Chapter 187
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 187
Folkar blinked blankly at Felicia’s words.
An ambush before the duel had even begun?
The Mage acting as the referee had clearly finished the declaration and stepped back.
The duel should have started at that very moment, so what was she talking about?
He was so flabbergasted that he raised his head to offer a rebuttal, but then he saw it.
“…”
“…”
Thousands of pairs of cold, icy eyes were glaring down at him.
Among them were even the knights of his own House of Lerum.
The knights of the Viscounty, their faces pale with shock, shouted at the top of their lungs.
“Th-this was Sir Folkar’s own doing! It has nothing to do with us!”
“Traitors who left their names in history always said the same thing the moment their rebellion failed—that their actions were born of loyalty.”
“It truly isn’t us! We swear by the Eight Gods!”
“Do not sell the names of the gods so recklessly. It makes my ears feel like they’re rotting just hearing it.”
Folkar looked back and forth between the knights and Felicia with a dazed expression.
It seemed that no one believed he had engaged in the duel through proper procedure.
The idea that he had ambushed Hugo before the duel even started was already being accepted as an established fact.
‘What is going on? Why is no one defending me?’
Folkar felt a wave of dizziness at the incomprehensible situation.
Then what was the Mage’s declaration he had heard just moments ago?
Had he heard a hallucination due to excessive tension?
‘Wait, the Mage?’
Folkar’s eyes snapped wide open.
He didn’t know much about magic, but he knew its power could cause all sorts of nonsensical phenomena.
He had heard they could shoot fire from their hands, call down lightning from the sky, and even change the weather and temperature.
Naturally, the scale of magic a mage could wield would vary greatly depending on their individual skill, just like a knight.
But if it was a Court Mage of the North, surely manipulating sound would be a simple task.
If, by some chance, they had used magic to craftily ensure that only Folkar heard the declaration…
‘Those madmen…!’
Only then did Folkar realize he had fallen into a trap.
His opponent, Hugo, was the Duke’s closest confidant. He could never be killed.
The referee was a Mage. There was no way to tell what tricks he was pulling.
The one who denounced his dishonor was the Sword Saint. It was difficult to argue back recklessly.
Could there be a better environment to hatch a conspiracy?
With thousands of witnesses added to the mix, he was bound to be branded with dishonor without any way out.
“W-wait a moment…!”
“Shut up, Folkar!”
Thwack!
“Guh!”
Folkar tried to proclaim his innocence somehow, but he was struck by a scabbard swung by the knights of House Lerum and collapsed.
Considering they were comrades until just a moment ago, it might have been unreasonable treatment, but the knights of the Viscounty were also desperate.
In their eyes, Folkar looked like a madman who had charged in to kill the Duke’s closest aide without even waiting for the referee’s signal.
Naturally, they couldn’t expect anything sensible to come out of his mouth.
If he poured out resentment or curses, it might make the situation even worse, so they had no choice but to knock him unconscious.
“I say again, this has nothing to do with us…!”
“Enough.”
The knights who were spewing excuses fell silent at Lucian’s cold voice.
Beside him, Viscount Oleg stood frozen, his face deathly pale.
Lucian turned his head and looked at Viscount Oleg, the knights, and Folkar in turn before speaking curtly.
“Move Sir Hugo inside and have him treated.”
“Yes! Fortunately, the Viscounty has an elixir…!”
“Shut up.”
Viscount Oleg tried to win Lucian’s favor, but he had to close his mouth at the short, sharp rebuke.
Even if it was a King speaking to a Viscount, the language was excessive, but no one dared to stop Lucian.
After watching Hugo being carried inside, Lucian stood up and spoke.
“The duel is over. Everyone, return.”
*
The result of the duel was utterly hollow.
A loss by foul for Folkar, who ambushed his opponent without waiting for the starting signal.
Calling it a loss by foul was a generous way of putting it; in reality, it was closer to the duel never having happened at all.
A match that ended in an instant without even a proper clash of swords wasn’t even worth gossiping about.
However, separate from that, the repercussions brought about by this hollow duel were enormous.
“Not only did they insult our King, but they even pulled this kind of nonsense in a duel.”
“Just how shameless can they be? Do they have iron plates for skin?”
“Ptooey! So they think the West is their own backyard, do they? Just you wait and see.”
The goodwill they had previously felt vanished, replaced by the 5,000 soldiers burning with hostility toward the House of Lerum.
They frequently left the encampment to roam the territory as they pleased, and they carried weapons whenever they moved.
With dozens of soldiers wandering around armed, the commoners trembled in fear.
The knights of House Lerum tried to step in, unable to watch any longer, but it was no use.
The soldiers would only pretend to listen for a moment before quickly returning to threatening the commoners.
“Damn it, shouldn’t we lodge a formal protest?”
“A protest? You want to go to the Duke and protest now? Are you insane?”
The veteran knights looked annoyed at the younger knights’ complaints.
If it were a time of peace, they could have protested that a mere soldier had ignored a knight’s command.
Knights from other territories also wouldn’t tolerate actions that challenged noble authority.
But the situation had changed now that they were in turbulent times.
Now, which faction one belonged to was far more important than having the same social status.
“Blood is thicker than water. If you recklessly touch them using your status because they’re just soldiers, there’s no telling how the knights on that side will react.”
“Are you saying we should just keep enduring it even if those bastards keep acting like that?”
“Then what do you want to do? Shall we stop enduring and start a war?”
“…”
“Keep your mouth shut and stay still. Unless you want to turn this territory into a sea of fire.”
It was an unsatisfying answer for the young knights, but the old knight’s perception of reality was accurate.
Even their master, Viscount Oleg, was bowing low to ensure Lucian didn’t explode.
“Complete the bridge as quickly as possible! I don’t care if you use up every bit of material we have, move the date up by even a single day!”
Viscount Oleg revised his original plan to hold Lucian back a bit longer and hurried the bridge repair work.
Since things had turned out this way, he had to get Lucian out as soon as possible.
If they stayed in the Lerum territory any longer, there was no telling when the soldiers might explode and start a war.
“I’ve done everything I can in the current situation. If I hold the Duke back any longer, it’s bound to have the opposite effect. The Marquis will surely understand.”
“Of course, My Lord. However, Sir Folkar is still pleading his innocence in the dungeon…”
“Ignore him.”
Viscount Oleg cut off his aide’s report flatly.
Whether Folkar’s sudden action was due to a conspiracy or not was no longer important.
What mattered was that the moment he released Folkar, the hostility of the 5,000 soldiers would erupt.
“Even if Sir Folkar really did fall into a trap, I have no choice but to keep him locked in the dungeon for now. Once they leave, I’ll hear the full story then.”
Postponing the investigation into the truth, Viscount Oleg poured all his strength into the bridge restoration.
Thanks to that, the bridge was repaired quickly, and it looked like the repairs would be completed earlier than expected.
Lucian hadn’t shown any particular movement either, so the Viscount was feeling relieved inwardly when a bolt from the blue reached his ears.
“The bridge we just fixed is broken!?”
“Yes! It definitely wasn’t broken by an accident! There are traces left behind of someone coming secretly at night and breaking it with brute force!”
“…!”
Viscount Oleg’s eyebrows quivered.
He had a rough idea of who had broken the bridge.
After agonizing with his eyes closed for a long time, the Viscount finally spoke to his aide in a trembling voice.
“…I must meet the Duke.”
*
“The bridge is broken?”
“Yes. There are even traces left behind that someone broke it intentionally.”
“Ha.”
Lucian let out a hollow laugh.
His attitude suggested he was so flabbergasted that he was beyond words.
However, Viscount Oleg looked at Lucian with a firm gaze and said,
“Your Highness, please do not do this.”
“Do not do this? What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean.”
“Are you trying to play riddles with me? Stop playing word games and say it with your own mouth.”
Viscount Oleg flinched for a moment at Lucian’s murderous voice, but it was only for a split second.
Quickly regaining his composure, the Viscount spoke clearly to Lucian.
“I know that the one who broke the bridge was Your Highness.”
“…”
“I will open the way for you right now, so please stop. Haven’t you done enough? What do you gain by continuing to pressure me and venting your anger? Do you really intend to start a war?”
“War? That sounds good.”
“Pardon?”
Lucian curled the corners of his mouth and glared at Viscount Oleg.
“You people insulted me, wounded my knight, and now you’re even framing me. At this point, I’ve endured as much as I can.”
“Y-Your Highness.”
“I now refuse to be your guest. I will pull my army outside the castle and wait for three days, so prepare your defenses. I, Lucian Grimaldi Valdek, in the name of the Grimaldi Royal Family, declare war on the House of Lerum!”
“…!?”
Viscount Oleg was horrified by the unexpected declaration of war.
No, he was really going to start a war right here in the middle of the West?
“Are you in your right mind!? Your Highness has now turned the entire West into your enemy!”
“And while I am fighting against the entire West, you will be resting peacefully in a coffin.”
“…!”
“I’ll take care of myself, so worry about your own skin. The House of Lerum will be destroyed in three days.”
Having finished his piece, Lucian left Viscount Oleg behind and stepped outside.
The dazed Viscount followed Lucian in a frantic hurry a beat late.
“Your Highness, please calm down! I didn’t mean to insult Your Highness!”
“Felicia, Marius. Gather the soldiers. We are leaving the House of Lerum immediately.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Please listen to me, just listen to me! I was wrong!”
“And get this annoying pest away from me. Every single word he says is grating on my ears.”
“Your Highness! Gasp!”
Viscount Oleg, who was clinging to Lucian, had no choice but to stop.
It was because he suddenly felt the cold sensation of metal against his nape.
“V-Viscount!”
“Remove that sword at once!”
The knights of the Viscounty were aghast to see Felicia with her sword drawn.
They moved their hands to their waists as if they were about to charge at any moment, but Felicia didn’t even blink as she spoke.
“As long as you don’t cling to His Majesty, I have no reason to use force, so rest assured. Step back.”
Viscount Oleg was forced to step back at Felicia’s threat.
Sheathing her sword again, Felicia followed Lucian along with Marius.
A short while later, Lucian truly led his soldiers toward the castle gates.
Then, he shouted in a loud voice so that everyone could hear.
“In return for all the insults and mockery I received from the House of Lerum, I declare war upon you! There will be only surrender or destruction, so think well during these three days!”