Chapter 68: Using Barbarians to Control Barbarians
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 68: Using Barbarians to Control Barbarians
A witch’s power has no effect on another witch. That’s why, in the future that would now never come, they became as close as sisters in a short time.
I had brought Aenya to the castle in Quaran in the hopes that the Castellan would protect her.
But her life was in danger? That meant a threat had arrived that even the Castellan couldn't handle. I had a guess as to what it was.
‘Is it because of the fishing rights?’
Count Dresden, who was in sharp conflict with the Castellan over the herring harvest, would want my fishing rights more than anyone.
Hadn’t he already pressured the Baron to summon me to Quaran?
If he knew Aenya was my sister, he would have threatened her to gain an upper hand in future negotiations.
‘Was the problem the ambiguous contract, leasing the fishing rights by sharing the stakes?’
To be honest, I hadn't expected the conflict between the Castellan of Quaran and Count Dresden to become this intense.
In the future that would now never come, the moment Count Dresden began to seriously raise the issue, the Castellan's power had activated.
A natural disaster struck Count Dresden's territory, and he no longer had the luxury of worrying about herring.
But the future had changed. And for the worse.
There was one variable: me. I had intervened and acquired a significant share of the fishing rights.
Still, since it was a shared-stake arrangement, I thought I’d benefit from the Castellan’s power. But the result was completely different from my expectations.
Was it because the Castellan’s share was too small? But if the Count took the rights, it wouldn't be good for the Castellan either, would it?
Considering the Castellan’s immense luck, it was something I just couldn't understand.
The bigger problem was that if I lost Aenya, my means of using the Castellan would disappear. The grand design of my plan would crumble.
I stopped thinking. What was done was done. It was more productive to figure out how to resolve the danger Aenya was facing.
“Sir Allen!”
Someone was waiting for me at the gates of Quaran's castle. It was a beautiful woman with hair like ebony, lustrous ash-gray skin, and dark eyes tinged with blue.
“Whoa, whoa, Jin?”
“I have been waiting for you. Please, follow me. We must hurry.”
Without another word of explanation, Jin mounted her horse and galloped into the castle. Worried sick about Aenya, I had no choice but to follow her blindly.
I couldn't ask for details. If I opened my mouth while riding this fast, I was liable to bite my tongue off from the jolting.
The docks of Quaran’s eastern port were crowded with sailing ships rigged with both square and fore-and-aft sails, alongside fishing boats adorned with scraps of cloth too pitiful to be called sails.
In a normal year, fishing boats would have made up the majority of the vessels docked here, but now there was a considerable number of sailing ships loaded with salt or pickled herring.
The castle of Quaran stood at the edge of a cliff that grew progressively higher as one moved north from the docks.
The guards at the castle gate didn't stop us. Instead, they gave an informal salute. Was it because of Piole? Or because Jin was leading the way?
I hesitated for a moment in front of the gate. It was because of the Castellan. If I ran into her, I might get swept up in her power.
Of course, the Castellan knew about her power and would likely avoid people, but you never knew.
“Sir Allen?”
My hesitation was brief. At Jin’s urging, I quickened my pace and entered the castle. Jin led me deep into its interior.
“Is Aenya okay? She’s not hurt, is she?”
Finally regaining some composure, I started asking the questions that had been on my mind. Jin replied, still moving at a rapid pace.
“She is fine. For now…”
“For now? Who threatened my sister?”
“There are many in Quaran’s political circles who dislike Lady Aenya. Contrary to your worries, Sir Allen, it is because she has adapted too well.”
My assumption that Count Dresden was the source of the problem was wrong. The ones threatening Aenya’s life were the powerful figures of Quaran.
“Are you saying they’re threatening my sister’s life just because she’s close to the Castellan?”
“If it were a simple matter of being close, they would not have done so. Please, hear the details from Lady Aenya herself.”
Piole, who had remained silent until then due to the gravity of the situation, poked me in the ribs and whispered softly.
“Isn’t something strange? There’s no way Father would stand by and watch the powerful figures of Quaran threaten your sister.”
Piole was right. Andrei was the most influential vassal in Quaran’s political sphere. For Piole’s sake, he would never have overlooked a threat made against Aenya.
Only then did I realize I had lost my composure at the news of Aenya being in danger. At the same time, I belatedly recognized a sense of dissonance I hadn't noticed before.
“‘Lady’ Aenya?”
Jin used to refer to Aenya as my sister. But now, she was using a respectful title. As if Aenya were her superior.
Jin flinched. Piole and I simultaneously placed our hands on the hilts of our swords. The atmosphere grew heavy, as if gravity had doubled in an instant.
“Lady Aenya will explain everything.”
Despite sensing the change in atmosphere, Jin nonchalantly placed her hand on the doorknob. Thanks to our near-running pace, we had already arrived at our destination: a room in a remote part of the castle.
Click.
Tensing our bodies to draw our swords at any moment, we peered into the room. Our suspicions melted away like snow.
“Aenya…?”
Aenya was inside the room. In a state completely opposite to what I had imagined.
She was leaning back in a comfortable armchair, her feet crossed and propped up on a small table in front of her. Her cute little toes wiggled.
The sound of firewood crackling came from the nearby fireplace, its crimson light making Aenya’s skin glow.
On a table to the side were leftover snacks, and in her hand was a book. She didn't look at all like someone whose life was being threatened.
Aenya lifted her head from the book. Her eyes, which had widened into circles, slowly curved into crescents. Her gaze swept over me from head to toe.
“What a mess.”
“You…”
As I stood there, unable to speak, failing to comprehend the situation, Jin quietly moved to stand behind Aenya and bowed her head.
“It only took a week to get from Polton to Quaran. He must have ridden like a madman, so you should be glad he doesn't look like a beggar.”
Aenya nodded and looked at me, the corners of her mouth lifting into a smirk.
“You pass!”
Only then could I roughly guess what was going on.
“You tricked me?”
“Brother, are you mad…?”
Aenya’s confidence wavered as she watched my expression. She knew I was genuinely angry. I ignored her and turned my gaze to Jin.
“Jin, I never thought you’d do this too.”
“I have merely switched to a sturdier rope.”
“A sturdier rope. Aenya?”
“What I said earlier was not a lie.”
Her smug expression returning, Aenya placed her hands on her hips and looked at me.
“Ahem.”
I frowned and walked toward her. Sensing the ominous mood, Aenya hastily backed away, but she was soon caught in my grasp.
“B-Brother…?”
Aenya looked up at me with an awkward smile. I grabbed both of her ears with my hands and folded them.
“Agh! That hurts!!”
Aenya screamed and struggled. She was incredibly weak to having her ears folded.
“It’s supposed to hurt. Do you have any idea how worried I was?”
“I was scared too! We were apart for so long. The Castellan told me. She said the magic of time makes everything fade. And that love is no exception.”
I scowled at the sudden mention of the Castellan. Aenya continued.
“And it’s true that there was danger. Not for me, but for you, Brother.”
Jin, who had taken a step back to watch with an envious look, chimed in.
“Lady Aenya is right. An assassination request for you, Sir Allen, came to our side. That is why we needed to summon you to the castle immediately.”
“You didn’t have to trick me.”
“Hehe. Well, that’s…”
Aenya smiled awkwardly, watching my reaction. I sighed and pulled her into a hug.
“Haaah… you smell like my brother…”
Burying her face in my chest, Aenya took a deep breath. Her face, which had seemed slightly tense, immediately relaxed into a languid expression.
“You’ve become quite the young lady while I was away.”
Her body, once like a gaunt tree branch, had filled out, and she seemed taller, our eye levels different. As her baby fat disappeared, her beauty had also blossomed.
When we lived together at the mansion, she seemed like a girl of fifteen or sixteen, but now she looked more like a lady ready for marriage.
“It’s not just my appearance that’s changed, you know?”
As Jin, who had been watching us, discreetly left the room, Aenya grew bolder.
She pushed against my chest, making me sit on the bed, then promptly climbed onto my lap to face me, hugging me tightly. Then, she buried her face in my shoulder and slyly rubbed her bottom against me.
“Wh-What do you two think you’re doing!?”
The problem was that there was one other person in the room who did not appreciate such affection.
Piole, who had been watching the siblings’ reunion with a warm smile, belatedly realized something was off as the skinship grew more intense.
Aenya lifted her head and glanced at Piole, smiling as if she found her pathetic.
“You like my brother, don’t you, sis?”
“Wh-What…?”
Piole was taken aback, flustered that Aenya had so casually brought up a fact she wanted to hide.
Seeing her reaction, Aenya smirked, then grabbed the back of my neck and kissed me. It was a real kiss, her tongue entering my mouth.
“…!”
The moment Piole’s suspicion turned to certainty, her eyes widened as if they would tear. Aenya wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing her body even closer, and gave Piole a meaningful smile.
“Then you’d better get on my good side. If you want to stay by my brother’s side, that is.”
It was a declaration of war. It seemed her body wasn't the only thing that had changed. Still, to me, she was just my little sister who still seemed so young.
Besides, Piole wasn't the type to back down meekly after taking the first hit.
“What are you talking about? You’re just his sister!”
Piole strode over and grabbed Aenya’s body. Then, using her strength, she forcibly pulled her off and pushed her aside.
“Wh-What…?”
This time, it was Aenya’s turn to be flustered. Piole grinned and threw herself at me. She was strong and heavy for a woman, so I was pushed back and ended up lying on the bed.
Now in a position of pouncing on me, Piole stared at the bewildered Aenya and licked my lips.
“Allen is mine.”
Then, as if Aenya’s response was unnecessary, she savagely claimed my lips, making sticky, lewd noises for her to hear.
“Brother!”
“Allen!”
The two women glared at me from either side with daggers in their eyes. It was a demand to choose one of them. Being the greedy man I am, I refused the binary choice.
“Hmph…!”
“Aahng…!”
With one hand on each of their asses, I gripped them tightly and pulled both women into my embrace.
Forced to face each other over my chest, the two women glared, but as I kneaded their asses, their eyes quickly went slack.
“If you two fight, you’ll never see my face again.”
“Wh-Who do you think you’re scaring with that?”
Piole shouted, but she made no move to leave my arms. Aenya provocatively rubbed her face against my chest.
“Good! If you’re not going to listen to my brother, why don’t you leave already? You pest!”
“You little! I was going easy on you because you’re Allen’s sister! Keep it up and you’re dead!”
“Aenya. Piole.”
The two, who had been in the middle of a heated argument, instantly joined forces and pressed down on my arms from both sides when I tried to sit up.
“We’re not fighting. This is how women build friendships. Right, sis?”
“Huh? Oh. Of course.”
Still, Aenya was the first to extend an olive branch. It was probably because she had more experience sharing a man than Piole did.
“Aenya. What’s this about an assassination request? Who is trying to kill me, and why?”
“Because if you die, Brother, I inherit the fishing rights.”
Mulling over the meaning of her words, I couldn't help but frown.
“Marriage?”
“Yeah, some distant collateral scoundrel from Count Dresden’s family proposed. He acted so high and mighty, thinking I didn't know anything. An empty shell with no real power. Hmph.”
Aenya scowled and continued.
“It’s a good thing the Castellan protected me, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to refuse. There were so many people who wanted to find peace by sending me away.”
“Who dared to say such a thing?”
“Are you going to punish them?”
“Of course. You belong to me.”
I was angrier than when I’d heard about the assassination request against me. Those bastards who tried to dispose of what was mine without even asking the owner’s permission would pay the price.