An army that loses its commander is like a ship drifting on the open sea after losing its direction.
Even the imperial army was now bound hand and foot, like a fly caught in a spider’s web.
By holding the princess’s safety hostage, their freedom of choice had been completely stripped away, and two months had already passed in nothing but tedious standoff.

The count’s territory received an unexpected guest.
An envoy sent by the king had arrived.
When I first heard that an envoy had come, I thought the war had finally ended.
I couldn’t help but think so.
After all, we had captured the enemy commander and completely collapsed the imperial army’s command structure.

On top of that, since the opponent was of royal blood and couldn’t simply be discarded, negotiations were inevitable.
At that point, no matter how large the gap between the empire and the kingdom, we should naturally have held the upper hand in negotiations.
That was an obvious fact.
Unfortunately, I had forgotten that many nations had fallen precisely because they failed to do even such obvious things.

“What the hell is this bulls*it?!”

A bolt from the blue.
The letter brought by the envoy was like thunder from a clear sky.
Its contents were ridiculous as well.
Stripping away the useless flowery language and getting straight to the point…
They acknowledged the achievement, but claimed its authenticity was questionable, and demanded that the princess be escorted directly to the royal capital.

Outside, the imperial army and elite knights were glaring with murderous eyes.
The situation was so far beyond imagination that even the royalist nobles were left speechless.
How on earth had this ended not in armistice negotiations, but in the transfer of the princess.

“And they even want me to come to the royal capital with only the minimum escort?
Are they telling me to abandon the count’s territory and go to the capital?”
“May I dare to offer a word?”

At the moment when everyone had lost the ability to speak, only Viscount Harban cautiously raised his hand.
He was the noble who had become the representative of the royalist faction after Viscount Maxit was executed.
The instant I saw his face, fury flared inside me, but I forcibly suppressed it.
At the very least, he might have some idea of what was going on.

“Do you have any guess?”
“It seems His Majesty is suspecting you, Baron.”
“???”

I couldn’t even respond to such an absurd statement.
I was so dumbfounded that my words failed me.
Instead, I quietly stared at Viscount Harban.
I wondered if this was some kind of elaborate mockery.

He didn’t avert his eyes and maintained an extremely serious expression, so it seemed there was at least some basis.

“Let’s hear it then.
On what grounds does His Majesty suspect me?”
“The Second Prince of the empire, who was sent as an envoy, visited this place first, and is still staying nearby, is he not.”
“Don’t tell me that’s the reason…?”
“Yes.
Unfortunately, it seems His Majesty has fallen completely for the empire’s attempt at sowing discord.”

Matters of national importance are decided by the king.
An armistice negotiation, for example.
Even during the Imjin War, Admiral Yi Sun-sin achieved great feats, but the war ended through the Giyu Treaty concluded between courts.
The situations differ, of course, but the point is that the king decides national affairs.

And what does that imply.
If the king is a hopeless tyrant, things can spiral to this extent.
I tightly shut my eyes.
I did it to calm my boiling anger, but the viscount’s next words made even that fail.

“Of course, His Majesty must have been preparing for armistice negotiations.
But after hearing rumors that the empire sent an envoy directly to you…”
“Don’t tell me it was just because of that rumor.
I even made a direct report to His Majesty.”
“He wouldn’t act on a single rumor alone.
The imperial envoy who visited the capital this time must have played some tricks.”
“…In the end, he suspects that I might hand over the princess on my own.”

Facing an undeniable truth, my legs finally lost their strength.
I had suffered through hell itself.
Only after burying countless versions of my own corpse on the battlefield had I finally obtained this victory.
And now, to turn that precious victory into worthless scrap paper in just two months.

“How on earth did the negotiations turn out like this…?”
“The imperial envoy must have constantly fanned suspicion.
That you and the Second Prince were engaged in some sort of deal.
And at the same time… they likely resorted to threats.”
“Threats?”
“The empire’s million-strong army is something even children know about.
It seems His Majesty fell for the threat of sending the grand army if the princess was not released.”
“Even so, with the knife handle in our hands, to fold that easily…”

Even just stalling for time would inevitably turn the situation in the kingdom’s favor.
The empire would suffer enormous losses simply by maintaining its forces here.
And there was no way the Alliance, the empire’s greatest enemy, would just sit back and watch from afar.

Yet it was like some Three Kingdoms-level blunder, openly handing over the advantageous high ground.
No matter what, there are limits.
Still, surprisingly, my mind cooled quickly.
Until now, I had only been half-convinced due to a lack of definitive proof, but this allowed me to reach certainty instead.

‘An incompetent king who cannot even defend against the imperial invasion and instead persecutes his own vassal…
That scenario now seems highly likely.’

I couldn’t be certain since I hadn’t gone to the capital yet, but circumstantially, it was the most probable.
The fact that he thought of his throne first while the empire was already at the gates said it all.
But as the saying goes, know yourself and your enemy, and you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles.
Now that I roughly understood the scenario, I clearly realized what needed to be done.

“Send an envoy to the imperial camp.”
“Even if we send an envoy to protest, isn’t it already too late…?”
“Not to protest.
Right now, everyone needs to survive.”
“Then you mean…”
“We make a deal with the Second Prince, using the princess’s safety as collateral.
And after that…”

With the imperial army openly before us and even a Master present, there was no way we could escort the princess to the royal capital.
Even if it were possible, the troops stationed in the count’s territory would be annihilated without exception.
But then again, was there any solution in simply holding out like this.
It would only hand over the justification of rebellion.
In other words, if she was going to be taken anyway, it was better to propose a deal ourselves and withdraw safely.

“We abandon the count’s territory and retreat to the royal capital.”

A commander must be colder than anything else, and must make decisions swiftly.

The only variable was defeat regression…

If my guess was correct, defeat regression would not activate this time.

Because this deal was not one that would trigger defeat regression in the first place.

Kain Blackguard.
The man who tore apart the net that covered the sky with valor and sharp intellect.
To think such a talent existed in a remote borderland.
It was her complete defeat for having arbitrarily judged the enemy’s worth.
Thanks to that, Princess Morgana had been able to remain calm over the past two months.

Admitting defeat is not easy, but once you do, what comes after is surprisingly simple.
You acknowledge your mistake, reflect on it, and correct the problem yourself to become a better person.
Morgana used the two months of captivity to refine herself.

‘It was a beneficial time.
If there’s anything to regret, perhaps it’s that I never had a direct conversation with Sir Blackguard.’

Of course, knowing she was a prisoner, she couldn’t bring herself to ask.
Still, even so.
She was an imperial princess and a commander.
To think he never once visited her over two whole months.
Recalling that again, Morgana unknowingly pouted.

“Of course, it’s not like I regret it or anything…”
“What are you muttering to yourself about.”
“…Second Prince.”

Between strands of platinum blond hair, narrow eyes like thin lines curved into a smile.
It was a sly smile, but within it lay unmistakable concern.
Morgana let out a sigh.
What kind of person was Sir Blackguard.
A man who understood honor would never behave like a beast.
Rather, the fact that he never once came to see her was a little…
No, that wasn’t important right now.

“I didn’t expect you to come in person.”
“How could I not urgently resolve the matter when my own blood, with dragon blood flowing through her veins, was captured.”
“Is that so.
Then please tell me now.
What kind of deal did you make?”

There was no need for words.
Just from how things were unfolding, she could easily grasp the situation.
Negotiations that could have dragged on for years had ended in just two months.
Moreover, Sir Blackguard personally escorted her to the imperial camp.
That alone meant there had been some kind of deal.
At that, the Second Prince Oren shook his head with a deep sigh, as if bored.

“It’s certainly a blessing that my blood relative is outstanding, but it lacks any kind of endearing charm.”
“This is clearly wartime, and I am a commander entrusted by His Majesty with fifty thousand troops.
At the very least, on enemy soil, my authority is higher.”
“I know.
But the matter is too heavy for me to answer directly with my own mouth.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Is there any need to wear out our tongues.
You’ll naturally understand by tomorrow.”

Morgana let out a sigh.
She had no time to deal with a slippery snake like him.

No sooner had she been freed than her mind began to spin fiercely.
If she started over slowly from the beginning, she could definitely win.

That was what she thought.
Until the next day came, the gates of the count’s territory opened, and she witnessed the sight with her own eyes.

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