The Crown War (3)
The entire empire was shocked when the church declared their support for the 2nd prince in the War of the Crown.
Until now, the church had condemned the Ismail family as a heretical group and had been secretly suppressing them. However, they suddenly changed their stance.
Moreover, when the church formed the papal army to support the 2nd prince, chaos broke out among the two prince factions participating in the war.
Up until now, the 2nd prince's faction, which was thought to be insignificant, suddenly rose to prominence.
On top of that, the Lyon Guild, which had left the 2nd prince alone, suddenly hired a massive mercenary army to support the 2nd prince, making the situation even more critical.
The 1st prince, who had already reached his limit due to his extreme opposition with the 3rd prince, couldn't hide his bitterness as he looked at his desperate staff.
'How could this happen...'
"Why did they change their position now?"
The most incomprehensible thing was the church.
Although it wasn't surprising for the Lyon Guild, who had long declared their stance, the sudden change of attitude from the church, which had been suppressing Ismail, raised questions for the 1st prince and everyone else.
"What on earth did they do...?"
Then, one of the staff members informed him of the information they had gathered from various sources. It was about the Lyon Guild, which had close ties with the church.
"Come to think of it, I know that the Lyon Guild was the one who supported the construction of the Lyon Cathedral. At that time, we thought it was just the guild's power supporting their local diocese. However, looking at the newly elected Pope, it seems like this was all part of the guild leader's grand plan."
Although it made sense, the 1st prince still couldn't believe it.
"How could this..."
If he had known that things would turn out this way, he wouldn't have fought so fiercely against the 3rd prince.
For the 2nd prince, who had been hiding, to suddenly emerge like this...
This situation was like two prey fighting each other, and a suddenly appearing hunter reaping all the benefits.
'What should I do?'
The situation was truly dire, as if a fire had been lit under their feet.
If they continued like this, the 2nd prince would win the War of the Crown with the support of the papal army and the mercenary army.
"What are we going to do?"
Trinity was also extremely fatigued from frequent battles.
Although she had been fighting against several generals from the opposing factions, the main reason was that she had used a lot of her strength in the battle against Isabella, the magician from Sinclair, a few days ago.
The 1st prince couldn't immediately answer Trinity's question. He raised his head and slowly scanned the faces of the staff members who had been staring at him intently.
Their faces didn't show any viable solutions either.
'Even if I form an alliance with the 3rd prince now, I don't know if he'll accept it. Considering our relationship so far...'
The situation didn't look good.
No one could have expected to taste such a defeat in this Crown War, which they thought would be a fight between himself and the 3rd prince.
However, they couldn't just accept defeat.
If they were to lose here, it would mean death for the 1st prince, so he desperately thought about how to overcome this difficult situation.
'To turn the situation around, I have to change the church's stance again.'
"First, let's have a ceasefire with the 3rd prince and I'll personally meet with the Pope."
That was the best course of action the 1st prince could take.
It seemed that the staff members agreed, as no one raised their voice in opposition.
They all silently affirmed the plan.
Then, one of them spoke up.
"If that's Your Highness's will, we'll immediately propose a temporary ceasefire to the 3rd prince's faction. They must be worried about the sudden rise of the 2nd prince's faction, so they'll definitely accept our ceasefire request."
"That has to happen. And if the church changes their position again..."
It still looked like a mess.
First of all, both his and the 3rd prince's factions were exhausted, and the 2nd prince had the wealthy Lyon Guild backing him. If it became a long-term battle, the 2nd prince's side would undoubtedly gain more strength.
"And instead of me, you go meet the guild leader."
At the 1st prince's words, Trinity showed a negative reaction.
"Will anything change if we meet? We've already met him before, haven't we?"
"Are we just going to stay like this? We have to do something."
"What exactly do you want me to do?"
It would be best to deal with the guild leader, but since he was already under the protection of Lee Han and Ismail, it seemed impossible to do so.
'What should I do about that guild leader? It's difficult to physically deal with him. Assassination is probably difficult too.'
"Killing him would be difficult, right?"
When he asked directly, Trinity shook her head in denial.
"That would be difficult. You know, right? He even called Lee Han last time."
"He's a headache. But we have to do something about him. If we can't cook or boil him, we have to find another way."
Then, one of the staff members who had been watching suggested a plan.
"What if we take a family member or someone close to the guild leader hostage? I heard he got married recently."
Read ahead by supporting me on Ko-fi. Access 5 advance chapters with the Imperial Dalants Tier ($10) or 10 advance chapters with Dwarven Sovereigns Tier ($18) or 20 advance chapters with Goblin Dollars ($35). For every $25 collected on Ko-fi, I will release an extra chapter. Choose your tier by clicking the 'Support me' button! Rate and review this novel on NU to help people find this novel. Happy reading!
lmao yeah go kidnaps his wifeeeee
ReplyDeleteBut she is pregnant right? Won't it be dangerous
Delete