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“So Stied got his hands on Grom’s territory too… What am I supposed to do now…”

Hearing the news from Verna, the count’s face changed color in a funny way. The knights and guards surrounding him did the same.

“If Stied hears of what happened here, he’ll definitely send more people to kill the monster. We weren’t able to resist just a few hundred black knights, my territory will fall for sure. Maybe it’s time we escape to another country..?”
“No way?!”
“Milord! You’ll abandon us?!”
“T-That’s not what I meant! I’m not!”
“What did you mean then?!”

Hearing the count’s musings, there was another change in the knight’s countenance. Unlike the count, they all came from poor families, so they had no option to escape to a safe place, meaning they would need to surrender to their fate.

Verna sighed in disappointment while shaking her head, seeing her father and his subjects arguing.

“So shameful…”
“E-Exactly, all of you are so shameful!”

The count heard Verna’s muttering, and used it to arm himself against the knights, but Verna shot him down immediately.

“That’s not what I meant. You’re the shameful one, Father.”
“Huh?”

The count answered by tilting his head as he struggled to comprehend, and Verna sighed once again.

“Anyone would complain hearing that. Do you think anyone would respect someone who throws all responsibility away and tries to escape by himself? You realize that everyone here has a family, friends, and acquaintances in the city, right? And you want them to abandon all of that just so they can protect you? Just think about it a little.”
“…”

Considering his position as ruler, probably no one had pointed that out to him before. He seemed shocked to his core, flapping his lips unable to say anything. Verna could no longer sigh seeing him like that, and instead turned a stern look at the knights that were making so much noise earlier.

“I can no longer trust my father with this. I’ll take care of the city. I’m sure you must have reservations, but I need everyone to help.”
“I…I’m not exactly against that but…”
“Yes?”
“…Alright.”

The knights did not seem to be against the idea, it was more pleasant to serve a good looking girl than a cowardly feudal lord after all. But they were still slightly hesitant as they knew the precarious position they were in. Verna smiled at them in an attempt to calm their worries.

“Don’t worry, we have a powerful ally with us. Diaria is part of Princess Luvias’ party, and she has already fought demons in the past.”
“””!”””

The count and the knights were in shock. They had doubted some of the things Verna told them earlier, but this was their reaction the moment they heard I was part of the hero’s party. I felt a bit miffed by their attitude, but I was prudent enough to know I should not show that feeling.

“Diaria is strong, the black knights can’t even hold a candle to her and I’m sure there’s plenty of evidence to support that. But no matter how strong she might be, we can’t offload everything onto her. We need to help too.”
“Verna is right. There’s a limit to how much I can do alone. I’ll need your help if we want to keep everyone in the city safe.”

On one hand they had me, who could defeat the black knights they struggled so much against, and Verna who looked more reliable than ever before, like she was a completely different person. On the other hand, was the count who had tried to run away on his own. They hesitated for only a short moment, and made their choice right away.

“Please tell us what we can do to help, Lady Verna, Lady Diaria.”

Saying that, they all knelt at the same time. Verna nodded at them satisfied, then turned to face her father.

“And that’s that then. Father, leave the rest to me, you can just rest in your room now, or go leave the city as you please.”
“Verna…”
“Well, now that we’re all working together, there’s still something we have to do. Follow me.”

Saying that, Verna walked next to the count, and went to a magic device affixed in the other side of the room. I think that was a magic communications device, I remembered seeing Luvias using something similar before. Verna picked it up and activated it.

“Verna, what are you going to do?”
“I’ll send a declaration to all territories. I’m sure there’s plenty of other lords that are unhappy with Stied’s actions. I’ll ask for their cooperation.”
“That could be…”

Complicated, I wanted to say, but before I could say anything Verna just chuckled emptily. No matter how unhappy those other feudal lords were, she was asking them to turn against the person with the most power in the country at the moment. I could not imagine anyone would answer her request, not to mention that as much as I hated it, there were demerits to having her at the helm. No one really knew who she was, so the other nobles would likely think she was just a silly child. No one would put their territories in danger just to follow someone like her.

“I know the chances are slim. But I can’t think of anything else. We need to gather as many allies as possible.”
“…You’re right.”

Verna readied herself and took the magic device, and when she was about to activate it, the device began to blare a loud and deafening sound that could be heard throughout the entire castle.

“Wh-What’s happening?!”
“That’s the alarm for urgent transmissions! Someone is trying to contact everyone in the entire country.”

Verna answered as I covered my ears. I did not know that device had such functions as well, I thought it was only used to talk to someone else. While I recovered from the surprise the alarm stopped and a very familiar voice came from it.

‘…This is the Third Princess of Bordaule, Luvias speaking. I have an announcement to make to the entire country. I can no longer overlook my brother, Prince Stied’s atrocities! I’ve decided to take arms and rise against Stied to return the country to its correct path, to stop those abusing their authority and harming innocent people, and more importantly, to bolster our defenses against the threat of demons! Those who sympathize with this movement come and join me! I repeat! I, the hero Luvias, and my party, are rising to action against Stied! We’ll rescue the king, and take down Stied! Those who wish to help our cause and liberate Bordaule come gather in the city of Surfour!’

After a snap, the magic device became silent.

“…”
“…”

Even I was shocked. I had not expected Luvias to do that in the least. I wonder what happened in the short time we acted independently? Was Lapis aware of this? She was together with Luvias, so they were probably doing that together… But did Ciel and Karin find Prince Magna then? I only had question after question.

“This…this our chance!”

Verna said with an excited voice, her cheeks flushed from emotion.

“If Princess Luvias is forming an army, then I’m sure many people will join her. She’s obviously better liked than Stied, and even more than Prince Magna. Everyone who is against Stied will gather around her. Not to mention that every member of the hero’s party is worth a thousand knights, so we have a really good chance at winning!”
“You’re right…”

While Luvias and I are strong, Lapis is on a whole different level. If she was in the mood, multiple armies would be like paper for her. Maybe she could kill all of Stied’s men by herself even.

“Let’s call her right away. The Cristopher family will join her. If this works, then Stied won’t have any men available to send north to us. And even if he sends someone, it’ll just be a small group of knights, instead of a whole army. Lady luck is smiling at us again!”

Verna could not hide her happiness realizing that our position had gone from very precarious to possibly one of the safest places in the country. Surfour was located on the southern extreme opposite of ours, so if Luvias began moving north, there had to be something we could do to help her. I would need to check with Verna to find ways to cripple Stied’s forces even more. Though…

Unlike Verna who was rejoicing, I could not help but feel like we had overlooked something important. I could not tell exactly what, but my instincts told me so.