Chapter 22: Under the Banner of Princess Mia —Forged Friendships—

One day, Ludwig visited Outcount Rudolvon in his manor. Having previously asked Rudolvon to persuade other outland nobles, he’d come to see how things were going.

“Ah, it’s good to see that you’re in good health, Ludwig.”

Outcount Rudolvon greeted him with a smile that radiated warmth and earnest consideration. Technically, there was a significant discrepancy in status between Ludwig, a commoner, and the Outcount. Outland nobles were shunned by the central nobility, but they were still nobles. While Ludwig was a central government bureaucrat who enjoyed Mia’s unconditional trust, he was by no means this man’s equal.

Their demeanors, however, showed no signs of the reservation one normally expected to see between men of their respective standings. Rather, there was a peculiar bond between them. It resembled friendship, and it transcended age and status—a sense of camaraderie shared only by those who rallied under the banner of Princess Mia. They traded a firm handshake before Ludwig seated himself in a guest chair.

“Again, I apologize for burdening you with such a request,” he said.

“Not at all. I owe Her Highness a great deal. A task from her is one I accept willingly and shall make every effort to tackle.”

“I’m most obliged. Hearing that certainly takes some weight off my mind...”

Ludwig’s efforts to divide the Yellowmoon faction from within were slowly starting to show results. With the Outcount’s cooperation, they’d succeeded in convincing a number of outland nobles to realign themselves with the Rudolvons. Though their numbers weren’t large enough to be called a “faction,” Ludwig hoped that this would lead to the eventual rise of a new independent group of nobles who wasn’t under the influence of any of the Four Dukes. This new group could then function as the core of a faction loyal to Mia personally—the princess faction, so to speak. Suffice to say, all sorts of gears performing all sorts of calculations were currently turning in his head.

All of that can come later though. For now, the problem is...

“Judging by that frown on your face, I assume you’ve run into some trouble?” prompted Rudolvon.

Ludwig grimaced.

“The outland nobles are coming around, but trying to peel away the rest of them is proving much harder than expected.”

Usually, the larger the organization, the more fractured its internal politics and loyalties. With a faction like the Yellowmoons, which consisted of many members who aligned themselves out of desperation more than anything else, that should be doubly true. They couldn’t possibly enjoy much unity. And yet...

“Well, yeah. Knowing you’ll be killed for your betrayal generally makes you think twice about flipping sides. Seems pretty reasonable to me,” suggested Dion, who’d been listening to the conversation.

Ludwig eyed his nonchalant partner and shook his head.

“Not necessarily, no. Those bound by fear should also harbor a subconscious desire to escape from that fear. Therefore, when offered a way out by someone with the power to offer protection, the chances of them taking the offer should be favorable.”

He’d subtly leaked the fact that he’d been attacked by an experienced assassin a few days ago. The point was to propagate the narrative that he, a loyal subject of Princess Mia, had been targeted by someone, who’d sent a deadly assassin to kill him, only to have the attempt foiled by the efforts of his friend, Dion. It functioned as a veiled message. Though crucial details were kept secret, those in the loop would understand that a statement was being made—they had the means to repel attacks from the Yellowmoon faction.

The rumor would inevitably have made its way into the ears of the Yellowmoon’s nobles, and yet, no deserters had appeared.

“Her Highness’s forbearance and wisdom are already common knowledge. I made sure of that. Noble houses with power and pedigree would surely see her as a nuisance, but those of shakier standing and loyalty should be practically drooling at such a perfect opportunity to defect...”

In fact, Mia’s current situation should be speaking for itself. She’d forged a strong friendship with Duke Greenmoon’s daughter, pulled Duke Bluemoon’s son into her camp by personally inviting him into the student council, and even went so far as to recruit Duke Redmoon’s daughter into her personal guard.

Sure, none of them were the head of their houses, but that didn’t change the fact that three of the Four Houses could now be interpreted to be on friendly terms with Mia. On top of that, she had the Princess Guard, a small army of elite soldiers she could deploy at will. With this powerful piece at her command, together with the support of three factions of dukes, albeit indirectly, she was steadily becoming a pivotal figure in the empire whose clout one ignored at their peril.

“And yet, it’s still like shouting into the void with these Yellowmoon nobles. Something isn’t right here...”

Ludwig fell into a silent bout of cross-armed rumination. After some time, Rudolvon coughed politely to pull him out of his thoughts before speaking.

“By the way, Ludwig, about that...prediction that Her Highness made...” he said in a hushed voice. “It seems to have come true.”

Ludwig looked up with a start, blinking as he processed the implication of this revelation.

“You mean... You’re seeing the signs here too?”

Rudolvon took a sip of tea before answering.

“The wheat harvest in my domain is poor. I asked the other outland nobles, and they all seem to be in the same boat as well. Our crop yields going into the next year are definitely going to drop. Of course, there’s no telling how long this trend will last, but...”

The future was always a mystery, but for this year at least, Mia’s prediction of poor wheat yields had proved true. She’d also given Ludwig and his peers strict orders to make absolutely sure that they were prepared for this eventuality. And now...

“If we’re prepared for the worst but it doesn’t come to pass, then that’s certainly for the best. But if it does and we weren’t prepared, then we’ll have to weather a whole lot of condemnation,” Ludwig mused.

“Her Highness chose to entrust us with her prediction. And asked us to prepare accordingly. Then let us live up to the trust she has so graciously placed in us,” said Rudolvon.

Thus, the two spent some time working out the finer details regarding emergency supply protocols in the case that dwindling provisions led to a full-blown famine, along with the necessary convoys for such routes. After that, Ludwig departed the Rudolvon manor and headed straight for Mia’s academy city to check on its progress. It was there that he received a message, and when he saw who had sent it...