Chapter 63: Sorting Things Out
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 63: Sorting Things Out
Piole was a firm believer in the saying that if you rest for one day, you must train for two. She was so dedicated that she never missed her dawn training, even in the midst of war and plunder.
The problem was, every single time, she would wake me up to train with her.
It was the same the next day, after we had been allowed to stay the night at the castle because the victory banquet had run late.
Creeak.
But when Piole opened my door and entered in the early dawn, her attire was different from usual.
She, who normally walked around fully armed even in her daily life to hide the weakness of being a woman, was in a light tunic today.
What’s more, her thick, firm thighs were exposed, as if she wasn’t wearing any pants.
“Wh-why are you looking at me like that…?”
As she asked, Piole’s face was as red as a carrot.
When I silently stared at her thighs, she squirmed and tried to pull down the hem of her tunic, which covered half of them.
“You lewd bitch.”
“Wh-what are you talking about? Don’t get any funny ideas. It’s just because my armor is out for repairs.”
“Then why aren’t you wearing any pants?”
“They’re not dry yet, so I was going to put them on later, so what!”
As if to prove her words, Piole shook the pants she was holding. She even lifted the hem of her tunic slightly to reveal short, shorts-like underwear.
Now that I looked closer, her skin was glistening. Her short hair was stuck together in sharp points.
“You bathed early in the morning and came to another man’s room? What were you expecting?”
“Hmph, it’s for training, okay? Training!”
“You’re going to wash up again after training? That’s not like the Piole I know.”
“Are you going to keep finding fault with me?”
Piole glared. Now that was more like her.
“Then again, they say that once a monk tastes meat, not even a bedbug is left in the temple.”
We’d been busy since our first time, so we hadn’t had a chance to do it again. For Piole, with her strong libido, it must have been hard to bear.
“Monk? What are you talking about? Ah, it’s hot!”
Piole pretended not to hear and fanned herself with the front of her tunic. Her chest was barely visible inside the deep V-neck.
The way she glanced at me told me the exposure was intentional. She wanted to be pounced on. The only reason she didn’t ask directly was surely because she was embarrassed.
It was the complete opposite of her usual tomboyish attitude, which made her seem twice as cute.
“Come here and sit.”
“Huhu, why~?”
Piole sat next to me with a smug look on her face. The corners of her mouth twitched as she tried to suppress her delight.
“There’s going to be a meeting about the merit-based rewards.”
I said, placing my hand on Piole’s thigh. I could feel its softness beneath the firm skin. When I pressed down, the way her flesh yielded with a slight resistance was strangely erotic.
Piole flinched but didn’t push my hand away. Instead, she subtly spread her legs, making it easier for me to touch her.
“Hngh… R-really…?”
“Your contributions were significant, so you might even be knighted. Segerik’s vassals have fallen, and with the number of knights who died by my hand, the Baron will need to replenish his forces.”
“I-I see…”
Even at the words that her dream might come true, Piole’s gaze remained fixed on my hand as it moved along the grain of her thigh muscles.
“You don’t seem very happy about it.”
“Huh? H-huh…? O-of course I’m happy! Very happy, hngh…!”
Piole, who had just given me an awkward smile, shifted her hips. It was because my hand, which had been tracing the lines of her muscles, had delved into her inner thigh.
As I brushed my palm against her inner thigh, barely touching it, Piole’s grip on the sheets tightened.
Piole spread her legs even wider, guiding my hand further inward.
Despite that, the contradictory sight of her lowering her flushed face as if embarrassed stimulated me.
“Which is why I have to go now.”
After a moment’s hesitation, I removed my hand. I got out of bed and calmly put on my outer clothes, ready to leave.
Startled by the sudden departure of my hand, Piole looked up at me with an expression of disbelief.
“You’re leaving just like that? Without doing anything?”
“It’s a meeting that will decide whether or not you get your investiture ceremony. I can’t be late.”
“But…”
Piole couldn’t even get angry at my words that it was for her sake. She could only twist her body, expressing her unresolvable frustration with her entire being.
I was disappointed too. But if I gave in to her every time, she’d get spoiled.
I wanted Piole to wait her turn quietly without getting jealous, even if I were to hold another woman in front of her.
‘There will be more and more women, so I need to train her properly from the start.’
She had accepted that I wouldn’t be satisfied with just her, but wasn’t there always a huge difference between thinking about something and experiencing it firsthand?
That’s why she needed to be trained.
“I’ll give you plenty of love when I get back, so just bear with it and wait for a little while.”
“Wh-who asked you to love them?”
“If you don’t want it, then fine.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t want it! I’ll be waiting, so c-come back quickly. Got it?”
I smiled as if proud of her and stole a kiss. After a slight resistance, she relented as if she couldn’t help it and opened her mouth to me.
The merit-based rewards were to be decided in the Baron’s office. I planned to secure my share there and set the stage for the next war.
‘Joang won’t be able to refuse either.’
Segerik, who as the eldest son was already ahead in the succession competition, widened his lead over Ailgar thanks to sponsoring the victorious war.
Furthermore, the exchange of glances I witnessed between the Baron and Segerik at the victory banquet suggested they had reached some kind of agreement.
Ailgar could no longer afford to wait for Segerik to make a mistake.
The problem was that the only way to close the gap and turn the tables was to achieve greater merit in war than Segerik.
However, from the very beginning, the meeting about the rewards went completely differently than I had expected.
First, Joang Conrad, who usually moved as one with the Baron, was nowhere to be seen. Only the Baron was in the office. By speaking first, he made it clear that this meeting would be a private audience.
“I will give you the Montpel region.”
Unlike yesterday, when he had praised me with all sorts of flowery words, the Baron’s tone was plain. In fact, this was closer to his true self.
“The Montpel region…”
I trailed off, wondering what Joang Conrad’s absence meant. His exclusion from a meeting as important as this was by no means good news for me either.
‘Don’t tell me… has he decided on the successor?’
If so, Segerik’s firm rejection of Bolton last night made sense. He no longer needed to rely on his supporters.
The problem was that if the succession was decided, the political scene would rapidly stabilize.
If that really happened, it would become a distant dream for me to escape my position as the Baron’s subordinate, no matter how spectacularly I performed in future wars.
“It’s a vast region that includes the Tobalts family’s manor.”
That’s why I couldn’t be happy even when the Baron said he was granting me the largest territory in the barony, one that had originally belonged to House Bryuen.
This was despite the fact that Muel, who had volunteered to become my subordinate, had also received a generous reward.
That wasn’t the only problem.
“My squire’s name is missing.”
Even after the long list of rewards was finished, Piole’s name hadn’t been mentioned.
“Isn’t she the daughter of Sir Andrei, a vassal of Quaran, which is in dispute with Count Dresden? If I grant her a fief or hold an investiture ceremony, the Count’s house will surely have something to say.”
The Baron had figured out Piole’s identity. Since I hadn’t tried to hide it, it probably wasn’t that difficult.
After a brief pause, the Baron continued, his eyes narrowed.
“My loyalty might even be questioned. Surely, you’re not hoping for that, are you?”
“Please reconsider. If you don’t reward those who have achieved merit, who would want to follow you, my lord Baron?”
“That’s why I gave you a greater reward instead.”
If the reward included Piole’s military achievements, then I’d have to take back my thought that it was generous. As expected of the Baron, he was stingy.
“If a disappointed Piole returns to Quaran, it will be a case of diminishing our own forces while strengthening the enemy’s.”
“Furthermore, now is the time to gather our forces. Once the rainy season ends, don’t we have to get revenge on Baron Debussy?”
The war with Baron Debussy was only on hold; it wasn’t over. I pointed that out to try and change the Baron’s mind.
I had won the war without any significant support. If I’d had proper support, wouldn’t I have been able to capture the enemy’s capital city?
The Baron was sure to be thinking the same thing. He hesitated for a long while before shaking his head.
“Hmm, frankly, I’m not sure if gaining Sir Andrei’s daughter is worth the risk of souring my relationship with the Count.”
“Piole proved her skills in this war. She even captured an enemy commander.”
“It was just one time, wasn’t it? Besides, a female knight? What would people think of me if they found out? Also, women have a selfish and opportunistic nature. They can’t be trusted.”
Even considering this was a world where the roles of men and women were clearly divided, the Baron’s remarks were excessive.
I knew the cause was his inferiority complex. The Baron, who had started from the bottom to reach his current position, felt inferior to Adeleade, who came from a powerful family. Though he himself would never admit it.
In a future that would no longer come to pass, he would constantly badmouth his wife to Aenya. Yet, if Adeleade hadn’t mediated between him and his vassals, his downfall would have come much sooner.
Anyway, was that why? The Baron disliked it when women acted out of turn.
‘Still, I thought his greed would be greater.’
Is his inferiority complex greater than I thought? Enough to overcome his greed? Or is there another reason?
The details of the deal the Baron and Segerik must have made kept bothering me like a fishbone stuck in my throat.
“Still, if you guarantee it, what does my reputation matter? If you can persuade the Count, I promise to give her the treatment she deserves.”
“Are you telling me to persuade the Count? How can I, when I’ve never even met him…?”
The Baron narrowed his eyes and stared at me.
“Are you saying you truly have no connection to the Count? Then why would he summon you to Quaran and ask you to represent my position?”
Only then did I realize why the Baron was making an issue of Piole’s identity.
He had misunderstood my relationship with Count Dresden and was wary of me, suspecting some kind of conspiracy. Piole was just bait to probe my true intentions.
Just like the man who tried to usurp his vassal’s fief using his own nephew. It seemed his mind only worked in such ways.
‘Count Dresden must have summoned me because he found out about the fishing rights.’
Since the cause of the conflict with Quaran was herring, he must have judged that all conflict would be resolved if he could just get the fishing rights from me.
At the same time, I realized the Baron didn’t know I had the fishing rights. If he had known, he would never have tried to send me to Quaran.
“What was your reason for hiding your relationship with Count Dresden and becoming my knight?”
The Baron urged me for an answer, his gaze wary. Fortunately, I had an excuse that didn’t require mentioning the fishing rights.
“Hmm, it’s a misunderstanding. I simply didn’t mention it because it was a connection not worth mentioning.”
“I will be the one to judge its worth.”
“The priest of the only church in my manor is a distant relative of Count Dresden. His bloodline is thin enough that he’s content with a small church. Privately, he is also my writing tutor.”
It was a fact that could be easily verified. The Baron, who had been maintaining a serious atmosphere, blinked. It was as if something was different from what he’d been thinking.
“He would summon you to Quaran over such a trivial connection?”
“My being your knight probably played a more important role. And my relationship with Sir Andrei was likely also a consideration.”
“Hmm… So it was my misunderstanding?”
“If the Count had some ulterior motive, he wouldn’t have summoned me so openly.”
As if his misunderstanding was finally cleared, the Baron couldn’t hide his disgruntled expression.
“Hmm, in that case, I have all the more reason to accept the Count’s proposal and dispatch you.”
“But, the war is just around the corner…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll recall you when the war preparations are complete. Yes. You can think of it as a vacation. You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?”
Even though the misunderstanding was cleared, the Baron still wanted to send me to Quaran. Come to think of it, he had wanted to send me even when he was suspicious.
Was there some other aim? Was probing my relationship with Count Dresden just an added bonus in the process? What was it? The reason he had to send me to Quaran? I didn’t need to think too deeply.
There was only one reason to send me, his greatest military asset, away when a war was imminent.
‘Eusebia?’
In that moment, all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.
Giving me the largest region as a reward was a sign that he intended to keep me by his side.
The exclusion of Joang, the questioning about my relationship with Count Dresden, and separating me from Eusebia—it must all be to prevent the intervention of outside forces.
This was him sorting things out.
‘The successor has been decided.’
It was a development I had absolutely not wanted. Having grasped the full picture, I spoke urgently.
“Please postpone that vacation for a little while.”
“Didn’t you want to give your squire an investiture ceremony and land? If you persuade the Count, I too will give her what she rightfully deserves.”
I needed time to deal with this. Fortunately, I had a suitable justification.
“I plan to hold my father’s funeral. I have already sent a messenger to exchange my father’s body for the prisoners we captured.”
The Baron, who had been pressuring me with a frown, had to quickly change his attitude. When it came to matters concerning Sir Maxim Tobalts, he was at a loss for words.
In the end, the Baron had to content himself with postponing my dispatch until after the funeral.
I went to find Segerik at once. I needed to confirm if my deductions were correct. Only then could I decide how to respond.