Chapter 61 The Final War
Chapter 61
61.1
Duke Hugh Carragher left Islay on the first night of Prince Constance's siege of Kaderinburg.
At that time, the siege soldiers of the Knights of Ravenmont were setting up their tents outside Castle Kaderin; with the night sky hanging heavy overhead, they planted the "Rose Scepter" flag belonging to the Karagaran family above the main tent.
The commander of the siege knights lived in the main tent. In the middle of the tent stood a charcoal brazier. The dark red flames flickered from time to time, dimly illuminating the stern profile of Duke Hugh Caragaran.
Prince Constance stood across from him, having changed out of his ceremonial formal attire and donned a black riding habit. His expression wasn't as romantic and affectionate as usual, but rather rather gloomy. With that mask of disguise peeled off, this seemed to be the true face of Constance Mayfield.
He looked at Duke Karagaran and said in a soft and dangerous voice, "Oh, you said you want to leave Isla Island and return to Ravenmont?"
Duke Caragaran seemed not to hear the danger in Prince Constance's tone.
He said calmly, "Queen Lucinda is no fool. She won't stay in Kaderin Castle and do nothing. She will definitely seek help from the knights loyal to the royal family in the north and south."
The Duke said this, looking calmly at the map in the tent.
"Among King Lucinda's lackeys, the most loyal and powerful one is the Gray Wolf of Valdemore Castle in the North." Duke Caragaran curled his lips. "The first person she would turn to for help would definitely be the Gray Wolf of Valdemore Castle."
Prince Constance followed Duke Karagaran's gaze and looked at the map of the Ethereal Continent. He understood what Duke Karagaran meant.
"Do you think that if the Gray Wolf from the North were to move south, then the first city she would attack would be Ravenmont."
"Yes," Duke Caragaran said calmly, "That's my city of Ravenmont, the territory of the Caragaran family. I can't just sit there and watch it get attacked."
After a pause, the shrewd duke chuckled, "The siege of Kaderinburg will be easy with you in command, Your Highness. I'll leave this section of the Knights of Ravenmont in your care. My territory is empty at the rear, and I must return. I can't let Ravenmont remain empty forever."
Prince Constance did not answer immediately.
The main tent fell into a subtle silence, with only the occasional tiny "ding, ding" sound of the knights' armor colliding outside the tent.
Looking at the charcoal fire in the tent, Prince Constance suddenly smiled.
The smile was elegant and lazy, and the curve at the corner of his lips was no different from that of Prince Constance's usual smile, full of a kind and pleasing laziness.
"Of course, I understand." He said in a gentle tone, "You must return to your territory. The home front is important, and so is the family."
Hearing Prince Constance say this, Duke Karagaran's fingers paused slightly.
Prince Constance spread his hands and said, "But Your Excellency, you know that I am not a man of strategy. At least, facing my wise and powerful mother, I am not confident that I can surpass her in strategy."
Prince Constance spoke the truth.
The Supreme King Lucinda once led the knights of the Wanzeta Empire to defeat countless enemies. She possessed clever strategies and a decisive heart.
Duke Caragaran looked at Prince Constance, who smiled at him. "My mother always said that if we don't have a brilliant mind ourselves, we should always listen to and adopt the advice of our advisors. Even if three unintelligent advisors discuss and plan together, the results they come up with might be more thoughtful than what a wise person could think of alone."
Duke Karagaran narrowed his eyes slightly, already vaguely understanding what Prince Constance meant; and sure enough, he heard the prince laugh and say:
"The brightest minds in the Caragalan family, besides my Bertha, are the newly appointed Viscount, Cecillia Caragalan. May I ask Your Excellency to leave our 'most precious dewdrop on the rose scepter' in Kaderinburg, so that she can become my counselor and help me win this siege?"
Duke Karagaran stared at him for a moment before he smiled and said, "Of course. It's Cecillia's honor."
On the first night of Prince Constance's siege of Kaderinburg, Duke Hugh Carragher and Lady Agnes Felix had already left Islay on Pegasus.
Constance stood in the main tent, staring at the backs of the Duke and Duchess. The gentle smile on her face gradually disappeared, and her expression gradually became gloomy.
Inside the tent, Constance's guardian knight whispered, "Are we just going to let them go, Your Highness?"
Constance sneered, "Hugh Karagaran is an old fox. The Knights and Soldiers of Ravenmont have nearly 30,000 men in total, yet he's only willing to send 5,000 to Kaderinburg—he's making two plans."
The Knight Commander understood the prince's meaning: "No matter who wins this war, us or the Queen, the Karagaran family will survive."
——Constance won, and the Karagaran family and the Knights of Ravenmont were naturally the heroes who helped the prince.
Constance lost, and the remaining 25,000 men of Duke Caragaran and the Knights of Ravenmont could continue to garrison in the city of Ravenmont and fight against King Lucinda's royal family.
Constance sneered, "If I lose, the wily Duke of Karagaran will probably blame Bertha for everything the Knights of Ravenmont did in Kaderinburg. Bertha is my wife, and she secretly led a small group of the Knights of Ravenmont to support me. It makes perfect sense. All they have to do is sever ties with Bertha and swear to God that they had no involvement. Then they can retreat to Ravenmont and return to the delicate balance they previously maintained against the royal family."
The Knight Commander whispered, "Yes, King Lucinda is concerned about the thirty thousand men he has in Ravenmont and cannot attack them easily. This is what Duke Caragaran relies on."
Constance said with a sinister look, "I still need to use the Knights of Ravenmont. I can't let this old fox Hugh Caragaran fall out with me. I thought that since Cecilia Caragaran was his and Agnes' only child, I would keep her as a hostage to change his mind. But who could have imagined that he wouldn't even care about the safety of his own child?"
Duke Hugh Caragaran and Lady Agnes Felix returned to Ravenmont on Pegasus. The first words Lady Agnes said to Duke Caragaran were:
"You'd better ensure Cecilia's safety. If anything happens to Cecilia, I will kill all three of your illegitimate children."
As Lady Agnes spoke, she dismounted from the Pegasus with a cold expression.
The Pegasus stopped at the ramparts of Ravenmount Castle. Late in the night of a Mid-Moon Sunday, the north wind blew over the castle walls, sending the purple "Rose Scepter" banner rustling.
Before Duke Karagaran could say anything, a young patrol knight said in surprise, "The Duke and Duchess are back!"
The Knight Commander stationed at Ravenmount Castle had hurried over. Seeing the two black Pegasus on the city wall, his expression relaxed and he knelt on one knee to salute: "Duke, Madam."
Duke Hugh Carragaran rode on his horse, his eyes lowered, quickly scanning the castle and the city.
He asked in a deep voice, "How is Ravenmont?"
"Everything is fine," the Knight Commander replied. "It's just that the news from Kaderinburg... although we did our best to suppress some of the rumors, word still reached Ravenmont."
The Knight Commander paused and lowered his voice, "Many people in the city are feeling uneasy, and there's also a somewhat restless atmosphere within the Knights."
Duke Caragaran did not answer.
He dismounted with a calm expression: "Now that I'm back, Ravenmont will be fine."
The Duke said, waving his hand: "Call the knights and counselors of Ravenmont to hold an emergency meeting in the council hall." As he spoke, he strode towards the council hall of the castle.
The council chamber at Ravenmount Castle is a typical aristocratic building:
The heavy archway is carved from rare redwood, and the "Rose Scepter" emblem of the Karagaran family is finely engraved on the door; all the stained glass windows are also made very gorgeously, and the window frames are inlaid with various gems, which also emit a faint fire color on the night of the Mid-Moon Sunday.
Next to the gorgeous round table, the main seat bench is made of pure silver, the back of the chair is decorated with rose-patterned gems, and the seat cushion is a rare purple velvet; the exquisite crystal chandelier casts fine light, illuminating the conference room like daylight.
Compared to the quaint meeting hall in Kaderin Castle, the meeting hall in Ravenmont Castle is a truly luxurious place, filled with the glory of money and power.
In such a conference room, Duke Hugh Carragher slowly walked to the main seat at the round table.
He untied his cloak, and the male servant respectfully stepped forward to take the cloak. The core knights and counselors in the city of Ravenmont were already waiting with their heads bowed in the meeting hall.
Duke Karagaran glanced at his staff and said calmly, "I think you should be ready to face the enemy."
No one in the meeting room showed any surprise.
Duke Caragaran said gravely, "Prince Constance has chosen to besiege Fort Kaderin with the intention of killing King Lucinda. They are currently at a stalemate on Isla."
Everyone's face was solemn, and Duke Karagaran pointed to the map on the side of the meeting room.
"I'm not concerned with Prince Constance's battle," he said. "I'm concerned with the Gray Wolf of Valdemoor Castle."
When the Duke mentioned "Gray Wolf", the conference room fell silent.
Someone whispered, "Are the Grey Wolf Knights of Valdemo Castle going to attack Ravenmont City?"
The Duke curled his lips. "Our Knights have blockaded two port cities in the north, and Count Felix has blockaded a port city in the south. Therefore, King Lucinda is likely to ask the Grey Wolf Knights in the north to attack Ravenmont, forcing one of the port cities to reopen and lift the siege of Kaderinburg."
The meeting room became even quieter, and people seemed to be breathing more slowly.
Lady Agnes' expression remained unchanged, but her voice was slightly cold. "The Gray Wolf of Valdemo Castle is King Lucinda's most loyal lackey. If they choose to attack Ravenmont, we will hunt this Gray Wolf down here in Ravenmont."
Duke Karagaran remained silent, clapping his hands briefly. "We must make the necessary preparations. Meanwhile, we must wait."
A knight asked, "Wait?"
Duke Caragaran smiled and said, "In three months' time, the food in Castle Kaderin will be completely consumed. If Constance succeeds in beheading King Lucinda, then we will no longer fear the Gray Wolf."
He said with a subtle expression: "Let us wait for good news from Prince Constance——"
However, three months later, instead of receiving the news that Prince Constance had successfully besieged Castle Ravenmount, they received a piece of news that greatly surprised everyone:
"Duke, this is bad!" The Knight of Ravenmont, who had delivered the message, panicked. "Outside Ravenmont, a knightly group suddenly appeared from nowhere, and they... their commander is..."
Duke Karagaran stared at the figure in disbelief: "Simon Karagaran?"
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