Chapter...114

"The Quack Doctor of the Rebel Army"

I nodded and began talking about Rodent’s actions—how they differed from Jin’s choices.

No one could know what consequences Jin’s decisions would bring. So I couldn’t confidently say that Jin’s path was the right one.

But one thing was certain: Jin and Rodent were similar in some ways, yet fundamentally very different people.

Jin was preparing in advance for the mistakes Rodent had once made and avoiding them one by one.

Preventing the war with the Grand Duchy of Sorte, preparing against Skia’s agents was this the difference in their capabilities.

“So you think I’m better than Rodent.”

There it was again his trademark mind-reading act.

Embarrassed, I scratched my cheek.

“I appreciate you thinking well of me, but I think maybe it was because Rodent was young back then. You said he was eighteen or nineteen.”

Jin smiled with his eyes.

Hmm. Maybe that was true. Not a difference in talent, but in experience. Jin was now in his mid-thirties, while Rodent hadn’t even reached twenty yet.

“And another big reason is probably that he only learned from me for three months. If I’d taught him longer, he wouldn’t have made those mistakes.”

Jin grinned smugly, and I narrowed my eyes at him.

Seriously What a show-off.

But this was bad. Even moments like this looked cute to me now.

“Well, anyway, it’s all just hypothetical talk at this point. First, we need to overthrow the current emperor.”

Jin spoke with determination.

He was right Right now, we were preparing for war against the Imperial Army.

“Lord Hugo. Lord Hugo.”

Hugo, who had been watching a hawk perched on its stand preening its feathers, lifted his head at the voice calling him.

“Chloe is alive.”

Through one of Skia’s secret informants, Chloe had sent a letter.

For Hugo, who had worried about the girl’s safety after she infiltrated the underground city again, it was news that was welcome—yet impossible to celebrate wholeheartedly.

When contact with her had first been lost, Hugo had assumed Chloe’s identity had been exposed.

Naturally, he thought she must be dead.

But she was alive.

The letter contained little besides telling him not to worry about her and that she would no longer be able to provide intelligence.

“It seems she betrayed Skia.”

One of the subordinates who delivered the letter spoke disapprovingly.

His expression seemed to say that, for His Majesty the Emperor, she should have taken her own life. He looked down on Chloe for failing to do so.

She’s only a twelve-year-old child. Is it really right for a child like that to kill herself willingly?

Hugo clenched his teeth and slowly closed his eyes.

Lately, he kept finding himself thinking such thoughts.

Who exactly were they fighting for?

There was, in truth, a secret.

A secret known only to him within Skia.

The truth hidden behind Crown Prince Philippe’s treason incident over ten years ago.

It was the incident that had granted him the position of Skia’s leader.

And it had also left this scar near his eye.

When Skia’s leadership discovered that the treason case had been fabricated, they reported it to the emperor.

As a result, every single member of Skia who knew the truth was murdered.

Everyone except Hugo.

That had been the emperor’s choice.

To bury the innocence of his eldest son.

And as if to serve as a warning, the current emperor who had become the new crown prince at the time left Hugo with this scar.

A brand.

Until then, Hugo had believed that delivering the truth to the emperor was Skia’s duty. He had believed that all they needed to do was devote unwavering loyalty to the emperor and the imperial family.

But that incident had shaken that belief to its core.

The current emperor had stolen the authority that should naturally have passed to his brother with time.

Even though Hugo still served Solter III out of loyalty to the throne.

As the years passed and the emperor’s tyranny worsened, Hugo’s loyalty flickered like a candle in the wind.

And in the midst of all that, Hugo saw a new possibility.

Jin the ruler of the underground city—who embraced Chloe even though she was clearly an enemy, despite being just a young girl.

Hugo found himself wanting to meet him.

Building a warship took far longer than expected.

As progress slowed, Jin sent Louis to the southern region in order to efficiently utilize the many tools created through the study of dwarven civilization.

After Louis departed for the south, Nicholas took his place.

Nicholas felt no shame in learning diligently from Louis, despite the boy being far younger than him. Thanks to that, he was able to fill the vacancy Louis left behind.

Fortunately so.

And several months later, the collaborative masterpiece created by Gaston and Louis was finally completed.

The warship’s name was Liberty.

In the meantime, many things had happened within the underground city as well.

Rodent, who had spent his whole life estimating his age because no one knew his birthday, celebrated his first real birthday since birth.

June 6th.

Rodent had only been eleven for six months before turning twelve.

To commemorate the occasion, Jin and I prepared a small but meaningful birthday party for him.

At the party, Rodent called Nicholas “uncle” for the first time instead of his usual gruff “mister.”

It was such a touching moment that not only Nicholas, but even I nearly shed tears watching it.

And Chloe had changed a lot too.

Compared to other children, she still showed little expression and spoke very little, but she was gradually becoming closer to the fake persona I had once known.

Maybe that stubborn, affectionate girl had actually been Chloe’s true self all along.

Although life underground felt peaceful, countless large and small battles had taken place on the surface during that time.

As if to prove it, telegrams from Liberator allies arrived daily from every region.

The naval fleet invaded the coast near Bruvant. Successfully repelled.

An Imperial Army division attacked Piez. Requesting reinforcements.

I flipped through the neatly compiled telegrams one by one, lost in memories.

The binder contained the chaotic tides of war from the past several months in vivid detail.

The civilian army succeeded in overthrowing the governor, and the Sent region has stabilized.

The lumberyard workers are acting suspiciously. It seems rumors from the Sent region have spread all the way here.

Reading the telegrams from Sent and Levant filled me with emotion.

How old were these messages now?

It felt like only yesterday that the revolutionary fervor born in Sent had spread all the way to Levant.

And now, even Levant had overthrown its governor and declared freedom.

“Oh, there’s a letter from Senne too. Why is this here?”

I spotted a letter tucked among the telegrams and picked it up.

It was familiar handwriting.

I had wondered where the letter from Senne who had recently ascended the throne had gone. So it had been filed here.

As soon as Senne took the throne, she declared independence from the Empire.

Since then, she had served as one of the Liberators’ strongest allies.

Thinking of Senne and her family, I carefully tucked the letter into my pocket.

Just imagining their warm, happy family made me smile unconsciously.

“What are you looking at so closely, Astrid?”

“Oh, this bundle of telegrams. I found them while organizing documents.”

I looked proudly at the neatly sorted papers.

A guest would soon be arriving in the underground city, so we had all worked together to organize the mountain of neglected paperwork.

“When did they say Favia would arrive?”

“She said she’d reach Noyapolis around tomorrow.”

That’s right.

The guest who would soon visit was none other than Favia Escoup.

“We absolutely need Count Escoup’s help to capture Freude.”

Jin spoke seriously.

Out of the nine regions that made up the Regnumia Empire, excluding Noyapolis, the score currently stood at four to four.

At first glance, it might seem like the Imperial Army and the Liberators were evenly matched.

But in reality, the Liberators held a far greater advantage.

Because Jin had carefully selected and captured only the empire’s most vital territories.

The empire’s breadbasket, the Bruvant region.

The Sent region, packed with mines.

And the Levant region, supplier of most of the empire’s lumber.

Of course, not yet controlling Croy the northern transportation hub—was inconvenient, but it was practically the same as cutting off the Imperial Army’s supply lines.

All that remained now were Freude and Croy in the northeast, along with Ues and Negoche in the western region.

However, the western territories were difficult to approach by land.

Massive mountain ranges and rivers blocked the way.

That made naval power critically important.

The problem was that the empire’s supreme naval commander, Gregory Wigzen, was no ordinary opponent.

For that reason, Jin decided to completely secure the northern territories first.

The remaining lands in the north were Croy and Freude.

Freude was a small port city, and the most influential force there was neither the governor nor the Imperial Army commander, but Count Escoup’s merchant company.

And Count Favia Escoup was firmly on our side.