Emil Strauss’s rebellion was nothing short of blatant. It was clear from the declaration he had sent to the royal family of Ethriel.0

To the Kingdom of Ethriel: if you desire the loyalty of Strauss, proclaim your worship of the true god, Tesranach. If you do not, we shall enthrone a rightful king of our own.0

People were dumbfounded. Of course, Martial King Gellard was a terrifying force, and the Strauss family held enough power to rival a kingdom of its own. But even so, they were not an actual kingdom.0

And the moment they declared allegiance to the Dark God, they made mortal enemies of the Church of the Goddesses. A single noble house had just made enemies of the entire world.0

—Has he gone completely mad?0

—What is he thinking, pulling a stunt like this?0

But this was only the perspective of the common folk, of those who were unaware of the deeper situation. The governments of each nation and the Church of the Goddesses quickly realized that Strauss’s move was far trickier than it appeared.0

Technically, it was the Ethriel Kingdom’s responsibility to quell such unrest. The problem was that Ethriel’s greatest military force was the Strauss family. The kingdom’s strongest sword and shield...0