LIGHTNOVELONLINE chapter 56
56 – For Peace? (One)
Although I have no intention of having children.
A man and a woman form a relationship, become a couple, and live together.
“If the imperial family hears about the relationship between me and Astacia, they will immediately clap their hands and cheer.”
“That’s right. Even though I’m not the heir of Gibraltar, I have the blood of the Sword Master. Not to mention…”
My father picks up the musket and aims the tip at me.
“As expected, I’m not surprised.”
“It’s the same from experience and sense. Because I know it won’t sting.”
The tip of the gun was placed exactly in front of my forehead.
With literally ‘a piece of paper’, my father aimed the end of the musket at my forehead.
“A Gibraltar bloodline with the talent of a master is being passed over to the Empire? It is a great loss for Nostrum and a shame for Gibraltar.”
“Yes. Father, you can do this. When I become an adult. And after Noir becomes an adult.”
I grabbed the end of the musket and aimed it at my forehead.
“Knock me out.”
When Noir Gibraltar, not Gray Gibraltar, becomes an adult and becomes 20 years old and can inherit the earldom.
“Father, please raise Noir to be a sword master. I will make him the Margrave of Gibraltar.”
“As an eternal loyalist? As someone who shed tears and drove out his brother and remains loyal to the Nostrum royal family?”
“You saw it correctly. I will make it that way.”
Noir is the first insurance.
A capable second son, not a useless eldest son, will take the position of successor.
“Already among children of the orphanage generation, Noir is being revered as the de facto future of Gibraltar.”
“It’s because you don’t care about them at all, and Chat Noir is taking care of them.”
“Yes. It’s probably because he wants someone who benefits him to become his successor. That’s what he hoped for.”
Noir is a spare part.
Among the many parts of the magic machine called the House of Gibraltar, there is a spare that allows it to run smoothly when a human named Gray falls out.
“If Gray is out, noir will become real. No one will care about the missing strings.”
The moment a spare replaces a broken part, it becomes the core of the magic machine.
“Cry out when it’s time to change. There are degrees of being blinded by love. How can you know that you are the imperial granddaughter of the empire and yet not know how to give up?”
“What are you going to do with all that time?”
Until I become an adult, 7 years.
Until Noir becomes an adult, 10 years.
“I will become stronger.”
It’s still at the level of a low-level knight, but there’s plenty of potential.
“I plan to find not only myself but also those with other masters’ talents and turn them into the Sword of Gibraltar.”
“Like Lord Mente, Ethan César, and Robert?”
“Yes.”
Wait.
“Do you think Sir Robert has the talents of a Master?”
“This is the person you chose yourself. Didn’t you?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure about that.”
I think Sir Robert will become a master, so I don’t want him around.
“But it feels good. He was accepted by his father.”
“…”
“I plan to look into many people, not just Sir Robert.”
“In the past, like the kings of Nostrum discovered heroes?”
“Yes.”
Heroes are everywhere.
It’s just that it hasn’t stood out yet.
“Anyway, I will buy time by bewitching the granddaughter of Astasia. I will pretend to be blinded by love and build my strength while they picture a rosy future.”
“I understand. Your intention. But there is one part I really don’t understand.”
My father listens carefully to my story, and he thoroughly points out the parts that he does not understand.
“What is it?”
“It is…”
“If you love someone, you have to have children?”
“…”
My father shook his head for a moment and then stopped.
“That’s not what I wanted to ask, but that’s what my father once thought.”
“Grey.”
“I didn’t give birth because I wanted to have children, but because I loved each other-“
“Don’t skip it.”
Phu-uuk.
“…It hurts, father.”
“If you do something that deserves to be beaten, you deserve to be beaten. Even more so if it’s your child.”
My father stabbed me in the forehead with the barrel of a musket.
“I don’t think of children as a by-product of the process of love.”
“…Hehe.”
“Why are you flirting so much?”
“It’s nothing.”
A little bit.
“Wow. I’m really touched. I’m not a child born without a plan.”
Thanks to returning to the past, I have something small to be grateful for.
“As a touching memorial, I would like to tell you one more thing. In fact, this is the main point, and at the same time, it is a clear answer to your father’s suspicions.”
“I’ll ask first.”
My father pulls the musket and slams it on the ground.
“An all-out war between the kingdom and the empire. Assuming that Gibraltar is purely loyal to the kingdom.”
My father asked me with a serious face.
“You think Nostrum is defeated, so you want to buy time to keep the Empire in check and increase its power. Am I wrong?”
“You guessed it perfectly.”
“Even though this Crimson Gibraltar raises his sword for Nostrum?”
“Yes.”
It may be an answer that scratches your pride.
“What did you see?”
But that is reality and the future.
“What have you seen that makes you believe that Gibraltar, not Nostrum, will be defeated?”
“There are two factors. One, my father’s decline in power due to my mother’s death.”
“…”
The father nodded his head heavily.
“That’s unexpected.”
“What?”
“In the old days, as soon as I told you this, you would have cut off my head right away.”
“Because now I am asking the question to my successor as the Margrave of Gibraltar, not as a man of Charlotte.”
This is ridiculous.
The Crimson Margrave of Gibraltar separates public affairs.
“It looks like you’re taking this very seriously?”
“My son says he will stay with the woman he loves without any intention of having children. If that doesn’t happen, he says he will love someone who doesn’t even love him just to buy time.”
“…”
“Even in this situation, do I have to be serious?”
“No. I’m just so moved. It brings tears to my eyes.”
In my heart.
“The second is to strengthen the power of the empire.”
“Do you think the canyon will be conquered?”
“No. The canyon will not collapse, but other places will completely collapse.”
Along with existing common sense.
“Father. I have been reading the Empire Newspaper for three years. I have been watching the development of various technologies, market trends, and financial flows.”
“I will listen.”
“Listening? Isn’t it a bit much to listen to your child talk like that?”
“You have studied and analyzed the Empire for a longer period of time than I have, so of course you should listen. So, what is the basis for the Empire’s victory?”
“Technology.”
I drew a circle with my hand.
“Wheels can make anything roll as long as there is enough power. Just like my father pulled that piece of metal and container himself.”
“Are you saying that the Sword Masters are going to drag the ship themselves and invade the kingdom?”
“It’s similar.”
There is also the expression of turning off.
Even people called masters.
“I think it would be more effective to see this once than to say it a hundred times, Dad.”
I took out a feather pen and drew a picture on the parchment.
“How much do you think the container your father pulled can withstand external shocks?”
“If you don’t count master-level attacks, you can at least take a few arrows… “
Rectangular container.
“Father.”
Then draw three round holes next to them and attach a wheel below.
“An iron carriage that is not pulled by horses but moves through mana. This is a chariot.”
I drew a picture with a musket sticking out of it.
“If you fire a musket inside a container covered with steel plates and a mana shield, it becomes a moving turret.”
“…”
“You can’t come over the ravine? You already have two possibilities in your head, right?”
“Either you are possessed by Astasia and open the canyon gate.”
My father turned his eyes to the map hanging on the wall in the study.
“Either the 100,000-strong army of the empire will land in the kingdom, dragging the container to a place that is not a canyon.”
“Yes.”
Northern snowfield.
Demonic water contamination zone.
Gibraltar Gorge.
Elven Forest.
Southern Channel.
“They will come over to places other than the canyon. They will do so in a way that is completely different from the existing way and will bring shock and fear to the kingdom.”
“No matter what, losing like that is-“
“Because my father loves my mother.”
There is only one loss to Nostrum.
“If the enemy were to target my mother, I would be the one to protect her mother her’s her side her her her her unconditionally.”
No matter what situation happens, her father her will not leave Charlotte Gibraltar’s her side her her her.
“If I were a strategist for the Imperial Army, I would surround Gibraltar with eight masters and then march all my troops to the royal capital.”
“…Hmm.”
“Even if the royal capital is occupied, will your father still head there? For example, the enemies are looking for the worst timing…”
“When your mother was pregnant.”
“Yes.”
My father nodded his head heavily.
“That’s why I told you to form a knighthood. I understand. But I still don’t think they’ll be able to come over anywhere else than the canyon.”
That is correct.
“Even if the masters drag something like a large container and move it forward.”
The Imperial army entered the future by the easiest route – the wide open Gibraltar Gorge.
‘I left another road open in case it didn’t open.’
Right now, somewhere else, it’s like a place where working-level officials are holding hands and negotiating.
“Father. Is it really necessary to attach wheels only to things like wagons or containers?”
“I heard that there are things like bikes and trains in the Imperial Newspaper, but are you saying that they can be made in large quantities? I don’t think the Empire has that kind of resources-“
“No. Probably, we will try to recycle the existing ones.”
It can carry a lot of people.
As for power, you only need to use a small amount of magic engine output from the existing method.
Even if the landing fails, it will not be a waste of waste.
“Father. “What is the hand of peace that the Empire can most surely send to the kingdom?”
“Tell me the correct answer right away. It’s time for your mother to find me.”
“Yes.”
I took out an imperial newspaper with the correct answer drawn.
“It is disarmament.”
Front page of the Empire Ilbo.
“As you know, the accepted opinion is that the pirates in the Southern Strait are the imperial army.”
[Navy Captain Hayreddin, “I will eradicate pirates before I retire.” Declaration.]
“Pirate ships are light and fast, so modifying them won’t be a big problem.”
“…Just what you said.”
The father asked, scratching the back of his neck.
“Are you saying that the Empire attaches wheels to useless ships and uses them to sail across the sea and land soldiers in Nostrum?”
“It is very likely. That’s what we are assuming right now.”
I know.
‘Midnight infiltration of a small assault ship equipped with a magic engine. It was the next best option in the plan to conquer Nostrum.’
The emperor planned to conquer the kingdom in all directions along the five routes.
‘If Gibraltar had not been opened, we would definitely have raided the southern ports. By landing.’
Among them, the wide open Gibraltar Gorge was chosen as the safest and surest route to maintain full power.
“Abusive language.”
Even now, it is not impossible.
“If a master like my father goes into the water and swims while pushing a small boat running on the sea with a magic engine from behind, an assault landing is not impossible, right?”
“…”
“Is it impossible by any chance?”
“What do you think of me?”
My father clicked his tongue in disgust and handed me the musket and the empty box.
“Take it. And go to bed early.”
“Yes, of course I should.”
Good children should go to bed early and wake up early.
“Sleep well, father.”
I can’t do that.
To kill the emperor, you have to become stronger than you are now.
* * *
That time.
Southern Channel, between the borders of the Kingdom and the Empire.
On the quiet sea where only darkness lies.
A medium-sized painted ship with black paint floats calmly on the water.
“…”
On the deck, a middle-aged man in military uniform stood alone with his back silently.
Wearing an imperial naval uniform, he was silently waiting for something-
Kwa-euang!
With the sound of an explosion, I took a step back as I saw something jumping out of the sea.
Cheolpudeok!
A black shadow falls on the deck.
The irregularly shaped object appeared to be at least 5 meters long, and instantly settled on the deck and fell limp.
“…Your Highness.”
“Sorry, sorry.” Did the water splash? I’m sorry, General.”
A middle-aged man with navy blue hair, topless and soaked in seawater, touched the irregularly shaped monster that had fallen on the deck with his bare feet.
“Of course it won’t work. Diving in the direction of the kingdom is impossible because of this group of kraken.”
Pushy.
“Hey, it’s not like Nostrum has placed demonic beasts wherever they try to enter. Soldiers won’t be able to pass through this sea area. They’ll all become Kraken food.”
Soon, black irregular shapes began to creep up around the ship.
Depending on the individual, dozens of adult kraken are said to eat not only mid-level knights but also advanced knights in the sea.
“That’s why I’ve told you so many times. There is no answer other than attacking the kingdom’s navy fleet head-on. Turning around is completely impossible because of the demonic beast.”
“I’m sorry. After all, I’m a person who needs to see it with my own eyes to understand.”
“His Royal Highness the Crown Prince…”
The middle-aged Crown Prince, lightly brushing off the mucus from his hands, patted the soldier on the shoulder.
“Rest assured. I don’t want war either. Are you truly in love with me?”
“…If you want my head.”
“No, no. Why me? Thanks to you risking your life to save that girl, an atmosphere of peace was created and we were able to enter the port in the southern part of the kingdom. General Hayreddin. Thanks to you, we can interact with the kingdom. Haha.”
The crown prince chuckles and opens his mouth.
“Wait a minute, take some tonic. How are you going to take one too?”
“…”
“Wow, how good is this for your health? Hmm.”
He puts the purple stone he was holding in his hand into his mouth, crushing it and swallowing it in one go, like he was eating candy.
“By the way, the water is definitely rough. If the kingdom’s navy doesn’t open the waterway, I can’t even dream of landing in the kingdom. It’s not like I have to swim while pushing the boat from behind myself. Haha!”
“Who in the world would ask His Highness the Crown Prince, or rather the Master, to do something like that?”
“That’s right. If there’s someone like that in the world, it’s one of two things. They’re either crazy or someone like me.”
The crown prince tilted his head left and right and grinned.
“Of course, it would be best to resolve things peacefully. Rather than shed unnecessary blood.”
“…”
“Isn’t that something you should say in front of a soldier? Haha. Still, you think peace is better than war now, right?”
“If Your Majesty tells me to fight, I will pick up my gun right away.”
“Thank you. That’s how you become a true soldier. After all, you’re a general. That’s why.”
The crown prince smiled wryly, raising only his little finger.
“For these peace negotiations, you will have to become Nostrum’s hostage.”
General Hayreddin closed his eyes in silence.
“As a symbol of peace to give to the kingdom. Have some fun with the girl you saved. It would be the icing on the cake if we could have a baby. After all, that place will be part of the empire in about 10 years.”
“…If that is the Empire’s order.”
“Yes. It’s a bit of an uncivilized town, but think of it as spending some time in the countryside somewhere and get some rest. Someday, in the future.”
The crown prince pointed his little finger at the night sky.
“For the day when this ship flies over the sea.”
The next morning.
On page 5 of the Empire Ilbo, an article entitled ‘Mass death of adult Kraken in the Armukh Sea’ was published, but no one paid much attention.
[Prince, “I will open the road to the kingdom myself.” Declaration.]
Because the article was published all the way from the front page.