"Is that all?" Hilda didn't hide her dissatisfaction. "Are you implying that it's the best you've got?"
It was just yesterday when the world came to know that she is the imperial prince. Now everybody in the capital knew about it and was calling her with an absurdly long name.
"Your highness imperial third prince…"
"Get to the point." Hilda waved her hand in impatience.
"According to the order issued by the imperial court, they need to provide you with 2000 soldiers."
"Don't play with words. I asked you why there are only 200 knights in my troops?"
"That?" The general wasn't sure what to answer.
"According to 'War Proceeding,' the book was written by the third emperor, shouldn't one-fourth of every army be fully trained knights? And another quarter to be knight squires?"
"Yes, Your highness imperial third prince."
"Then, are you trying to write your own 'War Proceeding'?"
The general quickly went to his knees and put his forehead on the ground. "I dare not, your highness imperial third prince."
"There isn't anything he could do," Wolfy whispered in a low voice. Almost ten days had passed since that day, and she had recovered well. Naturally, she followed Hilda to the barrack, just outside the capital.
"Stand up." Even if Hilda knew, the truth couldn't ease his anger. "Give me the total number."
"Your highness imperial third prince," the general looked at her in fear before continuing, "there are 200 knights, 300 squire knights, 200 shield bearers, 500 archers, and 800 infantry in the troop."
"And they are asking to stop the barbarians with just that? Do they really think those barbarians are mere children?"
Barbarians are not a single unified tribe, rather a group of constantly conflicting tribes. The only thing they had in common was that they are all demihumans and their battle-hungry mentality.
Unlike the wolf tribe, which is united under a single supreme chief, or the feline tribe, which is ruled by a single ruler, these tribes are constantly at odds.
They would emerge from the forest at the end of each winter and attack the surrounding area. For these tribes, looting and pillaging were common methods of obtaining food, riches, and slaves.
These barbarians were powerful, battle-hardened, and ruthless. They would leave nothing behind if they attacked a village. They'd take all the food, massacre anyone who dared to fight, sell everyone who survived, and burn the entire village down.
Most cities and human settlements were so terrified of them that at the end of each winter, they would send tribute.
Even a well-trained infantry would have a hard time fighting against these fiends. The only thing effective against these barbarians were knights.
"So they want us to die? Good." The general couldn't help but shudder, looking at the smile on Hilda's face. But he didn't dare to speak out loud.
"You are the general of my army, right?"
"Your highness imperial third prince,"
"Just call me lord."
"But..."
"That's an order."
The general was still hesitant, but he couldn't disobey a direct order. "My lord, I am second-in-command of this army."
"How many generals are there?" Hilda knew very well there couldn't be just one general. According to War Proceeding, there should be at least one general for every 500 soldiers. So…
"Other than me, there is one general. Dame Lydia Armstrong. The general of the Knight and Squire troop."
'Lydia? That name sounded similar.' Hilda wanted to think about it, but she had a more pressing problem. "What about the infantry general? Or general for archer troops?"
"My lord, I was the general of infantry before they transferred our troops to the 'Emerald Army.' They had gathered 5 Centurions and their troops from three different armies. So the archer troop has no general."
Hilda couldn't help but massage her forehead. She felt they had given him beginner gears and sent her to fight an end-game mini-boss.
"Those bastards. I really want to f…"
"My lady." Before Hilda could end her sentence, Wolfy stopped her.
Hilda sighed, looking at her frightened general. "Gather everyone on the field tomorrow morning. Even if there is a snowstorm, I want everyone to be present."
"For those who won't be there, I will sell their entire family as slaves. That includes the knights too."
The general looked at her in fear when he heard those remarks. He couldn't tell if they had given him a promotion or were punishing him.
"I understand what you're thinking." Hilda could guess his thought and added, "However, if you ask me, I would argue that your life would be simpler if I sold you in the capital rather than have you abducted by the barbarians."
The general couldn't refute anymore. He bowed, adding, "My Lord, Dame Lydia Armstrong had requested a meeting. Should I…"
"Send her in." Hilda simply waved her hand, ordering him to leave. As soon as he left, Hilda asked, "What about the things I have asked you to buy?"
"We have brought 100 of them. The court has approved." Wolfy informed.
"No wonder they have approved. With the number of soldiers they had sent me, they were expecting me to buy some slaves to fill up the number."
"May I enter, Your Highness Imperial Third Prince?" Hilda frowned as she realized the person asking for permission wasn't the one she was expecting.
After receiving the approval, a servant entered the office. "Your Highness Imperial Third Prince, Marchioness Fiona Ashgard, is waiting in the mansion."
As soon as she heard the name, a smile appeared on her face. The servant added, "Countess Rhea Ashgard had also come."
"Huh!" She wasn't expecting this person. After all, she had never met her before. And, if she remembered correctly, Rhea was the Marquess's first wife's child. Marquess married the sister of the current emperor only after the death of his first wife.
"Lead the way." From her action, it was quite clear that she was excited. She simply followed the servant.
As soon as she came out of the office, a fully armored knight greeted her. "You must be Dame Lydia Armstrong." Without waiting for her to confirm, Hilda added, "I will meet every knight and squire tomorrow. And I mean everyone."
Hilda left with no extra words, and Wolfy followed her. Soon they left the barrack and walked towards the mansion that they had prepared only for her.
{Don't go overboard.} Wolf whispered in a language native to Demi-humans. Even if few humans knew about it, most of the common people like the servant wouldn't be able to understand.
[Author's word: The demi-human language will be captioned in {Italics}.]
{What did you mean?}
{After the death of his last wife, the Marquess was heartbroken. Even if he was a great general, he retired from the army. Being a childhood friend, the emperor married off his sister with him.}
The servant was trying to understand what they were talking about but failed to comprehend a single word.
Wolfy understood his intention, still continued. {After the marriage, the Marquess never came out in public.}
{So what? He still had three children with my aunt.} As soon as Hilda had said it, she understood. {Are you telling me…}
{It's just that Countess Fern's background isn't as straightforward as it appears. You must trade with caution.}
"Your Highness Imperial Third Prince, if you may." The servant led her to the room.
"Leave." Her aunt was the first person she noticed when she entered the room. With one look, she understood from where Fern had got her figure.
Her bust was still holding its own weight at the age of 35. Unlike her daughter, she isn't afraid to put them on show.
All of her jugs were on full display due to her low-cut dress. Stretch marks on my pale white skin were very recognizable after giving birth to three children.
If you looked closely, you could see the circular edges of the brown crown of her mounds peeking out from the edge of the fabrics. But it was the two erect nipples protruding from the other side that drew Hilda's attention.
"How dare you make me wait for so long?" Hilda wasn't sure whether or not Fiona was accustomed to this kind of perverted stare, so she ignored it and shouted at her.
"Before we start, let me ask you. How should I address you? Imperial Aunt or mother-in-law?"
"You? You dare to insult me?" She pointed her finger at Hilda and shouted. Hilda perfectly understood Fren had gained her attitude from the same source as her looks.
"Did you forget that I am a Marchioness, Marchioness Fiona Ashgard."
"And my name is Hilda Sunborne, Imperial third prince. So long as you're not a duchess, you're just a commoner in my eyes." After being disrespected since her arrival, Hilda had almost forgotten the feeling of abusing authority.
"Khuk!" It was only when the other person had failed to control her laugh that Hilda noticed her.
Even under the veil, she could still see the beautiful eyes of the woman. As she smiled, her eyes curved up. Even if she wasn't as pale as Marchioness, she was still beautiful.
However, she was severely lacking in her upper department, unlike Marchioness. Her assets are more accurately described as oranges when compared to the melon carrier beside her.
But she had something that Hilda had longed for so long. Her straight, long black hair. Even if one could find someone with perfectly straight hair, black hair was very rare in this world. So much so that it was Hilda's first time meeting one.
"You!" As soon as Fiona growled at her, the smile vanished from Rhea's face. Fiona turned towards Hilda before ordering her, "Cancel the marriage with Fern, and marry her."
"I could do that, but why?"
"Because it will be good for you," Fiona said after a brief pause. " She is the lord marquess's daughter. She is a noble with the title of Countess. She is also a virgin."
"Fern is the lord marquess's daughter. Fern is a noble with the title of Countess. Fern is also a virgin, or I guess."
"You…" She pointed her finger at Hilda in anger but couldn't complete the sentence. She turned towards Wolfy and shouted, "Get out."
Hilda had no problem understanding why Fiona was asking Wolfy to leave. She, too, was interested in the secret Fiona was about to reveal.
"Wolfy, lead Countess Rhea to have some refreshment." As soon as Rhea heard those words, she looked at Hilda in shock before turning towards Fiona.
"Go. Go," Impatient Fiona almost shooed her away. A moment later, only Hilda and Fiona were in the room.
"Fern is Eric's daughter." Fiona's voice was low when she dropped the bomb. However, she didn't get the reaction she was expecting.
She looked up to find Hilda's eyes were moving on her body before stopping at her chest. Hilda gave a smile, adding, "I think my taste is very similar to my imperial father."
"You freak." She cursed, but that had no effect on Hilda.
'Freak?' Hilda laughed in her heart. The relationship between the emperor and his sister does surprise her. But they weren't the first one, and many emperors had done that before.
However, she understood that the emperor was more crafty than he looked. Rather than directly marrying her sister, he married her off to a useless friend and continued to enjoy the honey without paying any money.
'But why?' That's what piqued her interest. Why did the emperor, who could have any woman he wanted, have to take such a detour?
"Friendship? Nah!" Hilda shook her head. "If the emperor truly valued brotherhood, he would not have laid eggs in his brother's nest."
"Army?" Hilda had to ponder for quite some time before she came up with one of the more compelling reasons. And Fiona's expression let her know that she had guessed correctly, even though she wasn't sure at first.
Hilda grinned and continued to read out her thoughts aloud. "The marquess was an outstanding general. He was in command of a 30,000-strong army. Naturally, the emperor had dispatched her lover-sister to console a grieving friend. This large army would be at the Emperor's disposal as long as he controlled the reclusive friend."
Terrified, Fiona stared up at her without saying a word. It had never occurred to her that a freak like this would be able to decipher a plan that took Eric years to perfect.
"I will marry Rhea." However, all the threats she was expecting, these simple acceptance wasn't one of them.
'As expected, Eric's name did the trick.' Fiona sighed in relief. But before a smile could appear on her face, Hilda added, "I just want 500 knights."
Although it was a small number in comparison to 30,000, Hilda did not dare to ask for more. For once, it was an army under the command of the emperor. Second, she didn't want to attract too much attention.
"What?" Fiona yelled, unable to believe what Hilda was saying.
"I will give up on Fern and marry Rhea if you give me 500 knights and…" As Hilda paused, Fiona stared at her intently, hoping to get the last word out of her. "As well as you."
"You…" She jumped up from her chair, shouting. "Do you have any idea who I am? I am Eric's woman. And you want to lay your hand on me?"
"No, no, no." Hilda smiled as she shook her head. "You are the marquess's wife, not the emperor's. Why should I fear you when you're not even a member of the imperial harem?"
Hilda's eyes were molesting Fiona's lewd body in every way possible, even as she spoke solemnly. Her hot rod throbbed as she realized half of the dark brown areola had already emerged from its hiding spot.
It was her misfortune that her erect nipple, stuck inside the edge of the dress, denied her the full view. That didn't stop her already erect organ from escaping its pouch.
"He hadn't touched you in a long time, had he? My youngest brother was born just a few days ago. Despite this, your youngest son is already eleven years old."
"The emperor is young, so are his concubines. However, you..." Even though Hilda didn't finish her sentence, she noticed a thin veil of tears replaced the fierceness in Fiona's eyes.
When Fiona avoided looking her in the eyes, Hilda understood that her medicine was working.
"Isn't that why you want Fern to be the noble consort of the first imperial Prince?"
"You? How do you know?" All of her other emotions had vanished from her face, leaving only fear.
Someone would have noticed the pattern a long time ago if they had kept track of Fern's movements in the imperial palace.
And, if her perverted mind had guessed correctly, then Fern had already lost her virginity to the First imperial prince. That's why Fiona wished to prevent Fern from becoming Hilda's chief wife.
They would put their virginity to the test at the ancestral shrine to become a principal wife. Fern's life will be over if they discover she isn't a virgin. If she wanted to be a consort or concubine, however, there would be no such thing.
"The imperial court has requested me to accept my position the day after tomorrow. On that day, the emperor will also announce Fern and my engagement at the imperial court." And that was the final nail in the coffin.
Fiona sagged in the chair as if she'd suddenly lost all of her vitality. The abrupt jerk, on the other hand, was more than enough to free her erect nipple. And It also took the entire jug with it.
Realizing the time has finally come, Hilda had started to lose her pant. She didn't want to startle Fiona, who was too shocked to notice her sudden slip.
Fiona only noticed the fully erect pink organ escaping the underwear until it was too late. Her face darkened as she turned to face Hilda, enraged and disgusted.
She was about to say something when Hilda stopped her. "I am not forcing you. You are free to leave the room if you do not wish to assist me with this one."
As Hilda spoke, Fiona couldn't help but steal glimpses of the oddly shaped pink member. After all, it had a shape she had never encountered before.
After realizing her pink hook had effectively entrapped Fiona's attention, she gradually began to touch Fiona's exposed breast.
Fiona's body quivered a little as it tried to move back instinctively at the first touch, but Hilda didn't give her the chance to escape and pinched her erect nipple.
"Alternatively, you could just spend some time with me before I go lead my army. It'll only be for two months, after all. On the other hand, having a child with such a lovely woman as you would be a dream come true."
Hilda had already dipped her hand into her cloth and began massaging the other melon that had yet to emerge while she was speaking. "And if you can find a few knights to assist me in the war, I'll marry Rhea without saying anything."
Fiona's body shivered with pleasure when Hilda touched them. Hilda rubbed the soft dough with her rough hands, oblivious to the fact that it was the result of a long drought.
Sooner or later, Fiona knew she'd have to say yes. If it hadn't been for that reason, she would not have accepted Hilda's services.
By the time she made her decision, her pale boobs had begun to turn red. Fiona, on the other hand, was having a sensation she hadn't had in a long time. She simply did not want Hilda to stop.
A flush of red appeared on her cheeks as she inspected the pink knob right in front of her eyes. "I can't confirm the number of knights," she said, resisting the intoxicating musky smell. "I will let you know tomorrow."
Hilda had anticipated this, so she nodded and added, "For the other, you must give me an oral confirmation."
Fiona examined the deep shade of pink more closely before opening her mouth, and...