I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess - Chapter 217



217 – Turn Your Eyes Away

Four days later.

Albrich kept fiddling with his hands, feeling anxious that kept coming from somewhere in his heart.

Since the contact between the Emperor and Empress, he has been secretly investigating them, but he has not found anything reasonable.

The two had never met since then, and their actions were not much different from their usual behavior.

Nevertheless, the feeling of heterogeneity that did not go away easily and the feeling that he was missing something continued to torment him.

‘I have no choice but to meet the emperor again.’

At that time, Bartheus spoke in a confident tone as if telling him to search through his memories, so even though he was suspicious, he just passed it over, but maybe that was a failure.

Due to his personality of not liking uncertainty, he had to somehow check his memory on the spot.

‘First, I have to go back to the imperial palace. In addition, I need to meet other people as well.’

Realizing that he had to take action to calm this anxiety, he immediately got up from his seat.

Clutter.

At that moment, the tightly closed door suddenly opened and a man entered without asking permission.

It was Shepard, Albrich’s henchman and a man who had been severely punished for a big mistake he made last time.

“I’m sorry, master. So much information suddenly came in that I felt like I had to pass it on…”

“Okay, tell me the matter quickly first. “We have to head straight to the imperial palace.”

As someone who was very grateful that his actions were being restrained, he felt worse that his steps toward the imperial palace had stopped than that someone had deliberately attacked him.

That’s why he glared at Shepard, his eyes shining like sharp blades, urging him to answer.

Shepard quickly lowers his head and immediately reports the news to him.

“Thank you for your generosity. First of all, it is said that the Karbita tribe is rising up in various places. According to the news, it was discovered mainly in the far eastern part of the northern region…”

Albrich’s eyebrows furrowed at the unexpected news.

“An uprising? “Didn’t they join hands with Robeheim?”

“I don’t know the exact circumstances either. However, one thing is certain: the head of the Carbita tribe was discovered in a region other than Hespania.”

“… “Other regions?”

If so, it’s even more strange.

It was possible to fully infer the reason why the head of the Carbita tribe trusted the Robeheim family.

He must have signed an armistice to resolve the curse he placed and asked to cure the curse in return.

It was good up to that point.

But the question is, how did they escape Hespania and raise the tribes again?

Even if the Amman Curse was lifted, the Robeheim family would not have been stupid enough to commit the foolish act of releasing the beast into the mountains again.

“Is this news trustworthy?”

“That’s right. There are a lot of rumors that the Archduke is currently very angry and is gathering private soldiers from all over.”

Albrich, who had doubts about that fact, checked it again, but Shepard’s answer was quite firm.

This is not an ordinary information source, but information gathered using the power of the Bertus family.

Among them, we have selected only the most certain ones, so it is safe to say that there is nothing to doubt.

‘Why?’

However, even after seeing his confident expression, Albrich could not easily feel reassured.

Above all, it was because the justification for the action was not easily understood.

First of all, if it were the Robeheim family’s surveillance network, it would have been possible to block at least one person without an escape hole.

Nevertheless, it was not understandable that Kelagh easily escaped Hespania and founded a tribe.

Even if I had found out about this fact too late, it would have been easy to chase him down and kill him.

‘Maybe we need to look at it from a different perspective.’

What if they didn’t miss it, but released it on purpose?

As soon as his thoughts reached that point, a puzzle piece clicked into place in Albrich’s head.

It might be quite possible. Wasn’t that opportunity created by none other than the man in front of me?

“Shepard, what kind of people did you encounter when you invaded the Robeheim family?”

“The head of the Karbita tribe and the Grand Duke… And she was a girl with her lover. Judging from the way they were talking, I think she might be the archduke’s future sister-in-law.”

“Recite the battle in detail again. I might be missing something.”

Following Albrich’s orders, Shepard reported in detail what happened that day.

First, Kelagh and a girl were together, and he tried to take down Kellag first and then kill the girl who was her witness her, but time dragged on and Ariel and her lover her arrived.

And the rest of the personnel, including Kelagh, evacuated into the castle first, and barely managed to evacuate while Ariel and the private soldiers who arrived late were trying to drag him away.

“… Right. “Is it possible enough?”

“Is there anything you can point out?”

“Okay. If you think about it, the Loveheim family has been famous for its affection since ancient times. “It doesn’t fit the nickname of the ruler of the North.”

That is probably why the previous head of the family was unable to let go of his regrets, such as marrying a woman from a lowly family.

Some people might describe it as romantic, but in Albrich’s opinion, it was truly foolish.

Maybe that foolishness has continued to this day and created the situation he expected.

‘I saved Jeongin’s family. That may have been an opportunity to let down my guard.’

It’s a story with plenty of potential.

Since ancient times, in politics or battles of wits, the one who opens up his mind first is bound to lose.

Moreover, even though she is the owner of the Loveheim family, she is actually a young woman who is only about 20 years old.

It would be more difficult to calmly control your emotions.

“Anyway, report any news about this to me as soon as you hear it.”

“Yes, I understand. And next is a letter from the Lukeville family…”

“… The Lukeville family?”

The Lukeville family is a prestigious fairly count family located near the capital, Hildeck.

It is a well-versed military family, and it is also a family famous for having a heavy butt because it does not easily reveal itself to the outside world.

Other than being close to the Bertus family, we had no other contact, but for some reason they sent us a letter first this time.

“I read the contents in advance, but the gist of it was that they were asking us for reinforcements.”

“For reinforcements. Are you trying to subdue it?”

“Yes, it looks like that. From what I heard, there are bands of bandits appearing in Gosan, located in the southeast.”

Albrich was able to roughly guess which place Shepard was talking about.

If it is a high mountain in the southeast, there must be a trade route carved out of the mountain, and because there are many merchants coming and going, it has long been like a home base for bandits.

However, it is a place that appears so frequently that the imperial family once raised an army and launched a large-scale subjugation.

So I thought it was almost extinct, but it seems to be on the rise again recently.

I wanted to refuse because I didn’t want to save them unnecessary trouble, but the problem was that the family closest to the Lukeville family was the Bertus family.

Apart from the right to autonomy, the family that controls the territory in each region also has the duty to protect it.

So, when a band of thieves or impure people appear like this time, we have to stop them.

The private armies owned by each family are nominally in preparation for such times, so if they are neglected, they will be subject to direct checks from the imperial family.

However, in the case of certain families, the size of their territory is small and the number of private soldiers is small, so they often lack power.

To prepare for such a case, a law was enacted that allowed the heads of each family to receive reinforcements from the nearest family.

The problem is that this law is quite difficult, and this proposal cannot be rejected unless there is a good reason.

If they must refuse, they must provide detailed information to the imperial family, such as where and for what reason their private troops are currently being used. This process is also quite complicated and cumbersome.

Therefore, it is customary to send a small number of private soldiers, even if it is not a very large force.

In the first place, if they don’t want to make each other blush, the side requesting troops doesn’t tend to argue about the number of troops.

However, Albrich made a surprisingly bold decision.

“In that case, just select about 300 private soldiers and send them.”

“Three hundred…Wouldn’t that be a lot?”

At best, it is an excessive number to use in suppressing a group of bandits.

Shepard was a bit concerned because he thought about 100 to 150 at most, but Albrich responded in a stern tone.

“It’s better than making a fuss later. Moreover, if a small number of people are involved, the work will drag on and only useless private soldiers will be captured.”

“All right. Then, to whom will you entrust the soldiers?”

“You should go yourself.”

It would be better to leave it to an untrustworthy and clumsy guy.

Albrich figured that it wouldn’t matter if his hands became a little short, since he wouldn’t be able to move much noticeably for the time being anyway.

‘The remaining problem now is the movement of the immigrants.’

If there was even the slightest gap in the middle, he was ready to attack the Robeheim family.

Although an all-out attack would be difficult due to their position, there were countless ways to surprise them while hiding their identity.

First, we should target after Shepard returns from the subjugation with his private soldiers. Until then, I was just listening to reports and waiting for an opportunity.

*

Same night.

Edgar’s eyes lit up when he heard the report.

The person on the other end was none other than a messenger sent from the Lukeville family, the biological family of his friend his Hagel.

“Is that true? “The Bertus family responded to the request?”

“That’s right. It is said that he decided to lead a total of 300 private soldiers to the promised location.”

This is unexpected good news.

To be honest, it would be nice if this plan worked, but on the other hand, it was a trick that was done half-heartedly.

‘It seems like my request to Kelagh worked well.’

If Kelagh had still stayed in Loveheim Castle and heard the news of the Karbita tribe rising up in various places, Albrich would not have moved easily.

Therefore, Edgar boldly sent him away, keeping in mind the possibility that Kelagh might betray him.

I believed that the Bertus family’s information network would easily find out that he had escaped.

As a result, Albrich naturally relaxed his guard when he heard that Kellag had returned to the side of his compatriots and that the Carbita tribe had risen up.

‘Even if only cancer grows, it would be difficult to pay attention to all places.’

When people have a lot of load on their heads, they naturally tend to keep only the priorities and put the rest on the back burner.

Because there are not many people who can give their full attention to everything.

In that respect, the Robeheim family, which is presumed to be focused on the Carbita tribe, would have been ranked low among those to be concerned about in his mind.

In that case, this side is looking for that momentary opportunity.

From noble mtl dot come

It will now be a race against time, but the basic preparations are almost complete.

“Eline, will you call some people?”

“Yes, master.”

As Ellie bowed her head and walked out of her room, Edgar sank into the sofa.

Is this long, long story finally coming to an end?

I just hope that the actors who will be standing on stage right before the curtain falls can all smile.

In a play, it takes just one villain to face a miserable death and shed tears.