Chapter 195
Chapter 195
Ready (2)
Irena, who had been listening to Simid Kellogg’s story, finally opened her mouth.
“To become the daughter of a loyal family that upheld the Empire. Or to become the daughter of a treasonous rebel who harbored insolent ambitions.”
What Simid Kellogg was doing was a gamble undertaken at the risk of the entire family. Irena had already fully understood why he was doing this through their previous conversation.
However, understanding Simid Kellogg’s motives did not mean she could also understand what he was saying now.
“I didn’t know anything. Not until Father told me. For six whole years.”
Irena looked at Simid with her fists clenched tightly.
“You prepared the plan while leaving me out of it.”
Simid Kellogg nodded.
“I joined the Order because I didn’t want to enter a marriage arranged by the family, and I lived as an apprentice knight. But look at the situation now. What do you think?”
Contrary to her words, there was no anger in Irena’s voice.
“No matter what I did, it was all meaningless anyway. That’s what I keep thinking.”
There had been little meaning in Irena joining the Order. As an apprentice knight with the background of the Kellogg family, she had heard all kinds of things within the Order, both openly and behind her back.
Even so, she had lived on with the single-minded belief that her life could change through her own decisions.
But Simid Kellogg’s preparations for rebellion—
“My life, no matter what, has been swept up in Father’s choice.”
“I’m sorry.”
Irena shook her head.
“I didn’t bring this up to resent you. Everything comes with a price.”
She had lived well and comfortably. There had been countless people who bowed their heads at the mere mention of her family’s name. It had been a life where anything money could buy was within reach.
As the daughter of the Kellogg family, Irena had fully enjoyed everything she could.
“It’s only natural that Father’s decision has a great influence on me.”
Because she had received so much. Every privilege she had received under the family name had been given under the implicit rule that she must follow the family’s decisions.
Having enjoyed all of that, Irena could not now say something like, ‘How could Father, the head of the family, decide my life as he pleases!’
If she had truly hated it, she should have cast everything aside and left the family entirely.
Irena did not have that level of courage or resolve.
“It’s not marriage, but the time has come for me to repay what the family has provided. However.”
That did not mean she had to obey Simid Kellogg’s order to do nothing and wait in Bennett City.
“As long as the debt is repaid, it doesn’t matter how it’s done, right?”
The moment had come for her to help the family in order to repay what she had received from it. And that help did not solely mean following Simid Kellogg’s orders.
“I understand your request well, Father. But I’m going to get involved too.”
If they failed, the family would be ruined. It was a gamble staking the fate of everything. Irena, who had enjoyed countless privileges under the name Kellogg, could not remain uninvolved in this matter.
“We must think of what comes next. If everyone dies, Kellogg will disappear. But if you remain—”
“It would be meaningless. Are you thinking of Featherwing?”
House Featherwing had survived through Kairus. However, there was a fundamental difference.
“Featherwing didn’t truly attempt a rebellion.”
But Kellogg was about to carry out a genuine rebellion. There was an insurmountable wall between the two.
“If we fail, we’re finished.”
All consequences brought about by the judgment of Simid Kellogg, the head of the family, would be borne by everyone who carried the Kellogg name.
It was the natural duty of all those who had enjoyed everything from a different starting point under Kellogg’s protection.
“I have no intention of stepping aside.”
Simid Kellogg fell silent at Irena’s words. He lacked the confidence to persuade her. Moreover, it was not as though he could lock his fully grown daughter in a room at this point…
Even if he did, it would be meaningless. She would break out anyway. In the end, Simid Kellogg shared his entire plan with Irena.
And what Irena focused on was Kairus’s role.
“Kairus! Come here for a moment!”
At Irena’s call, Kairus, who had been standing far away, let out a curious “Hm?” and approached.
“What is it?”
“I heard the plan. How about we modify it a little?”
At Irena’s words, Kairus made a complicated expression.
“What kind of idea did you come up with to make such a frightening face?”
“Let’s target the knight captains.”
First, the word “we” caught Kairus’s attention, and then the word “knight captains” struck his ears.
“Irena, wait a moment.”
Simid Kellogg, who had been listening, wore a flustered expression. He wondered if his daughter, after voicing her dissatisfaction, had gone completely mad.
“If I accompany you, we can win, right?”
After a brief moment of thought, Kairus glanced at Simid and then nodded.
“Almost certainly.”
If Irena accompanied him, Kairus could decisively defeat the knight captains and claim victory.
“The knight captains are superhumans!”
Kairus agreed as well. If he were to fight the Empire’s knight captains, someone of Irena’s original level would merely be an obstacle, even if she fought alongside him. It was not that she was weak; rather, the knight captains’ abilities were monstrous.
However, she possessed an extraordinary talent.
“Do you have confidence in predicting the knight captains’ movements? Honestly, I don’t.”
Irena answered briskly.
“But predicting my movements is possible.”
“That’s right. You can anticipate me.”
Irena’s predictions were based on her experience and everything she had observed so far. During training, she had watched Kairus’s movements countless times.
On top of that, if she sparred with Kairus several times, she would be able to predict his movements with remarkable accuracy.
“There’s no need for me to know the opponent’s movements. I just have to predict how you’ll move, right?”
Irena could look a few seconds ahead of Kairus and match her pace to him. After all, Kairus would act in response to the knight captain’s movements.
By anticipating Kairus’s movements and synchronizing with them, Irena could contribute her full strength.
“Will flying be all right for you?”
“This isn’t the time to worry about something like that.”
Accompanying Kairus in flight was exhausting, but in a situation like this, she could not complain about such trivial matters.
“Taking the heads of just two knight captains will be enough.”
If word spread that the rebel forces had beheaded knight captains, it would cause an uproar—literally chaos.
The Imperial Army would react even more strongly. In truth, the Imperial Army served as little more than a shield of flesh, throwing themselves forward for the sake of the knightly orders.
If they hurled themselves at the enemy and managed to hold them in place, the heavily supported and powerful knightly orders would resolve the situation.
It was the very core of the Empire’s long-standing strategy, and it would completely collapse.
‘The knightly orders—and even their strongest knight captains—failed to resolve the situation and were instead slain.’
To an army centered around the knightly orders, that message would be interpreted in a far simpler and more powerful way:
‘We are going to lose this war.’
In reality, that would never be the case. Even if the soldiers served as mere shields of flesh, their numbers were overwhelmingly vast.
No matter how desperately Simid gathered forces, their numbers would amount to only a handful, regardless of their individual strength.
But the soldiers would not see it that way.
“Let’s do it. That seems to be the best method.”
Kairus agreed with Irena’s proposal. Simid Kellogg, however, had countless things he wanted to say.
“You’ll be criticized even for pulling your daughter to the rear. If you’ve decided to use her, then use her where she can be most effective.”
Even Nora would find it difficult to coordinate with Kairus to face a knight captain. But Irena could do it.
And this was a battle fought together against knight captains.
“You wouldn’t want people saying that Simid Kellogg only cherishes his daughter and keeps her running in circles in a safe place.”
Such words could very well be spoken. The rebel forces were already short on numbers; if such rumors spread, their morale would be further damaged.
“…Understood.”
“In fact, it’s the safest place of all.”
Kairus was the strongest among those working with Simid. Accompanying such a man meant that Irena was, in fact, in the safest place possible.
“That’s quite an unpleasant way to put it.”
Kairus responded to Irena’s remark.
“It depends on how you look at it.”
She would be going to a dangerous place with a strong companion. Moreover, she was not going along as some kind of burden. For Kairus to secure victory, Irena’s assistance was necessary.
“That’s comforting to hear. All right, let’s do it.”
Simid, who had been listening, spoke to Kairus.
“How strong is my daughter?”
Kairus answered without hesitation.
“If we can get her a decent piece of battle gear, she could fight a knight captain to the death. Her chances of winning would be about thirty percent.”
The problem was that acquiring equipment superior to stained glass required not money, but connections.
In simple terms, if she fought anyone other than a knight captain, she would never lose.
“As for the rest, she would either draw or win.”
There was no scenario in which Irena would lose.
“That’s… beyond what I expected.”
Simid murmured in admiration at Kairus’s firm assertion. In the past, he might have doubted whether it was a lie, but when it came to combat, Kairus was the most trustworthy person Simid knew.
“When I say she’ll be helpful, I don’t mean she’ll follow along claiming to help, only to get captured like a fool and provoke everyone’s anger.”
Having finished speaking, Kairus rose from his seat.
“Once it begins, mark the key strongholds on a map and send it to my office. Places where the knight captains are likely to be stationed.”
“Understood.”
Kairus was scheduled to go on an imperial tour with Irena.
Next was Nora’s turn.
“Hello, Grandfather.”
“Nora Galatea.”
Simid Kellogg greeted her briefly. It was a different atmosphere from his usual self, who often grinned and joked casually.
From Nora’s perspective, it was only natural. Unlike with Kairus or Irena, he did not share any particular closeness with her. Moreover, they were about to discuss matters of great importance to both the Republic and Lunaseeker.
“To what extent is Lunaseeker willing to cooperate?”
“It will be difficult to offer active assistance. We’re busy as well.”
There was an election underway, and one of the presidential candidates had even been falsely accused in a drug-related case.
Such matters fell under Lunaseeker’s jurisdiction rather than the Republic’s Order of Knights, and as a result, a considerable number of personnel were currently focused on resolving internal issues within the Republic.
Therefore, regarding the incident Simid was orchestrating within the Empire, they intended to play only a supporting role.
“As for the Lunaseekers being dispatched…”
“Myself, with the rank equivalent to a department head, along with three others. And an informant and base of operations within the Empire.”
A total of four Lunaseekers would be operating within the Empire this time.
“That should be sufficient.”
In truth, the support was somewhat lacking. However, Simid Kellogg judged that this level was appropriate.
He had no intention of forming excessively close cooperation. Such close collaboration would inevitably require the exchange of sensitive intelligence.
Providing Lunaseeker with a large amount of internal information about the Empire would likely become a noose around his own neck after the rebellion succeeded.
To be frank, though it was called cooperation, there was always the possibility that the Republic might opportunistically seize control of the Empire after the rebellion’s success.
Simid understood this fact very well.