The meeting chamber of House Valcriox had never felt so tense.

Rain hammered against the tall manor windows while nobles sat in heavy silence around the circular strategy table beneath dim lantern light.

No servants remained inside. No guards spoke. Even the air itself felt strained.

Because the latest reports from the north had arrived.

And they were disastrous.

The western frontier escalation. The artillery standoff. The dragon’s appearance. The failed assassination attempt.

Every page worsened the situation further.

Then the chamber doors opened violently.

Kassian Valcriox entered like a storm.

The heir of House Valcriox rarely displayed emotion publicly.

Today—

His fury was obvious.

Several sealed reports slammed across the strategy table hard enough to scatter documents everywhere.

"You idiots."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

The nobles around the chamber exchanged uneasy looks while Kassian stared at them with visible disbelief.

Lord Berengar finally spoke carefully.

"Kassian—"

"No."

The ducal heir cut him off immediately.

"No explanations." "No excuses."

His hand struck the table sharply.

"You nearly started a war."

The chamber grew colder instantly.

Because this was not political disagreement anymore.

This was rage.

Real rage.

Kassian paced slowly around the strategy table afterward while rain echoed beyond the manor walls.

"You pushed military pressure without coordination."

One noble frowned defensively.

"Elarion needed to understand authority."

Kassian stopped walking.

Then slowly turned toward him.

"Authority?"

The word sounded almost mocking.

"You deployed troops near an industrial convoy." "You attempted seizure." "You forced rifle regiments into mobilization."

His voice lowered dangerously.

"And Lucien prepared artillery."

Nobody answered.

Because every military report confirmed the same horrifying truth:

Lucien had genuinely been prepared to open fire.

Not bluff. Not panic.

War.

One older noble finally muttered quietly:

"We still held superior numbers."

Kassian laughed once.

Coldly.

"And then what?"

His eyes swept across the chamber.

"Did any of you actually think beyond the first battle?"

Silence.

Because honestly—

Many of them hadn’t.

They expected pressure. Intimidation. Submission.

Not organized military resistance.

Kassian pointed sharply toward the frontier reports.

"You saw what happened."

His voice hardened further.

"Thousands of disciplined riflemen mobilized within hours." "Field cannons deployed into firing positions." "Supply lines already organized."

Then:

"And a dragon descended over the battlefield."

That last part settled heavily over the chamber.

Because Aurethar’s involvement terrified everyone.

Not merely because of power—

But because the dragon clearly sided with Elarion now.

Personally.

One military advisor finally spoke carefully.

"The assassination attempt also failed."

Kassian closed his eyes briefly.

As if physically pained by the stupidity surrounding him.

"Yes." "I noticed."

The chamber remained deathly quiet.

Because the failed assassination changed everything.

Pressure could still be denied politically.

Assassination could not.

Especially not after:

infiltrators entered Elarion,

alarm systems activated instantly,

and Aurethar personally hunted them down.

Now Lucien would never believe peace remained possible.

And that was the real disaster.

Kassian finally stopped beside the northern campaign maps hanging along the chamber wall.

His gaze remained fixed on Elarion territory.

"You all still misunderstand the situation."

Nobody interrupted him now.

Because unlike the others—

Kassian had been studying Lucien carefully for months.

The industrial reports. The military reports. The logistics reports.

Patterns.

That was what concerned him.

Lucien adapted too quickly.

Economic pressure created industrial expansion. Military pressure created mobilization. Assassination created unity.

Every hostile action against Elarion strengthened it somehow.

Kassian slowly pointed toward the northern regions.

"Do you know what frightens me most?"

No answer came.

"He learns."

The room remained silent.

Kassian continued calmly now.

"Most nobles react emotionally." "They defend traditions." "They repeat old strategies."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Lucien changes strategy every time pressure appears."

That made him dangerous.

Far more dangerous than emotional rulers.

Because emotional rulers made mistakes.

Systems did not.

One younger noble still tried to argue.

"If we wait longer, Elarion becomes impossible to suppress."

Kassian turned toward him immediately.

"And whose fault is that?"

No response.

Because everyone in the room already knew.

House Valcriox spent too long treating Lucien as:

an exile,

a northern nuisance,

a temporary problem.

Now?

Now Elarion possessed:

steel production,

industrial infrastructure,

artillery,

organized rifle armies,

and growing civilian loyalty.

The balance had shifted already.

And some nobles still refused to accept it.

Lord Berengar finally folded his arms.

"So what?" "We simply allow him to continue growing?"

Kassian’s expression hardened instantly.

"No."

Then after a pause:

"But we stop forcing conflict before we are prepared."

That line unsettled several nobles.

Because it implied something dangerous.

Kassian did not oppose eventual war completely.

He opposed premature war.

Huge difference.

One advisor carefully asked:

"Then what do you propose?"

Kassian looked once more toward the northern maps silently.

Then answered:

"We prepare properly."

The chamber quieted further.

"No more reckless escalations." "No more independent operations." "No more amateur assassination attempts."

His gaze sharpened coldly.

"Because every failed move only teaches Lucien more about us."

That truth hit uncomfortably hard.

Because again—

It was correct.

The standoff taught Lucien the south feared Elarion.

The assassination taught him certain nobles wanted him dead.

Every escalation revealed information.

And Lucien was intelligent enough to use it.

Rain continued falling heavily outside the manor while tension lingered across the strategy chamber.

Kassian finally gathered the frontier reports together slowly before speaking one final time.

"You wanted to intimidate Elarion."

His voice became quieter now.

More controlled.

More dangerous.

"Instead..."

His eyes moved across the nobles surrounding the table.

"...you convinced Lucien that war is inevitable."

Nobody answered.

Because deep down—

They feared he might already be right.