Chapter 013: War or Peace?

Du Fan stepped out of the basement, quickly tidying his clothes before leaving the courtyard. From a distance, he called out, “Grandpa Mark, why are you in such a hurry to see me?”
Seeing Du Fan, Grandpa Mark’s anxious expression eased slightly. He said, “It’s good that you’re here, Third Young Master. News has come from the imperial city—Prince Fischer is waiting for you to meet with him.”
Prince Fischer wanted to see me? Could it be because of what happened that night?
Du Fan had several questions, but he knew Grandpa Mark wouldn’t be able to answer them. So, after washing up and changing into clean clothes, he left the duke’s residence.
Outside the duke’s residence, a royal carriage was already waiting. Led by the imperial guards, Du Fan arrived at a side hall in the imperial city.
Inside the side hall, Prince Fischer and several ministers were already waiting. When they saw Du Fan enter, Prince Fischer wore a warm smile and said simply, “It’s good that you’re here, Du Fan. We’re discussing some matters… Since you’re now a duke of the empire, you can’t possibly refrain from participating in governance, right?”
Du Fan’s expression shifted slightly as he glanced aside. He saw several nobles he didn’t recognize sitting on chairs, watching him with curious expressions, along with his father and Prime Minister Kimberly.
Noticing Du Fan’s gaze, Prince Fischer smiled and said, “Du Fan, you don’t know these gentlemen, do you? Let me introduce them to you. This is Count Christopher, who will soon take on the role of Finance Minister.”
Du Fan’s heart stirred as he recalled what happened at the slave market. He couldn’t help but look over.
Count Christopher appeared to be in his thirties, with the pale complexion typical of nobles. He wasn’t particularly handsome, but he wasn’t ugly either. The most noticeable feature was the two curved mustaches on his lips.
When he saw Du Fan looking at him, he bowed slightly as a greeting. Du Fan quickly bowed back, acknowledging the meeting.
Prince Fischer then pointed to another person and said, “And this is Duke Wade. I’m sure Du Fan has heard of his name.”
Duke Wade? The Lionheart Family?
Du Fan immediately understood. This person must be the head of the Lionheart Family, the empire’s marshal, and the top figure in the imperial military—Duke Wade.

If there was anyone in the Gavin Empire’s military whose influence could compare to that of his own father, it was undoubtedly Duke Wade. This Duke Wade lacked any semblance of a military man’s demeanor. He appeared to be in his fifties, with hair and beard already turned gray, and his eyes were clouded. It was only after hearing Prince Fischer’s introduction that he bowed to Du Fan and said, “Lord Du Fan truly is a hero born young. The Green family has a successor now. Old Green… it seems you now have even more reason to boast!” Duke Green smiled faintly and said, “How could my son compare to the people of the Lionheart family? Duke Wade, you’re joking…” Duke Wade merely chuckled but said nothing more, though a glint appeared in his eyes. Standing below, Du Fan felt a slight stir in his heart and couldn’t help but curse inwardly at this old fox. By speaking in such a way, Duke Wade made it clear he would never side with the Green family. He was being so obvious just in case Prince Fischer didn’t realize it… That damned old fox! Hearing his subordinates exchanging sharp words, Prince Fischer wasn’t angry. Instead, he smiled and introduced the remaining few people, most of whom were important officials in the empire. At that moment, Du Fan didn’t know which side these people were on, so he simply exchanged a few polite greetings as a formality. “Well,” finally, after introducing everyone in the side hall, Prince Fischer smiled faintly. “Then let’s continue discussing today’s matters.” As he spoke, he glanced at Duke Wade. This marshal of the empire and minister of military affairs merely coughed lightly, cleared his throat, then glanced at Du Fan and said, “Well, Lord Duke Du Fan, today Prince Fischer has called us here not for any other reason but to discuss the war in the south. I assume Lord Du Fan is well aware of the situation there?” A sarcastic expression appeared on Du Fan’s face, but he still nodded slightly. Noticing that everyone’s gaze was fixed on him, he frowned and said, “I’m sure everyone knows more about these matters than I do. There’s no need for me to repeat them.”

Prince Fischer, who was sitting in the upper seat, nodded with a hint of helplessness on his face and said, “Indeed, those below don’t understand these matters. Don’t you in the cabinet understand either? So what we need to discuss today is… under such circumstances, should the empire go to war or seek peace? As for war… the empire is currently going through great upheaval, and morale is surely unstable. If war does break out, it’s uncertain what our chances of victory would be. As for peace, it’s unclear what the Lani Empire will demand…”

Upon hearing this, Duke Wade stood up and said loudly, “Your Highness Fischer, isn’t the queen of the Lani Empire going too far? They are pressing us so hard—how can we show weakness? I think we should move some troops from the Eastern and Western legions to send a warning to the Lani Empire, so they won’t dare act recklessly… The empire’s situation is extremely complicated right now. Since the south has fallen, we can retake it later. If that fails, we can buy it back with ransom. With the empire’s current instability, it’s not the time to create more problems.”

Du Fan sneered inwardly but remained silent. He wanted to see what else this imperial marshal could say.

Prince Fischer frowned slightly and said sternly, “Are we just going to give up like this? Our Southern Legion has been defeated and unable to fight back. The Western and Eastern Legions aren’t in much better shape… Even if you move your troops, will the people of the Lani Empire really withdraw? Since its founding, my Gavin Empire has been striving day and night to swallow up the Lani Empire. Don’t you think the Lani Empire has similar ambitions?”

Duke Wade smiled slightly and said, “Your Highness, please don’t forget that although our two empires have always wanted to conquer each other, there’s another power on the continent that will definitely not allow this to happen…”

At this point, Duke Wade looked intently at Prince Fischer.

Prince Fischer frowned before saying, “You mean… the Holy Church?”

“Yes, the Holy Church,” Duke Wade replied calmly. “Over the years, between us and the Lani Empire—whether I wanted to devour you or you wanted to devour me—every time we were on the verge of success, those clergymen would show up and disrupt things.”

When the word “charlatan” came up, Duke Wade secretly glanced at Prince Fischer. Noticing that his expression remained unchanged, he continued, “So this time, I think the Holy See will definitely get involved… even Roland Academy will step in… Under such pressure from all sides, the Lani Empire will have no choice but to withdraw its troops… Even if the Holy See doesn’t intervene this time, Your Highness, don’t forget your status. As long as you speak up, even that great lord will have to help… I think no matter how bold Princess Sha is, she wouldn’t dare defy the most powerful figure in the Roland continent, right?”

At that point, everyone remembered that Prince Fischer was not only a prince but also the pope’s godson. And by “that great lord,” they naturally meant the pope, who represented the God of Light. This pope held immense prestige in the Roland continent—he was the leader of millions of believers there. In fact, if the pope chose to launch a holy war, it was likely that all nations on the continent would be destroyed in its wake.

Although the Gavin Empire and the Lani Empire had always been at odds, over the years both empires had adopted the same attitude toward the pope: to suppress his influence at all costs and prevent him from becoming the ruler of the continent once again, as he had been a thousand years ago. So, the idea of having the pope mediate between the two nations was probably…

Sure enough, after thinking for a moment, Prince Fischer sighed and said, “It’s better not to… My godfather isn’t someone easy to trick. If we really ask him to mediate, he might stay and never go back…”

Duke Wade smiled slightly and said, “Since You Highness thinks so, I believe the Lani Empire must understand this as well. Continuing the war brings no benefits to either side—this is evident from their sending envoys for peace talks. If they refuse to negotiate, it gives the Holy See an opportunity… So, I think the Lani Empire is also eager for peace. As long as our Gavin Empire pays a price, we should be able to regain the southern territories. Once we regain them, our empire’s land will be preserved, and even if we lose some wealth, it will be done to maintain our dignity… And once our empire’s strength is restored, it won’t be difficult to get back what we’ve lost, right?”