“I... love you.”
Francesca’s soft, barely audible whisper echoed continuously through Miller’s mind as he lay flat on his back on the castle's terrace training area, staring up at the sky in a daze.
She doesn’t know I was awake to hear it, his thoughts raced, his mind looping back to that moment ever since the morning sun had arrived.
Miller let out a heavy sigh. “Me...?” he muttered under his breath, watching the slow-moving, cloudy sky block out whatever little sunlight managed to pierce through. What exactly does a monster like me possess for someone as brilliant as her to fall in love with? I am someone who openly admitted to enjoying the act of killing on the battlefield...
“What’s with the long face, Commander?”
The voice of one of his mercenary captains broke his trance. A man with tightly braided brown hair and a heavily muscular frame, stood looking down at Miller while two other captains were actively sparring in the opposite corner of the terrace courtyard.
“Marriage troubles?” He continued to ask with a knowing smirk.
“Something like that, Kory... Now, get back to training. Today’s special drills were designed precisely because the rest of you are falling behind, not for wasting precious time on idle chit-chat,” Miller replied, still refusing to break his gaze from the overcast sky.
“Well, the troops aren't going to have much morale if their commander isn't actively training alongside them, especially when he was the one who specifically scheduled the session,” Captain Kory pointed out. Folding his arms, his smirk widened into a tease. “Do you want to suddenly pivot into your late uncle’s old, lazy leadership style now, Commander? Maybe we should even change the entire corps name back to the Zeta Mercenaries while we are at it.”
Miller sighed heavily and finally pushed himself up to a stand. “Too far.”
Captain Kory chuckled heartily, slapping a heavy arm around Miller's shoulder and dragging him toward the center of the training field. “We need to train these new captains to be competent enough to replace the elite squad currently guarding His Highness, the Third Prince. That way, our veterans can finally return home to rest before the long winter freeze sets in!”
However, just as they were about to draw their practice blades to begin the demonstration, the heavy wooden door to the terrace swung open, and Jeckson Libert arrived.
“Lord Jeckson? What are you doing up here?” Miller asked the moment the young man stepped onto the snowy terrace grounds.
Jeckson immediately put on his innocent greenhorn performance for the benefit of the watching captains. “Ah... I was originally here to submit some financial documents to the study, but then I heard that His Lordship was personally training the new captains. I couldn’t bear to miss out on seeing His Lordship’s legendary skills in action, right?”
Captain Kory chuckled warmly at the display. “That makes perfect sense! Lord... Jeckson, was it?” He walked up to the young noble and gave a polite, military bow. “I am the second captain of the Ironwood Mercenaries, and one of the corp's original veterans.”
“I see, I see. A pleasure to meet you,” Jeckson nodded along seamlessly.
But as he intentionally walked past Miller to inspect the field, Jeckson dropped his pitch, whispering with sharp, frantic urgency. “The Vassal Council has just secretly sent Lord Edward to intercept the community coop meeting Lady Francesca is currently attending.”
Miller paused for a fraction of a second, his muscles tensing, but he expertly maintained his calm facade. Raising his voice to match Jeckson's public cover, Miller said, “But Lord Jeckson, didn’t you mention having an urgent matter to discuss regarding local land prices last time?”
“I did, your Lordship, but properly resolving that would only be possible if we actually traveled out to inspect the locations,” Jeckson replied smoothly.
A sharp, authoritative smile crossed Miller's face. Looking back toward Captain Kory, he commanded, “Kory, an urgent matter has arisen. I will be out for a few hours. See to it that the new captains' training is conducted properly in my absence.”
Captain Kory blinked, completely blindsided by the sudden change in plans. “Wait, I thought you were going to show Lord Jeckson your skills?! What about showcasing your movements to the newcomers?!”
“This particular land matter is far too important, and I have already been putting it off for too long,” Miller replied, a thick layer of underlying urgency bleeding into his voice as the thought of the corrupt council sabotaging Francesca's hard work flashed through his mind. “So, I think I should get going to take care of it immediately!”
Without waiting for another objection, Miller started walking out of the terrace doors at a hurried, aggressive pace, with Jeckson following tightly a few steps behind him.
Left alone on the snowy field, Captain Kory scratched his braided hair, watching the doors slam shut. “He is acting odd today...” he muttered to himself before turning back to the recruits.
Few Hours Ago At A Gathering Of Vassal Council Members
Lady Frederica let out a sharp, irritated scoff. “What on earth is this rumor about a town assembly being held for some 'community coop'?”
One of the older council lords grumbled in agreement. “Is this yet another infrastructure project being aggressively pushed through by Lord Miller alone? We absolutely cannot sit back and let it pass without our formal input...”
Lord Edward shook his head slowly, looking over the documents in his hands. “No... no, it isn’t a project being pushed by Lord Miller at all. Rather, from what my informants have gathered, it is a project that Lady Francesca is heading.”
Thud!
Lady Frederica slammed her palm flat against the mahogany table, her eyes flashing with anger. “How can the Lady of the house dare to interfere with the territory’s internal administration?! Is she not flagrantly overstepping her authority?!”
She looked around the room, meeting the eyes of the other anxious lords before continuing. “Not only is His Lordship's trust in this council at the lowest it has ever been in the history of the Viscounty, but now he is actively allowing his capital-born wife to run a government project without even bestowing an official administrative position upon her?!”
Jeckson Libert leaned forward, seamlessly slipping into his role as a calculated naive greenhorn noble. He offered a cautious suggestion. “He must have known that we only gave in to granting her the household management rights so easily because of the immense political pressure we were under. He likely assumed we would definitely push back with everything we have if he tried to officially appoint her to a council position.”
“And so? He just bypasses us entirely and approves a project to be headed by her without a shred of the council’s input?!” Lady Frederica slammed the table a second time, her aristocratic pride deeply wounded.
“Eh... I believe it is technically not an official project funded by the Viscounty,” Lord Edward corrected, carefully reading through the fresh intelligence report he had just been handed. “It is an independent community project organized entirely by the Chicken Association. Lady Francesca has only been appointed as an external advisor for the project.”
A heavy, stunned silence immediately descended upon the room the moment the words left his mouth. The lords looked at one another, completely caught off guard by dilemma.
After a few minutes of tense quiet, Lady Frederica finally broke the silence, her voice dropping to a dark, calculating whisper. “We absolutely cannot allow this to happen. If Lady Francesca participates in this project as an advisor... Lord Miller will inevitably use her success as a weapon against us. He will show us how much the northern citizens trust her, and that growing sentiment among the populace is already highly unfavorable for this council.”
“It’s as clear as day that he is actively looking for a way to dissolve this council completely! and he has been trying to manufacture a justifiable cause to do it!” one of the younger members shouted in a sudden panic.
“Now... now... calm down, everyone. I will personally make sure nothing of the sort happens,” Lord Edward chimed in, his tone smooth and entirely unbothered by the rising hysteria.
Lady Frederica scoffed again, crossing her arms tightly. “And what exactly are you planning to do, Lord Edward? It’s not like we can forcefully command her to step down from an advisory position within the Chicken Association... It is an institution run entirely by the common citizens, not the Viscount’s formal administrators.”
Lady Frederica suddenly paused “However... there might still be a viable way here.”, her eyes narrowing as a wicked thought began to take root in her mind. “Lord Edward... would you mind personally attending this meeting today and representing the formal interests of the Vassal Council?”
Lord Edward’s lips curled into a sharp, confident smirk, giving a slow nod of agreement.
With their primary interceptor chosen, the council members huddled closer together, eagerly continuing their discussion on the calculated steps forward to sabotage the Lady's project.