Dominance in the New World: An Overlord Fanfic

Marquis Raeven

Chapter 64

Third Person POV, after the Meeting

Marquis Raeven's political ability was second to none among the Six Great Nobles, so one would expect that the office where he showed his abilities would be an impressive one. Yet, this was not the case. Many would be surprised if they knew the exact number of decisions which affected the future of the Kingdom that had been drafted in such a humble, cramped place.

The room's interior was filled with bookshelves, and the books and labelled scrolls were neatly arranged in a way that hinted at their owner's personality. However, it was not because of these things that the room was so small, although they were part of the reason for it.

The greatest reason could not be seen by the naked eye.

Raeven's manor home was built of bricks coated in stucco. This was customary when it came to the construction of a noble home, and Raeven's office was no exception. However, the interior of those walls were coated with copper sheets that enveloped the entire room. This was done to interfere with spells used to eavesdrop, observe or detect his location. The windowless room felt a little claustrophobic, but from a cost-effectiveness point of view, it was practical and had to be endured.

Upon returning from Valencia Palace, Raeven had made a beeline for this office, which was proofed against magic. He crossed to the other side of his sturdy working desk before flopping down onto his chair, in a way that suggested that he had completely run out of energy.

Of course, he was not able to notice the shadow crawling on the corner of the room, listening to his every word and transferring them directly into the radio in the office of the 5 Elder Stars.

Then, he covered his face with his hands. Anyone who saw him would not think of a great noble who commanded unrivaled power and privilege in the Kingdom, only a middle-aged man who had been worn down by the weight of stress and responsibility.

He brought up the limp strands of his blonde hair in his fingers, combing them back up and leaning back in his seat as his face twisted. Perhaps it was because he was relaxed now, but the stress accumulated during the court session turned to anger, which filled his heart. Within moments, it had surpassed his ability to contain and exploded into the air with a mighty shout.

Raeven: Idiots, each and every one of them!

Nobody understood what was going on. No, if someone had understood and was taking advantage of the situation, they would be masterful schemers indeed.

Right now, the Kingdom was in great peril.

The war with the Empire for the last couple years, and especially last year's had led to severe problems such as food shortages, and then there were other issues that were starting to precipitate. Next, the rebellion of the people had driven the people's trust in the Kingdom to zero. The only reason why no cracks in the Kingdom had appeared so far was because the nobles honestly believed "we just need to hold on a bit longer until the other faction collapses first".

The Arcanian Empire had professional soldiers, magical creatures of legend which could wipe all of us out. In addition to that, they had the Legions which the Baharuth Empire which were not dissolved, and instead transformed, retrained and given better gear to fight for the new Empire. The result of that was villages everywhere running short of manpower for a period of time.

The Empire had a firm grasp of the Kingdom's practice of conscription, and thus they declared war during the harvest season.

During the busiest season of a farming village, the impact of their adult males ― the most important source of labor ― going missing for one month could not be overstated. Of course, the idea of simply not conscripting as many people had come to mind, but in the face of the Empire's military, who were far better trained and armed, the Kingdom could not muster any resistance without the weight of numbers on their side.