“…” Serpina didn’t say anything, but she clearly expressed her thoughts by the icy glare she burrowed into Zich. He probably died a hundred or thousand times already in her mind through all kinds of torture, but Zich didn’t care.
‘She can’t do anything about it anyway.’ No matter how much the other party threatened to harm him, if they couldn’t transfer their thoughts into action, it made no effect on reality. Zich was also not the type to fight another party for their imagination.
“If you understood that, let’s separate now.” Zich took one step back and said, “It seems you really like that chair, so I will lend it to you for a while and take it back later. If you need something to take out your anger on, you can also break it into pieces. I can at least give up a chair for the esteemed Clowon princess, and you can think of the chair as me when you break it apart. Ah, if you want, I could also write my name on it.”
Then, Zich took out a pen and ink as he spoke. Lyla thought Zich was really one of the world’s best in mocking others and gaped in astonishment.
“…Aren’t you curious about the scheme surrounding the Steelwall Estate?” Perhaps, Serpina had finally realized the position she was in. After looking like she was about to spit all sorts of curses at him, she suddenly made an unexpected remark. It seemed like she was trying to show that she still had another trick up her sleeve. Yet, Zich paid no heed to what she said again.
“I don’t need you to tell me. I already have a general guess anyway.” Zich looked at her from above as if he was looking down on her and said, “There’s going to be a war, right?”
Serpina didn’t answer, but even this response answered his question.
“A war?” In comparison, Lyla appeared to be very surprised. “Who with whom?”
“Steelwall with probably Flaud.”
“…That’s your father’s family against your mother’s family.”
“That’s right,” Zich spoke calmly even about a war involving both his families. “It’s not really surprising though. The Steelwalls and Flauds have exchanged attacks and blood with one another for generations.”
Although the purpose of the marriage between his father and mother was to reconcile these two families, that had backfired from a betrayal and the two families’ relationship was even worse than before the affair. Considering this, it wouldn’t be a strange thing for them to go to war at all.
“Isn’t it a reach for the two families to go to war in this situation?”Lyla asked.
It didn’t seem like Zich was talking about a minor clash between two families in the way that he worded it, but a large-scale military war. The two estates belonged to separate countries and were both border provinces of their respective kingdoms. The clash between these two estates would likely lead to a war between the two kingdoms.
Of course, the entire kingdoms could not go to war, and only the neighboring and central regions might give their support, thus leading to a smaller war, but even this smaller scale was comparatively bigger than a simple clash between estates. Also, there was the problem of all the attention currently on the Steelwall Estate. In their current situation, a war, especially one that would involve two kingdoms, would seem like too much for Steelwall Estate to handle.
“Wouldn’t it be a great burden for the Flaud Estate too?” Lyla thought the Flaud Estate would naturally instigate the war first since the Steelwall Estate was too preoccupied with other matters to do so. However, she soon changed her opinion and said, “No, I suppose the Steelwall Estate could start the war too.”
The Steelwall Estate could try to eliminate the chaos surrounding them using war. The estate’s reputation might worsen, but Steelwall could at least tightly gather and bind the worried nobles and their citizens in the name of war. Yet, Zich shook his head.
“No, the Flaud Estate will make the first move.”
“As I thought. Like I said before, it would burden them too,” Lyla said. The Steelwall Estate might actually be glad to have this war since an enemy from the outside appeared at just the right time for them to unite their internal forces again.
“Yes, but if a situation that can ease their burden arises, it will be a different story.” As if he was checking his guesses, Zich explained to Lyla without taking his eyes off Serpina. Then, he continued, “First of all, the Stellwall Estate is accused of serving the Bellids. You are aware of that, right?”
“Yes, I know.”
Even though the Steelwall Estate denied these claims fervently and searched their estate to find the Bellids personally, they were still not free from their accusations. The Bellid followers had infiltrated far too deep and destroyed their reputation.
“While that’s ongoing, the Bellids did such a huge thing as destroying the Horus Gorge. Now, that wouldn’t have mattered so much if it had only caused damage to the Steelwall Estate.”
“…It probably hurt the Flaud Estate too, right?”
“Yeah, a pretty big one at that.”
“They might ask for compensation from the Steelwall Estate for the damages they received and provoke them.”
“Since the Steelwalls are accused of supporting the Bellids, they could make perfect use of that too.”
“If they start their war on that basis, the Cronon Kingdom will be hesitant to support the Steelwall Estate.”
They were forming a clearer picture now.
“Will the kingdom not provide any support to the Steelwall Estate still? Even if Count Steelwall is accused of following the Bellids, there’s no clear proof of that. Furthermore, Steelwall Estate is clearly part of the Cronon Kingdom while the Flaud Estate belongs to another one.”
If Flaud Estate swallowed up the Steelwall Estate, the Cronon Kingdom’s forces and territory would decrease; it was unlikely the kingdom would let that be.
“They probably have a handy method for that.”
“Like what?”
“You know how I told you that destruction of the Horus Gorge will damage three estates?”
“…Is a third force going to appear then?”
“Yeah.” Zich nodded. “There’s an estate called Pinne, which is a small estate next to the Steelwall Estate. They are pretty indifferent to each other, but the problem is that they also received a significant amount of damage from this event as well.”
From the model that Zich saw in the Bellid temple near Violsa, he saw that the planned lake was also supposed to sink the Pinne Estate. Of course, since the gorge’s collapse had only succeeded halfway, the water didn’t rise as much as the model indicated, but Zich was sure that the Pinne Estate had suffered a significant amount of damage.
“The Pinne Estate is part of the Cronon Kingdom. If they go to war against the Steelwall Estate, it would become a civil war between two estates in the Cronon Kingdom.”
“Is the Pinne Estate strong?”
“Not at all.” Their military strength was like any normal estate. Compared to the Steelwall Estate, which had more military power than most marquess estates as the Iron Fortress, their strength would be considered puny.
“Won’t they have a strong ally this time? Even though the Flaud Estate is from a foreign country, they’re both estates that received great damage from the vile Steelwall Estate’s ‘conspiracy.’” Lyla was talking about the potential alliance between the Flaud Estate and Pinne Estate.
“Then, many things would be solved for the Flaud Estate. The Pinne Estate already received a lot of damage from the Steelwall Estate, which already has tons of bad rumors slandering it, so if they fight the Steelwall Estate, they’re merely retaliating with a just cause. Then, naturally, it won’t become a war between different countries, but an internal civil war. The Flaud Estate will argue that they were merely sending out forces as an estate that also received the same damage as the Pinne Estate.”
“The Flaud Estate will make up the main force, right?”
“Well, it can’t be helped. Their new friend who suffered just as much as them are too lacking in strength to fight against a powerful villain.”
“Then, what will the Flaud Estate gain from this? If they win like this, the Pinne Estate will merely swallow up the Steelwall Estate.”
“The Pinne Estate will probably also give out some of Steelwall’s land, but what the Flaud family wants the most is probably the complete collapse of the Steelwall Estate.”
Zich recalled the information about Steelwall’s situation that he made his underling investigate before he regressed. According to the information, Steelwall’s opponents made sure to thoroughly kill off even all the servants, and everything in the Steelwall Estate was crushed and destroyed. It was the action of someone with a deep hatred towards the Steelwalls.
‘Well, that can happen if the Steelwall Estate fell under a ruthless Demon Person, but...’ Since he lived during a time when all kinds of Demon People wreaked havoc throughout the world, this thought wasn’t too far-fetched. However, Zich was sure that the culprit who ruined the Steelwall Estate back then was the Flaud Estate.
“The collapse of the Steelwall Estate would be an extremely joyous event for the Flaud Estate as someone who was enemies with them for a long time. Moreover, since the Steelwall Estate is an especially strong estate in the Cronon Kingdom, they can significantly reduce their neighboring country’s total military strength. Moreover, there’s no guarantee that the Pinne Estate will be able to properly control and take care of the Steelwall Estate, and it’s even less likely that they’ll become as strong as the Steelwall Estate. If there is a low chance that this becomes possible, it will also take a significantly long time.”
If they won this war, everything will go according to Count Flaud’s will. He could pressure the Pinne Estate with superior military power and decrease their authority, and if he wanted to start a war, it would be much easier for him to swallow up the entire estate. This was a winning battle for the Flaud Estate in every way.
“Additionally, if Karuwiman’s Honorary Knight Glen Zenard also lends his support to the Flaud Estate, things would go even more smoothly.”
Lyla recalled how Zich said that Glen Zenard was definitely plotting a conspiracy. “Perhaps, do you think this is Glen Zenard’s plan?”
“That’s what I think.” It was a well-developed plan but also extremely difficult to carry out. There were way too many things to prepare such as the alliance between the Flaud and Pinne Estate, the infiltration of Bellids in the Steelwall Estate, and so on. However, as someone who repeatedly regressed, it was completely within Glen Zenard’s abilities.
“If Glen Zenard really collaborated with the Flaud Estate, no wonder the Steelwall Estate couldn’t do anything to stop its collapse.” Even if the Karuwimans had not been directly involved in this affair, the Steelwall Estate would have received significant damage by the sole fact that a Karuwiman Honorary Knight was siding with the Flaud Estate. Glen Zenard and his party members’ powers were also an added bonus.
“However, the effect this time hasn’t been that great.”
“Well, it’s a no-brainer since I’m an Honorary Knight just like him, and I’m siding with Steelwall.”
“Of course, I’m not saying that Glen Zenard doesn’t have another plan. Since it’s true that I’m from Steelwall, he could argue that I can’t properly distinguish between my affection for my family and work.”
“How ridiculous.”
“Yeah, it’s ridiculous.”
If someone knew the true relationship between Zich and the Steelwall family, it was an argument that no one would make. However, not a lot of people knew the details of their relationship. On the other hand, there were way more people who thought they had a strong relationship through shared blood ties.
“Anyway, this is the extent of my guess.” Zich stared at Serpina. “So, Princess, what do you think about my speculation? Do you still think that the cards you’re holding are so valuable to me?”
“…” Serpina did not open her mouth to speak.
Zich laughed in satisfaction and then stared at Lyla. “My speculations are correct.” If he were wrong, Serpina would have reacted differently. Then, Serpina also realized that Zich confirmed his speculations by her reaction and bit her lips.
However, Zich had no intentions of sympathizing with her. “By the way, Princess, do you have any other cards in your deck? Try taking out anything, since you really need one to persuade me.” Instead, his eyes glinted with the intention to steal more information from her.