How to Live as a Tyrant’s Spoiled Brat Chapter 255

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Signine Elzenus Freuheit.

The third daughter of the former Marquis Freuheit and Sigmain.

A great noble who swallowed up several vassal counts of the neighboring marquisate during the chaos of the Oath of Allegiance, and in return for providing military assistance to me during the Capital Immol Incident, received part of the Instrumentum, and was promoted to duke in recognition of his power.

The person standing before my eyes was clearly the Western deity, Signine.

She was fidgeting, her pupils fluttering, a mixture of light blue and dark blue depending on the viewing angle.

Even the fan I usually used was shivering and causing a gust of wind in the middle of winter.

“Why are you here? No, Duke Signine. What are you doing in the palace?”

I asked, feeling bewildered.

Jaylilith also looked somewhat surprised.

The relationship between the great nobles and the imperial family was not a simple contractual one.

Each of the great nobles was a king-like figure who held hegemony over their respective regions for hundreds of years.

In fact, there were many cases where families that were originally royal swore allegiance to the empire and were then granted the title of count or marquis.

Moreover, unlike the kings of other countries, since they had pledged allegiance to him outwardly, they were not able to openly show their wariness, so in some ways they were less tense than other countries.

A typical example was Wyvernfit.

'Isn't it hard to come from that far away by carriage? Come up quickly by riding a wyvern.'

'Then I can't bring many escorts, what if you cut off my head?'

'There's nothing I can do about it. Hehe.'

'It's not going up. Thanks for your hard work.'

It was built so that the great nobles could arrive quickly, but since they only rode one wyvern, the escort was reduced.

'Then I'll let you stay in the Wyvern Pit. You don't have to come all the way to the palace. If you see anything strange, you can run away right away.'

'That's also a bit unsettling… … but I'll try to believe it for now.'

Since safety was not guaranteed with fewer escorts, they did not want to come to the capital, and Wyvernpit eventually underwent renovations to even serve as lodging facilities.

In this way, the relationship between the royal family and the great nobles was a tiring one stained with fierce battles of wits and battles of justification.

If something happens, they are afraid that other great lords or the royal family will use it as an excuse to intervene, so they try to resolve it on their own, but this only leads to further ruin.

There may be a situation where a large-scale demonic disaster breaks out and your family is ruined if you refuse reinforcements.

Moreover, the Freuheit clan is a great western clan with a long history, and is currently expanding its power, while its head, Signine, is still a young man in his early twenties.

It is important to guard against external enemies with a flawless appearance and to rally internal allies with a strong appearance.

The fact that he came to the royal family with the intention of having his image shattered means that this is no ordinary matter.

It was so embarrassing that Jaylilith looked embarrassed.

* * *

“Your Majesty. The Langso and the army are advancing like madmen.”

“Your Majesty. Langsoir is not a weak country, but isn’t it not a big problem for the Freuheit family?”

The empire accepted the blood of all kinds of powerful alien races, including ogres, elves, dwarves, and beastmen, and they became the noble class.

“I don’t know much about the Langsoir, but I’ve heard that they are better at defense than invading, and that they have fewer sword experts and battle wizards.”

A sword expert can fight a thousand soldiers alone, while a battle wizard can burn a hundred men with a single spell.

The trend of the times was for war to increasingly become the stage for a few knights.

“Aren’t you the Lady of the Knights of the Heavenly Heavens, and the head of the Freyat family that supports several schools of magic and trains battle magicians? It doesn’t seem like you’re in a position to reach out to the imperial family?”

Signine made a sad face.

He was clearly two or three years older than me and Jayliless, but he didn't look that way at all.

“Actually… … most of the troops I have are used to stabilize the newly occupied territories. There are four counties that I took from the next Marquis, and with that, the southern part of Instrumentum, there is a serious temporary shortage of troops.”

I grabbed the back of my neck.

I instinctively started speaking informally.

“Why does it seem like the counties are increasing every time I talk? No. So you’ve almost eaten five counties? Didn’t I say that if a civil war breaks out, I’ll tear your fiefs to pieces?”

“Well, there was no civil war. It was an invasion that broke out. Besides, His Highness the Grand Duke was the one who asked for a territory befitting the title of Duke.”

Jaylilith gave me a look that seemed like it was going to tear me to pieces.

I averted my eyes, and Signine continued speaking in a somber tone.

“Most of my forces are in the east and north, but Langsoir is in the southwest of our Freuheit.”

“They’re completely opposite. No alliances?”

“It’s also ambiguous to block it together with the surrounding lords, because that area is right on the border between the southwest and the west, so the surrounding lords are also at odds with each other. It feels like even the races are different.”

Then it is difficult to operate the military as a group.

I nodded toward Jaylilith.

“Your Majesty, I will lead the army and defeat the wicked ones who dare to trespass on the territory of the Empire.”

Jaylilith looked dubious.

“If Jim drops a meteorite on the mainland, won’t it retreat on its own?”

But immediately after hearing Signine's words, I was able to come to some certainty.

“Your Majesty, this invasion is clearly an attempt to divert internal discontent outward.”

“Hmm?”

“Where can there be a war without a reason?”

The most important thing for an eroder is to make the world miserable so that people will devote themselves to erosion.

But King Philios of Dorois now had no need to start a useless local war.

Most of the surrounding weak countries and Langso are the same republic.

The only place that the Langso and the Encroachers can move and invade is the Empire.

“The invaders will have to find somewhere to secure manpower and resources since the Doroisen Diocese has been destroyed. Then the identities of those who decided to invade and their generals will become clear.”

in other words.

“If we capture them all and torture them, we can take over the entire organization.”

Jaylilith made a puzzled expression for a moment.

“To that extent… … it might be worth a try.”

“I, too, have always wanted to solve everything with one stroke of a sword. However, Your Majesty is not a destroyer but a rebuilder, not a killer but a life-saving one. Please take the more difficult but more noble path.”

I spoke pleadingly, and Jaylilith nodded.

The sharpness in her eyes disappeared, and an arrogant, languid smile returned.

Then, she said, sighing.

“I will leave the tiring royalties to you this time as well, and I will just close the magic circle here and there. Can you trust me?”

I nodded as if I had heard something I shouldn't have heard.

* * *

Rudy, Sir Tentia, Sereraji, and even Marcus.

The faces I always saw gathered at the villa.

“Lord Valen. So, are you going to the Southwestern Front?”

Rudy asked with a worried voice.

“That’s how it is. Strictly speaking, it’s not the front line yet. I’m going there to make sure it’s not the front line.”

I looked up at the ceiling chandelier and chewed on a large green grape.

The grapes that were so delicious had no flavor at all.

“… … .”

If I fail to finish reasonably well, Jaylilith will drop a meteor.

Then Langsoir will become what Langsoir used to be, the meteorite dust will block out the sun and ruin all the crops in the area, the increased number of nomads will all join the erosion cult, and then Jaylilith will send another meteorite.

And I'll end up helping her with all of that, and my twin and I will once again be contributing greatly to reducing the world's population.

As I was shivering from the horrible memories, Sir Tentia, sitting across from me, opened her mouth.

“I told you not to do it on the front lines.”

“That’s right.”

“Are you saying that you will do it like you did in Doroisen?”

“Yes. I think we’ll end it with a localized skirmish or provocation. We need to meet with your generals and find out how deep the invader forces are in Langsowa. If it’s beyond recovery, it might be better to just do as Your Majesty says.”

Sir Tentia nodded.

There was a determination as strong as blood in his red eyes.

“What happens if Your Majesty fails?”

“Helena is also preparing. She will do her own thing. She dreams of completely conquering Langsoir and making it her own territory.”

It's even scarier because he's not someone who can't do it.

“What a wonderful dream.”

“It’ll be great when it’s a dream.”

“Okay then,” Rudy said.

“I don’t think it’ll end overnight, so should I recruit merchants who follow me around the battlefield?”

“The supply will be handled by Signine. And we will not be riding our horses or wyverns.”

I had to go there armed with enough force to try to talk to me.

First of all, I plan to mobilize all of my private soldiers.

Wagons take a long time to travel, and wyverns are not a very attractive means of moving troops.

Sir Tentia made a puzzled expression.

“Then what will you be using? A boat? As far as I know, there is no direct canal to that place.”

“Hmm. What I’m thinking right now is a belly.”

I was once called the world's greatest negotiator.

And the best negotiators don't negotiate.

“Marcus. Can you launch the Nibelungen?”

* * *

Nibelungen.

A large airship measuring 150m in length, excluding the bowsprit.

As with all battleships, it was made from a giant tree that only grew in the forest where the elves lived, and was completed with the addition of the products of the magical engineering that Marcus had discarded due to his genius.

Although it was slightly slower than a wyvern, it did not tire, could fly virtually indefinitely once it started, and could carry up to 1,000 troops.

It was made by lightening the hull with eight anti-gravity fields, then flying with four propellers, and maintaining its balance with a complex mechanical device using magnetic force.

“I never thought I’d be re-tooling this thing again.”

Marcus muttered, his voice filled with a thousand emotions.

Despite his status as a Marquis, he personally went out into the field wearing a tool belt around his waist.

The sight of them inspecting the propeller joints by climbing a rope was sublime.

A total of about a hundred assistant magicians followed him and inspected the facilities and equipment in various places.

Even now that command of the machine gun and gun corps has passed to me, he still leads numerous disciples and assistants.

I climbed up onto the hull and asked quietly.

“Do you miss the past?”

There was a time when he too tried to conquer the western region by riding this airship.

Marcus looked thoughtful for a moment.

The real eyes shook first, the artificial eye shaking a beat later.

He finished tightening the screws and shook his head.

“I’d be lying if I said I’d completely forgotten. But I’m a magic engineer.”

“… … .”

“I had to accumulate wealth to be able to do research, and the fastest way to accumulate wealth was through plunder, so I went around plundering, but I didn’t enjoy it.”

“I see.”

“Now that I have a strong backer, I don’t have to fight for wealth.”

These were the words of the Iron Blood Lord, the magic engineer known as the most dangerous lord in the West.

Marcus said, putting on his monocle.

“Could you please give me the larger screws over there? I recently changed them to a material that doesn’t rust.”

“Is this what you mean?”

"yes."

I stood there for a while, handing Marcus the screws and tools he asked for.

With his face smeared with black grease and dust, he looked much more comfortable than when he was living a luxurious life at court.

Looking at that sight, I was convinced that I was right.

I could coexist with those who could compromise.

The maintenance took a total of five days.

It took two days to fill the hangar with various maintenance equipment, auxiliary parts for machine armor, and machine gun bullets.

Serena and I urged Marcus on, shaking our legs in the workshop.

“Can you fly now?”

“When are you leaving? I thought you were leaving tomorrow, so I took a break from studying, but you’re still resting.”

“No. Get some rest, sister.”

“If I rest, my disciples will rest too.”

“Let me rest!”

Marcus came into the stone building alone from the Nibelungen garage with a grin.

“Now all we have to do is pump mana into the mana engine.”

Sereraji and I both got up from our seats at the same time.

“How much should I put in?”

“There are two archmage-level people here. Let’s get ready right away.”

Marcus shook his head as if to ask what was going on.

“It’s not the amount that a person can put in. I’m currently having my assistants buy some mana crystals, so please wait a moment.”

I doubted my ears.

Clear crystals that could be used to store, buy, and sell mana were very, very expensive and were consumable.

“Marcus. What did you just say?”

“This is where most of the maintenance costs come from. I think you’ll probably be charged around this amount.”

“!”

I had Lord Tentia capture all the assistants who had gone outside.

And with Sereraji, he poured mana into the lump of metal, which was like an engine or something, like crazy.

“Your Majesty. That’s not something a human can do-.”

Woohoo!