A sinister premonition crawled up the calf.

A premonition that she might have to suffer for a long time without being able to wash like this. Tonight, she thought she would sleep well in bed, but suddenly, she had another premonition that she would have to camp again.

“What’s going on?”

“That…”

Heron’s authoritative voice trembled lightly now.

I, too, tensed following her.

“The Talfinus Territory has been occupied by the army of Cervian and Agila.”

Several lords staying at the residence of Lord Robero and Terminus Heron, and the two of us, gathered around the conference table. No one spoke easily because they knew the seriousness of the situation.

Talfinus was the territory of the Mole Clan.

The face of Lord Talfinus vividly came to mind. Although he returned to his territory with fear of Edrish after that day at the royal palace, Talfinus had been with us for a long time.

Edrish broke the heavy silence.

“When did you find out that Talfinus was occupied?”

“I received the news through the courier just before Your Excellency Edrish Atigra arrived. I don’t know the detailed internal situation, but it is reported that Cervian troops are lurking in the airspace of Talfinus, and Agila’s soldiers have surrounded it.”

“It seems like Cervian is being pushed into a corner.”

A thick wrinkle appeared on the forehead of Lord Robero, who explained the situation. Terminus also turned his gaze away from his side.

Cervian always controlled others from an invisible place, manipulating, plotting, or conspiring. That’s why we never expected them to come out so blatantly like this.

I should have been prepared.

I was negligent, relying too much on the content of the novel I knew.

“But the really frightening thing is that it’s not the end here. Cervian didn’t do something unreasonable just to occupy Talfinus.”

“So shouldn’t we go help Talfinus right away?”

The Rabbit Clan’s lord asked cautiously.

Everyone looked at Edrish. Even without saying it, everyone was waiting for Edrish’s command and leadership.

Edrish, who had been lost in thought with his gaze lowered all this time, slowly raised his eyebrows. There was not the slightest tremor in his gaze.

“We don’t help.”

I doubted my ears at the firm and stern words. Whether I was the only one confused, or everyone was puzzled by his sincerity, we exchanged glances.

“Are you saying we should leave Talfinus like this?”

A voice that could calm down excitement and express as much calmness as possible.

Everyone seemed not to understand Edrish’s intention, so I thought it would be better to speak up before others pointed it out.

“Yes. I won’t ask for help. Talfinus walked out of our alliance on his own. Do we have an obligation to save him?”
After the incident at the royal palace, Talfinus talked about returning to his territory, reconsidering the alliance. He gave it the euphemistic name ‘reconsider,’ but in reality, it was equivalent to leaving the alliance.

“But…”

“Moreover, Cervian and Agila are both paying attention to Talfinus now. They must have made full preparations to be able to fight at any time. However, we haven’t prepared anything yet, and it’s not certain how many soldiers among the alliance territories, which have just started to gather, can fight.”

Edrish spoke calmly, as if telling someone else’s story. It might have seemed cold, but now, his calm appearance seemed to cool my confused mind.

Yes, that’s right. It’s not helpful to plead emotionally like this.

“Now trying to regain Talfinus territory is like walking into their trap. We won’t do such a foolish thing.”

“I also share the same thoughts as Edrish Atigra. We can’t help them right now.”

“Terminus…”

“Even if we succeed in regaining Talfinus, that’s right. They must have prepared for this fight for a long time, so they won’t use all their forces. So, it’s wise for us to save as many weapons and soldiers as possible to prepare for the next battle. Unless you want to exchange Talfinus for the entire Derode.”

Everyone nodded slowly at Edrish’s explanation. There was no incorrect word.

Talfinus may have looked mature in my head, but in the end, I also accepted it. This is not child’s play. I can’t save everyone I like.

Even though I judged it with my head, my heart ached.

Talfinus was just afraid. He left the alliance because he wanted to live…

I silently prayed for their safety.

“Now, what should we do?”

Heron’s clear voice woke me up.

“Send a courier to each lord of the territories to focus on the defense of their territories. If there are any territories lacking soldiers and weapons, we will provide assistance.”

“Yes, understood.”

Edrish slowly stood up from his seat.

“Also, make sure to add that the moment they leave the alliance, they will be like Talfinus.”

In Edrish’s last words, his eyes shone fiercely.

It implied that the moment they opposed Edrish, they would become servants of Cervian, and we had no reason to save them.

It was a clear threat.