The Amber Sword

“What about Veronica? Doesn’t she support Your Highness?” He raised his head and asked Lenerratte curiously.

The eldest son of the Kirrlutzian king looked at him and shook his head. “Mr. Count, she supports me for the honor and the sense of justice of a soldier. But her family, House Ereshko, might not necessarily be on my side."

It dawned on Brendel after listening to what this was all about. He was in awe. The names that were mentioned by Lenarette, including the military nobles in the north, were only qualified politicians at best. But this female squad leader was the empire’s true soldier and knight.

Tapping his knuckles, he began analyzing while replying to Lenarette, “I think I’ve understood the whole situation, Your Highness. So let’s determine what our goal is now."

Of course, Brendel’s biggest wish was for the prince to return to the empire directly and gather his supporters to fight against Her Majesty. The mild consequence of this would be a coup, but it was more likely that a civil war would happen. Of course, this was only his thoughts. The prince wasn’t stupid, neither were his supporters.

The ultimate goal of a plan depended on the power they now held. A beggar wouldn’t ask for the moon and set his goal to become a king; a farmer’s vision was to own a few more acres of land, rather than owning a business all over the world and become rich. So, Brendel suggested that the goal for Lenarette was self-preservation.

“Self-preservation?” The eldest son of the Kirrlutzian king digested the word carefully. “Self-preservation. Does this mean that I have to protect myself and make sure that my supporters in the empire will not be swept away by my mother?"

Damn! Brendel cursed in his mind. Although he’d heard about how intelligent the prince was, he still felt as if his intelligence was crushed by the prince's when he met him in real life. This decision was finally made after he’d discussed with Amandina and Carglise several times, and he couldn’t believe that the prince could guess what his intentions were right away.

Silver Queen Constance had set such an ambitious goal of unifying Vaunte, so she would definitely consolidate the army by making a move on House Nona first. Also, her previous suppression of the northern nobles was to prepare for this day as well. The military nobles weren’t stupid, they obviously knew the principle of being bound together for good or ill. The only way for Her Majesty to deal with them was to reduce the military and the power in the hands of these nobles during peacetime. But the early arrival of the Holy War had left Silver Queen Constance with no choice but to let go of the constraints of the northern nobles as she knew that she still had many opponents in the empire. If she lost in the Holy War, then these opponents who were hiding in the shadows would jump out together and force her to abdicate.

She’d reigned over the empire for forty years. According to the earlier agreement, she should’ve given up the throne a long time ago. If she wanted to continue to rule this huge empire, then she must enhance her prestige, so that she had a justifiable reason to not give up the throne.

And the best reason for it was that she could lead the Kirrlutzians to victory.

This was the opportunity for Brendel and the prince, but they couldn’t stand up against the supreme one right now. They must also be careful about it and try not to let Her Highness catch their mistakes. It seemed like Lenarette was only in control of the Black Legion and Count Dervig could influence the local nobles in the north, but in fact, Silver Queen Constance was only in control of the Red and White Legions.

But she had more potential enemies compared to the prince. She feuded with House Kirk, the Holy Cathedral, and the Prime Minister. Plus, the Ereshko Family was close with the Flowerleaf Ranges, so they might not support Her Majesty. On the contrary, although they weren’t the prince’s loyal allies, there was a chance of them becoming friends as they had a common enemy.

Brendel had proposed Lenarette first secretly contact his forces in the empire to aid each other and then hide deeply in the shadows, which was a means of self-preservation. Self-preservation, in itself, was a defense, yet defense was also a form of counterattack. This Holy War was an indescribable vortex for Kirrlutz. The Holy Cathedral wanted to win and Silver Queen Constance wanted to win as well, but the Holy Cathedral wasn’t willing to make a wedding gown for the Silver Queen, and the empire’s elites also had the same thoughts.

The local nobles had their own axes to grind. There were the queen’s hardcore supporters and there were supporters for the Holy Cathedral. When two parties wrestled with each other, the prince had the power to become one of the pivotal forces. If he chose to be silent, then the Silver Queen’s plan to integrate the power of the empire to win the Holy War would fail.

In situations like this, Prime Minister Nedwin would most probably just sit on the sidelines and the local nobles’ attitude would change over time.

It was because of a very simple reason.

There was a difference in the ruling power between a newly enthroned emperor and an iron-blooded queen who had ruled the empire for forty years, and no nobles would like an overpowering emperor. This was a common truth in Vaunte, so it was self-evident as to who they would eventually favor. As Her Majesty’s prestige wanes day by day as she sunk deeper and deeper into the quagmire of war, then there would be a day where the nobles would reach a consensus to force her to abdicate.

At that moment, Lenarette could return to the empire and get the nobles’ support.

This was the final counterattack.

Of course, carrying out self-preservation at this stage was advantageous for Brendel. He would be heading to the empire to retrieve Azure Lance and Scarlet, and there was a high chance that Her Majesty and the Holy Cathedral would be his enemies. So, he definitely wouldn’t want to face a completely unified empire, no matter whether it was in the name of the Silver Queen or the Holy Cathedral. Therefore, he planned to maintain the status quo of the empire’s strife and seek opportunities for himself with the help of multiple rivalries. And at the same time, Lenarette’s allies in the north could also provide him protection and make some arrangements for him to escape from the empire safely.

He and the prince then shared a common interest in this regard.

Of course, carrying out self-preservation at this stage was advantageous for Brendel. He would be heading to the empire to retrieve Azure Lance and Scarlet, and there was a high chance that Her Majesty and the Holy Cathedral would be his enemies. So, he definitely wouldn’t want to face a completely unified empire, no matter whether it was in the name of the Silver Queen or the Holy Cathedral. Therefore, he planned to maintain the status quo of the empire’s strife and seek opportunities for himself with the help of multiple rivalries. And at the same time, Lenarette’s allies in the north could also provide him necessary protection and make some arrangements for him to escape from the empire safely.

He and the prince then shared a common interest in this regard.

After listening to Amandina’s analysis carefully, Lenarette nodded and looked at Brendel. His gaze was no longer indifferent. He pondered for a moment before replying, “Mr Count, thank you for your frank proposal. I think I can trust you fully, and if I ascend the throne one day, then our friendship today will become a precious testimony."

Brendel smiled, finally feeling relieved. “Looking forward to working with you then, Your Royal Highness,” he replied.

Lenarette nodded slightly, but he still kept a straight face. After thinking for a while, he suddenly blurted, “As a friend, I have some personal advice for you."

Brendel froze for a moment and asked, “What advice?"

“I know my mother’s personality very well. Your subordinate is in her hands, so she’ll definitely use you and Aouine to coerce her into submission. In my opinion, Mr Count, if your subordinate isn’t iron-willed, then I think you’d better make some moves to give her some confidence,” the prince replied coldly.

Unsurprisingly, the prince already knew what his real intentions of coming here were. But Brendel also figured that the information he provided was useful to him as the queen would indeed never give up and she would do anything and everything to get what she wanted. Thinking of this, he suddenly felt that he’d gain something valuable from this trip. He then quickly nodded at the prince and said, “I know what to do now, thank you so much."