Chapter 179: The Return
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 179: The Return
The blood and brain matter trickling down my fingers were sticky. But what stood out more was the temperature.
A lukewarmth, neither hot nor cold, a lingering trace proving it had come from a human body that was alive just moments ago.
My skin began to itch. If I were to take off my clothes, I was sure I'd find goosebumps. Without showing any of it, I calmly wiped away the evidence of the murder with a handkerchief.
It was necessary.
To Dresden's vassals, I was just a new noble from a minor knightly family, someone who still had to walk on eggshells around them.
That must be why they, mere vassals, felt they could meddle in the succession of their lord's house.
I had to make them recognize their new reality. The problem was, I didn't have time to spare. So I chose the fastest method.
An example.
Judging by the way Dresden's vassals recoiled in terror, my intention was a resounding success.
“What is the meaning of this!”
One of the vassals, his face pale as a sheet, belatedly raised his voice. The other vassals joined in, pointing fingers at me and turning my room into a stage for their denunciations.
'A frightened dog barks the loudest, they say…'
Instead, I let the corners of my mouth curl up, tossed the ruined handkerchief aside, and took a step forward.
They flinched.
“Stop! Don't come any closer!”
That alone was enough to make the vassals scramble back in fear. The ones at the very back found their backs pressed against the wall.
“I don't understand. If some serf got out of line and disrespected you, you would have done the same. Why are you so angry?”
I shrugged, putting on a look of genuine confusion. My nonchalance seemed to enrage them further.
“We are noblemen-!”
The voice that erupted from his mouth, along with a spray of spittle, seemed to seethe like lava. My smile only deepened.
“Vassals who swore loyalty to Dresden, yes. Arrogant vassals who, instead of honoring that oath, tried to choose their own master.”
Leaving the vassals to flinch at my ice-cold voice, I turned my head. Unlike the vassals, Countess Monet didn't even blink.
'Quite the formidable woman.'
Adeleade's description of her as a wise and strong woman had been a gross understatement.
“Adeleade is the sole heir to Dresden. There is no room for vassals to argue the matter. What are your thoughts, Countess?”
Countess Monet's eyes narrowed.
“…What are you plotting?”
“Was my explanation insufficient?”
Countess Monet shook her head.
“This is the first time we've met, Baron, but I know you're not the type to needlessly make enemies when an attack from Bronx II is imminent.”
She was a tough one, as expected. But so was I.
“Enemies… Could Dresden's vassals truly be my enemies?”
“What…”
A muscle twitched between Countess Monet's brows. I crossed my arms and looked them over with an air of superiority.
“I am the ruler of the Northern Continent and the First Sword of the Church. Soon, the southern part of the Western Continent will also be in my hands. And what of them? They are empty carts, having poured all their families' strength into the northern expedition.”
I held immense power, the backing of the Church, and even an undeniable justification. Why would I need to care what Dresden's vassals think?
I met the Countess's gaze again.
“Can men who can barely manage their own affairs truly blame me for punishing one who didn't know his place?”
The vassals stirred. Half of them condemned me as arrogant, while the other half wondered if my words were true.
Countess Monet was different.
“That doesn't answer my question. I asked about your intentions, not for a demonstration of your power.”
She wasn't fooled by the flashy wrapping paper. Instead, she focused on the truly important matter: my intent.
I clicked my tongue inwardly. I couldn't very well tell her I was trying to cement my new status, weed out dissenters, and confiscate their lands, could I?
Besides, thanks to the Countess's timely intervention, the vassals had already taken a step back.
“Is it difficult to say? Then let me ask something else. Did you kill my husband and my sons?”
The vassals answered for me.
“There's no need to ask! In the end, the only one who benefited was the Baron! This was all his conspiracy!”
“He's right! Look! Didn't he hole himself up in his room, claiming to be tired, and plot this whole thing? He must have cowardly backstabbed the Count and his two sons to steal everything they'd built!”
Countess Monet's gaze grew colder. Though she hadn't said it aloud, her suspicion was palpable.
“Why are you silent? Did you really kill the three of them, just as these men claim?”
Thanks to them, I had to suppress a laugh that threatened to burst out. I couldn't very well laugh in front of a woman who had lost her husband and two sons overnight.
“Quite the opposite.”
“The opposite? What do you mean?”
A deep furrow formed between the Countess's brows. The surrounding vassals swarmed her, chattering incessantly that she shouldn't listen to my sophistry.
“There are some truths better left unknown.”
“And why should you be the one to decide that? I need to know. How my husband and two sons died, and why they had to die…!”
“Can you handle it?”
“Of course.”
“Then, please have these men leave.”
I said it for the Countess's sake. If it became public that the eldest son had killed his own father and brother, it would tarnish the family's reputation.
“They have a right to hear it as well.”
Countess Monet rejected my consideration with a shake of her head.
“You will regret this.”
“…”
The Countess compelled me with her silence. Feeling as if I'd been pushed into it, I began the long story.
“What is the last you've heard?”
“The last news we received was that the royal capital had been captured.”
Erik's betrayal was decided so suddenly it was riddled with mistakes. He likely didn't have the presence of mind to worry about the regular communication ship to Dresden.
“Then you must also know that the roles of the main and supporting forces were switched, and that Aron, who even secured an agreement with the Duke, re-entered the succession race.”
“I heard it was all the Baron's doing…”
“Acquiring competent vassals is one of a lord's virtues. In any case, it seems someone was unnerved by the shifting line of succession.”
“Don't tell me…”
Countess Monet instantly realized there was only one person who would have felt threatened in that situation.
“Yes. Just when all that remained was to pursue and finish off the Pope and his remnants, Erik made his move.”
“Lies…!”
The room was plunged into shock. The Countess shook her head, denying reality, while the vassals were struck dumb by a truth that surpassed their imagination.
Countess Monet quickly composed herself. She glared at me, her eyes trembling faintly.
“Aron's contribution was great, but it wasn't enough to make up for his past failures. Erik, that boy, could have easily recovered from such a setback. Do you think he wouldn't know that? No. He would have surely planned for the future.”
Her trembling eyes gradually grew firm. They were filled with conviction in Erik.
“Would he have done so even if something had happened that would be irreversible unless he acted immediately?”
I took a written oath from my coat and handed it to her. It was a document detailing an exchange: the Coastal City Alliance for Dresden.
At the very bottom of the parchment were the Count's signature and his seared seal.
“Erik hated this deal. Hated it enough to try and kill his own father, his brother, and even me.”
The Countess's hand trembled minutely as she read the parchment. A moment later, the vassals who took it from her also wore faces of disbelief.
“A forgery! This is a forgery! The Baron cowardly murdered the three of them and is now trying to frame the dead with this fake document!”
“He's right! Since when was the Count the type of man to make such a disadvantageous deal?”
I nodded.
“The Count was never one to accept a loss.”
“…!”
The vassals were speechless when I, the one who should have been refuting them, agreed.
“And yet, you all conclude it's a loss without even knowing the value of the Coastal City Alliance?”
“…Well, land with the special meaning of being our homeland is bound to be valued higher than its practical worth, is it not?”
“Even taking that into account, what if the Coastal City Alliance is worth more, Countess? Wouldn't that be enough for the Count to accept the deal?”
The Countess looked incredulous. The vassals were no different.
After all, Dresden was a prime territory, possessing high-quality rock salt mines and the fishing rights of Quaran.
When you added its symbolic value as their homeland, its worth was astronomical. And he was claiming that the Coastal City Alliance, which they had only vaguely heard of, was worth more?
It was only natural they found it hard to believe. Even I couldn't have imagined its scale until I conquered the Alliance and saw their internal documents.
“The Coastal City Alliance holds a monopoly on trade with the Eastern Continent. The tax revenue from just one of its major cities is comparable to all of Dresden. If there were three such cities, wouldn't you make the trade?”
I emphasized that the tax revenue was on a different level, without the headache of managing the territory.
The vassals who had been distrusting and interrogating me now looked tempted. Their eyes even gleamed at the explanation that it held enough wealth to buy the entire southern part of the Western Continent.
'I've used the stick, now it's time for the carrot.'
The northern expedition had depleted each family's forces and claimed the lives of their leaders and key officials. An opportunity like this to confiscate their lands would never come again.
The only one who wasn't tempted was Countess Monet.
“I can't believe it. Even if what you say is true, the Count was not a man who would hand over his homeland to an outsider.”
“An outsider? Please, check the document again. I am not the one receiving the Dresden territory in this deal.”
The eyes of the Countess and the vassals turned back to the agreement.
“…Adeleade?”
At the end of the document, as promised to the Count, Adeleade was designated as the one to receive the Dresden territory. All eyes fell on her.
The Count and his sons were all dead. The only remaining blood relative was Adeleade.
In other words, she had become the heiress not only to Dresden, but also to the Coastal City Alliance, which was worth many times more.
“Baron…”
Adeleade, who had been standing back, cautiously approached and linked her arm with mine. It seemed the greedy stares were making her uncomfortable.
I committed the owners of those vile eyes to memory. Then, I shielded her with my body and concluded my speech.
“Now that you've all confirmed this is an overwhelmingly advantageous deal for Dresden, I expect you to refrain from any more talk of forgeries or fabrications.”
“Mmm…”
The vassals, their minds elsewhere, merely grunted, no longer condemning me as vehemently as before. I let out a small laugh and continued.
“Furthermore, if you contact the Northern Continent, you will learn that my words are true. Many people witnessed Erik's surprise attack on me at the Pope's coronation. Of course, there will still be those who don't believe it. So, let's continue this conversation after you've confirmed it for yourselves.”
I fell silent and stared pointedly at the Countess and her vassals. It was an order to leave.
*
Countess Monet and the vassals gathered in the meeting room again. For a while, there was only silence. They were still reeling from the series of shocking truths.
“It's a lie.”
It was an hour later when a vassal, glancing around nervously, finally broke the silence. The eyes of the Countess and the other vassals turned to him.
After a brief flinch, he continued.
“Of course, not all of it is a lie. They say the best lies are hidden within the truth, after all.”
“Then…?”
“When it's hard to figure out what's what, we must focus on the clear, undeniable truth. And in the end, wasn't the Baron the only one who profited from this northern expedition? There must have been a conspiracy.”
The vassals nodded in agreement. One of them sidled up to Countess Monet and offered his advice.
“Why not postpone the wedding? At this rate, the Baron will get his hands on everything in Dresden. If that happens, the Count and his two sons will be weeping tears of blood in the heavens.”
Deep in the eyes of the vassal, who pretended to be concerned for House Dresden, greed flickered.
When Countess Monet, who read that greed with the wisdom of her years, remained silent, another vassal spoke up.
“Do you think the Baron will just stand by and watch? Besides, Lady Adeleade is already acting like the Baron's wife, is she not?”
“So you're saying we should just sit back and do nothing?”
“Who said that?”
The meeting devolved into a meaningless squabble. The problem was they had too little information to reach a proper conclusion. Countess Monet stood up.
“First, let's send another communication ship to the Northern Continent. This time, yes, we'll send every ship we have to find out if the Baron's words are true. We will talk again after that. This meeting is adjourned.”
As the Countess left first, the other vassals watched each other for a moment before filing out of the meeting room one by one.
The last to leave was the vassal who, upon returning to the meeting room, had declared that Allen was lying.
He glanced around the hallway for a moment before setting off. His destination wasn't the lower floor where his own quarters were, but the upper floor where the Dresden bloodline resided.
'The Baron is suffering from a manpower shortage.'
Dresden was Allen's neighbor and his most active ally. Moreover, the Count, wary of Allen, had even dispatched spies.
Thanks to this, the vassal knew that Allen was suffering from a chronic lack of personnel.
Indeed, hadn't Allen, upon his return to the Western Continent, immediately begun trying to solve his manpower problem by winning over the dregs of various families?
'If it's true that he's taken the entire Northern Continent, his manpower shortage must be even more severe.'
The advantages of the major cities, as described by Allen, flashed through the vassal's mind. The most important point was that they were on another continent, across the sea.
The central authority's control wouldn't fully reach there. If he could become the mayor of a major city, he could wield power rivaling that of a king.
Then, if he waited for a time when Allen's control weakened and declared independence, he could truly become the founder of a great house. Having reached this conclusion, the vassal grinned.
The problem was, he wasn't the only one with that idea. Knock, knock. After receiving permission to enter, he stepped into Allen's room to find that there were already other guests.
“What, you all…?”
They were some of the same vassals who had been doubting and denouncing Allen in the meeting room just minutes ago.
“Ahem. You're here too…?”
The vassals avoided each other's gazes with awkward expressions. But then, realizing the newcomer's purpose was the same as theirs, they lifted their heads.
“So, what brings you all back to see me?”
Allen didn't hide his smile. Hadn't they snapped up the bait the moment he cast it? And there were even more of them than he'd expected…
“It seemed you might need some help…”
The vassals who had been slandering Allen with sharp words just a moment ago now bowed their heads.
“I do need help. If you can give me your trust, I am willing to accept your oath of fealty.”
“What would you have us do?”
The vassals bowed even lower.
“There is one sure way. Is there anyone more trustworthy than a comrade-in-arms with whom you've shared your life?”
“You mean…”
“Join the war. Prove your loyalty that way.”
Even a rotten sea bream is still a sea bream. They may have poured all their strength into the northern expedition, but if they scraped the bottom of their storehouses and unlocked their hidden wealth, they should be able to gather a considerable number of troops.