After the lieutenant left, and twilight descended, darkening the view outside the window, Harold continued to tap his temple, deep in thought.

"Ferdiem will grow stronger as time passes. Their forces will increase too."

Runestones were incredibly valuable treasures. Not only did they have intrinsic value, but they could also be easily converted into cash.

If Ferdiem sold the runestones and used the funds to strengthen their estate, they would soon be able to secure troops and supplies.

Even if he started a conflict with the Digald estate now, Ferdiem would recover quickly from the damage, and over time, they would become even harder to weaken.

"This isn’t something I can decide on my own."

With enough time, he could plot and scheme to weaken them or cause issues.

However, the discovery of a runestone deposit, something rare even in the kingdom, wasn’t something he could hide by himself.

Harold hurriedly sent a message using the fastest horse available.

― Ferdiem, partial development of the Monster Forest. Runestones secured. Request instructions.

The message was short, but it conveyed enough.

After waiting for several days, the Duke’s reply arrived.

― Erase the Ferdiem family. The Duke’s house will intervene afterward. Use Digald to initiate a territorial war. Make sure Digald is discarded afterward. Some risk is acceptable.

The Duke’s response was just as concise, with nothing superfluous—only direct orders.

Harold read over the orders again.

"Eradicate the family… leave the territory without a master?"

If there were no head of the family or heir, the land would revert to the crown.

The mention of the Duke’s house intervening afterward implied that they would select a new lord to take control.

The command to discard Digald also meant that they were not to allow Digald to occupy Ferdiem.

Count Roges, a relative of the Ferdiem family, might have some claim to the estate, but the Duke’s house could handle that. Or they could simply eliminate Roges’ estate as well.

"I see… it was all because of the Monster Forest."

The orders that had once seemed confusing were now clear.

The long-standing directive to weaken Ferdiem without allowing other estates to claim it was to prevent anyone from controlling the Monster Forest.

Now that Ferdiem had begun developing the forest, the Duke no longer saw a reason to hold back and wanted them wiped out.

"But why do they want control of the Monster Forest?"

The Duke’s house was secretly preparing for rebellion, moving cautiously to ensure victory. A territorial war might expose their forces to the public.

Harold couldn’t understand why they were willing to take such a risk to seize the Monster Forest.

No matter how valuable the runestones were, it seemed excessive to go to such lengths just for that.

Harold furrowed his brow in thought for a moment before shaking his head.

It wasn’t his job to question the Duke’s strategies. His role was to minimize the risks in carrying out the plans.

"I’ll understand when the time comes."

There was no time to dwell on the reasoning. He had to focus on adjusting his plans to the new orders.

Harold returned to his office and summoned his advisors.

"How many of our people are still in Ferdiem?"

"We have two retainers and one knight left there."

"Send both retainers to Digald. Use Gilmore’s death in Ferdiem as the justification to start a territorial war."

The sudden order left the advisors puzzled. This shift in strategy was a stark departure from the previous plan of gradually suffocating Ferdiem.

"May I ask what prompted this change in direction?" one of them asked, cautiously.

"The situation has changed."

Harold gave no further explanation.

Though the advisors seemed confused, they soon nodded in understanding. They too had heard about the runestone discovery.

"The goal is the complete destruction of the Ferdiem family. We will join the battle as well."

The advisors were once again taken aback.

Starting a territorial war wasn’t something that could be done on a whim. Without a valid reason, other lords would likely intervene to maintain the balance of power.

One advisor bowed his head.

"While it’s true that Digald alone cannot conquer Ferdiem, we don’t have the justification to intervene directly."

Both estates were relatively equal in strength, and neither could be guaranteed victory. Digald was the perfect tool for weakening Ferdiem, but destroying them would require more than Digald alone.

"We won’t intervene directly. Our forces will be disguised as conscripts and mercenaries."

Most of Digald’s retainers were under Harold’s control. Manipulating Digald into war wouldn’t be difficult.

"Prepare everything within two months. We’ll eliminate both Ferdiem and Digald swiftly."

"Understood. Is there anything else we need to prepare?"

"Send Viktor as well."

The advisors couldn’t hide their shock.

Viktor was the finest knight Harold had raised in Desmond. He was also Harold’s hidden weapon, kept in reserve for critical situations.

Using such a valuable asset meant that Harold was fully committed to this plan.

The advisors were now certain that the destruction of Ferdiem was inevitable. It was a battle they couldn’t possibly lose.

But unlike his advisors, Harold couldn’t shake his sense of unease.

Once again, he found himself repeating a name in his head.

The name that had been haunting him with a growing sense of dread.

"Ghislain Ferdiem…"

Amelia was enjoying a lovely afternoon tea with Bernap, using the fine weather as an excuse.

She gracefully set down her teacup and stroked the cat, Bastet, resting on her lap.

Amelia had been in a particularly good mood lately. She had personally manipulated the flow of information and public opinion to cut off all support for Ferdiem.

"I wonder what became of Ghislain Ferdiem."

Just thinking about it brought a smile to her lips.

Without support from Rayfold, Ferdiem was so impoverished it couldn’t even sustain itself.

By now, the estate must have fallen into chaos, and Ghislain, the cause of it all, was likely in deep trouble.

Given his history of troublemaking and poor reputation, he was surely imprisoned by now, at the very least.

And if he was imprisoned, it would be even easier to kill him. They wouldn’t bother guarding him too heavily while he was locked away.

Seeing Amelia’s good spirits, Bernap smiled too.

"I must say, this strategy was truly impressive. It was far more elegant than using brute force."

Meow!

Bastet, as if agreeing with Bernap, purred contentedly and rubbed its head against Amelia.

"Make sure the wildcats have orders to take off Ghislain’s head when the opportunity arises. And don’t forget that maid either."

"Understood. I’ll ensure everything is taken care of properly."

Bernap truly admired Amelia’s decisiveness.

Despite having vulnerabilities she needed to keep hidden, she had taken the bold step of manipulating the truth, even at the risk of exposure.

Thanks to her daring move, both the Ferdiem estate and Ghislain were on the brink of collapse. In the end, her gamble had paid off.

It was a level of courage and strategy that few could match.

Amelia, feeling even better, hummed a little tune as she picked up a cookie and fed it to her cat.

"Here, Bastet, have a little treat."

Meow!

As Bastet happily munched on the cookie, a maid cautiously approached and handed Amelia a small piece of paper.

"What is it?"

The maid spoke carefully.

"It’s news from Ferdiem."

"Oh? I suppose it says Ghislain’s been locked up, right?"

Smiling, Amelia unfolded the paper and began reading it slowly.

As she read, however, her expression gradually darkened.

Her bright smile disappeared, replaced by a cold, murderous glare that seemed to pierce through the paper in her hands.

Watching Amelia’s shifting expression, Bernap felt a chill run down his spine.

Amelia, who usually remained calm and composed, now looked furious, her face flushed with anger.

Crumpling the paper in her hand, she screamed.

"Ghislain Ferdiem!"

Bastet, sensing the change in the atmosphere, darted behind Bernap for cover.

"How could this happen!?"

Amelia shot up from her seat, the force knocking over the tea table and spilling tea and cookies onto the ground.

Bernap quickly moved to avoid the mess and cautiously asked, "What happened? What has Ghislain done now?"

Instead of answering, Amelia threw the crumpled paper at him.

Catching the paper, Bernap quickly scanned it and gasped.

"Wh-What… He discovered runestones? Then what does this mean?"

"What do you think it means!? Ferdiem is celebrating, and Ghislain is being hailed as a hero!"

Amelia bit her lip hard, her voice trembling with fury.

"And he used the 20,000 gold he blackmailed from me to do it!"

Her whole body shook with rage.

Ghislain had inflicted the greatest humiliation of her life.

There wasn’t a single other noble lady who had been blackmailed into giving away such a large sum of money by someone so beneath her.

That kind of disgrace was something she had never experienced before. The only way to ease her rage was to see Ghislain dead.

She had thought she had finally dealt with him, but now he was thriving instead!

Amelia felt like she was going mad, desperate to drag Ghislain in front of her and kill him herself.

"Ghislain! Ghislain Ferdiem!"

As Amelia muttered his name like a curse, her eyes bloodshot with rage, Bernap kept his mouth shut.

To the public, Amelia was known as a kind-hearted, graceful, and elegant woman. Even Bernap had thought so at first. After all, she often displayed that side of herself.

But he had also seen the dark side of her, the side that had quietly eliminated those who crossed her. It was impossible to tell which side was the real Amelia.

"Her temper isn’t exactly great… but I’ve never seen her this angry before."

Even when ordering someone’s death, Amelia had always maintained her composure. However, whenever Ghislain was involved, she couldn’t seem to control her fury.

It seemed unbearable for her to have been bested by someone she considered so inferior.

"I’d better keep quiet and stay out of this."

If he drew her attention now, even Bernap wouldn’t escape unscathed.

Amelia, her eyes still blazing with anger, glared at Bernap.

"Summon the wildcats and every other group we have."

"What are you planning?"

"What do you think they’re going to do with those runestones? They’re going to sell them, of course! Ambush them, kill them all, and bring me the runestones!"

Bernap swallowed nervously, feeling a wave of anxiety.

"Isn’t that too dangerous? If they’re transporting runestones, the security will be tight. Ferdiem might even call in a merchant guild to handle the sale within the estate."

"We’ll deal with that later. For now, summon the men and have the surrounding bandits ready to move!"

"Understood. But please, calm down."

Bernap tried to soothe her, but Amelia’s fury was far from dissipated.

"Ghislain… I will kill you. And those runestones will be mine."

What had been a peaceful afternoon tea had been completely ruined by the news of Ghislain’s success.