Edea: Hero Summoning Conspiracy 203 The Duke's Move

A few days have pa.s.sed since Elrich had left the capital. Nothing may have changed on the surface of the capital, but the swift actions of two forces had resulted in different topics that were discussed around the commoner streets of Maynira.

"They sure act fast." Kazuya laughed when he heard about one of the few rumors that were circulated around the capital.

It turns out that the daughter of the Tisdale family, who was once the loyal guard of princess Alicia herself, had volunteered to join the hero's party. She had resigned from her position despite her father and the princess' pleas.

This was one of the most popular rumors as the public had not heard any news about the hero ever since his arrival. There wasn't a hero that didn't have their own tale of having an extremely difficult journey so to the people who didn't know about the truth, they admired Julia for her determination to join the hero's party.

"You've gained quite the reputation thanks to the king's faction to save face it seems." Kazuya showed an amused expression towards Julia who could only smile bitterly at the rumors about her.

They weren't fools that were inexperienced with the way the n.o.bles did things. It was obvious that the king's faction had spread these rumors so that the princess and the Tisdale family would be able to save face. Only Julia and Kazuya would be able to put these rumors to rest but none of them cared about the rumor that had been spreading.

Kazuya allowed this much because it did not affect his plans. If the king's faction wanted to keep the pact between him and Julia a secret, so be it. If he so wished it, they could easily reveal the truth. Julia was a mere guard whose name was not well-known to the public until now, her reputation rising had more positives than negatives in the hero's opinion.

This wasn't the only rumor that people liked to talk about though. Since many have already witnessed the young miss of the Eberbach family when she arrived in a wounded state at the capital, many have already been expecting the duke himself to move. What was so shocking about it was that the culprit had turned out to be the Keller family who apparently used a.s.sa.s.sins to attack her.

That wasn't the most interesting part, rumor has it that the hero had unexpectedly saved her from the a.s.sa.s.sins as he was training himself in the wilderness. He had saved a damsel in distress without knowing that she was one of the most famous flowers in the kingdom. With the hero himself exploiting the plot of the Keller family, it wouldn't be long before they face the wrath of the b.l.o.o.d.y duke.

"Thank you for humoring my ridiculous inquiry Jorel-san. I'm sure a distinguished cleric like yourself has better things to do." Kazuya thanked the young man who was donning the robes from the church of light.

"It is no problem at all, Kazu-san. There are a lot of people that come and go to this church so overhearing them talking about such rumors here is very common." Jorel smiled. This man asked for such a strange thing that he had taken it as a joke.

"I hope that I haven't been bothering anyone by observing the processes that you and the other clerics go through when dealing with patients." Kazuya smiled as the next batch of patients were shown into the temple.

"Not at all. I am glad that there are people who show interest in healing people. We might not be able to perform the church's most legendary spells in front of strangers but letting those who are interested to observe in us performing arts that are used to support people are no problem.

"Thank you. I will be in your care for the near future. Please do not hesitate to tell me if I end up disturbing your work."

-

As the hero settled himself at the capital, at the northwestern part of the Zweifel kingdom, the territories that connected the Keller territory from the Eberbachs were quite tense. They knew that Elrich and his forces would need to pa.s.s through them to get to the city where the Keller family resided.

It was a bright and sunny day but the winds were getting colder as the season near the northern areas was already starting to experience how close the end of the year was approaching.

"Will the duke and the Eberbach forces really come to our lands in this kind of weather?" one of the guards asked.

"Pfft! What are you so nervous about?" the other guard laughed at the nervous guard. "Do you really think a n.o.ble as high as a duke would wage a campaign in this unbearable weather?"

"You have no idea how ferocious the b.l.o.o.d.y duke is, do you?" he looked at his confident companion doubtfully.

"So what if he had that kind of reputation? That was ages ago! That's just a tactic to scare us!" denied the young guard.

*rumble… rumBLE… ruMBLE… RUMBLE*

"Huh? What's going on?" the nervous guard immediately looked out the horizon and spotted something moving from far away.

"It should just be tremors pa.s.sing by."

It didn't take the nervous soldier and those who also noticed the approaching figures long before realizing just what the approaching figures were.

"They're here! The b.l.o.o.d.y duke has arrived!!!!"

"We're doomed!"

"Why did the Earl have to strike against Lady Sodina of all people!?"

The blood red flag that bore the insignia of the personal forces under Elrich Eberbach had made yet another appearance. If news of this reached outside the Zweifel kingdom, those who were complacent that Elrich had switched from being an active general to a politician would have to reevaluate their opinions.

Though what was currently happening was because of the failed attempt of the king's faction to conspire against Elrich's beloved daughter, it was an inevitable situation as the Eberbach family currently held too much power.

The king, the person who was supposed to have absolute authority over the Zweifel kingdom was worried. Although Elrich was indeed a loyal subject and friend, there was no a.s.surance that he would never turn against the crown. He had the power, and the influence to do so without much difficulty.

This was why Benino had gathered his faction to come up with a plan to deal with the current threat to the crown. Especially with the rising tensions ever since the crown had decided to not consider any other opinion when they worked with the church to summon a hero, Elrich's stance against the idea had driven the king to take such measures.

They could either destroy the Eberbach family and absorb their forces or weaken the forces enough for the crown to have an uncontested rule over the kingdom once more. At this point, it was already obvious how the king's faction had decided to act.

Unfortunately for the king and those in his faction, duke Eberbach had gotten an unbelievable stroke of luck in the form of the hero that they had summoned to help them deal with the demon king and his forces. The hero had not only saved Elrich's daughter, but he had also successfully interrogated an expert that was trained by them to point a finger towards the family in their faction that held the most military power.

The interrogation by itself was a mystery. The Keller dukedom was pointed as the culprit out of the blue.  Although they did support the actions the king had decided on, they were but one of many houses that agreed to the plan of conspiring against the Eberbach family.

The man was already dead, and the only clue was the recording of the hero and his story. Though the hero had already been accused of making the duke and the king's faction go against each other, knowing the truth themselves, they found that the hero's argument had been logical. The hero, Kazuya would indeed have a harder time in their world if the two factions started fighting against each other. Kazuya had not even met Earl Keller before so aside from being a person in the king's faction, there was no way that Kazuya could have guessed.

"They really came…" the confident soldier trembled at the sight of the intimidating army that had stopped just in front of their makes.h.i.+ft border gates.

The pressure emanating from the soldiers in front of them made even the experienced soldiers s.h.i.+ver in fear. They knew that it wouldn't have made a difference if the army had stopped or not. They wouldn't have been able to do much just with the sheer difference in numbers.

The armored soldiers in front of the army suddenly split at the center as they made way for a man whose aura had told those who didn't know that this unfathomable man, who was looking at them, was the b.l.o.o.d.y duke who had stepped over a countless number of battlefields.

"To the soldiers of the territory of the Keller family, as you may have already heard, I have come here to seek justice for what Earl Keller has done." Elrich's clear and intimidating voice was amplified with mana.

He had used a powerful amplifying spell so that the nearby villages could hear as well.

"If all of you had heard anything other than the Keller house ordering an attack on my daughter, Sodina Eberbach, then you are being fooled. I can swear on my honor as a n.o.ble and as a general that serves this kingdom with utmost loyalty." He declared.

"Sir Kazuya, the hero himself has proven the sins that the Keller house tried to hide! That is why I want the knights, soldiers, and all the people who work or support the Keller house know, I am here ONLY for the Keller house!"

This shocked all those who heard it. Was this some kind of ploy to catch them off their guard? Did the b.l.o.o.d.y duke's time as a politician make him learn such dishonorable and shrewd methods?

"Those who lower their weapons and desire to join the Eberbach army will be accepted once they are able to meet the minimum requirements to be accepted as trainees if they do so wish. The recruitments will commence once the Keller family has been taken care of." Elrich's offer made the soldiers shudder.

The might of the Eberbach family spoke for itself. If they were able to be part of the unit who invoked fear in them just by standing there, how could they let such an opportunity pa.s.s?

"The Eberbach army…"

"I wonder if I can join the unit that Sodina Eberbach will be in charge of one day…"

"It would be worth it if the taxes of this territory would be like how it is in the Eberbach territory!"

Elrich may have been a well famous war general but he was no fool. He was aware of how the other n.o.bles with territories governed their land. The Keller family was ama.s.sing power recently, so it was the people in their territory that had to shoulder many of the house's ambitions.

"I do not want to spill the blood of soldiers who protect our Zweifel kingdom!" Elrich's sudden declaration had silenced everyone who was discussing their options. "But if I have to, for the sake of ridding the kingdom of a snake that dares attack their own allies for the sake of personal gain, I will carry this burden!"

After Elrich said those words, the soldiers took that as a cue and started their preparations in building a camp for their forces. It was still early in the day so the soldiers waiting for their doom at the territory border were baffled at the Eberbach army's actions.

"I will stay here with my forces for two days! Spread the word to your fellow soldiers so that they too will be able to make their choice! After two days, those carrying weapons against us while we march towards the Keller family's dwellings will be struck down without question!"

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