Chapter 542: Chapter 515: Choice

Years ago, when Ibn was studying at the Royal Knight Academy, he displayed remarkable talent for Cultivation, which was how he caught Bruno’s eye.

After more than a decade of struggle, he rose through the ranks, not only becoming the Leader of the Griffin Knight Order but also falling in love with the Eldest Princess, Sharon. Ultimately, he was fortunate enough to marry her with the title of Border Count.

In a way, Bruno’s methods for dealing with Ibn and Ronin were somewhat similar; he used his daughters in marriages to powerful, reliable nobles in exchange for the Kingdom’s stability.

Ibn was pained by Bruno’s death, but this letter presented him with a new conflict and a difficult choice.

’In his view, if Ronin were truly the killer, Garrett should have been forming an Alliance Army with him, Gushan, and the others to besiege Mist City.’

’Instead, Garrett was asking him to coordinate with troops from the enemy, Mo’er City, even promising to grant him the title of Border Duke upon success.’

Ibn was not without ambition, but he wasn’t reckless like Garrett, especially when facing a powerful foe.

If Ronin were truly a traitor to the Kingdom, an enemy with such immense personal strength would need to be handled with extreme caution.

"Ibn!"

Just then, a beautiful noblewoman strode in. She bore a slight resemblance to Blanche, but appeared more mature.

Ibn quickly stood up. "Weren’t you vacationing at Black Jade Bay? Why are you back so suddenly?"

However, when he saw Sharon’s bloodshot eyes, he knew she must have learned of the matter from the Black Jade Clan.

"Father... was assassinated?"

Ibn murmured in affirmation and handed her Garrett’s letter. "Garrett claims Ronin did it. He wants me to attack Mist City."

A sob escaped her.

Sharon broke down crying after reading the letter, leaving Ibn to comfort her.

"How could this happen?"

She said, her voice filled with a mixture of grief and disbelief, "Garrett told William that Father was only gravely injured and on the verge of death. I thought... I thought there was still hope he would survive..."

Garrett’s letter had explicitly stated that he was concealing the truth from the other nobles. This was so Double Peaks Ridge could monopolize the glory of conquering Mist City, allowing the Tolansky Clan to become the Border Dukes.

But no matter how Ibn looked at it, the whole thing felt wrong. The arrangement was simply too strange.

’Under normal circumstances, shouldn’t they be uniting with Gushan, William, and the others to attack the traitor’s territory?’

Sharon cried for a long time before wiping away her tears. Only then did she ask, "Ibn, what do you plan to do?"

Ibn was silent for a moment before finally speaking. "I am as heartbroken by His Majesty’s tragic fate as you are, but we must remain calm. Mist City is guarded by Ridder. Forcing me to coordinate with a foreign enemy I know nothing about is too difficult. It would inevitably bring devastating losses to Double Peaks Ridge."

"Besides, there are too many suspicious things about your brother’s plan. I can’t simply take his word for it."

Garrett had sworn in his letter that Ronin would be slain in the Golden Feather Palace, telling Ibn he could attack Mist City with confidence.

But in Ibn’s view, the risks were still immense.

’He recalled how Aluba had led a massive force to ambush and kill Ronin, only to be killed himself. Where was Garrett getting this absolute confidence from?’

’What if he attacked Mist City, only for Ronin to escape? Wouldn’t Ronin’s fury then be directed at him?’

Ibn was confident he could defeat an ordinary Proud Sun Knight, but against Ronin, he had no confidence whatsoever.

Furthermore, Ibn had clashed with Garrett years ago in the Royal Capital.

Although their relationship had since improved, thanks to Sharon’s mediation and his own willingness to compromise.

But Ibn had a deep understanding of Garrett’s jealous, vengeful, and arrogant nature. He harbored an inexplicable wariness toward the prince.

Sharon nodded. She knew her husband had always been a cautious man.

"In that case, accompany me to the Royal Capital first!"

She said, "I don’t want to miss my chance to see Father one last time!"

Ibn nodded. He also wanted to go to the Royal Capital and see for himself what was truly happening.

He waited for Sharon to leave and pack, then summoned Garrison Officer Bramer.

"Arrange for someone to go to Mist City and find Ridder. Tell him Mo’er City may be making a move and that he should be on his guard."

’If Ronin was killed, this action would be of no consequence.’

’But if Ronin escaped, his warning to Ridder would be a gesture to improve relations between their two factions.’

’At the very least, it might prevent Ronin from unleashing his fury upon Double Peaks Ridge.’

When Ridder received this message, he knew that no one would be joining Sanburn’s forces to besiege Mist City.

He had analyzed the situation: across the entire border, not many people were close to Garrett. The most prominent among them was Ibn, the Count of Double Peaks Ridge.

Now, with Ibn revealing this information, it was clear he was declaring his stance.

Moreover, according to the messenger, Ibn was already on his way to Golden Feather City with Sharon.

"Macken, our moment has come!"

Ridder went outside the city walls and found Macken, who was guarding Sanburn and the other captives.

"What do you mean?"

Ridder said, "Mist City is safe for the time being. It’s time for us to make our move and conquer more territory for the Lord!"

Realization dawned on Macken, and he immediately grew eager for action.

He hadn’t seen any combat for a year, ever since the battle in the Purple Thunder Territory.

He was desperate to prove his strength once more, and now the opportunity had finally arrived.

"Sanburn confessed that Mo’er City has very few troops guarding it now. Commander, leave this battle to me! With just one Knight Order, I can conquer Mo’er City!"

Ridder nodded. He trusted in Macken’s abilities.

"Alright. I’ll give you one Knight Order. Additionally, have Sanburn lead a Knight Order of prisoners in the first wave. I’ll accompany you as well, to prevent Holy Storm from pulling any tricks."

And so, with their plan in place, Sophia and Anilu were left in charge of defending Mist City and guarding the two remaining Knight Orders of prisoners.

Meanwhile, Ridder and Macken led their forces to attack Mo’er City.

Capturing this large, prosperous, yet poorly defended city would undoubtedly be a significant boon for Ronin.

「Meanwhile.」

After Ronin finished dealing with matters at the Golden Feather Palace, he had Carlos take Garrett and Ference to be guarded at the manor.

"Ronin, you’re back!"

The moment he entered the room, Blanche threw herself into his arms. It was obvious from her appearance that she had been crying heavily.

Her father’s death and her brother’s betrayal—anyone would be devastated by such events.

Ronin stroked her back. "This is a sad and terrible thing, but you have to be strong and take care of yourself. I’m sure that if His Majesty were alive, he would want the little life inside you to grow up safe and sound."

"I know, Ronin."

Blanche took a deep breath. "It’s just... every time I think of how good Father was to Garrett, only for it to end in such a tragic death, my heart aches for him."

She looked up. "Did you kill Garrett?"

Ronin saw hesitation and conflict in her eyes. ’She probably wants Garrett dead but is held back by their bond as siblings.’

"No."

Ronin replied, "I plan to summon the Kingdom’s nobles to the Golden Feather Palace to put Garrett on trial. There’s a very high chance he’ll be sentenced to death."

’With the various factions pushing for it, even if he avoids a death sentence, his fate won’t be much better.’

Ronin looked at his wife. "Regardless, Garrett can no longer inherit the throne of Oduin. Blanche, do you want to be queen?"

’Queen?’

Blanche was stunned. She had been so immersed in her grief that she had never considered the question.

Now that Ronin had brought it up, she realized the House of Oduin no longer had a male heir.

"I..."

Blanche buried her head in Ronin’s chest. "If you need me to be, then I’m willing."

She paused for a moment. "But if it were up to me, I’d rather just help you with small matters when things are busy, and live a quiet, peaceful life otherwise."

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