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At Isabelle’s beautiful voice, I exhaled lightly.

“I would like you to voluntarily imprison yourself in the underground dungeon. Of course, you can keep it a secret from your children. No, I insist that you do.”

“……”

It took only a few seconds for the subtle malice in her eyes to turn into a murderous glare.

“You little bastard……!”

“Hear me out. Given that even the poisoning has failed, what do you think the Marquis of Foltaine will do next?”

Isabelle scoffed coldly.

“They’ll keep sending people to tear you apart. People far more specialized in killing than I am!”

“Hmm…… Do you really think so?”

“What, are you scared now?”

“I’m not particularly afraid, but I do agree with what you just said.”

Isabelle’s sneer deepened.

“However, if anyone should be afraid, it should be you.”

“What?”

“If the Marquis’ family doesn’t give up, the assassination targets will include not just me, but you as well.”

“……!”

Finally, Isabelle’s eyes widened.

In fact, this was only natural.

It was the same in warfare.

When sending spies to enemy countries, they are always given poison to carry in their mouths.

In the worst-case scenario, they can have them commit suicide.

If their identity is discovered, it would cause countless problems.

And this place was already a battlefield.

A war between two ‘families,’ rather than ‘nations.’

And since the lady wouldn’t commit suicide, the Marquis would certainly try to kill her.

“After all, as an accomplice, your confession would be much more effective than my testimony. That’s why Count Arsene is putting so much effort into the investigation.”

“Enough with your nonsense! That would be no different than all of us dying together. I’m still a member of the Count’s family!”

“Is Count Arsene the type of person to care about that?”

“……!”

Isabelle quickly clamped her mouth shut.

“Though I haven’t known him for long, he struck me as someone who values principles above all, even at the expense of the family. That’s how I see Count Arsene…”

Grit.

Soon, I could hear the grinding of her teeth.

“Unless the Marquis has gone mad……!”

“Of course, the Marquis might choose a different approach. I’m merely suggesting we prepare for the ‘what if.’”

“What if?”

“Ironically, the prison where criminals are held is the safest place in the estate. There’s a constant surveillance system operating day and night, and if you are imprisoned, the security will be much tighter than usual.”

“You’re asking me to walk into that filthy place just for precautions?”

“Isn’t a filthy place better than hell? There’s a saying that even rolling in a dung heap is better than the afterlife, isn’t there, Lady Dogshit?”

“H-Hell? Are you saying I’m going to hell?”

I deliberately widened my eyes.

“Did you expect to go to heaven after trying to poison an innocent child?”

“Y-You little……! Do you even hear yourself……?!”

Isabelle, who was about to explode, took a deep breath.

She must have realized that getting agitated here would only work against her.

“……”

I calmly waited for her to regain composure before continuing.

“One more thing. There is another reason why you must follow my suggestion.”

“Huff, huff, huff.”

“As long as the Marquis of Foltaine remains, attempts on your life will continue. In other words, you can say farewell to your peaceful nights— forever.”

Shudder.

Just imagining it made Isabelle tremble.

“But what if the Marquis of Foltaine collapses?”

“……!”

As if it were a lie, Isabelle stopped breathing.

“……What you just said……Do you really believe we can defeat the Marquis of Foltaine?”

Eventually, a smile spread across my lips as well.

“If you help me, there’s no reason we can’t.”

“……”

“That’s the essence of what I’m suggesting. You redeem yourself by making contributions, and I keep my promise. So, what do you say?”

I quietly extended my hand.

“Deal?”

***

As soon as the conversation with the Duchess ended, I sought out the head of the family.

“D-Declare war on the Marquis of Poltaine?”

“Yes.”

“But that’s……!”

Before Count Arsene could say anything, I pointed to a corner.

There, the assassins who had infiltrated to kill me last night were lined up and glaring at us, bound tightly.

“First, let me correct you. They were the ones who declared war first. They dared to send assassins to another family.”

“Ugh.”

“This is no longer something that can be handled within the legal framework. If we just leave it to the national law after capturing these assassins alive, how much of a joke do you think other nobles will see the Arsene family as?”

It would be different if we had killed them all.

But since they’re alive, they serve as clear proof.

No matter how strict the criteria for territorial war authorization are, even a peace-loving priest king would sign it, saying, ‘those damned demon-like bastards!’

So, I must persuade Count Arsene at this opportunity.

To wage a territorial war, the head of the family’s approval is essential.

“Didn’t Vigri de Foltaine already confess everything? If we keep hesitating in the face of greater power, the reputation and trust of the Count’s family will fall to the bottom.”

“Even so…… deciding on a territorial war is not something to be done lightly.”

“What is the reason?”

“If we lose, it won’t just be reputation or trust; we’ll lose everything.”

Count Arsene’s face turned faintly red as he spoke.

“I am the head responsible for hundreds and thousands of people. Shamefully, we do not have the strength to objectively defeat the Marquis of Foltaine. It’s much better to conduct a thorough investigation and receive support from the royal family.”

“……”

No.

There are limits to restraining them with public authority alone.

Knowing this, I quietly looked at Count Arsene.

“Ugh……”

He avoided my gaze, perhaps feeling ashamed of his inability to act against injustice due to his lack of ability.

Soon, I smiled and held up three fingers.

“Still, there are three reasons why you must push for a territorial war, Count.”

“Three reasons……?”

I nodded.

“No matter how the process goes, isn’t it clear that if we win, it would be an excellent situation? If we lose, we lose everything, but if we win, we’ll gain everything from the Marquis family.”

“That’s true, but……”

“That is the first reason.”

“What?”

“There is a surefire strategy here. Ways to lead the Arsene family to victory.”

As I spoke, I pointed to my head with my fingers.

“……I didn’t want to say anything out of gratitude, but you seem to lack a bit of sense of reality.”

“Me?”

“I’ll tell you some things, for reference. Our family’s regular knights order has five divisions, each with a hundred men. The territorial army numbers less than thirty thousand. In comparison, the Marquis of Foltaine has more than double that number. Even ignoring quality, purely in terms of numbers, we are at a clear disadvantage.”

“Seems doable.”

I replied without a second’s hesitation.

Just twice the numbers?

I was actually surprised the difference wasn’t greater.

‘Does that mean they rank among the top even among the counts?’

Twice the numbers?

In my past life, I held off an eighty-thousand-strong army with just a thousand troops.

This is nothing.

“I’ll present a detailed plan by the end of the day. Judge it when you see it.”

“……What on earth……”

Before Count Arsene could say anything, I held up my second finger.

“The second reason. I’ll say it again, but, from now on, it’s a race against time.”

“A race against time?”

“The longer we delay and let the reputation of the Count’s family fall, the less chance we have of winning.”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“While direct involvement of other families in a territorial war is not permitted, there’s no stopping them from providing logistical support. Even the royal family can’t monitor every back-alley deal.”

“……So, you’re saying other nobles will help the Marquis family?”

“Yes.”

The situation is already favorable for the Marquis family.

There’s a reason nobles value honor and face.

Hyenas band together around the strong more than their own kin.

If you look weak, they’ll devour you in an instant.

That’s the brutal survival-of-the-fittest world of the nobility.

“Then that’s more of a reason to avoid a territorial war……!”

“This opportunity won’t come again.”

“What……?”

“This territorial war. If we overcome all these adversities and take down the Marquis of Foltaine on our own, the Arsene family will instantly rise to ‘Marquis’ status.”

“……!”

I saw it.

In that moment, the clear desire in Count Arsene’s eyes.

“I mentioned this before, didn’t I? That I have a way to elevate the Arsene family to Marquis status?”

Count Arsene’s eyes began to twitch.

“Could it be…… you’re saying all of this was part of your plan?”

“To some extent.”

I’m not a god.

I guessed that nobles would react this way based on their characteristics, but I didn’t expect such a swift and drastic move.

In the empire where I lived in my past life, this would be unthinkable.

There, even the most ill-tempered emperor kept a close watch, making it difficult to act so openly.

‘This probably means the royal authority in the Kingdom of Hart is weak. The established powers must be rotten to the core.’

Of course, from my perspective of needing to build power, it’s an ideal environment.

“For now, I’ll draft a plan and submit it. You can make your decision after reviewing it.”

“……”

Count Arsene continued to look at me with trembling eyes.

After hearing all this, he must be curious too.

“……Before that, what is the third reason? You said there were three reasons.”

“The third reason is……”

At this point, I paused for a moment.

“……”

efore I tell you, how about taking a walk with me?”

“A walk, out of the blue……?”

I shrugged lightly.

“I think it would be better to show you while I explain.”