Reincarnate as the Villainess's Husband - Chapter 71

Chapter 71: Preparation process
Neonidas and Solara spent some time relaxing in the sunken pool before Neonidas left the bath to have breakfast. He entered a room with a long table placed in a spacious room. Most of the room’s walls were made of glass, and the sunlight beautifully illuminated the space. Outside the room, there was a garden adorned with beautiful flowers.

Neonidas ordered Solara to go to another room, fortunately Solara was not the kind of person who took offense at such things.

When Neonidas took his seat at the table, Empress Velriona, Allea, and Duchess Lyranna entered the room simultaneously. These three were Neonidas’s special guests. Of course, to avoid any unfortunate situation from occurring the previous night, Allea had made sure to choose a room that was the furthest from the empress’s room.

The Empress’s graceful walk, combined with the golden necklace around her neck, added an authoritative aura to her presence. Allea, with a graceful but slightly strained expression, stole a quick glance at Neonidas. Lyranna, as always, greeted them with confidence and elegance.

Although she appeared to be a vampire, it was clear that she wasn’t much affected by the sunlight. Vampires in this world were a bit different from the traditional concept. However, they were known for their mastery of blood magic, incredible healing abilities, and powerful physiques.

In the original novel, Lyranna had been Allea’s greatest supporter, giving Avelina quite a hard time. Therefore, Neonidas believed she would be a valuable ally.

When Neonidas sat down at the table, he noticed the Empress briefly glance at him from the corner of her eye. Her gaze quickly shifted away, but the slight blush on her face didn’t escape Neonidas’s attention.

The Empress, maintaining her usual elegant posture, tried to hide her tension. The events of the previous night were still fresh in her mind, but as a matter of royal decorum, she had to remain calm and composed.

Allea, for her part, cast a more distant look at Neonidas. When she sat next to the Empress, Neonidas couldn’t help but look at her. She seemed to have slept little during the night. It was likely that what Neonidas had said the previous evening had occupied her mind. However, she didn’t speak a word and kept her graceful composure, joining the breakfast quietly.

“Welcome, Your Majesty,” she greeted Velriona first, then the others, with noble etiquette.

As per the rules, Neonidas stood up and, once the Empress sat down, took his seat again.

As breakfast began, the atmosphere in the room was calm and controlled. Everyone was mindful of etiquette, speaking carefully and choosing their words. The Empress appeared focused on the fruit slices placed before her, but occasionally, she would steal a glance at Neonidas. He, on the other hand, calmly ate his breakfast while paying attention to both the guests around him and his own thoughts.

Duchess Lyranna broke the silence, speaking up. “The weather is quite nice this morning,” she said, placing her wineglass on the table. It was clear that she was uncomfortable with the odd silence.

Neonidas responded with a slight smile, “The Oreoned gardens are always impressive. The sunlight highlights their beauty even more. This garden has become what it is thanks to the care and efforts of my late mother.”

While Allea and the Empress were deep in thought, Lyranna conversed with Neonidas, her stoic expression intact.

Lyranna no longer had any doubts about Neonidas; after all, she knew that Allea trusted him. If Allea thought so, she wouldn’t question it much. Lyranna was fiercely loyal to Allea, not only because she was her sister, but also because she owed her. Over time, she had come to see Allea as the last of her remaining family, and her loyalty could neither be bought nor broken.

After breakfast, Neonidas said his farewells to the Empress and his fiancée and left the room. Before climbing into his carriage outside, he called wolf Fenrilla to his side, and with a dozen of his knights, they followed the long path away from the mansion.

They traveled down the long road, finally reaching the duchy’s main city, Oreoned. The city had a population of nearing half a million. It should be noted, however, that the population in this world was generally denser compared with Neonidas’s former world, which resembled the medieval era.

The existence of magic had greatly advanced medicine, causing the population density to steadily rise. The city’s architecture followed a horizontal layout, making the city area quite vast. Only the center contained tall buildings. It could easily be said that this was one of the largest cities in the empire.

As the carriage entered the cobblestone streets, Neonidas meticulously observed the city. Despite the large city’s favorable tax rates, it was clear that it was quite expensive to maintain. The tax efficiency wasn’t very high, either.

Due to the previous Neonidas’s incompetence, illegal activities like smuggling had taken root in the city. Smuggling, tax evasion, and corruption among the local lords were eroding Oreoned’s potential. As Neonidas looked out from the carriage, he mentally weighed these issues. He knew that if he wanted to seize control; he had to first address this economic disorder.

“This city will obey me,” he thought to himself. However, Neonidas wasn’t a tyrant; he was a strategic leader. Instead of forcibly controlling the people, he knew that creating an order that would serve his interests would provide a more lasting solution. There were games to be played with the city’s powerful families, merchant guilds, and local militia leaders. Each one could be brought into line with the right incentives or threats.

The carriage stopped in the large square in the center of Oreoned. Neonidas, with Fenrilla by his side, stepped down from the carriage and signaled his knights to wait. Fenrilla’s silent but alert stance gave him confidence.

In the middle of the square stood a large statue: a monument erected in honor of the late Duke Leonardo. Despite being a stone figure with a tall frame, a bearded face, and broad shoulders, its magnificence and authoritative aura still stood strong.

When the people around the statue noticed Neonidas, they began to whisper. The old Neonidas had a bad reputation—seen as a coward, incompetent, and uncontrollable leader. However, the new Neonidas exuded a different aura. Even his walk carried an air of different.

In the center of the city was a large vacant plot of land. This land had remained empty because of Duke Leonardo. He had plans for this area, but before anyone could find out what they were, Duke Leonardo had died. It had stayed vacant since that day, but now, this was to become the land for the magic center.

Construction had already begun. The most important part of the magic center would be the underground section. To make this happen, Neonidas had spared no expense and hired skilled earth wizards.

When he saw Zalira there, he walked over to her.As Neonidas approached the construction area, he glanced at Zalira and asked in a calm tone, “What do you think?”

“If it succeeds… It will probably be a project that will enrich this city and duchy in the future.”

“I know.”

After a while of discussing the future of the magic center, Neonidas realized it was time to leave and returned to his carriage. He had come only to learn Zalira’s thoughts, since Zalira was the key figure in this project, but fortunately she believed wholeheartedly in the this project.

When Neonidas returned to the mansion, many luxurious carriages were parked along the wide stone road, each adorned with unique family crests. He quickly entered the mansion and then proceeded to the room where all the important nobles of the Oreoned Duchy were gathered. Neonidas had invited them for an emergency council meeting about the war.

Around the long, wide table were many important nobles, but unlike the previous meeting, there were traces of slight fear in their eyes as they looked at Neonidas. The death of the once most powerful noble in Oreoned Duchy, Marquis Alexsaz, had unsettled them.

Neonidas sat down. “We are gathered here today to discuss an important decision for the future and security of Oreoned.”

Neonidas spoke in a tone that increased the tension in the room. He scanned the faces of everyone at the table. Though they all had unique status and power, they knew that the person before them was no longer the same old Neonidas they remembered.

“As you all know, after some unpleasant events, the war with the Hindonpon Kingdom and the Empire has reached an inevitable point. His Majesty, Emperor Gredor, has entrusted me with the responsibility of leading this war. That is why we are here today.”

The cause of the war was, in fact, none other than Neonidas himself. After humiliating the prince of the Hindonpon Kingdom, the prince’s suicide had sparked this war.

Neonidas looked down at the thick file in front of him. “The thick files in front of each of you contain intelligence gathered by the Empire’s spy network about our enemies. I have not read them yet, as they were only delivered to me today. So, please read them silently with me.”

The first page of the documents detailed the military situation of the Hindonpon Kingdom. It seemed that they had managed to form an army of one hundred thousand in a short time, which was a great accomplishment. If they had had more time and resources, they could have probably built an even larger army. But what truly caught Neonidas’ attention in the army section was not this.

The Hindonpon Kingdom had a highly tropical climate, and as a result, unique and exotic animals had evolved there. Among these animals, there was one that could be crucial enough to change the course of the war. The animal’s name was the Konotiger. It was a creature that had the strongest traits of both an elephant and a Triceratops dinosaur.

The section of the document marked with a red underline indicated that around 500 of these animals had been domesticated by the Hindonpon Kingdom and added to their army. This was the kind of power that could change the direction of the war.