Carlotta's Daily Report
Chapter 62: Grand Duke

Chapter 62: Grand Duke

Camella couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

Losing is considered glorious? Who do you think you are?

After entering the castle, Delphine quickly arranged accommodations for everyone and mentioned that they could meet her father, Grand Duke Francis, when night fell. Before that, they could rest well.

After giving her instructions, Delphine left.

Their arrival naturally didn’t escape the notice of the other nobles who had arrived earlier.

Doris, who had a good relationship with them, came over with her people to greet them.

"Nice to see you again, Miss Fenwick, Miss Ackerman, and Miss White."

Doris O’Connor smiled warmly.

Carlotta remembered that when she decided to follow Amelia to the battlefield, she had informed some people, including Doris, that she would no longer be able to instruct the elven knight path. Yet here they were, meeting again at Silverleaf Castle.

"I would like to invite the three of you for afternoon tea. Would that be possible?"

Doris asked with a bright smile.

"Of course."

No one refused.

The afternoon tea took place in the castle’s backyard. As nobles who had come to aid the Duchy of Francis, their status was naturally high, and Silverleaf Castle could accommodate any of their wishes.

While enjoying the various sweets provided by Silverleaf Castle, Doris chatted with everyone on various topics.

If one’s abilities could be quantified, Doris’s social skills would undoubtedly be at the Max level.

Wherever she was, there would be no awkward silences. She could effortlessly handle any topic and create the desired atmosphere.

The only time she was caught off guard was when Camella asked her why she she was interfering between Amelia and Carlotta...

Having arrived in the Duchy of Francis, the conversation naturally turned to the situation on the front lines.

"The Francis frontline is becoming increasingly vast. Because it has been discovered that the Velmoria Empire is sending small units to infiltrate the duchy, our side has had to stretch the front line. This means covering more areas, but each position has become thinner. If the Velmoria Empire concentrates its forces to attack, it could still breach this defense line, tearing it to shreds."

Doris discussed the situation on the front lines, believing that the Velmoria Empire’s strategy of sending small units to harass was multifaceted. Harassment was just one aspect; intentionally forcing the Duchy of Francis to stretch its front line was another reason.

Doris continued, "I think the Grand Duke might have us clear out the small units roaming within the first duchy. They certainly wouldn’t want to see the front line stretched too thin."

Amelia nodded thoughtfully. Currently, there were many small units causing disturbances within the Duchy of Francis, and she had only encountered a fraction of them.

Regarding the small units that had already been eliminated, she had mentioned them to Delphine when they clicked together earlier. However, the Emerald Light’s expression didn’t change, making it hard to discern what Delphine was thinking.

Doris continued to share her insights, and Amelia and Camella also spoke up, analyzing the situation.

Carlotta didn’t say much. She hadn’t scientifically studied military knowledge, and speaking up in this area could easily lead to embarrassment.

Although Amelia told her during the conversation that she could offer some opinions, Carlotta still shook her head.

Listening, observing, and learning, that was what Carlotta needed to do now.

Before her transmigration, she was just an ordinary girl. Even now with her cheat abilities, she couldn’t excel in everything. She still has a lot of room to grow.

Their conversation lasted the entire afternoon.

When a hint of dusk appeared in the sky, a maid came to the backyard and respectfully said, "Ladies, the Grand Duke has set up a banquet in the front hall and invites you all to attend."

Upon hearing this, everyone stood up and followed the maid to the castle’s front hall.

The front hall was very spacious, and the lights embedded in the ceiling, like crystals, radiant brilliant colors.

In the corners, well-dressed musicians were playing the piano, violin, and wind instruments, combining to create a Carlotta characteristic of the Duchy of Francis, which echoed melodiously through the hall.

By the time Carlotta and the others arrived, many people were entering through the various entrances of the hall. It seemed that Grand Duke Francis intended to summon all the nobles who had arrived at Silverleaf Castle.

Doris said excitedly, "The Grand Duke hasn’t held such a banquet before. Doing so today might mean he’s planning to assign us tasks. Although not everyone has arrived at Silverleaf Castle, perhaps the Grand Duke believes that those who are already here are sufficient for some arrangements."

She had arrived at Silverleaf Castle earlier and knew the situation of the past few days.

Amelia smiled, "Then we’ve arrived at the right time."

Everyone found seats and sat down.

None of the nobles who had come to Silverleaf Castle dared to neglect the Grand Duke’s invitation, so it didn’t take long for everyone to gather in the front hall.

When everyone had assembled, the music suddenly became more intense, and Grand Duke Francis, accompanied by his daughter Delphine, appeared before the crowd.

’The Background music has changed. The Grand Duke seems to understand music well. I wonder if he’ll play some background music for our soldiers on the battlefield to hype them up...’

Carlotta secretly joked.

Grand Duke Francis was no longer young, with traces of time on his face. Looking at Delphine people were clear that his daughter was born in his later years.

He was dressed formally, with emerald green hair, and now wore a smile as he greeted each of the noble children in the front hall.

Facing this powerful Grand Duke, no one dared to be negligent, and they all stood up to greet him.

"There’s no need for lengthy words. You’ve come to the duchy to help defend against foreign enemies. On behalf of the many citizens of the Duchy of Francis, I thank you all."

Grand Duke Francis was quite straightforward. After a brief opening, he got down to business, inquiring about the strengths of each knight order and making arrangements.

The reason Grand Duke Francis was the Grand Duke wasn’t just because of his noble birth and intricate connections with the royal family, but also because he had accomplished numerous feats in his youth and was exceptionally familiar with warfare.

The empire had granted him the land bordering the Velmoria Empire as his duchy, naturally trusting in Grand Duke Francis’s ability to handle war.

Carlotta sat in the corner, watching Grand Duke Francis’s speech with interest.

She hadn’t been listening for long when she heard a voice beside her, "Nice to see you again, Miss White."

Carlotta looked up and saw another familiar face.

Lily Bryne, a highly esteemed alchemy master.

The first time Carlotta met Lily was during a gathering. The second time was when she went to Doris’s house; At that time, Lily mentioned she was heading to the Duchy of Francis.

"Nice to see you again."

Carlotta wasn’t surprised to see Lily.

Before coming to Silverleaf Castle, she had already anticipated that she might encounter this alchemy master again.

Lily sat down beside her and sobbed, "I didn’t expect you to come too, Miss White."

Carlotta smiled slightly, "Lady Bryne, you arrived in the Duchy of Francis earlier. How’s the situation here?"

"The situation is manageable. The Duke’s warfare skills are almost artistic, enough to handle the overall situation. Of course, since the forces mobilized by the Velmoria Empire are much greater than expected, there are inevitable setbacks when reinforcements are insufficient."

Lily gave her assessment.

Carlotta was a bit surprised and asked, "Aren’t there many small units from the Velmoria Empire infiltrating and causing a lot of trouble? And you still think the situation is okay?"

Upon entering the Duchy of Francis, during the interrogation of a group of Velmoria Empire soldiers disguised as bandits, Carlotta had heard the full results of the interrogation.

She knew that these small units had unleashed their malice completely after entering the duchy, causing significant trouble in various areas. From any perspective, the duchy seemed to be in a bit of a mess.

Yet Lily said the situation was okay?

Seeing to understand Carlotta’s thoughts, Lily smiled, "Considering the military strength mobilized by the Velmoria Empire, the current situation is actually quite good. Facing an overwhelming flood of troops, the Duchy of Francis has not collapsed, which is commendable."

Carlotta couldn’t help but ask, "How many troops have the Velmoria Empire mobilized?"

"Two million."

"And how many troops does the Duchy of Francis have to counter them?"

"Two hundred thousand."

"Gasp..."

That’s a tenfold difference in military strength.

This time, Carlotta had to admit that the Duke of Francis really had something to stabilize the situation. As for the inability to prevent small enemy units from harassing, that was unavoidable.

Carlotta immediately asked Lily more about the war, and Lily didn’t hold back, sharing what she could.

Finally, Lily also asked about some issues she encountered while practicing elven knight path.

Carlotta didn’t hide anything either and quickly identified various problems in Lily’s practice, easily providing solutions.

This made Lily exclaim in admiration, feeling that Carlotta’s talent was truly astonishing.

As they conversed, the Duke of Francis assessed the strengths of the various arriving nobles and took out a map to begin making arrangements.

"Miss Morholt, you’ll go here. Miss O’Connor, you’ll go here. And this place will be your responsibility, Miss Fenwick..."

The Duke’s arrangements were made quickly.

Amelia’s gaze fell on the map; she was assigned to a place called Wales Castle.

From the map, Wales Castle faces the northern part of the Velmoria Empire, separated by a long mountain range called the Thorn Mountains, which formed a natural barrier against the northern imperial army.

To the east was the Starlight Sea, while the southwest was a plain.

It was a coastal city.

Amelia remembered that this city was currently managed by a baron named Hunt Wales, and the city was his fief.

’Wales Castle isn’t in any real danger because the Thorn Mountains block the enemies. It’s one of the few stable places in the Duchy of Francis. It seems the Duke doesn’t want me to take risks.’

Amelia looked at the places assigned to others; they were also relatively safe positions, with no one truly sent to the front lines.

This wasn’t surprising. The Duke knew these people were here to gain experience and didn’t expect the nobles to head to the front lines.

However, by having these nobles guard already safe locations, some of the original garrison forces could be redeployed to the front, thereby increasing their own strength.

All the noble assignments were quickly completed.

After learning about Wales Castle, Carlotta took the opportunity to ask Lily about it.

Lily recalled, "Wales Castle is the fief of Hunt Wales. I’m not familiar with this baron; I haven’t met him during my time in the Duchy of Francis. He seems rather lazy. Fortunately, Wales Castle is a safe place, with the Thorn Mountains blocking the Velmoria Empire’s north iron steeds."

"Sounds quite safe."

Carlotta murmured.

Lily smiled and said, "Wales Castle is indeed a nice place. In peacetime, it’s a famous resort in the Duchy of Francis. The city is near the Starlight Sea, and the area between them is called Star River Bay, where many entertainment facilities were built in the past, making it ideal for leisure."

Hearing this, Carlotta felt even more drawn to the city.

She wondered what life would be like once she arrived in Wales Castle.

...

The banquet lasted quite a while before it ended, and everyone returned to their respective rooms.

Amelia decided to set off for Wales Castle tomorrow. Even if it was just for gaining experience, she wanted to quickly reach her assigned position, so many people went to bed early.

Carlotta had a separate room and had gone to bed early, but after lying down for a while, she couldn’t sleep. She got up in her nightgown and went to the window to look at the night sky outside.

The sky over Silverleaf Castle was different from that of the imperial capital, Kestholm.

Only the red moon remains, shining down on the earth as it always had.

Carlotta watched as the time nearly midnight, and she subconsciously summoned the information panel.

"Have I been checking information at midnight so often lately that I can’t sleep without reading it?"

Carlotta silently scolded herself, then turned her attention to the information.

[ 1: Beatrice Morholt saw Amelia Fenwick and thought of her previous duel defeat, secretly resolving to gain more merits than Amelia in this war.]

[ 2: The so-called Emerald Light, Delphine Francis, has made preparations and plans to head to the front lines tomorrow, to participate in the meat-grinder war.]

[ 3: Lily Bryne successfully made a breakthrough in her elven knight path through her conversation with Carlotta White.]