Reborn As Noble Chapter 1218: Secrets That Worsen the Fire ( 1218 )
Previously on Reborn As Noble...
Within Mathrias Manor.
"Mm..." Garius eyed Rolland and Sylvia, who bowed lightly before him, his face grave and intense.
His eyes scanned the ranks of Mathrias officers and soldiers, all standing rigidly at attention in their full armor.
Garius’s right eye shimmered with a subtle glow.
"So, Rolland?"
"Y... yes, Your Majesty?" Rolland froze in his bow.
"This is your captain, the leader of your present forces?" Garius stroked his chin as he stared at one Mathrias soldier positioned behind Rolland.
Rolland’s eyes bulged in surprise.
How could Garius tell without any introduction from me?
"Y... yes, Your Majesty." Rolland replied, motioning for Mathrias’s captain to advance.
The man tensed up and moved ahead, saluting Garius. "Your Majesty. I am Bhujar, Captain of the Mathrias Army." He started to kneel but halted, restrained by an invisible power.
Garius fixed them all with a severe gaze.
"Don’t... kneel."
His aura surged outward, weighing down the air with a crushing heaviness. The pressure bore down on everyone, yet they stayed upright, incapable of bending or collapsing.
Garius withdrew his aura and surveyed the room. "You’re no captives, no foes, no wrongdoers. Kneeling holds no purpose here. It’s reserved for betrayers of trust or beggars of forgiveness. You’ve committed neither. Hold your heads high, like honorable servants."
"Now. Bhujar, right?" Garius linked his hands behind his back and eyed him.
"Y... yes, Your Majesty." Bhujar inclined his head rigidly.
"Tell me now about the Mathrias Army’s current state, guards excluded."
Bhujar dipped his head. "At present, we possess roughly..." He hesitated, eyes dropping to the ground. "Roughly 2,000, Your Majesty."
"Hmm?" Garius squinted sharply. He turned to Rolland. "Rolland?"
"Yes, Your Majesty?" Rolland advanced a step and bowed.
Garius peered down sternly. "Wasn’t Mathrias meant to command about 10,000 troops previously? It’s odd that your forces now number just 2,000. What occurred?"
Rolland went quiet, words failing him.
Garius shifted his attention back to Bhujar.
"Explain it to me."
Bhujar gulped nervously. "Mathrias once commanded around 12,000 soldiers under General Mulkas. But General Mulkas and his troops... they no longer follow Lord Rolland. They split off, creating their own group and rejecting Lord Rolland’s command. Our remaining 2,000 are the faithful who stayed loyal."
Garius looked toward Alf, positioned neither too distant nor too near, and breathed out steadily.
Alf simply nodded, one hand tucked behind, the other held properly ahead.
Garius pivoted to Erinette, who gave a subtle, informed smile.
Garius pressed the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply.
"Don’t say they’ve seized control of parts of Mathrias’s local domains."
Bhujar faltered, tone strained. "It’s graver than that, Your Majesty. Over half of Mathrias now falls under General Mulkas’s sway. They compel residents in seized zones to send taxes straight to him."
Garius rubbed his brow and checked Alf and Erinette once more before returning to Bhujar.
"Thus, your troops are occupied guarding the leftover territories, their master, and the frontiers still loyal to Rolland."
Bhujar bowed his head, face somber. "Yes, Your Majesty. We’re spread too thin, repelling them in the held zones while fending off raids from nearby lands exploiting our frailty."
Bhujar went on. "Defensive positions are maintained at River Elsin and Timberland Pass, plus vital spots, yet our numbers strain at the brink. Troops must divide to protect them from falling, exposing us to surprise strikes."
Garius stroked his chin as Bhujar kept detailing.
"Worst of all, they wield unfamiliar arms now—cannons and muskets. We can’t predict how long defenses will endure. Healers and mages strive to cut losses, but should this persist... another big push might shatter us."
Garius shot Rolland a piercing, fearsome stare.
"You failed to mention Gracelle’s state, and now conceal this too?"
Rolland grew utterly mute, speechless. His frame went rigid.
"Rolland... friends aid one another. Yet hiding this from me prevents my assistance in your desperate plight. Ignorance only deepens our shared woes."
Garius released a weary, drawn-out breath.
"I planned to return to Armand at dawn tomorrow for my son and daughter’s wedding. You and Sylvia were to join me there for their ceremony. But given these events..."
Garius placed both hands behind his back.
"Your refusal to share burdens has worsened everything. True friends reveal dangers when their home burns."
He stared fiercely at them. "See now—not a single issue, but layered disasters that honesty could have averted or eased."
"Gracelle’s safety here is uncertain, so she heads to Armand Healing Facility, consent or none."
He eyed Rolland. "Fortunate you heeded me and sent your sole heir to safety. Otherwise, your lineage might have ended."
He faced Bhujar. "Are any soldiers aware of Armand’s presence in Mathrias?"
"Not all, Your Majesty. Only my accompanying units."
"Excellent. Enemies remain ignorant of Armand’s arrival—for the moment."
He surveyed Rolland, Sylvia, Bhujar, and Mathrias’s reliable staff.
"Everyone, assemble in the war room of the provisional structure at once. Emergency strategy session begins now."
Garius spun around, halting to look back over his shoulder with his typical grim demeanor.
"Now."
( End Of Chapter )
