Wortenia Senki (LN) - Volume 21 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue

The cold and beautiful glow of the pale moonlight spilled into the room. Washed by that light, a man pondered what he would do in his office at the McMaster home in Pireas’s noble quarter.

“What to do?” Viscount McMaster looked at the letter set atop his ebony desk in concern, his mind going in circles. Joining the Mikoshiba barony’s side now, after all this time?

Doubt ate away at his heart, spurred by this letter inviting him to defect. If he chose to do so, the McMaster viscounty could gain much under the Mikoshiba barony’s rule after the war ended. Doing so was tantamount to throwing away the viscounty’s pride as a house loyal to the kingdom since its founding.

Profit and dignity. Those conflicting emotions tugged at Viscount McMaster’s heart in two directions. But a beauty clad in man’s clothing laughed his concerns off.

“Father... How long are you going to keep brooding over this? How long will the head of the warrior House McMaster be so pathetic?” said Rosetta with a shrug.

Those were harsh words to direct at her father, and Viscount McMaster would typically scold her angrily for doing that. Though, he didn’t have it in him to deny her words. He glared at his daughter, smiling on the sofa, and sank back into his thoughts. Seeing this, Rosetta sighed.

My word... Why is father so conflicted? There’s only one way for us to survive, thought Rosetta.

She knew agonizing over a decision wasn’t a bad thing. That concern expressed prudence, and recklessly jumping into decisions without proper contemplation could cause painful outcomes.

But there’s a time and place for that. Thinking too hard about things could be a hindrance if it took too long. Especially at times like this.

As far as Rosetta could tell, the war was all but decided. There were still tens of thousands of soldiers stationed in the capital, so one could assume there was still a chance they could turn the tables. Mikhail Vanash and Meltina Lecter were preparing the capital for a decisive battle at that very moment. But Rosetta doubted that they could win.

Pireas’s gates and walls are sturdy. Its moats are deep and it has sufficient food reserves. It would be possible to remain holed up in this city for six months under siege. But then what?

To successfully survive a siege, one needed plenty of food and the promise of reinforcements. Rosetta noted Queen Lupis lacked both.

They could only get reinforcements from the kingdom’s south since they have already drawn soldiers from all the domains adjacent to the capital. With Robert Bertrand and Signus Galveria stationed in the southern regions, sending supplies or soldiers will be impossible. Also, Her Majesty’s generals are all gathered in the capital, leaving no authority figures to lead the southern soldiers. Besides, few could hope to beat Count Salzberg’s Twin Blades.

It wasn’t a difficult conclusion, and Rosetta realized this with her rudimentary strategic knowledge. Even if Lupis Rhoadserians won, the kingdom’s fate would still take a dark turn.

Given Her Majesty’s abilities, that’s what’ll happen.

The fact Queen Lupis’s northern subjugation had failed despite having an army of two hundred thousand men put an indelible blot on her reputation. Defeating the Mikoshiba barony wouldn’t suffice to clear her name.

Mikhail and Meltina seem to think that just winning this battle would inspire the nobles to obey Queen Lupis, but that won’t happen.

Noble houses that sacrificed much for this war wouldn’t soon acknowledge Queen Lupis’s authority. This wasn’t to say Lupis’s side didn’t need to win, but winning wasn’t enough.

Her winning this battle is just a prerequisite. What matters is how she’ll placate the nobles’ discontent after that. But...

Queen Lupis would typically split up the Mikoshiba barony’s domain among those houses who fought at her side, but this was the price she had already offered the nobles in return for their participation in the northern subjugation. Moreover, the citadel city of Epirus was razed and lost all its function as a city.

The northern regions becoming a battlefield ravaged those lands, and most fatally, their population was scattered. Even if the war ended, rebuilding the north would take time—more than a year or two to heal these wounds.

What noble would want land in that state as their reward?

The prize wasn’t worth the effort it took to get it. The nobles would start doubting the royal house’s authority and power, and those doubts would inevitably cause more war.

There’s little that can prevent that. Right now, Queen Lupis can only make one of two choices.

To dispel the nobles’ discontent, Queen Lupis would have to sell the royal house’s domain to reward the nobles, or else pick the bloodstained path of slaying all nobles who spoke up against her.

And she has far too little time to make her decision. If her bad habits take over and she refuses to make a choice, it’ll just end in another civil war. “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” as the old saying went. And Queen Lupis lacked the strength necessary to overcome that. If she had that strength, she’d have surrendered before things got this bad. No, the moment she chose to take up arms against that man, it became obvious just how little she was capable of.

Anyone with a good eye could tell Queen Lupis’s defeat was at hand. When faced with such situations, people acted to protect themselves, and Ryoma knew that.

After all, he hosted that evening party.

Ryoma Mikoshiba was skilled at reading people’s hearts, which inspired Counts Zeleph and Bergstone to discard their positions as nobles in the crown’s service and join his side. Other nobles must have received letters like the one Viscount McMaster had.

I can’t say for certain, but I’m sure at least Viscount Olgren got one too. And knowing this shrewd relative of theirs, he was unlikely to make the wrong choice. No, knowing the viscount, he’s stubborn enough to join Baron Mikoshiba’s conquest.

Based on Ryoma’s many connections and popularity, he would likely work under the surface. For all Rosetta knew, he was having a secret talk with some noble or another at that very moment.

In other words, Mikhail and Meltina’s plans of winning the battle for the capital are nothing short of daydreams.

Regardless of whether Viscount McMaster joined the Mikoshiba barony, this war would end the same way. Ryoma Mikoshiba had prepared well enough to ensure that, and the viscount’s decision mattered little to the young warlord.

From our perspective, whether we join forces with the Mikoshiba barony is the difference between falling into ruin and rising into prosperity, mused Rosetta.

Once Ryoma Mikoshiba won, he would likely deem any noble house that didn’t obey him unnecessary and exile them. At worst, those seen as dangerous would head to the gallows along with their entire line.

He’s kind to his allies, but just the same, he’s ruthless to his enemies. Rosetta naturally preferred to side with the Mikoshiba barony. But the decision is father’s, and he...

Diggle McMaster was a stubborn, hardheaded man. In terms of his social disposition, he was a difficult person to handle. But Rosetta knew he was capable concerning martial matters. He didn’t quite compare to Count Salzberg’s Twin Blades. Nevertheless, he was highly regarded as a warrior and commander.

Although Viscount McMaster was a fine governor, he wasn’t as skilled a politician as Count Bergstone. But his commoners respected him, since he was a relatively good ruler, unlike the nobles who only cared for their riches. Putting aside her bias as his daughter, Diggle McMaster was a capable leader.

If father is lacking in anything, it’s luck.

No matter how capable he might be, it was all useless without a time and place to put those skills on display. He also wasn’t one to flatter others, which led to him being regarded coldly in noble society and only made things worse. Because of this, Rosetta wished her father would grasp this opportunity that fell into his lap.

The other problem is whether father can make that decision.

She understood his misgivings—his warrior’s honor and pride as a member of a house that traced its lineage to the kingdom’s founding days. So he would hesitate before casting it all away. Considering the future of House McMaster, he had to choose right there and then.

Should I make the decision for him?

This action was a last resort for Rosetta, and it would ruin her relationship with her father. The fact he forced his daughter to go that far would surely shatter Viscount McMaster’s pride. He’d rather die than see that happen.

But even so, I...

Were they to prioritize their house’s survival, or to cling to their aristocratic pride and embrace death? Rosetta sighed as she glanced at her father, still tormented by those conflicting emotions. She prayed her father would have the foresight to accept the chance that leaped into his lap.

She prayed to her deceased twin sibling, asking him to protect the McMaster viscounty’s future.

†

That day, hundreds of knights walked through the main street of Pireas in an orderly line, flying the banner of the Church of Meneos. This knight unit had escorted Cardinal Roland in the northern subjugation left behind in the capital.

The knight unit was only there as a reserve force in case of an emergency. They were headed to the town of Galatia in Winzel county, near the border, after which they would leave the country.

While the knights thought this order came out of nowhere, they couldn’t go against Cardinal Roland. The Mikoshiba barony forces deployed near the capital were informed to let them leave. Even with these doubts, they had to obey the order to retreat.

But a man watched over their departure with cold eyes and said, “I had my doubts, but the rumors that the Church is pulling out of the capital are true.”

A single carriage stood on the side of the road and inside sat Viscount Furio Gelhart glaring at the Church’s flag. He once led Rhoadseria’s nobles’ faction as one of the strongest people in the country. Still, he got demoted to viscount status after the last civil war.

Gelhart would have devoted his life to Queen Lupis for sparing him, but this man had attempted to take over the kingdom. His failures had made him more audacious, so even while serving Lupis, he was determined to spin as many plots as necessary to regain the glory of his heyday.

Seeing the Church of Meneos leave the capital meant he needed to revise his painstakingly crafted plans.

“Curse the Church... Are they completely abandoning Lupis?” hissed Viscount Gelhart, his expression contorted in anger and panic.

The Church’s retreat could be a fatal blow to Queen Lupis.

Queen Lupis would have had a chance to turn things around if it’d just been losing in the northern subjugation. But with this...

Indeed, the departure of a few hundred knights of the Church of Meneos was inconsequential. The problem wasn’t in their military presence, though.

The issue is that the Church leaving gives the impression the gods are no longer on her side, and that’s an emotional fulcrum. Suppressing the unrest will cause soldiers to be uneasy.

The soldiers would feel the justice they fought for and believed in had crumbled away. This retreat gave the impression that God had abandoned the soldiers holed up in Pireas, and the citizens felt this. And the same applied to the Third Knight Order tasked with escorting them to gates.

They likely want to flee the capital too.

No one wanted to stay on a sinking ship. The same was true for the nobles and commoners.

“I’ll have to act quickly after all,” whispered Viscount Gelhart as he began plotting his next play. He knew he wouldn’t be able to get out of this predicament alone, and his only recourse was to join forces with someone else. The question was whom. I’ll have to exclude houses that took significant losses during the northern subjugation.

Any houses that took heavy blows during the war would hold a great grudge against the Mikoshiba barony. Having their heads or heirs slain in the conflict would make them regard Baron Mikoshiba as their most hated nemesis. They would likely fight, even if they got wiped out. Teaming up with people like that would just be a pointless risk to the viscount.

And among the ones not hurt by the war, I should avoid those too foolish to look at the bigger picture.

Loyalty to the just cause and the royal house was crucial for the nobles, but that was only a pretense. All that mattered to them was self-preservation by surviving and ensuring their bloodline continued in the next generation. Sometimes, people mistook their pretenses for their true intentions.

Sticking to your loyalty to the royal house can make it harder to maneuver when the time comes. 

Despite the fact that being branded as a traitor had its issues, loyalty meant nothing if it bound you in place as your house fell. The important part was knowing where to draw a line between pretenses and one’s true intentions.

Which leaves...

With those conditions in mind, Viscount Gelhart narrowed down the list of candidates. The faces of different nobles crossed his mind. Among the hundreds of noble houses in Rhoadseria, there were, for better and for worse, few people who applied at a time like this.

After a few minutes of contemplation, the viscount narrowed his options to one man.

Yes, he might do.

The face of one fastidious, militaristic noble came to mind as his skills were satisfactory and had plenty of merit. He did have his problems. The man was the head of one of Rhoadseria’s few warrior houses. They were a noble family but closer in nature to knights. As such, they opposed Viscount Gelhart during the year he held power over the nobles’ faction.

I wouldn’t want to meet the man if I could help it, but now...

Few nobles in Rhoadseria had sound judgment, and this noble’s house didn’t participate in the northern subjugation. When he obeyed Queen Lupis’s call to arms and led soldiers to the capital, they couldn’t assist on the battlefield because of recent injuries from an accident. That implied he didn’t fixate on loyalty. Given that he came to the capital with an army and was a capable commander, he was the ideal man for this task.

We should put aside any personal grievances for now. 

Most importantly, no one else fit all the criteria. Gelhart then instructed his driver to head to Viscount McMaster’s estate, where he arrived as an unexpected guest. Once there, he and the viscount proceeded to the estate’s lawn under the gentle sunrays, and their discussion would influence the war between Ryoma Mikoshiba and Lupis Rhoadserians.