Chapter 103: Magentano Carry (1)
“What do you mean the eastern border will be set ablaze? Get to the point. What is it that you are saying?”
The queen stared at Lloyd, furrowing her brows. Yes, surely, it would sound bogus. But it wasn’t the time to care what she thought about. Lloyd proceeded to throw bait at the queen.
“It is true, Your Majesty,” said Lloyd.
“True?” The queen asked back.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Then, I shall ask you one thing. The eastern region is currently peaceful from what I know. No urgent message has been received, and no war has broken out. And yet, you are here reporting to me the danger of the eastern region. What should I make of this?”
“Consider it my humble counsel regarding the disaster that will descend soon.”
“What? Counsel? The disaster that will come down soon?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The queen took the bait, and the fishing hook pierced her palate. Now, it was time for Lloyd to pull it up.
“I, Lloyd Frontera, humbly report to Her Majesty that the entire east side of the Cremona region will turn into ashes within a month. Homes will burn, innocent people will die, and the farmland will be reduced to ruins.
There was silence for a second. “Such a thing will happen to the entire region of Cremona within a month?” asked the queen finally.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Lloyd hung his head down. Surely, what he just said may not be true. It may be incorrect. The Frontera barony may be the only place that gets scorched to the ground, while the other regions in the Cremona remained fine. But right now, he needed to be as dramatic as possible and make a big deal out of it to draw her attention. So, he could receive a tad of support from her. His attempt seemed to have worked.
“Hmm, impossible…”
The queen’s attitude was graver than before. She no longer tilted her head or furrowed her brows. Instead, she looked more serious than ever.
“Could it be that you suffered from a terrible nightmare? Oh, do know that I am not trying to insult you,” the queen added.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Good,” said the queen. “Then, why are you speaking such nonsense?”
“I do not think it is nonsense, Your Majesty.”
“Why not? The east of the Cremona region is peaceful today.”
“It will not be in a month,” defended Lloyd.
“Hmm… One month later. Are you by any chance worried about the sultan country over the eastern range and the wasteland?”
Sultan country? Lloyd perked his ears. The queen’s words continued.
“Yes, it is true that the sultan country had significant military activity in its western border, that is, the border facing ours. I was concerned about it as well. However, there were not any signs that indicated any danger or threat toward us,” she explained.
“Could it be that they are preparing for an ambush?”
“No, they are not.”
She was straightforward about it. She continued to speak.
“According to my spies, their military activity took place only on the borders. Meaning it was just a routine exercise. Even if it wasn’t, the transfer and preservation of massive supplies for invasion would have been picked up by the spies first. But they did not spot anything. Moreover…”
She stared at Lloyd.
“Two geographical barriers stand in between the borders of the sultan kingdom and ours. I am sure you are well aware of it, yes? The vast wasteland is rife with giant monsters, and the eastern range is too rough and rugged for the military units to pass. So, it hardly makes any sense for the sultan kingdom to attack us through the eastern terrain. If it comes from the north that directly touches the border, your words would make more sense.”
Her voice was filled with conviction. She thought to herself.
Lloyd Frontera. You are off base this time.
Lloyd hung his head down without any retort or rebuttal. But even though he was wrong about it in her mind, he looked at her in a contented manner.
He must have made a mistake out of his youthful passion.
Lloyd had shown quite a lot of wit and hidden talent. At this point in time, he was the most sought-after talent by the queen. But he was young and zealous. This time, his fledgling passion must have gotten the better of him after picking up an uncertain piece of information and forming an incorrect opinion.
Should I encourage him a little?
His blunder was the result of loyalty, youthful zeal, and passion. At a time like this, she ought to care and wrap her arms around him instead of snapping his zeal like a twig. She ought to redirect his zeal to a proper channel. That was the true accepting quality and leadership she wanted to manifest as a ruler.
“Lloyd Frontera, raise your head.”
Lloyd slowly raised his head, but his gaze was slightly strange. It was shaking. Lloyd was actually deep in thought, working his head off, trying to rack his brain. But was it because he was trying to come up with various excuses? Or to draw her attention once more? No. It was because several pieces of information she just revealed enlightened him about the cause behind the catastrophe that was too soon to arrive in the land.
Crap. That was it.
The large military scale happening in the eastern range, and the monster-littered wasteland. Once Lloyd learned those two facts, a portion of the novel came to his mind.
Monster domino. The initial capabilities’ doctrine of preservation.
That was the new military doctrine the sultan kingdom planned to showcase. When? Two and a half years later. Where? Through the north as it invades the Magentano border. But the period was shortened now, and the location changed. Not the north. It was the east.
For what reason? Why?
Lloyd wanted to know the intention behind the sultan kingdom and the reason why the time and location changed. He mulled it over, but nothing came up. He just felt the urge to inform the queen about this.
“Your Majesty, I have something else to report to you.”
“Hmm. I see that you have not yet given up on your claim.”
The queen looked at a loss, and her gaze seemed to suggest the conversation was over. But Lloyd had more to say. In fact, he was just starting.
Thinking such, he said, “The military exercise the sultan kingdom is holding right now, which Your Majesty just mentioned, shall bring blood to the Cremona region.”
“What…?”
“It is true, Your Majesty,” said Lloyd.
“Hmm. But how can you ascertain it? How is it possible for such a thing to happen? I cannot understand,” replied the queen.
“Rightfully so, Your Highness. It’s as the military doctrine and strategy is rather new and still developing.”
“Explain.”
The queen’s facial expression turned stoic. Lloyd licked his lips in nervousness.
“It’s a sort of butterfly effect.”
“A butterfly effect?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. It refers to the phenomenon where a flap of a butterfly develops into a storm across the sea after a chain of events.”
“How innovative. And such a thing will happen between the sultan kingdom and ours?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. But this time, it will not be a storm. It will be a massive ambush of the monsters.”
“Monsters?” the queen quirked one of her brows.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Explain.”
“As you know it, Your Majesty,” said Lloyd, “countless colonies of monsters inhabit the eastern wasteland.”
“True.”
“The sultan kingdom will make use of it. It will provoke and hunt the colony of monsters near the border. It will pressure them to transfer their habitat westward.”
“Then?” The queen asked, curious.
“Even a strong and large monster can never stand against the power of the military forces, and eventually, they will transfer the habitat. That is the beginning of the monster domino.”
“Domino?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. The monsters will be moving toward the west, threatening the monsters inhabiting there already.”
“Do you mean,” the queen asked, “that just like how a domino block falls to make the next one fall, forcing out the monsters will disturb the habitats until they attack the west, where we are?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. The sultan kingdom will continue the military exercise, continually pressuring the monsters to move until it affects the Cremona region.”
It would be just like what happened at the end of the Roman empire. The Germanic race was forced to escape westward by the Hun race. And just as the national escapade wreaked havoc on Rome, this world was about to undergo a similar event.
“Hmm.”
Queen Magentano thought about it until she asked, “What do they gain by doing so?”
“Preserve their initial forces.”
Lloyd was unreserved in his answer.
“While our border is reduced to ruins because of the monster domino effect, they maintain their existing forces without combat. And they can slightly test the water as well,” said Lloyd.
“They can test the waters?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Once we fail to stop the monsters from flooding into our borders, they will invade us at once.”
“But if we block the monsters for good?”
“We simply need to send the troops back,” said Lloyd.
“Hmm… I see. And we would not be able to raise issues about it since they are not technically attacking us directly.”
“That is exactly the case, Your Majesty. Even if we point it out to them, they shall only express their customary regrets and turn the dagger of criticism at us for intervening with their military exercise.”
“They will criticize us for intervening with their internal affairs?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“…”
Queen Magentano remained silent for a while as she chewed over Lloyd’s words, it made sense. If the sultan kingdom was planning a scheme, the eastern region could be greatly harmed. Thus, she started to wonder
“By the way, where did you receive this information?”
Her gaze grew stern.
“What you just said is logically plausible. Therefore, I am curious. How did you attain the intelligence that even my spies failed to notice?”
She was curious and doubtful at the same time, even if his words were true. What Lloyd nonchalantly reported to herself were the things even the palatial spies failed to retrieve. So, she could not help but take his words with a grain of salt. The look on Lloyd’s face, however, indicated tranquility. And when he spoke, his gaze was added with an additional layer of nonchalance.
“My friends in the eastern wasteland told me,” Lloyd answered.
“By your friends in the wasteland, do you mean…”
“Yes, what you presume is right, Your Majesty.”
“The orcs. The Sand and Steel Tribe.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Of course, it was a big fat lie. He had never heard anything about this from the orc tribe. But if he straightforwardly told the queen that he knew because he read about it in a novel, the latter would consider him nuts. Therefore, Lloyd decided to come up with a believable lie.
“Your Majesty, I am sure you know. The Frontera barony and the Sand and Steel Tribe formed a blood alliance, and ever since then, constant communication has been taking place. And one of the topics was regarding the areas beyond the wasteland.”
“Hmm… The orcs came across the sultan’s strategy and informed his blood ally, you?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Where is your proof that it will be executed within a month?”
“It is my hunch, Your Highness.”
“Hunch?” she asked.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Lloyd lifted his head and looked straight into his eyes. There was conviction in them.
“Someone tried to assassinate you, and the palace fell into temporary chaos. The lords in the regions cast doubt in your authority, Your Highness.”
“Therefore… the sultan kingdom will not give up this chance?”
“That is exactly the case, Your Majesty.”
Lloyd hung his head down again.
“They are the oldest enemy of ours. Which means that they, too, must have planted spies in this palace,” Lloyd stated. “It is certainly the case that they know about the unfortunate event this time.”
“Hmm. And so, you’re asking me to trust you?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The queen paused for a second until she continued. “But there is no evidence to support that it will happen. You are only assuming. How can I mobilize the military to respond to a mere assumption?”
“You should trust me, Your Highness,” Lloyd spoke with a slight force in his voice.
“If I do, what will you do for me?”
“I shall tell everyone that you have seen through the whole threat and took measures against it.”
“All the credit will be mine,” she said.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“But what if the incident you expected does not occur?”
“Do punish me harshly.”
“Ha!”
The queen scoffed at the ridiculousness of his answer. But her eyes didn’t hold any laughter. A close calculation and review of everything he had said and the consequences of his suggestions went through her head. Meanwhile, he waited for her to speak. The baits were tossed, and they were too sweet to reject.
The queen loses nothing even if she follows my counsel.
The assassination attempt dampened the spirits across the kingdom, and this could potentially change the atmosphere for the better. Chaos and disruption would instantly be removed, and domestic and international attention would be diverted to the east. To the queen, this was a joker card.
And for me as well.
He needed to save the fiefdom. A violent crisis was right around the corner after a financial crisis. He must protect his sweet home at all costs, and to do that, Lloyd needed the queen’s support. It was more effective to rush to the border with hundreds and thousands of soldiers than to dash to the barony with just him and Javier. This was the reason why Lloyd didn’t rush back to the barony. Instead, he came here and boldly set up a negotiation table against the queen.
Come on. Say yes. My queen. Come on. Please!
Lloyd waited for the queen’s decision, direly wishing as he bit his lips. Just then…
Ding Dong.
[Your dire wish has activated a title.]
[