After speaking with Altia and his daughters, Brando Naaham hanged himself in his cell.

The other male relatives and retainers who’d actively participated in the rebellion were executed, while those who had objected or turned informer when they saw the writing on the wall were taken aboard.

As promised, the core of Brando Naaham’s territories—the counties of Tacti and Naaham in Olbia Prefecture—were given to Kivik, but it would be difficult for the aging commander to govern them directly. Kivik would place one of his retainers as a governor, who would govern while dealing with the old Naaham clan vassals.

Still, it’d probably be a while before we thought about civil governance.

This was the end of one of the rebel leaders. The only one who remained was Ayles Caltis of Mineria.

Of course, the danger had mostly passed the moment I returned to Maust Castle. By quickly taking care of Brando, I’d made the probability of some lord leisurely deciding to rebel close to nil.

Now that I had taken Yuca as a concubine, my new relatives in the Nistonia clan finished quashing various minor rebellions. Meanwhile, in the royal capital, King Hasse had raised his own army and nipped the rebellions in the bud.

I hadn’t considered Hasse as having much military value, so it was an unexpected bonus. When I thought about it, it seemed that if I fell out of power, there was a good chance Hasse’s authority would collapse as well. Currently, we were most definitely in this together.

Still, if the king got too used to commanding troops and strengthened his leadership abilities, he might very well become a threat to me, but right now, the priority was putting down the rebellions.

And as I prepared to face off against the isolated Ayles, I called one of my wives over from the royal capital.

“Surely there’s nothing left to discuss with me at this point.”

The first thing Seraphina did when she saw me was let out a long, theatrical sigh.

“In the future, when I’m punishing someone from Mineria, the most effective person to petition on their behalf will be you, the regent’s consort. I’d like to avoid being resented for issuing some draconian punishments when you’re not around.”

Having sat in a chair, Seraphina turned to the side and propped her face up with her right palm.

“We’ve already discussed this. I will fight for you, dear husband. I said that I wanted to see the world change as the wife of a great hero. My feelings are still the same, and if my family can’t understand that, then I’m fine with them going extinct. You know I don’t like that sort of sentimental nonsense.”

She was unhappy because I’d brought up something we’d already discussed, and what’s more, I’d put her in a position where she had to watch her family fall. It was rather like her, I suppose.

“Then let me be blunt. Whether this’ll make you angry, Seraphina, or have you praising me, I honestly can’t tell.”

“Oh, so you actually had a point you wanted to make. All right, I’m listening.”

Seraphina suddenly grew interested and turned to look at me. Her expression of displeasure had evidently also been an act.

“Can you send secret letters from you to those who can cause the most problems for the Caltis clan?” I simply laid out my objective. “If you can, they might be more effective than if they were in my name. After all, everyone in your family knows that you’ve got a determined spirit.”

Meaning I’d be borrowing Seraphina’s abilities to cultivate agents.

Cultivating traitors and weakening the enemy from within is a proper part of war.

Furthermore, my side had an enormous advantage, making this tactic particularly effective.

But even if we sent letters inviting defections in my name or those of my vassals, I didn’t know how much the recipients would trust us. It would be easy enough to just execute the traitors later, claiming we knew nothing about the arrangements. Once the war was over, the Caltis clan would be gone anyway, so the traitors wouldn’t have anyplace to return to.

So it would be more effective for Seraphina to go around saying that she’d do what she could to save the people in question and asking them to betray the Caltis clan.

Seraphina let out a small giggle, as though hiding it at first, then began chuckling rather amusedly.

“Well done, darling husband! That’s the spirit! To completely and utterly crush an enemy that you can just squash with brute force by taking the extra steps—that’s the sort of mindset you need to unify this kingdom!”

“Seems I haven’t disappointed you, at least, so I’m relieved.”

I was trying to use one of my concubines to destroy her own family. If she had yelled at me that I was going too far, the only thing I could’ve done was apologize.

But it seemed I had fretted over nothing.

“You’re right. Even if my family is gone, the country isn’t unified. You can’t complete unifying the country until you take out the ones protecting the last king off to the west. In which case, you need to win without losing a single soldier. After all, this is only part of the process.” Seraphina nodded firmly. “Leave it to me. It’s my family, so I’ll know how best to manipulate them.”

As I watched her laugh in delight, I thought, Thank the gods I managed to take Seraphina as a wife.

I stepped behind Seraphina and wrapped my arms around her.

“If any historian claims you were an evil witch, I’ll kill them all.”

“Well, of course. After all, my profession isn’t Evil Witch, it’s Saint,” Seraphina said proudly. I honestly had been a bit worried about talking to her about all this, but it felt ridiculous in hindsight.

Given how eager she was to help, Seraphina was a bit of an oddball.

“I remember now that Ayles had problems finding someone to wed you.”

“Could be. Regardless—and perhaps this is a strange way of putting it—I really am thankful for you, dearest husband.”

Seraphina took my hands into her own.

It was a bit different from her jovial mannerisms from earlier—a gentler touch.

“If my family is to end, I’d like to do it myself. It’s a good way to find closure, and if I’m going to regret the family’s end in the future, which is only natural, well…I’d rather not leave it to someone else to do.”

Seraphina turned toward me.

She had her own inner struggles, of course. But she kept overcoming them.

We quietly exchanged a kiss.

Comforting a wife was also a husband’s role.

I finally sent a large army into Brantaar Prefecture, the core of the Caltis clan’s Mineria domain.

It was a force that totaled thirty-five thousand. The surrounding lords had also invaded Brantaar Prefecture from their own borders. Some of the fronts had already broken out into open warfare. Given that more people would likely join our side, it wouldn’t be a surprise if our numbers grew larger.

On the way, I passed by Fort Nagraad, where I’d first used the powers of the profession of Oda Nobunaga, and entered Brantaar Prefecture.

Back then, I wouldn’t have even dreamed of sending soldiers here to take down the Caltis clan. That was how different the Nayvil and Caltis clans had been at the time in terms of power. After the Battle of Fort Nagraad, I had just become a baron who ruled over three villages.

Next to me, Laviala also looked as though she was reminiscing.

“Lord Alsrod, you came to save me when I was on the verge of dying at that fort.”

“Fortunately, you survived that time, but don’t do anything like that again… I honestly don’t remember much about it because I was so desperate.”

“True. It’s so different from now that it feels like a dream.”

“You know, we always used to chant, ‘Death to Mineria!’ at the Nayvil clan’s drinking parties. That’s about to come true.”

Stating wild fantasies was allowed during festivities.

But it was no longer a dream or a fantasy.

“Laviala, there’s no need for mercy. Seraphina’s given her blessing. If anything, she’ll yell at me if we leave things half-done. Something about thoughtless pity being pointless.”

“Yes, you’re probably right. Seraphina is fighting in her own way.”

I’d placed Talsha, the younger sister of Seitred, the Margrave of Machaal, in command of our vanguard. I felt her bravely leading from the front would be a good morale booster.

Furthermore, the distance from Machaal made it impossible for Talsha to have any relatives here in Brantaar. All the more reason why she wouldn’t hold back in battle.

Even though Nayvil and Brantaar were separate territories, this was still a time of relative peace. Our lands were neighbors. Surely I wasn’t the only one who had family relationships spanning between their lands and Mineria. And in those circumstances, there’d be some hope of quarter.

I wanted to cut away those bonds.

There were multiple castles in Brantaar to await us, but few could be described as properly built fortifications. Based on the numbers, the enemy didn’t expect to hold them.

The enemy was likely banking on having the decisive battle near their headquarters. They would focus on chipping away at our forces until then. They probably believed we weren’t capable of sustaining a long campaign because of our numbers.

Of course, that was all based on optimistic projections. That they’d let us into their territory signaled a dangerous situation for them in itself. It meant there was too large a difference between our forces for them to have attempted to push us back earlier.

There had been a time when this sort of incursion would have led to widespread looting and pillaging of everything from livestock to people, but the regent’s regular army didn’t commit such acts of barbarism. The cities along the campaign route remained unmolested. Military discipline was strictly maintained.

Why? Because this wasn’t like the old struggles between regional lords.

The regent’s army had been appointed by the king himself, meaning we were the crown’s army and the enemy were rebels. Our goal wasn’t to take the enemy’s wealth. Rather, this army had been formed to defeat any rebellious lords.

Our forces advanced according to plan. We should soon be able to see Brantaar Castle, the enemy headquarters.

That reminds me. I’ve not seen Brantaar Castle. I should like to compare the strength of its defenses to those of Douzan’s Inabayama Castle.

I have no idea what sort of place this Inabayama Castle was, but Brantaar Castle was built on an isolated mountain on the plains. It’s a tough nut to crack. There’s a river right behind it that functions as a moat.

So it’s something like the Nagara River, mm? Indeed, this is very similar to Inabayama Castle.

I quietly advanced my forces and approached close enough to see Brantaar Castle in the distance. If we got too close, their entire force might sally forth, causing a pitched melee that could end in disaster. I observed from afar.

From what I could tell, Brantaar Castle was a collection of towering buildings lined up along the ridge. It was on a completely different scale from Brando’s castle. It would cost me dearly to take it out with a frontal assault.

Sorry, Oda Nobunaga, but I don’t plan to take this castle with brute force. I’m planning something a bit smarter.

Things should pick up soon.

There had been no major movement on either side during the day. It was now nighttime.

My teeming masses had lit bonfires and arrayed their standards among them.

No doubt the enemy could see this from Brantaar Castle up on the mountain.

How will they react, I wonder?

Eventually, fires flared from the mountain’s peak, within Brantaar Castle.

When my soldiers noticed the flames, murmurs of “Arson?” “The castle’s on fire!” rippled through the crowd. Those who were sleeping were roused from their slumber.

And there wasn’t just one source of the fires. Two, three, then another four. The fires had started in several locations on the buildings along the ridge. It was safe to see them as a series of fires lit in turn.

“Thank you, Seraphina. Looks like things are going to plan.”

Seraphina had already sent secret missives to the younger generals she had been close to. If they succeeded, their holdings would be guaranteed. In a truly desperate situation, it appeared they’d clung to the hope offered by her letters.

“Now the preparations are set. Prepare to stage a night attack!”

My shout was answered by an enthusiastic cheer.

“Still,” I continued, “you need not charge in this time like in our fight with Brando. They’ve lit the weapons caches and food caches on fire. Our goal is to add to their panic. At most, it will take them five days to surrender.”

My words were prescient.

The castle didn’t fall that day, but those who had received the letters had left the castle and joined my ranks.

“Brantaar Castle’s supplies have been burned, their horses have fled, and they are out of arrows. They have no choice but to accept an ultimatum to surrender,” one of the generals said.

“Yes. I plan to be magnanimous.”

Fires continued to be lit sporadically within Brantaar Castle.

The betrayals were mounting. The enemies of Ayles Caltis were on our side.

Then, two days later, a messenger finally came down from the castle to negotiate a surrender.

The messenger was wearing white, the color of submission and death. It seemed they’d determined they had no chance of winning.

The messenger said, “My lord is willing to accept any punishment,” with his head bowed.

“Then answer my question honestly, will you?” I decided to satisfy my curiosity before the negotiations.

“Yes, Sir Regent. What answer do you seek?”

“This rebellion—were Ayles and Brando the only ones involved in planning it? Or was there someone else pulling the strings?”

This was an elaborate scheme. Surely there might have been others involved.

Oda Nobunaga mentioned he’d been faced by an encirclement arranged by his enemies in the past. Was there not something similar being planned for me?

“If the unvarnished truth will bring some clemency…,” the messenger started, his expression changing.

“That depends on what you have to say.”

“It was Orsent Cathedral of Fortwest Prefecture, and the King of the West…”

“The King of the West” referred to the last king, Paffus VI. He had taken refuge in the western lands—the Great Isle Region.

Added to the mix was an old adversary that I had fought once before, Orsent Cathedral.

“The King of the West had originally prepared several secret letters to the various lords. In any event, the moment the regent eventually struck the North in order to put down rebellious lords there, those lords were to revolt all at once… I don’t know if Seitred, the Margrave of Machaal, intended to cooperate, but it was likely that he knew of this plan.”

“I see. So the plan was to rob me of a place to return to while I was on campaign.”

“Regardless, the choice of whether to obey was left to the discretion of each lord. There were probably many who didn’t contribute forces.”

“Well, secret letters merely need to be burned to remove any evidence of their arrival. Most of the lords were probably waiting to see how it would pan out.”

And yet I felt a chill through my heart.

My precautions had kept it from becoming a serious issue, but one wrong step and I would have lost my home.

Greater power wouldn’t necessarily make me more secure. As my reach expanded, there would be those who would rebel.

“Very well,” I said. “Now, concerning the fate of your lord, I’d like to discuss this with my vassals before coming to a decision. I ask that you wait here.”

I headed to the rear of our cantonment.

I entered the council building, a particularly large, well-built structure in the city we had occupied.

That was where Seraphina had set up her temporary residence.

“Welcome back, dear husband. I think it’s safe to consider this a win for our side.” Seraphina smiled at me. “Congratulations.”

Of course, Seraphina was on my side. Her words were genuine. But even now I felt a bit guilty about having her say it to me. I still had a heart. While I’d killed plenty of people, that didn’t mean I’d stopped being human as a result.

“We’re currently in the middle of negotiating terms of surrender. It seems your father knows the game is up.”

“I see. Then we’ve won. This land will be at peace again.”

“So I wanted to ask your opinion on what terms to offer.”

I supposed this was a pointless feeling of mercy.

Perhaps this would just make my wife suffer more.

Either way, this was the choice I’d made. It was simply my way of doing things.

Seraphina and I spent several moments gazing at each other.

But the mood wasn’t unpleasant. Seraphina smiled as though we were at the castle. Nothing in her gaze indicated any blame or struggle.

I was reminded once again that Seraphina’s profession was Saint.

Seraphina had constantly supported me. She would always be my ally, even if her house was on the verge of extinction.

“What opinion is there to express, except that there’s no reason to let a rebel like this live? All there is to decide is how he should die, no?”

“True, we couldn’t just do a slap on the wrist like seizing half his territories, but if the enemy ran, then it’s another matter entirely whether or not we should pursue them.”

Seraphina probably knew the castle layout well. “Ohhh,” she said softly to herself. “If you left open the castle’s equivalent of a postern, no doubt he could run toward the Northlands.”

“It’s not plausible for all of them to escape, but I’d imagine Ayles and his escorts could get out. We could advance into the castle as it’s in chaos and execute the main parties that remained within. That would bring the rebellion here in Mineria to an end, and it would save your father’s life. How about it?”

I thought it wasn’t a bad idea. This way, I could maintain my conqueror ambitions and avoid hurting Seraphina’s feelings at the same time.

Seraphina softly wrapped my hands in hers.

“Sweet husband, you’re a gentle soul. I’ve made you worry on my behalf.” She then shook her head from side to side. “But if Ayles survives as a general, he’ll be a complication down the line. It’s best to kill him now.”

Seraphina intentionally referred to him as Ayles to show he was the enemy.

“There’s no need for any further sympathy,” she added. “I’ve made my decision. Even if staying by your side leads us straight to hell itself.” Seraphina lightly kissed my knuckles. “I’m not afraid of that if it’s by your side. I say bring it on. So unify the kingdom as soon as you can.”

I embraced Seraphina tightly.

I hadn’t noticed the tears flowing from my eyes.

“Thank you.”

“This is just part of living in chaotic times. There’s nothing to thank me for.”

I gave the messenger my terms.

“If the family and its vassals that we name are willing to fall upon their swords, we’ll spare the lives of the garrison and consider employing the others. This is merely a proposal; it’s your choice whether to accept it. You’re free to choose to continue the bloodshed.”

The messenger must have known, but his expression clouded when he saw the list of names presented by my vassal.

“This would spell the end of the Caltis clan.”

“That’s the way things go in war, isn’t it? Surely you know that as well as we do. If there were more who hadn’t cooperated with the rebellion, I would have considered sparing more of them. But such a man is Ayles that you came together as one to try to defeat me.”

“Then I will take this back to my master…”

It looked like the messenger had lost weight in this short time.

I guess it’s that sort of man who clings to even the smallest bit of hope. Unfortunately, there was none this time.

The next morning, the Ayles side sent over a messenger stating that it would accept the terms. It was at that moment that, for all intents and purposes, the independent country of Mineria was doomed to end.

The main Caltis clan members and the various pro-war members slowly came down from the castle.

There were gallows erected, and there they began to hang themselves one by one.

I was able to have a conversation with Ayles before his sentence was carried out.

“No doubt my daughter insisted that I die?”

“That’s right.”

“I should have expected it of that hoyden…,” Ayles said with a chuckle. “I will die here, but I’ve left plenty of seedlings. Hell, among my descendants is a child of the regent. My bloodline will prosper.”

“You were a great general, but you made a wrong turn at the end of your journey.”

“I regret being born in the same age as you. If not for you, I would’ve wiped out the Nayvil clan long ago.”

Then our time was up.

Ayles, too, died upon the gallows.

Seraphina calmly witnessed the end of her clan from afar. She didn’t need to be there, but she had insisted, saying she didn’t want to look away from reality.

Laviala appeared sadder than Seraphina herself.

“I think Seraphina’s trying to shoulder the burden of her clan’s demise. Perhaps she thinks that’s her fate. She really is a brave woman.”

“Laviala, if she seems to be hurting, could you reach out to her? I worry that she won’t show the true depths of her pain in front of me.”

“Yes. After all, the people dear to you, Lord Alsrod, are dear to me as well.”

After staying at the castle for about three days to deal with the handover of the castle and confirm assignments for the surviving officers, I turned back toward Maust Castle.

With the rebellions quelled for now, I finally had some time to spend with the children.

“Grandfather was killed, yes?”

My eldest, growing up bright beyond his years thanks to education, spoke rather sadly. As a child of Seraphina, he was Ayles’s grandson.

“This is what it means to live in a time of war,” I told him. “I believe that this sort of thing shouldn’t continue forever. Yes… By the time you have your profession-bestowal ceremony, I’ll bring peace to these lands and make sure such things won’t happen again.”

“Thank you, Father.” He nodded intently. I could still sense his fear.

I gently reached over and ruffled his hair.

“Worry not. I’ll make sure my children won’t suffer in that way. You’ll never have to fight your brothers or sisters. I promise you, so long as I live, that’ll be true.”

Seraphina and I had taken on so many sins—we might as well shoulder so much that everyone else would be liberated by it.

There were several other minor rebellions in lands near the capital, but as information that I had the upper hand spread, the reality was that they fizzled out on their own. The regional lords who had been waiting to see which way the wind was blowing had subsequently jumped onto my bandwagon and started quelling these uprisings on their own.

On the way back to the royal capital, I visited the Nistonia clan and thanked them for constantly remaining by my side.

“Thanks to the Nistonia clan’s efforts in containing the nearby squabbles, the chaos didn’t spread any farther. As the kingdom’s regent, I offer my deepest gratitude.”

It seemed Soltis Nistonia was taken aback by my modesty. For all his ability, he could be such a timid man.

But that timidity had worked out in his favor. It had certainly helped him survive to this point. Half-baked bravado often led one to one’s doom.

“No, no, Sir Regent, you are now husband to my daughter Yuca. Fighting for your sake is but my duty. And there were hardly any rebellions of note in this region.”

“That is because everyone was well aware that the Nistonia clan was one of my strongest backers. Preventing conflict before it happens is a greater accomplishment than any celebrated general’s victories.”

“I’m grateful for your words.” Soltis let out a sigh. “With the great rebellions quelled, perhaps I’ll take the opportunity to pass the reins to my son. If I cling too long to power, I’m sure my son will want to be rid of me.”

“Perhaps. But there will be more great conflicts to come, so you might do well to wait a while longer.”

Soltis blinked. No doubt from his perspective, this region was now at peace. That wasn’t wrong per se.

“We need to bring the West to heel,” I said. “The previous king is still attempting to sow discord in the world, and it’s our duty to stop him.”

There’s one last step before I can unite the kingdom.

After my detour at the Nistonia clan, I took the army, which had been joined by the remaining forces, and proudly marched into the royal capital.

It was to show off our quelling of the rebellion to the capital’s residents.

According to my rappa spies, the people’s reactions were varied.

There were those who believed the regent was the greatest power in the kingdom, while others believed it was terrifying that I was willing to kill my own in-laws. Since they were both stating the truth, there wasn’t much I could do about either belief.

Fortunately, I had no relations, blood or otherwise, with those supporting the King of the West. That made the next step somewhat easier.

So you’ve finally made it this far.

Oda Nobunaga sighed.

Akechi Mitsuhide killed me just as all that remained was to advance into the West. You, too, should be careful of that woman Kelara.

No, I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about with her.

Although I suppose I may as well go ahead and show her some gratitude.