A full week after the full-on populist civilian welfare programs began to take shape, Victor, he finally allowed himself a moment of rest.
"How peaceful," Victor whispered, lifting a cup of herbal tea to his lips as he sat in the living room. It was well past midnight. Rain lashed against the windows, and thunder rolled above the mansion like a distant cannon fire.
He stared at the front door as if daring fate to interrupt him.
"I hope nothing bad happens toda…
And as he speaks, the door slammed open so violently that the hinges shrieked.
"Sir! A messenger from the Princess has arrived!" John shouted as he burst into the room.
Behind him stood a group of men in black leather cloaks, drenched in rain, water pooled at their boots. At their head was a elderly man whose face, Victor can recognized instantly.
Wulfgang Norden.
Duke of Nordenland.
And just like that, the peaceful time has come to an end.
This is where I come in.
My name is Daisy, just a simple maid serving my young master, I was standing in the corner of the council room when the duke comes.
The council chamber was lit by flickering torches light, their flames bending every time thunder rattled the window. The round table in the center tonight seemed smaller and a little bit more tense than normal.
Victor sat at the head. His tea was gone, in its stead a sealed letter bearing the royal crest.
John stood to his right, arms crossed tightly behind his back.
Nikos sat to his left, fingers steepled, eyes half-lidded but alert in the way only he could manage.
Elena, as composed as ever, standing behind him, folding her arms against her chest in a stern and intimidating posture contrasting against her beautiful face.
And across from them sat Duke Wulfgang and his men, rainwater still dripping from his cloak onto the floor.
I stayed near the wall, quiet as a shadow, as instructed. Young master want me there to help him remember every minute details of the conversation.
The duke did not waste time.
"His Majesty is dead."
The words struck harder than even the thunder outside.
Even though I knew the letter contained dire news, hearing it spoken aloud made the air in the room feel thin.
Nikos closed his eyes briefly.
While John and Elena didn't even flinch.
Lord Victor also did not move and stay well composed.
Wulfgang continued, his voice low but sharp.
"It happened sooner than expected. The physicians could not prolong it. Only the Prince, the Princess, and a handful of us are aware. The kingdom must not know. Not yet."
"As expected" Nikos said quietly.
"If word spreads prematurely, it's gonna invite both civil chaos and invasion from foreigner forces, I really don't want to deal with any of those divine forsaken races. " Wulfgang went on
Victor nodded slowly. "Then how long can it be contained?"
"One week. Two at most."
Silence settled over the table.
The Princess had not sent condolences, instead she had sent a question.
Wulfgang leaned forward.
"Her Highness requires to know when your army will be ready to march."
There it was, the succession war.
Victor exhaled through his nose, then turned to his advisors.
"Speak freely, John" he said.
John stepped forward first. "The training is at almost at operational capacity. Morale is high. Equipment distribution is still ongoing, and still in a stage that's too risky to be mass deploy."
"Elena?" Victor asked.
Elena opened her mouth in response, "Rations are secured for at least six months. However, ammunition reserves are insufficient, as production is currently behind schedule."
Nikos also chimed in, "Supply routes are not yet clearly defined. If we march now, we risk being bogged down by supplies issue." He said with a pure serious expression.
Victor listened without interruption, then finally, he at Wulfgang.
"At minimum," he said carefully, "two months."
The duke stared at him as though he had misheard.
"Two months?" Wulfgang repeated.
"Yes."
"That is impossible."
"It is necessary."
Wulfgang rose halfway from his chair. "The news of His Majesty's death can be only suppressed for one, perhaps two weeks. After that, rumors will spread!!!" he shouted.
Victor did not raise his voice. "If my "Grand Army" marches now, we risk a massive casualties"
"And yet," Wulfgang snapped, "you have accepted funding from the her majesty's own royal treasury! Are you a coward incapable of taking risk or something!?!"
There it was, the accusation.
"You assured us," the duke continued, "that night, that your "Grand Army" or whatever would be the decisive force in securing the throne for us!"
John slammed his palm onto the table. "Watch your tone!", he spoke completely unafraid of the duke's status as... well, a Duke.
Elena stepped forward as well. "You can't rush the perfection, you know grandpa?" She speaks with a smile.
"Perfection!? This is clearly your Incompetence!" Wulfgang shot back. "You build roads and bread program while the war are incoming!"
Victor's eyes hardened.
"The roads move army, don't you know?" he said evenly. "And the bread prevents riots when I was away, as a fellow ruler, shouldn't you understand that?"
The duke turned to him fully now.
"You had one purpose."
"And I intend to fulfill it."
"Two months is fantasy."
"And marching in two weeks is suicide."
The word hung in the air, as a streak of thunder cracked above us, rattling the ceiling.
"If we do not move immediately, the Prince supporter forces will rally forces. His legitimacy depends on strength displayed early." Wulfgang explains in determination.
"And strength without sufficient supply collapses," Victor replied. "You cannot feed legitimacy to a starving soldiers."
Nikos finally spoke again. "Duke Norden, if the army advances without proper support, the first prolonged engagement will exhaust our strength. We will be forced into defensive posture."
Wulfgang rounded on him. "Fear makes cowards of strategists."
"And impatience makes widows of soldiers," Nikos answered calmly.
The duke's face flushed red.
"You stand here because the Princess ordered us to fund you," he said to Victor. "Do not forget that."
"I have not."
"Then act like it, dammit!" Wulfgang shouted.
"My lord is a commander, not a reckless gambler!" John's voice was low and dangerous.
Elena nodded sharply in his support, "We ain't gonna gamble like a fool, granda."
Victor raised a hand, silencing them.
He looked directly at Wulfgang.
"I understand the urgency. I understand the stakes, but if I march now, I gamble everything I have built. Just given me more time, and we'll win"
"You exaggerate, what a coward." Wulfgang said.
Victor leaned forward.
"I have seen what happens when armies march unprepared. They disintegrate."
For a moment, something flickered in Wulfgang's expression. Not agreement, but calculation.
"How long until your army can sustain prolonged conflict?" he asked tightly.
Victor hesitated.
"In a prolonged conflict? Three months."
Wulfgang's jaw tightened.
"You have three weeks, that's the most I could do."
The room froze.
"Three," he repeated. "In three weeks, your forces must be ready to move. The Princess will not be able to hold the secret longer than that. When the announcement is made, banners will rise within days."
"Three weeks is insufficient!" Elena protested.
"It is what you have." he answered stubbornly.
Victor held Wulfgang's gaze. "If we fail because we rushed, the responsibility will not be mine alone."
"If you fail, it is because you're too slow to adapt" Wulfgang replied, "there will be no throne left for us to claims."
He pulled his cloak around himself.
"Prepare for a long and ugly civil war," he said. "Because it is coming, with... or without you."
Then he turned and walked out of the councilroom.
As silence swallowed the room, I could hear the rain against the windows. The dripping of a sweat droplet and even someone's uneven breathing.
John was the first to speak. "Sir, he insults you in your own mansion!"
Elena looked shaken in anger but still in control. "Seriously, does that rude grandpa want to eat lead or something?"
Nikos meanwhile, just stared at Victor with a concerns looks, like a dotting grandpa looking at his grandchild.
Victor did not move for a long while.
Then he stood.
His face was calm, too calm.
"Daisy!" he called out to me.
I straightened immediately. "Yes, young master?"
"Bring out the Kriegsspiel!" he command me with such determination that's it make me startled.