Chapter 2 – The Declining Dukedom
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The shocking news that the battle at Marmara Sea ended with the dukedom’s defeat immediately spread throughout Trystovy.
The nobles at the coastal area whose income was directly connected with the control of the sea was seriously starting to consider turning their back on the dukedom.
They believed that victory would undoubtedly fall to the dukedom because there was the assistance of the continent’s strongest Answerer Kingdom.
But when the lid was opened, that terrifying General Mikhail was beaten Answerer Kingdom’s fleet that professed themselves as unbeatable was also defeated.
At this rate the dukedom wouldn’t be able to win. It was only the natural progression for them to think like that.
The problem was the timing to become Baldr’s ally. How much profit they would be able to ask from their betrayal.
For them who had experienced switching side from the old kingdom to the dukedom and enjoyed benefit from that act, they didn’t feel that much reluctance to switch side to the kingdom once more.
「……Well, I won’t let things go as they want it though.」
Valerie chuckled in a good mood. He was enjoying the chaotic situation of the dukedom from the bottom of his heart.
It was already too late for them to blanch with fear at this late.
The selection of the nobles who should be crushed and should be spared was already finished based on their oppression toward the commoners.
Baldr didn’t have anything tying him down that he had to forgive the nobles who had foolishly massacred their own precious populace.
Baldr already had excellent brain trust and bureaucrats that he used to rule Antrim astutely.
In addition he had the cooperation of Marquis Randolph and Sanjuan Kingdom, so he wouldn’t need the nobles’ cooperation at this point.
But, if Baldr was asked whether he would be able to kill the nobles if they raised their hands in surrender, the answer was no.
Most likely he would only confiscate their territory and dropped their status into commoner.
That would be like sowing seeds of unnecessary mayhem in the future.
They would be a hundred percent ungrateful to the fact that Baldr spared their life.
They would unreasonably exacerbate their anger and maneuvered despicably behind the scene to remove Baldr. Valerie already could imagine it clearly in his mind.
「For a shameless person there is shameless retribution waiting for them. ……No, the heaven won’t give punishment to the shameless. I’ll be the one to grant them that punishment.」
The antiquated things from Trystovy Dukedom and even from the old Trystovy Kingdom should all disappear equally.
What Baldr should obtain was a pure land without any corruption. In order to accomplish that he wouldn’t hesitate even if he had to turn this country into a wasteland.
「Caulila, is everything prepared?」
「There is not a single problem.」
「Then let’s begin. It will depend on the actors whether it will end as comedy or tragedy though.」
「By your will.」
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The royal court of the dukedom was enveloped in a gloomy atmosphere.
Archduke Jack was like a changed man without how paranoid and high strung he was becoming.
He would immediately become furious just from little things, so his close aides were also steeling themselves so that they wouldn’t rouse the archduke’s anger. But their act would rub the archduke’s nerve the wrong way even more. It was a negative circle.
(I who have reached the top and obtained the position as the master of this country lost my child, and then I’m also going to lose this country that I have spent my whole life for? Am I going to engrave my name in history as a foolish ruler of a ruined country?)
Now that the dukedom’s destruction was finally rising to the surface as a realistic problem, what Jack feared even more than his own death was losing the country and the history’s judgment that would be brought down on him.
Perhaps his own existence itself would get denied.
If he became unable to even pass down the dukedom to his son and this country fell into the hand of the rebel instead, then what would be the point of his life until now?
Jack had grown too old to accept that everything in his life was worthless.
Jack resolved himself to defend the dukedom not based on politic or strategy anymore, but his emotion.
He wouldn’t forgive any kind of betrayal.
Any obstruction to the defense of this country shouldn’t be forgiven without any exception. He would slaughter anyone who tried to steal this dukedom from him.
「……Your majesty.」
One of Jack’s close aides addressed him fearfully.
「What?」
「The minister of domestic affairs Marquis Fiorentina is asking for an audience.」
「Let him pass.」
A muddy color formed in Jack’s eyes as though deep darkness were swallowing him.
Marquis Fiorentina was the minister of domestic affairs. In other words he had the position of managing the internal affair of the country.
In addition, he had one more indispensable role, that was to police the public order within the country. Because of that he was in the possession of the right of policing the people.
He didn’t have the right to judge and punish the criminal, but the ministry of domestic affairs possessed a powerful right to gather information, arrest, and interrogate people.
Because of that it was required for the one serving as the minister of domestic affairs to hold loyalty to the country in the same level as the military minister, but Marquis Fiorentina wasn’t only an old friend of Jack since they were teenager, they were already sworn friend with each other since the time when they launched the coup d’etat.
Now he was one of the few people who Jack could talk frankly with.
Valerie and Olten were also reliable and capable subordinates, but interacting with them was far from being calming and relaxing.
If this was a normal time, Jack would welcome Fiorentina wholeheartedly and enjoyed a brief respite from all the problems.
However with the timing of Fiorentina’s visit in this situation, this meeting definitely wouldn’t be just a courtesy call.
Jack’s mood worsened because he understood that.
Marquis Fiorentina appeared with Jack’s aide showing him in.
He was a big man with red hair and splendid moustache. His built was slightly slender, but the pressure that was radiated from his whole body wasn’t inferior to the great general Olten.
He was the other pillar of the dukedom that was as important as the military and the country couldn’t go without.
「Your majesty, I hope that you are in a good humor today.」
「Do I look like I’m in a good humor right ow, Spinoza?」
Marquis Fiorentina’s solemn attitude didn’t vanish even when Jack addressed him with his first name.
「This is all because of your majesty’s unworthy retainer, my deepest apologies.」
「I’m just complaining. You don’t need to go along with it.」
Jack heavily leaned on the back of his chair and looked up to the ceiling in annoyance.
That gesture was like a ceremony for him to prepare his resolve to listen to Marquis Fiorentina’s report.
「──And, what’s your business here today?」
Marquis Fiorentina looked down to hide his bitter expression and kneeled in front of Jack.
「It’s about, the present situation with the dukedom’s nobles.」
「…………The present situation with the dukedom’s nobles, you say.」
Jack was aware that his voice was hardening and cracking.
That was because he had vaguely realized what Marquis Fiorentina was going to report to him with such alarming atmosphere.
Jack didn’t want to acknowledge it but, he himself was feeling apprehension that such thing was possible enough.
──That was disaffection.
There was already a traitor who appeared in the dukedom, which was Viscount Continerri.
The dukedom was still barely united until now because there was the powerful reinforcement from Answerer Kingdom.
But even that reinforcement ended up with the result of General Mikhail’s death without any other result to speak of. The dukedom army itself took flight from the enemy while shouldering enormous damage.
If the one who took command of the retreat wasn’t a veteran like Olten, then perhaps the dukedom itself would have been defeated in battle.
It could be said that it was the natural progression for the nobles who had vested interests and attachment to their territory to weigh their position between the dukedom and the kingdom.
But right now the big emotion that seized Jack’s whole body wasn’t fear or worry, but anger.
Jack had become extremely sensitive to the betrayal of his retainer after he lost his only son Bernardi in the hand of a knight who should be ally.
「Sadly, the movement of the nobles along the coast has become suspicious due to the defeat of the navy the other day. Especially Count Napoli whose harbor was attacked, it was confidentially but I heard that he gave the instruction to his men to stop taking hostile action to the rebel army.」
「Is that true-?」
「There is no mistaking it that he has pulled back the guards at the outer edge of his territory and asked the merchants coming and going in his territory to contact the rebel army for him.」
Jack grinded his teeth and threw a nearby water jug to the floor.
Everybody around me is really useless.
Originally, Jack didn’t have any intention to usurp the throne.
He went as far as bearing the stigma of destroying the old royal family was merely to protect the pride and interests of Trystovy’s nobles, and yet those nobles would betray him at this point. That was completely unforgivable.
This claim that could be said as Jack’s excuse for his self-protection couldn’t really be called mistaken. But he was lacking the awareness of how Valerie proactively incited him to take such action.
「……Count Napoli is the key figure of the central coast. If his territory is seized by the rebel army after we lose the control of the sea, half of the dukedom’s south territory will be swiftly lost.」
Valerie said that while wearing a grave expression but inside he was gloating.
What he said was completely correct, but it was the completely opposite of his objective and what he was doing.
It would also be troubling for Valerie if Count Napoli turned traitor.
Valerie’s scheme was to ruin as may nobles as possible. Count Napoli’s act here was a convenient excuse for him.
「Should I summon the count to come to the capital?」
Valerie asked Jack that knowing fully that his suggestion wouldn’t be accepted.
「What’s the point if we corner Count Napoli by doing that and drive him to turn traitor?」
Even if Count Napoli still hadn’t openly turned traitor, if he was summoned while he had something to feel guilty about, he would be aware that answering the summon would be suicide.
In that case the possibility was high that Count Napoli would resolve himself and surrendered to Baldr.
Jack was saying that making move carelessly would only stir the hornet’s nest.
「With all due respect……」
The people present here were only the close aides and chief vassals who Jack trusted──the minister’s secretary, Marquis Fiorentina, and the great general Olten. But Valerie lowered his voice even knowing that.
「It’s unthinkable that Count Napoli is the only one planning to do something like this. I dare say that we should make someone who your majesty trust as bait to gather all the discontented elements into the net.」
Sending a spy to a faction that was trying to rise in revolt toward the dukedom somewhere.
The effect if this move succeeded would be tremendous, but the problem was who to send.
Although it would be just for pretending, that person would get involved in a plot to overthrow the government. Not everyone could be tasked with such role.
If that agent got turned to the rebelling force’s side by some chance, the rebel would be free to act with impunity.
「Shouldn’t we immediately attack these rebels and utterly destroy them instead?」
Olten was thinking that it would be faster to raise a large army and crush the rebels rather than unskillfully playing with scheme. It was really the way of thinking of those in the military.
But more than that, his sixth sense was loudly ringing the alarm bell that Valerie’s plan would be too dangerous.
Olten was completely unable to imagine what this matchless plotter was thinking in that brain of his, but Olten was convinced even without any basis to it that it wouldn’t be something good for the dukedom’s sake.
Valerie was a leading actor in the destruction of the kingdom. It was hard think that he would turn traitor.
However Olten was completely unable to consider Valerie as an ally.
Valerie laughed in his heart, thinking that the instinct of an old general was also something that couldn’t be underestimated.
Although Valerie had also finished taking Olten’s instinct into consideration. In this case he also wouldn’t mind at all even if Count Napoli got destroyed with Olten’s method.
「Viscount Continerri has already served as an example. But if there are still those who attempt to turn traitor even after that then we can only sever it from the root.」
Jack’s fist hit his chair’s armrest in irritation.
If he could be honest, he wanted to tear apart the traitors limb to limb immediately. But the feeling of discontent that was spreading among the nobles gave him a terror that surpassed his anger.
The feeling of guilt from how he himself rebelled in the past was now coming back in full circle to corner Jack.
「However, if we are speaking of someone who can be trusted to such degree……」
There was n doubting Marquis Fiorentina’s loyalty, but he wasn’t a schemer by any means.
Of course he wouldn’t be able to serve as the minister of the domestic affairs if he didn’t have one or two tricks, but even with that taken into consideration it would be difficult for him to infiltrate and investigate the rebels.
「If your majesty permit it, then please leave it to me.」
「Oo, so you are going to do it Marquis Ost!」
Jack felt relieved by Valerie’s words.
As expected there was no one else who he could entrust with this kind of scheme except Valerie.
There wasn’t any other person in the dukedom who had grown to be able to masterfully scheme was also because of Valerie arranging it to be like that. It could be said as the greatest reason why Valerie was able to monopolize the shadowy organization in the dukedom including Caulila.
The nobles who felt a sense of crisis that Valerie kept being in charge of the dukedom’s darkness all had fallen from power or meeting an inescapable death without exception.
There wasn’t any definitive proof, but all of those who knew about the situation didn’t have any doubt about who was behind those accidents.
「Even so, won’t it be strange if your excellency the prime minister is personally involved with this?」
Olten spoke hesitantly.
He was unable to wipe the bad premonition that he felt toward Valerie.
Wouldn’t this become an outrageous problem in the end? Such thought filled his mind.
He couldn’t remove the anxiety that perhaps the situation would worsen even more in this way compared to him bringing down Count Napoli with his army.
Even so, a military man like Olten couldn’t think of any other effective idea. The best he could do was only to mildly oppose the plan like this.
「Our country is in danger. We have to quickly call for a new reinforcement from Answerer Kingdom and heighten the unity between the nobles──there is nobody else who can accomplish that other than his excellency the prime minister.」
「It’s just as Spinoza said. I know that this is a difficult task, but I’m counting on you, Marquis Ost.」
「I shall clear away all difficulties and prove myself useful for the nation.」
Although, the nation that he referred to here was the nation of Trystovy with its long history, not the newly emerging nation that was Trystovy Dukedom.
Valerie faithfully bowed while hiding the thought that was lurking inside his heart.
Olten felt his bad premonition was growing increasingly large, even so he didn’t have any effective method to stop Valerie.
Valerie was perfectly aware that Olten was having such thought.
Killing Valerie who had withered away like a dead tree was a trifling matter for Olten. But a loyal servant of the dukedom like Olten didn’t have the capacity to kill Valerie just because of his instinct.
Although he could entrust his life to his instinct in the battlefield, he was unable to trust his instinct to such degree when it came to the world of political strife.
──In the end Olten was nothing but a military man.
Valerie even had a liking to Olten’s way of living as a man, and if only his hatred wasn’t this deep, the perhaps he would be able to believe in a new ideal just like Olten.
There was also a possibility that the two of them could share a dream to make the dukedom into an even better country.
However in reality the two of them were standing in a position that was parallel and would never cross with each other.
「Then Lord Fiorentina, can I ask for a little bit of your time? The cooperation of the domestic affairs will be indispensable in order to smoke out the traitors.」
「Of course, I won’t spare any effort to help. I hope to be able to learn from the capability of your excellency who shoulder this country from the shadow even if only a small part of it.」
Marquis Fiorentina bent at the waist toward Valerie. He was genuinely asking for his cooperation.
Regardless of the deep trust of the archduke toward him, it didn’t make him boastful at the slightest. That humble personality could be said as exactly the same like when he was still young.
If Jack didn’t rise in revolt toward the kingdom, this man should have spent his life peacefully as one of the great nobles.
And yet he ended up shouldering a heavy responsibility of regulating the dukedom as the minister of domestic affairs. This could only be called as the irony of fate.
Marquis Fiorentina’s sincere personality would be more suited to be away from the capital to live at the rural landscape at the countryside. Without such person at his side, surely Jack wouldn’t be able to endure the loneliness of being a ruler.
That awkward but dutiful personality was also inherited by Marquis Fiorentina’s eldest son who would become thirty years old this year.
The majority of the territory’s management had been entrusted to this eldest son Mauritz, but his loyalty toward the dukedom wasn’t at all inferior when compared to his father.
Valerie’s son Batista was mediocre, but Mauritz was an owner of talent that surpassed his father. It was said that he was the one being the closest to become the prime minister of the dukedom in the future.
Marquis Fiorentina who felt a heartfelt joy from watching the growth of his reliable son felt that he had to protect the dukedom till the end for his son’s future too.
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「What a deplorable state this is!」
At the headquarters of Europa Church, Solvidivian.
The archbishop Margis was grieving in a conference room that was located deep in the pure white temple.
The dukedom was crushingly defeated by the kingdom army under the command of Baldr even though they were in the possession of an overwhelming larger army. The intelligence agents that were dispatched by the church, Martell and his men also got dragged into it and died.
Furthermore, they also lost the holy relics that were beyond precious for the church.
「The special corrective force that is the pride of the church has lost their face with this.」
「I can’t pretend to ignore those words!」
Archbishop Gahalad who was in charge of the internal affairs of the church raised his voice in protest.
Certainly there were many things to be criticized from Martell’s failure. However originally the special corrective force wasn’t an army.
It was an abnormality among abnormality for them to fight together with an army at the battlefield.
「You should calm down too gahald-dono. Besides you are also going too far with your words Margis-dono.」
The eldest among the round table that was made up from twelve archbishops, Archbishop Rowanor chided the two. As expected even the two didn’t have any other choice than to calm down.
Rowanor was someone with enough possibility to become the pope. His influence couldn’t be underestimated.
「How goes the search of the holy relic after that?」
The holy relic that was lost was made from magic steel. There was no way it would be destroyed just from mere explosion. It was surely safe, or at the very least it would still maintain its original shape.
「If by nay chance the holy relic has fallen into the enemy’s hand……」
「Of course, the god’s punishment will have to be handed down on them.」
「In case someone who understand what purpose that thing has appear, it will become a great problem.」
The holy relic that sealed Baldr’s King’s Gate had a completely different nature compared to the church’s secret weapon like the rocket arrow.
Even when the church poured all their effort to research the holy relic, they failed to obtain even a single clue about it. It was the crystallization of lost technology.
If by any chance someone who could comprehend it appeared, that King’s Gate would be liberated.
「──Nobody is able to understand that thing.」
「Your eminence……」
The pope who had kept silent until then declared so with a tone that contained no hesitation at all. The archbishops around the round table slightly widened their eyes in surprise hearing that.
「More importantly, the church’s support for the dukedom has become known. At this rate the church’s prestige will also get affected if the dukedom is destroyed.」
It was really bad when Valerie introduced Martell and his men as a reinforcement from the church.
Although after that the church had immediately declared that Martell was only cooperating in his capacity as an individual, they couldn’t avoid the suspicion from other countries about their involvement in this war.
After all the church had announced their opposition toward Baldr’s succession of the throne in Trystovy.
「We absolutely can’t allow the ascension of Baldr Antrim Cornelius to the throne.」
The archbishops sensitively detected that the pope’s pressure was different from usual.
One would be unable to join this round table if they were unable to discern something at this level.
Each archbishop had their own interest. They weren’t a monolith by any means, but they sensed that right now wasn’t the time for that.
「Should we strengthen our support to the dukedom?」
Now that the personnel of the special corrective force had been reduced to half, the force that the church could move behind the scene was limited.
Their only remaining fighting force was the guards protecting the pope territory and the church’s personal army, but the number of soldiers who were employed in a very small territory like the pope territory didn’t amount to much.
Even if they dispatched soldiers to help the dukedom, it wouldn’t be any significant help.
The pope slowly shook his head and stood up with his fists clenched.
「The church stepping out from the shadow has to be the last option. And then when the church has at last step out, then we have to win no matter what kind of method we have to employ.」
The pope didn’t mention that the church would be destroyed if they couldn’t win.
That matter only needed to be known by the pope who was aware of the true role of the church.
「Then, don’t tell me that we are going to declare a crusade?」
The eldest archbishop Rowanor nervously questioned the pope.
Given that he was an influential person who fought for the position of pope, he had vaguely sensed the hidden circumstance that was at work behind the pope.
「We won’t have a choice if the dukedom is destroyed by any chance. However right now our first priority is to choke the life out of Baldr Antrim Cornelius no matter what kind of method we have to use.」
For that, the church wouldn’t even hesitate to provide new holy relics.
「The holy relics to oppose the King’s Gate aren’t just that. After all if only we can kill that man──we won’t need to needlessly take out any other relics.」
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Count Napoli, Vastedd still hadn’t decided to betray the dukedom.
That was also because Baldr’s side was clearly siding with the commoners more. There was also the rumor that the nobles who got involved with the massacre of commoners before this would be heavily punished.
Just because the situation had worsened for the dukedom, Baldr still wasn’t someone he could carelessly surrender to.
Even then Vastedd still strongly wished to negotiate with the kingdom. The reason was because the dukedom navy got crushed at the sea battle in Marmara Sea the other day.
Napoli was a port city. It was far below the level of Mulberry, but it had a relatively large harbor as a city that was located at the center of the coast.
That port had been in a slump for a while recently.
At this rate the city would go hungry before long. The possibility that another insurrection of the commoners would occur was high.
If that happened Count Napoli’s small army would have to be dispatched to suppress the commoners. It would force him to consume his resource.
If it was peace time then perhaps he wouldn’t mind that, but currently he was at a crisis of life and death where the kingdom might come attacking anytime. This wasn’t a situation where he could allow his force to be tied up with another matter.
He agreed with temporarily suppressing the commoners because he thought that the dukedom would win.
But if the dukedom was defeated, the commoners would definitely bare their fang toward Vastedd. There was no way he would be spared.
For them, Vastedd was a hated foe who was oppressing them until now.
He had to avoid such situation no matter what.
That was why Vastedd wanted to butter up Baldr. He wanted to survive with his authority intact even if he had to allow some of his vested interests getting taken away.
「……If I know it will be like this, I wouldn’t do something like joining the subjugation of Viscount Continerri.」
Vastedd regretted joining the subjugation because he was lured by the reward before his eyes.
Even Baron Rossi who inherited the majority of Viscount Continerri’s territory must be feeling the same worry like him around this time.
Vastedd predicted that the kingdom’s invasion would begin soon.
The deserted port told him that more clearly than anything.
The maritime guild was a force that opposed the dukedom, but at the same time it was also a hodge podge of merchants.
Because of that even though there was dispute over the control of the sea until now, they gave their tacit consent for doing trade with the dukedom.
But since the sea battle the other day, the kingdom was seriously starting to enforce the sea blockade. It wouldn’t be strange for the maritime guild’s merchants to complain this move.
Trade was the fuel of their livelihood.
And yet the kingdom was daringly forcing the blockade. Vastedd believed that this was clearly the kingdom’s side preparing for a short and decisive battle.
Strictly speaking, Vastedd’s prediction wasn’t wrong but also wasn’t right.
The maritime guild had secured powerful markets in Mauricia Kingdom, Sanjuan Kingdom, Nordland Empire, Gartlake Kingdom, and Majorca Kingdom. They were already able to obtain enough profit even without doing trade with the dukedom.
In addition thanks to the cheating radio information network that Baldr and Dowding Company possessed, it was apparent to them what place needed what item and what place had surplus of item.
They were even able to obtain information in advance about heavy rain or natural disaster that disturbed the circulation of goods, so the distribution cost could be lowered and the transportation speed sped up to a terrifying degree.
Also now that Answere Kingdom’s fleet had been defeated even if it was just an expedition fleet, the joint fleet of Mulberry, Sanjuan, and Majorca was effectively the strongest sea force in the world.
No matter the world, the control of the sea existed n order to protect the sea lanes.
That meant, the merchants of maritime guild, Sanjuan Kingdom, and Majorca Kingdom were guaranteed to have safe voyage more securely than any other country.
The dukedom’s merchants with good instinct sensed that the dukedom’s fate had been effectively sealed in stone.
Vastedd’s personal merchant who he asked to mediate between Baldr and him was also completely aware of that.
There was no merchant who would want to ride a sinking boat.
──But that would be the story if there was no dummy company that was prepared by the previous president of Galibardi Company, Bennett Galibardy, alias Valerie.
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「Oo, thank you for coming! How is the situation in Mulberry?」
This guy has really changed. Even though he only looked at me as nothing more than a juicy target for extortion before the dukedom was defeated miserably, the merchant McMonus stuck out his tongue inside his heart.
In the first place it was strange for Vastedd to rely on a mere merchant like him at this point of time.
If McMonus was the one in Vastedd’s position, he would immediately prostrate himself before Baldr or escape to other country with all his fortunes.
Napoli’s situation was just that cornered.
「……I can only say that the situation is extremely dire.」
Of course McMonus didn’t show what he actually was thinking in his heart at the slightest and pretended to frown with a grave look.
In fact the situation had gone past being dire and entered the dangerous territory already, so he actually wasn’t really faking it.
「Can’t you do something about it there? You even have connection with the Seven Elders right?」
「Certainly I have a connection with Garibaldi Company whose president is the chairman of the Seven Elders right now, but my connection is with the company’s previous president. If I’m allowed to speak further, the current maritime guild is different from before. The organization is nothing more than a subordinate organization of Trystovy Kingdom.」
The maritime guild’s standing was already different when they were a neutral faction that was in conflict with dukedom to maintain their autonomy over Mulberry.
The organization was different from the past when they tacitly consented with various means for the sake of trade.
「Margrave Antrim……no, his highness the crown prince Baldr is backed by the merchants of Mulberry and Sanjuan Kingdom and Mauricia Kingdom. To speak of the extreme, he doesn’t need to the support of Trystovy nobles.」
「B-but he intend to rule over Trystovy one day correct? In that case won’t he need the support of us nobles?」
「His highness Baldr already brought with him a lot of capable retainers from the territory of Margrave Antrim. His highness will also need to bestow reward to the commoners who are supporting him. Unfortunately I believe that the majority of the dukedom’s nobles will find it hard to survive.」
Far from surviving, there would be a storm of political purge. But McMonus didn’t have the duty to speak that far.
Besides for the cowardly Vastedd, it was already shocking enough for him to be told that nobles weren’t necessary.
「Does he think that he will be able to rule this Trystovy……no, to win against the dukedom without the cooperation of us nobles?」
「They already win against the joint army of the dukedom and Answerer Kingdom after all……」
McMonus was astonished seeing that Vastedd was still unable to accept reality.
The feeling that the ruler of Trystovy was the nobles couldn’t be erased from within Vastedd.
He didn’t want to believe that the paradise of the nobles that were built by going as far as destroying the kingdom would be gone.
Human would believe what they wanted to believe. McMonus was aware that the more the other side wanted to profit, the easier it would be to deal with them as a business partner.
That was why──.
「Of course, there is no way that his highness will remove all the nobles. It will only be in a very limited number but, some nobles will be able to receive prosperity under the new Trystovy Kingdom.」
Vastedd sensed that McMonus wasn’t merely speaking without any basis and went wild with joy.
「That’s right! This Napoli will also be useful for them!」
Have this guy ever seen the giant port facility at Mulberry, McMonus thought, even so put a composed smile on the surface and agreed with Vastedd’s words.
「Certainly this Napoli might become an extremely precious strategic position for the kingdom’s side. But that will still be insufficient to avoid expulsion. After all they can also forcefully take away this city with battle.」
McMonus’s gaze was asking whether he could win if it became a battle, so Vastedd awkwardly averted his gaze.
「Then what are you saying I should do?」
He was reluctant to admit it but, although Napoli was a strategic position at the center of the dukedom, it was far from being a core city of the dukedom.
Vastedd’s battle force and econimic strength was only above average among the nobles. Vastedd actually also understood that the kingdom wouldn’t take him seriously as he was right now.
However he didn’t have the intention of quietly waiting for destruction.
He was grasping at straws. Also Vastedd’s true wish was for his current peaceful life to continue.
「──If my lord’s own strength is not enough then you can simply borrow the strength of someone with great power.」
McMonus who had been waiting for this timing spoke the words that he had been keeping in reserve.
The cornered Vastedd was unable to oppose the charm of those words.
「Are you saying there is someone who will give me assistance? Who? If you mean his excellency the prime minister then he is someone who is a bit problematic to trust though……」
Valerie’s influence, discernment, and achievements were all unrivalled, but his credibility as a person was nonexistent.
It couldn’t be helped because he had climbed up to his current position mainly using schemes.
Even Vastedd who was grasping at straws didn’t have the courage to take Valerie’s offered hand.
「There is no need to worry. I too just happened to hear this information the other day. It seems the person who is gathering a part of the nobles and making disquieting movement is none other than that minister of domestic affairs Marquis Fiorentina.」
「──You are lying right?」
The name that came out was the name of the person who was the most impossible from doing such thing.
It was thought that there was no servant more loyal than Marquis Fiorentina who would follow the archduke till the very end.
That was just how much of a model of loyalty the marquis was that there was no hiding it to everybody.
No matter what the situation was, it was unbelievable that the marquis would do something like that.
McMonus didn’t show the slightest agitation even when Vastedd directed a distrusting gaze toward him. He coolly clapped his hands.
「I didn’t expect that Vastedd-sama will say something like that. If you look back at history, you will find that when a country is destroyed it was those people who everybody never thought as traitor who turned out to be the traitor you know?」
「Hm, hmm……」
Certainly, the number of the countries that got destroyed by the betrayal of a favored chief vassal or family member was countless.
The number of story where it was none other than a trusted family member who turned out to be the most terrifying traitor was a dime a dozen instead.
Even a family member could turn out like that, much less a mere best friend. Just how much someone like that was worthy of trust?
「However it’s just a rumor……?」
「That’s why」
McMonus paused and peered into Vastedd’s eyes with a powerful gaze.
「My lord should cooperate with the nearby nobles and gather information. There isn’t even a single second to spare anymore. If my lord fail to grasp this flow, there will only destruction awaiting Napoli.」
.
The building of Cornelius Company where Selina was at was located quite near to the palace at the capital Cadiz of Sanjuan Kingdom. A detached palace that was white in color, fitting for a building of a southern country was provided for the company.
This was clearly not a treatment that was provided for a mere company. It was the effect of Selina being a concubine candidate of the hero who saved the country Baldr Antrim Cornelius and being a friend of the crown princess Teresa.
Selina said that she was troubled because the building was too flashy, but this mansion was comfortable to spend time in Sanjuan Kingdom that was hotter than Mauricia, so it was a fact that she was helped by it.
If she had to say what was troubling in this place──.
「Ooh! I’m happy seeing bouth of you being so beautiful too today! Selina-dono, Rachel-dono!」
The one who appeared with a wide smile and a huge flower banquet in her hands was──needless to say, Teresa.
The way she handed the flower banquet to the lady attendant with a smooth movement was really befitting a crown princess of a country, but her action after that was no different at all from before.
「Now, give me your emotional embrace! Hebuh!」
「Ya haven’t changed at all……the soft fair skin of unmarried maiden isn’t something that can be so easily allowed to be touched by other people y’know?」
Selina pushed a cushion the size of a small kid on the nose of Teresa with an exasperated face.
「Say……can you stop wriggling your fingers like that?」
Teresa looked like she was going to massage Selina’s huge breasts if there was any opening. Rachel tried to chide her hesitantly, but it only brought the opposite effect.
「So Rachel-dono will serve as replacement? Then I shall partake with those sensual fruits!」
「NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!」
Although slightly inferior to Selina, Rachel possessed big breasts that far surpassed the slender Teresa. Teresa tried to grab at those large things, but Glymur lightly picked her up.
「Don’t do that. You are a married woman.」
「Being a married woman or a mother is irrelevant when it come to admiring cute girls!」
「It’s relevant to me!」
「Me too!」
Selina and Rachel strongly protested at the same time.
Although there was a long distance separating them, but their body was something that should be offered for just one man.
Although it was a fact that Selina wanted to massage them if there was an opening, but the two also understood that Teresa’s sexual harassment wasn’t that serious.
「Good grief, you two kitties are so cold. It can’t be helped, can I get a cooled orange juice here?」
「Really geez……his highness Franco will cry you know?」
「Ha-ha-ha-! My relationship with Franco won’t break just from something like this! Even last night I was riding on top of Franco, our relationship is the perfect picture of a happy marriage you know?」
「You don’t need to talk about your married life at night too!」
So Teresa is also on top when it came married life at night? The two maidens didn’t speak their honest impression and yelled with a bright red face.
「The key of a happy marriage is at night! Baldr has the personality of a late bloomer, but he has the stamina of ten people. Taking care of that is also a wife’s role you know?」
「T-taking care……」
「I-it will be fine! I have also received the proper lesson for that area! After all it’s the duty of the woman of the royalty to give birth to children!」
「R-Rachel……ya are amazing! Teach me too!」
Selina clung on the existence of the unexpected ambush troop near her.
Rachel who had been raised as a royalty since she was a child had properly learned the way to make a man happy from some skilled maids.
Even when royalty or influential noble married, there were many cases when they got into a bad term with their couple due to the dissonance in their sex life which drove them to have an affair.
Rachel being a young woman with a lot of superficial knowledge about sex despite her extremely innocent personality was also related to such state of affairs.
「The secret sexual techniques of Mauricia royal family huh……I’m also extremely curious about it. Gulp」
「T-Teresa-sam? You have a scary look there. No! Don’t get near me!」
「Come on come on~~, what kind of things that you were taught? Try teaching it to me. Of course using that cute body……」
「NO WAYYYYYYYYYY!」
Several fresh bruises had been created on Teresa’s face when she noticed.
Normally it wouldn’t be strange for this to turn into an international problem but, these three weren’t normal in various meanings.
「Let’s postpone asking about Rachel’s bedroom technique for later」
「So you are still going to ask about it later……」
Rachel’s shoulders dropped in dejection. Teresa burned the sight of her as a feast for her eyes while laughing cheerfully.
「I guess first I should express my thanks. The diamond that was sent as present for the wedding at Mornea Kingdom the other day has been received with great delight. It looks like Mornea Kingdom wish that you will also set up shop there by all means.」
「That country is small but the local has nice nature. We gonna intrude on them before long. Leave it to us.」
Either way currently Sanjuan Kingdom, Haurelia Kingdom, Nordland Empire, Gartlake Kingdom, and Trystovy Kingdom was in the process of becoming a single economic bloc with Mauricia Kingdom at the center. There was no way remote countries like Mornea Kingdom and Keltiath Kingdom wouldn’t get dragged into it.
Before Antrim war, it was impossible to even imagine that these countries would jointly cooperate in economic activity.
Even Mornea Kingdom had been making use of the hostile relationship between Mauricia Kingdom and Haurelia Kingdom to profit greatly by taking the place of Sanjuan Kingdom that was passive when it came to land transportation.
The isolated country had a strong sense of danger that they would decline if they stood still without doing anything.
Perhaps Teresa got invited by Mornea Kingdom and they heavily praised the diamond was actually because they wanted to have a contact with Dowding Company──especially with Selina who was directly connected to Baldr.
「The relationship between our country and Mornea Kingdom isn’t bad. After all Sanjuan Kingdom has been cherishing association with small countries like Majorca Kingdom and Mornea Kingdom since a long time ago. So we also can’t decline if they ask us for help.」
「Your highness Teresa has also become completely accustomed to act as crown princess aren’t you?」
And yet it was only her perverted act that she was unable to repress at all, Rachel thought in exasperation.
Actually although Teresa was screwing around like this in front of Selina and Rachel, she was a splendid crown princess in anyone’s eye when she was at public.
She supported Franco who became the king’s regent and now she was becoming a key figure of diplomacy that Sanjuan Kingdom couldn’t go without.
In the first place she already had the courage, caliber, and talent which bloomed after she obtained the position as a royalty.
Of course it went without saying that Baldr’s conspicuous activity was also serving as the ingredient that roused her up to grow like this.
She didn’t want to be left behind by her childhood friend who was climbing up the ladder with outrageous speed. To say nothing of how Franco and her had sworn that they would repay him for everything he had done for them. It would be unacceptable if they had to trouble Baldr anymore.
Teresa never said her feeling about that honestly but, both Selina and Rachel were aware of what was in Selina’s heart.
「So you realize that? Then how about giving me comfort……」
「Please ask that from Franco-sama.」
「Recently Franco is delighted when he get tormented, so the thrill is lacking.」
「I’m telling you stop telling us about your married life at night!」
Although Rachel said that she was unable to stop herself from imagining it vividly in her mind.
「──Now then」
Teresa’s atmosphere changed drastically and she finally entered the main topic. It was her appearance toward other people that made her got called The Rose of Raging Fire.
「How is Baldr doing?」
「He already can get down from the bed and move his body. The person himself is completely motivated to quickly go out to fight.」
「Really, what a sinful man. I want to show him the expression of Selina-dono and Rachel-dono when both of you heard that he was heavily injured.」
「Well of course we gonna punish him later. The tear of maiden has expensive price.」
「But before that there are people who have to be punished first though.」
Fufufu, Selina and Rachel laughed together with a dark smile.
「W-what have you two done I wonder?」
Teresa’s lips twitched while sweat trickled down from her forehead.
That was because she was deeply aware that it wouldn’t be strange for these two to do any kind of absurd things if it was for Baldr’s sake.
「No, it’s nothing big. We only traced back through various intermediaries so that loyalists who are especially faithful to the dukedom are prioritized to get their hands on many goods.」
「Though we ain’t selling even a single grain of wheat to those loose people who looks like they gonna immediately wag their tail at Baldr.」
「It will be fine. Even without the like of us sending them any product, there are still many retailers they can go to in order to fulfill their need.」
「No, there is already no company that can compete against the distribution cost of this company you know?」
Teresa guessed what the two of them were trying to do and grimaced at how vicious they were.
In regard to cooperating with the various head offices of the group that had taken root in various countries, and in regard to speed and low cost of procuring goods using information speed that deviated greatly from common sense, Dowding Group was definitely the strongest multinational corporation in the continent.
Honestly Teresa felt doubtful when Dowding Company split their head office and Selina came to Sanjuan Kingdom. She found it hard to believe that doing such thing would have any significant effect.
But compared to the current system where the decision making and interests of the company were concentrated in a single country, the company became more nimble in the form of group and its speed in decision making and innovation far surpassed the traditional company.
Already there was other large company in Mulberry that was starting to plan such transformation to the form of group. Surely one day the continent would be forced to globalize economically by the multinational corporations that surpassed the national borders.
That Dowding Company was laying out an economic blockade.
That was for from being a trivial matter. From the perspective of the feudal lord who got embargoed, it should be a complete nightmare.
Furthermore these two were saying that they sent aid to the nobles with high loyalty to the dukedom even though those people should be Baldr’s enemy?
「I hope they receive the gift happily. Surely they will gather the envy from their surrounding without a doubt!」
Rachel’s smile that was filled the elegance of a former princess made Teresa felt a coldness that froze her spine for some reason.
「Yeah. They gonna be able to live a good life, so they should at least be forgiving to us even if they get bad rumors about them spreading around due to the jealousy.」
「Perhaps those who find it difficult to even eat might feel jealousy and spread rumor about them plotting a betrayal to the dukedom, but it can’t be helped. It’s their just reward for being loyal to the dukedom.」
「Yep yep, surely the dukedom will be understanding. As long as their habitual behavior is good that is.」
「I absolutely won’t forgive them no matter what though.」
「Me too.」
「Ufufufufufufufufufufufufu」
「Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha」
「Scary-! The nastiness of the maidens whose beauty will make even the flower blushes until just now is too scary!」
Selina and Rachel laughed elegantly while looking at somewhere far away with black aura radiating from them.
Teresa was trembling seeing their eyes that were containing cold hatred.
They hadn’t forgotten their wish for revenge for even a second since they learned that Baldr was heavily wounded.
The girls who were unable to stand at the front line were trying to carry out a revenge with the weapon that was only available to them in a way that might be even nastier than war in some case.
To be honest Teresa couldn’t thin up any countermeasure at all against their method.
「Good grief, it’s really unfortunate for the fools who laid their hand on Baldr.」
Teresa wiped the sweat on her forehead and let out a long sigh. In the end she could only say that.
She didn’t want to turn these two into enemy no matter what.
Rather than fighting these two, she felt it would be far easier to swing sword at the battlefield.
After confirming Baldr’s safety and the outcome of the battles over Trystovy, tension left Teresa’s shoulders and she smiled mischievously.
「Then, let’s begin the lecture of Rachel-dono’s secret bedroom technique that has been passed down within Mauricia royal family now that we have finished with all those businesses.」
「EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?」
「Of course I won’t ask you to do that for free. What kind of things will make man excited and what kind of carnal passion they harbor in their mind. I’ll teach you this and that which I have personally tested on Franco!」
「T-this and that……」
Rachel’s cheeks reddened. Even so her expression of deep interest while holding her breath showed that she didn’t find the topic unpleasant by any means.
「I, I also want to hear it. It’s fine right, Rachel-san?」
「E-err……that’s……just a little okay?」
Glymur called out in exasperation when Rachel suddenly was going to talk about a certain technique.
「Sorry but do something like that when there are only girls present. Or rather, don’t break the fantasy that I have about princess anymore than this.」
Unexpectedly it seemed this man was holding a delusion that was close to be an adoration toward noble lady.
「You’re right. Protecting the man’s fantasy is also the duty of a good woman. Let’s continue this in Rachel-dono’s bedroom!」
「That’s why! I’m telling you to restrain yourself!」(Glymur)
.
Part
It didn’t take that long until a disquieting rumor started to spread in the palace of Trystovy Dukedom.
The supplies were still being consumed in terrifying speed even if the war was on hold right now.
To always keep the army at the state of war readiness was like keeping a lot of expensive pets that ate a lot and yet not producing anything worthwhile.
However after the previous defeat, the dukedom had to focus on maintaining the public order within the country and restraining the nobles from doing anything rash. The option of reducing their military strength at this juncture didn’t exist.
The best they could do was begging at Answerer Kingdom to send reinforcement and supply aid as quickly as possible.
However because they had lost the control of Marmara Sea, the transport route was limited to the land route. Even though the Answerer Kingdom agreed to send aid, it still wouldn’t arrive as fast as the dukedom wished for.
「How long his majesty the archduke going to ignore this situation?」
Such conversation was now being exchanged in hushed voices everywhere.
Dispatching soldiers meant the reduction of the work force.
In addition there was the additional blow from Dowding Group’s economic blockade.
The financial situation couldn’t keep up with the expenses that the army consumed. And when their livelihood was struggling, the creature with high mentality of independence called feudal lord noble would immediately become discontent and grumbling.
Most of all they already had the track record of betraying the Trystovy royal family in the past in order to protect their own interests.
Who could say that what happened once wouldn’t happen for the second time.
In fact they were still siding with the dukedom right now only because Baldr had the beastman blood flowing in him and that he was favoring the commoners more.
If Baldr guaranteed that they would keep their privileges without any change, it wouldn’t be strange for them to immediately change side.
「Even so, is that rumor true……?」
There a rumor that couldn’t be ignored at all was pouring oil to the dissatisfaction and worry of such nobles.
It was a rumor that a part of the nobles had already colluded with Baldr and secured the guarantee for their social status from here on.
As expected at first the nobles were half in disbelief toward that rumor.
After all most of the people who were mentioned in the rumor were all people who had been considered as very loyal to the dukedom until now.
Especially Marquis Fiorentina whose name was often mentioned in the rumor.
If he was a traitor, that meant there wasn’t even a single noble in this dukedom who could be trusted anymore.
His intimate relation with the archduke, his honest personality, and the trust that he had built for many years made them thought that the rumor about Fiorentina was just a fiction at the beginning.
However they then saw the reality. It was clearly just the territory of Fiorentina and a part of the nobility that was overflowing with commodities.
──When they saw that, the eyes of those nobles immediately became clouded with jealousy.
Even though they then received aid of goods from Fiorentina territory, they still wondered why the merchants only came to there even though the price of things there was higher than the market price. Was that rumor really true as expected?
Such thought grew in their head. That was the present sad situation of Trystovy nobility.
The other influential nobles other than Fiorentina were also being looked with suspicion due to the strange flow on commodities into their territory that could only be described as favoring them over others.
Of course Marquis Fiorentina and those other influential nobles were also aware that such suspicion was directed toward them.
「It’s mortifying but, we don’t have the leeway to refuse these necessities.」
There was no way they could tell the merchants that came to their territory to go back, and if they plundered the commodities of those merchants with force, then no merchants would even come again to their territory.
In addition the surrounding territories were impoverished due to the large scale economic blockade. Many of them were counting on Marquis Fiorentina as their last hope.
And yet despite that they were thinking ill of him based on a misunderstanding behind his back. Marquis Fiorentina couldn’t help but feel something black coiling inside his stomach heavily because of that.
Fortunately the archduke was firmly ignoring that kind of hearsay.
The trust that Jack held toward Marquis Spinoza Fiorentina was just that thick.
「My lord.」
「What’s the matter, Montella?」
The butler of Fiorentina House, Montella had served him for more than ten years. He was deeply bowing while looking like it was difficult for him to speak what he wanted to say.
「Count Napoli, Vastedd-sama is here for a visit.」
「Why is he coming this far from Napoli to my place──we can’t also possibly chase him away.」
It was also strange that a man who he reported as suspicious was expressly coming here to meet him.
Marquis Fiorentina frowned. He wondered if Marquis Ost’s secret investigation hadn’t really progressed.
And yet he was also hesitating to question Count Napoli personally here.
Right now he still hadn’t grasped any proof that could be used to judge Count Napoli.
「It can’t be helped. Show him in to my office.」
「Understood.」
Marquis Fiorentina’s office was modest, however the furniture inside was made from exquisite material. Count Napoli who was ushered in was astonished by the magnificence of the room.
Although small, Count Napoli was in possession of a port, so he was quiet the connoisseur in regard to this kind of thing.
He sharply guessed that it was impossible to possess this kind of office without extraordinary financial strength.
「I wish I could say welcome, but I find that this visit is a little bit surprising.」
「I-I’m fully aware how rude it is to visit unannounced like this. However even knowing how impudent it is, this Vastedd wish to borrow my lord’s strength no matter what.」
「Fumu, to think that a man like my lord is speaking to that extent. Then I shall lend my help if it’s something within my means.」
Fiorentina felt that something was strange with Vastedd’s behavior. He was puzzled inside his mind.
Because in his prediction, the chance of this man leaning toward betrayal to the dukedom was more than fifty percent.
「Actually just the other day, the navy of Majorca Kingdom appeared at the coast. Unfortunately I have no means to oppose them. My citizens are starting to run away right now.」
「What-!」
Originally it was disgrace for a feudal lord if their populace ran away from their territory, but Marquis Fiorentina was unable to openly criticize Count Napoli because the cause of this lie in the dukedom’s navy that lost the control of the sea.
「At this rate my territory will be ruined even without any fighting. After all in the first place my territory is also functioning due to the sea trade.」
Before long Napoli would dry up now that the sea route was blockaded. Count Napoli was saying that.
Marquis Fiorentina nodded in understanding. He could certainly understand that. He was also sympathetic. But then why was this man telling him that?
「This is a dangerous time for our dukedom. I shall also assist my lord as much as possible. But right now is the time to endure until the reinforcement from Answerer Kigndom arrive!」
「It will be too late then! Are you telling me to die Marquis Fiorentina!?」
Count Napoli screamed with a pale face that was completely lacking in composure.
Even though his territory was now cornered to this degree, Marquis Fiorentina’s territory was abundant with commodities and the situation was peaceful with no worry about the enemy’s invasion.
Such drastic difference made Count Napoli to feel an irrational anger.
「What are you asking me to do?」
「I’m asking my lord to also send the merchants coming and going in this territory to also come to my territory!」
「You are asking for the impossible!」
Marquis Fiorentina finally understood at this point.
Count Napoli saw the prosperity in this Fiorentina territory and suspected him of having connection with foreign merchants.
In other words, he was suspecting that Fiorentina was connected with Trystovy Kingdom that was behind the merchants.
──He was being suspected as a traitor.
He himself had heard the rumor, but he felt more displeased than he thought possible when the fact was thrust right before his eyes like this.
「Why? Then how can this many merchants come only to Fiorentina territory? Even though there are no merchants coming to the place of Marquis Ost and Duke Hayden!」
Those two nobles owned a large city that rivaled even the capital Millianna in scale of the city, and yet the merchants only came to Fiorentina. That was strange.
There must be some kind of reason for that. A reason why the merchants should favor Fiorentina.
「This is the enemy’s plan! A scheme to make people like you my lord to suspect everyone in the dukedom!」
「However my lord doesn’t chase away those merchants!」
「Regardless of the enemy’s ulterior motive, it doesn’t change the fact that my territory also need those commodities!」
Marquis Fiorentina’s shoulders were shaking in anger. Then he waved his hand toward Montella.
It was a signal that the meeting was over.
「Please wait! Please! Please I ask my lord to become an intermediary for me too! Please count me as my lord’s comrade!」
「I don’t know what are you talking about, but I don’t have any such connection. Much less colluding with an enemy country, that’s something that I will never do even if heaven and earth are overturned!」
Marquis Fiorentia pointed at Count Napoli together with a furious voice.
「I’ll overlook my lord’s action today, but the next time you say something that can be taken as trying to collude with the enemy, I shall arrest you lord with my authority as the minister of domestic affairs! I promise to assist your territory as much as possible. Just don’t do anything rash in exchange.」
「……I’m indebted to my lord’s kindness.」
Count Napoli’s shoulders dropped powerlessly in dejection.
Marquis Fiorentina’s sincerity didn’t reach to Count Napoli.
Human was a creature that could only think with their own standard. Count Napoli couldn’t believe that that this territory could be given such accommodation of abundant commodities without any collusion with the enemy country.
As he expected, Marquis Fiorentina was colluding with the kingdom, but he undoubtedly didn’t want him to join in with that collusion. What should he do in order to survive now? Count Napoli was in despair.
Marquis Fiorentina stood up from his seat in indignation and left the room. The office was empty now except with Count Napoli and Montella.
He had run out of option now that Marquis Fiorentina had abandoned him.
His only choice now was to at least live long with just his life by surrendering regardless of the enemy’s demand to him. Just when Count Napoli was starting to think that.
「……What I’m going to say right now is from my own arbitrary decision and because it’s you Count Napoli.」
「Hm?」
Count Napoli who was prepared to get thrown out of Marquis Fiorentina’s mansion was bewildered when the butler suddenly talked to him.
Normally it was considered insolent for a servant to have a personal talk with a noble guest. That was still the case even if the servant belonged to a marquis house that was higher ranked than his house.
「Just the other day I happened to catch sight of a guest who visited my master……」
Count Napoli listened to Montella’s words without understanding just what this butler was trying to say to him.
「The way that guest spoke when ending his sentence sounded like the accent of Sanjuan Kingdom. And from how that person dressed I don’t think that person is a merchant at all.」
「T-then, who do you think that guest was?」
「I believe that guest was a messenger from the wise general of Sanjuan Kingdom, Jose Liberiano-sama.」
Just as I thought, Count Napoli thought with conviction.
Montella’s words were exactly the answer that Count Napoli sought.
Count Napoli was losing his rational mind because of his cornered state. He was clinging on Montella’s unexpected words.
「And? Is it possible for me to join into this collusion?」
「Unfortunately I’m nothing but a butler of this house. It will be difficult for that to happen now that my master has refused Napoli-sama.」
「Then why are you talking to me about this story!?」
Count Napoli’s face turned dark red because his expectation was betrayed.
「──This」
Montella handed a letter that he took out from his pocket to Napoli.
「It’s a letter from his highness Baldr that guarantee the safety of this territory. Perhaps it will be useful for my lord if you have this with you.」
「Oooh! With this……I’m indebted to you!」
Marquis Fiorentina had switched side to the kingdom just as he thought.
He couldn’t just stay here now that he understood that. He had to mobilize his relatives and sounded out the kingdom as soon as possible about the possibility of surrendering.
Surely this letter would be useful in the negotiation for that.
Count Napoli’s hesitation between choosing the dukedom or the kingdom had cleanly vanished from his heart.
This decision was mostly affected by the thinking that the dukedom had no chance of winning at all against the kingdom that even Marquis Fiorentina was forsaking this country.
Count Napoli who was finally liberated from the load on his chest showed a bright smile.
Montella saw off Count Napoli who excused herself from Fiorentina residence in great hurry with a dark smile.
「Dance, dance. Everything is going just as that person planned.」
It had been 14 years since Montella worked in this mansion.
During that time Montella had continued in being a loyal and capable servant that the people of the house felt grateful to.
He never even spoke a single complaint until now. He constantly thought of Fiorentina House’s wellbeing and prioritized its interest.
It didn’t take three years until he was promoted from a mere servant to be a butler. That was the clear proof of how capable he was.
Of course the background of Montella who was serving a noted family like Fiorentina House had been investigated thoroughly to check whether there was anything suspicious about him.
He was born as an illegitimate child of Viscount Rapaic. Although he inherited a noble bloodline, he had bad relationship with his father and he had to make a living as a commoner.
After that he lost his job after Pazarov House was crushed and he came to Fiorentina House with Count Ost’s recommendation. He was a man with such clear background.
.
The action of Count Vastedd Napoli could only be called as rash.
He started maneuvering by contacting the nobles nearby and the nobles who were his relative, telling them that Marquis Fioretnia was already colluding with Marquis Fiorentina, so they should also swear loyalty to the kingdom too as soon as possible.
And then with his achievement of gathering and convincing so many nobles to switch side to the kingdom, he would ask for Napoli House to be treated favorably. If luck was on his side, he might also be able to obtain the lowest seat at the next administration.
There was no way Baldr would forgive him after massacring the commoners of Continerri territory together with Baron Rossi, but Vastedd’s brain was already filled completely with richly colored dream.
Sometimes people who were completely absorbed in gambling would dream of when they won but they wouldn’t even imagine themselves losing. Right now Vastedd was being trapped in the same shallow thinking.
Valerie immediately learned of Count Napoli’s secret maneuver.
「It’s really a letdown even though this is just as planned.」
Valerie laughed in delight.
「To be honest I didn’t want to spend too much time on this. Let’s just call it a good fortune.」
「So even this me still have good fortune on my side.」
Valerie had withered away so much that his appearance looked like a ghost right now. But only his eyes were still shining fiercely like a hawk. Caulila handed him a warm glass of mead in concern.
It was clear from Valerie’s complexion that he had shaved his remaining short life span to bet on this scheme.
While the flame of his life was still burning, he would destroy all pollution and handed a brand new Trystovy to Baldr. Valerie was mustering all his willpower just for that.
He had been building the power of darkness in order to accomplish the ideal of his younger days since losing his best friend Viktor.
He spent so much time for it that would make anyone who knew it astounded. He laid out plans very carefully and scattered the seeds for the sake of the day that would arrive one day. It was a constant harsh battle.
After all Valerie’s ideal was lacking an important piece.
No matter how much he prepared and how much he manipulated the dukedom from behind the scene with a bloody perseverance, the last piece to make his ideal a reality, a hero was crucial.
It was a role that someone old like Valerie who had immersed himself in the world of darkness couldn’t accomplish.
Once he also considered creating an imitation to fill that role.
However there was no way a mere imitation would be able to guide Trystovy after Valerie’s death.
Every day he fought his uneasiness that perhaps he would rot away without being able to make his late best friend’s ideal a reality.
That feeling was rewarded by the appearance of Baldr’s existence.
「Soon……soon. My friend. For you……the future of a new Trystovy……」
Valerie muttered those words before his head tilted sideway as he fell asleep.
The mead that Caulila prepared for Valerie was mixed with a sleeping medicine.
The heavy work of supporting the declining dukedom as its prime minister was robbing the vitality from Valerie’s old body that had gone past 80 years old. If he was unlucky, Valerie’s lifespan might run out first before Baldr arrived.
It was Caulila’s role to make Valerie rest even if he had to use a forceful way.
Caulila laid down Valerie’s body that was light like a dead tree on the bed, then he wiped his master’s forehead with a flood of emotion.
「Please rest slowly for now. This Caulilia will definitely lead my lord to the moment your ambition arrive at its completion without fail.」
Caulila couldn’t shoulder Valerie’s burden as prime minister, but Caulila was able to manage all the shadowy work on his own. If anything, he could even surmise Valerie’s thinking accurately and made decision on his own without needing to confirm it to Valerie first.
Valerie was able to rule over the darkness of this Trystovy was solely because his confidant Caulila was capable to an extreme degree.
「Now then, I should hurry……」
Although it had been planned beforehand, considering Valerie’s health, it seemed that there was a need to hurry with the preparations somewhat.
.
And then not long after that, Count Napoli’s action was found out not just by Valerie but also by the archduke.
Of course Marquis Fiorentina was also aware of Count Napoli’s action, but a part of himself wasn’t really on his guard because in the first place he was only suspected because of the merchants’ inexplicable action, and the archduke was also acting understanding with him.
Archduke Jack immediately questioned Valerie about the validity of the rumor.
That was because he thought that Valerie would be the one who knew the truth more than anyone as someone who was entrusted to carry out the secret investigation.
「I have already grasped everything. I shall go apprehend all the traitors if your majesty simply command me to.」
Even if they summoned the nobles who were scheming betrayal to the capital Millianna, they would just beat around the bush and then ran away at the end.
What should be done here was dispatching the army swiftly and destroyed the traitors or sending secret agents to kidnap the family head.
Valerie was saying that he had already finished arranging the personnel to kidnap the traitors.
Should Jack ordered Olten to move the army, or should he entrust it to Valerie’s secret force?
Jack decided to go with Valerie.
Right now he didn’t want to lose even a single soldier needlessly.
「Line up the heads of the traitors in front of me within three days! I’ll listen to what their filthy tongue has to say!」
「──By your will.」
Valerie’s action was fast after he received the instruction. It was truly the work of the demon king who reigned the world of darkness of Trystovy.
.
Multiple black shadows were approaching the mansion of Count Napoli. And then they entered from the backdoor that was unlocked by an insider and infiltrated inside the house with familiarity as though it was their own house.
「W-who the hell are you guys?」
Count Napoli, Vastedd asked with a trembling voice toward the multiple man who broke into his bedroom when it was late at night.
Actually he wanted to yell that question, but he didn’t have the nerve for that.
「Now then, I’ll have you my lord to dance a lot on the palm of my master.」
Caulila laughed brazenly and ordered his subordinate to shoulder Vastedd. Then they melted into the darkness of night and vanished.
If the secret agents who had penetrated the underworld for many years went into action, kidnapping a noble who didn’t even have a satisfactory security was like taking a candy from a baby.
That night, around eight nobles from houses of various sizes including Count Napoli were placed inside the wicker trunks that peddler often used and carried secretly to the capital.
How much time they were stuffed inside a trunk like that where they couldn’t even make any movement?
They weren’t even given water or food. They were completely exhausted when they arrived at the capital.
「W-water……」
*Thud*, their head was finally let out from the trunks that were thrown on the floor. They all simultaneously lifted their hand weakly to ask for water, but their tongue immediately froze when they sweated like waterfall.
They were thrown in the audience hall where Archduke Jack and his royal guards were lined up orderly.
「──All of you are aware why you are brought here aren’t you?」
Jack’s voice had gone past being angry to sound cold like a blade of ice.
Just from that they were forced to realize how deep and fierce Jack’s anger must be.
「Please wait! I’m simply getting enticed by Count Napoli!」
One of them realized what kind of situation they were placed in and yelled without any hesitation.
It was brilliant in a sense how fast he changed his attitude like that. He accurately grasped that doing that was his only chance to be saved.
「M-me too! I’m only being enticed!」
「I was only listening to what he has to say, in the first place I don’t have the slightest intention to participate……」
「All of you were the one who came bowing your head to ask for help!」
Count Napoli screamed in protest when everyone pushed the responsibility on him.
But as expected they understood that no one would believe them even if they screamed their innocence at this juncture.
There was only one fact that Count Napoli could cling on even though the possibility of it releasing him from this situation was extremely small.
「I, I was also just enticed by Marquis Fiorentina! If not for him then doing something like betraying the dukedom is something that I would never……」
「──That’s what he said? What do you have to say? Marquis Fiorentina, no, Spinoza?」
The hope of the archduke was expressed with how he intentionally called the marquis with his name.
He thought that something was strange but, he wanted Spinoza to somehow deny the accusation. He wanted Spinoza to convince him that he wouldn’t do something like betrayal at all.
That was Jack’s honest feeling.
「This is a complete nonsense. I was simply asked by Count Napoli to help him out with his difficulty.」
Although Marquis Fiorentina remembered accommodating the need of Count Napoli, he didn’t remember ever inviting him to a rebellion.
Marquis Fiorentina held his head high and glared imposingly at Count Napoli.
「Lies! Don’t think I don’t know! My lord has received a letter that guarantee the safety of our territory from the kingdom!」
「What did you say?」
It was a sentence that couldn’t be ignored.
Jack could ignore it as a groundless rumor if it was just a verbal accusation of colluding with the enemy, but the story was different if there was a visible document to proof it.
Is it true? Jack asked Valerie with his gaze. Valerie nodded with a disgusted expression.
「Regretfully, it’s true that such letter was discovered.」
「Is it real?」
「At the very least it’s certain that the handwriting belong to Baldr Antrim Cornelius. Though of course the possibility of it being a plot of the enemy cannot be denied.」
「Explain this to me! Spinoza!」
「There is nothing to explain. I too have only heard about such letter for the first time today.」
There wasn’t even a shred of agitation of someone whose secret was just being exposed. Marquis Fiorentina answered with unwavering expression that was like a rock.
「There’s no way that’s the case! I definitely heard it from Marquis Fiorentina’s butler! He told me how the marquis met with a messenger of the kingdom who promised the safety of your territory.」
「──About that, unfortunately my subordinate also reported something similar. I heard that it was with a person from Sanjuan Kingdom.」
For the first time Marquis Fiorentina’s face grimaced when he heard Valerie’s statement.
「Don’t tell me……you really met such person, Spinoza?」
Until this moment Jack believed that Marquis Fiorentina was his best friend from their younger days.
He just wanted to clear up the doubt and felt relieved.
He was wishing that the bad flow that continued to came to this dukedom to be severed.
Now, a grave doubt crossed at the back of Jack’s mind. That perhaps, even his best friend had forsaken him too.
Jack himself had betrayed his own sibling to ascend to the throne.
No matter how much human had opened themselves up to someone else and harbored a deep feeling toward them, depending on the situation they could easily turn traitor for their own sake.
The Jack in the past would definitely not doubt that in this world an eternal friendship that couldn’t be betrayed really existed.
However his guilt due to obtaining his current position by betrayal in the past didn’t allow Jack to fully trust Marquis Fiorentina.
「To be honest, even I doubted my own ears. Marquis Fiorentina, you sent a messenger back to the kingdom’s side after you met that messenger didn’t you? What in the world is the reason that made you did something like that?」
Truthfully Valerie was also shocked.
Marquis Fiorentina’s action wasn’t something that Valerie arranged by any means.
Why did the marquis do something like that? He could guess the reason but he wanted to hear the answer from the person himself.
Marquis Fiorentina let out a small laugh with everyone’s gaze gathered toward him.
「──Of course, it’s because I thought that the chance of the dukedom winning is already low.」
「What……?」
Jack needed some time until he was able to come to grip with Marquis Fiorentina’s words. That was just how difficult it was for Jack to accept those words.
His mind refused to comprehend those words.
「Can I, consider that as the acknowledgement of your treason?」
Valerie had planned to set up Marquis Fiorentina even if the person himself didn’t actually plan to commit treason, so he harshly spoke his accusation just as he planned.
Jack finally managed to digest the situation at this timing and he questioned his friend weakly.
「Are you saying that this country will lose?」
「Rather I wonder why are your majesty saying that we can win? The reinforcement from Answerer Kingdom is already gone, and the morale of our ally is at the lowest point. That has been proved by all these nobles here.」
「You are saying that’s why you gave up on me-!?」
Jack’s breathing became disordered due to the extreme anger he felt. His bloodshot eyes opened wide. Then his emotion drove him to kick the table flying.
「I have never given up on your majesty for even once.」
On the other hand Marquis Fiorentina’s expression was still looking peaceful.
For him, it wasn’t Trystovy Dukedom itself that he should offer his loyalty too.
Since his youth, it was Jack alone who was his friend, his big brother, and his lord. Compared to that, the fate of the nation didn’t worth anything.
「In the first place this country is already checkmated by the time the navy was destroyed without any hope of recovery. Before this General Mikhail who was stationed in Nedras Kingdom came here for us, but right now Nedras Kingdom isn’t an area that can be passed easily due to the large scale of revolt of the beastman race there. If they want to pass through Grand Duchy Tenedora, they will have to cross Tyatlov Mountain Range. Because of that it’s impossible for them to march quickly to here. An even bigger problem than that is that the aid from Answerer Kingdom will have to be transported completely on land from here on.」
Answerer Kingdom was a great power. They had the national strength to fight all the nations on the continent alone, regardless of whether they could win or not.
However even that mighty strength would be meaningless if it couldn’t reach Trystovy Dukedom.
The loss of the control of the sea meant that the majority of food and weapon from Answerer Kingdom wouldn’t be able to reach the dukedom.
The beastman race was running rampant in Nedras Kingdom right now. It would be the worse if the supply was stolen by the enemy when passing through that route, so the plan to use that route as supply route itself was abandoned.
In that case, the only remaining option was the land route through the narrow Grand Duchy Tenedora.
The economic disparity between the dukedom and the kingdom that was backed up by the maritime guild and Dowding Company was continuously widening. As that gap kept widened, the number of new traitor among the nobles would definitely also increase.
Marquis Fiorentina had started thinking about the case when the dukedom lost while also desperately supporting the country at the same time.
「With how low the chance of victory is, I believe that we have to think about what we are going to do if we are defeated. This is for your majesty’s sake……」
「You want them to guarantee his majesty’s safety?」
「They told me that if we hand Millianna without any resistance, they won’t send any pursuer. They will also allow the nobles who wish to seek asylum to another country to escape.」
Baldr himself would also feel grateful if his enemy ran away to another country with only what they could carry rather than them surrendering to him while asking for various favorable treatments.
After all it had been proven by the nobles of Trystovy Kingdom who sought asylum in Mauricia Kingdom that a noble whose territory was taken away from them didn’t have any significant strength.
It would help Baldr the fewer unnecessary ties of obligations there were in the new Trystovy that he would rule.
If the nobles would leave without fighting, then that was definitely the far better way.
「I won’t accept that! I won’t!」
Jack shook his head like a kid who was crying ‘no no’ while throwing tantrum.
He refused to accept Marquis Fiorentina’s words based on his emotion instead of his logic.
「The dukedom belong to me-! I’ll never hand it over to the hand of those animals!」
Something like that must never happened.
He felt the depth of his soul screaming in terror that he wouldn’t be himself anymore if he accepted what Marquis Fiorentina said.
If this country was taken away by Baldr, then for what did he kill his elder brother the king and massacred a lot of his brethrens?
What did his son Bernardi who he put his hope into died for?
In the first place, if he didn’t cause any uprising then from the start there wouldn’t be any risk of this country getting usurped by a person of doubtful origin like Baldr who descended from the beastman race wouldn’t it?
Jack shivered just from imagining how much would he slandered as a foolish ruler when the later generations read about his deed in the history book.
That would be a denial of Jack’s life itself. Preventing something like that from happening was far more important than his survival.
──Sometimes people betrayed not because of malice but because of good intentions.
In the past Jack also rose to action because he was thinking of the country.
Wouldn’t Marquis Fiorentina did something similar here, destroying the dukedom for Jack’s sake?
Jack was unable to endure the doubt that was rapidly spreading inside him.
「You traitor! You betray my country! My trust! Even my future!」
「If there is no hope of victory for the dukedom and the enemy manage to advance as far as Millianna, please escape without any resistance from the east gate. Of course there will be nothing better if we emerge victorious though.」
「I won’t lose! You cowardly defeatist! Even though, even though you are the only one who I trusted completely! How dare you betray me!」
「I shall accept any punishment.」
Now that his collusion with the kingdom had been discovered, Marquis Fiorentina had no intention to needlessly explain himself.
The secret agreement had been formed. It was regretful that he couldn’t bet on the dukedom’s victory, but that too was within his expectation.
Jack hesitated for a bit before his words got caught in his throat.
「……Marquis Spinoza Fiorentina, you will be decapitated for your crime of betrayal!」
However he couldn’t stop himself. He didn’t care about what would happen to him if he was defeated.
Jack gave his verdict even if it meant a final separation from his friend who couldn’t believe in the dukedom’s victory.
No, it was exactly because he thought of Marquis Fiorentina as a friend instead as a mere loyal servant that he couldn’t forgive him for being unable to share his wish.
(Good grief, as expected huh.)
Things went mostly as Valerie wanted it, he smiled wryly in his heart because Marquis Fiorentina’s contact with the kingdom was far deeper than he expected.
To think that inflexible and obstinate person had a negotiating ability to this degree.
It would be also fine to allow him to live if only he had the inclination to use that competence for the sake of the dukedom instead of Jack.
(I’m sorry but I have no intention to allow your wish to come true.)
He would never allow Jack to escape to another country.
It was a different matter if it was just a noble without any right to succeed the throne. If Jack who could claim legitimate right to rule the country escaped to another country, he could be used as an excuse to interfere with Trystovy.
And if by some chance he left behind descendant at the place he escaped to, it would haunt Trystovy for generations.
The person himself was intending to share his fate with the dukedom, so die a noble death as gloriously as possible.
.
The next day, the beheaded heads of Marquis Fiorentina and Count Napoli and his conspirators were displayed.
With this Archduke Jack intended to proclaim his stance that he would fight Baldr with determination.
This method would surely be effective if it was done around the time Viscount Continerri and his family members were executed as an example.
At that time General Mikhail of Answerer Kingdom was still alive and well, and the main army of Trystovy Dukedom was mostly unscathed.
But now there were already consecutive defeats to their side both on land and sea, and the fighting force that became the backbone of the previous example had been sharply reduced. Because of that Jack’s decision completely backfired this time. The dukedom had been defeated too many times to suppress the commoners and nobles with fear.
At the mansion in his territory, Mauritz Fiorentina was furious when he learned of his father’s execution.
「There is nobody more loyal to the archduke than my father. The archduke has gone insane for him to execute my father!」
He was a gifted person who was anticipated to become the prime minister of the next generation.
Mauritz rallied Fiorentina House and his relatives and successfully built an anti archduke faction in the blink of eye. It was a performance that truly demonstrated the worth of the star of the next era.
「Jack doesn’t has the caliber to rule over this country!」
The execution of Marquis Fiorentina who was considered as the most loyal person to the archduke made the dukedom’s nobles to lose sight of the guiding principle of their action. They fell into confusion.
And then not a few nobles allied with Mauritz. They began to maneuver behind the scene to switch side to the kingdom.
As expected the survival of the dukedom would be affected if this matter was ignored.
With the order of the archduke, the great general Olten who originally wanted to preserve his troops reluctantly moved into action.
「Don’t get carried away youngster.」
Olten moved his army with precision.
Even a star of the next era like Mauritz was in disadvantage when facing an opponent like Olten who possessed both experience and skill.
Because Olten aimed to divide the enemy force with threat and negotiation in order to minimize the damage as much as possible, Mauritz could only buy some time before he got isolated in less than a week.
His allied force starting from Napoli had all surrendered or annihilated. The military strength that he had gathered only remained in Breda Castle of Fiorentina territory.
The tactics of the old general was truly a kind of art of war. It was displayed to the outside and inside that the dukedom’s military strength was still mostly intact and maintained a mighty strength.
It was a magnificent performance that astonished even Valerie.
「Shit! I can’t die like this! I won’t allow my father’s death to be in vain no matter what!」
Mauritz whose castle was surrounded gave up fighting head-on in front of the imposing appearance of the regular army under Olten’s command that didn’t show any opening at all.
「My father had reduced his body and soul to ruin all for the sake of the archduke. I have to pay back that foolish ruler who doesn’t even know anything about debt of gratitude!」
Mauritz didn’t choose to fight till the last man.
Olten who was surrounding the castle saw fire rising up from Breda Castle.
「So he set fire to his own castle……don’t lower our guard.」
Olten’s expectation that Mauritz would go out for one last charge was betrayed.
If Mauritz was alone than he might set fire to his castle to commit suicide. However it was impossible for thousands of soldiers to all decide to share the fate of their master without even one soldier refusing.
「──Damn it! A secret passage!」
Olten realized that Breda Castle had been complete deserted. He split his army to four directions and began searching for Mauritz’s army, but the only thing that he could find was the trace of several thousand soldiers camping.
Mauritz and his retainer succeeded in escaping to the kingdom’s side that was ruled by Baldr.
.
Part
The armed group of 2300 men that was commanded by Mauritz escaped to the southern territory that was ruled by the kingdom’s side. There they were immediately apprehended by the newly formed mobile battalion of the kingdom’s army that was guarding the border.
The battalion was fully formed with cavalry. It was the second arrow of the kingdom’s army that rivaled the beastman cavalry unit.
Its commander was Brooks Irvine.
He who was Baldr’s classmate had quickly become a knight serving Baldr, overcame the carnage of the Second Antrim War and now he had even been conferred with decorations as a baron.
To be honest it made him felt bashful because his current position didn’t fit his character, but as Baldr’s close aide who would shoulder the role as the army’s leader from here on, his promotion was necessary.
「Really, you never know what will happen in life.」
His objective was only to become strong when he was still in the knight academy. He believed that was the path to become acknowledged as a knight and be successful in life.
However, by learning about the existence of Baldr and then Maggot who was like a concentration of strength that had been fermented and then distilled even further, he ended up quickly changing his mind.
Brooks was a mediocre person. However he had a room for growth as a mediocre person. He also had the frankness to not feel jealous toward the strong.
It wasn’t just his effort, but also that personality of Brooks that made Baldr held a great trust toward him.
Besides although the person himself wasn’t aware it, his ability wasn’t low by any means.
His evaluation that he was successful in life because he was Baldr’s classmate was a great mistake.
「──This is the sound of horses with rider on them. Tell the scouts to intensify their search at the northwest. Confirm the identity of the other side without carelessly trying anything with them.」
「Roger!」
In a glance Brooks looked like someone with rough temperament, but actually he was unexpectedly careful and never forgot to perform a thorough check.
And yet when it was required he also had decisiveness and the guts to stake his life.
In a sense he was the ideal superior for the soldiers, but the person himself was being completely unaware of that. Perhaps it was really just like him to be like that.
「──It’s a dukedom’s noble! Their number is around 2000!」
「Their number is really half-baked……」
The number was too many for a force that was going to perform hit and run, and too few for fighting a large scale field battle.
Actually even just Brooks’s mobile battalion was enough to handle that number.
「It looks like they aren’t coming here for a fight.」
The dukedom noble who appeared from the direction that the scout reported was clearly exhausted.
Far from looking like he and his troops were going to charge at them after this, even their walking speed was slow like a crawly. The troops wouldn’t be at this state unless they had been forced to march for very long distance.
「Report! The true identity of the group is the alliance army of Marquis Fiorentina! They are asking for asylum in our country!」
「That’s what I thought!」
There was a report that a large scale noble’s insurrection had broken out in the dukedom.
Defeated soldiers escaping to the kingdom’s side like this was also within the prediction.
「It’s unexpected that the troops are properly commanded to this degree though.」
In Brooks’s evaluation, there was no doubt that the commander was very excellent.
「You guys, don’t let your guard down okay? After all we are fewer in number here.」
Brook said that while sending a fast horse at the rear to ask for reinforcement. He then made a dangerous smile and glared at the group of refugees.
Regardless of the situation, Brooks had no hobby of feeling sympathy more than necessary to the noble of an enemy country.
「──Are you the commander of this army?」
「I am the son of Marquis Spinoza Fiorentina, Mauritz. I hastened here in order to be allowed to submit to his highness the crown prince Baldr.」
Mauritz boldly walked forward alone in front of Brooks.
Brooks was convinced, this was a capable man. He had a charisma like Baldr and Ramillies that could spontaneously made his subordinates resolved themselves to die.
His appearance suggested that he was at the early half of his thirty. His height was nearly 180 cm just like Brooks, but their aura and presence couldn’t be compared with each other.
「I think you understand but, I can’t possibly allow you to meet with his highness just like this. We will need to send scouts that will arrive after this to investigate first.」
「It’s only natural for you to take such measure. While you are searching, I want you to allow my troops to take a rest here.」
Brooks thought that as a dukedom’s noble he would grumble for a bit more, but Mauritz’s reaction was extremely rational.
It would be unreasonable if he asked them to accept an armed group of this number immediately without making preparation first.
Mauritz agreed for his troops to be confined here until his identity and situation had been made clear.
It was the bad habit of warrior to take have an easier time of liking a capable enemy rather than an incompetent ally.
Brooks also wasn’t free from that bad habit. He had a favorable impression for Mauritz who kept a humble attitude even though it was clear here that he had high status and ability.
「Tell us if there is anything you need. I promise that I will report your arrival to my lord immediately.」
「Then please allow me to take advantage of your kindness. I’ll be thankful if you can lend us some tents for camping and food. We slipped away from the enemy’s encirclement using a secret path, so we don’t bring any supply with us.」
「Even so, I’m amazed that you can lead this many troops to sneak away through that secret path of yours.」
Brooks could understand if he was told that the troops broke through the encirclement with force.
However it was a herculean task to move several thousand soldiers without letting the enemy found out. In the worst case, they would be discovered while in the middle of withdrawing. The possibility was high they would get annihilated there.
「Fortunately Breda Castle has an underground path.」
Mauritz said that while staring at the western sky with a sad face.
「I will atone for my sin of burning my ancestor’s castle by slaughtering them all. Please forgive me father.」
.
The report from Brooks reached the official residence of the crown prince when it was late at night.
Even so it could be said that the report could arrive in less than a day thanks to the radio.
If the information was sent by a messenger, it would definitely take around two days.
In the crown prince’s residence, Baldr, Silk, and then the chairman of the Seven Elders Augusto and the representative of the military Ramillies were gathered.
「It seems that Marquis Fiorentina was suspected of colluding with us and got executed. It’s good and all that they dealt with it so quickly, if only not for how stupid that decision was.」
Baldr laughed because either way the situation didn’t bring any disadvantage for him.
Right now the dukedom was applying a reign of terror in order to prevent betrayal, but it was rousing a new betrayal instead.
The concern of the dukedom nobles was just one.
Would Baldr take revenge to the nobles who rebelled against the kingdom in the past? That was their only fear.
If Baldr guaranteed that they would keep their privileges, there was no doubt the nobles would swarm him to change side.
But it would be troubling for Baldr if such self-centered nobles were to remain in his new country.
And then it would spare him much effort if they escaped to another country rather than him needing to exterminate them. Baldr’s side was maneuvering to make that happened.
「However the dukedom can’t endure anymore with this. After all there is no man more loyal than Marquis Fiorentina in that country.」
Augusto judged that the dukedom’s destruction was unavoidable.
If Marquis Fiorentina was a traitor, then it wouldn’t be strange for anybody to be traitor. Their paranoia to everyone around them would make them arrive at the decision to turn their back on the dukedom in the end.
It could be imagined that from here on the number of noble trying to contact the kingdom’s government would increase.
「The skill of great general Olten hasn’t declined. I want to settle this before Answerer Kingdom can make any unnecessary interference.」
「By your will.」
Baldr’s head was still wrapped in bandage that made it painful to look at him.
As expected the duel against Mikhail was leaving behind a serious wound even for Baldr. If he made just one wrong step, no, even if it was just a millimeter of mistake, only death would await him.
Even so Baldr would lose against Mikhail there if he feared to get wounded.
That was why Baldr also didn’t feel bothered about his injury.
Far from that, now that his injury didn’t hinder his daily life anymore, he was thinking that he could depart with the troops anytime.
Although Silk’s chilling gaze was stopping him from doing that.
「And? There is no way they are only asking to surrender. What kind of condition Mauritz-dono is presenting to us?」
Did he ask for the safety of his territory? Or perhaps a position at the center of the government?
Either way, Baldr had no intention to accept him if he was greedy.
「About that……he only wish to take revenge against the dukedom. He seems motivated to serve as the vanguard of our army anytime if he is ordered to do so.」
「That’s truly a grand resolve.」
A strong force of will was necessary to turn a side that was an ally until just yesterday to be enemy. Not to mention it was a noted family like Fiorentina House abandoning their previous status──.
「It seems he is holding a very big grudge.」
「I think it’s only natural. After all Fiorentina House and the archduke’s house had gotten along just like family before this.」
Silk who was knowledgeable about the noble connections in Trystovy nodded in understanding.
「In fact Marquis Fiorentina was a loyal vassal who racked his brain due to his worry for the archduke’s wellbeing. Of course his son is enraged that such good is repaid with evil.」
Mauritz had seen directly from his father’s side just how loyal Spinoza had been to Jack, so of course the anger that accumulated inside him was far greater compared to other people.
Augusto shrugged with an insolent and malicious smile.
Seeing his expression, Ramillies’s eyebrow shot up because he thought Augusto was making fun of someone’s loyalty even if that someone was an enemy.
「Oops, please don’t take offense General Ramillies. I too am feeling really complicated in regard to this matter just so you know.」
Ramillies didn’t know what kind of complication Augusto was feeling, but he was deeply aware that the youth before him wasn’t a simple frivolous man like his appearance suggested.
Also he wouldn’t be able to serve as Baldr’s staff officer if he couldn’t do at least that much.
「There is nothing more damaging to the army’s morale than being attack by a former ally. If Mauritz-dono attack the dukedom, the nobles will immediately lose their will to fight back. There we will only need to give them a posh to run away to another country.」
Ramillies knew that in a battlefield where it was killed or to be killed, the soldier’s fighting spirit wouldn’t rose without any clear killing intent. In that sense, Mauritz’s addition to their force was a very enticing prospect.
「Well, it will also be troublesome if he asked for a pardon.」
No matter how much achievements Mauritz obtained for the kingdom’s sake, Baldr didn’t have any intention to welcome an incompetent noble.
Especially nobles who were involved with a massacre of commoners. Even if they surrendered, he intended to put them to trial and punished them severely.
Other than then the very few decent nobles who were currently treated coldly by the dukedom, he would only spare their life at best. There should be no noble who would be able to maintain status quo.
That was why those nobles were still unable to resolutely betray the dukedom.
「Well, we also won’t chase them away. Besides even Brooks took a liking to him, so he must be a capable man to some degree.」
「If the rumor is true, he is an elite who is accomplished in both the literary and military arts with bright future awaiting him, as expected from the heir of Marquis Fiorentina.」
Baldr nodded at Silk’s words.
「……For now let’s try meeting him.」
.
Mauritz arrived at Mulberry with only dozens of his retainers accompanying him five days after that.
「It’s an honor to be allowed at your presence, your highness.」
Indeed, it was just as Brooks said. This was a man with caliber.
His large and thick body was the proof that he never slackened in his daily training. Baldr sensitively sensed that this man must be quite skilled as a warrior too.
「It was unfortunate about what happened to your father.」
「I’m grateful for your highness’s words. My late father must be rejoicing too at that world to hear that.」
Although Marquis Fiorentina was executed by Jack, there was no way he would feel any gratitude toward Baldr, but this was just what people called diplomatic language.
「Let me be frank, I can’t accept the current system of the dukedom. I believe that surrendering to me will bring a harsh condition for you as a noble.」
「There is no way that is the case. I’m not so shameless as to forget that all of us were a traitorous retainers who betrayed the kingdom in the past. However it will be enough for me as long as I can take revenge to the archduke who has killed my father and also has harmed Trystovy with his incompetence.」
His attitude to immediately abandon his own privilege without even a shred of hesitation was truly upright and splendid.
An old type of general like Ramillies kept nodding repeatedly in admiration hearing Mauritz’s declaration.
A capable man who was burning desire of revenge. Mauritz would surely become a fighting strength that was hard to come by for the kingdom.
「──Your highness, please allow me to speak.」
Baldr nodded wordlessly at Augusto’s gaze.
With that permission, Augusto walked forward from Baldr’s right side and addressed Mauritz with an amicable tone.
「Allow me to express my condolence for Lord Fiorentina’s last moment. He was none other than the most loyal servant of the dukedom. I respect his noble loyalty from the bottom of my heart.」
「……I thank Augusto-dono for your kind words.」
「But I also greatly respect your loyalty. As much as I respect your honorable father.」
In other words he was doubting Mauritz. Augusto was saying that.
「Then please give me any order. It doesn’t matter even if it’s Fiorentina or Genova, I will risk this life and conquer them without fail!」
He didn’t need any reinforcement. No matter how much sacrifices he had to pay, he would crush the dukedom army for the kingdom’s sake.
Mauritz made such boast. But Augusto slowly shook his head.
「I have no doubt that you will seriously fight the dukedom. Surely you will even do so with your life on the line. With your skill I’m sure that you will also raise many achievements.」
「Then why?」
Mauritz didn’t understand the meaning of Augusto’s words.
「Because you will deal a fatal wound to the kingdom from the side at the timing where it will prove most effective.」
「Wha-!」
At Augusto’s words, not only Mauritz, even Ramillies and Barbarino and other auhtorities here were turned speechless.
His father was killed, his homeland taken away, and he ran away to enemy territory with total exhaustion. In addition he offered to kill his ally as proof of his loyalty.
There was no way there was even greater way to show one’s loyalty other than this. But Augusto completely denied that.
「As I said just now, I greatly acknowledged the loyalty of Marquis Fiorentina. If it was him, he would happily die if the archduke tells him to die. There is no way he will have any thought of taking revenge to the dukedom.」
「But my father who was loyal to such degree was killed! That’s why I──」
「You are saying that you aren’t inheriting your father’s loyalty? Well normally that would be the case but, annoyingly I happen to know the most blackhearted man in this world.」
He had felt a discomfort since the start.
The execution of Marquis Fiorentina that was carried out too quickly. And then his resolution that was unnaturally detached.
Marquis Fiorentina didn’t really betray the dukedom for real with harmful intend. If he genuinely explained that to the archduke and asked for forgiveness, would he really get executed that easily in the end?
More than that, could it be there was that man’s scheme at work here?
Augusto alone had seen through Valerie’s plan that was overflowing with malice and had gone off the proper path of human by so many twists and turns.
「The one who wrote the scenario here was the prime minister of the dukedom, Marquis Valerie Ost. He know that the dukedom can’t win using the normal practice, so he hatched a plot to overturn the situation in one shot using Marquis Fiorentina’s life as ingredient. Isn’t that the case?」
「W-with what kind of basis you are saying something like……」
Mauritz’s voice was shaking when he replied.
It couldn’t be helped. Normally it would be stranger that someone could imagine such fiendish plot was going on.
At present nobody than August was aware of such possibility.
Mauritz was a capable man, but he never even imagined that this kind of malicious plan that would make anyone vomit could be so easily seen through like this.
「──Perhaps there is nobody else in this world other than me who know better about how treacherous Marquis Valerie Ost’s schemes are.」
Augusto smiled cynically.
「If you are asking me for a basis then that’s my only basis. That’s why I’m not going to go as far as asking for your imprisonment. However I will ask you to surrender your right of command of your troops and fight under the command of General Ramillies as a mere knight. Will that be alright with you?」
You would be troubled if you were asked to do that right?
It was clear that Augusto was explicitly asking that.
In fact, Mauritz’s action would all become pointless if that was done to him. His father’s death would also…….
「Cursed demon!」
Mauritz yelled impulsively.
「I’m aware. It’s only a demon who can see through another demon’s plot.」
Augusto shrugged casually without looking guilty at all. Mauritz’s anger exploded seeing that.
「Then-! There won’t be another human who can see through the demon’s plan if I can kill you here!」
Mauritz pulled out something that looked like a huge needle with length around 80 cm. It was a sharp rapier that he had been hiding somewhere in his body.
「Uwah!」
He moved without any hesitation at all and with agility that was unimaginable for such large body.
The knights who were on standby at the left and right immediately reacted, but it didn’t look like they would make it in time. They were focused in guarding Baldr, not Augusto.
「Unyah!」
Satsuki had soundlessly sneaked behind Mauritz, but Baldr activated his King’s Gate and his sword flashed faster than that.
「I don’t like this man but, he is still a necessary talent. I can’t let you kill him here.」
「Your highness, there is a needless part in your sentence there.」
「Da, mn, you……」
Mauritz who shouldered the burden of his plot alone distorted his expression in regret. His blood spurted out and he expired without letting out any voice.
(Don’t underestimate me father. I won’t let you do as you please!)
Augusto’s expression twisted bitterly even after seeing through Valerie’s scheme.
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