The Tyrant Wants To Live Honestly

Stefan smelled the nostalgic cerritian air.

 

“Sir Stefan! You are back in Cerritian.”

 

The eldest son of the Duke of Bronte, Jonathan Bronte, greeted them as they descended from Lampas.

 

Stefan looked around in the absence of the Duke and Duchess of Bronte.

 

“Ah, when my father and mother heard the news that His Majesty the Emperor was in critical condition, they hurried up to Lampas. They must have crossed the road on the way down.”

 

As a result, the Cerritians and Brontë families were led by Jonathan.

 

Jonathan was very excited that he had been given an important assignment for the first time.

 

In the absence of Bronte and his wife, Jonathan was finally able to be treated as a ‘duke’.

 

“Didn’t you get the order to strengthen the border guards of the Cerritians?” asked Paul the knight who was following Stefan.

 

“That’s why you came, aren’t you?”

 

Jonathan looked around Stefan’s party and asked.

 

Stefan, as well as the ten soldiers who followed him, frowned.

 

“Are you going to finish reinforcing the troops on our own?”

 

‘We hadn’t come all this way to replace the border guards, had we?’

 

They came to encourage those who stand guard at the border, to guide training, and to check for shortcomings.

 

Along the way, if necessary, they stood guard together and tried to understand the situation on the border of Cerritian.

 

‘But are you going to use the Imperial Knights and Soldiers as guards?’

 

“There are not many soldiers in Cerritians. It’s not enough to keep this large land safe.”

 

“That doesn’t sound like something a border lord…… would say.”

 

Stefan’s mouth opened unbearably.

 

‘We have to protect the border, but there aren’t many soldiers.’

 

Cerritian was often used as a resort for nobles because it was close to a beautiful sandy beach.

 

For that reason, the Bronte family has focused more on socializing with the various nobles visiting Cerritians than on increasing their troops.

 

‘Dorothea had guessed that this was the predominant atmosphere when she stayed at a detached palace as a child…’

 

“We’re not looking for military hostilities with the Hark, but rather diplomatic friendship.”

 

At Jonathan’s words, an exclamation of “I’m going to turn!” came from the mouth of one of the soldiers behind Stefan.

 

Then Jonathan also wrinkled his eyebrows and looked at Stefan’s soldiers.

 

“Even with this, the number of Cerritians is twice as many as in other castles.”

 

Jonathan complained as if his pride had been hurt.

 

“Do you have any idea how much it costs to maintain those soldiers?”

 

The tax revenue from the Bronte family estate was very high, but the Bronte family did not enjoy that much wealth because of the expenses that were wasted in maintaining the soldiers.

 

“How often do you train your soldiers?”

 

“About twice… a year?”

 

Jonathan’s voice was vague.

 

Stefan knew that when someone answered in that tone of voice, it was better to think of it as less than half the value of the answer.

 

‘So maybe once a year…’ he thought.

 

Stefan gritted his teeth at the complacency that long peace had created.

 

“Hmm, well, since you’ve come a long way, let’s rest up today, and go around the fortress on the border tomorrow…”

 

“today.”

 

Stefan shook his head firmly.

 

“I will check right away.”

 

* * *

 

“I’m glad they know how to play the drums!”

 

Shortly after coming to see Cerritian’s border guards, the knight Foul grumbled.

 

They did not expect the same level of training as the Imperial Knights, but they were concerned about whether they could leave the border to them.

 

Fortunately, they seem to have been training consistently, but it is impossible to predict what will happen if a war actually breaks out.

 

The grumbled Paul shut his mouth at Stefan’s quiet gaze.

 

‘No matter how dissatisfied they are, if there is a war, we have to trust each other and leave them alone, so we have no choice but to accept it and adjust to it.’

 

Stefan went up to his room, wondering what to do with this place.

 

‘It’s not to the point where I can’t use it, but…’

 

For now, he could use his energy to stave off their complacency, but he feared it would fade once he returned to Lampas.

 

‘Peace has been long…’

 

Returning to his room, he remembered a letter from Dorothea.

 

All the way down, he was curious about what kind of letter it was, so he wanted to open it quickly, so he closed the door and took out the letter he had in his arms.

 

Perhaps it was because he had hidden it in his arms, the precious envelope was a little crumpled.

 

He flicked the unopened envelope once to reshape it, then carefully broke the seal.

 

He opened the letter quietly and secretly.

 

* * *

 

That night, a Cerritian soldier standing guard saw a moving black shadow in the border area of Hark.

 

‘Is it a wild beast?’

 

He yawned long and while warming himself in front of the fire, and leaning against the stone walls.

 

‘They may be wolves, deer, wild boars, or large birds of prey.’

 

The guard started loosely at the shadow with his eyes half closed.

 

The wandering beasts were a sight to soothe the boredom of the night guard.

 

As he slowly gazed at the shadow, the shadow approached Ubera’s border.

 

And at the clearer figure, the guard raised his leaning body and took a closer look at the shadow.

 

It was definitely a person.

 

“Stop!”

 

The soldier standing on the guard gave an order, threatening anyone approaching the wall with a bow.

 

However, despite his threat, the suspicious person with a cloak covering his face did not stop and approached the wall.

 

“Stop! If you come any closer, I will shoot you!”

 

Other soldiers nearby in the commotion also followed the movement of the suspicious person.

 

As he continued to approach without revealing his identity, the guard eventually fired a threatening arrow.

 

The black shadow ran away with a scream that broke the stillness of the night air.

 

The soldiers then fired several more arrows at him.

 

However, the shadow, which had suddenly faded away, hid itself in the darkness where the arrow could not reach.

 

Soldiers ran to report strange movements.

 

at that time.

 

“Hey, what is that?”

 

They saw a light approaching slowly in the darkness.

 

* * *

 

“Ha, Hark’s invasion?”

 

At the urgent report from the Cerritians, the people gathered in the conference hall murmured.

 

Raymond sat in the center.

 

Within days of Stefan’s arrival in Cerritian, Hark’s people appeared across the horizon.

 

And Nereus said.

 

“The soldier of Ubera killed a pitiful baby. As the king of Hark, I cannot help but feel the heartbreak!”

 

He said that as they lifted up the baby’s corpse with Ubera’s arrows in it.

 

who would have known a suspicious person who came to the border had been holding the baby’s body.

 

Raymond thought he had manipulated the case by picking up Ubera’s arrow that was shot at him.

 

As always, wars are waged out of greed, not because of a cause.

 

Hark has demanded unreasonable compensation for brutally killing Hark’s people in Ubera.

 

“Let’s fulfill the conditions! His Majesty is in a critical condition now, and war is impossible!”

 

“Yes. You can’t choose war over a peaceful path.”

 

The nobles nodded in agreement with Hark’s request.

 

The damage from war is so severe!

 

Dorothea had seen this scene before her return.

 

Dorothea, who watched them silently, finally opened her mouth.

 

“Do you think this is what Hark’s did to demand compensation?”

 

The nobles shut their mouths when she asked coldly, suppressing her emotions.

 

Even if Ubera actually killed a baby, a baby who wasn’t even a Noble approached the border and went to war over his death?

 

Moreover, within a few days of the incident, Hark’s soldiers reached the border?

 

The enemy had already advanced at the time when the news of the accident had barely reached Fidor.

 

Hark not even hiding their will for war.

 

‘If they win the war anyway, they can rewrite history in their own way. So why is everyone pretending not to know Hark’s intentions?’

 

Raymond agreed with Dorothea and nodded.

 

“If we pay compensation the way they want, they will continue to make unreasonable demands like this.”

 

They will continue to haunt Ubera until war breaks out. Or accept these unreasonable demands and stand on top of Ubera diplomatically.

 

Raymond hates war and wants to avoid it, but even as a coward, he knew this was inevitable.

 

“But the situation is what it is.”

 

The nobles pointed to Carnan, who was laying in bed without even attending this important meeting.

 

The emperor’s seriousness was a good excuse to prevent war.

 

That was then.

 

“Hark’s request cannot be granted.”

 

The door of the meeting room opened and Carnan entered.

 

He leaned on his cane, barely able to carry himself, but he stood on his own two feet.

 

“your majesty!”

 

Surprised by this, everyone stood up and bowed their backs.

 

Raymond hurriedly stepped down from the center seat of the meeting room and went down to the lower seat.

 

Carnan walked very slowly to his seat.

 

Then Robert and Theon followed.

 

Carnan’s face was full of sickness. His face was yellow and swollen against his deeply eyelids, his lips were pale and his skin was rough.

 

But he was king.

 

“Tell Hark. Not a single request they sent us will be accepted.”

 

“Hah, but, Your Majesty, there will be war. Then who will lead the army…”

 

“I will go down to Cerritian.”

 

Before the nobles could argue, Dorothea stepped forward.

 

“Give me just three knights and a soldier to follow me.”

 

* * *