< What Is Rightfully Mine (3) >
“An invitation?”
However, Aiden, having received the invitation, decided to simply wave his hand and dismiss it.
“I have a long road ahead; what time is there for a party?”
Besides, if a party were to be held, wouldn't it be more logical to host the victory celebration in the North?
“Send a polite reply to Baron Filetian, and from now on, there is no need to bring such things to me. Felix, you handle them as you see fit.”
“Yes, Administrative Officer.”
He made a few more decisions.
He hadn't even stepped down from his carriage yet.
The carriage Aiden rode in was the 'Wolf', crafted by Aimhand. It was designed without a ceiling or walls, meaning all the surrounding soldiers could watch his every move.
'He looks so cool.'
'Whoa... one would think he’d at least celebrate the victory.'
'Is it possible that he considers something like this to be nothing at all?'
From the knights and soldiers to the officials who had set out to inspect the state of the occupied territory, everyone looked at their lord and felt a surge of admiration.
This was right after they had toppled the Viscount of Lontes, the tyrant of the North who had long looked down on them and whom they had believed they could never surpass.
Yet, the mastermind who had accomplished this feat in an instant sat in an open-air carriage with an expressionless face, doing nothing but holding endless meetings with the adjutants riding on horseback beside him, even while on the move.
The Northerners felt even more overwhelmed by his attitude, as if the current victory were merely a matter of course.
“Shall I bring you another blanket?”
“That won't be necessary. There are too many eyes on us.”
“But the wind is strong. You’re riding head-on into it; you must think of your health. Even now, if you would just switch to a standard closed carriage...”
“Do you really not know why I chose to ride this one?”
“I know you want to send a warning to everyone, but I’m worried you’ll fall ill from the cold, Administrative Officer!”
Unlike the admiring gazes of the soldiers, Aiden, sitting in a carriage exposed on all sides, was currently fighting a desperate battle against the cold.
The reason why a man with such poor physical stamina insisted on riding the 'Wolf' and traveling through the Filetian territory to Lontes Castle was simple.
It was to leave a lasting impression on the neighboring territories and nobles.
The North, leading a formidable army and riding in a unique carriage, showing off its power for all to see.
The North, passing through another noble’s land as if it were their own, without even sparing a glance for the original owner.
The North, which, unlike other nobles who would be indulging in drink and debauchery, did not set aside its work even while returning in triumph.
To summarize it in one sentence:
— *Can you handle us?*
He was showing them.
If they didn't want the boots of this army to trample their lands, they had better forget everything they knew about the North until now.
“Achoo!”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake! A warning is fine, but you’re going to kill yourself at this rate!”
“Keep it down.”
“Goodness, my heart is going to burst!”
“......”
Whether he cared or not, Jamie, seeing Aiden finally start to cough, could only beat his chest in frustration, as if he were a mother dealing with a rebellious adolescent son.
“We greet the rightful master of the North, Administrative Officer Aiden Blackwood!”
“We greet Aiden Blackwood!”
Finally, they arrived in front of Lontes Castle.
Waiting for Aiden and the Northern army were the retainers of the former Viscount Lontes, their mouths stretched wide in sycophantic grins.
'I recognize every single one of them.'
Aiden met the eyes of the retainers, who were lined up in two rows and putting on airs, one by one.
They had been so servile when they sent letters begging for help, but now that they were on the winning side, they were full of arrogance.
“We have been waiting for you, Aiden!”
Among them, Jefferson, the former adjutant to Viscount Lontes, looked as if he had been rejuvenated.
The greed reflected in his eyes as he called Aiden’s name and tried to act familiar was striking.
It was the look of a man who had been chased by debt collectors only to win the lottery.
“Transparent, so transparent.”
Kalisa, standing behind Aiden, muttered a small jab, but whether Aiden was pretending not to hear or truly didn't hear, he seemed unaffected.
It was only natural.
Wasn't he a man who had been on the verge of being devoured by the Viscount of Lontes, who had the backing of the Second Prince, only to survive because the Viscount was suddenly poisoned, completely flipping the tide of the war?
Besides, that’s how war always is.
All or Nothing.
Either you get cleaned out.
Or you clean everyone else out.
I don't know for sure, but Jefferson was clearly convinced that he was the biggest beneficiary of this war.
“We have prepared a banquet inside. Please, come in. It is a party for our greatest ally, so the knights should join us as well...”
Aiden, who had still not stepped down from the carriage, holding documents in one hand and a pen in the other, handed what he was holding to his secretary and stared straight at Jefferson.
Then,
“Ally?”
Aiden asked back with a smirk.
“Are we allies?”
“...Pardon?”
Jefferson, who had been acting as familiar as a lifelong friend, felt a sudden sense of déjà vu.
He had felt a similar chill before.
That was, um...
“Sir Biyan.”
“Yes, my Lord! Please give the order!”
“Immediately arrest the traitors who dared to disturb the lands of His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Understood!”
Aiden’s voice was not very loud.
He had no intention of putting on a show of authority, nor did he feel the need to posture.
Thud.
But to Jefferson, who was near the carriage, Aiden’s voice, which sounded no different than usual, felt like that of the Grim Reaper.
His heart sank into his stomach.
“Tr-traitors...? Tr-traitors, you say! Aiden! What on earth is the meaning of this...!”
He quickly reached out his arm to grab Aiden’s collar, but—
“Arrest them!”
“Take the criminals into custody!”
“Obey the order!”
In an instant, he was seized by the nearby knights, his limbs bound.
“The crime of deceiving the Viscount of Lontes, who was entrusted with the governing rights of this land by His Majesty the Emperor, using the territory’s taxes to fill your own pockets, and then, when the Viscount noticed and tried to hold you accountable, attempting to bite the hand that fed you. I shall judge this myself.”
Aiden’s voice continued.
Jefferson, held by the limbs by the bear-like Northern knights, felt like he was going to lose his mind upon hearing those words.
'What kind of nonsense is this! We embezzled those taxes together! You were the one who helped with the treason!'
Unfortunately, Jefferson’s voice could not reach Aiden.
The efficient Northern knights, fearing the criminals might bite their own tongues, had stuffed rags into their mouths the moment they grabbed their arms.
“And there was intelligence that a significant amount of poisonous mushrooms, which are banned for consumption in the North, had flowed into the Lontes territory, was there not?”
“Yes, Administrative Officer. We have secured testimony from several Lontes workers who were transporting lumber from the North that the subordinates of that Lontes man secretly harvested the poisonous mushrooms.”
Jamie answered as if he had been waiting for the cue.
Jefferson felt like he was going to collapse from the sheer injustice of it all.
It was true that he and a few others who shared his intentions had heard about the North’s 'Nightmare Mushroom' and plotted to poison Viscount Lontes.
'But we failed...!'
They had succeeded in bringing the mushrooms in.
But that operation had clearly ended in failure.
Some time later, by some strange twist of fate, they heard that the Viscount had poisoned himself and become half-crippled, but that had nothing to do with them.
At the time, he thought the heavens had helped them, but—
'...It was all that man’s doing!'
There was no evidence, but Jefferson was certain.
Those wolf-like Northerners had deceived them.
They were trying to pin everything they had done onto them!
“Furthermore, according to news sent from the horse stables, there is circumstantial evidence that they stole their horses and fled.”
“Horses?”
What is this about now?
Horses? What horses?
“They said they were warhorses intended to be used in the Empire’s war.”
“Warhorses. To think they would lay hands on the Empire’s property to strike at their own lord without a shred of gratitude!”
“Is this not also an act of treason?”
“Indeed, that is the case.”
The exchange between Kalisa and Aiden was somewhat awkward, like actors in a play reciting pre-written lines, but there was no one there to point it out.
“Is that true?”
“They did all sorts of things, all sorts.”
The surrounding soldiers and the Lontes residents who had come out to watch pointed their fingers and spat at the traitors who were rolling on the dirt floor while bound.
These were the very people who had been exploiting them to line their own pockets.
Whether the farming failed or not, they had been so busy squabbling over the 'Viscount faction' and the 'Noble faction' that the residents could count on one hand the number of times they had eaten their fill or slept peacefully in the last year.
'If you were going to fight for power, you should have at least solved the problem of the commoners’ livelihood before you started.'
Aiden, who had created this situation, concluded it cleanly without a shred of guilt.
The fault lay entirely with those men.
If they hadn't been so terrible at politics and so indifferent to the public welfare, would the residents be spitting at them after hearing a few words from an occupying force, rather than supporting the nobles of their own land whom they had known for so long?
“Drag them all away.”
“Yes!”
In the end, with not a single person to take their side, the Lontes nobles, who had been preparing to swallow the gambling money they had set aside for the celebration, had to check into the dungeon instead of the banquet hall.
It was the end for those who had betrayed their master for a few coins.
“What about Viscount Lontes?”
“That is...”
Sir Biyan had brought out a few of the guards who had been serving Viscount Lontes at close quarters in the dungeon.
“I need to know the exact state of the Viscount to report to the center. Guard, speak of what you have seen. How is Viscount Lontes now?”
“...Kuh!”
The guard wept, as if the situation were too tragic for him to speak of with his own mouth.
“Administrative Officer.”
At that moment, Jamie whispered in Aiden’s ear.
“What.”
“That bastard, he’s not really crying, he’s just pretending, isn't he?”
“I know.”
Tragically, even the guard’s tears were fake.
He seemed to be trying his best to look like a loyal knight, but—
'Good grief.'
This territory.
Aiden thought that even if he hadn't laid a hand on it, it would have collapsed soon anyway.
“Hahaha! So they finally swallowed Lontes!”
Deep within the Imperial Palace.
Laughter erupted from the First Prince’s office.
“And Viscount Lontes is poisoned by mushrooms and out of his mind?”
“Yes. It seems he was done in by the retainers who were part of the anti-Viscount faction.”
“Done in by his retainers, my foot.”
The First Prince, reviewing the post-war processing procedure sent by Aiden, snorted.
“Although Viscount Lontes was a man who couldn't see an inch in front of his face and got backstabbed by his own subordinates, he wasn't a fool. They say the battle was quite even until the North intervened.”
“That may be so, but isn't poisoning something that cannot be explained by reason and logic?”
“That is true, but I say this because the origin of those mushrooms is the North.”
There was no evidence, but the First Prince seemed convinced that the poisoning of Viscount Lontes was the North’s doing.
Well, he had no intention of digging into it, anyway.
“The important thing is that all the pieces of the puzzle fit together perfectly.”
“Indeed, Your Highness. Furthermore, since the banner of the North, which had openly supported the Second Prince, has been broken so miserably, it will serve as a warning to the lords in areas where the hands of the Second Prince and the Empress do not reach.”
“Of course, there is something that must be done first to achieve that, isn't there?”
“You must remove the broken banner and plant your own, Your Highness.”
At the adjutant’s words, a smile spread across the First Prince’s face.
“Should I prioritize the noble title, or the annexation?”
Tap, tap.
The First Prince’s fingers tapped the table.
He seemed to be pondering which course of action would carry less political burden.
“Wouldn't the noble title be the priority?”
“Since the Administrative Officer of the North is so loyal to Your Highness, you should take this opportunity to bring him into your fold.”
Those gathered in the First Prince’s office were all nobles with titles as well.
Naturally, they assumed Aiden would want a title.
“A title, hmm.”
The First Prince’s contemplation deepened.
His head told him that was the answer, but for some reason, he couldn't be certain.
“Obviously, annexation is the priority. Is that even something to ponder?”
“Pardon?”
At that moment.
Aiden was frowning at his adjutants, who were talking about preparing a title conferment ceremony, asking if they were confused about their priorities.
Receiving a noble title and annexing the neighboring territory?
It was impossible to have both at once.
If that were the case, then obviously—
'I have to snatch up the land first!'
How hard did I work to swallow this up? Why would I hand over what is mine to someone else just to receive a single title?
'I won't let it be taken. Absolutely not.'
This land is mine.
No one can take it!