Chapter 174
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 174
Chapter Title: Ambition and Strategy
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“Father! Are you all right?”
“Let go of me!”
The duke swatted Aint’s hand away and pushed himself up.
The Fallenberg family's usury was infamous, but the most talked-about deal recently was undoubtedly the one with the Bercefes.
A ten-year term with a 33% compound annual interest rate.
Considering the empire's average interest rate for usury was 8%, there was no greater extortion.
But at the time, the Bercefes had no other choice.
They desperately needed a transfusion of funds to rebuild their family, and the Fallenbergs had blocked every other source of money.
They had no choice but to borrow the money through tears, putting up immense collateral.
It was wickedness itself.
The duke, though not directly involved, shuddered at how they could do such a thing to a fellow Elector—even if they had sold their rights to the Golden Bull.
Then there was talk of suddenly waiving the interest and making a massive investment, but in the duke’s eyes, it was by no means for the Bercefes' benefit.
*‘They must have cut them some slack out of fear they wouldn’t get their money back if the Bercefes collapsed.’*
That was the Fallenberg way.
But what?
Borrow money from the Fallenbergs?
“You scouuundrel! How could you decide something so important on your own! How much! Just how much did you borrow!”
“…that much.”
Hearing the amount, the duke's vision turned yellow. Even if they sold all the family’s assets, it wouldn't be enough.
His son, who had gone to the academy for the first time in a hundred years and made a name for himself as a hero, who had seemed so pride-worthy, now looked like a demon.
Perhaps a demon of usury. With seventy-two demons in existence, it wouldn't be strange if such a demon existed.
Yes, this was the work of a demon. It was a plot to ruin the Armians, their old adversaries, before descending once more to conquer the world.
There was no other explanation.
“Father, I know you're shocked, but please, just hear me out.”
But what enraged the duke even more was that confident face. The boy didn't seem to properly grasp what he had done wrong.
The problem was raising him like a frog in a well.
Having thrown an ignorant child into the wilderness of the academy, he had probably been swindled a hundred times over.
“What in the world were you thinking, doing something like that! What were you thinking!”
“It was the best option.”
“The best option? This is a blatant trap!”
High interest rates aside, what kind of moron lends a fortune to a beggar?
The Fallenbergs would never do something as foolish as lending the Armians more money than all their assets combined for no reason.
They were definitely after something.
“Father!”
Aint shouted. The duke's train of thought was broken.
“First, would you please take a look at this?”
Aint knew that a single piece of evidence would be more persuasive to his father than a hundred words of explanation.
So he took out the contract he had been carefully keeping in his breast pocket.
“This is the original contract I signed with Senior Pernyan Fallenberg.”
“Fine, let me see it. Let's see what gave you the confidence to sign a contract with a Fallenberg!”
They must have praised him a little for being a hero at the academy, and it went straight to his head.
What other explanation could there be!
The duke began to examine the contract. Aint continued speaking slowly.
“This is the first time I'm telling you this, Father, but I have no intention of ending as a mere hero.”
Being a hero was just the beginning.
“I grew up hearing it all the time. The Armians are great. The Armians will one day be great again.”
It was what those who couldn't forget their past glory always said.
“I hated those words.”
So what if we were great in the past? We're so insignificant now.
We'll be great again someday? How can we become great again when we're cooped up in this small remaining territory, never venturing out?
“That's why I wanted to go to the academy, and I went.”
I wanted to act, not just talk.
It wasn't anything grand at first. I just wanted to escape this tiresome family and face reality.
Curiosity about the sword said to be left by the first emperor also played a part.
But after meeting Gardner, after the demon appeared, after being hailed as a hero, and after hearing Pernyan Fallenberg offer his help, an ambition I never thought I had began to stir.
“I will make the Armian family great again.”
As great as before, no, even greater.
“I want to make the Armians the imperial family again, Father.”
At those words, the duke, who had been reading the contract, froze.
“But that can't be achieved with my will alone, or just because I became a hero.”
A hero with no power base ends as just a hero. An emperor must be a hero, but also have a solid foundation.
The Armian family needs to become that foundation.
“I realized we need to build up the Armian family. To do that, we needed a lot of money, and Senior Pernyan offered to help me.”
The contract, which was incredibly favorable to Aint, was proof of that.
“You, of all people, Father, should know how good the terms of that contract are.”
“…”
“Father. To raise the Armian family again, we absolutely need that money.”
The duke didn't answer. He just read the contract again and again.
“The truth is.”
After a long while, the duke finally spoke.
“I have no interest in the glory of the Armians, or the emperor, or any of that.”
While Aint wanted to reclaim their former glory, the duke held no great attachment to it.
“Why must we reclaim a glory that has passed? It is, quite literally, past glory. People must live in the present, and I have no great attachment to a past I never experienced.”
And he knew all too well how difficult it would be to reclaim that attachment, what a great storm it would stir up. That was why he disliked it.
“I never found a reason to go through such hardship. No, I was afraid.”
Though he held the grand title of duke, he knew his own vessel was not that large.
“Because I knew that if the Armians struggled to reclaim the throne, regardless of the possibility of success, it would call for so much blood. I was afraid of that.”
Knowing the Schwabens would never stand idly by.
The current situation, where they were barely maintaining their lineage, could be shattered.
“But you are different.”
You broke through the isolation everyone feared and went to the academy.
You fought the Vile Breed and became a hero.
And you've even laid out and are executing a concrete plan yourself.
“You are better than me.”
The duke placed the contract on the table.
“This contract is certainly good. Too good. Not just the Fallenbergs, no merchant would lend money on these terms.”
It was true that Pernyan Fallenberg had taken a liking to Aint.
No, it wasn't just a simple liking; it was an investment. Pernyan Fallenberg truly believed Aint had the potential to become emperor.
That must be why a Fallenberg would readily lend such a sum on these terms.
“It seems I still have much to learn.”
A Fallenberg saw what I, his own parent, failed to see.
“You said you want to become emperor?”
“Yes.”
“Then give me the money you received from the Fallenbergs.”
I.
“will make the Armian family your foundation.”
Go on and do as you wish, to your heart's content.
“As a parent, I will support my child's path, never obstruct it.”
Even if the end of that path is not bright.
The duke did not know.
That this money was originally supposed to be entirely theirs.
* * *
“What should we do?”
Migrating nearly ten thousand dwarves to Fallenberg territory without anyone noticing.
He had boasted confidently, but even for a Fallenberg, this was no easy task.
“How about disguising them as merchant guild workers and moving them in small groups?”
“That would take too long. More importantly, we'd have to visit the Friedien lands too often. They would naturally notice something was amiss.”
“That's true.”
Just then, the butler knocked on the door.
“Young Master, the head of the family requests your presence.”
“I'll be back then, Hyde.”
“Take care, sir.”
They had returned to the main estate and requested an audience with the duke.
Although he had secured the contract, a task of this magnitude would be incredibly difficult without the full power of the Fallenberg family.
There were other matters to report as well. Such as the fact that Daniel Cole was one of the Vile Breed.
“…Daniel Cole is one of the Vile Breed?”
“Yes. But I would like you to leave him be for now.”
“The reason?”
Duke Ivon did not say that was unacceptable.
“He believes I am under his suggestion. He will think I'm on his side, and I plan to use that to dig up his roots.”
“Adolf Friedien as well?”
“The same.”
“I've heard the Vile Breed are masters of mental magic. You did well to break free.”
“I used holy water.”
“Just in case, go to Lord Dulleo and get yourself checked.”
“Yes.”
Having finished the first matter, the duke moved straight to the main topic.
“This is astonishing. To think there's an underground city of dwarves beneath the Friedien lands.”
His eyes widened as he checked the contract Pernyan presented.
As the saying goes, the darkest place is under the candlestick. No one would have expected it.
“And on top of that, you've managed to entice them all to become part of the Fallenberg family.”
“The situation was urgent, so I promised them the Algot County fief. My apologies.”
“No, you did very well. If we can secure them, we can give them more than just the Algot fief.”
It would still be profitable.
“I will speak to the count. But the condition they set is a migration undetected by the elves.”
“They said they wish to remain undetected by anyone, if possible.”
“That is not difficult.”
“Is there a way?”
The duke nodded nonchalantly.
“What is the exact location of the dwarves' city?”
“It's near the very center of Denbery. The northeastern edge of the Friedien marquisate.”
Thanks to that rocky mountain range, the Friediens were able to hold out against the empire's threats for quite some time. The empire had deemed the land useless.
“It's not far from the Holtian viscounty, is it?”
The Holtian viscounty was one of the few fiefs the Fallenbergs owned on the Lutar continent.
It was adjacent to the Friedien marquisate.
“Are you suggesting they dig a tunnel from their city to the Holtian viscounty?”
“Yes.”
If someone were to make an issue of the dwarves suddenly appearing in Holtian, they could simply claim they had been living in the Holtian viscounty all along.
There was no one bold enough to rebuke the Fallenbergs without clear evidence.
“Even if it's relatively close, it's still quite a distance. And the area in between is a forest, not a mountain range. Even underground, there's a chance the elves will notice.”
The stretch might be short, but the forest was clearly elven territory.
The trees, influenced by the World Tree, had incredibly deep roots, so they could not be complacent.
“Then they can simply take a detour. They're dwarves, after all. Surely they have that much skill.”
The duke spread out a map.
“Like this, from Denbery with its rocky mountains, through the Baden County fief.”
He drew a line with his finger. The line bypassed the Friedien territory and reached the Holtian viscounty.
“They just need to reach the Holtian viscounty. From there, we can load them up and move them to the Pandrein continent.”
Most of Pandrein was under Fallenberg's sphere of influence. Once they were moved, all problems would disappear.
“…That seems like it would be a massive undertaking.”
“But it is the simplest way.”
The problem was that, given the distance, it would take a long time and require vast resources.
“I will cover all the costs. And just in case, I will meet with Count Baden.”
The key issue was bypassing Friedien territory and passing through the Baden County fief.
They might pass deep underground without any issues, but one never knew with worldly affairs.
“I'll make up some reason to hold a festival throughout the entire Baden fief. When things get noisy and festive, vigilance slackens, and people let their guard down.”
In such a situation, who would know what was happening underground?
“The deadline is about one month.”
Finish everything within that time.
“The entire migration doesn't need to be completed. A passage wide enough for just one person is fine. As long as the tunnel is successfully completed, the migration can begin afterward.”
“Yes, I understand. I will take the necessary supplies in subspace pockets.”
“I will open the warehouse and give you more subspace pockets.”
Pernyan received the duke's assurance that everything would be carried out according to the contract and returned to the dwarven city under the cover of night.
And from that day on, a large-scale civil engineering project began.