Chapter 280 – Eastern Front (1) *Rachel Business Suit Illustration*
Eastern Front (1)
With the signing of the Peace Treaty, the Balkan Army occupied the Streve Fortress, and the Tesseito Army also began withdrawing its forces as promised.
The Duke of Tiruen was directly in charge of the withdrawal of Tesseito’s army.
Although it was an unsuitable mission for the duke to handle personally, everyone supported his opinion that he wanted to take care of his men as a leader, so Tiruen personally comforted his soldiers and moved little by little toward the west.
‘In any case, Count Mulla has to remain on the southern front of the capital and rebuild his collapsed cavalry, and the Marquis of Grace has only recently recovered from his injuries, so he must be quickly returned to Carmarthen to finish his recuperation. Then he might be able to reach a slightly higher level. I guess I should take this opportunity to slowly cool my head and analyze the cause of this war.’
While leading his troops in a slow withdrawal procession, he was frightened to find that a corps of the Balkan Empire was ambushed on his way back.
“Hwiyu~ It’s such a shame to see those beggars… The Commander-in-Chief ordered our corps to finish up, so I was relishing it as an opportunity to make achievements day by day… Damn it!! Hehe”
“Hey guys~ Goodbye~ Don’t forget that if we had fought a little longer, our heads would have fallen on us~ Now you know how scary our imperial army is, right? If you don’t want your life, don’t even look at our Vulcan side from now on~ haha”
Although his soldiers’ morale was completely broken, and they were trudging along with their heads down because they had to continue their march despite being subjected to all kinds of ridicule, Ti Ruen’s eyes were shining.
‘Our Tesseito has found the target that must be eliminated first. It’s not the Red Emperor, it’s not the Liechtenauer, it’s not the damn Aragon years… From the plains of Zenon to Streve… It all went according to Count Mayer’s plan. Although the friendly army achieved a great victory at Symenotra, that was only because the enemy commander was still inexperienced… If, as the prisoners said, he had avoided fighting and engaged in a delayed battle, of course, Streb would have easily fallen, and the southern region would have fallen easily. The whole thing could have passed. When Mayer plans a plan, the emperor and his associates make it happen. If more talent like this appears in the Balkan Empire, our kingdom will never be able to surpass the Balkan Empire. Before that happens, we have to somehow get rid of Count Mayer.’
Tyruen was convinced that it was Mayer who had provoked him through Catherine and set the plan, and if it had not been for Mayer, he was confident that this war would have resulted in his victory. And while he was returning to Carmarthen, he began to gradually formulate a plan to eliminate Mayer.
Meanwhile, Mayer, who never dreamed that the enemy leader was making a long-term plan to target him, returned to Adria with the contributors of this battle and was enjoying a victory feast.
“Minister Mayer! I heard that His Majesty granted you a fiefdom for your achievements in this war, right? It’s a huge fiefdom that combines all the fiefdoms near Fort Streve. You probably don’t know that your rights as a margrave are enormous, but you can receive such a reward. “You’re rejecting me… Are you serious?”
“Oh my… Has the rumor already spread like that? His Majesty said he would make an official announcement tomorrow at the podium ceremony… Tsk tsk.”
Originally, they would have been nobles who did not speak to Mayer, a commoner-born nobleman, unless it was in a public setting, but he is greatly favored by the emperor and has a good relationship with other members of the imperial family, and this time, Mayer has achieved tremendous achievements and will immediately emerge as the core of power. There was no nobleman so foolish as to ignore.
That’s why Mayer was shaking his head as if his head was in pain, surrounded by a group of nobles.
‘Since I, a top contributor, refused the reward of receiving the territory near Streve, including the County of Le Delmo, as my fief, other people can’t just ask for the reward. And I have no intention of doing such a bothersome margrave mission anyway… As Minister of Defense, I am busy just managing the legionnaires!! Haha~ Anyway, my wife will be furious when she hears this news… How can I appease her?’
Mayer was more thorough than anyone else when it came to his duties, but the reason he showed off his outstanding ability was to handle all kinds of troublesome things in the most convenient way. Mayer thought that even if he were given a fiefdom, he wouldn’t have it, but he lived an elegant life as a countess in the fiefdom. In order to appease his wife, who dreamed of enjoying life, he had to think about what gift to buy.
“Wait a minute! Secretary Mayer. Let me ask you this. Why was the truce period set at three years? Isn’t the damage from this war a level of damage that our empire can recover from in one year? Rather, we should quickly occupy the southern part of Tesseito without a truce. Throwing it away…”
Mayer sighed when he saw an old count asking him a question.
He was a noble whose territory suffered a great blow during Tesseito’s invasion, and it seemed as if he had a deep grudge against Tesseito, so Mayer opened his mouth with an embarrassed expression.
“Ha… That’s…”
“I cannot explain that part here. Please understand that this is information that can only be disclosed to Vice Minister level or Corps Commander and above. I know very well that the Minister is someone who will not divulge information, but I ask you to be especially careful.”
The person who interrupted Mayer was Baron Robles, head of the intelligence department.
“Intelligence Chief! What kind of information is this? Is this information that not even our high-ranking nobles should know?”
“Yes, that’s right. If you really want to know, the Count, please ask His Majesty directly… If His Majesty deems you worthy, he will let you know at any time. Of course, it will be up to you to prove your abilities.”
Although he was a baron, the intelligence department’s authority was extremely brutal as it was an agency directly under the emperor, so the count gave up on obtaining additional information from the two men and returned to his post.
The same applied to other lower-ranking nobles who surrounded Mayer and tried to give him even a crumb of power, and when the surroundings finally became quiet, Baron Robles whispered to Mayer.
“Minister. His Majesty has summoned all the ministers and vice ministers. As you may have guessed…”
“I guess that’s because of the example… Haha, as soon as the problem in the west ended, trouble broke out in the east…”
“Her Majesty also said that after seeing the princesses briefly, she will attend with the Empress and the Empress. Please go quickly.”
During the Battle of Streve, Juno, who was keeping the northwest in check in the County of Akel in preparation for any unexpected situation, returned to the imperial palace as soon as the battle was over.
Diane, Rachel, and Hiria, who were unable to meet Eliza during the war because she was taking care of the babies, and who supported the war effort by focusing on internal affairs; Kurimu and Miruku, who helped Eliza raise her children; and Yuno, who met Miri and shared stories for a day. Immediately returned to his duties as emperor and held a meeting.
And the fact that Yuno, who cared for his women more than anything else, returned to government work in just one day meant that this case was that serious.
When Maier and Baron Robles entered the royal palace, other ministers and vice ministers were also sitting in their seats, so they bowed their heads for a moment and then took their seats.
And finally, when Chancellor and Minister of Finance Rachel stood on the podium, Liechtenauer dismissed all the knights and guards, and at the same time, Juno, Eliza, and Catherine sat down at the head table and the meeting began.
“Before we start the meeting… Thank you for giving up your territory according to Myer Jim’s wishes. Thanks to you, strengthening the Western Front will be a little easier.”
Instead of ceding the territory to the nobles, Juno planned to establish the territory near Streve under the direct control of the Western Legion, so he began by praising Mayer for obediently giving up the territory according to his will.
“It’s no big deal. Instead, I need to appease my wife, so please give me a generous reward.”
Haha, you really are the same. I’ve been saying for a long time that you should know one thing about revealing money, right?”
Thanks to the conversation between Yuno and Mayer, the slightly frozen atmosphere of the conference room melted, and the air became slightly warmer.
“Okay then, let’s start the meeting now. Please explain Baron Robles’ situation once again. The executive branch, judiciary, and cultural propaganda department probably don’t know the details.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. As you said, I will explain the current situation of our country. Thanks to the activities of His Majesty the Emperor and Minister Mayer, our country succeeded in repulsing the invasion of the Zeno Plain by the Kingdom of Tesseito, taking advantage of the previous civil war, and regaining Fortress Streve. In addition, the fact that he succeeded in subjugating the Holy Kingdom of Johannes to a vassal state and that the internal affairs were stable even during the war can be said to have created a national power that was greater than that of the previous era of His Majesty Karl III. It’s thanks to the policy and generous benevolence.”
“By all means, Baron Robles. Stop painting Jim’s face with gold and continue explaining.”
Perhaps because of his excessive ability, these days, he stopped Baron Robles, who was showing off his abilities despite flattery, and Yuno demanded that he continue to explain.
“Yes. Intelligence came in that the political conflict that had been causing chaos in the Kingdom of Leon while the Tesseitos were rampaging in the west had come to an end. King Charles IV of Leon eventually subdued Princess Fiona, and Princess Fiona and her followers took control of Polly. It is said that he took refuge in Gal Island.”
Eliza and Rachel’s eyebrows twitched at Baron Robles’ explanation.
Even though they were naturalized in Balkan and are each in charge of the empress and prime minister, and her sister also serves Juno as her man, Fiona was their precious older sister, and they even received the grace of protecting them when they were in Leon.
*Prime Minister Rachel entering the meeting illustration modern version*
