Room in University of Orlais in Val Royeaux city.

There were seven persons sitting in here. Head of Montfort faction, Cyril de Montfort, his son Gabriel de Montfort as well as his daughter, Gretel de Montfort. On the other side, there were head of Doucy faction, Lothair de Doucy and his daughter, Clarice de Dousy. On my side, Suzy Huber who acted as my secretary. Suzy and I were merely foreigners with the troops came from local aristocrats serving under House of Montfort and House of Doucy.

Summers in Redcliffe, which was within the Central Thedas continent were hot.

It got cooler in autumn and snow fell in winter, becoming cold enough to freeze if we didn’t put on a coat.

In comparison, it’s still hot during autumns in Orlais or Dioral which were part of the southern Thedas continent. Many regions in the south Orlais had never seen snow before.

In the absence of snow, rain poured frequently. 

These created a lot of temporary swamp or flooded areas which were unfavourable for cavalry that relied on horses and speed. 

According to our reconnaissance, Saxon-Fanoss relied heavily on infantry who were deterred by such circumstances. 

The stuck-up girl, Gretel read out the report. 

"Since the purging of noble families by Selena Saxon, many noble families who previously served under Haine, Chevin and Chalons had defected and declared themselves independence. However, they were divided into many small groups and retreated to their demesnes."

She continued, "The low nobles tried to form coalitions with neighbouring nobles to fight the Saxon-Fanoss Union. However, Saxon-Fanoss was quick as if they had predicted such moves. They attacked the demesnes before the nobles could complete their coalitions.  Some territories fell due to this."

Clarice read out her report,

"One of the prominent noble who defected was Count Rikat Guiscard who previously served Etienne de Chevin. According to reports from our spies, Guiscard is numerically inferior and has been retreating continuously until finally getting pushed close to their capital fortress."

Gabriel spoke, "I’m honestly surprised.

I’ve fought against Guiscard’s army before and they’re certainly not weak. Back when we were facing off against them, they were pretty forceful in their advance, plus they were fighting me and my men on two fronts at the same time."

His father, Cyril de Montfort added,

"This time they can focus on one enemy only and use full strength. Yet they’re still being one-sidedly overwhelmed, meaning Selena’s army is formidable."

Lothair de Doucy said, "Haine's military power greatly diminished due to failure in Hyuutia invasion. Chevin was also weakened. Saxon was never the major military player in the region. And many noble families had defected from Saxon-Fanoss Union. Although Selena has successfully recruited a great number of peasants into her army, I don’t think it’s possible for the addition of soldiers from untrained plebeians to tilt the battle to such an extent."

Cyril, the former chairman of Council of Herald sighed before concluding,

"In any case, it would be problematic if they annex Guiscard as well. Count Rikat Guiscard and his vassals had slowed down their conquest by giving them a hard time."

***

Guiscard Territory.

"Your Majesty! We made the Tenth Division of Guiscard army surrender!"

A young man knelt in front of Wilhelmina and reported in a loud voice.

Those present look at him with comparatively cold eyes. The one exception was Selena.

"Oh…… how wonderful. I appreciate your resourcefulness and loyalty. Now we have avoided fighting an unnecessary battle."

Selena took the man’s hand with a smile and the man responded by gripping her hand happily.

"If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have made it this far. Please stay by my side forever."

"I-I do not deserve such words! I will strive to show even more loyalty!"

Selena’s face was slightly tinted red as she thanked the man and then she turned around cheerfully as if to hide her embarrassment before taking her leave.

The man looked around to see if he impressed anybody, while the others averted their eyes in disgust.

"Man, Her Majesty is really a person worthy of my life-long dedication. Let us all endeavor to be ever more loyal!"

The others responded by clicking their tongues and scoffing.

"Hehehe, idiots who only know how to click their tongues. They can’t say anything to me now that I’m Her Majesty’s favorite." He muttered to himself.

The man puffed his chest with pride and deliberately took his time walking out.

"I’ve been fortunate to be born under a lucky star. Lately anything I do turns out well for me."

Ever since he started to act for Wilhelmina, he hasn’t failed once. He thought,

"If I continue to stand out, becoming a minister won’t be a dream…… no, Her Majesty might fall in love with me. There are rumors that Xanthippus is Her Majesty’s lover, but as expected she might find someone like me who has been so faithful to Orlais and more attractive than some person of unknown origin."

The man couldn’t hold back his smile.

"I will eventually be called into her majesty's chambers…… and then become prince consort, no maybe even king. Becoming the king of a large nation made from the union of Holfort, Orlais, and Fanoss is a dream-like scenario. To be able to gain such tremendous power and a stunning lady at the same time, this world is really meant for a talented individual like me to rule."

The man covered the grin on his face with his hand and indulged in more delusions.

***

"Countess.. oh, no...Her majesty. What are you planning?" Xanthippus asked after seeing the pretense before.

After retreating to the back, the smile and embarrassment Selena showed earlier was nowhere to be found.

"Obviously I’m referring to that idiot. Why raise up that youngster?"

Xanthippus spoke with a sour expression on his face.

"It is only natural for a leader to praise their subordinates for their achievements."

The serious expression on Xanthippus’s face didn’t change despite Selena smirking.

"What achievement? Guiscard’s Tenth division army was completely surrounded and already in a hopeless situation. It would have been simple to overrun them as they are, or we could have left them alone and they would not be a threat to us. You didn’t need to send that kid and they would have surrendered."

Selena went “so what?” and urged Xanthippus to continue.

"It’s the same with that guy’s achievement and also the bloodless capitulation of the territory of Gerista. The moment our army successfully detoured, the fate of that territory was sealed. Even without sending someone to negotiate, a single letter would have made the feudal lord hand over the city."

Xanthippus sat down in a chair without hiding his visible displeasure.

"Negotiating with the merchant of Florence turned into his achievement, but in fact you were the one who set everything up, right? He was nothing more than a messenger."

"I wonder about that."

Xanthippus somewhat forcefully took the liquor handed to him by the still smirking Selena and then downed all the liquid in one gulp.

"I don’t know about you saying ‘that’ either. The citizens, soldiers and even my subordinates know of the rumor. You know, about……"

Selena continued where Xanthippus left off.

"Ah, you mean “isn’t that guy and Her Majesty in an intimate relationship?”

"It’s a stupid rumor, although it has an effect on the morale of the soldiers and subordinates. They can’t resist the appeal of sex as a reward for their achievements after all."

He said what he did intending for Selena to deny it, however she only smiled.

"I don’t deny that."

"What!? Don’t tell me you’re actually in love with him?"

Xanthippus slammed his fist into the desk.

"He is an important man to me."

"How is a weak idiot like that important? If that’s good enough, then I.."

Selena’s eyes emitted a cold light.

"I don’t need his limited resourcefulness. What I need is a man who believes he will get an important position and the possibility of an intimate relationship detailed by the rumor."

Xanthippus stopped moving and quietly took his seat.

"I’m not as skilled as you in using such clever tricks. Explain your thinking to me."

"Sure. I don’t want to see a man’s jealousy anymore."

Selena gave a sidelong glance to Xanthippus who was at a loss for words and then took out a document.

"And this is?"

"Secret negotiations with Florence city state for peace. We have come to an agreement on most of the conditions."

Xanthippus was surprised and then snatched away the document.

When he opened it and his eyes scanned the words on it, his eyes widened as far as they could go.

"After declaring peace, a non-aggression treaty for 50 years…… in return, we will acquire the few villages near the border and the right of use to the port…… and then only an insignificant amount of money…… hey, you’re joking right!?"

These were not conditions someone who had pushed the enemies to the city should present.

If peace resulted from such conditions, it could be considered a major defeat in terms of diplomacy.

"It’s not a joke, rather it’s a lie."

Xanthippus dropped his shoulders.

"Florence will be on board with the proposal. You and I will directly negotiate with the leaders in the vicinity of the nearby city, and then a signature will be needed."

Xanthippus understood most of what she said.

"Obviously I’m not going to sign. The useless heads of those leaders…… I’m going to get rid of them right there, then Florence will be mine for the taking."

"Assassination…… but will things go so smoothly? They aren’t idiots, security will be tight no matter where we do the signing, not to mention after killing the heads…… I don’t think the citizens and soldiers will be so obedient."

Xanthippus avoided the eyes of Selena by looking slightly upward.

"I will have you think of a solution to that. You will strengthen the attack even more and make them want to negotiate sooner."

"Understood…… you still haven’t answered my first question. What’s the reason for propping up that idiot?"

Selena answered while checking her appearance in the mirror.

"Having all of them killed is my scheme. And so I thought it would be nice if they at least died as a beloved retainer. That is suitable for a man rumored to be intimate with me, don’t you think?"

"So that’s why you made such preparations?"

Selena casually confirmed it.

After brushing her hair, Selena changed into one of her many expressions and fixed her face with a smile appropriate for her age.

"Alright, let’s invite that man for dinner. I need to make the rumor a little more exciting."

Selena was about to leave the room, but then stopped.

"Hey Xanthippus. What was his name again? I forgot."

"That poor man."