"We can't go to another country. There, we have no roots, no security. At least here we are safe, but what happens once we go out and get caught?" It was one of the elders responsible for tax collection who instantly rejected Jonas' proposal. Everyone was silent, but it was more of a silent agreement with him. They all had the same opinion, and none were ready to go to another country to hide and start anew. Such a stance made Jonas furious. He slammed the table and shouted, "Is your brain already so rotten that you can't even understand this simple thing? What kind of safety are you expecting here?" Looking everyone in the eyes who were sitting across the long rectangular table with his scrutinizing gaze from the head seat, Joan clicked his tongue. "If not for the recent assassination attack on Luke, his serious condition, and the public execution of Greenbergs, those lunatics of Light would have already barged into this castle with the Royal family to take you all into custod
A few days later, a news spread again throughout the kingdom. ———————————————— [Culprits of the Spades ran away?] [You heard it correctly: everyone—the people from the main Spade family who were accused of cooperating with the Demon Organization had run away.] [They disappeared without a trace, and their whereabouts remain unknown.] ———————————————— It was rumored that they had fled to another country to escape prosecution. This new information was published in every article, poster, newspaper, and magazine. The public immediately cursed the Spade family main line, and turned against them. "What? There must be a thief in those people's hearts." "I agree, or else why would they run away instead of cooperating in the investigation with the church?" "Most probably, it's the whole Spade family who is mixed in this." "I didn't like them in the first place, and recently, with so many of their scandals coming out, I am afraid there's really something wrong with them." "Wooo, I
Although these days could be said to have given me a lot of free time since I was on bed rest in public opinion, the reality was actually totally opposite. Even with the assistance of my parents, who took care of all the additional administrative tasks associated with annexing Greenbergs, I still had a lot of work to do and could only sleep for a maximum of two hours each day. Not only was it necessary for me to move around from location to location to check for betrayers and riots and to reposition my own people, but I also had to monitor the activities of other parties, such as Dawn Spades, the Royal family, the Red Storm family, and others. Particularly, the Red Storms, who had the King's tacit support and were doing everything in their power to prevent us from taking over Greenberg's estate, Thankfully, with the aid of my [Twilight Organization], we were able to successfully expand the boundary of our Steeline Duchy and absorb the previous Greenbergs' estate into our own within
Desolate Frozen Lands, Eastern Part of the Demonic Mountain Range, Extreme End of Northern Territory BordersThere was a fierce battle going on between the formidable army of the Nix Royal family, led by Princess Catherine, and the relentless forces of the Demons. The snow-covered terrain served as the backdrop for this epic confrontation.Recognized for their long history of brave warriors, this army assembled by the Nix Royal family consisted of specialists from a wide variety of fields.In the midst of the mayhem and confusion of battle, Catherine's voice cut through the din with its authoritative tone and unwavering resolve."Soldiers of the Nix Royal Family! Today, we face the demonic forces that seek to devour our land and our people! With every ounce of strength within us, we shall fight! Charge forward, my warriors! Slay the demons and secure this land for humanity!"Her voice reverberated across the battlefield with unwavering resolve, inspiring hope and igniting a fire with
"Gather around, my loyal soldiers! We find ourselves encircled by these relentless demons, with our retreat blocked. We must act swiftly and decisively if we are to survive."Catherine, recognizing the gravity of the situation, called upon her soldiers with her leadership skills and rallied them to stand strong against the demons.Upon hearing her orders, the generals and commander surrounded her with a serious and heavy expression on their faces.Then, the oldest and most senior among them inquired."The situation is very serious, Princess Catherine. What should we do now?""I know, General, but we cannot afford to falter or lose hope. Listen closely, I have a plan. Our only chance is to pierce through this Demon encirclement and create an opening for our retreat.""Princess, how do you propose we achieve that? The demons outnumber us, and their power is formidable.""Indeed, General Blurd, but we had no choice left. With the numbers of these demons, today, there are chances that we
A few hours later,Steeline Duchy, Sari City, and Steeline Castle.News of what happened in the Northern Territory was quickly conveyed to Luke by Catherine herself after she successfully defeated the Demons with the help of the people of the Church."You didn't get too injured, did you?""Don't worry, my dear husband, I took appropriate precautions and was careful during my fight. It will take a few days for me to completely heal, and then we would leave for the Royal Capital.""Good, and hearing your cheerful voice, it looks like your mission was a great success.""Yes! Just like you have ordered, I pushed the whole army secretly to that location and even announced that I would sacrifice myself, and at the right time, Lucia came with the army of the church and helped us through this predicament.""Wonderful, I am proud of you. Once you come back, I will reward you generously. Hehe..""Cough! Cough!I didn't say what reward I would give, but Catherine's fake coughs told me that she u
The time to kill with a borrowed knife was over. Since we knew Spade's plan, I immediately left for the Northern Territory, and disguised myself as Kevin's Master with the help of a [Transformation Card] I bought from the system. With the help of Daphne, I had already spread the rumor that Daphne had asked her fiancee to call his master to help the Edmund family. I had also properly instructed Edmund about the addition of a person who would be able to help us in our mission. Thus, when I showed up disguised as Kevin's Master, no one suspected a thing. Only Edmund and Daphne were aware that I was a fake, someone I hired, because my face resembled Kevin's master exactly. It was a funny situation, and I have no intention of telling them that it was me. As for how I got the appearance description of Kevin's Master to use for my Transformation card, it was simple, because I wasn't sitting and swatting flies here in Steeline Territory. In these last ten years, I had dug out any possi
What happened in the Northern Territory couldn't remain hidden for long. Word-of-mouth helped spread the news even further, especially about the people in the spotlight, and soon it had spread throughout the Kingdom, piqueing the interest of a number of Nobles. Two male members of the Count Azalea family of the Northern Territory, who were among the first to get the news, also couldn't help but gossip about it. "Did you hear that? Daphne's fiancée's master, is helping Marquis Edmund Spades?" "I have, and I also know that he has contributed a lot in the recent situation." "I know, they say his strength is almost at the level of a Peak grandmaster, and from what I heard, he wasn't alone; he had multiple master level comrades in black robes and masks, who were obeying his order as live slavs." "For real?" "100%" And when they discussed and realized the strength of the people involved, who were the Key players in these battles, they were shocked. ... Royal Capital, Imperial City