry.’

Even when ordering someone’s death, she usually did so with elegance, but when it came to Ghislain, she couldn’t seem to control her rage.

It seemed that being humiliated by such a lowly person was unbearably difficult for her to accept.

‘I should just keep my mouth shut.’

If he stood out at the wrong time and got caught in the crossfire, not even Bernarf would come out of it unscathed.

Amelia glared at Bernarf with eyes reddened from fury.

“Gather the wildcats and all the others as well.”

“What are you planning?”

“What do you think they’ll do with that Runestone? They’ll sell it, of course! Raid them, kill them all, and take it!”

Bernarf swallowed nervously.

“Won’t that be dangerous? If they’re transporting a Runestone, the security will be tight. The Ferdium side could mobilize their forces or call on a merchant guild to handle it.”

“We’ll think about that when the time comes. For now, gather the men. Get the surrounding bandits ready to move as well!”

“Understood. Please, try to calm down.”

Although Bernarf tried to calm her, Amelia couldn’t suppress her fury so easily.

“Ghislain, I will definitely kill you. And I’ll make sure that Runestone is mine.”

The once-pleasant afternoon tea had been entirely ruined by the news of Ghislain.