Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Pruning (7)
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Below the churning cliffs.
A fishing boat with a triangular sail glided across the water's surface.
"There it is! Hurry and swing the bow around!"
"Lian! Over here! Grab my hand, sir!"
Lian, who had been struggling desperately to stay afloat on the verge of drowning, thrust out his hand toward the familiar voice.
Soon, his body was hauled up onto the deck by the strong hands of the burly men.
"Got him! What a catch!"
"Whoa, this one's gonna bring in a pile of gold coins!"
"Huff... I really thought I was done for..."
Lian sprawled out on the fishy deck of the boat, slowly catching his breath.
As his mind gradually cleared, his entire body throbbed with pain, as if he'd been in a car accident.
As expected, jumping from such a height into the sea packed quite the impact.
"Whoa! Did you really jump from up there, sir? That's insane."
"Ow ow! Pablo! I think my leg's broken!"
"Let me see. Hmm. Looks fine to me."
"It really hurts, though..."
Lian grumbled as he slowly bent and straightened his leg.
It hurt with every movement, but not to the point where he couldn't move it at all.
"By the way, what happened to the lord?"
They had watched from afar, but only Lian had jumped from there.
Yet during their whispered conversation in the chapel, hadn't he said this was the only way out?
"He took care of himself somehow, I guess."
"Pardon?"
"Ugh. More importantly, are the logging crews ready?"
"The ones we lured with the lord are being handled by Advisor Simon."
"Did you pass on the precautions?"
"Yes, sir. He was told to be careful since there might still be ones moving in indoor areas without sunlight..."
"Good enough."
And Leon and the knights, unaware of that, would have returned to the ramparts by now.
They were probably best buddies with those things at this point.
"Hm. Nice to see he didn't betray my expectations of a backstab."
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
"Talking to myself. But seriously, is my leg okay? It still looks broken to me..."
"That's just you being dramatic... Oh. Your wound's split open."
In any case, now that the culprits were all gone.
All that was left was a clean cleanup.
The axe blade flashed in the morning sunlight, tracing a long silver arc.
Thwack! Crunch!
With just a couple swings of the axe, the neck of the tree zombie came clean off.
Soon, the once-lush branches withered and crumbled away, revealing its original form beneath.
"Oh ho? Now that I look, this is the eldest son of the Nunes family, isn't it? Jackpot!"
"Ah... I should've done it! I had a hunch from the clothes! What a waste!"
Nico's gang held up the severed head like a trophy, cackling proudly.
Honestly, it wasn't the most pleasant sight for Lian, but it couldn't be helped.
It was necessary work either way, and they needed that kind of motivation.
"Pablo. Any areas we haven't checked yet?"
"No, sir. This is the last one."
"Good. Just to be safe, let's sweep through one more time."
Lian turned his horse around and retraced their path.
By now, the shadows had grown considerably shorter.
Thank goodness they could wrap up before noon.
They had found about a hundred remaining tree zombies while combing the old town.
Some had been trapped in basements or rooms, impossible to find without Lian's senses.
Missing even one could lead to a repeat of last night's catastrophe.
Lian carefully listened as he rode through the entire old town.
"Whoa. Nice riding."
By the time they reached the inner grounds of Madella Castle, thick black smoke was rising.
Fortunately, no magical aura emanated from that smoke.
"Bring more sand here! The fire's spreading this way!"
"Hold on! That side first!"
The castle soldiers bustled about, controlling the flames.
With so much fresh wood burning, one slip could let the blaze rage out of control.
Then all their efforts to pile it up in one spot would be for nothing.
As would the lives lost in the process.
"Ah. Lian...!"
Simon spotted Lian from afar and came rushing over, out of breath.
"Um. The lord hasn't returned yet. Did he...?"
"Yes. Unfortunately."
Lian stared silently at the towering pillar of fire.
If that had once been Leon, he was probably burning inside it now.
Simon, grasping the meaning of that gaze, bowed his head solemnly.
"I won't ask how it ended..."
"Far from heroic, let's just say."
"Too honest."
Simon gave a wry smile as he gazed at the fierce flames licking the ramparts.
If Leon was truly behind this disaster, his pathetic end was inevitable.
It had just been hastened a bit.
"Thousands died. In just one night."
"All because they picked the wrong lord."
"I have nothing to say about that. If only I'd advised him properly..."
"Yeah."
Simon wasn't at fault, really.
But Lian had no intention of offering empty comfort.
What he needed was reflection.
"I sent a courier to the capital on the morning ship. Given the scale, the Royal Magic Corps will investigate soon."
"Royal Magic Corps, huh..."
A somewhat unfamiliar term to Lian.
But intriguing.
"Yes. So I may need to trouble you again then."
"Got it. I'm a key witness, after all."
"Indeed..."
Honestly, most of what Lian said would become fact.
Even if it was all fabricated from start to finish.
And whatever the content, it wouldn't favor House Monteir much.
One death wasn't nearly enough to shoulder the blame.
"Young Master Lewis is still young. Effectively, Lady Monteir will act as lord from now on."
"What's she like?"
"From a central noble house, at least. For a century, the matriarchs of House Monteir have come from the capital."
"Typical political marriage. And daughters go to the capital?"
"Spot on."
Lian suddenly grew curious about the capital's reaction to this mess.
Leon was a royalist loyal to the crown.
Most local houses prioritized Madella's identity.
But now those were mostly dead, so who would fill the vacuum?
Not that it mattered to Lian.
"Coming from Leon's confidant, this might lack credibility... but the lady is a good person."
"What can I do if she's not to my liking?"
Simon stared steadily at Lian's face, offering only a quiet wry smile.
Lian hadn't killed Leon or Francis directly.
But he was deeply involved in their ends—an undeniable fact.
Truly the grim reaper come to House Monteir.
"Leon deserved to die, honestly."
"Ahem. Too honest again."
Simon felt a pang of sorrow, unable to deny it outright.
The tragedy in the old north harbor reached the south harbor the next late afternoon.
Thirty-two noble houses that had shared Madella's long history—virtually wiped out.
Branches survived, but they couldn't expect former prestige.
And Leon had only recently executed his father and taken the lordship, only to vanish in this disaster's aftermath.
Worse, rumors swirled that he caused it.
"More than that, I'm worried if Lian's okay!"
"Sit still. You're making me anxious."
"Oh come on! Aren't you worried, Madam Isabel?"
Isabel frowned at the frantic maid jumping about.
Who wouldn't worry?
But fussing changed nothing; they could only wait calmly for news.
"Madam Isabel! Madam! Come quick!"
Her head already pounded, and now more commotion outside.
"Haa..."
Isabel rubbed her temples and rose from the sofa.
Irritation was building.
Her husband wouldn't like it, but the mansion needed a purge.
"What now?"
"Lian! Lord Lian's back!"
"What?"
This time, the commotion was justified.
"Out of my way!"
"Eek...!"
Isabel shoved past the maid announcing Lian's return and hurried to the front gate.
There, crossing the distant corridor, came a handsome face trudging along.
Spotting Isabel approaching, Lian forgot his deep fatigue for a moment and flashed a bright smile.
"Oh? Isabel. Come to greet me?"
"Lian...!"
Throwing aside decorum, Isabel ran straight to him and threw her arms around him.
Lian startled at his wife's unusual behavior.
But soon, a smile bloomed on his face.
"Whoa! Such a warm welcome. Worth being away a week."
"What? Is that what you say after all that?"
Returning after such ordeals.
The fact of a home and someone waiting hit him viscerally.
A feeling he'd never truly known in his past life.
Not even in his childhood with a family that barely mattered.
"Anyway, I'm home."
The words felt strangely foreign even as he said them.
In Casar, capital of the Castel Kingdom.
The daily privy council in the royal palace was buried under mountains of reports from across the realm.
The kingdom's strong centralization stemmed from the king's and ministers' diligence—no exaggeration.
"Next, the magical disaster in Madella territory."
"Madella? Wasn't Lord Francis Monteir, the former lord, just executed for grave crimes? An extension of that?"
"Investigation needed."
King Balua II's brow furrowed as he read the report.
Especially the casualty count—not something to take lightly.
"What say you, ministers? Depending, we may need to strip House Monteir of their title."
The severest punishment short of extermination.
Premature, perhaps, with investigation pending—but swift decisions served the realm.
"Problems piling up so quickly does cast doubt on their competence."
"Yet tradition demands caution."
"Agreed. Stirring up the recently quiet separatists..."
"Tch! United under the true sun for a century now. Too much autonomy granted."
"Your Majesty, why not purge them root and branch? Reform Madella's systems to central law?"
Stripping the title was one thing; replacing a vast territory's leadership lightly was another.
But elevating a surviving lesser house? Few remained intact after the disaster.
Invariably, someone from the Castel heartland would cross over.
Local sentiments would breed resentment.
"I understand your views."
Balua II said no more.
Meaning the debate ended here.
The heated ministers on House Monteir's fate promptly fell silent.
"Treasury Minister. Madella's taxes last year? Seems we should grant some relief this year."
"See this graph comparing territorial tax contributions."
"...Heavens. Quite the sum."
The graph showed three main metrics.
Population and territory size by domain.
And tax revenue.
Madella was small-nation sized, so higher population and land.
Even accounting for that, its taxes dwarfed others.
"Nearly quadruple the second place. Accurate?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Largely due to the Lapis Lazuli Merchant House."
"Wasn't it this much before?"
"Since a man named Lian took over, the already large house doubled."
Lian.
A name Balua II had heard often lately.
"This young man's name popping up everywhere."
"Oh! The graph's inventor?"
"Magic Hunter? Or something like that now."
"Right! He resolved Madella's recent disaster too."
"Hm. I see."
Balua II tapped Lian's name in the report with his quill.
Seemed capable, with major influence in Madella.
A fine Monteir replacement.
"But a Bordian slave origin..."
"Freeman now. Married his owner, Isabel."
"I see."
Still, his origins nagged a bit.
"He needs more merits, it seems. Your thoughts?"
Balua II stroked his lush beard, a subtle smile playing.
If qualifications fell short, simply fill the gap.