Return of the Unrivaled Spear Knight-Chapter 277Side Story

“Fox Master, what in the world are you doing all of a sudden?” Duke Voltaire demanded.

“Do you even understand what is going on?” a middle-aged man with greenish blonde hair spat.

“Her Majesty wishes to strike Hubalt’s capital as soon as possible, but Duke Killian wants to observe the turn of the war while focusing on stabilizing the empire,” Arash calmly answered. “Am I correct in believing that the difference of opinions started the argument?”

Voltaire could find nothing to dispute with her summary. Even he had to admit her brilliance and insight.

Anna, however, did not appreciate the fact that Arash was garnering all the attention and stood up from the throne. “Hey, all of you. Let’s be frank before we get into any of this. I’m sure many of you believe that I don’t deserve the throne. You didn’t even know whether I was alive or dead, and then I suddenly showed up out of nowhere, claiming to be the sole heir to the throne.”

Even though she was talking to everyone in the chamber, Anna’s eyes were glued to one person. “You can tell me too, Aaron.”

“…Anna.” Aaron groaned.

Voltaire flew into a rage.

“No matter how prestigious the Killian Family is, you shouldn’t call Her Majesty by her first name, Duke Killian!” he fumed.

“…To my knowledge, she hasn’t been coronated yet, and she still has to prove her qualifications.”

“Even if that’s true, she’s a princess and this is an official meeting. You should abide by etiquette!”

Aaron was forced to admit that Voltaire wasn’t wrong.

Aaron was deeply troubled by the whole situation. Draxia bel Grace, a man the Swallow Empire knew as the Tragic Prince, was Anna’s foster father and he had also been a son-in-law of the Killian family. However, his wife had passed away not long after their marriage.

It happened before they even had a child. The late head of the Killian Family had pitied his son-in-law for ending up alone at such a young age. That was why he had sent one of his granddaughters to be Draxia’s adopted daughter—that was Anna bel Grace. In the end, Draxia ended up a traitor and fugitive…

Regardless, Anna, who now sat on the throne, was Aaron’s half-sister, her previous name being Anna del Killian.

“I’m surprised. You’re the third son, so I never imagined you would become Duke Killian,” Anna remarked, her head tilted.

“…And I didn’t expect the ugly duckling of the Killian Family to become the empress.”

“That is, after I have your agreement… Duke Killian.” With a smile, Anna looked straight into Aaron’s eyes. “Tell me, Duke Killian. Do you oppose the idea of striking Hubalt or is it me that you object to?”

“…You’re finally home, so shouldn’t you meet your mother first?”

Anna frowned slightly, but Voltaire raised his voice first.

“What are you trying to pull here?” the duke shouted. “How dare you—!”

“You want my opinion on attacking Hubalt? I couldn’t disagree more. It’s not worth the risk,” Killian bluntly stated. He turned his back on Anna. “I’ve seen that Her Highness is alive and well, so please excuse me. Let’s discuss her ascension to the throne after we finish taking care of this issue with Thran.”

“Hold on,” Arash interrupted, pulling Kireua’s arm closer. “We’re going to form an alliance with Avalon by marriage. I’m sure you know what this means, Duke Killian.”

Aaron glanced at Kireua. “Avalon doesn’t even have their Martial God, so I highly doubt that they’ll be of any help.”

“Indeed, without the Martial God, Hubalt will tear through Avalon like wet paper—but even a child could tell where Hubalt's forces will head next.” Arash looked around the chamber and carefully enunciated her next words. “Thran is now taken care of, so our best choiceis to catch Hubalt off guard.”

“Mmm…”

The groans and grunts Voltaire heard coming from around the chamber made him clench his fists in excitement. He had almost clapped when Anna had first proposed attacking Hubalt. A war against Hubalt was inevitable, but it was also an opportunity to have his new empress order the Killian family to lead the invasion, weakening them.

“Duke Killian! I see no better path forward than Fox Master’s plan. Why do you object to it? Is there a reason that you aren’t telling us?” Voltaire narrowed his eyes, feigning skepticism.

The nobles began to murmur among themselves. They could feel the tension filling the chamber; it could explode into a fresh argument at the slightest opportunity.

“War is not a game!” Aaron roared.

The imperial knights guarding the chamber anxiously reached for their swords, vigilant of the tremendous energy Aaron released.

‘H-Has he been hiding his true power?’ Voltaire sputtered.

He had considered Aaron his life’s rival, so he thought he knew how good Aaron was. However, the wave of mana Aaron had just released was beyond Voltaire’s expectation. It was several times stronger than what Voltaire could unleash.

“You suddenly execute the king of Thran and now want to go and attack Hubalt…?” Aaron frowned. “Where in the world is the Grand Duke? Why don’t you tell me, Fox Master? I thought you said you would prevent the king of Thran from dying by any means necessary.”

Kireua quickly turned to look at Arash, who remained stubbornly silent.

“Or was his death what the Grand Duke wanted?”

“…It was part of my plan to dispirit the people of Thran—”

“Enough! I can’t believe you’ve done this even though you know why the Killian Family hasn’t been active until now.”

Arash flinched.

“Allow me to remind you if you don’t: Thran is already Swallow’s! It’s what the Killian Family has been focusing on for decades! If we can’t subjugate the kingdom by force, the best approach is to build goodwill little by little. Most of Thran’s nobles were on Swallow’s side, but you turned decades of the Killian family’s effort into wasted time!”

Aaron was furious now. Truly subjugating a country meant changing its people’s mindsets, but there was a limit to what force could achieve. Such means could at best create a vassal state. In order to truly unify Thran and Swallow, the empire needed the people of Thran to truly believe that they were part of Swallow.

“You killed their king. We’ll find out soon enough how Thran will react. Let’s see if their spirit will be crushed or if they’re that much more hellbent on throwing us out! For fuck’s sake! Everyone went on and on about your brilliance, but you’re full of bullshit. If I knew, I would’ve—”

“Hey, Duke,” Kireua interrupted, finally fed up with Aaron’s rant. “Although I know the imperial family is treated worse than dogs around here, I think you’re overstepping yourself.”

“…Stay out of this, prince of Avalon. It looks to me like you’re using Fox Master’s idiocy to Avalon’s benefit—but remember that Swallow might make a different choice and attack Avalon instead.” 𝓯𝑟𝓮ℯ𝘸ℯ𝘣𝑛ℴ𝘷ℯ𝓵.𝘤𝑜𝑚

“Oh, my. I’m terrified,” Kireua responded in a monotone voice. “I’m not sure that you’re capable of that, though.”

Voltaire had been hoping for Kireua to keep arguing with Aaron, but he almost called Kireua a madman out loud. Judging from what Aaron had said so far, it was hard to expect him to respect royalty from another country, especially a prince from Avalon, a potential enemy.

‘Is Kireua Sanders out of his mind? He must have sensed the amount of mana Duke Killian has…!’

Voltaire could feel that Aaron was a Master of Masters. Just calling Aaron a “Master” was a serious understatement.

“Hah… You doubt me…?” Aaron scoffed.

“I don’t like how you treat people with disrespect just because you’re a little powerful. I find it especially unpleasant that you think the Emperor of Avalon is all the empire has. Speaking of which,” Kireua politely said, looking back and forth between Anna, on the throne, and Arash, “I would like to prove Avalon’s value as an ally, with the imperial family’s permission.”

“What? W-Wait,” Anna stammered. She knew Kireua’s temper, but it was too late to stop him.

Kireua turned back to Aaron and smiled crookedly. “Let’s go for a round.”

“Go for… a round…?” Aaron pointed at himself, unable to believe that Kireua was talking to him.

Kireua casually nodded. “To be honest, I don’t think I’ll have any trouble crushing who couldn’t say a single word when Grand Duke Lucifer was around.”

“Don’t… keep provoking me.”

Kireua shrugged. “After you’ve kissed the ground, you’ll think twice before you talk.”

That was the final straw for Aaron. The murderous energy he set loose made the display earlier look like a childish fit.

“...I see that Joshua Sanders fathered an unbelievable son of a bitch.”

“Yeah.” Despite the undisguised insult, Kireua grinned. “Let’s see who’s a whining son of a bitch after they get a good pounding.”

Minime’s thoughts: The gay innuendos return. It’s like we’re back in chapter 100.