A few days after Rigel carried out the public execution of the Queen, the Second Princess Nina, and Duke Valestaria's daughter Stella—
"Father, what do you think of my handling of the situation? The postwar chaos seems to have settled down considerably."
In a room inside the royal castle in Tosh, Rigel asked Balzac.
As he said, the postwar processing was proceeding smoothly.
"Ah, splendid work. I never imagined things would go this well."
"Thank you. This is all thanks to your guidance, Father."
Rigel answered modestly. Balzac gave a small smile and continued.
"With this, we can safely say the conflict between the Wistaria Kingdom and the Valestaine Kingdom is completely over."
"Yes. From the start, there was no way a small country like this could defeat a great power like Wistaria."
"Indeed. That said, the fact that our House of Goussel—a re marquis family—managed to destroy this nation is no small achievent."
"Yes."
Rigel nodded in agreent.
Why does a great power that holds military and economic superiority not invade its neighboring small countries? In the relationship between the Wistaria Kingdom and the Valestaine Kingdom, there were mainly two reasons.
The first was that the benefits gained from an invasion would be minimal. Although the Valestaine royal family possessed powerful sacred treasures, they were not worth the enormous sacrifices required to obtain them. The chances that a compatible user would simply defect were slim, and even if they seized the treasures, there was no guarantee that a compatible user existed within their own country.
The second reason was their relations with surrounding nations. The Wistaria Kingdom was not an exceptionally evil or tyrannical state, but it routinely invaded other countries when it benefited its own interests. As a result, many virtual enemy nations existed around Wistaria. If they committed the majority of their forces to a war with Valestaine, those countries would not stay silent. There was even the possibility of a coordinated attack from all surrounding nations.
Because of these two reasons, Wistaria had never launched a serious invasion against Valestaine. And yet, the Valestaine Kingdom had now been destroyed by the Goussel Marquis Army led by Rigel. The shock of this event would be enormous.
"We'll need to report this to His Majesty of Wistaria, won't we?"
"Of course. I'm sure he will be delighted."
Balzac spoke with satisfaction. Originally, the relationship between the Wistaria royal family and the House of Goussel was not bad. This was evident from the fact that Balzac, the current head of the Goussel Marquis House, served as the commander of the Royal Guard Knights. If there was one point of concern, it was that the next head, Rigel, had been said to lack talent. For such a person to lead a small force, destroy, and conquer the Valestaine Kingdom would be a trendous shock to the King of Wistaria as well.
"…Though burning all the heads of the Valestaine royal family is a derit…"
"Hah! That was a failure on my part. I got careless…"
Rigel offered words of reflection. The Valestaine King, the Queen, First Princess Natasha, Second Princess Nina, Third Princess Norn—and additionally, Duke Valestaria's daughter Stella. After executing them all, Rigel had completely incinerated their remains with fire magic.
"…Well, I also witnessed the executions. Their heads were certainly severed. If I testify to His Majesty, there should be no issue."
"Yes. I'm sorry for the trouble."
"Valestaine Kingdom has been completely destroyed. It will now be managed as territory of our Wistaria Kingdom. …However, there is one thing we must be cautious about beforehand."
"What is it?"
"The Haidegar Federation to the west, and the Ahmad Holy Kingdom to the north."
"..."
"Especially the Haidegar Federation. We must remain vigilant. They are the type who will use any ans necessary if it benefits their country."
"Indeed."
Rigel agreed with Balzac's words. Nations, whether large or small, were like that. Both Wistaria and Haidegar placed their own national interests above all else.
Only certain religious states would seriously speak of justice or love. The Ahmad Holy Kingdom, which had just been ntioned, was exactly that kind of country.
"Rigel, I will head to report this matter to His Majesty along with sterica."
"Yes. I will of course accompany you."
"No, you should remain here for a while longer. There is still lingering chaos in this country, so your strength will be needed."
"But… wouldn't it be better for , as the person directly involved, to accompany you in order to report the details accurately?"
It was a natural claim for Rigel. However, Balzac shook his head and denied it.
"Didn't I just tell you? There is still confusion remaining in this land. The Haidegar Federation might see this as an opportunity and launch an invasion. You will stay here and prepare for that possibility."
"..."
"Don't worry. Since they are a federation, they won't be able to launch a full-scale offensive imdiately. At most, they'll send troops near the border. It would be harsh to leave it to the regular soldiers, but with you here now, you should be able to handle it no matter what."
"…Understood."
"Good. As soon as I give His Majesty a preliminary report, I will have him dispatch a governing army here. We plan to station over 1,000 troops in Tosh and over 100 in other major cities and fortresses. With that many troops, even Haidegar won't be able to interfere easily. Once that is done, you can have an audience with His Majesty. There should be talk of rewards then. Is that fine?"
"Yes! I am most grateful, Father!"
Rigel bowed deeply. Although there would be a slight ti lag, hearing that he would receive rewards from His Majesty of Wistaria made Rigel's spirits soar. An even better piece of news was that while Balzac and sterica would leave this land, Rigel alone would remain in Tosh. For Rigel, this was an extrely convenient developnt.
And then, several days later—
"Take care."
"Stay on your guard, Rigel!"
"Yes! Father, Sister—stay well!!"
Balzac, sterica, and their accompanying regular soldiers departed from Tosh. As he watched their backs recede, Rigel broke into a wide, satisfied grin.
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