Extra Chapter 49 – Foresight, Great General Anemone
It was a cold day in November, where a cloud of fog came out with each breath.
"Stop."
Glont Asilante had a solemn expression with his arms crossed.
Anemone stopped the sword she was swinging and wiped the sweat off her forehead with her sleeve.
"I can still do more."
Anemone, twenty-five years old, swept back her sweat-soaked hair.
Glont shook his head. "It is desirable for a knight to push their physical limitations. However, it would be a failure as a commanding officer to overwork yourself enough to interfere with their daily routine. Miss, do you truly want to be a knight?"
Anemone pouted her lips and grumbled, but soon agreed and sheathed her sword.
"Please don't call me miss. I also hold some rank here."
Glont smiled and lowered his head slightly. "Yes, my apologies, Your Highness the Little Duchess. Ah! Shall I call you Your Grace the Northern Tiger Guardian General, instead?" he joked, reciting her lengthy official title.
Anemone glared at Glont. "Ahjussi, you must also be unhappy that I became a general who protects the border from the Demon's Territory, yes? You must think that I am a weak woman sitting in a high position due to my father's power."
Glont was taken aback. "... What? No! How could I think that!"
When Anemone saw Glont so agitated and flustered, she couldn't stop herself from bursting into laughter.
"Puhahaha!" she cackled, holding her stomach.
Glont realized that she was making fun of him and turned red. "Miss!"
"Ahahaha! As expected, it's fun making fun of ahjussi. If it wasn't for your weird clothes and perverted tastes, I'd be okay with ignoring our age difference. You're even my type! What a shame."
"Please stop teasing me! Do you think you will make me flustered again?" Glont said irritatedly.
Anemone giggled. "It's really a shame though! I don't think I'm ready for a married man with a daughter, so please tell your wife not to worry."
"Ohohoho! My wife is not a woman who would get jealous from something like that. Really… I even wish she would at least act a little jealous…" said Glont sullenly.
Now it was Anemone's turn to be flustered. "Uh, um... Your wife is just a little stern. But she… loves you, right?"
"Of course! Ohohoho! My wife cannot live without the meals I prepare for her. Before coming here today, I prepared her a meal with all my heart and love."
"Countless knights who admire you as the youngest captain and praise you as a hero of the nation would be shocked to hear that."
Perhaps he was simply devoted to his wife, or perhaps he was henpecked. Either way, the fantasies of aspiring knights who had grown up listening to Glont's sagas would be broken if they heard this. Anemone thought that might not even matter though, because their fantasies would fall apart just from seeing him in his usual clothes.
Glont asked jokingly, "But Miss, did someone dare to insult you by saying you were in your position using the authority of His Highness the Duke?"
He spoke gently, but his expression was the opposite. He seemed to be implying that he would cut off the head of any miscreant who dared to spread false rumors.
"Please calm down. I also haven't identified it yet. How many people would know the inside story of what happened a few years ago, anyway?"
The event Anemone was referring to was the Blood Emperor's abdication of his throne.
"It's already been seven years since I cut down that civil servant. Time sure flies quickly."
Seven years ago, Anemone had cut down and killed a civil servant sent by the Blood Emperor to the duke's castle. Shortly thereafter, she had risked her life to negotiate with Duke Arthemius and Cardinal Fernando alone in the holy land. She then hired Dane Walker, a court magician, and Malecia, the mercenary king, to hide in the empire, and weakened the empire by causing a civil war in the empire from behind the scenes. After that, it was only natural for the Imperial State to attack the Empire. The journey was rough, and would have been unbearable if she hadn't trained to be a general from an early age. It was also the most fulfilling time of her life.
"My father and the new emperor have decided to control the information, so if anyone found out on their own, I'd want that person to come under me even at the cost of ten-million gold."
She had made a greater contribution than anyone else in establishing the new emperor, but very few people knew about it.
"Certainly if such talent exists, I would want it, too. So you are just going to let the rumor slide?" asked Glont.
Anemone smiled playfully. "No way. I've asked Sister Big Mama to find out, so we'll know soon. The tongue is a scarier weapon than a knife, but since they have made fun of me with such a dangerous weapon, they'll have to pay for it."
Anemone had replaced the emperor with her wicked tongue and brought down the enemy nation. Her words were persuasive because she had a mind mightier than ten-thousand soldiers. Her smile gave Glont goosebumps. He pitied the person spreading false rumors.
Then, a lady with sky blue hair walked towards them from the castle.
"Anemone, are you still wielding your sword?"Follow the newest chapters on novelping dot com.
"Oh! Mother! No, I was just talking to General Glont for a while! I swung the sword in the morning, why would I still be wielding it?"
Anemone hesitated, hiding the sword behind her back as if she were a little child who had made a mistake. Despite her fearlessness, there was no way to conquer her mother's nagging.
"… I'm glad to hear that. It's not good to overdo things."
She did not believe Anemone at all, but let it go. She knew this was how her daughter relieved stress from all her busy official duties.
Anemone avoided her mother's gaze and changed the topic. "Come to think of it, didn't Lucien unni say she was having a second child? What was the name again?"
"She hasn't given birth yet. She said she would name it Luzen if it was a son and Hillis if it was a daughter, so let's go down to the holy land once she gives birth."
"Yes, I'd like that."
Anemone's mother looked up at the duke's castle and said nonchalantly, "Come to think of it, I heard that a Crow envoy came."
Anemone darted up in surprise. "What? When?"
"Hmm, about an hour ago?"
Anemone pulled at her hair in frustration. "Why are you saying this only now!? Oh~! I don't even have time to wash up!"
"Didn't I tell you to swing that sword around in moderation?"
It was clear that she was punishing Anemone a little because she didn't want her using her sword so much. Anemone was sure.
"Perfume… no, didn't you say that Crows don't like perfume because they have a sensitive sense of smell? What should I do, ahjussi?" Anemone asked Glont in a panic.
Glont grinned. "It's okay, it's not considered rude to the Crows if you just go as you are. According to Mr. Achilles, they actually rather like women who wield swords."
"Uh… okay, I'll trust you. But there will be hell to pay if you're wrong!"
Anemone ran into the castle where the Crow envoy was. She thought her clothes were fine, although she had sweat a little, but changed her mind and stepped into a side room. There she quickly changed clothes, put on simple makeup, took a deep breath, and stepped into the guest room.
"Oh, daughter, you're here. I thought you'd be arriving a little later."
Anemone's father, Duke Asteria, greeted her with a bright smile. She realized that her father had been an accomplice in her mother's plot. Normally, she would have been angry, but now she was in front of an important guest.
"Let me introduce you. This is my daughter, Little Duchess Anemone. She is a smart and wise kid, so she helps cover for my insufficiencies."
"I see. I understand. I'm getting a lot of help from my daughter as well." replied the Crow envoy.
Across from Anemone was a dark-haired middle-aged man. Duke Asteria gestured towards him and spoke to his daughter.
"Say your greetings. He is Zendia-nim, the chief of the Crow tribe."
Anemone looked up at him, surprised by how large the man was.
"It is an honor to meet you. I am Anemone."
"It's nice to meet you, too. I'm Zendia, the chief of the Crow tribe. And this is my oldest son, Doomstone. He is still the small chief."
The name sounded familiar to Anemone. She looked at Doomstone, the young man sitting next to Zendia.
"Oh my, those are nice biceps." she blurted out unwittingly, captivated by Doomstone's impressive physique.
This was not something to say at an important personnel meeting where the duke and the chief were together. Anemone grew red with embarrassment.
"I apologize, it slipped out."
Doomstone laughed cheerfully. "Ahahaha! I got a compliment, so you don't have to apologize. I'm actually quite grateful that you acknowledged it."
Anemone suddenly recalled where she had heard Doomstone's name. He had suddenly appeared seven years ago, broke the dam, had some friction with the nobles, and eventually returned to Olympus Forest. When Anemone decided to fight the Blood Emperor, she had considered contacting Doomstone, a runaway Crow. However, she had ultimately chosen to move quietly and alone rather than accompany the Crow, who was sure to cause a disturbance. If her body was weak, she would have certainly joined hands with Doomstone. At that time, it was a risky choice, but now that things had settled, she was confident that it was the best choice she could have made. Now, however, Anemone regretted her past choice as she admired Doomstone's perfect body. If she had known a long time ago she could have touched those wonderful biceps, beautiful lats, and magnificent quads…
"Anemone?" said Duke Asteria.
Anemone, who had been entranced by Doomstone, skillfully controlled her expression and smiled. "What's wrong, Father?"
"Nothing, just me worrying for no reason."
Duke Asteria felt a certain reluctance for some reason. However, he continued to speak to Zendia and encouraged Anemone to sit down, thinking it was just an odd feeling.
"The chief came all the way here for you, not me." Duke Asteria told Anemone.Get faster updates on novelping.com.
Anemone's eyes widened as she looked over at Zendia. "Me?"
Zendia smiled and said, "As I said to the duke, I came here with impudence to borrow some of your wisdom."
Many thoughts raced through Anemone's head. "I still have little experience, so I don't know if I should dare to try to lend you wisdom."
"Who should I go to for wisdom if you, who made the Blood Emperor abdicate his throne, do not possess it?"
Anemone naturally made a blank face, as if she didn't understand what he was saying. However she was racking her brain wondering about how and how much Zendia knew.
"It seems like you are wondering where I got that information."
Anemone was shocked, but maintained her expression.
"I heard it from Duke Arthemius. So you don't have to keep pretending."
Doomstone's eyes lit up. "Ah, the one you met on that broken heart trip – ouch!"
Zendia slapped Doomstone on the back of his head, interrupting him. Anemone almost burst into laughter at the sight, but held it in and asked, "If it was a trip of hardship, you must have met Duke Arthemius during your training, no?"
In the old days, it was said that knights traveled to fight against strong opponents for training. Anemone thought it might have been that kind of trip.
"No, it's not 'hardship', it's 'broken heart' – Argh!"
"Puhut!"
Once again, Doomstone was interrupted by a slap from Zendia. Anemone couldn't hold it in this time and burst into laughter. Anemone herself was most surprised by her sudden loss of composure.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
It was embarrassing for her, as she usually controlled her emotions expertly.
"No, you can laugh. So, will you lend me your wisdom?"
Anemone quickly regained composure and answered, "Of course, it is not difficult to lend you a little wisdom."
With his request accepted, Zendia confessed all of his concerns.
Once he was finished, Anemone pondered for a moment and asked, "Your concern is that you want to get rid of the group called 'Twelve Zodiacs', yes?"
"That's right. Is there a way?"
"It will take a lot of time, but it is possible."
Zendia's eyes twinkled at Anemone's confident answer.
"First, we'll need a lot of preparation. I'll need an information organization that can integrate all the information in the empire..."
Zendia listened to Anemone intently as she laid out her plan. He couldn't help but admire the schemes that came out of her mouth, including information gathering and disruption, financing for operations, and internal infiltration.
"This is amazing. His Highness the Duke deserves to be proud." Zendia said, bowing slightly towards Duke Asteria.
"Thank you." replied the Duke.
"But it would be a little too much for me to do all of that on my own." said Zendia.
Anemone smiled. "I can help if you want, but can you do me a little favor, too?"
Zendia nodded with a bright expression, "If it's something I can do, anything!"
Anemone looked at Doomstone and said, "Please give me your son."
"… What?"
Anemone looked at the confused Zendia and Doomstone with a cheerful smile. "To be more precise, should I say I need to borrow your son's strength?"
…As the two looked at each other, the world got darker. When the light returned, it was after the world had already collapsed, as usual.