This Heroine's Friend Has the Power of Botany

Chapter 252

People Will Laugh at You

The atmosphere in the Setter family was very different from other families. While the Setter family was planning the future of their family, other families were feeling uneasy, especially after the Fernal and Hart families heard that the Rhea Kingdom soldiers had failed, and many were captured.

Being captured meant they would surely spill everything. They weren’t from the Ares Kingdom, so causing internal conflict was beneficial. At the very least, they wouldn’t die in vain. Or they might exchange vital information to return alive.

Revealing the families behind the scenes and exposing the rebellion was valuable information; everyone knew that it could be used for negotiation.

“Lord of the Fernal family, what should we do now? If the Rhea Kingdom soldiers mention our names...”

“Our names?” The head of the Fernal family raised his eyebrows, glancing at the person sitting opposite him, then slowly placing the fragrant rose teacup down.

“Why do you ask that?”

“What? Don’t you understand, Lord of the Hart family? Do I need to spell it out more clearly?”

“Ha ha, I’m not very clever. It would be better to hear it clearly. Maybe my thoughts aren’t correct. Such a terrifying matter...I don’t want to trust my own thoughts.”

“Is that so? But I think your thoughts aren’t bad at all.”

“Lord of the Fernal family!!” Hearing such confirmation, the head of the Hart family slammed the table with a loud “bang!” Previously, he had always followed the Fernal family’s lead. The other side claimed to have a foolproof plan, assuring success. If the Hart family took on this task and proceeded it well, they would be given another chance. Because of this...to ensure the Fernal family continued to grant benefits and stop bullying them like before, the head of the Hart family had to take the risk.

But it was all because of the assurance of 100% success. From planning to selecting suitable families, even using a bit of their connections, it was all proposed by them. The Hart family was just following orders. So why was he now trying to shirk responsibility?

Suddenly, it was as if they were saying, "It’s not us," but only the Hart family would be doomed for this rebellion!

"Calm down first. This doesn’t always have to happen. If the Rhea Kingdom soldiers aren’t too foolish, they might not confess everything and might expect us to continue cooperating in sending information to the Rhea Kingdom."

"Hah! That’s easy for you to say, Lord of the Fernal family. You used me as your tool, used my name to contact the Rhea Kingdom. If anything happens, the Fernal family won’t have to take any responsibility. Only the Hart family will be seen as the rebels!"

"Hmm? Won’t you sit down and talk?"

"How can I sit down and talk calmly! What you did is too much. You think those soldiers won’t say anything? That’s impossible. They will definitely talk. They will surely reveal who ordered them. Compared to the failed cooperation, now they’ll just want to survive or destroy the Ares Kingdom from within."

"Lord of the Hart family, didn’t I tell you to calm down?"

"Calm down yourself!! Let me tell you, if my family gets implicated in this, I won’t die alone. I’ll drag the Fernal family down with me!!"

Bang!!

"Ahh!!" As the head of the Hart family finished speaking, the head of the Fernal family smashed his chair’s leg violently, sending splinters flying everywhere. The servant preparing tea nearby was even injured on the face.

"I told you to sit down, didn’t you hear?" The head of the Fernal family spoke in a soft voice, but the blood-stained hand and the murderous glint in his eyes showed he was far from calm.

Faced with such anger, the head of the Hart family, despite his dissatisfaction, had no choice but to sit down as ordered. After all, the other party was from a higher-ranked family with more strength. If the Fernal family was displeased, they could kill him now and leave his descendants to be executed for treason without any resistance.

Drip...

"Good, drink some tea. I think you should calm down a bit more."

"Y-Yes," the middle-aged man picked up the teacup. Though the tea was scalding, when someone of higher status served it, he had no choice but to drink it.

"Alright...now that you’ve calmed down, shall we start again?"

"..............."

"Let’s begin with what you’re worried about. You’re afraid the soldiers will betray you, right? Then preemptively deal with them."

"Hmm? H-How could we do that? They are already in military custody. If we try to kill nearly 1,000 soldiers, it will surely arouse suspicion."

"What? I’ve given you such a straightforward solution and you still can’t figure it out? It’s very simple. Where are all the soldiers being held now? If that city were to catch fire, or be attacked by bandits, or face some other emergency, wouldn’t all 1,000 soldiers die at once?"

"The Ares Kingdom is currently in a state of war. There are those who benefit and those who suffer. Why not incite them to make a small move and then escalate it into a major incident? If successful...you won’t be the one punished."

"You can use nobles or commoners to make a move. It doesn’t matter. It’s all up to your capability. As long as the Rhea Kingdom soldiers die, no one will know that the Hart family was behind them."

“Hmph,” the head of the Hart family understood the Fernal family’s plan. However, the last sentence clearly indicated that it was the work of the Hart family alone. It was unbelievable that these shameless words could be uttered so easily. If a sudden fight broke out, the head of the Fernal family would likely use his own face as a shield.

“I understand. This is urgent, so I will handle it immediately.” The head of the Hart family stood up again. The sword was already at his throat; if he didn’t act quickly, it might be too late.

However, as he turned around, his body suddenly weakened, and he collapsed. His eyes widened in shock. He could still perceive everything, and his eyes could still see, but he couldn’t move his large body at all. The middle-aged man looked at the head of the Fernal family, as if seeking answers. The other man simply rose with a cold smile.

The head of the Fernal family walked over and crouched in front of him. The older man forcefully squeezed the Hart family head’s mouth, making him groan loudly, “Hnnng.”

“Before you go about your business, let me tell you something...”

“Being just the Hart family, don’t you dare threaten me!!” After speaking, he left the Hart family head lying there. The Fernal family’s people quickly followed their master out, leaving the middle-aged man struggling alone.

Nearly an hour later, the poison’s effects wore off. The head of the Hart family got up with seething anger. His dignity and confidence had been shattered, and he had to prepare for the repercussions that would follow. The Hart family had always been good to the Fernal family, never expecting to be treated as mere tools.

In any other family, this level of loyalty would be considered highly valuable. Or perhaps they had behaved too much like helpless dogs, making it easy for others to bully them!

No one knew that the head of the Hart family had now lost all trust in the Fernal family. Maybe, after this, the Fernal family would regret having struck the back of this dog so hard it caused wounds. They seemed to have forgotten that a dog was also a wild animal. When in too much pain, it could lose its loyalty.

At the palace, the Emperor listened to Prince Jason’s report with a furrowed brow. Ares Kingdom soldiers had allowed over 1,000 Rhea Kingdom soldiers to infiltrate the city. Normally, any group larger than 5 would be closely watched, especially those from another kingdom. It was unthinkable that such a thing could happen.

“Then it’s because the eldest young lord of the Setter family came to help, right?”

“Yes, Father,” Prince Jason didn’t want to overly praise the other’s prowess, but the facts spoke for themselves. As soon as that young lord appeared, he was able to handle all the criminals, even though the battlefield was full of stratagems that couldn’t do much to them.

However, the Emperor already knew that the eldest young lord possessed incredibly mysterious abilities. He didn’t care how the young lord achieved it; what intrigued him more was the girl whom the Setter family suddenly valued so highly.

“And earlier...you said that the girl named Ellie handled everything, right? She set up stratagems around the camp, gave orders to the stratagem branch students who lacked combat abilities, and bought time until the young lord of the Setter family arrived. She even commanded the battle during that time.”

“Yes, Father,” Jason answered seriously. However, Prince Joseph, seated below and acting as one of the Emperor’s advisors, laughed.

“Excuse my rudeness, but...more than 60 students in the camp, including my brother and the second young lord of the Setter family, and yet they let a girl give orders? This...If this gets out...I wonder if others will laugh as I did!” Prince Joseph started with a laugh but ended his words with a serious tone.

He felt his younger brother had truly disgraced the royal family. Instead of leading the fight, at the very least taking responsibility for such things, he handed over such significant duties to a girl.

And she wasn’t just any girl but one from the countryside! If not for her powers awakening suddenly, she would still be farming in that poor village. The chance for her to get an education was practically non-existent. It was her luck that her powers awakened, leading her to be sent to the institute where she could learn. Yet...a girl with such a background—what would she know about fighting!?

Didn’t princes learn all 36 strategies for such situations? Yet he acted like a turtle hiding behind a woman!

“Brother, it seems you’re overthinking this. No one will laugh at it. Firstly...she was able to strategize effectively. She took only a few days to instruct the stratagem branch students to set up level 1 stratagems necessary to expel the toxic fumes from the camp. If it were me or even you, using them might not have yielded such good results. That’s due to her proficiency.”

“It’s not unusual for us to be taught by our instructors to assign tasks to the right people. Using people correctly yields excellent results. With such training and my perfect score on the tests, I believe I managed this well.”

After mentioning the test scores, Prince Joseph’s face grew more sullen. This was his true weakness. He preferred practicing combat over sitting and memorizing theories. Consequently, he often failed courses related to strategy and administration, repeatedly retaking them until he understood. Unlike his younger brother, Prince Jason, who had a sharp mind, quickly grasping and memorizing everything. As a child, Jason had isolated and immersed himself in the library. It’s no wonder he grew up with his head full of theories, sometimes relying solely on textbook principles without considering real-world situations.

Of course, even if Joseph wanted to argue this point, he couldn’t deny that he had brought up the principles first. To suddenly reject them just because he wasn’t skilled would seem like a desperate attempt to win the argument and defend himself.

"Additionally...I only recently learned that such an ambush was possible. None of the kingdom’s soldiers detected any unusual movements beforehand. Only Young Lord Owen suspected something. He also mentioned that some soldiers of the Ares Kingdom might have been assisting. So...I believe Ellie received the plan from the young lord beforehand."

"After Young Lord Owen appeared, neither Ellie nor even Second Young Lord Aman showed any surprise, as if they already knew that the eldest young lord of the family would come to help."

"I think the issue isn’t about who gave the order to handle this matter. The real concern should be...who orchestrated the attack, who is behind it, and who betrayed the Ares Kingdom!!!"

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