Chapter 70: Using Barbarians to Control Barbarians
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 70: Using Barbarians to Control Barbarians
I looked down at the sword at my neck, then raised my head. Andrei looked as relaxed as the last time I saw him.
I knew his level was high. Still, I thought I had caught up quite a bit and gained superhuman strength, so I believed I could fight him on equal footing. But the gap between us remained.
‘Technique.’
Recalling the moment our swords clashed, I was definitely stronger in terms of raw power.
But in that split second, Andrei recognized the difference in our strength and, instead of resisting, he redirected my force, slightly altering its path.
That alone nullified my attack, and in that opening, Andrei succeeded in a counterattack. He had overcome strength with technique. All too easily.
‘His level might have gone up even more.’
The world I stood in was a reality where one could grow stronger through training.
A sudden fear washed over me. I knew why a man skilled enough to be welcomed by a count or a duke had settled in this small city.
‘It's a power like a black hole.’
When the previous castellan died without leaving an heir, it was the castellan's ability that stopped Andrei from leaving.
Suddenly, his business ventures began to prosper, and his political rivals collapsed on their own, allowing him to become Quaran's foremost vassal. Conversely, the territory he had planned to move to was suddenly engulfed in the flames of war.
Without even realizing it, he had become a chess piece for the castellan.
‘I'm probably no exception.’
The castellan's ability, which I had been so wary of, might have already enveloped me.
The reason I didn't stay away, however, was that by using Aenya, I could indirectly tap into the castellan's luck.
It was the same now. Without Aenya, I would have lost the hard-won fishing rights long ago.
One question remained: if the castellan hadn't granted me the lease for the fishing rights in the first place, I never would have come into conflict with Count Dresden.
At the time, I had vaguely assumed her luck was working in a different way, but looking at the result, it seemed as if it hadn't worked at all.
‘No, the castellan's luck is impossible to gauge.’
The castellan's luck was something you could only understand the process of after seeing the result. In other words, what seemed like a loss now often turned into a gain later.
However, I couldn't know if the outcome would be in my favor. That's why I had to find out. Find out what this unpredictable luck was aiming for.
‘I need to meet her at least once.’
It was dangerous. Still, if I kept Aenya right by my side, things probably wouldn't escalate to the worst-case scenario.
But before that, there was something I needed to discuss with Andrei. While I was lost in thought, he had retrieved his sword and was now examining mine.
“Tsk, tsk. The sword can't handle your strength.”
The fine sword bestowed by the baron was excellent, but it couldn't fully handle my superhuman strength. Despite my careful maintenance, the blade was slightly warped, and the hilt had been deformed into the shape of my fingers.
“I'm thinking of switching to a blunt weapon.”
Honestly, throwing stones was more effective than using a sword. If it weren't so cumbersome to carry stones around, I might have seriously considered replacing my sword with them.
Andrei shook his head.
“That much superhuman strength is just an extravagance for killing people. It must also consume a lot of stamina. You'd be better off training to divide your strength into smaller increments. Your power will create unpredictability, and how you distribute it could become your trump card.”
In the end, the goal of swordsmanship is to kill the enemy efficiently, Andrei added. It was an undeniable truth.
“But isn't the problem that the sword can't hold up when I need to use my full strength?”
“For that, you have no choice but to carry several swords or find a legendary one.”
“A legendary sword, you say.”
A few came to mind. However, they were all unobtainable at this point in time and under the current circumstances.
Andrei had a different idea.
“Come to think of it, I vaguely recall hearing that when the castellan was appointed, she brought Trollsverd from the royal treasury.”
“You mean the Giant's Sword?”
Trollsverd was the sword a legendary hero used to defeat monsters, a weapon that could certainly handle my strength.
“Well, only the hilt, that is.”
The problem was that the blade had melted away from the poisonous monster's blood, leaving only the hilt.
“The Giant's Sword, huh.”
I knew how to restore Trollsverd's blade.
Of course, it was a legendary-tier item even in the game, so it required a lot of preparation. There was also the problem that the castellan would never hand it over willingly, but it was the perfect weapon for my situation, so I couldn't help but covet it.
‘Another reason to meet the castellan.’
It felt as if fate itself was pushing me to meet her. It might even be the castellan's ability at work.
Seeing me lost in thought, Andrei clicked his tongue and gave me a displeased look.
“Tsk, tsk. Don't waste your time on the impossible. An artifact like that isn't something you can get just by wanting it. Now is the time to train so you can properly distribute your strength in any situation.”
Andrei pointed his sword at me again. He was still an excellent teacher.
However, there was something I had to do before we began training.
“Before we train, there's something I want to ask. Do you have any ties to the families that tried to use Aenya as a scapegoat?”
“We've known each other for a long time, so of course I do.”
“I'm asking if you have any binding ties, like a marriage alliance, that you must uphold.”
Isn't it a universal truth that you deal with smaller enemies before facing a larger one? Quaran needed some house-cleaning.
After a deep conversation with Andrei, I headed back to the castle. Considering the castellan's ability, I should have stayed as far away from the castle as possible, but the assassination request was a problem.
Jin had warned me. She controlled most of those in the underworld, but she couldn't stop the desperate ones with nothing to lose.
So I had no choice but to stay at the castle. Here, too, Aenya's power revealed itself.
I was granted permission to stay in the castle far too easily. I was even allowed to stay in the inner quarters, a men-forbidden area.
That wasn't all.
“The castellan asked you to have dinner with her tonight, so get ready.”
“The castellan?”
“Yeah. She's very interested in you, big brother.”
First my little sister, and now the interest of a princess? It was a relief that Piole had been forced to return home after being away for so long.
Of course, Piole didn't just stand by and let me be left alone with Aenya.
‘This is mine, so take good care of it! And don't use it for anything weird…!’
There's probably no need to specify what Piole was clutching when she said that.
“Why? Because I'm like a brother to you?”
“No. She said it's because of the fishing rights. What was it she said? That you're the first person to ever cause her a loss? So she said she really wanted to see you in person if she got the chance.”
It seemed the castellan had the same question I did.
There was one more person who wanted to see me. A man who wandered about the men-forbidden area without a care.
“Sir Allen.”
“Father Dominico.”
It was Dominico, a priest and a distant relative of Count Dresden, who was in charge of the manor's only church.
“I am greatly disappointed. Upon arriving in Quaran, you should have sought me out first. To make me come to you? Is this not disloyalty to Count Dresden?”
The priest from the small church, who once walked on eggshells around me, was now acting high-handed, as if he were my superior.
“That's why I've come to see you now. More importantly, why has the Count summoned me?”
“That is… Ugh!”
Just as Dominico was about to answer, a protruding section of the wall used as a candle holder broke off and fell on his head.
“Are you all right?”
Fortunately, the piece of stone wasn't large, and it hadn't fallen from a great height, so the impact didn't seem severe. Dominico, however, thought differently.
“Damn it! This cursed castle! Last time it tripped me, and now it's trying to kill me?! You should be careful too, Sir Allen. This castle is definitely cursed.”
I'd wondered why he looked so pale; it seemed he'd been staying at the castle for quite some time.
Still, he should consider himself lucky. If his death wouldn't have given Count Dresden a pretext to intervene, the castellan's luck would have surely driven him to his death.
‘Is that why she let him into the inner quarters?’
And there was no way the castellan didn't know. She was no saint who would turn the other cheek.
“Shouldn't you just pray to Him?”
Dominico, a man far from devout, hesitated for a moment before changing the subject.
“There is something more important to discuss.”
We moved to Dominico's room, and what he told me could be summarized in a single sentence.
“You want me to sell the fishing rights?”
“The Count said he would compensate you handsomely.”
“I'll at least hear the terms.”
“I hear you acquired the rights for 200 gold coins. I will give you double that. It would be an investment that doubles your profit in just a few months.”
For a moment, I forgot Dominico was the Count's envoy and almost cursed at him.
“The current estimated annual profit is more than ten times that amount.”
“Sir Allen, are you not a knight of Baron Rasino? You must have sworn an oath not to do anything that would harm your lord.”
He was using the vassal relationship between the count and the baron to pressure me. And that wasn't all.
“If the baron finds out about the fishing rights, he will try to take them for himself. For a much cheaper price than what the Count is offering, I might add.”
He was also threatening that if I didn't hand over the fishing rights for a pittance, he would have no choice but to inform the baron.
What a thug. In truth, this was the standard for nobles of this era.
“I think earning the baron's favor is a better choice than 200 gold coins.”
“Ahem, how can you not see that this could cause a dispute between the baron and the count? The greedy baron will never give up, and I assure you, neither will the count.”
Dominico was implying war. For a moment, I couldn't help but hesitate. Could it be that Count Dresden didn't know about the marriage alliance being arranged between the baron and Count Broua?
If he had no other connections, it would be one thing, but if Count Dresden tried to take what was his, the baron wouldn't hesitate to switch allegiances.
Count Broua had the power to protect the baron from Count Dresden's threats.
After all, wasn't he a noble whose family had started as a count palatine, overseeing feudal lords for the regional court, and had only held the hereditary title for two generations?
They still had close ties to the royal family and were on bad terms with Count Dresden.
That's why I had naturally assumed the baron was pursuing the marriage alliance with the count's permission.
‘So that wasn't the case…?’
The thought crossed my mind that perhaps the marriage alliance with Count Broua wasn't just for the Barony of Debussy.
Indeed, if the baron also acquired the Barony of Debussy, his power would be excessive for a count's vassal. In any case, this changed things.
“If you wish to avoid such a disaster, you would do well to think carefully before you decide.”
Dominico smiled, mistaking my hesitation as proof that his threat had worked. When I trembled as if in anger, his smile widened, oblivious that it was all an act.
“Even so, 200 gold coins is too small a sum. I cannot accept it without some other form of compensation.”
“Compensation?”
“Ahem, the truth is, I am in love with the baron's daughter. However, he has not permitted our marriage.”
This time, it was Dominico who hesitated at the sudden mention of marriage.
“Ahem, the Count cannot meddle in the family affairs of his vassals.”
“Wasn't it the Count who was willing to risk war with the baron? Compared to that, arranging a marriage seems like a simple task.”
Given what he had just said, Dominico couldn't outright refuse. After a moment of thought, he spoke with an expression that said he was doing me a great favor.
“Hmm, the baron's daughter is the third child, isn't she? Then her inheritance won't be large... If I really arrange the marriage, will you transfer the fishing rights?”
“If you make the marriage happen, I will give them to you for no price at all.”
At the word "free," Dominico's eyes went wide. He grabbed my hand abruptly, not realizing it was a trap.
“Excellent. Let's do it.”
And seeing him accept, I became certain that Count Dresden truly knew nothing of the marriage talks between the baron and Count Broua.
‘Now he'll find out.’
Once the count learned his vassal was trying to switch allegiances, he would do everything in his power to obstruct the marriage alliance.
Not satisfied with just that, I planned to send a letter to Eusebia, telling her that Count Dresden would be arranging our marriage.
To give her hope. And to give her an even greater disappointment.
If the baron died according to my plan, the barony would become a quagmire that would suck in even the count. Quaran, on the other hand, would become a little freer.
‘In that opening, I'll also have to deal with the bastards who tried to extend their own lives by using Aenya as a sacrifice.’
In the end, I would gain three advantages from this proposal.
As Dominico hurriedly left to deliver the news, I couldn't hold back a smile. However, there was one thing I had forgotten.
“Who's this baron's daughter?”
I heard the sound of shoes on the floor. Aenya, who had briefly stepped out, was walking in through the open door.