Anhalt was passionately arguing that Friedrich should be appointed as the Supreme Commander among the nobles.

Seeing this side of him, Count Turun couldn’t help but feel admiration and joy for his son’s abilities once again.

‘I can’t believe he could predict such a situation. He said he’d been keeping an eye on the world while he was gone, and it turns out he wasn’t just blowing smoke.’

To be honest, when Santana first told him this, he was skeptical.

After all, he thought there was no way Friedrich could be appointed as Supreme Commander in Bohemia while being sidelined.

However, as he listened to his son’s words, specifically the summary of what Anhalt was enthusiastically discussing, Count Turun couldn’t help but nod his head.

Now it was actually happening right before his eyes.

‘But still… I never thought he’d be able to read the current situation this well… Is this really my son? He was so unreliable in his childhood… but now he has grown remarkably well, to the point it’s scary.’

Feeling reassured as a father once again, Count Turun calmly opened his mouth while watching Anhalt wrap up the process of persuading the nobles.

“Indeed… from various perspectives, it seems right for His Highness Friedrich to take on the role of Supreme Commander in this war.”

“B… Count?”

Surprisingly, Count Turun’s words were met with agreement instead of resistance.

The supporting nobles began to show signs of confusion in response…

To this, Count Turun smiled calmly and said, “Why are you so surprised? We are at war now. There’s no reason to refuse an opportunity to gain big returns by setting aside small pride.”

“But that’s…”

“Moreover, if we look solely at ranks, His Highness Friedrich holds a higher status than any of us here, including myself. By principle, it is right for him to be the Supreme Commander.”

“Umm…”

“If you say so, Count…”

With Turun’s ‘yielding’, the remaining nobles could no longer oppose.

However, although they didn’t show it on the outside, many people in the room were taken aback by Count Turun willingly giving up the Supreme Command position.

‘I can’t believe Count Turun would yield with a smile…’

‘If it were before, he would have surely gotten furious and picked a fight…’

‘If not a fight, he might’ve drawn steel! And yet he’s reacting this way…’

‘This has to be because his son has returned. Ever since Santana came back, he’s been all ears listening to him, right?’

‘Even that lion-like Count Turun can’t help but bow before his own son…’

As the nobles reflected once again on the fact that Count Turun had softened up a lot lately, the situation was accepted.

Then…

“However, in return for passing on the position of Supreme Commander, I would like to make a request to His Highness.”

“A request? What is it?”

Suddenly, they began to hear Count Turun’s voice, which carried a hint of his usual stubbornness unlike before, and on hearing this, Anhalt felt a bit of confusion and cautiously asked on behalf of Friedrich, who seemed to be deep in thought.

“As I mentioned, I shall yield the title of Supreme Commander to Your Highness. However, this is merely to uphold the justification that Lord Anhalt has mentioned, and I cannot give up the right to lead the Bohemian army in this war.”

“!..What… what do you mean? No, if you’ve passed the Supreme Commander position, it’s only natural to hand over the command as well, isn’t it?”

In essence, Turun stated he would give up the title of Supreme Commander but would not follow any orders given by Friedrich.

Anhalt began to show signs of confusion at this declaration, but Turun responded firmly.

“Unfortunately, Anhalt, we cannot follow your… or rather His Highness Friedrich’s command. His Highness lacks war experience, and you are lacking as well, are you not? As the lord who must bear the practical responsibilities in this war, I cannot allow any decisions that might lower our chances of victory.”

“B-but… if we do that, it would hinder the overall strategy…”

While Anhalt could be viewed as capable in politics, it was widely accepted that his military prowess would raise a few eyebrows.

Turun’s blunt words struck like a hammer.

Anhalt struggled to come up with a counterargument.

In that moment…

“Well… fine, let’s do it that way.”

“! Your Highness?”

Suddenly, Friedrich’s unexpected voice burst forth.

Anhalt’s face stiffened at this abrupt action.

Friedrich then disregarded the reactions of his subjects and gazed at Count Turun while saying,

“As Count Turun pointed out, we are at war. Focusing on greater benefits rather than small pride is the correct thing to do. In that regard, it is best for Count Turun to command the Bohemian army rather than inexperienced me or Lord Anhalt.”

“Thank you for accepting my request, Your Highness.”

“Ugh…”

Thus, the conference ended with Friedrich’s declaration.

In connection to this, an undeniable shock began to show on Anhalt’s face, while Santana, who was watching, reflected relief mixed with a touch of surprise.

‘I knew it would come to this for justification, but still, this is unexpected. Who would have thought Friedrich would help like this…’

*

Anhalt Christian

Since arriving in Bohemia, he felt increasingly perplexed by the situation that was unexpectedly spiraling out of control.

‘What on earth is happening…? How is this unfolding?’

Initially, during their arrival with Friedrich, Anhalt believed everything was progressing smoothly as planned.

He had formed a massive Heretic Alliance.

If he could fully take control of Bohemia, Friedrich would possess one of the largest and most powerful territories among the Sacred Empire’s electors.

Moreover, if he could combine the strength of the Heretic Alliance he had formed, pulling the Emperor from the throne in the southern Empire would be entirely feasible.

However, his grand plans were gradually unraveling due to an unexpected variable named Santana.

As the rightful heir with legitimate succession rights, his existence alone was enough to shatter Anhalt’s first plan.

Up until this point, he could chalk it up to mere bad luck, but the real trouble began thereafter.

The main issue started when his lord, Friedrich, and Santana began drawing closer together.

Considering they were both noblemen of the same age, it was perhaps natural for them to form a bond.

Also, since Anhalt deemed it impossible to fully seize Bohemia from here on out, he could view their friendship in a somewhat positive light as a means to maintain a strong alliance.

However, the problem arose with how his master’s demeanor slowly changed as he grew closer to Santana.

Friedrich, who had always shown unwavering agreement to Anhalt’s words, began to refuse him little by little after arriving here, only reluctantly agreeing after digging deeper into more detailed matters.

Of course, strictly speaking, one couldn’t dismiss Friedrich’s transformation entirely negatively, since ‘a true sovereign should naturally act this way.’

The fact that Anhalt became Friedrich’s tutor stemmed from a wish of Friedrich’s mother for him to have such qualities.

From that perspective, as a tutor, Anhalt should certainly view Friedrich’s unexpected ‘growth’ positively…

However, from the standpoint of a minister aiming to make Friedrich Emperor, such changes were a substantial hindrance to moving things forward.

‘At such a crucial time, just before a confrontation with the Emperor of all times, why is His Highness showing this change? This is… not good at all…’

Due to Friedrich’s changes, Anhalt had already failed to address several matters that needed to be resolved before the war, which naturally affected the advantages he wanted to gain while bringing the army.

To be precise, issues that needed to be secured to make Friedrich Emperor alongside winning the war had slipped away from his grasp.

Particularly fatal was what occurred in the previous meeting.

Although he managed to secure the position of Supreme Commander, he could not obtain authority over command.

This meant that the relatively smaller Palatinate army would have to follow the commands of the Bohemian army led by Turun.

He even outright acknowledged their military prowess was lacking in the process, making it impossible to backtrack or contest the situation any longer.

This indicated that Anhalt’s plan to heighten Friedrich’s power by borrowing Bohemia’s military would end up bolstering Bohemia’s reputation under the guise of Friedrich.

‘This is not good… if things go wrong, even if we win, I could end up in a situation where it backfires… I need to think of something… but making rash moves right now with war looming is too risky…’

With his mind swirling in complex thoughts, Anhalt was struggling with his predicament when…

“Minister!”

“?”

The urgent voice of a servant broke through, causing a look of curiosity to flash across Anhalt’s face…

And then it quickly morphed into a deep shock.

“W-what is happening?”