As a transmigrator, Charlot Mecklenburg had no patience for the rigid rules and customs of this world’s aristocracy. He did something daring: under the cover of night, he "packed up" Baron Dakis and his entire family, shipping them off to Cappadocia, and announced that the baron’s lands and assets would be distributed among the residents of Sigma Castle. Simultaneously, he declared that there would never again be any taxes!
While his announcement didn’t inspire overwhelming enthusiasm, as skepticism lingered among the people, it still won over a portion of the local residents.
Charlot then began conscripting troops directly from the baron’s castle, assembling a six-hundred-strong force. Before dawn, he set out once more to conquer the next city.
Meanwhile, Princess Axo Axel, Annie Bretagne, Grandma Saint Karen, and High Priest Auguslatin awoke the next day to find that no Moldovan officials had arrived to greet them, nor had Charlot returned. Following diplomatic protocol, they had no choice but to remain where they were and wait.
For an entire day, neither reception officials nor Charlot appeared.
Annie grew restless. She wanted to leave the city and search for Charlot herself but was dissuaded by Grandma Saint Karen, who pointed out that Charlot had three Saint rank individuals protecting him. If those three couldn’t ensure his safety, any attempt on their part to intervene would only cause more chaos.
Though Annie’s reason told her Karen was right, her heart was in turmoil. Like an ant on a hot pan, she visited Princess Axo Axel’s quarters three times that day, causing even the princess to consider personally heading out to search for Charlot.
Charlot, however, pressed on relentlessly, conquering cities and defeating enemies for days on end.
...
On the fifth day, Charlot finally sent word to Princess Axo Axel. The letter was brief:
“Sixteen cities of Moldova have voted to pledge loyalty to Miss Annie Bretagne. Negotiations with the remaining cities are progressing and will be concluded shortly.”
Princess Axo Axel initially thought Charlot had sent her the opening chapter of his new novel! Despite having once raised a daring son and being accustomed to young people’s earth-shaking actions, she was so shocked by the contents of the letter that she spilled her coffee. In front of High Priest Auguslatin, she muttered, “Why does Lord Mecklenburg insist on such recklessness?”
The High Priest responded casually, “Last time, during his diplomatic mission to Ingrima, he also ‘incidentally’ seized Saint Michael Island.”
Indeed, the three envoys of the delegation were well aware of the Old Goat's presence!
Princess Axo Axel remained silent for a long time before saying, “Moldova will undoubtedly lodge a protest with His Majesty, my father.”
Her remark, which served as the conclusion of that day’s meeting, proved prophetic.
...
The following day, Charlot delivered another document to the delegation, reporting a tragic event: Grand Duke Ferdinand of Moldova had been assassinated, the culprit identified as a Byron sniper!
The news elicited a deep sigh from Princess Axo Axel, who promptly forbade the delegation from discussing the matter further.
This time, Charlot wasn’t lying—the assassination was indeed carried out by Byron’s snipers. After learning of Moldova’s weak national power and hollow military, Charlot hastily launched what he termed a “war,” accompanied by only a few dozen men. In this world, where battles were often decided by Transcendent forces, Charlot’s three Saint rank followers enabled him to storm through Moldova, seizing multiple cities daily. Within five days, he had captured sixteen cities. Using these as a base, he organized a 7,000-strong West Wind Knight Order, which began its march toward Moldova’s capital, Liguria.
During his clash with Moldova’s royal guards, Charlot spread a rumor that Grand Duke Ferdinand intended to surrender.
While this ploy was meant to demoralize the royal forces, Charlot’s vivid narrative style—honed as a former novelist—convinced Byron’s vampire snipers of its authenticity. Fearing Moldova’s defection to Fars, they decisively assassinated Grand Duke Ferdinand.
Charlot had no idea what those Byron vampires were thinking. Did they even use their brains? Regardless, when the news reached the frontlines, Moldova’s royal guards, who had been locked in a bloody struggle against Charlot, defected en masse. Even the captain, whom Charlot had failed to defeat in single combat, surrendered on one condition: the Byron assassins had to be executed.
Charlot absorbed the Moldovan royal guards into his forces and took Liguria without bloodshed, announcing the duchy’s allegiance to Annie Bretagne!
...
On the same evening that Princess Axo Axel received word of the grand duke’s assassination, she also learned that Moldova had declared its loyalty to Annie.
The princess hesitated for a long time before officially recognizing Annie’s rule over Moldova on behalf of the Fars Empire.
When Annie heard about the princess’s decision, her first reaction was, “I need to find Father or Brother immediately!”
“This... this has gotten out of hand!” she exclaimed.
Meanwhile, Charlot, still riding the high of his success, split his forces to attack five more Moldovan noble fiefs.
...
Charlot, who had once dreamed of carving out a kingdom in the gaps of history during his time on Earth, saw Moldova as the perfect opportunity. On Earth, there were no true unclaimed lands left—creating a nation even in fiction required exploiting historical nuances, such as:
Being born into British royalty and claiming Australia.
Building a fortune in America starting from Chinatown.
Seizing power in Mexico as a military strongman...
But here, Moldova’s military was woefully weak, the opportunity ripe, and Grand Duke Ferdinand had already been eliminated by Byron snipers.
By now, Moldovans no longer cared about Charlot’s sudden invasion. All they remembered was that Byron’s people had killed their grand duke, fueling calls for vengeance against Byron.
This public sentiment saved Charlot a significant amount of effort. Under the pressure of his advancing forces, four Moldovan noble lords pledged loyalty to Annie Bretagne. The fifth, who resisted, was dragged from his supposedly impenetrable castle and thrown from its walls by the Old Goat, dying on impact.
On the eighteenth day of his campaign, Charlot declared the “unification” of Moldova.
This spur-of-the-moment war was later dubbed the Eighteen-Day War by historians. Countless scholars, poring over the events of that period, were left baffled by Charlot Mecklenburg’s sudden decision to attack Moldova. Although the war’s outcome would prove pivotal in the broader conflict between the two major military alliances, Charlot’s motivations remained a mystery.
At least a dozen historians, in their analyses, eventually wrote:
"Well, that’s just so Charlot Mecklenburg."