EREMUS

It’s been about a week now, and as I expected, the nobles are either flocking to our side or Lord Davis’ side—making the two of us the only major factions in the nation. That’s good, as a violent power struggle involving more than two sides would’ve been way too chaotic to deal with.

“Sir!” A messenger greets me as I’m exiting the work room for some fresh air. I’ve been cooped up in there, reading the reports from our informants for too long, “His Majesty has asked for you.”

I nod to him and head down to the audience chamber.

“Ah, our chief of military affairs is here,” Ducis says as I enter the hall. The chamber is lined with guards, and kneeling in front of the bronze throne (which has Ducis on it) is a face I’ve only seen as a sketch in one of the many reports on all the nobles of Salvorum that we have.

“Eremus, meet Lord John Munimentis,” Ducis introduces, “He has decided to join our cause. And Lord Munimentis, meet sir Eremus, our chief of military affairs.”

Lord John Munimentis has a thin frame, calculating brown eyes, and his light brown hair is shaped in a buzz cut. From what I remember from the reports, he is twenty years old—and he looks it.

He straightens up but doesn’t offer any sort of gesture for friendship. Instead, he looks as though he’s appraising me, “Hm… Since you have been appointed as the chief of military affairs, I expect that you’re the one who came up with the plan to kill King Regis and occupy Eagswall?”

I give him a forced pleasant smile, “Yes. Unfortunately, he had gone mad due to the strain of being king. He was mobilizing his forces to massacre his own citizens.”

This is the official statement we have released as our justification for killing King Villibus Regis. It’s a justification almost no one would believe, but it offers people an excuse to ignore our act of regicide in order to join us. In other words, the nobles who want to join us can avoid accusations of supporting regicides by claiming that we had an unavoidable reason for it—even if no one actually believes this reason.

“Of course,” Lord Munimentis clearly decides to play along, “Although, I wish to know what your plan is to fight Lord Davis before I truly commit myself to your cause.”

…I’m unsure on how to respond to that. Obviously, Lord Munimentis could be a spy, so telling him our plans would be quite foolish. However, this situation is quite special; we need as many nobles as we can get on our side, and declining to give this information could drive Lord Munimentis to Davis’ side.

Judging from the knowing smile on his face, I bet Lord Munimentis is aware of this fact too.

Damn…

I widen my pleasant smile, “Do you not have faith in us, Lord Munimentis?”

Lord Munimentis remains unfazed, “Unfortunately, we have only just met, so I put more faith in my judgment than yours.”

I barely stop myself from grimacing. It looks like I’ll have to give in this time. Thankfully, there’s actually not much to our plan that can’t be found out by normal spies.

“Our first order of business is to build up more forces than Lord Davis,” I explain.

Lord Munimentis nods, “Obviously.”

“In order to do that, we’ve taken a three-pronged approach:

First: we have hired as many mercenaries as we can. As the country’s treasury is in our possession, this advantage is afforded solely to us. Lord Davis’ funds simply can’t compare.

Second: We captured a number of nobles when we took over this city. These nobles don’t have armies, but if any of their relatives who do go to join Lord Davis, then we send those lords a message informing them that we have their relatives held as hostages. This reduces the number of support that Lord Davis will receive.

And third: This one we put into effect with His Majesty’s speech. We made sure to let the world know that we intend to go to war in the near future. As a majority of the army-commander nobles who have mobile units lean towards the pro-war side, this caused more nobles to support us rather than Lord Davis. Most of the army-commander nobles who are pro-peace are stuck defending the defence lines, so they can’t properly commit to Lord Davis’ cause.”

Lord Munimentis rubs his chin, “Interesting… and how many forces do your spies think lord Davis has?”

I shake my head, “We don’t have an approximate number yet, but we do know that we vastly outnumber them.”

“What about your plan of action?” Lord Munimentis presses.

I suppress myself from showing any emotion other than amicability. He just keeps pushing for more information…

“…We intend for Lord Davis to make the first move,” I answer, “His target is no doubt Eagswall, so he will come to us. And he will come soon, as dragging this civil war out will be against the mantra of “Salvorum First” that has been drilled in his head since childhood.”

“I see…” Lord Munimentis says, “Lord Davis is currently hiding out in a fort, which means that attacking him now would simply lead to more casualties than you would incur if you let him attack this fortified capital. However, it’s incredibly foolish to have the battle take place in the capital. What if you lose? There’s no retreating then.”

I can’t stop my eye from twitching in irritation, “That’s why we’re not going to have the battle take place here,” I explain, “We’re going to wait for them to begin their attack and then meet them head-on on the open plains.”

Lord Munimentis nods, “Yes… I suppose it’s not such a bad idea for one who has only taken part in a single battle, and never received a formal education.”

I resist the urge to punch this guy in the face. He’s insulting me to my face, but I can’t do anything about it right now.

“So, will you support us?” I ask, straining to keep up my false pleasant smile.

Munimentis takes a moment to answer, “Very well. The house of Munimentis will support the one who bears the ring of kingship.”

He gives Ducis a nod and then leaves the chamber.

“Hm, he didn’t even wait to be dismissed by me,” Ducis points out almost curiously once Munimentis’ footsteps fade away, “In fact, he didn’t even ask for my permission to stand up.”

I finally let myself scowl, “He knows that we need him more than he needs us. He’s making sure to rub it in our faces.”

Ducis raises an eyebrow, “What advantage does that grant him?”

I think about it for a second, “No advantage comes to mind really… He must just really not like us.”

“Then why join us?”

I shrug, “I know that there are no conflicts between the house of Munimentis and Davis, so that can’t be it. Maybe he has a personal problem with Roger Davis?”

“Or maybe he’s a spy,” Ducis adds. He calls over a messenger, “Increase the amount of surveillance on Lord Munimentis, but make sure he doesn’t find out.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” The messenger bows and leaves.

I can’t help but smile proudly at this interaction, “I’m impressed; you’ve become a lot more… king-like, Ducis.”

Ducis laughs, “Why thank you.”