Dungeon Defense (WN)

My strategy to deal with Queen Henrietta was simple.

“It has been revealed that Henrietta is not a normal ‘mademoiselle’, but is instead a female lion. A female lion that eats the male lion. She is much too terrifying to have as a dance partner at a ball…….”contemporary romance

I told Jacquerie.

“There is absolutely no reason to ask her for a dance when it is obvious that she will refuse. Jacquerie, we will now be making Henrietta into a ‘flower on the wall’.”

“Does Your Highness intend to avoid an all-out war with the Queen of Brittany?”

Jacquerie gave me a curious look.

“Indeed. This is like a new star suddenly appearing in high society. Outstanding beauty and absolute charisma……all the men in the ball have fallen for her. Do you know what one must do in order to bring down such a lady?”

I chuckled. Something was beating within my chest, far deeper than my heart. I’ve waited for quite a while. I managed to wait patiently. My insides had gladly endured all the stress for the sake of this hellscape that was now going to unfold. My starved intestines were demanding a banquet of fresh blood as a reward.

“By bringing all of the other ladies to one side and establishing a united alliance. No matter how glamorous one’s debut is, there is no way to survive high society if you turn everyone else into your enemy. This is the same.”

Henrietta, your victory was a bit too excessive.

A formidable army puts fear in the hearts of their enemy. However, that also makes their enemies group together. Similar to how neighbors would work together to take out an orc even if they’re normally at each others’ throats.

Shall we commence the game?

There was a group that Queen Henrietta had overlooked, no, it was inevitable that she would overlook them. I used a magic sphere to contact them immediately.

– Dantalian, the Republic of Batavia’s army is ready to be dispatched at any time.

It was the <Liberation Alliance> that Demon Lord Paimon had created in secret and planted all throughout the continent for the past hundreds of years. Paimon was smiling brightly within the sphere. I may have not personally talked to Paimon myself for a while, but Jacquerie, who was a part of the Liberation Alliance, had naturally been sending regular reports to his leader, Paimon.

– Just as you told Jacquerie, it seems Brittany has really invaded. Your insight is still surprising. If it is not too rude to ask, may I ask how you are able to accurately predict the future despite not having the ability of foresight?

“It is simply a trivial talent, Miss Paimon.”

– Trivial, is it? Very well, then. If that is what you think, then this lady will leave it at that. I will keep silent about how that trivial talent of yours has shaken the continent and is about to shake it once more.

Regardless of Paimon’s comment, I wasn’t being modest. Queen Henrietta attacking Frankia was an established fact in the game and I was pretending as if the information I already knew was coming straight from my own head. That was it.

The person before me, Paimon, was probably the one who actually shook the continent. She managed to build her faction up this far with her own two hands. If you exclude my plots and schemes, then I can’t even compare to her…….

– When should I dispatch the troops? They are already positioned at the border.

“Not yet. The reinforcement from Batavia has to have an overwhelming cause. Order your men to march as soon as the nobles of Frankia hold their hands out to you first, Miss Paimon. If you do that, then we can easily obtain the support from every commoner within Frankia.”

– That is true.

Paimon placed her hand on her chin and nodded.

I was surprised when I heard that she had already positioned her army at the border. This meant that Paimon had prepared her army the moment Jacquerie had reported up to her after I told him that ‘Brittany is going to attack’.

‘She’ll probably believe anything I say at this point…….’

I couldn’t help but smile wryly. Paimon trusted me completely.

Yesterday’s enemy is today’s most reliable friend. I was experiencing this saying firsthand. I had driven Paimon into a corner so many times that it made her trust in my ability that much more. It was the same for me as well. I found out that Paimon was the one who fought the hero the most persistently in <Dungeon Attack>. That was more than enough of a reason to trust her.

-What are you planning to do? Frankia also has their pride. They will not ask for aid so easily.

“Do not worry about that. I will act as an envoy and persuade those nobles.”

I was making the people revolt for the sake of persuading them.

Our mercenary brigade had ‘liberated’ Garcivel, Rarowe, Laciarel, and Trowin, a total of 4 regions. I instigated Demon Lord Leraje into attacking certain territories and made it so that the lords would die because of these clashes. On the other hand, our mercenary brigade became guardians that protected the land and received the support of the people.

There was approximately a total of 1,500 commoners who had become armed after being freed from their lords’ control. This number increased greatly if you also included the commoners who weren’t armed but still gladly joined in the uprising. There was no one present who could calm the people down since the central government was a mess due to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager’s battle.

There were some priests from the temples, but…….

‘I’m one of those very priests!’

As Jean Bole the priest, I was inciting the people instead. The cries to fight against the devilish people of Brittany had quickly spread throughout the northern region of Frankia. The lords panicked once the people stood up and took up their spears.

I visited these lords and persuaded them. I, Jean Bole, was already renowned for being the Double Ax Mercenary Brigade’s sponsor and a popular preacher. It wasn’t hard to receive an audience with the lords.

“Your Excellency Viscount, what is there to hesitate about? Since ancient times, the will of the people has always been the will of the heavens, so the Goddesses are secretly spreading their will through the people. Standing up against Brittany is the path laid out for the people and the nation.”

“But……Priest Jean Bole, His Excellency the Emperor’s strict orders.”

Even the republican nobles were hesitating because of the imperial decree.

However, I knew that their hesitation wasn’t coming from their lack of loyalty. These nobles were afraid. They were afraid of going against the Emperor of Frankia and the army led by the queen of Brittany.

Even the supreme commander of the main army, General Montmorency had fallen in battle. It was natural to be afraid. Nonetheless, a person who was hesitating because of their fear of a foreign power can also be handled by a foreign power.

I furtively gave them some information.

“What if I were to tell you that the Republic of Batavia has promised to assist?”

“The republic!? Is that true!?”

The noble was surprised.

“I have friends within the temples of Batavia. As a result of talking to them, I learned that the higher-ups within Batavia are genuinely concerned about the illegal pressure that is being applied to the republicans within Frankia……. Your Excellency, you are not alone.”

This made a visible impact on the nobles. The Batavia Republic was a nation that was established after centuries of fighting for their independence. Assistance from a nation like that could only be a good thing.

11 of the lords within the northern region of Frankia gave me permission to negotiate with Batavia for them. They had to know if Batavia could truly send reinforcements, how many they could send, and how fast. I returned to our mercenary group and immediately got in contact with Paimon.

Paimon chuckled.

She gave 4 short answers.

– 15,000 infantrymen. 7,000 cavalrymen. Tomorrow. No mercenary fee.

That was the moment it was determined that the Batavia Republic would be participating in the war as well.

The northern region of Frankia shared a border with the Batavia Republic, so it was only natural that a lot of republicans would be present there. The northern lords found out that they would have enough reinforcements and that the other party wasn’t going to demand a mercenary fee, so they were quick to decide.

They made a declaration.

“Currently, treacherous retainers are pretending to be loyal within the imperial palace, bandits are acting like they are our royal guard, and a foreign enemy is going around as if they are an army of our nation. Thus, we, as people worried about the safety of Frankia and the future of our people, declare…….”

Their declaration was rather long, but, in summary, they were going to annihilate Brittany’s army. The northern lords declared that they were only rising up to get rid of the treacherous retainers. They never mentioned that they were going against the Emperor.

Of course, no one believed that. Well, that stupid Emperor might’ve believed them.

The entire nation was soon consumed by chaos.

Just as they promised, the Republic of Batavia started their advance only a single day after the nobles made their declaration. Batavia pointed at the northern lords and stated:

“These men know what genuine honor and loyalty are. We are happy that they had reached out to us and we will help our friends with all our might. This assistance from us is built solely around our friendship. We vow that we will not ask for a type of territorial exchange for this in the future.”

“The entire continent is currently writhing due to the invasion from the Demon Lords. Brittany has disregarded the safety of the entire continent and has acted solely for the sake of their own personal greed. It is only natural for them to be condemned for this. We order the Kingdom of Brittany to stop meddling with the internal affairs of Frankia!”

This was what they declared.

How should I say it? I couldn’t help but laugh because of how sly it was.

The cause for them sending reinforcements was because their ‘friends’, the nobles of Frankia, had asked for them. While they were acting for the sake of the entire continent, Brittany was acting disgracefully…….

No, this could have actually been Batavia’s opinion, but the individual behind the republic that had made this declaration was Paimon. It was funny since this was like a Demon Lord declaring that they were going to act for the sake of the continent’s peace. Seriously, Paimon is also a unique person.

It wasn’t just Frankia that was shaken by this. The entire continent jolted as well.

Was Brittany’s military expedition an interference in domestic affairs? Was the Emperor of Frankia’s action right or wrong? Was the Republic of Batavia’s response justified or not……?

This issue that could’ve ended simply as an internal discord between the Emperor and the Empress Dowager had escalated into an international conflict once Brittany and Batavia got involved. The Empress Dowager’s birth country, the Kingdom of Sardinia, condemned Brittany harshly for their actions.

At this rate, other nations might join the fray. It was impossible to guess how big this situation was going to blow up.

The Emperor of Frankia and the Queen of Brittany are probably dumbfounded right now.

I’m not sure about the Emperor, but Queen Henrietta is competent. She would’ve considered the possibility of Batavia getting involved. However, Batavia’s response happened way too fast. That was the problem.

“Now then, do you understand what Queen Henrietta did wrong here?”

“…….”

I unfolded a map and asked Daisy. Daisy would be taught by Jeremi during the daytime and act as my attendant during the evening and night.

I would occasionally throw all sorts of questions at Daisy. It was like a type of game. Asking questions and receiving answers from this girl whose personality was exactly like mine was interesting because it felt like I was talking to myself. Although it would sometimes feel disgusting.

“Queen Henrietta……underestimated Batavia.”

Daisy pointed at the map as she spoke.

“The war with the Crescent Alliance has yet to end. Most human nations should most likely be afraid of mobilizing their troops so hastily. The Republic of Batavia should have been the same……Queen Henrietta most likely thought this.”

Her black eyes were staring at the map carefully.

“However, Batavia does not share any borders with the Demon Lord army. The Kingdom of Teuton is protecting them. Therefore, they have the leeway to participate in another nation’s civil war. Is this not it?”

I grinned as I spoke.

“That wasn’t a bad answer, but you are unfortunately wrong.”

The answer was the fact that the person in charge of dealing with the Republic Batavia in the Crescent Alliance was Demon Lord Paimon, who was also the leader of that very republic.

Therefore, Batavia would’ve never fought with the Demon Lord army in the first place……so they could participate in Frankia’s civil war without any concerns. This made Queen Henrietta make a mistake from the very beginning.

Who could’ve known this? It was only natural that both Daisy and even Henrietta didn’t know this. There was no way that they could’ve known that Demon Lord Paimon was controlling a republic in the human world from behind the scenes. In the end, Queen Henrietta didn’t make a mistake.

‘However, that doesn’t mean the responsibility disappears as well.’

Now then, Queen who builds an empire after conquering Frankia in the history of the game. You may have splendidly won in battle, but the Liberation Alliance and I have been planning this out for a very long time now.

What will your next move be? Elizabeth, who is still an imperial princess, has already been driven further away from her supreme power. You’re next.

Please perform a magnificent waltz for me. I am waiting patiently for you like a person longing for their lover……

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I feel like I’ve been slacking a bit in terms of translations lately. I’ve sort of been out of it. I’m not really sure what to say. I just have a lot on my mind. I’ve also been thinking about whether to start translating Million Dollar Bill or Handholding again. Handholding had been put on hold because of the official translation that was being planned, but that process has been fairly slow. I might ask if I can just keep translating it for now and take it down if they ask me to later. We’ll see.

I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.

done.co