The Strongest in the World Doesn’t Want To Do Anything

53 – The Most Honorable Family and the Most Vile Family

“So we need to act quickly, right? After the wedding, it will only become more troublesome.”

“Even if the vows haven’t been exchanged yet, if discussions about marriage have been going back and forth, it’s practically a state of alliance.”

“However, we can’t delay this any longer. Now that we’ve resolved the urgent issue of Latvia, we need to address this quickly.”

It was a time shortly after the war had ended, but that was precisely why Rosalia argued that they should prepare for the next war immediately. Her logic was to swiftly crush Gerba by preserving the soldiers’ combat experience and the societal infrastructure optimized for waging war.

Handro had no disagreement with that strategy, but the most troublesome issue was the small nation, the Taylor Principality, situated to the east of Terosa and to the south of Gerba.

“Handro, even if they were the Taylor family, known as the sword of humanity, if they stand in our way, we have no choice but to fight.”

The Taylor family, ruling the Taylor Principality, had led humanity to victory in the ancient war with their unique swordsmanship and overwhelming strength against all other races.

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Despite their significant contributions, after the war, they had merely sought a small piece of land for their families to settle. While their territory had expanded over time, it was still a minute piece of land compared to Terosa or the Empire.

Due to their modesty and the heroic image they had carved in history, the Taylor family had earned respect among humans worldwide.

Currently, the situation involved the preparation for the marriage between Yanja Taylor, the lady of the Taylor family, and the eldest son of Gerba.

“Your Majesty, to deal with our adversaries, do we really need to create new enemies? Especially the Taylor family.”

“Damn!”

In frustration, Rosalia slammed her fist on the desk. There was no flaw in Handro’s argument.

“These filthy Gerba pigs…”

There was a reason why Rosalia harbored such anger towards Gerba. Gerba, who had been Hector’s vassal, betrayed his powerful master at the time, leading to his complete downfall.

Of course, behind the scenes was the former emperor who had seized power during the previous empire, and in return for his allegiance, he was granted the land to rule, which became Gerba.

Afterwards, Hector sought refuge in Tesa, established a new nation, and the empire’s emperor died early due to an unknown disease.

From Gerba’s perspective, it was a precarious situation in many ways. Despite a change in emperors, the promise of imperial protection remained valid, and Hector did not want to clash with the empire for personal revenge.

However, Hector had always yearned for revenge against Gerba, to the extent of instilling that anger in young Rosalia.

“Is there no way?”

“I’m sorry. At the moment, no viable options come to mind.”

“… For now, I understand. Still, prepare the soldiers so they can march at any time.”

“Yes, understood.”

Thus, the revenge of Terosa was set in motion, and it would soon unfold in an unexpected manner.

***

“Father! You should retreat first…”

“No! I can’t withdraw until my daughter is retrieved!”

“But we can’t withstand them right now! We’ve sent a request for support from Gerba, so soon…”

“What are those monsters! Our ancestors faced even worse challenges!”

“Father!”

Jans harbored constant dissatisfaction toward his naive father.

The illustrious history of the Taylor family.

It was all mundane and meaningless tales of the past. It wasn’t that he lacked pride. Wherever the name Taylor appeared in the world, their demeanor changed.

He had felt the power of the family through such things.

However, at times, Jans also felt that the glorious history hindered the progress of the family.

Nowhere should you showcase exemplary behavior, endure injustice, and, even if you suffer losses, prioritize the well-being of others – the invisible rules of the family.

Justice, honor, morality, courage.

Jans’s father considered these rules highly important.

Perhaps they had been so for generations.

While those values themselves could not be deemed meaningless, becoming obsessed with them often resulted in a lack of flexibility to adapt to sudden changes.

The current situation might have been one such case.

It was a sudden incident.

A day like any other, peaceful. Lady Yanya of the Taylor family was strolling through her domain, eagerly awaiting the marriage to Gerba’s eldest son.

She came across a strange goat, hanging its head out in the bushes for the first time in her life. The goat’s horns were twice as large as the others, and its eyes were a vivid, blood-red.

Out of curiosity, the lady approached the goat to observe it more closely, and the goat, upon seeing the approaching lady, revealed its hidden massive body.

It was the first encounter between a demon with a goat’s face and a human.

The demon with the goat’s face immediately kidnapped the lady, and upon hearing this news, the head of the Taylor family, along with his son, set out to find his daughter.

Thus, they encountered demons in the forest who had kidnapped Yanya for the first time.

Veteran investigators, who had honed the unique forensic techniques of the Taylor family for years, rushed in to confront them, but they couldn’t withstand the tough skin and supernatural strength without blades.

Witnessing the scene, Jans immediately ordered his subordinate to request reinforcements from Gerba.

He also tried to persuade his father, who was trying to persuade himself to charge into the enemy’s midst, to jump down from the horse and confront the demons.

Jans could only watch as his father was swallowed by the demons.

“Father!”

There was no way to confirm the life or death of his father and sister right now, but he couldn’t do anything at the moment.

Returning to the family mansion, Jans reorganized the military and also requested reinforcements from the neighboring Empire and Terosa.

After some time, the subordinate who had sent the request for reinforcements to Gerba returned in a hurry.

“Lord Jans… I am ashamed. Gerba has refused the request for reinforcements.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“…”

“Crazy bastards! Didn’t they promise to marry our sister? Shouldn’t they at least pretend to come and save her?”

“I’m sorry.”

Jans trembled with anger at the Gerba family’s treachery. This marriage was no different.

A country built by worthless traitors.

Since his sister started dating the eldest son of the Gerba family, Jans knew that marrying them wouldn’t benefit the Taylor family at all.

Jans had tried to convince his father to make his sister break up with them, but the head of the Taylor family officially stated that as long as the parties involved in the marriage were okay with it, discrimination against other families for such reasons was not acceptable.

“Damn it! I knew they were dishonorable, but I never expected it to be this bad…”

The reputation of the once proud family was now tainted by their foolishness.

In front of Jans expressing his anger, a scout rushed in.

“Lord Jans! They’re gathering inside the territory!”

***

Handro and Rosalia were discussing the army’s request from the Taylor Kingdom.

“I’ve never seen creatures like this before… Considering how urgently Taylor Kingdom requested help, they must be formidable beings.”

Although their numbers were small, the monsters that the Taylor Kingdom’s army hesitated to face were said to be more skilled than the knights of most empires.

The queen, seeming lost in thought, sat at her desk, idly playing with a quill.

“I assume Gerba also sent a request for reinforcements? It’s the closest place both geographically and psychologically, isn’t it?”

“That’s highly probable.”

Handro stared at Rosalia sitting at the desk and asked, “What will you do?”

In response to Handro’s question, the queen, as if making up her mind, put down the quill she had been fidgeting with on the desk and covered it with her palm.

“We must defeat Gerba.”