As promised, Tarsha became Count of the Frontier of Machar, and afterwards he converted the lords around him and forced them to submit to him.


    The success of the Tarsha''s campaign soon reached me in Maust.


    Not liking the formal atmosphere of the government office, I came to Fleur''s room to read a letter from a country lord, whose name I hardly knew, offering him a hostage.


    "I see that the frontier count is doing very well. It seems as if he is working almost without a break."


    Fleur smiled softly. I am in Fleur''s room because she has a much keener sense of politics than your average military strategist.


    "Just now, right after the changeover. It''s the time to show that you are the best of the best.


    "That''s what I mean. If they take advantage of you, you''ll be in trouble. However, I don''t think there is anyone in the north who doesn''t know of Tarsha''s bravery.


    "Since the province of Misruh was not yet under his control, he probably intends to keep it in his sphere of influence as well. It won''t be long before the northern two prefectures are leveled.


    The northern part of the Kingdom of Saawil is largely divided into the eastern province of Machar and the western province of Misrou. Both are much larger in area than the provinces near the capital.


    This is due to the fact that the administrative structure of the region was late to be developed due to the presence of different ethnic groups in the past, and also due to the fact that the region is mountainous and has a small population.


    Originally, the Machar frontier counts had their stronghold in Urhila in the southern part of the Machar province, where the population was larger (i.e., still closer to the capital). Even today, the castle is still located in Urhila.


    This means that they did not have enough control over the northern part of the same province.


    It was not until the reign of Saidred, Tarsha''s father, that they began to exert influence in the northern part of the province of Machar and in the neighboring province of Misroux.


    Saitred''s defiance against me was probably due to his confidence that he could win the war if he became the ally of the northern lords.


    However, as he expanded his territory, Cytred apparently became very reckless. This is not limited to Cytred alone, but if you forcefully create a power structure that is not well developed, you will inevitably have enemies.


    The situation was settled when Tarsha, who was known for his bravery, came in under the name of Machar, the frontier count. Many of the lords had given up on Cytred after my defeat. They risked destruction if they remained together.


    "There''s no need to be in such a hurry. It seems that the king''s conquest of the West is still not complete.


    The king himself, Hasse, seemed to be enthusiastic about the idea, but from that point on, things were moving slowly. The fact that I had pulled all the generals together still reverberated.


    "Even if Your Highness were to take the general''s position, you would still need several military officers to serve as deputy generals. There are no such men in the vicinity of King''s Landing. Everyone seems to have turned them down for one reason or another.


    "The king''s cronies, well, that''s just the way it is."


    Information about the capital comes mainly from Jahnhahn. She is technically a bureaucrat in the service of the dynasty, so she has not left the capital. However, this is just a front, and of course there are bureaucrats who followed me, but in the case of Jahnhahn, she is also a merchant, so she cannot leave the royal capital.


    According to Jahnhahn''s report, Hasse is quite annoyed that his plan to conquer the West has not been materialized at all. He is yelling at his weak-kneed vassals, but they are still unable to move because of the poor turnout of the army.


    "But it is too late for that. It seems as if the King''s vassals are rather trying to avoid a war somehow.


    Fleur was perceptive, after all.


    "In fact, they want to avoid it. In the extreme, the king''s cronies don''t care about the reunification of the country. It is not unusual for them to have never even left the capital. They are not kings, but rats who are stuck in the capital.


    As a nomadic state, Hasse had no bureaucracy or vassalage. When he entered the capital, he recruited people who had prospered when Hasse''s father was king and had been bullied by the previous royalists.


    For them, as long as the royal line has not changed to the previous king, the conditions for victory have been met. If not, they will be in trouble if wars happen in succession and the line is overthrown. When the former king comes, they will all lose their jobs.


    "Oh, they don''t want anything more than to stay in power, do they?


    "We don''t think like the Houges of Fleur, who did everything they could to keep their house alive. My family was the same way, but we were soldiers. But most of the king''s men were civilians who had never used a sword or a bow and arrow. They have no idea of winning a battle.


    The time is almost over when such a peace-of-mind mentality can make it, and they are still trying to hold on to it.


    It''s not so much that they are incompetent, but that they really don''t know any other way of life.


    "That''s why they wanted to keep the Regent away. For them, a revolution would be too much trouble.


    "Yes, they are probably more afraid of me than of the former king."


    If the former king comes back, I might be able to switch sides, but if I set up a kingdom, I don''t know what will happen there.


    "Fleur, will you fall on your knees for me? I''m a little tired today."


    "Yes, please, my lord."


    I slumber in Fleur''s lap. It''s really peaceful in Maust now. If King''s Landing is so relaxed, some might say it''s better to keep it that way.


    "But there will be strife. But there will be conflicts, I am sure, that have nothing to do with what they want.


    Fleur said prophetically.


    "If the two powers are in contact with each other at some point, there will eventually be a military conflict there. If the lords on your side lose in that battle, you will not be able to leave them to die.


    I looked up silently into Fleur''s eyes.


    I know you will. Fleur knows what it''s like to be the daughter of a small lord.


    "I wish you could wait another four months. It would last that long."