Chapter 345 –
Side Story: Memories of an Imperial Princess (61),
#78 Their Circumstances: The circumstances of the Merdea Kingdom Army.
“So it was true.”
Looking at the completely empty Fort Pesra, Duke Raisha nodded.
“Howling, was it? This could be useful.”
“General, you shouldn’t put too much faith in the words of an evil organization,” said Luperius, the knight commander of Duke Raisha’s household, but Duke Raisha merely scoffed.
“Hmph! Do you think I don’t know that? An evil organization is just that – an evil organization. They’re people who solve problems for money, without honor or pride.”
Honor and pride.
Everyone had to remain silent at Duke Raisha’s words, which were most unsuitable for those two terms.
“Do you think I would trust such people? However, this is war. We must use whatever we can. There’s no reason to refuse their help if they’re offering it to us.”
Everyone was left speechless at Duke Raisha’s words because every single part of what he said made sense.
‘To think the Duke would speak such sense!’
‘Could he be an imperial spy? Has the Duke been kidnapped and replaced by an impostor while we weren’t aware?’
‘The Duke speaking sensibly! This day marks a change in common sense!’
‘Am I the strange one? Am I hearing his words as sensible because there’s something wrong with me?’
Those around him fell into confusion.
The Duke Raisha they had known until now was someone who existed without any concept of common sense.
How could such a person suddenly speak such reasonable words!
“If we need them, we use them, and if we don’t need them, we discard them. That’s enough for our relationship with the evil organization.”
A relationship where both parties get what they want, and either can walk away if dissatisfied.
‘It’s a transaction! The Duke understands the concept of transactions!’
It was shocking.
This was an event significant enough to be called a revolution.
What kind of family was the House of Raisha?
It was a house with long history and tradition, practicing noblesse oblige based on those foundations.
Yes, it ‘was’.
A reputation built over many generations.
One single person had changed all of that.
That person was Religieus Lu Raisha, the current Duke.
From his youth, he was someone who enjoyed pleasure and avoided learning, lacking even basic common sense, and was a typical corrupt noble who didn’t even consider commoners as people.
Not only that, he was someone who thought himself above even royalty, except for the king.
Such a person had just spoken something that an ordinary person might think.
In other words, Duke Raisha had actually engaged in thought!
‘Lord Father… Finally, your son has learned to think…’
‘My lord, after your departure, our days were filled with regret. But your son… He has grown. He has risen to the position of a nation’s Grand General, and based on that, he has learned to think.’
Those who served Duke Religieus according to the last will of his father, the late Duke Raisha, shed tears of joy.
‘What’s happening?’
‘Has the fool become un-foolish?’
‘Not yet… A person’s true nature doesn’t change so easily…’
In contrast, those who served the current Duke Raisha – mostly those who had become his subordinates through flattery and bribes – became tense at the Duke’s change.
If Duke Raisha were to become like his predecessor, everything they had built until now could be ruined.
While one side rejoiced and the other felt crisis, Duke Raisha himself had no particular thoughts about it.
‘Hmm… I thought I spoke well, and it seems I was right.’
Everything he had said was merely repeating what a member of the Howling organization had told him a few days ago.
He had simply repeated those words, yet seeing his subordinates send him admiring glances, Duke Raisha smiled with satisfaction.
‘Perfect.’
Everything was going according to plan.
Participate in the war and obtain the highest position.
Then achieve accomplishments that no one could challenge, creating a position from which he could look down on everyone.
While to others it might have seemed like an empty delusion without any concrete plan, Duke Raisha had achieved it.
‘Do you see, Father? You were wrong. I was more excellent than anyone else.’
Thinking of his father who had denied his way of life until his death, Duke Raisha made a vow.
‘I have already claimed the position of Grand General that was once yours. Now I will do what you could not. I will bring down the Karan Empire and surpass the position of Duke to obtain the title of Grand Duke!’
Duke Raisha, clenching both fists tightly, made a resolution for the first time in his life. If the previous Duke Raisha had seen him in this state, he would have said through tears: ‘My son… you’ve finally moved beyond ruining our family to trying to ruin the country!’
Unaware of his own situation, Duke Raisha proudly stood tall and shouted: “The enemies felt fear and fled from us! Occupy the castle and search thoroughly for any potential spies!”
“Yes, Grand General!”
“We receive the Grand General’s orders!” The knights of House Raisha and the soldiers of the Merdea Kingdom responded with loud voices to his confident words.
“Good! Move out!” That day, under Duke Raisha’s command, the Merdea Kingdom’s army bloodlessly occupied Fort Pesra. Though no one knew what consequences this would bring.
#79 Their Circumstances: The circumstances of the Merdea Kingdom.
“Is, is that really true?” King Graide Ral Merdea of the Merdea Kingdom forgot his royal dignity and gaped in shock.
“Say it again! What did I just hear?”
Looking at the king who had jumped up from his seat, the kingdom’s informant repeated what he had reported: “Grand General Raisha used his wit to deceive the Imperial Army and bloodlessly occupied Fort Pesra.”
“Wit? Wit? Is this the same word ‘wit’ that I know? You mean that wit that refers to cleverness and wisdom?”
“Y-yes, that’s correct.”
“That’s impossible!” Graide Ral Merdea couldn’t believe it.
“Duke Raisha showing wit!”
House Raisha was the highest-ranking family in the Merdea Kingdom. As a founding family of the nation, Duke Raisha, as head of the family, was someone even the Crown Prince, the next king, couldn’t touch except for the current king. During peacetime, he led the noble faction that checked and controlled the royal family’s excesses, and during national crises, he was the most reliable existence for the royal family.
That was what House Raisha represented, and that’s why there were many conflicts between the royal family and Duke Raisha. Especially since Religieus Lu Raisha had participated in numerous social gatherings from childhood as the sole heir of the ducal family.
Therefore, King Graide knew better than anyone what kind of person Religieus Lu Raisha was.
“Could it be fraud? No, he’s not someone bold enough to commit such a major fraud. Yes, he must have stolen someone else’s military achievement!”
Even for the king, disparaging Duke Raisha, who held the highest noble rank, in front of other nobles could spark major political controversy. However, since the other nobles tacitly agreed with the king’s words, no one spoke up.
“That’s not the case. All soldiers are praising Grand General Raisha. Given the trust he’s gaining within the military, it seems the rumors about Duke Raisha’s awakening are true.”
“Th-that’s impossible!” Crown Prince Vaeis Ral Merdea caught the stumbling king.
“Your illness hasn’t fully healed yet, Your Majesty.”
“I-I can’t believe it. To think that Duke Raisha could accomplish such a thing…”
The nobles held their breath watching the stumbling king. The lower-ranking nobles who had no conflicts with Duke Raisha began whispering, “What could he have done to make His Majesty react like this?”
“To think His Majesty, known as the wisest of wise rulers, would show such a reaction…”
In contrast, the higher-ranking nobles above the rank of count, who had many conflicts with Duke Raisha, could only sigh.
“Ugh…!”
“Someone call the royal physician! Father still needs rest!”
Seeing the king unable to stand properly from the great shock, the Crown Prince called for the physician.
“N-no. I… I must still resolve this.”
“Your Majesty… No, Father, please trust me. Both as Crown Prince and as your son, I don’t want to lose you.”
“Crown Prince…”
“Please rest well. Until you recover your health, I will take responsibility for the kingdom.”
“Yes… You were the one who promoted Duke Raisha to Grand General when everyone opposed it. I’ve been too focused on the past and failed to see the present.”
The king lovingly stroked the Crown Prince’s face. “You’ve grown so admirably, yet I still thought of you as a child.”
“I’ve heard that’s how parents feel. I suppose I’ll be the same someday.”
The Crown Prince showed the same gentle smile as his father while accepting the king’s caressing hand.
“I will handle the war.”
“I entrust the kingdom to you.”
After watching until the end as the royal physicians and Royal Knights took his father away, Crown Prince Vaeis faced the nobles and announced in a loud voice: “From now on, I, Vaeis Ral Merdea, as Crown Prince and Royal Regent, will conduct this meeting!”
The meeting began to assess the situation at the front lines, evaluate military achievements, and determine how to continue supporting the war effort with supplies moving forward.
Two days later.
Crown Prince Vaeis, who had spent two days and nights with numerous nobles, was sitting slumped on the sofa in his room.
“Your Highness, Duke Keilens Roon Irileya has arrived.”
“I know. Tell him he may enter.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After the servant left, a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his mid-forties entered.
“Duke Irileya.”
“Yes, Your Highness…”
There was no formal greeting.
Despite this, Prince Vaeis wore a very angry expression, while Duke Irileya merely kept his head bowed like someone who had committed a crime.
“How has this happened? I hear Duke Raisha is achieving victory after victory!”
“I apologize, Your Highness.”
“At this rate, all our plans will fail! No, things will become worse than before we made our plans! Do you understand this?”
“I apologize.”
“Is an apology all you have to offer? I trusted your word and gave Duke Raisha the position of Grand General as he wanted!”
Historically, the Raisha ducal family had been a thorn in the side of both the royal family and the Irileya ducal house.
From the royal family’s perspective, the Raisha family had always been the ones to actively oppose their initiatives, and the Irileya ducal house was the most influential family in the Kingdom of Merdea, second only to the Raisha ducal family.
However, the Raisha ducal family was not something that could be easily challenged, as doing so could result in severe backlash.
But this time was different. This was because Religieus Lu Raisha, a being impossible to imagine as being of Raisha blood, had been born and taken charge of the Raisha ducal family.
The true strength of the Raisha family was shown in how they endured and remained unshaken even with such a being in charge!
If someone like the previous generations of Raisha dukes were to be born among Religieus’s bloodline, just as Religieus was born as a historical good-for-nothing from the previous Duke Raisha, the Raisha ducal family would maintain their supreme position until the very moment the Kingdom of Merdea fell.
That’s why Vaeis, who possessed tyrannical tendencies despite showing a gentle appearance like the current king on the surface, and Duke Irileya joined hands to make Duke Raisha the Grand General.
They were certain he would suffer a major defeat, and they planned to use that opportunity to bring down the Raisha ducal family!
However, the results were completely different.
“His victory against the Imperial army might have been luck. Yes, I acknowledged that. That’s why I could put Duke Raisha in the position of Grand General, even though it was at your request. But what’s the result! Fort Pesra! He managed to capture without bloodshed the very castle that had caused the death of tens of thousands of royal army soldiers and even Duke Arisetias!”
Currently, Duke Raisha’s reputation was spreading throughout the entire royal army.
All the previous negative rumors had been dispelled, and Duke Raisha’s foundation was becoming even stronger.
They had been trying to create small holes to bring down the enemy’s massive walls, but now those walls were falling on their own forces, resulting in total annihilation.
“War hero. I believe the Duke understands what that title brings.”
“…Yes, I do.”
The Kingdom of Merdea had suffered consecutive defeats against the Karan Empire.
Naturally, their troops’ morale had hit rock bottom, and that morale dropped even further when Duke Raisha became Grand General.
However, when things actually began, Duke Raisha kept winning against the Imperial army.
Because expectations had been so low, the speed at which Duke Raisha’s reputation rose was beyond description!
He was now becoming the greatest hero of the royal army.
“This cannot continue. We must move the soldiers we prepared in advance. We cannot allow Duke Raisha to monopolize victory.”
The elite troops that had been prepared in case Duke Raisha was defeated.
A grand army of 100,000 soldiers, combining the elite forces of Duke Irileya and the nobles who followed him.
In terms of quality, it far surpassed the army under the command of Grand General Duke Raisha.
“I will create orders as the king’s proxy, so deploy them.”
“I will give military command to Count Pareis.”
“Count Pareis, commander of the Third Corps, is indeed a reliable general.”
Prince Vaeis nodded and decided to send the additional 100,000 soldiers led by Count Pareis against the Karan Empire, stating they would not miss this opportunity to push back the Imperial army.
Then, a week later.
“Your Highness! Grand General Duke Raisha has achieved another victory!”
“Your Highness! Most of the 100,000 troops led by Count Pareis have perished, and Count Pareis himself has fallen in battle!”
“Damn it…!”
Prince Vaeis received news of Duke Raisha’s victory and Count Pareis’s defeat simultaneously.
