How To Get Revenge On My Sister Who Stole My Husband - Chapter 21

And, on the dawn of the day of departure.

Before mounting his horse, the Duke, armed with a cloak bearing the emblem of House Yusten and iron armor, turned to me who had come to see him off and said:

“I entrust the mansion to you while I’m gone.”

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

I answered with a confident voice. The Duke patted my shoulder a few times with his thick hand before mounting his horse.

Then he turned to the family’s knights and shouted in an authoritative voice.

“Today, we will repel the barbarians who dare to invade the Empire’s borders for the sake of the Empire and Her Majesty the Empress! You and I will willingly sacrifice everything for this great victory! The goddess of victory will smile upon us!”

A great cheer erupted among the knights. Soon, the Duke and his army left the mansion. I stood at the entrance, watching them disappear into the distance, and thought.

‘No, that will never happen.’

No matter how long you wait, the enemy you desire will not come.

I turned my back on the dawn sun that was turning the sky red and walked towards the annex.

Several hours later.

In the south of the Empire, Denaon Castle.

The castle, so far from the imperial capital that it took a full day and a half to reach even on a horse enchanted with acceleration magic, was a natural fortress with the Anatolia Mountains and Tara Gorge behind it, and the Vishus River and the great Nia Forest in front.

Thanks to its rugged terrain, Denaon Castle had never been occupied by a foreign country, and thus had preserved most of the customs and cultural heritage from the early days of the nation’s founding.

Glen, the third vice-captain of the ‘White Lion Knights’, under Duke Elliot Francis Haven, grumbled quietly as he looked up at the towering castle that retained an ancient atmosphere and the green mountains surrounding it.

“…Are you sure the Rugul and Yalta allied forces are really coming to invade here? It seems like some kind of misinformation.”

Then Sir Roger, the second vice-captain of the White Lion Knights standing next to him, hit Glen’s helmeted head with his large hand and said:

“That again? If you have time to say that, why don’t you go patrol the area one more time? Who knows? Those guys might already be here hiding somewhere.”

“Ah, I already patrolled just now! I didn’t see any enemy forces, just five palm-sized spiders and some chirping mountain birds!”

“Then polish your sword or something. Or if you don’t like that, take a short nap. Either way, it’s more productive than just grumbling like that, isn’t it? Oh, right. I forgot you’re not that productive of a person.”

“Ah, Sir Roger!”

Roger kept teasing the irritated Glen, giggling all the while.

Oliver, their superior and the first vice-captain of the White Lion Knights, clicked his tongue at the sight of them. Just then, Elliot returned from patrolling the area with his knights.

Oliver immediately approached him, bowed his head in respect, and said:

“You’ve returned, Your Grace.”

“It seems the enemy hasn’t attacked while I was out scouting.”

“Yes, we’ve surveyed the area, but haven’t detected any signs of the enemy yet.”

“I see. But don’t let your guard down. According to Viscount Miles’ information, they’ve been practicing crossing this place several times with their elite warriors for this day.”

“Understood.”

When Elliot instructed him to be cautious, Oliver nodded as if to say he would keep it in mind. Then, with a slightly tense face, he looked at the Duke and said:

“But are you sure they’re really coming this way? To be honest, we’ve been waiting for two hours now without any sign, so I’m a bit worried.”

“Don’t worry. They will definitely come this way.”

“…You seem quite confident, Your Grace. It seems you found the Viscount quite trustworthy.”

Hearing this, Elliot laughed with a deflating sound and said:

“Well. It’s not him I trust, but someone else.”

“…Pardon? You mean… Lady Christine Yusten?”

“She acted as if she didn’t mind hurting herself to achieve her goals, but she’s always been bothered by hurting others’ feelings because of her… I don’t think such a person would lie about something involving many lives like today.”

Elliot added, recalling Christine’s appearance that day in his mind.

It was quite interesting to watch her show a weak appearance, turning pale at the mention of tetanus, but then display a resolution no less than any knight when explaining how she would carry out her plan. He had never felt that a conversation with a lady was enjoyable before.

While Elliot was lost in thought, Oliver spoke with a voice still full of worry.

“…Do you think so? I hope that’s the case. If this succeeds, we can definitely put Duke Yusten and Viscount Klein in their place, who boasted they would resolve this themselves and even borrowed Her Majesty’s troops. Then we might be able to approach the secret of the suspicious death of Princess Liz, the late Duchess Haven, who was entangled with the heads of those two houses…”

“…Shh.”

Suddenly, Elliot put his index finger to his lips and said.

Oliver was puzzled by his action, but soon spoke with a gloomy expression.

“…I’m sorry. For bringing up the Princess’s story in this situation…”

“Sir Oliver. Don’t you hear something?”

“…Pardon? A sound?”

Oliver asked back and then focused on the sound as Elliot had said.

Then, mixed with the chirping of mountain birds and the sound of the wind, he too heard a faint and suspicious sound. It was like small stones sliding down a rough gravel path. The sound was getting louder and closer to the castle where they were.

Oliver turned to Elliot with wide, surprised eyes.

“Your Grace, this sound…!”

“Yes. It seems they’re using rafts to cross the ‘River of Stones’, the Tara Gorge, and heading this way.”

Elliot said with a grin. He soon tightened his grip on the reins and said:

“Sir Oliver, lead the knights and follow me. Our destination is right there, the Tara Gorge.”

“Yes, Your Grace. Sir Roger! Sir Glen! And knights of the White Lion! We’ve detected enemy movement! Form ranks immediately and follow His Grace!”

Receiving the order, Oliver immediately shouted to the knights. At his voice, the scattered knights of the White Lion formed ranks and followed Elliot, who took the lead, riding towards the Tara Gorge.

They soon encountered Rugul and Yalta warriors who were trying to descend after stopping their rafts at the middle part of the Tara Gorge, about 200 meters away from the castle.

“Damn it! It’s the Imperial bastards!”

“How did they know?”

They, riding hybrid monsters instead of horses and wielding spears embedded with orichalcum instead of swords, were shocked by the sudden appearance of the Imperial knights.

But soon they swung their sharp spears at the knights and shouted:

“Damn, who cares! Attack! Kill them all! And take the swords and armor from those pig-like Imperial bastards to fill the stomachs of our starving children!”

Elliot immediately drew his sword and responded:

“Your circumstances are pitiful, but that won’t do.”

“Attack! Don’t let a single one escape alive!”

Soon, with Oliver’s cry, the White Lion Knights all drew their swords.

The Tara Gorge, which had been filled only with quiet sounds, suddenly turned into a battlefield where knights and warriors fought for their lives.

Meanwhile, at Alpens Castle in the south of the Empire.

Unaware of the situation at Denaon Castle, the Yusten-Klein allied forces and the Imperial Knights were hiding in the Landin Forest surrounding Alpens Castle.

Duke Yusten, the commander leading them, clicked his tongue in annoyance as he lifted the vine-woven cloak he had thrown over his armor for camouflage.

He didn’t know how many hours had passed since they had been waiting like this. If Viscount Miles’ information was correct, battles with the enemies who had crossed the mountains should have occurred several times by now, but nothing had happened so far.

‘Could that Viscount bastard have given me false information…? No, that’s impossible.’

A mere viscount wouldn’t dare to do such an impertinent and outrageous thing to him. There’s no reason to risk the retaliation of a ducal house by giving false information.

The barbarians must come here. They have to come.

Duke Yusten consoled himself like this as he looked towards the mountains. At that moment, Count Attlee, the second commander of the Imperial Knights who had brought the knights on the Emperor’s orders, spoke to him in a nagging tone.

“Duke Yusten, didn’t the Viscount’s confidential information say that the Rugul and Yalta bastards would cross the Riman Mountains before afternoon? So why hasn’t anything happened yet?”

“…I don’t know either. Something must have happened among them. Let’s wait a bit longer.”

“We’ve been waiting in the forest for over 7 hours now. Complaints are starting to arise among the knights. …Duke, is that Viscount’s information really reliable?”

Count Attlee kept expressing his dissatisfaction to Duke Yusten as if frustrated. Duke Yusten responded with a cold gaze.

“Count, are you doubting my intelligence now? Or are you daring to disobey me, your commander?”

“…That’s not it, but.”

“Then trust me and wait. Trust me, the commander of this allied force.”

“…Alright. Then let’s wait a bit longer.”

Count Attlee answered and then retreated to the rear. The Duke watched the back of Count Attlee turning away with a look full of dissatisfaction and doubt, and clicked his tongue briefly.

‘Damn it, cursed bastard! A mere count, just because he’s the commander of the Emperor’s direct knights, dares to question the decision of me, a duke and the commander? Once this operation succeeds, I’ll surely give him the punishment he deserves!’

He inwardly vowed petty revenge against Count Attlee.

Meanwhile, suddenly the quiet forest became noisy, and a knight came riding a horse with the family’s flag tied around its neck. He was a messenger from the Klein ducal family who had been sent to another southern border just in case.