「We must accept the proposal from Princess Frizione!」

The voice of a noble echoed inside the magic tent.

Some agreed while other opposed it.

「Is it really okay to believe something like this so simply? The reason why Prince Mercurio decided to raise an army in the first place was because they, including Princess Frizione, put him under house arrest. If that’s the case, we have to assume there is some ulterior motive behind this proposal as well.」

Some nobles agreed with that sentiment, but those in favour were still greater in number.

The nobles in favour looked at the nobles in opposition with sharp gazes.

「Princess Frizione’s kindness is known throughout the empire. You know that, right? To begin with, Princess Frizione is very popular among the people. If the people were to find out we had rejected her offer, we would definitely lose their support. You can imagine what the outcome would be, can’t you?」

「That’s true……but does that mean we should trust the proposal just like that? Also, even if say she will side with us, what does that mean? Unlike Vihera-sama, Princess Frizione is not someone of great personal bravery. It would be a huge challenge for her to leave the Imperial Capital and join with us……if not impossible.」

Even the nobles in favour had no choice but to agree with that point.

In fact, unlike Vihera, who was famous for her personal skill, Shurus, who was well supported by the military and displayed great skill as a commander, and Kabajid, who was thoroughly capable in all areas, Frizione wasn’t particularly skilled in martial aspects.

On that note, Mercurio’s combat skills weren’t that great either, so in that sense, he was in a similar position to Frizione. However, he had his subordinate, Theorem, who he had high expectations for in the future.

……As for why the nobles called Vihera by the ‘sama’ honourific instead of ‘Princess’, it was because Vihera wanted it that way.

There were two princess’ in the discussion, which could cause a lot of confusion, and because Vihera had previously ran away from the Bestir Empire.

As a result, she forbid people from calling her ‘Princess’, but they couldn’t just call her by her first name either, so they ended up settling on ‘sama’.

(Are we going to join up with Princess Frizione? It’s not like we don’t have a choice……)

Having listened in to the nobles’ discussion, Theorem glanced over towards a certain direction.

The person he looked over at wasn’t saying anything in particular. He was someone that could singlehandedly turn the tide of a battle and could be considered the rebel army’s true trump card, Rei.

It was true that if Rei was sent as an escort, it would be easy to join up.

A normal escort would require sending an elite unit, but in Rei’s case, it would only take himself and Set.

Furthermore, since he could fly, he had significantly greater mobility.

Taking into account the strength of the White Rose Knights, it would be more than enough to join back up with the rebel army.

Should I ask Rei? Just as Theorem was about to ask, he noticed Rei’s gaze.

Rei wasn’t looking at Theorem, but rather the group of people who were discussing what to do about Frizione’s proposal.

If that was all, Theorem wouldn’t have been too concerned. However, Rei’s gaze was directed towards some people among those discussing. Specifically three people, who for some reason, were hardly expressing their opinions.

Rei wasn’t just staring at them either, but carefully and secretly directing his gaze towards them to avoid them noticing.

Theorem himself only realised because he was looking at Rei from the side.

If he hadn’t been in the position he was standing, he probably wouldn’t have noticed anything either.

(What’s going on? Is something wrong?)

Curious about Rei’s gaze, Theorem also turned to look at the three.

The three nobles were those who had offered their cooperation to the rebel army after their last battle and were the typical fair weather nobles who didn’t hold any particular connections to Kabajid, Shurus, or Frizione.

Although that was part of the reason Theorem judged they had joined the rebel army, an attempt to win some favours……

(Is something happening?)

That was what Theorem was thinking.

If fact, it was definitely strange that they didn’t say anything about this whole situation, considering they had joined the rebel army in hopes of making a name for themselves.

It wouldn’t be strange if they had spoken up loudly to stand out more and make a good impression on Mercurio.

(When you think about it like that……it’s certainly strange.)

Theorem also started to notice the strangeness of the three nobles.

There was definitely something going on. The doubt he felt several seconds ago and already turned into certainty.

(In that case, I should have a proper talk with Rei about it after this meeting is over. I’ll have to get Prince Mercurio involved as well……)

Theorem turned to look at Mercurio, who was silently watching the conversation, and realised that Mercurio was also looking at the same three people.

(Has Prince Mercurio noticed as well? That means there really is something going on.)

As Theorem thought about it, the discussion continued.

However, whether they were in favour of joining forces with Frizione or against the idea, they all understood that there was a point to each other’s opinions, so the discussion reached a stalemate.

This continued for about an hour before the discussion was stopped by the growling stomachs of the nobles.

When the news had first arrived the sun had already set and many people were already eating dinner as everyone except for a few people, like Rei, had dispersed for the meeting with the White Rose Knights. They had only been called back after the matter of Frizione’s proposal had come up.

Some had already eated, but there were definitely those who had yet to finish their meal due to other tasks coming up.

The nobles’ cheeks flushed red with embarrassment as their stomachs growled. Seeing this, Mercurio gave Theorem a wink.

After a silent exchange of thoughts, Theorem eventually spoke up.

「If we continue talking like this, we’ll never reach an agreement. How about we wrap up our discussion for the day and return to our tents to gather our thoughts?」

「That’s right. It’s true that rather than continuing this pointless discussion any further, it would be better to cool our heads and review the discussion on our own.」

Mercurio was the first to agree with Theorem’s words.

The nobles who were about to express their dissatisfaction to Theorem were forced to stop.

Mercurio spoke with a smile towards one of those nobles.

「Do you have any thoughts? I don’t think my opinion is wrong.」

「……That’s right. I agree with your opinion.」

The noble spoke reluctantly and Mercurio nodded without revealing his true thoughts.

「Well then, that’s it. We’ll meet again tomorrow morning, so I want everyone to collect their thoughts. What is the best course of action for us to take? Or, if there is another option than to join forces with Frizione or not, I look forward to it.」

With those final words, the nobles left the magic tent.

Rei, who had been watching, followed after them without saying anything in particular.

「Rei……is everything alright?」

Vihera muttered as she watched Rei leave, but Theorem nodded to say there was no issue.

「Rei will be fine. I don’t think it will turn into what Vihera-sama is worried about.」

「Really? ……Well, I suppose so. Rei defeated me. Even if they have some kind of trump card, they won’t be able to do anything unless they have hidden something extraordinary.」

Theorem, realising that Vihera had also noticed the strange behavoiur of the three nobles, sighed at his own clouded judgement.

It’s true that the White Rose Knights showed up, and then there was the letter from Princess Frizione……no, rather, a personal letter. At the same time, there was the proposal to join forces and it’s true that many things happened……but it doesn’t matter.)

Theorem sighed internally and secretly psyched himself up so as to not make the same mistake again.

 

 

Night time. There was no longer any noise from the soldiers as it was time for sleep.

The moon, shining in the night sky, seemed to indicate good weather for the next day.

In the middle of the night, three nobles could be foudn drinking wine in one of their tents.

「Phew. I never thought that such a big achievement would come our way. I’m glad I joined the rebel army……should I say that?」

「Yes. When I heard about it from you, I thought it was stupid.」

「Indeed. We are not foolish enough to take on a battle with no chance of winning.」

A sneer formed on his lips. However, it wasn’t’ directed at those present, but rather at the other nobles who had joined the rebel army.

These three nobles had never intended to join the rebel army in the first place.

It would be one thing if they had a chance of winning, but the rebel army was at a disadvantage in terms of military strength, so it was a natural reaction for those who wanted to protect themselves.

……Although, they were surprised when they found out that Rei, Crimson, had joined the rebel army.

However, no matter how strong someone was, they were still an individual. If asked whether they could stand against an army, they would have to shake their head.

Of course, it was possible depending on how the individual fought, as Rei himself had show during the Spring War.

However, knowing that Rei could create a fire tornado meant that there were plenty of countermeasures that could be taken. This was a common thought among the three nobles.

「We had originally planned to defect at a bigger battle, but……」

「With such a big reward, there’s no need to wait that long, is there?」

「That’s right. If we wait until a battle, we might suffer heavy losses. So if we bring this information that won’t cause us any losses, they’ll be happy to receive it.」

The other two nodded in agreement, as if they had no objections to the idea.

「However, the problem is how to get out of the rebel army. Since we’re leading troops, if we make a move, it will be quite conspicuous…… In that case, maybe we should have reduced the number of soldiers we brought a bit more.」

One of them muttered, but the other two spoke with bitter smiles.

「In the first place, our plan was to betray them on the battlefield. Considering that, we couldn’t have reduced our troops further.」

「That’s right. If we had done that, we wouldn’t have been able to guarantee our safety.」

The man who had complained first regained his composure after hearing the words of his two companions.

「But, how do we leave the rebel army then? If we continue like this, we’ll end up getting drawn into the fighting. It might have been fine before, but we absolutely can’t do that now. The losses would be too great.」

The other two nodded in response to the words that were spat out in disgust.

How could they minimise their losses and increase their profits? After learning about the recent news regarding Frizione, there was no need to wait for a battle to break out.

After that, they continued to discuss how to leave the rebel army, but the discussion ground to a halt when they realised it would be too conspicuous to move their troops.

It must have been a troublesome matter as one of the nobles spoke with a sigh.

「Why don’t we just leave our troops behind?」

The other nobles immediately rejected the idea after hearing the suggestion.

However, it wasn’t because they cared for their subordinates……

「Don’t be stupid. We brought these soldiers with the intention of betraying the rebel army in battle. We can’t just abandon such elite troops.」

「It’s a shame we can’t contact them. We sent a messenger before joining, but we haven’t been in touch since then because we were worried about being found. Ideally, we would be able to contact them more frequently……」

「That can’t be helped. I heard that the punitive force has not succeeded in sneaking an intelligence unit into the rebel army.」

「……But, from what I’ve seen since joining, it’s just regular soldiers keeping watch. I can’t imagine that an intelligence unit, who have undergone special training, wouldn’t be able to do anything about that.」

One of the nobles asked a question that he had been thinking about for a long time and the other nobles probably held similar thoughts as they nodded back.

「That’s……probably because of people like me.」

At the same time, as that voice rang out, a person entered the tent.

In his hand was a large scythe taller than the owner of the voice.

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