Chapter 89: Rebuilding Lester Kingdom (1)

Count Forrests territory is in the South, not to mention, his new business is in full swing. It wouldnt be right to send him up to the North right now.

At her words, one of the nobles spoke up with a regretful expression.

But Your Highness, even if we searched our entire country for someone to defend our borders, there is no one more dependable or stronger than Count Forrest.

All the other nobles around him nodded in agreement. They had realized in this war how lazy they had become and how competent Milton was for having consistently prepared for war.

Count Forrest, wont you let go of your personal business and defend the Northern border for the sake of our countrys security?

Earnestly begging, Viscount Reagan looked towards Milton. In turn, Milton felt rather burdened by Reagans earnest request.

This guy is burdensome.

It wasnt like Viscount Reagan was a beautiful young lady, nor did Milton feel particularly moved by the earnest gaze of a middle-aged man. But, Reagans words were still reasonable.

What should I do? I want to refuse, but I dont have a good enough reason to do that Should I just say no, knowing that theyre gonna get mad at me?

For a second, Milton thought it wouldnt be a bad idea to reject them and return back down to the South. He had saved the country once, but that didnt mean he was that attached to it to keep saving them. But Princess Leila spoke even before Milton could.

Viscount Reagan.

Yes, Your Majesty.

As we all know, Count Forrest has contributed the most and has the most military accomplishments from this war. Isnt that right?

Thats right, Your Majesty. I agree that Count Forrests achievements are commendable.

There wasnt a single person in that gathering who didnt recognize Miltons achievements. As she saw the other nobles agree, Princess Leila continued to speak.

I havent even been able to award him for his achievements from the war. Do I need to be burdened even further?

Thats

Viscount Reagan couldnt say anything in response. He had recommended Milton because he had come to mind when thinking about who would be the most suitable to stabilize the northern border. But when Viscount Reagan heard her words, he thought he had been too brazen and turned crimson with shame.

She turned to look at the rest of the nobles.

Without a doubt, Count Forrest would unequivocally agree if I asked him to defend the North.

Nope, youre wrong. Im never going to agree to it.

Milton didnt agree with the princess.

But

Ah

Of course, its Count Forrest

He would definitely agree.

The other nobles all seemed to sympathize with Princess Leilas words.

Do these old farts take me as a pushover?

He wanted to say something, but he held back. It seemed as though Princess Leila was priming the nobles for something with her unique beauty and speech, so he decided to watch for now.

I should just watch the play shes putting on and eat some popcorn.

Princess Leila continued to talk.

We have been indolent. We took peace for granted and didnt do anything to keep that peace. And we have paid the price for that indolence. Isnt that right?

Yes, Princess, its a tragedy.

I have no words for it, Your Highness.

Please punish us, Your Highness.

The nobles who had gathered here were still those who retained their honor, pride, and patriotism. Those were the only types of nobles left. Princess Leila listened to the nobles self-reflection and regret, then drove the final nail into the coffin.

Then do you think it is right to rely solely upon Count Forrest to defend our country? Do you truly think it is right for you to ignore your own obligations to the country and thrust all the responsibilities onto one person?

At herwords, it was like they had been smacked on the head and they were finally able to refocus.

It is exactly as Your Highness the Princess has said.

Please punish these foolish people, Your Highness.

Please correct us, Your Highness.

Now, there were even nobles who were sobbing and wailing. Princess Leilas charisma combined with their naivety and innocence, the nobles were moved.

Watching this display, Milton thought to himself.

So this is how cults are made. Theyre born from this kind of an atmosphere.

In the meantime, he decided to be more alert.

Afterconfusing thehell out of them, Princess Leila continued.

Duke Palan.

Yes, My Liege?

When Duke Palan with confidence, Princess Leila gave him a command.

I plan to have you defend the Northern border.

If that is your command, I will give my life to carry out My Lieges orders.

Princess turned to speak to the nobles around her.

It is essential that we increase our Knights in order to increase our military strength. I want all of you to send the young Knights in each of your family. I will have them serve under Duke Palans command so that he may guide them as they help to defend our Northern border.

All the nobles willingly agreed.

I will send my son and all the knights in my territory who are in their twenties, Your Highness.

I have three sons in my family. I will send all of them, Your Highness.

I will also do it, Your Highness.

Although Milton had the greatest accomplishments in this war, Duke Palans prestige was still great. And if there was an opportunity to serve under the command of Duke Palan and to receive guidance from him as well? It was no wonder the nobles were scrambling to send their own sons and the knights from their territories. With that one move, Princess Leila had both the nobles full cooperation and increased the Knights within her military.

She stood up from her seat and raised her sword.

Kneel down Duke Palan.

Yes, Your Highness.

As Duke Palan knelt, Princess Leila lifted her sword and tapped both of his shoulders.

Duke Sean Palan, I appoint you as the Margrave of the North and give you full authority. Please protect this country from the beast that is the Republic.

I will give you my life to carry out your commands, Your Highness.

And so, Duke Palan became the Margrave of the North and was given Princess Leilas promise to fully support him in his efforts to stabilize the North.

Then, she called Milton forward.

Kneel down Count Forrest.

Yes, Your Highness.

Milton knelt and Princess Leila spoke as her sword tapped both of his shoulders.

Count Milton Forrest. I raise your rank by one and appoint you as a Marquis.

Thank you, Your Highness.

So far, everything was as expected.

Also, I appoint you as the Margrave of the South and acknowledge your right to govern the Southern Region.

I will do my best to govern the Southern Region, Your Highness.

Although the others were a bit surprised, this had been previously discussed between Princess Leila and Milton. But the others were just merely surprised. After all, it was understandable. Miltons influence on the nobles in the Southern Region was absolute and giving him the title of Margrave was just formalizing it. It wasnt something that would cause a big change.

However, the biggest surprise was Princess Leilas next statement.

And because the Capital has been completely destroyed by the Republic, I designate Marquis Forrests Estate as the temporary Capital and appoint Marquis Forrest as the Commander-in-Chief of the Central Army.

At those words, the other nobles were greatly shocked.

The residence of the Marquis as a temporary Capital?

And on top of that, the Commander-in-Chief of the Central Army?

It wasnt unreasonable that nobles were so surprised. Designating Forrest Estate as the temporary Capital meant that for a while, the center of the country would be Forrest Estate. All executive orders would be issued from there and people and commodities would be concentrated there. Even if it was temporary, wouldnt the Estate rapidly develop and gain economic benefits in the meantime? This was like a divine blessing for a fiefdom.

And on top of that, Princess Leila had taken it a step further and made Milton the Commander-in-Chief of the Central Army. The Central Army commanded all the military forces within the Capital and for generations was the head of the Royal Knights.

What this all meant was beyond imagination. On a smaller scale, designating Forrest Estate as the temporary capital and handing over the largest military was to avoid any possible power struggle while respecting Miltons authority as the Margrave. On a bigger scale, it was like giving the single individual, Milton Forrest, the countrys entire military sector. To give someone who wasnt even thirty this kind of important position wasnt common in the history of the Lester Kingdom. The gathered nobles were surprised, but Milton was just as surprised as they were.

This princess is really wild.

It wasnt enough to describe her as unconventional.

Status, military, economy, honor, etc It was impossible to grasp exactly how much support he was receiving.

Yes, Your Highness.

Milton barely recovered from his shock to answer her.

At that moment, Milton heard a