“Here comes the party.”
Everyone’s eyes were on me at the words of Marquis Fabius. Everyone was showing awkward appearances, whether it was uncomfortable to meet yesterday’s enemy with this kind of incident.
I waved at Marquis Fabius.
“Grandpa, you’re here first.”
“That’s enough. Show the document to everyone.”
I took out the kill-list from my arms and handed it over to grandfather.
While everyone was looking at the documents, I looked at the middle-aged man sitting at the front of the round table. It was the Duke of Bastian.
The duke gave me a suspicious look and checked the document in detail when it came.
“King’s seal is correct.”
Then a man jumped up. It was Viscount Josten, one of the chiefs of staff. Although he was low in rank, he was appointed under Bastian for his exceptional talent in the field.
“Duke! Marquis Fabius is right. You can’t just be beaten like this.”
Everyone hummed as if they were in sympathy. Because they don’t want to die of unfair treason.
The Duke of Bastian raised one hand to silence everyone.
“Be quiet.”
“Duke!”
“Nothing has been confirmed yet.”
“Didn’t you just confirm the king’s seal?”
“Seals can be forged.”
“Duke!”
The Duke of Bastian ignored Josten and stared at me.
“Baekmyeon?”
As expected, I knew how strict he was.
“Yes, tell me.”
“Is this the only evidence?”
“Right, that’s the only one. But if you give me time, it can be other evidence. The evidence is clear.”
“What evidence?”
“There’s a winning party in ten days. It’s the day I invite everyone here to celebrate the victory of both Kara and the Kingdom of Robros. You know what I mean?”
The Duke of Bastian stared at me gently.
“That’s no proof.”
“No, there’s a winning party at your palace that day too. The victory party where everyone’s family here is invited. We decided to tie them together and kill them all, so if we wait 10 days, we’ll be sure.”
Everyone jumped up and shouted at the duke. They couldn’t sacrifice his family for evidence.
“Duke! We need to get the family to evacuate, and we need to hit them right away!”
“That’s right. The impregnable Polkin Gate was taken over by 4,000 soldiers. What more circumstantial evidence is there?”
Earl Malthus nodded toward Duke Bastian with a face of will.
“That’s right, Duke. That day, I and a large number of Polkin gate troops who couldn’t even pull out a knife were hit. It’s absolutely impossible without internal cooperation.”
The Duke of Bastian touched his forehead as if he had a headache. Rebellion was not a trivial event that could be caused by a moment’s emotion, but everyone was losing their reason and couldn’t hide their back and forth.
The Duke glared at me again.
“Is it really true that King is killing us as traitors?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Yeah. If you really don’t believe me, lock me up somewhere. So if all your family members die 10 days later, I’m right, so then you can let me go, or you can kill me.”
Everyone was excited again and spoke loudly.
“He is right! If he’s not sure, how can he risk his own life?”
The Duke of Bastian tapped hard on the meeting table.
“That’s why you have to doubt it more! Why would the enemy risk their lives for us? It can never happen without other ulterior motives. Tell me everything. What is the benefit of your rebellion?”
“Because your king can’t be trusted. It hurts when I get hit in the back of my head.”
“Then can you trust us?”
“Of course I don’t.”
“But why did you choose us?”
“Honestly, it’s not a choice. I just want a rebellion. You’ll have a rough idea of why right?
The words lifted the Duke of Bastian’s expression.
A revolt in the Kingdom of Robros would lead to extreme confusion in the political situation, and the country would be devastated by civil war. No matter how successful the Duke is in the rebellion, he will have to pay attention to internal affairs for a considerable period of time, and it is quite difficult to expand his military capabilities to the outside world.
In other words, it means that it will completely earn time to complete the construction of the kingdom and stabilize the political situation.
“That makes sense. But what about the next war?”
“It’s okay. We just need to buy 10 years. Then you can’t even beat us.”
“Why?”
“You can’t do that. You guys are not capable.”
In 10 years, all mankind will be destroyed. Of course, the dead cannot start a war.
But the Duke of Bastian misjudged.
“In the meantime, do you think Kara can be stronger than our kingdom of Robros?”
“Well, it’s enough not to be beaten up by you.”
“There’s a tenfold difference in population.”
“Whoa. When did we fight over the population? There was a lot of difference in the last war.”
“But.”
“Then do you do it?”
The Duke of Bastain waved his hand.
“Not yet. You have not yet provided the basis for the king’s execution of treason against us. you’re just saying what you want.”
“You’ll know that in ten days. You just have to wait as long as you do now.”
Soon everyone roared again. As I said, it is a solid basis, but the death of both their families and family members is guaranteed.
Never, They couldn’t wait until then.
The Duke of Bastian waved his hand to calm everyone down.
“It’s an enemy trick.”
“Then let your family know and take refuge.”
I laughed at one of the staff’s opinions, and the duke shook his head. In fact, children attending noble schools in the kingdom and their families staying in the capital also serve as hostages to the central government.
As soon as they disappear altogether, the king will doubt the intentions of the nobles here, so the rebellion becomes a foregone conclusion.
“That’s the beginning of a civil war.”
“Duke!”
While the conference room was getting noisy, Marquis Fabius approached me.
“Baekmyeon. Let me see for a second.”
Soon the Marquis took me outside. The Marquis who looked around quietly told me.
“Is there really no other proof?”
“No, and if you don’t trust the kill-list with the king’s seal on them, what’s the point? You’ll get the answer if you just wait 10 days, so you just have to wait until then.”
“Can they accept the idea of the death of the family to gain confidence?”
“That’s it. What am I supposed to do? The Duke is hesitant to make a choice now, and he deserves it.”
Marquis Fabius shook his head.
“I’m just saying that we’ll have a problem in the future. Won’t his men resent the execution of all their family members for the duke’s hesitation?”
“I’m sure.”
“Then a new kingdom that will emerge even if it wins a civil war must lose its goal and enmity.”
It does take some time. I want the new kingdom of Robros to be strong. That’s why I want to blow King Robros’ head off and put Duke of Bastian on the throne.
“There’s a way out, but it’s a little dangerous.”
“Why?”
“But if you don’t do it, you’ll all die.”
“Try it, then. To be honest, it can’t get any worse.”
“If Grandpa says so, okay.”
I entered the conference room with Marquis Fabius. The conference room was still very noisy, with the duke and other commanders arguing. In particular, Earl Malthus had a strong backlash. The Earl trusts me 100% of what I say. If I am right, the earl’s mistake disappears and the path of succession opens again.
I dragged a chair and stared at the Duke of Bastain.
“Duke, do you really trust King Robros?”
The Duke of Bastian, who was talking to Earl Malthus, stopped talking and looked at me gently.
“I trust him more than I trust you.”
“Because the king is closer to you than the enemy. Now, let’s talk about you, Duke.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why wouldn’t you start a rebellion?”
“Because I don’t believe you.”
I shook my hand firmly.
“No, I’m talking about you. Why are you talking about me?”
“Hmm?”
“If you win this civil war, the Duke will be king of the great rich. It’s a great honor. But why wouldn’t you want that great, holy place?”
Everyone became quiet at the words, and the Duke of Bastian narrowed his eyes.
“I have sworn to be loyal to the Kingdom of Robros.”
“Why did you take that oath? I’m sure it’s beneficial.”
“It is natural of the servant to be loyal to the kingdom.”
I laughed hard.
“Are you telling me to believe that?”
“What?”
“Hey, You say you can’t believe me because I don’t talk about my benefits? Just be honest with me. What’s the benefit of not going to rebel in this situation? If you go in by surprise, you’re going to take over easy. It’s completely unprotected.”
The Duke of Bastian was speechless for a moment.
It is right to revolt a hundred times now for the Duke’s own benefit. There are 150,000 troops, and other commanders will actively participate in the rebellion.
And now is the best time to revolt. It is easy to hit and climb because it is defenseless, and crucially, the family survives.
“So what?”
“Maybe this isn’t it. If King Robros exterminates all of your family, the cause of rebellion will be even greater, and your generals will be in a civil war, which will increase your chances of success. That is, Duke, at the same time, your chances of winning the civil war get greater.
You can get a new wife, and you can have new children again.”
What I just said was the act of completely selling duke as an asshole. As everyone stood up to criticize me with excitement, Marquis Fabius hit the meeting table with his sword.
“Duke. Answer me.”
The Duke of Bastian was even more speechless. If King Robros executes everyone’s family ten days later, it is true that the duke will benefit.
“The cause is made by the winner. It’s just that if I win, I don’t have to be moral. Also, the winning rate from the anger of the generals cannot be better than the winning rate from the surprise attack.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. Because the Duke is not wrong. But I still shook my head.
“This is even more suspicious. Duke, you’re blurring the essence. The question I asked was what would be the benefit of your hesitation in the rebellion, not to hear an excuse that there was no benefit. What the hell is that benefit? Isn’t it your intention to use the death of your family as an excuse to win sympathy from the neutral aristocrats and increase the chances of a successful rebellion?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“There’s no guarantee that Kara won’t hit after us when we revolt, right?
I smiled softly. Well, since I came all the way down here, I have nothing to say.
“Kara is busy building a dynasty, so It has no time to run behind you. But if you really don’t believe it, I’ll give you the Polkin gate.”
Everyone was shocked and focused on the Duke’s mouth. The return of the Polkin gates would not only bring stability to the rear, but also restore supplies for a year of war.
“Weren’t you supposed to give me the Polkin gates anyway? We must pass through the gates of Polkin before we can return to our homeland for a rebellion.”
“Of course, but I won’t give it to you. I’m beginning to doubt the Duke’s intentions.”
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe you’re working with the king. A desperate bid to win the war by killing all the family members. I think so, apparently.
“No.”
“Then the choice is one of two. Answer me honestly here, give me faith, or end the meeting here. As I’m leaving, the Duke seems to be mistaken for something, but I’m holding your leash. As soon as I get back, you’ll all die. I’m sure you’ll be killed by your king or starve yourself here. Choose,
What is it?”
Everyone’s face turned white like a blank sheet. Right. Actually, I hold their leash.
I turned right behind the Duke of Bastian, who hesitated to answer.
“Okay, then we’re all gonna die here. I’m going.”
The Duke of Bastian replied, clutching his hand tightly.
“I don’t know why either.”
I knew you wouldn’t know. If you had known, you would have drawn a sword at King Robros as soon as I told you.
“I have a rough idea.”
“What is it?”
“You’ve been brainwashed. The endless infusions of loyalty to the king and kingdom since you were a child are making you hesitate now. It’s well packaged under the name of loyalty. That’s the social system created by the Robros.”
“······.”
“If you still don’t know, try to make this rebellion a success. Then you’ll find out naturally. Because you have to do the same thing.”
In everyone’s desperate eyes, the Duke of Bastian bit his lips tightly. I was going to the conclusion with difficulty, but in a way, it was an easy choice. In fact, the Duke has no choice but to revolt.
“Duke, let’s go. I have to go.”
“That’s right. If you refuse it now, we’ll be done. We have no choice but to go.”
The Duke of Bastian slowly closed his eyes and fell into thought. And after a while, he opened his mouth with difficulty.
“I’m going out to Robros. The morning after tomorrow. Everyone should be prepared to make sure there is no disruption to your journey.”
“Okay!”
When the Duke’s order was issued, the command began to move in unison.
I had a fishy smile. The flag of rebellion finally rose. Now the incompetent King Robros is gone, and the competent Duke of Bastian becomes the king of the new country and faces an era of destruction.
In addition, Padilla will have a lot of work to do.
If Kara becomes stronger, the Duke of Bastian will strengthen his defense.