Zanac rejected that notion immediately, even though his finger had been resting on E-Libera.

Do you really believe that to be impossible? Marquis Raeven is one to dote over his son. What if, someone was to kidnap his son and hold him hostage?

...Is that how they coerced Marquis Raeven? Absolutely despicable!

Though, Im of the opinion that he may have betrayed us simply because he thought that the crown is doomed for

Although he was unwilling to believe in Marquis Raeven's betrayal, there was no other nobleman who was as powerful as him. He would only need to call in a few favours with other nobles close to him before he could completely cut off the flow of intel to and from the city of his choice. The survivors would have also chosen to seek shelter and protection from the larger cities, E-Libera would have been an excellent choice in that regard.

Was it because of those factors that the Sorcerous Kingdom had set their sights on him?

...What kind of person do you believe the Sorcerer King to be?

Abnormally flexible in his ways of thought, someone who possesses an entire nations worth of intellect and guile. What is most terrifying about him is the fact that he does not simply rely on his overwhelming power, but meticulously plans his every move out. One could say that he is a monster to whom the concept of arrogance is completely foreign.

{Hoh?} Zanac looked at Renner, something felt off about her. Her expression was the same as usual, but her voice carried an unusual emotion, that of awe and reverence.

The web of plots unfolding in front of our eyes were perhaps weaved into the Kingdom many years ago. We are but stuck moths.

I would prefer to say butterflies.

In any case, we are at their mercy, it does not matter if onii-sama prefers to use butterflies in that metaphor or not. Even if we slipped through these webs unharmed, there would just be another layer underneath...it is frankly terrifying. I did not believe that someone like him could exist in this world. What if our actions were all well within his calculations?

So you are saying that he is better than you?

Renner laughed and did not respond.

Lets go back to our previous topic, onii-sama is probably thinking about searching through Marquis Raevens residence, right? I do not think that you could find anything substantial there.

That is true, but surely we cannot just remain idle, right?

Given how likely it was that Marquis Raeven had betrayed them, they had to do something about it. He was still hopeful that they could find even the slightest trace of a clue to all of this.

Before we do that, I have a question for onii-sama. If the current situation progresses on, the Sorcerous Kingdom would surely initiate the final battle near the capital. Would onii-sama order the soldiers to defend the city or send them out to receive the attack? How will we be raising our forces?

I have already received satisfactory responses from our neighbouring nobles.

Those who were more distant had not replied yet. It wasnt because they had not received his message yet, but because they wished to watch from the sidelines. They probably wished to see the royalty wiped out so that they could bow to the Sorcerer King as his new subjects. Or perhaps it was because they did not want to get on the Sorcerous Kingdoms bad side by defending the Kingdom.

Either train of thought was naive to say the least.

Their belief that they could distance themselves away from this was proof enough on its own of their utter stupidity.

No, he shouldnt be mocking their idiocy. If they knew of how ruthless the Sorcerous Kingdom had been, they would not have done so. They were simply all victims to the information lock that was placed on them all.

Once the capital fell, there was no doubt in his mind that the Sorcerous Kingdom would extend its brutality to the other cities. The nobles who wished to abstain from this battle would end up in defeat anyways.

Do you believe that...we could win?

Zanac gave a wry smile and responded calmly to this convoluted question.

It is not a matter of whether we win or lose, we simply have no option but to face them in battle. The Sorcerous Kingdom will scorch every inch of this country and slaughter all of our citizens. This is our last stake at survival.

...Onii-sama...is already king, eh?

What? What do you mean? Are you saying that I am being too full of myself?

...Umm, if we were to be defeated in this battle, wouldnt the Kingdom be destroyed? If that is the case then the citizens of the Kingdom would not be safe no matter where they escape to. While I do not believe onii-samas choice to stake it all on this battle to be incorrect, Marquis Raeven may have betrayed us for this reason too, to save the citizens.

I see...so that his city could become a sanctuary for the refugees, hmmm,

But I doubt the Sorcerer King would allow that to happen. Perhaps he had also ordered Marquis Raeven to kill the people seeking refuge in his city to test his loyalty.

Why would Marquis Raeven betray them? No, has he betrayed them at all? Perhaps this too was another ploy of the Sorcerer King, to sow the seeds of doubt amongst them to bait him and Renner in.

Zanac recalled the Marquis Raeven who only wanted a better future for the Kingdom.

Maybe he should write him a letter and have an honest conversation with him, but that could be a dangerous move.

A traitor who continues to receive their former letters. That would certainly cause the Sorcerer King to cast doubts on him.

That could be a ploy that he could use against them, but it was better saved for a situation in which Marquis Raeven would be marching along with the Sorcerer Kings army. This wasnt the best time to do something like this. If Marquis Raeven really was being coerced by threats against his familys wellbeing, he could not fault him.

Zanac recalled the Marquis Raeven who excessively doted over his son.

He reminisced so hard his eyes almost squinted into a line until he was knocked back to reality by the sight of his sister.

Refugees? Speaking of which, father wanted you to...well, he wanted us to seek refuge in the City-State Alliance as the Kingdoms representatives. That was way before I placed father under surveillance. If you still want to do so, you better get away from the capital soon.

Soon enough he will have to draft everybody he could and face a decisive battle against the Sorcerous Kingdom. If he was being honest, they had no chance at all. Defeat meant that the capital and the other cities would be razed to ashes.