The Water Magician

"All deployments of the Duchy of Rubine's forces are complete."

"Good work."

Fiona nodded briefly in response to the report from Jurgen Bartel, Oscar's aide and the acting commander of the Duchy of Rubine's forces.

"However, is it really okay? With the entire territory in a state of full combat readiness, won't His Majesty Helmut have something to say about it?"

Marie's voice came, she was Fiona's aide and head maid.

"It's fine. Just say it's to prepare for Linus's rebellion and to deter any new rebellions."

Oscar replied without changing his expression.

"To think the seemingly solid Empire could come to this in just two weeks..."

Fiona mumbled while shaking her head slightly.

"In this case, not having the twelve imperial knights is painful."

"The twelve imperial knights?"

Fiona reacted to Oscar's murmuring.

The twelve imperial knights are the twelve supreme knights appointed by the emperor, tasked with protecting him.

Each one is a true one warrior against a thousand.

It is not an exaggeration to say that they are the envy of all Imperial citizens in any age.

"The role of the twelve imperial knights is to dispel any threats to the emperor with their strength. If the current situation continues, there will surely be those who seek to directly harm His Majesty the Emperor. The number of those who can protect him... is few."

"All of father... former Emperor Rupert's twelve imperial knights have been replaced, as per tradition. They all became nobles and returned to their territories. The newly appointed ones are, what, only four?"

Fiona answered while picturing the new twelve imperial knights.

"Well, it’s not something that has to be chosen in a hurry, so it wouldn’t have been a problem to take the time to find suitable knights… If it wasn’t for this chaos. For a while, the security of the Empire will worsen, probably except for the eastern part and this southeastern area."

"Eh? What do you mean by that…"

Fiona tilted her head at Oscar's words.

"The southeastern region is largely occupied by this Duchy of Rubine. The eastern part is centered around the neighboring Marquise Kurkova's territory. If they know your relationship with the marquise, they shouldn't make any moves against her territory."

"If they know the relationship? I can't believe rebels would think like that."

Fiona asked, still tilting her head at Oscar's explanation.

"This rebellion is likely being manipulated from behind by Lord Conrad."

"No way!"

"Almost certainly. If that is the case, he would try to avoid making you an enemy. If they make a move against this Duchy of Rubine, of course they would face you as an enemy too, right?"

"Of course."

Fiona immediately nodded in response to Oscar's question.

The Marquise Kurkova is someone Fiona has admired since she was young and is one of the most trusted nobles in the Empire.

Fiona would surely give her all for her.

Moreover, the marquise is someone who took care of Oscar when he was younger.

She would support Fiona, but would not stop her.

However, the military strength of the Marquise Kurkova's territory is not weak at all...

The Knight Order of the Duchy of Kurkova, led by the renowned Knight Commander Norbert, is known for its strong military prowess.

Perhaps influenced by the marquise's guidance, the knights of the duchy are all well-versed in martial arts, knowledge, and culture.

It is one of the knight orders that many nobles aspire to join.

Additionally, the Duchy of Kurkova has the only non-discriminatory school group in the Empire, with even a university, forming a sort of academic city.

This was built with the marquise's personal wealth over the past decade.

The city itself is called the academic city of Sancoussi.

Three years ago, during the latter part of the Kingdom's invasion, the neighboring Duchy of Morgrund became the battlefield for fierce fighting between the duchy’s forces and the Imperial Army led by the emperor.

However, the Duchy of Kurkova was spared from the flames of war.

As a result, its development did not stop, and it has now become the most developed territory in the eastern part of the Empire.