“Our spies have reported that Galia is preparing additional troops and gathering food for war.”
A man in his late sixties spoke strongly in a heavy voice. The man, Duke Drega Deroon, Chancellor of Toria, spoke in front of hundreds of the country’s aristocrats. All the nobles’ minds were filled with different agendas as they heard about the impending war. Some were scared and some looked forward to it.
“So it’s war then.”
“Maybe we should send a diplomat…”
“How has it come to…”
“We should’ve been more careful! There was always a possibility of war!”
“That awful tradition had to be stopped before this happened.”
The nobles began blaming each other. Drega coughed to signal them to quiet down, and then spoke again.
“Hmph! I know what you all want to say, but save it for later.”
The nobles fell silent at once and Drega continued, “Merchants have stopped trading grains and have begun purchasing them in bulk. Grain prices have doubled and the citizens are in distress. Those who acted fast are also buying other possible goods and all those prices are soaring higher.”
Drega glared at some of the nobles. They coughed and avoided his eyes.
“You all should work to stabilize those prices.”
Drega did not stop looking around as he spoke. A few nodded in agreement. It was the Marquis Donian that Drega looked at the longest. Jorle Donian returned Drega’s silent gaze, but he eventually looked away.
‘Damn bastard…!’
The marquis looked down, then calmly looked back again at Drega and nodded. Drega nodded back in response.
‘Damn! Wait until I get up there!’
Drega, who did not care about what Jorle Donian thought, continued after he warned the nobles who had connections with the merchant groups.
“The other countries have doubled their prices at the news of war. As you know, Dentrion and Benzen have joined with Galia in the war before we even knew it. They seemed to know that the war was going to happen before us. I suspect these countries, Dentrion, Benzen, and Galia all plotted against us to incite this war.”
“What!”
“No way!”
“How can it be?!”
“Damn it!”
“We should call our allies Dodrain and Kredle at once!”
The nobles began shouting in rage. The younger nobles were outraged by the news as the older ones were more concerned about their profits.
“Full-scale war is inevitable at this point. It’s good to hear that there are huge armies gathering up at our borders at the news of Galia’s attack.”
Drega picked up a silver water cup and drank before continuing.
“Marquis Beneth, Viscount Dureno, and Baron Ale are the ones who have acted. They have gathered over seventeen thousand men for the battle. There are a hundred and seven knights, a thousand horsemen, a thousand archers, and fifteen thousand soldiers. There are five hundred carriages full of war supplies and two thousand men guarding them. I heard that Marquis Beneth’s heir, Jasmine Beneth, is the field commander.”
“Wow!”
“But how?!”
“A GIRL?! Preposterous!”
“So he is serious about letting a girl be his heir?!”
“I guess being a girl won’t matter if she wins the war.”
“I heard she’s not like a normal woman. I heard she’s stronger than most knights.”
“Hah! They probably let her win because she is the Marquis’ daughter!”
Varying reactions exploded, but most smirked at the thought of a woman commander. Drega continued without giving much thought, “So, our king has appointed Duke Zekra as the Commander of the Central Army. Sixty thousand men will be deployed to defend in three directions. I urge your participation.”
“Duke Zekra?”
“Sixty thousand!”
“What’s to become of the capital’s defense?”
“That’s one-third of the country’s forces!”
“Weren’t the three countries only just preparing? Why is it necessary to move such a huge army this early? It will raise the concerns of the people in the capital!”
“That’s right. I think we should hold off on sending the central army for now. Didn’t we give authority to the margrave for situations such as this? Moving the central army only confirms that we’re going to a full-scale war.”
Everyone was surprised and began speaking up. Under usual circumstances, it was the margrave who was supposed to bring together armies to defend against invaders. The margrave had a rank of a count but had more authority over armies and had the power to invade other countries when necessary.
‘So they want to stay back and watch safely.’
Drega knew what these people were talking about and scowled.
‘These idiots… I can’t find a word to describe it. Three countries are trying to tear apart our homeland and they still think we’re safe?’
It was the side effect of prolonged peace. These nobles were more like merchants looking for their own profits. There was no valor or honor in them.
“ENOUGH! It has been decided. The king wishes for justice!” Drega shouted firmly. The nobles fell silent and began eyeing one another.
“I, Baron Tiarran, will send two knights, who are my sons, two hundred soldiers, and twenty carriages full of war supplies for the king!”
A middle-aged aristocrat spoke up loudly, breaking the silence. The other nobles seemed to realize that they had no other choice.
“Viscount Tanos will send twenty family knights, two hundred horsemen, three hundred soldiers and a hundred carriages worth of supplies.”
“Count Orenia will send five hundred carriages full of grain to the king.”
All the nobles began shouting out their efforts to join the war. The king had been silently watching all that was going on. When it was all over, King Andre Kerin Toria, waved his hand and spoke out.
“Thank you all. I will not forget all your support during these hard times. It is good to see your loyalties to our country. We will teach our enemies the strength of Toria.”
“Hail the KING!”
“Hail!”
The nobles began shouting and chanting.
‘That will do.’
Drega glared at the sight. Sixty thousand soldiers weren’t enough to fight against three countries. The nobles had to join in, but these nobles were hard to convince.
‘I should send a message to the Katzback Kingdom. We can have them deal with Dentrion if it works out.”
Drega started thinking. Toria was not powerful enough to fight head to head with three countries all at once. Even if they managed to win, the kingdom would be in ruins.
‘I should look at the future after the war. Let’s get the back of Dentrion’s armies by working with Katzback.’
Drega began to think up a scheme as the nobles began talking to each other in excitement.