118: Chapter 118 Let's turn the lawsuit letter into a declaration of war.

This name was like a giant boulder, crashing into Ella Radiance's already chaotic mind and stirring up a massive wave.

Shock, followed by a deeper confusion that almost tore her sanity apart.

Valerius?

A frontier lord from the northern reaches of the Empire, just like Blackstone Territory?

What reason could he have, and where did he get the courage to dare attack a Princess of the Empire?

It was no different from throwing an egg against a stone; it was a mad act of self-destruction.

She had never met him, nor did they have any conflict of interest.

It defied all logic, as absurd as a poorly told joke.

However, there wasn't the slightest hint of surprise on Levi's face.

In the instant Ella's worldview was being overturned, his precise brain had already completed the entire logical deduction.

The attackers came from Silvermoon City.

Valerius had previously tried to probe his strength under the guise of 'management consulting'.

He had remained still, only to wait for the arrival of the Princess's Royal Knights.

In Valerius's eyes, this must have been a clear signal: the marriage between the Byron Family and the Royal Family was about to become a reality, and Blackstone Territory would receive direct support from the Empire.

His fragile regional advantage, built on information asymmetry, would vanish the moment the Princess arrived.

Fear is the catalyst for all irrational behavior.

This foolish City Lord, clearly driven by extreme fear and despair, had made the craziest and most idiotic gamble—intercepting and killing the Princess on the road before she reached Blackstone Territory, framing bandits for it, and thereby completely severing his connection with the Royal Family.

A perfect dead-end had been handed over by his opponent, along with a master key that could pick any lock.

Levi didn't even bother to look at Ella's face, twisted with shock, nor did he intend to argue with her over the terms of the agreement anymore.

None of that mattered now.

Now, every second was a cost that needed precise calculation.

He stood up, walked past the Princess slumped in her chair, and went straight to the door. His voice wasn't loud, but it rang clearly throughout the drawing room: "Evelyn, Sir Kaelan. Highest-level meeting. Everyone, in the Strategy Room in five minutes. Only one agenda item—punitive action against Silvermoon City."

There was no anger in his voice, no pleasure of revenge, only that peculiar cold and excited tone of a project manager launching a long-awaited major project.

The Strategy Room beneath the castle, originally a cellar used by the Byron Family to store winter grain, had now been transformed into a combat center with a giant hand-drawn map hanging on the wall.

A chandelier fueled by animal fat hung in the center, its dim yellow light casting long, distorted shadows of everyone against the walls. The air was thick with the dry scent of dust mixed with animal fat.

Levi stood at the head of the long table. Behind him was that massive map of the North.

Blackstone Territory and Silvermoon City, two neighboring territories, were heavily circled by him with a piece of red charcoal.

Evelyn, Sir Kaelan, and several core captains of the guard stood on either side, the atmosphere grim.

Ella had also been 'invited' to observe. She was placed in an inconspicuous corner at the end of the long table, watching everything silently like an outsider.

"Gentlemen," Levi's finger tapped heavily on the location of Silvermoon City on the map, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force. "Just an hour ago, our neighbor, City Lord Valerius, sent us an unexpected gift. He attacked the Imperial Princess's convoy, attempting to stifle the glory of the Empire on the wasteland."

Sir Kaelan's fist creaked under the table, a raging fire burning in his eyes.

For a pure soldier, this was no longer just a provocation; it was a shameless betrayal of the entire aristocratic system and military honor.

"Therefore," Levi looked around, taking in everyone's expressions, "I have decided that Blackstone Territory will immediately launch a comprehensive and thorough punitive action against Silvermoon City."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ella, in the corner, finally couldn't help but speak up. Her voice still carried a hint of trembling, but it was more of a questioning tone born of royal blood: "Baron Levi! Have you lost your mind? Attacking another enfeoffed noble without the authorization of the Imperial Parliament and His Majesty the King is rebellion! Do you want the Byron Family to go to the gallows with you?"

Levi seemed to have expected her question long ago.

He turned around and looked at her calmly, his eyes carrying a trace of imperceptible pity, as if looking at a child still obsessing over the rules of a game while unaware that the entire table was about to be flipped.

"Your Highness, allow me to correct a few errors in your words." He held up one finger. "First, I am not acting without authorization. I am acting to 'protect the attacked Imperial Princess and eliminate the treasonous noble who dared to offend the Royal Family.' My actions are in defense of the Empire's dignity."

He raised a second finger, his voice gaining a hint of pressure: "Second, only losers go to the gallows. And I never make an investment I am not sure of."

He walked slowly to Ella, took a pre-drafted parchment and an inked quill from Evelyn, and placed them gently on the table in front of her.

On that parchment, an official statement was written in the most ornate and respectful language.

"So, now I need you, in your capacity as the Seventh Princess of the Radiant Empire, to sign this statement. Authorize Blackstone Territory to act as your full representative in launching a righteous crusade against the rebellious Lord of Silvermoon City, Valerius. You will authorize me to mobilize your surviving Royal Knights and acknowledge that all spoils of this action will serve as a reward for Blackstone Territory's loyal protection."

Ella's breath hitched instantly. She stared fixedly at the statement as if it weren't a piece of parchment, but a venomous snake waiting to devour someone.

She understood.

This was Levi's true objective.

He didn't care about her revenge or the dead knights. What he wanted was this fig leaf that would make all his acts of aggression 'legal'.

Once she signed her name, she would turn from a victim into one of the instigators of this war, tied thoroughly and firmly to Levi's mad chariot.

From then on, no matter what Levi did, in the eyes of the outside world, it would be seen as having been commissioned by her, the Princess.

Her hand trembled, and she was unable to pick up the quill for a long time.

Levi didn't rush her. He simply leaned forward slightly and whispered in her ear in a voice only the two of them could hear. The voice was as soft as a lover's murmur, yet its content was more piercing than a winter wind:

"Your Highness, you have two choices. Choice one: refuse to sign. Then, after dawn tomorrow, the entire North will know that the Princess of the Radiant Empire was beaten so badly on her own territory by a frontier city lord that she fled in disgrace. And your nominal fiancé, out of 'respect' for Imperial law, stood by and watched. Guess how your brothers and sisters in the capital will judge your 'incompetence'? And how will your father view this scandal that shames the Royal Family? Your political life ends at this very moment."

Ella's face grew even paler.

Levi's voice seemed to carry a magical quality as it continued to bore into her ears: "Choice two: sign it. You, Princess Ella Radiance, after being attacked by a despicable traitor, remained calm in the face of danger and decisively authorized your loyal vassal, Levi Byron, to launch a thunderous counterattack, wiping out the rebellion in one fell swoop and upholding the dignity of the Empire. You will no longer be a symbol of shame, but a hero who suppressed a rebellion. What you lose is just a bit of insignificant supplies and a few unimportant knights. What you gain will be tangible political prestige. As for me, I am merely the sharpest sword in your hand."

He straightened up, his face returning to that gentle, business-like smile, as if the demonic whisperer from a moment ago hadn't been him.

"Your Highness, this is a deal where you can't lose. Now, please make your choice."

Ella's chest heaved violently. She looked up into Levi's bottomless black eyes. Beneath that calm surface, she saw only cold calculation and an irresistible will.

She knew she no longer had a choice.

Tears of humiliation welled in her eyes, but she forced herself to swallow them back.

With a trembling hand, she picked up the quill and, at the end of the statement that would decide the fate of countless people, signed her noble name—Ella Radiance.

Before the ink was even dry, Evelyn stepped forward immediately and carefully took the statement away, as if putting away a priceless contract.

"Transcribe it immediately," Levi's voice echoed in the Strategy Room. "Use all our channels—caravans, mercenaries, messengers. I want this statement, signed by the Princess herself, to be on the desk of every noble above the rank of Baron, every merchant guild leader of any scale, and every head of a Mercenary Guild in the North before sunrise tomorrow."

Overnight, the entire northern provinces of the Empire were transformed.

An official statement bearing the Imperial Princess's personal seal was like a sudden earthquake, violently shaking the nerves of every power.

Silvermoon City Lord Valerius attacked the Imperial Princess?

The news was so shocking that most people's first reaction was that it was a bad joke.

But the detailed specifics, the sorrowful wording on the statement, and the accompanying co-signature of Blackstone Territory's Lord Levi Byron, filled with righteous fury, forced everyone to face the authenticity of the document.

Panic, suspicion, excitement, greed... all sorts of emotions surged as undercurrents between the castles and cities of the North.

Everyone's eyes were focused on Blackstone Territory, waiting for the thunderous strike of that vengeful army.

However, to everyone's surprise, Levi's army didn't move an inch.

The gates of Blackstone Castle remained tightly shut, and the drawbridge was raised high.

The guard led by Sir Kaelan did not leave the city; instead, they took control of all the major and minor trade routes and water sources leading to Silvermoon City around the territory.

They didn't kill or loot; they simply stationed themselves calmly, like an insurmountable iron gate, cutting off all contact between Silvermoon City and the outside world.

A blockade—a more sinister and suffocating way of war than a direct siege.

Just as the entire North was guessing what Levi was up to, he made another move that left everyone dumbfounded.

Groups of well-dressed messengers set out from Blackstone Territory, heading in all directions.

But what they carried were not declarations of war or manifestos, but letters sealed with the Byron Family's wax stamp... invitations.

The destinations of these invitations were not the high-and-mighty great nobles, but the major merchants, craft guilds, and even the Mercenary Guilds of the gray areas within Silvermoon City who held the city's economic lifeblood.

The content of the invitations was elegant and concise, written in the tone of a business elite.

Lord Levi Byron, in his capacity as the 'Maintainer of Order in the North authorized by the Imperial Princess,' cordially invited the 'future business leaders of Silvermoon City' to Blackstone Territory in three days to discuss important topics such as 'the redistribution of urban commercial interests and future development plans after the elimination of the treasonous Valerius group and the reconstruction of a new order in Silvermoon City.'

Before the first shot of the war had even been fired, Levi had already begun to openly and unabashedly carve up the fruits of victory.

This invitation was like a depth charge dropped into a calm lake, creating ripples within Silvermoon City that were far more terrifying than the military blockade.

It was like a poisonous thorn, precisely piercing the most fragile nerves of interest in Silvermoon City.

Inside the castle of Blackstone Territory, Levi stood by the window of the Strategy Room, overlooking the road leading to the castle.

The sun was setting, staining the distant horizon a magnificent blood-red.

Evelyn stood quietly behind him, holding a newly summarized intelligence report.

"My Lord," her voice was as steady as ever, "the first batch of replies has arrived."