Chapter 199 - Live to Sienna Pt.199
Chapter 199: Live to Sienna Pt.199
Carl, who had to grow up watching the imperial power play in Arya’s palm, cared most about strengthening the imperial authority. Kenyon has also supported Carl because he shared his thoughts.
But when Carl, whom he supported, became the emperor and Bluebell became empress, Kenyon could not share his opinion with Carl as before. But he thought it would be okay. Because Carl’s baby was growing in Bluebell’s belly.
Although he felt uncomfortable to hear that Sienna was also pregnant, he thought it would be okay. Unlike Sienna, who had no connections in politics, Bluebell was strongly supported by himself.
Moreover, Bluebell’s pregnancy became known first. He thought her child could succeed to the throne if she worked a little harder.
But if Bluebell’s pregnancy is false…
“Why would he do that?”
Arya asked Kenyon. Kenyon knew why but gave no answer. He heard such a shocking story that he didn’t have the energy to say anything.
“Why was the Emperor condoning the spread of news of Bluebell’s false pregnancy when he had not slept with Bluebell?”
“…”
He could see what Arya meant even though his head was hardened by shock.
His own power which had become difficult for Carl to manage. It was a great stumbling block to his strengthening of the imperial power. Waiting for Bluebell’s false pregnancy to become widely known clearly showed what choice Carl was trying to make.
“A predator doesn’t hunt right away because his prey is in front of him. They’re waiting for the moment to identify the weak points and take the least effort to break their breath.”
Anyone could understand that Carl was the predator and that the prey meant that it was Kenyon.
“Even though there is an empress, Bluebell came in because of the succession issue, and it’s unprecedented that an empress made a false pregnancy rumor. If this happens, it will never end with only the Empress Bluebell being punished. If the Emperor had testified it false before it became known to the outside world, it could have been better, but after it became so widely known, especially after Empress Sienna’s conception, it would be difficult for even the great Count Ferrer to keep the family alive.”
Kenyon, who was shaking with a blue complexion a while ago, became calmer.
Arya smiled. This was the same for the father and daughter.
If you drive a person to the corner, they usually scream and panic, but these two, on the contrary, calmed down. He then asked with a cool look.
“So what does the Empress want?”
This meant he took it not as a threat, but a deal.
Arya felt a little disappointed. If he took it as a threat, she could gain more advantage, but if the opponent accepts it as a proposal, she now had to negotiate on an equal footing.
But she had nothing to lose. Because he was not in a position to refuse.
“Empress Bluebell asked me for help.”
“To the Dowager Empress?”
Kenyon didn’t understand why Bluebell reached out to Arya for help instead of consulting him first.
“Yes. Bluebell relies on me a lot. She asked me to help her. Saying that the emperor’s silence, even though he knows that Bluebell is not really pregnant, means that he wants to wait for the right time to strike out the House of Ferrer. She’s very afraid of it. Rather than wait for the blade to hang on her neck, she wants to pull it out first. That’s what she told me.”
“Bluebell did?”
Kenyon responded as he could not believe it. Bluebell, as he knew, was a young and foolish daughter. She was not stupid, but she was not quick enough. The witch in front of him must have played a big role in influencing Bluebell’s thoughts.
Arya smiled as if she knew what Kenyon was thinking.
“Hahaha, Count Ferrer thought he was a giant tree that touched the roots and knew everything, but he didn’t know that the fruit was hanging from his branches. Did you consider Bluebell, the blood of the Ferrer family, a small tender fruit? She is the one who will take root as deep and wide as you. At least she has an insight into what situation she’s in and what options she has.”
Kenyon was silenced by the utterly unwelcomed compliment.
“So she asked me to help her pull out the sword first. You know, it’s not an easy choice for me.”
At Arya’s words, Kenyon coughed in vain, not hiding his discomfort. Arya was saying that it was Bluebell who prepared the rebellion, and she was debating after hearing Bluebell’s story.
In this situation, Kenyon had one of two choices. He had to help Bluebell wield the sword she had already taken out. His choice was to choose whether or not to hold hands with Arya, who had found out about this, or to put Arya in front of the edge of the sword.
Kenyon was not at a crossroads whether to form a rebellion or not. It had already been chosen by Bluebell.
Will he succeed in this or fail? That was his fatigue. Will it be the vanguard of a new dynasty or will he be executed under the guilt of being a traitor?
‘Stupid. Why didn’t she just confide in me? Why did she bring in Empress Arya?…’
Kenyon resented his daughter.
“You’ve been talking extensively, so I am under the impression that you want to work together.”
Arya nodded. If she clumsily said that she didn’t want anything out of it, a rascal like Count Ferrer would think she had a different agenda she is not telling him.
“But… I don’t know how the Empress would help me.”
Arya caught herself fixing her distorted face at his words. Although she tried to gain the upper hand by using Bluebell’s false pregnancy as an excuse, Count Ferrer quickly measured himself and Arya.
As he said, the power Arya now had was minimal.
There may have been a time when Count Panacio, her brother, maintained his dignity and exerted political influence, but now, he just owned a large territory in the south. Although there were still supporters of Arya, they were not loyal enough to participate in the rebellion.
From the perspective of Count Ferrer, Arya was only an uncomfortable figure who knew about Bluebell’s disgrace, and was not a powerful force enough to lead a rebellion.
She broke into a laugh.
“I guess I’ve lost a lot of strength. For Count Ferrer to look down on me like this.”
“…”
Count Ferrer did not answer back. Which was a sign of agreement with what Arya said.
“My power is more influential when it’s hidden.”
“You mean you have hidden power?”
“I’ll add one hand to this rebellion. Money and people would be the most important things. I’ll support with 30 gold medals and 80 knights.”
This time, Count Ferrer could not hide his surprise. The amount of gold she mentioned by no means was a small sum, but it was possible for the Panacio family, who owned big parcels of land in the south. However, 80 knights had different meanings.
“If there are 80 knights… how skilled…”
“Of course, we’re talking about minimum expert-level knights. Based on the imperial palace’s standard right now.”
“…”
If there was no need for an elite army, it was possible to train some laymen into soldiers within a month or two.
But knights were different. They were a human capital that could only be obtained by spending a lot of money and time for training.
Moreover, those who met the expert standards that Arya was talking about were hard to get even after paying for them. The current Imperial palace’s expert level referred to those who can cast the sword aura for more than five minutes during a battle.
It would be possible to gather about 150 knights if Kenyon combined all his aristocrats. But fewer than 20 of those knights would meet the standard of an expert. That’s how great this power was.
Arya had been in power for a long time, but Kenyon couldn’t believe she had so many combatants in secret.
“Where on earth did you get all those knights?”
Count Ferrer’s question was full of doubts. It was not easy to find knights because the emperor had a strong control over the army, including the Central and Change Army. But 80 knights in secret?
Arya breathed a deep sigh at Count Ferrer’s suspicion. She pretended not to like it, but it was her turn to give a scheduled answer to the expected question.
“I didn’t want to tell you this, but I guess I have no choice now. I’m connected with the Castro Empire.”
Count Ferrer felt his heartache. What she said was so shocking.
But he didn’t think it would be a lie. There was no way she would confide in him what could be her biggest weakness.
With her help, the success rate of this event will rise considerably. This is the event that was suddenly given to him. But there was no way to escape. He had to make this event a success.
He nodded his head.
“Okay, given that the Empress is so active, I’m sure you want something.”
Arya laughed as if she was in a good mood.
“Give the title of duke and the authority back to our Panacio family. Just parts of the Southern land.”
“Title is not a big problem, but you’re greedy for the southern land under your authority.”
It was greater than asking for half the empire to ask for the authority over the southern regions, the largest wheat-producing area in the Leipsden Empire.
“I’m not asking for all the southern regions. Just give us the Zilen Territory, the Telan Territory, the Chiers Territory, and the island of Dobido, which are facing the territory of the Panacio family. It’s like a third quarter of the southern region, so there won’t be a shortage of wheat for the empire. It’s not a big area by the size of the land.”
In fact, Arya was not interested in whether or not the land of the Panacio family increased. Even if the family’s power grew, it was not entirely her own.
What she wanted was bigger. The absolute power of “The Throne.” But she made up a good enough reason to persuade Count Ferrer. If she didn’t want anything in the course of the rebellion, it would only raise the old man’s suspicion.
“If you add all those lands on top of the territory of the House of Panacio, it’s not a small size at all. That size will be one of the biggest in the kingdom.”
They have already carefully divided the land as if they had already succeeded. Arya comforted Kenyon after much trouble.
“Are you really going to lose everything by being greedy for some peace of land?”