Combat Maid Harem

"Okay. The Sword Guild is not a problem as long as their Heaven Swords don't issue an order to support any sides. We could only worry about the surrounding empires," Julianne said.

She was worried about the empires that supported the Blumin Empire. These empires had existed for quite a long time. A lot of diplomatic relationships were formed between them.

Just before this war, the Trunden Empire had a lot of diplomatic relationships with the Blumin Empire. Just like the saying, "a friend in need is a friend indeed."

If other empires decided to help the Blumin Emperor, he would be obliged to help them in the future even if he didn't want to. It was still a significant risk worth taking into consideration.

"Hmmm… Does anyone from the three great clans support any of the empires close to us?" Lawrend asked.

The only reason anyone would willingly fight against a descendant from the three great clans would be to have backing from the three great clans. Even that would still come with risks.

"It's tough to get information about that, Your Imperial Majesty. I can tell you which clan supported us," Julianne whispered the last part.

"Oh? The empires hide such a thing?" Lawrend asked in surprise.

He didn't expect them to hide it. It would be a powerful deterrent against invasions if they announced their backing from the three great clans.

"Everyone wants to absolve themselves from guilt. If a descendant from the three great clans dies in an empire influenced by one of the three great clans, it will cause chaos. People in power would quickly start pointing fingers to resolve their discontent," Julianne carefully explained.

She was very knowledgeable about these kinds of stuff. It was the main reason her Imperial Brother trusted her. Otherwise, he could've sent her to the afterlife to avoid competition for power.

"I understand. So, which clan?" Lawrend asked and moved his ear closer to her.

Julianne didn't whisper back to him. Instead, she stood there and blinked her eyes repeatedly. Lawrend noticed her silence and pulled his head back in confusion.

"You really don't know?" Julianne asked.

"I don't. You're making this more complicated."

"They are…"

Julianne leaned closer and whispered the clan he never expected to be mentioned. Lawrend's eyes widened, and he facepalmed himself.

That ancestor of his was really meddlesome. He even ordered the Trunden Empire to invade the Blumin Empire just to avenge him.

Lawrend turned to Ember and asked, "Did you know about that?"

"Master, I'm clueless as to what you mean," Ember replied with a face filled with confusion.

Lawrend squinted his eyes and stared at her for a few seconds before believing that she was telling the truth. He sighed and shook his head.

"Thank you for telling me this. Now, I finally understand everything. It all made sense," Lawrend said to Julianne.

He looked at her more warmly now. At least, knowing she was always on his side made things significantly easier. Trusting her wasn't also that big of a problem.

With the Ignis Clan backing the Trunden Empire, they should be getting a lot of benefits. They wouldn't betray him and lose all of those benefits when they were already this close. It was bad to betray an ally but worse to betray a friend.

"Yes. We're on the same side, Your Imperial Majesty. The Trunden Emperor and I were initially confused, but it all pieced together nicely," Julianne replied and smiled beautifully.

She sensed the change in his smile, and it made her happy. It was like getting recognized by your favorite idol.

"Oh…"

With all of the hints, Ember pieced everything together. She nodded to herself and thought it was the way it should be. Her ancestor was really a forward thinker.

It also reminded her about her engagement to Lawrend. She was initially hateful about the whole thing, but now that she was Lawrend's maid, she was glad about it. Her opinion of that particular ancestor soared to the roof.

"Alright. Since we have nothing to worry about, let's all take a good rest and head out tomorrow. You will have your imperial army hold this city and take over the other two," Lawrend said as he looked at everyone in the room.

The three envoys nodded their heads together and bowed to him.

"Thank you for your magnanimity, Your Imperial Majesty," the three envoys chimed together.

"Stop being so distant. You can call me Lord," Lawrend replied, a little bit embarrassed.

After realizing they were from the same side, Lawrend was inclined to treat them better. And after all the things they had been through, it was not a weird thing to do.

Julianne, Gregory, and Otor glanced at each other. They got into an agreement without saying anything.

"Yes, Lord," they said and bowed together.

"Mm." Lawrend nodded his head in satisfaction.

The trio left together.

Lawrend and Ember looked at each other. And Ember was the first one to open her mouth, "I didn't know, Master. I swear."

She didn't know why she said those words, but she felt it was appropriate to say them. She hadn't realized it yet, but fear of him had slowly planted itself inside her heart.

"I believed you earlier. Don't worry," Lawrend replied and smiled.

He raised his hand and patted her on the head. Her nervous appearance looked cute. It was a gap moe from her usual arrogance. [AN: Gap moe is like this thing where someone acts out of character, so they look cute.]

"Nnn…" Ember purred like a cat and nudged her head against his hand.

…

Lawrend spent the night in the city and woke up early in the morning. He immediately went to the mage army camp and taught them all a magic lesson.

Unfortunately, he didn't have time to set up another magical formation in this city. It would've helped a lot, but time was precious for them.

"Do not engage if something unexpected happens," Lawrend said as he floated above the city with the others.

Three Earth Mages and the imperial army watched them below.