# Chapter 68: 68
-I won't do it. I don't want to do it. I can't do it.
Lux, the captain of the Marquisate Russell subjugation team, shook his head three times quickly as he said no.
—If you won't do it, tell me why. If you don't want to do it, tell me why not. If you can't do it, how will you handle the consequences?
Marcel, Marquis Russell's assistant, quickly retorted, slamming the thick red oak table three times in a row.
Lux yelled firmly.
—Do you know how extensive the Marquisate is? In winter, the subjugation team is divided into three groups and we all have to navigate this vast territory. But what now?! Do you want us to go to the borders?
—That's why you should have recruited more people last summer.
-I did it! Marcel, listen to me. Even if you recruit a hundred people, only fifty of them can be deployed. And I tell you, when winter comes, twenty of those fifty will quit saying they can't take it anymore. Then there will be thirty people left. After a month, fifteen of them will be injured or poisoned by the miasma. And at the end of winter? They all disappear! It's a cycle that repeats itself every year!
—Then you must have recruited two hundred people.
—I was going to do it! But that Ardon “that good friend” took all the men he was going to select.
Ardon was the leader of the Order of the Black Lion, under the direct command of the Marquis. The Knights of the Black Lion were the regular knights of the Marquisate.
Naturally, their treatment was different from that of the subjugation team, which was dedicated to hunting monsters.
Therefore, if they opened recruitment at the same time, it was inevitable that talented young people would flock to the other knight order.
With a depressed tone, Lux spoke.
—Anyway, going to the borders will be too much.
Marcel became irritated.
—Then propose an alternative. Unless you want me to tell the Marquis that you can't do it, is that what you're asking me for?
-Alternative?
Lux looked at Marcel with an expression that clearly said, What alternative?
With that incredulous look, Marcel opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish, trying to contain the rising anger within him.
—Right now…
At this moment, the office door opened.
Marcel rubbed his eyes as a murky mist came through the door.
When they opened their eyes with difficulty and squinted at the entrance, what they saw there was…
The Demon Lord.
—What are you going to tell me?
No, it was Marquis Russell.
His voice sounded as if it came from the depths of the earth itself.
Yves Russell's matted hair made it look like he had horns protruding from his head, and the black cape on his shoulders resembled the wings of a demon lord.
Marcel thought it was lucky that Marquis Russell covered his eyes with his long bangs.
No one had ever seen Marquis Russell's eyes, but some testified that his pupils were vertical slits, others said they were horizontal.
The most terrifying rumor was that, supposedly, there was a person who looked into the Marquis' eyes and turned into stone.
That's why the stone sculpture sponsorships were increasing without him knowing.
Lux exclaimed.
—I will make a poem with the initials of "Border Subjugation, Impossible"!
—S.
—Subjugation on the borders!
-F.
—Pretending and pretending, that's the enemy!
-YO.
-YO…! I will try to work harder than ever…!
Marcel sighed as he watched Lux scream, his eyes filling with tears.
That's why I tell you. If you think you can't do it, just propose an alternative. You won't be able to say anything in front of His Excellency...
After Lux left the office—with tears in her eyes—Yves sat in a chair with a relaxed expression, as if nothing had happened. Then, he opened his lips to speak.
—If there is a shortage of personnel in the subjugation team, then assign the team to the farthest areas and entrust the nearby areas to the knight order. They have nothing to do in winter anyway.
—As far as I know, winter is an important period for knight training.
—Is extra training for the knights of the Marquisate more important than going out and protecting the land? Either way, this can also be considered training. Send the order to the cavalry.
-Understood.
While Marcel wrote the order, Yves reviewed a list of weapons in the armory and, after taking a look at them, spoke again.
—Is the novel Lady Angela so famous?
Valiz