30-72

EP.72 The Red-Haired Lady General – 2 

A dark, dimly lit room. 

The king and his ministers were shrouded in silence. 

The stillness was shattered by a furious shout. 

“What did you say!!” 

“S-sorry…!” 

What enraged the king was a report from one of his ministers. 

The subject of the report was Teus, whom they had been monitoring. 

The previously stable situation had suddenly changed. 

“You’re not reporting false information, are you!” 

The king’s authority weighed heavily on the ministers in the room. 

But that didn’t change the truth. 

“I regret to inform you… but it’s true.” 

“You’re telling me the hero has joined forces with the lord and met with the eastern lady general?!” 

“Yes…” 

All the ministers bowed their heads deeply. 

It wouldn’t have been surprising if someone lost their life right then. 

The king’s rage was sky-high. 

“Prepare to dispatch the royal army immediately!” 

There was a murderous glint in the king’s eyes. 

“Y-your Majesty…! If we send troops, it might provoke them…” 

“That’s right… We still don’t know if Eriz and the hero are really allied…” 

“For now, perhaps it would be better to quietly try to assassinate the hero…” 

The king glared coldly at his ministers. 

Those who had spoken fell silent under his icy fury. 

“Eek…” 

“Explain exactly how this situation came about!” 

“T-that is…” 

The king’s gaze fell on one particular minister- 

the one responsible for this matter, who had been reporting to the king up until now. 

“Well… It seems we were quietly deceived by Milleille and… fell for false information… I-I’m sorry!” 

“Are you even thinking before you speak!!” 

It meant they had been completely played by the hero. 

Everything they thought was under control had gone wrong, all at once. 

“I’m sorry…! But we also received credible information from the Adventurer’s Guild…” 

It wasn’t just Milleille’s reports they relied on. 

They had also gathered intelligence through the Adventurer’s Guild. 

But all the guild’s information had been fabricated by Flora. 

It couldn’t be helped. 

It wasn’t their own territory. 

No matter how thoroughly they tried to investigate, they were always a step behind Milleille. 

“I never imagined… Milleille would betray us…!” 

The minister trembled all over. 

He was facing death. 

“I knew she wasn’t with the royal or noble factions… but to get involved with a lowly hero…!” 

“F-for now… perhaps we should observe the situation and then send the royal army…” 

“Fools…! It’s already far too late!” 

As the king raged, another minister voiced a worried thought. 

“But… I’ve heard rumors that the hero is also working with the Demon King.” 

“What?!” 

The eastern lady general and the hero. 

If even the Demon King’s army joined them, there would be no way to handle it. 

Not only the king, but all the ministers turned pale. 

‘If the rumors are true…’ 

‘There’s no hope left for the king!’ 

‘Maybe it’s better to quietly prepare to surrender…’ 

While the ministers were lost in their own thoughts, 

King Brutus gave a decisive order. 

“Gather the soldiers at once! This is war!” 

“Yes, Your Majesty!” 

The ministers’ voices were loud. 

But they were hollow. 

Each was thinking of how to survive. 

‘It’d be best to delay conscription for my own lands as long as possible…’ 

Everyone present was a royalist noble. 

But even they were preparing to abandon the king. 

There was no way the war would be properly fought. 

“What a fine castle.” 

The walls were sturdy but plain. 

For a noble’s castle, it was not extravagant. 

It seemed to reflect the owner’s character. 

“I’ll take that as a compliment, Hero, Teus.” 

“I’m surprised you recognized me right away. I thought I’d have to explain myself.” 

“I’ve seen you from afar.” 

“We’ve met before?” 

“At the time, I was among the crowd, so you wouldn’t have noticed.” 

It seemed she had seen me from a distance. 

Back then, I was under heavy surveillance from the king, so it made sense. 

“But… for all the commotion, you let me in rather easily.” 

“There were no casualties… and more than anything, I wanted to see the hero in person.” 

“I can’t tell if that’s careless or not. No matter how famous you are as Lady General Eriz… I doubt you could defeat me.” 

There weren’t even any soldiers nearby. 

Only the beautiful red-haired woman was looking straight at me. 

If I drew my sword, nothing could stop a disaster. 

But Eriz spoke calmly. 

“I judged you weren’t that kind of man.” 

“I appreciate the high opinion.” 

“So, you must have a reason for coming so suddenly. Let’s get to the point.” 

I had come here as fast as I could for one reason: 

to form an alliance with Eriz. 

If I could work with her, the royal army would no longer be a problem. 

“I’m here to propose an alliance.” 

“An alliance… You must not have heard that I’m preparing to rebel.” 

“I heard, that’s why I came.” 

“So my guess was right.” 

Eriz smiled, as if her suspicions had been confirmed. 

I wondered what she was thinking, accepting this so easily. 

“I’m curious what you were thinking.” 

“It’s nothing special. I just heard rumors that you’re on bad terms with the king… and that you might be allied with the Demon King.” 

“Well… that’s accurate. So, have you thought of your answer?” 

There was a brief silence at the negotiation table. 

She wasn’t hesitating; she was observing me closely. 

“I have a few plans in mind.” 

It meant she was evaluating and choosing me. 

Even though she could have forced an alliance, Eriz was the one doing the evaluating. 

“I’m glad, I’ve thought of a few things myself.” 

“Mind if I hear them?” 

“One plan is to force an alliance… Another is to make a deal.” 

“Puhaha… You’re not the kind of man to force an alliance.” 

Eriz burst out laughing, as if she’d heard a funny joke. 

“Why do you think that?” 

“Because it’d obviously be a hassle. If you killed me or tried to force things, you’d have to lead everyone yourself… and that’s not your style.” 

I flinched without meaning to. 

I didn’t realize she knew me this well. 

She hadn’t been plotting rebellion incompetently. 

“You know me well. Thanks to you, my options have narrowed.” 

“Then let me make a counter-offer.” 

“I’m listening.” 

“I’ll join forces with you, but I’ll take the throne.” 

It was a bold declaration. 

I didn’t expect her to show her true intentions so openly. 

She clearly knew I wasn’t interested in the throne. 

“You seem to know I’m not interested in being king.” 

“I did some research on you back when I thought of recruiting you.” 

So she’d finished her background check long ago. 

Maybe she was the reason the king grew suspicious of me. 

Not that it mattered now. 

“I can accept your demand, but just forming an alliance doesn’t give me much in return.” 

“You and your followers-that’s not something I can just ignore.” 

“So what will you offer me?” 

“I’ll take you as my consort. Of course, I’ll handle all the bothersome ruling and politics.” 

This was the opposite of what happened with Aliya. 

I didn’t expect to be the one receiving a marriage proposal. 

The unexpectedness made me laugh. 

“Heh… That sounds pretty good.” 

“And as my consort, you’ll have my body at night, too.” 

I glanced over Eriz’s body. 

She was confident, with a voluptuous figure. 

Her looks were, of course, beautiful. 

“Hearing that makes me like the idea even more.” 

She didn’t hesitate to use her charms. 

It was a deal befitting a lady general. 

But would her body live up to it? 

Of course, even if I won in bed, nothing would change. 

We’d still be allies. 

It was a small thing, but to me, it was important. 

“Of course, there’s a condition.” 

“A condition?” 

“As a man, you’ll have to prove yourself. I’m a woman, after all-I won’t keep giving myself to a weak man.” 

It was a kind of challenge. 

She wanted to see if I could truly satisfy her as a man. 

Naturally, the way to check was to spend the first night together. 

“Eriz, you might be the one who regrets this, you know?” 

“That wouldn’t be so bad.” 

“Not bad?” 

“I’d rather give myself to a man who can best me than to some useless fellow.” 

Eriz and I locked eyes. 

There was a competitive spark in her gaze. 

It was a look that said, “If you can, try me.” I liked that. 

‘With that kind of talk… there’s no way I can just let it go.’ 

If anything, I was looking forward to it. 

Eriz was a woman I couldn’t just pass by. 

“Alright. Then let’s agree to cooperate for now…” 

“As for our engagement, we’ll settle that in the bedroom.” 

“Just in case, what happens if I fail to satisfy you, Eriz?” 

“Then we’ll just cooperate, and I’ll take the throne alone.” 

So I’d get nothing out of it. 

I’d help her, but get little in return. 

But that was only if I lost. 

‘I wonder what a lady general like her is like in bed…’ 

I had no intention of losing. 

If anything, my mind was already full of anticipation for the night to come.