The Extra Wants To Live

The problem was that the trolls' strength was clearly beyond common sense, just like the game Carl had encountered at Hillfin.

'I guess I crossed the line because I left it for too long.'

Although Hilpin's Noldo had been neglected for quite some time, when the newly strengthened Noldo appeared, Carl was able to subdue all of the Noldos except for the Red Mane Noldo.

Since they even dealt with the blood statue there, it can be said that they responded quickly and well, although there are still some concerns.

Carl knew that if medium-sized monsters like trolls poured out in large numbers, it would be impossible to respond immediately.

In such a scenario, they would be overwhelmed, and the defenses would collapse in an instant, unable to hold out even with support.

The trolls would gleefully trample over the realm, capturing any living thing they could find and throwing them as sacrifices into the pool of blood.

As a result, an absurd situation arose where even the master of the kingdom, who was dispatched late, had a hard time seizing the opportunity for victory.

'The difference in power between the Nol and the Troll races is truly terrifying. If a Troll leader like the Red-Maned Nol were to be born at that time, it would be nothing short of a disaster.'

Carl realized that this matter was very threatening. But at the same time, he thought it wasn't bad.

The war with Tumaria could be suppressed by using the Laurel Union, but there was nothing he could do about Minardi, which bordered Margrave Grilldi in the southwestern part of the empire, which was Adrian's territory beyond his reach.

Minardi must suffer and waste its strength as much as possible until Carl becomes Emperor and stabilizes the Empire.

This was a very bad thing considering the invisible threat, but it was very satisfying considering Carl's current goal, the throne.

Tumari had created a suppressant, and since she was already suffering from a major outbreak of measles, it would be best to convey the information honestly.

If Tumaria were to shake or collapse too much, it would eventually be forced to declare war on Hardion to maintain unity. Otherwise, it would just be torn to pieces.

If they tightened their grip on an already cornered situation, they would have no choice but to show their teeth. Carl needed to slowly restore the tattered state of Tumaria and buy as much time as possible.

As he told Govan, Tumaria was an uncomfortable friend.

Although it was a bit unpleasant to be around, thanks to Tumaria, Carl had been able to take control of the eastern part of the empire and gain valuable information, so he was using it well.

In politics, there were no eternal enemies or eternal friends. Carl intended to suck out the bone marrow and find a way to use the remaining bones.

"Make copies and keep them, and pass on the original as is," Carl ordered.

"Yes."

"And…"

Carl carefully considered what he was going to say, then spoke gravely to the informant with the bloody ring finger, who was awaiting orders.

"…Tell 'Ring' to come to me as soon as possible."

"Yes."

The man stepped back at Carl's words.

On the way back to the castle with Catherine, Carl's head started to get a little… well, really a little complicated.

…It was just a coincidence that Camilla's pretty hazel eyes came to mind.

Really.

***

Four days after ordering the bloody ring finger to deliver the letter, a reply arrived quickly. Naturally, Carl unfolded it and looked at it before handing it over to Lilly.

"Hmm…"

Carl put down the letter and looked out the window for a while, where the rain was still falling. It gave him something to think about.

"You haven't leaked any information about me, have you?" Carl asked.

"Absolutely not," the informant with the bloody ring finger answered firmly.

In fact, Carl had always been very thorough in hiding the connection between his bloody ring finger and himself, and the bloody ring finger knew it and was very careful about it.

However, there was a separate letter in the reply received from the Hadad sect, in which Carl was clearly identified and addressed to him.

The letter mentioned that it was a great help that Archduke Carl had sent the letter.

Furthermore, it stated that they understood Carl's intentions and that they would properly control the disturbance occurring within Tumaria so that there would be no tension in the border area.

'Someone is trying to speak to me directly and secretly through the Hadad Church,' Carl thought.

And yet, this person never revealed who they were until the very end. They were careful, cautious, yet bold.

'How do they know me?' Carl found it odd.

The fact that Carl delivered the letter could be figured out with just a little thought.

Now Carl held the eastern part of the empire in his hands and was staying in Dabron, the only passage to the border.

In the meantime, the only people who could secretly deliver letters would be Marquis Dabron Govan or Carl, and Govan would not do anything good for Tumaria.

So, it was easy to figure out that Carl had help.

However, reading Carl's intentions was of a different nature. The opponent saw through Carl's true intentions and his desire to become emperor.

That was why they were sure he did not want war. With confidence, they leisurely pressed down on Carl's flipped tile with their fingertips and pointed at it.

'He is a high-ranking official of Tumaria, unrelated to the Empire, and yet knows me, as he is associated with the Hadad cult.'

The number of people from Tumaria that Carl had encountered so far in his life was not that many.

All of these were people he encountered when he was subduing the Salgarez mercenary group that had settled in the border area in the past and was engaged in plundering.

Of those, there was only one person worth remembering.

'Yusuf of Abigail.'

A young man of noble birth, but whose identity could not be determined, made even the radicals who led the army to the border area follow him. Yusuf spoke secretly to Carl through the Hadad sect.

Why?

'Tumaria is currently in a precarious situation. If I, who have guessed Tumaria's situation, were to attack, even if I could eventually block it, Tumaria would suffer terrible damage.' Carl mused.

Western Tumaria, most of the lands bordering the Empire, would be lost. Even if they could slowly recover later, they would not be able to cover all the losses in this precarious situation.

That is, the opponent saw through Carl's true intentions and even realized that Carl had two moves to make it happen.

Either help Tumaria and join hands to avoid war, or cut off its hand so that it couldn't even draw its sword and stand up.

Yusuf gently pointed the knife at Carl and said, 'I know your plan. Let's get through this on good terms, so there's no need to shed blood.'

If Carl refused, Yusuf would also go around publicly bragging about Carl's ambitions for the throne.

Of course, it might not be a big deal now, but it still left some discomfort.

When Aric was killed by Adrian, Carl needed to rise up with a noble and sublime determination while mourning Aric's death.

If there was even one record of it being brought up, Carl might be at a disadvantage when that time came.

'That's great,' Carl admired Yusuf.

When Carl first met Yusuf, he seemed young and irritable, so Carl was able to control him without much difficulty. But now it seemed like it wouldn't be easy to deal with him.

'Is it really possible that a promise that will determine the fate of the two countries will be made with just a letter like this…?'

Carl immediately began writing a reply to Yusuf. As Yusuf had pointed out Carl, Carl had also pointed him out as 'Yusuf, son of Padishah, Sultan Abigail.'

If there was a young man who could directly engage with the Hadad sect, who was concerned about the future of Tumaria, and who could make a promise with Carl, who wanted to become the Emperor of the Empire, then it would be the son of the Padishah.

Carl wrote the letter so as not to use his own name or phrases to identify himself and handed it over to the informant with the bloody ring finger.

"Deliver it the same way as last time," Carl ordered.

The principle was to always change the method of contact to avoid revealing himself, but then it might not be conveyed to Yusuf.

"Yes."

The informant responded to Carl's orders, politely accepted the letter, and stepped aside.

Carl put aside the letters he had received from Yusuf and got up to collect the letters exchanged between the religious orders.

Even though it was just a formality, he had to tell Lyanna first.