Chapter 94 - 8-8
It was not only Bishop Kofie who had taken notice of the filthy preacher named Bugis.
Bureaucrats under Gilma Rigardie, stationed in Delroy, were present in the square, as were spies placed for political purposes by Glen Hilboro of the Royal Army.
They reported the change in Delroy's atmosphere to their respective employers.
The only ones absent were the spies from the East, though there was one exception.
Laje Jink, the special advisor to the Dravar family of Saranti.
For Laje, political activity was a job for the sake of eating. He performed his duties with precision, but it was not something he committed himself to with genuine passion.
—Because he was a mage.
Laje wanted to prioritize his magical training.
However, the domestic situation had taken on an urgency that did not permit such a frivolous attitude. To Laje's surprise, Siddim seemed on the verge of losing to the Kosa people.
Though it was not his true desire, the mage Laje put his heart into political activities.
Eastern Saranti was the only territory in the East to have repelled the rule of the Thora family. With this success, they had cut all ties with the East and West, reaching a position where they could behave as if they were an independent nation within Siddim.
Saranti had attained a position where it could establish a direct enfeoffment relationship only with the Royal Family. Until then, they had been connected to the Royal Family via Ganlord. That Ganlord had fallen under the rule of Dico Thora, and the relationship with the Dravar family had been severed.
The Dravar family had leaped forward to become direct vassals of the Royal Family. Utilizing this relationship, it might have been possible to increase Saranti's influence in the surrounding areas.
The head of the house, Marchioness Helderica Dravar, did not do so.
Eerily and solemnly, she prepared her military forces. That was the impressive part.
Many former members of the Royal Army had also fled to Saranti.
Laje's mission, in essence, was to recruit personnel from across all of Siddim to command them.
Having finished reaching out to the noteworthy talents in the East, Laje Jink had come to the West. A political advisor named Arnosh Dracy, who served as Laje's superior, had opposed this, but since Laje was originally from the West, he felt more at ease operating there.
Encountering Bugis's speech in Delroy was a coincidence.
He had simply happened to visit the square and listened.
For a few days, Bugis had gathered crowds with great vigor. Soon, the Thora family conducted a crackdown, and after that, he ceased to appear. There were eyewitness reports that he was working as a temple servant at the Delroy Cathedral, but it remained uncertain.
As if replacing Bugis, a rumor spread through the city.
'Laicanel Thora is returning.'
The reason for the imprisonment of the Thora family's eldest son was unclear. Vague stories of unknown origin whispered that there had been irregularities in the accounting of the Third Army.
Even so, his term of service had been long.
Whether the citizens of Delroy welcomed the rumors of Laicanel, it could not necessarily be said that they did. Everyone was undecided on their attitude. Many citizens were likely watching the reactions of those around them.
What determined public opinion was the sermon given by the Bishop of Siddim at the Delroy Cathedral.
'I have once again—'
The Bishop of Siddim reportedly let his voice ring out resonantly through the packed cathedral.
'—heard joyful news. It seems the son of a hero shall return to save this country.'
It was said that thunderous applause would not subside within the hall.
Immediately after this, a tragedy occurred in the outskirts of Delroy City.
It was Delroy City, the center of the Thora family's territory. Even in Delroy City, a faction had emerged that had given up on the Thora family and was flattering the Hilboro family. They were people such as former nobles and former vassals who had been treated coldly by the Thora family.
In order to arrange for corrective measures, they gathered at a tavern in the outskirts.
Then, masked men stormed in. They were fervent supporters of the Thora family. Through their surprise attack, the Hilboro faction was annihilated in an instant.
Laje rushed to the scene immediately after the incident.
It was ghastly. Beheaded corpses had been blown back to the rear of the shop. It was a state where pieces of flesh were stuck to the ceiling. Splattered blood adhered everywhere—to tables, to walls—dripping down. This, apparently, was the Delroy way.
The Hilboro family likely understood the meaning of this incident correctly. They issued no particular statement. The preparations for Laicanel Thora's return were completely finished. As if seeing through this, Laicanel returned to Delroy, bringing Ness de Syllabus of Karnain with him.
The city boiled over. It became a festival atmosphere.
Laje Jink smelled the scent of artifice and drafted a report to send to Saranti.
'I believe we should utilize this movement. I will investigate the background and attempt contact.'
—As if I'll be played.
Laicanel resolved firmly.
He could not afford to be carried away. He would end up being played by Yugis.
—I won't be played.
The city and the roadsides were overflowing with people welcoming him.
A flower-selling girl threw all the flowers in her basket—which were likely her livelihood—high, high into the air. Simply because she wanted to celebrate Laicanel. Amidst the scattering petals, Laicanel returned on horseback.
Everyone was smiling. Every face that entered his vision was smiling. Smiles crowded the windows of two-story houses. Looking back, a procession had formed, led by children. Everyone simply followed him.
What were they saying? They were shouting something in joy.
However, their joy was the result of being engineered and guided in that direction.
Yugis Necrat was a sinful man.
There was no way it was acceptable to toy with people's feelings like this.
—What is wrong with making people happy?
The youth from the East with dark eyes would likely say.
You have defiled this moment, Laicanel would answer—however. Even so.
Laicanel did not know how many times he had regretted the appalling foolishness of embracing the Queen. He thought this feeling had petrified and clung to his interior, leaving a sense of foreignness for the rest of his life.
And yet now, the sense of self-reproach sank to the bottom of his stomach and settled.
Even if this was a fabricated scene created by Yugis.
He was grateful for his hometown. Perhaps the gratitude for one's hometown was similar to what people call a mother. Embracing the return of a prodigal son, or so they say.
I will think no more of it, Laicanel thought. Everyone is smiling. Laicanel should also be smiling. If he thought too deeply, he felt he might be moved to tears.
Laicanel's mother was named Edna, and she was so thin it was hard to believe she had given birth to children.
With a posture straight as a needle, wearing clothes that were strict rather than elegant, she walked with a displeased face perched on her thin neck. In her hair, pulled back in a way unbefitting a noblewoman, white strands had increased. There was no sign of consideration to give a favorable impression to others, such as by dyeing it.
Laicanel exchanged an embrace with his mother that lacked any emotional connection.
Applause broke out from the surrounding vassals.
Laicanel held no particular impression.
He merely felt a sense of nostalgia seeing the contempt floating on his mother's thin, grayish lips. She was a person who loathed the spoiled nature of boys or the weakness of men, never hesitated to use sharp-tongued vitriol, and always made everyone mindful of her mood.
He wondered how she had managed to get along with his father.
His mother would calmly hurl words of contempt at her husband, Sedias Thora, and for his father, his mother was always an object of ridicule.
However, when the two of them were alone, there were times they would speak calmly for hours.
They weren't blooming with old stories. He realized later that they were devising strategies for the future.
"Your mother is a warrior," his father had once commented about his mother. "She is a woman who cannot live any other way. There is no affection between us. However, there is trust in the fact that we have fought together. That woman is a comrade-in-arms."
Based on that trust, Sedias Thora entrusted the care of Delroy Castle to his mother in his absence. She governed it brilliantly, ensuring the people did not feel the absence of the lord. He acknowledged that.
However,
—There is a part of her lacking as a human being.
Laicanel thought about his mother.
The words "parental affection" did not exist in the Thora family. The majority of the cause was his mother's coldness.
Laicanel felt sympathy for his father once again.
Evaluating one's wife as a comrade-in-arms was likely a compliment. Behind his father's words, Laicanel sensed a loneliness. There was no home in the Thora family where one could find peace.
At the seat of honor in the great hall, Laicanel gave his return greetings to the vassals. He also saw the faces of familiar servants, his younger brother, younger sister, and older sister.
It was to flow directly into a banquet, but he was called by his mother and moved to a large private room.
Delroy Castle was a castle that could be used as a military facility while also possessing full convenience as a place of living for the Thora family. Every room in the residential area was luxuriously decorated with gold ornaments.
The Sigihilt Palace in the royal capital, where the family of the King of Siddim lived, was far more modest. The rooms of Sigihilt Palace were small, and the interior was refined, but there were almost no luxury goods. In exchange, there was abundant familial warmth. It was comfortable.
Returning to Delroy Castle after a long time, it felt ridiculous. It was gold-plated, cold, and had bad taste.
Once they were alone, Edna Thora looked up at Laicanel, sorrow etched into her deep wrinkles.
"Who was it that broke you out of prison?"
"Are those the words you use for a son you've met for the first time in a long while?"
"Do you have something else to say? Will you brag to your mother about the woman you bedded? It may be disappointing, but I have no interest in the mating of dogs. If there were dogs mating on this family's grounds, I would have the lowest servant present kick them."
—She's the Queen.
Laicanel almost blurted out how dare she compare her to a dog.
"It seems we cannot have a conversation. You may do as you please with the Thora family. I shall also do as I please."
Before he could finish speaking, his mother approached and landed a closed fist on Laicanel's cheekbone.
It was a strike so weak it was almost sad.
—Have I grown?
Or had his mother grown old?
In the first place, this was the first time he had been subjected to violence by his mother. She was a person who had never become that emotional.
"I have desired only to be of help to Father."
Laicanel moved to the center of the room, removed his sword belt, and sat on a fabric-covered long sofa.
"I know."
"I couldn't do a single thing right. Not even the marriage with Luchentin Alish."
"Despite it being your only forte—no."
His mother took off her shawl, crumpled it into a ball, and sat down next to Laicanel.
"No, let us stop. You are a strong child. And yet, you were thoroughly spoiled by your father, and you grew up while being robbed of the opportunity to realize that talent."
"I don't recall being spoiled. I was imprisoned by my father, you know?"
Laicanel stared at his mother's profile.
—Could it be?
Did Father protect me? To keep me from participating in the war in the East?
Or was it the opposite, and Mother wants to say that imprisonment was too lukewarm, that he should not have spoiled his son and should have dropped his head instead?
"I am your mother, you know?" Edna Thora moved her eyes as if seeing through her son's inner thoughts. "I know about you. Very well. We both failed to protect Sedias. Anything to add?"
"I wonder."
"Fine. Let us speak of the future. I am worried whether you are being utilized. That is the same as the family name being utilized. Who was it that broke you out of prison?"
His mother spoke briskly.
—That woman is a comrade-in-arms.
Laicanel vaguely recalled his father's words.
"Yugis Necrat."
"As I thought. I received a notification from the Syllabus family. And then?"
Prompted, Laicanel spoke about Yugis.
His mother looked forward, lost in thought.
"I see. The city is enthusiastic about your return. Necrat has played this well."
"He is not a decent human being."
"That goes without saying—however."
His mother looked down, her lips moving incessantly. Suddenly, she looked up and spoke.
"Can you bring him here? That man."
"Yugis? I don't think he would come."
"You said that man is hiding within the city. Then, we shall go there. Go and settle things with him."
Laicanel was struck by a sense of surprise. Edna Thora always maintained a haughty attitude and would not lift a finger. He had hardly ever seen her go outside the castle.
"What will you do by meeting him? I would prefer you didn't."
"As you saw in the great hall, the knights of the Thora family all intend to march and provide soldiers following you. If I call upon the Western lords, they will all obey. You leading them—that is what is vital."
"I know. That is my intention."
"You do not know. Yugis must have another design. It is necessary to warn him."
"Another design, you say?"
"He intends to take your place and lead the soldiers."
"That would be impossible. He is the son of a great criminal. No one will follow him."
Edna Thora's expression clouded as she looked at Laicanel. "On the battlefield, it is possible. You might die in battle. Yugis's planned operation might be a huge hit and gather trust—also, return Ness de Syllabus to Karnain once. Complaints have arrived from the Syllabus family."
"No," Laicanel said firmly. "I have no intention of letting go of Ness. He is a man born to stand on the battlefield."
He surely had a good reason for this.
Ness de Syllabus still had times several times a day where he lost consciousness. Even so, previously, he had never regained his sanity. He didn't know why, but Laicanel's observation was that things related to war were leading Ness toward recovery. When he touched upon matters concerning war, Ness returned to himself.
"I didn't say let go of him. I said return him once. It's not as if he's your attendant. Do you intend to clash with the Syllabus family at a time like this?"
"I will not return Ness."
"What explanation will you give to the Syllabus family?"
"That—however it turns out."
His mother stood up and shook her head. "If you insist, very well. I will settle things with the Syllabus family. However, let me speak with Yugis."
Once again, a nostalgic emotion surged in Laicanel's chest. A sense of helplessness.
Whenever he spoke with his mother, he was almost always made to feel this helplessness. Before he knew it, he was being made to listen to what his mother said.
The matter of Ness had been irrelevant to his mother. She had simply brought it up as bargaining material.
"I understand, Mother."
"Promptly, now."
"Yes."
Laicanel grabbed his sword belt, stood up, and left the room. He felt as if his body had become heavy.
When night fell, Laicanel slipped away from the banquet with Ness.
He couldn't do it secretly. Laicanel was the protagonist of tonight, and wherever he went, he drew the gazes of young girls.
"Where are we going?"
Ness was the kind of alcohol that became gloomy and silent the more he drank, but tonight he was in a good mood.
"To Necrat's place. Let's leave the castle."
"Come to think of it, Yugis and the others weren't here. Did you not bring them?"
"We entered the castle alone, did you forget?"
The two pulled horses from the stables and left the castle.
Delroy had good public order. Moreover, since the robust Ness was with him, Laicanel did not worry at all about going out at night.
The place where Yugis and the others were hiding was a cheap inn below the castle.
The prince of the Thora family looked at the moon from atop his horse. The sound of horse hooves walking slowly echoed through the city that would likely become his.
Ness remained silent. He stood beside him, towering with his imposing physique.
If Ness weren't here, Laicanel would have probably given up on Yugis.
—Without me,
Yugis would say.
'Without me, you cannot win against the Kosa people.'
Words that were meaningless to anyone. Because that was impossible.
However, Ness seemed to believe those words. It seemed the madness Ness suffered from and Yugis's megalomania resonated.
When Ness returned to his sanity, he spoke with surprising clarity about the benefits of Yugis being there.
'Look closely, Laika. We seem to have status, but in reality, we possess nothing. Yugis is a precious comrade for us, someone we can entrust with important work.'
'Can't trust him? That's unreasonable. If you can't trust Yugis, it's because you know his loyalty to the East is genuine.'
'If his loyalty to the East is genuine, then your wish to avenge your father and Yugis's wish to drive away the Kosa people coincide. It is illogical not to borrow his strength.'
—Urgil Necrat's plot had been far too evil.
Even when Laicanel explained, Ness shook his head.
'On that point, you are likely correct. But with the Kosa people before us, I don't think we should be particularly obsessed with it. Firstly, it's not about Yugis himself. Secondly, the Necrat family has already paid sufficient compensation.'
—Show some magnanimity.
Ness said, but Laicanel's thinking was different.
This was a point where a line should be drawn. There had been a conspiracy involving Marquis Ganlord, Marquis Kraff, and Count Carossa. Based on that, his father Sedias had advanced troops to the East. Unless he inherited this, he could not inherit the Thora family.
—If that is the case.
When to eliminate Necrat. Laicanel thought it would be better the sooner the better. It was dangerous to let him get too deeply involved.
As they turned into a side street, the surroundings suddenly became dark. Lights were lit in the cheap inn where Yugis and the others were hiding.
"Welcome—ah, well hello there."
Yugis's attendant, Dash, was wearing an apron and pretending to be a server.
Even as an attendant, he was undoubtedly a guest. He didn't know why he was doing such a thing.
There were several groups of guests in the tavern.
Yugis, the knight Curier, and the swordsman Hume were at a table in the back.
All three widened their eyes upon seeing Laicanel and Ness.
"What's up? Did something happen at the castle?"
Hume began to grin. This man's physique was so large it rivaled Ness's.
Curier and Yugis had anxious expressions.
"Don't worry," Laicanel said. "Just like the city, I was welcomed at the castle. It might actually be possible to create that First Army you spoke of. However—"
"However?" Yugis pointed to an empty chair with his right hand.
He had no intention of sitting. He would say his business and leave. "My mother wishes to meet you."
The three at the table looked at each other.
"Be as cautious as possible. My mother is formidable."
"It seems so."
Curier said, looking toward the entrance of the shop.
When Laicanel looked back, about five men wearing the uniforms of the castle guards had just entered in a crowd.
"We are searching this shop. Everyone, form a line at the counter and finish your payments. After that, leave the shop. Do not leave anything behind. Speaking is not permitted. If you understand, everyone stand up."
—No way.
Laicanel felt a displeasing surprise.
Could it be that he had been tailed?
The sound of carriage wheels treading on cobblestones approached.
The carriage stopped in front of the cheap inn. The sound of a horse neighing was heard.
Laicanel looked at Yugis's face. He didn't know why, but he wanted to explain himself to Yugis. Yugis nodded silently.
The guests all had dissatisfied faces. However, none of them talked back.
As told, they formed a line at the counter and finished their payments.
When the last guest left the shop, Laicanel stared down the guards.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"My apologies, young master," an older guard said.
The guards stood at attention in a row, creating a path.
At the entrance of the cheap inn, Edna Thora appeared.
Laicanel's lips trembled with anger. His mother was naturally skilled at it. Mocking her son's childishness, pointing out her son's budding sexual desires in front of others, giving humiliation to boys.
Even so. As long as they were parent and child, Laicanel had naively proceeded believing a certain level of respect would be paid.
His mother did not trust him at all. He was thought to be someone who could be deceived without issue. Completely unaware of this, he had been seriously trying to arrange the meeting between his mother and Yugis.
His mother had casually used Laicanel to find Yugis's location. She had made him lose face.
And then, Laicanel heard a voice right beside him that resembled the threatening growl of a beast.
He looked up at Ness, who was beside him.
Ness had the face he wore when he lost his sanity. When he became like this, Ness Syllabus was a wild animal. Ness would likely destroy this cheap inn along with everything else. This was not the first time. Since the moment Ness began to lose his mental equilibrium, this had happened many times.
When he felt surrounded by those with hostility, Ness would overreact.
At the time, Laicanel had been in a position leading the Third Army. He had even used large sums of money to cover up murders committed by Ness.
"Everyone, do not move!"
Laicanel warned with a voice that seemed to echo through the entire building.
"Mother, you must not move. If you move, you will die here. I cannot protect you."
The grayish lips twisted, and his mother looked at the guards. "It does not matter. The one-armed man is the survivor of the treasonous Necrat family. Capture him."
"Shut up!" Laicanel shouted at his mother for the first time in his life. "Ness is not sane. Everyone, do not stimulate Ness any further."
"Laika. Come here." His mother's eyes became fixed. "This building is surrounded by guards."
"Ness will kill everyone," Laicanel guaranteed. "Everyone, Yugis."
Laicanel looked back at Yugis.
Uuuuuuu.
Ness growled, and a large shadow swayed.
"Ness only needs to brush against your bodies. You will die. Ness can kill. While counting one, two, Ness will kill three, four people. This is the case when not using the weapons at the waist. If he draws a sword—how many soldiers are said to surround this place? Two hundred? Try it, Mother. Ness can kill both me and Mother, and then kill that amount. In reality, there aren't even twenty, are there?"
His mother said nothing.
Laicanel moved in front of Ness. If Ness Syllabus were to go on a rampage due to some trigger, Laicanel would be the first to die.
"Very well," his mother told the guards. "Everyone, leave the shop."
"My lady—"
"Just hurry up!"
The guards left the shop while looking toward Ness.
Edna stood by the entrance with her needle-like posture.
"Go, Mother."
"You are being deceived by the son of the Necrat family."
"I don't think so," Laicanel said. "He is just a dreaming man."
"You are already starting to be manipulated by that man. I realized it immediately."
"Yugis is, indeed, the son of a traitor, but he is certainly a knight as well. I've decided—" Laicanel spoke out of irritation. "I intended to part ways with Yugis somewhere, but I've decided against it. Now that it's come to this, I'll have Yugis accompany me to my hell, and I shall accompany him to his. I don't suppose you mind?"
"That is exactly what I desire," Yugis's voice came from behind.
"Just like a baby. You're deciding the future of Delroy and Siddim out of rebellion against your parent? How wonderful. Even if you fail—which you likely will—you can blame it on me."
"Naturally, it's your fault, and it's also my fault. My failure—no, that's wrong. Our failure. All of Siddim shall bear our failure. If we lose to the Kosa people, all of Siddim will bear the responsibility. It is not something you alone can bear. Do not feel too smug."
"—You've learned how to speak. Think carefully; if the Thora family splits into two factions here, it will be exactly what that man wants."
"If that's the case, the one who should step back is you. Yugis, I don't care about the East."
Laicanel said.
"I don't need the name. You may become the hero."
Yugis answered. It was a quite good answer. The current Thora family certainly needed to recover its fallen reputation.
His mother let out a large sigh.
As if responding, Ness yawned beside them. He then turned on his heel and walked toward the table where Yugis and the others were. He likely judged that the danger had passed.
"I will tell you this. That man will betray you someday."
"Perhaps. However, unlike my father, Siddim shall not be betrayed."
His mother became slouch-backed and headed for the entrance. He felt the guards, who had likely been holding their breath outside, relax their tension.
"Come back before it gets too late."
His mother left those words and withdrew in her carriage.
Before anyone could say anything, Yugis's attendant Dash brought a chicken dish and wine before Laicanel.
"The proprietor says he presents this to the young master. He says it's the best wine in the shop."
"Is that so. Sorry, but could you pour some for everyone? Also, give my thanks to the proprietor."
Dash quickly cleared the empty plates from the table, lined up the prepared cups, and poured the wine. Ness had already collapsed onto the table and fallen asleep. Dash poured wine for Ness's portion as well.
"Why don't you drink too?"
When Laicanel spoke out of kindness, Dash laughed through his nose. "The talk of you all is far too boring for someone like me."
In the East, it seemed the style was for attendants to talk back with light remarks.
"I shall gratefully accept." As Dash stepped back, Yugis put the cup to his lips without a toast. "The talk from before is strange in various ways. The evaluation of me is too poor."
"It's not that you're bad," Laicanel said. "Westerners originally look down on the people of the East. Moreover, they despise men who love schemes. You would have been disliked even if you weren't the son of a traitor."
"I'm not a schemer. What I did in this city was just a greeting. However—that was quite a bold parent-child quarrel, are you alright? To move the West, the power of the Marchioness of Delroy is necessary."
"Probably—. No, however."
He felt that his mother's withdrawal had been strangely abrupt.
Drinking the wine, Laicanel calmed down.
Thinking back calmly, he felt he had been played by his mother once again.
Perhaps Edna Thora didn't actually care about Yugis at all. She had just stormed in and put on a performance to make her son commit himself. He felt that way. There was no reason for his mother to be obsessed with Yugis's capture.
He had said Western people hate schemes, but in reality, it was different. It was just that Laicanel himself did not like people who manipulated others with schemes.
As a result of his mother's plotting, Laicanel might be sitting at this table.
"However, thanks to that, my resolve is set," Laicanel said, as if bluffing.
Fuhaha, laughing together like brothers, were Lord Curier and Hume.
"No, sorry."
Hume lifted his hips and poured wine into Laicanel's cup. Indeed, it was not bad wine.
"It seems the young lord is well-versed in the subtleties of human emotion, unlike some. Mothers are like that everywhere. They do all sorts of things because they worry about their children. Though they don't usually bring soldiers."
"The Marchioness will likely cooperate with our plan," Curier also said. "Geraha Wolf will likely move before autumn, right?"
Yugis nodded. "That should be the case. Once snow piles up, their mobility will be greatly reduced. Before that happens, he will likely close the twelve castle gates of Malfa City, and further attack and seize Famana or Ganlord."
"...What will we do?"
Laicanel felt something ominous. If things went as Yugis said, there would be nothing left for Siddim to do.
"It's fine. We'll organize an unprecedentedly large army and crush the enemy. To prevent the enemy from circling around to the rear, we'll fill all of Siddim with our soldiers."
—I see.
Yugis said one thing correctly. This guy is not a schemer. He really is just a dreamer.
Ness Syllabus was snoring. The knight and swordsman had gloomy faces. Laicanel thought that he had to be very firm, or things would not work.
"Is there not another place where you should fulfill your mission?"
The mage Laje continued his political activities in Delroy.
To warriors he thought were suitable, Laje would reach out. Suggestively, pretending it was a fateful encounter, he would announce destiny in a low, mysterious voice.
"Siddim needs your strength."
Delroy was known for its martial spirit. Men with strong arms were relatively easy to find. However, young and thoughtful people with military training experience were rare. Laje recruited them carefully, politely, and with enthusiasm.
However, there were none who responded.
It was only natural.
Now that the Thora family had stepped forward, Laje's business was finished.
Anyone from the West would respond to the Thora family's recruitment.
While continuing his activities, Laje Jink encountered a strange rumor. After agonizing over it, he decided he should report it to Saranti.
'According to city rumors, a survivor of the Necrat family is participating in the establishment of the Western Army. Unable to confirm if it is Yugis Necrat.'
There was someone acting as a mastermind behind the movement to raise an army in the West. That was Laje's assessment. Laje wanted to know the identity of that mastermind.
However, Laicanel was soon recognized as a public figure of the Thora family, making it difficult to act in a way that investigated the background.
Against this, Laje used magic.
He had never used magic for political activities until now. Magic was for observing where power went, and should not be used to seek a desired result. In the first place, magic tended to transform into something evil when intervening in phenomena that affected many people, such as politics. Normally, he should have been cautious.
Even so, even if it meant using magic, Laje wanted to try meeting this Yugis.
However, Laje's magic did not work. If magic had worked, some kind of trigger that would allow him to meet Yugis surely would have appeared before Laje. There was no such sign at all.
—It seems something big is about to begin.
Laje thought.
A situation where magic was becoming ineffective was likely unfolding.
A few days later.
A military review was held at Delroy Castle. Laje watched the ceremony mixed among the spectators.
It was a dark ceremony, almost like a funeral. Laje also felt his heart pierced by the wretchedness of it. That night, Laje wrote a letter to Saranti.
'Three thousand cavalry. About two thousand infantry, I believe. This is the number Delroy produced by squeezing out all its strength. It is the result of the Marchioness of Delroy earnestly persuading the entire West, and the result of the West responding to that. I believe it is less than one-tenth of the Royal Army's numbers. The Western uprising is a complete dud and should not be relied upon.'
Laje turned pale while drafting the letter.
With this, the trend was decided. No matter how much Saranti accumulated strength and remained dormant, it could do nothing in the face of the decline of the entire country. The West had cut off the East. Edna Thora had the ladder pulled out from under her. Laicanel would head to the battlefield as a sacrifice for the West's excuse.
Only Ness de Syllabus of Karnain made Laje smile by triumphantly raising a large flag, but that was likely an exception.
The problem had shifted to how they would lose. It would likely become a matter of diplomatic negotiations. Laje decided to move to the royal capital.