freewebnov(e)l
It would be fine if he didn't say anything, but the moment that he did...
It was like he was rubbing it in, which made us even angrier.
But this made it clear what he was planning on doing.
He was giving us these ten thousand 'troops', even though it was clear that this was a ragtag army that he had gathered in haste.
So technically, he wasn't disobeying his orders, he was just using a loophole to get out of sending any of his actual troops.
I could sense the rage coming from General Killock and the officers behind me after Duke Yuletide said this. In fact, the rage that was coming from behind me didn't just come from General Killock and the officers, I could feel it coming from Shaka and Cecilia too.
They were people that had sacrificed their lives to protect the kingdom that they lived in and the people that they loved.
Seeing Duke Yuletide spit on it like this by giving them these pretend soldiers, it was like a slap to the face.
They naturally couldn't accept this.
But this was the enemy's territory, so I couldn't just let them do what they wanted.
I raised my hand behind me for them to stop before giving a signal for them to calm down.
The looks on their faces made it seem like they were about to blow, but they were able to hold back in the end.
If they really lost their temper here, it would have been a good excuse for Duke Yuletide to get rid of us.
Naturally I couldn't allow that to happen.
In the end, I looked at the duke with a smile on my face and said, "Duke Yuletide, thank you for preparing everything so quickly. I'll be sure to report your willingness to cooperate to his majesty when I return."
This time, Duke Yuletide no longer had the same calm and composed look on his face.
There was a momentary surprised look that appeared on his face before that calm and composed look returned again.
With a smile, he asked, "Count Zwein, if possible, may I ask where you're planning on going with these troops?"
I just shook my head and said, "This is confidential military information, so I can't disclose this to you. I'm sure that you understand that while I can trust you, there's no knowing if there are any spies around."
Duke Yuletide slightly narrowed his eyes before saying, "Count Zwein, are you saying that you don't trust me?"
I said with a shrug, "Please don't misunderstand your lordship, I said no such thing." Then with a serious look, I said, "This is an important matter that concerns the future of the kingdom, I'm sure that your lordship will not mind if I take some extra precautions, right?"
Duke Yuletide continued to look at me with those same narrowed eyes for a bit, but then he gave a nod and said with a smile, "As expected of the famous general who orchestrated the Slaughter of the Rising Land Plains. Everything that you do has many different meanings, it is hard for a simple man like myself to keep up with you."
I shook my head before saying with a humble look, "I am but a simple man, there are no other meanings in my words. I just want to do the best for my kingdom and my people."
There was a bit of a sharp jab to these words, but Duke Yuletide didn't seem to care at all as he calmly said, "Of course, it is all for the greater good of the kingdom."
At the very least, there was no doubt that his shamelessness was world class.
He was giving us soldiers like this and he was still saying that it was all for the good of the kingdom.
Even I felt the urge to punch this man in the face at this moment, but I held myself back in the end.
However, I couldn't just let this matter end here.
I had to at least get a jab in at Duke Yuletide before leaving with these troops.
With a cough, I said, "Your lordship, it is embarrassing to mention this, but I was hoping that you would be able to spare some supplies as well. We had to rush here, so we weren't able to bring as many supplies as we wanted. With the extra troops that we will be taking here, we won't be able to support ourselves for long. So if possible, could you spare some supplies for these troops?"
Duke Yuletide knitted his brows when he heard this.
He narrowed his eyes to look at me before saying, "Count Zwein, it isn't that I don't want to help, but I really cannot help. You should have seen the situation when you walked through the city, we really aren't able to help."
I gave a nod before saying, "But on the way, I saw that a few of the nobles of your fair city seemed to be squandering some resources. If those resources could be more properly allocated…"
I didn't finish my words, but it was clear what I was implying.
When Duke Yuletide heard this, he immediately glared at the soldiers who had led us the entire way. However, those soldiers didn't dare look at Duke Yuletide when he was glaring at them.
It was clear that they were scared of his gaze.
After giving a cough to calm himself down, Duke Yuletide said, "Un, it seems that I might have missed a few things. Let me take care of this matter and prepare the supplies for you."
It seemed that those nobles weren't supposed to be there.
At the very least, it seemed that Duke Yuletide didn't have full control of the nobles in his city. Or at least he didn't want full control over them.
His words proved that he had the ability to wipe out these nobles when he wanted, but he kept them in his city for a certain reason.
Was it to pretend to be weak or was it something else?
Regardless, at least I was able to make him bleed a bit.
So I said with a nod and a smile, "Then I'll be counting on your lordship."
freewebnov(e)l
It would be fine if he didn't say anything, but the moment that he did...
It was like he was rubbing it in, which made us even angrier.
But this made it clear what he was planning on doing.
He was giving us these ten thousand 'troops', even though it was clear that this was a ragtag army that he had gathered in haste.
So technically, he wasn't disobeying his orders, he was just using a loophole to get out of sending any of his actual troops.
I could sense the rage coming from General Killock and the officers behind me after Duke Yuletide said this. In fact, the rage that was coming from behind me didn't just come from General Killock and the officers, I could feel it coming from Shaka and Cecilia too.
They were people that had sacrificed their lives to protect the kingdom that they lived in and the people that they loved.
Seeing Duke Yuletide spit on it like this by giving them these pretend soldiers, it was like a slap to the face.
They naturally couldn't accept this.
But this was the enemy's territory, so I couldn't just let them do what they wanted.
I raised my hand behind me for them to stop before giving a signal for them to calm down.
The looks on their faces made it seem like they were about to blow, but they were able to hold back in the end.
If they really lost their temper here, it would have been a good excuse for Duke Yuletide to get rid of us.
Naturally I couldn't allow that to happen.
In the end, I looked at the duke with a smile on my face and said, "Duke Yuletide, thank you for preparing everything so quickly. I'll be sure to report your willingness to cooperate to his majesty when I return."
This time, Duke Yuletide no longer had the same calm and composed look on his face.
There was a momentary surprised look that appeared on his face before that calm and composed look returned again.
With a smile, he asked, "Count Zwein, if possible, may I ask where you're planning on going with these troops?"
I just shook my head and said, "This is confidential military information, so I can't disclose this to you. I'm sure that you understand that while I can trust you, there's no knowing if there are any spies around."
Duke Yuletide slightly narrowed his eyes before saying, "Count Zwein, are you saying that you don't trust me?"
I said with a shrug, "Please don't misunderstand your lordship, I said no such thing." Then with a serious look, I said, "This is an important matter that concerns the future of the kingdom, I'm sure that your lordship will not mind if I take some extra precautions, right?"
Duke Yuletide continued to look at me with those same narrowed eyes for a bit, but then he gave a nod and said with a smile, "As expected of the famous general who orchestrated the Slaughter of the Rising Land Plains. Everything that you do has many different meanings, it is hard for a simple man like myself to keep up with you."
I shook my head before saying with a humble look, "I am but a simple man, there are no other meanings in my words. I just want to do the best for my kingdom and my people."
There was a bit of a sharp jab to these words, but Duke Yuletide didn't seem to care at all as he calmly said, "Of course, it is all for the greater good of the kingdom."
At the very least, there was no doubt that his shamelessness was world class.
He was giving us soldiers like this and he was still saying that it was all for the good of the kingdom.
Even I felt the urge to punch this man in the face at this moment, but I held myself back in the end.
However, I couldn't just let this matter end here.
I had to at least get a jab in at Duke Yuletide before leaving with these troops.
With a cough, I said, "Your lordship, it is embarrassing to mention this, but I was hoping that you would be able to spare some supplies as well. We had to rush here, so we weren't able to bring as many supplies as we wanted. With the extra troops that we will be taking here, we won't be able to support ourselves for long. So if possible, could you spare some supplies for these troops?"
Duke Yuletide knitted his brows when he heard this.
He narrowed his eyes to look at me before saying, "Count Zwein, it isn't that I don't want to help, but I really cannot help. You should have seen the situation when you walked through the city, we really aren't able to help."
I gave a nod before saying, "But on the way, I saw that a few of the nobles of your fair city seemed to be squandering some resources. If those resources could be more properly allocated…"
I didn't finish my words, but it was clear what I was implying.
When Duke Yuletide heard this, he immediately glared at the soldiers who had led us the entire way. However, those soldiers didn't dare look at Duke Yuletide when he was glaring at them.
It was clear that they were scared of his gaze.
After giving a cough to calm himself down, Duke Yuletide said, "Un, it seems that I might have missed a few things. Let me take care of this matter and prepare the supplies for you."
It seemed that those nobles weren't supposed to be there.
At the very least, it seemed that Duke Yuletide didn't have full control of the nobles in his city. Or at least he didn't want full control over them.
His words proved that he had the ability to wipe out these nobles when he wanted, but he kept them in his city for a certain reason.
Was it to pretend to be weak or was it something else?
Regardless, at least I was able to make him bleed a bit.
So I said with a nod and a smile, "Then I'll be counting on your lordship."
