Chapter 79: Corruption
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 79: Corruption
I sat in the chair, lost in thought, holding the soundly sleeping Eleanor in my arms like a princess.
‘The Star Witch and I are destined to be enemies.’
The Star Witch, who had appointed herself the guardian of the witches, would never tolerate me taking them for myself.
If a mere pawn like me were to covet even her, our enmity would be all the more certain.
Of course, she was still unaware of my intentions and likely thought she held my leash. That gave me time to prepare for the moment our relationship would inevitably unravel.
‘The problem is, what kind of powers does the Star Witch possess?’
As the mastermind behind the seven witches, she was a ‘real’ witch who had even succeeded in transmigrating to another world. Her abilities surely went far beyond mere disguise.
To impose my will on such a witch, I needed to build my strength. An overwhelming power that would prevent her from even attempting any foolishness.
It was also crucial to win over the other witches before the Star Witch could intervene.
‘It’s a race against time.’
Just as I concluded that I needed to move a little faster, Eleanor stirred.
“Mmm…”
She fidgeted. It seemed the drug was finally wearing off.
Twisting as if uncomfortable in my arms, she opened her eyes halfway. Then, she saw my face, snapped her eyes shut in surprise.
Her once-limp body tensed, and her cheeks flushed a rosy pink. Beads of cold sweat began to form on her forehead.
Her throat bobbed, and she cracked her eyes open again, her gaze darting around the room. She clearly had no idea why she was in my arms.
“Are you awake?”
Eleanor squeezed her eyes shut again, not realizing how much more obvious that made it.
I leaned my face in closer. Perhaps she felt my warm breath. She slowly turned her head away, the nape of her neck turning red.
I whispered in her ear.
“If you keep pretending to be asleep, I’ll parade you down the main street just like this.”
Eleanor flinched, the corners of her closed eyes trembling. More sweat beaded on her forehead.
Did she think it was too embarrassing to wake up now? Only after I stood up, still holding her, did she finally open her eyes and begin to struggle.
“Wh-what is this? Put me down!”
“I told you this would happen if you kept pretending to be asleep.”
“But I’m awake now!”
“Too late.”
“Wha—?”
Eleanor’s struggles ceased the moment we left the tent and entered the main street. Instead, she buried her face deep in my chest, shutting out the world.
She had no choice. The moment we stepped onto the street, we were bombarded with stares and lewd remarks.
“The end of days. Truly. Who ever heard of a man and woman embracing like that and strolling down the main street in broad daylight?”
“Shh. That’s that infamous scoundrel. If you get on his bad side, you’ll get more than just a punch.”
“Hmph, then is the woman he’s holding a prostitute? Damn, I should’ve known from that firm ass of hers. She must be a lewd bitch.”
“Want to go to the brothel tomorrow? We can ask for the same whore that scoundrel had today.”
“Tsk… now that’s a good idea.”
Instantly degraded to a prostitute and made the plaything of men’s imaginations, Eleanor’s face turned beet red.
I whispered in her ear.
“You truly are a castellan beloved by her citizens.”
“I-I don’t need this kind of love, thank you very much!”
“Careful now. It would be a disaster if your identity were revealed.”
In truth, there was no way a common citizen would recognize the face of Eleanor, who never left her castle, but in her panic, she failed to realize this and buried her face in my chest once more.
Humans are social animals. When you’re together, you can’t help but influence one another.
Wasn’t it because he’d known them for so long that Andrei had begged me to spare the lives of the Montoya family members who had blocked his path at every turn? Even an ill-fated relationship is a relationship.
Of course, my relationship with Eleanor still needed more time to reach that point.
Even though we had been sharing a bed since that day, she remained passive, and she would throw a fit whenever I took Aenya. Thanks to that, a true threesome had yet to even begin.
But to say it had no effect at all would be an understatement.
“What took you so long?”
Eleanor, who had finished getting ready and was waiting at the castle gate, snapped at me. It was more of a pout than a genuine complaint.
“It’s not the appointed time yet. The bell hasn’t even rung.”
“Whatever. Just take this.”
Dressed in the clothes, glasses, and umbrella I had gifted her, she immediately held out the umbrella. As I took it and opened it, she casually linked her arm with mine.
Our dates after lunch had become something of an annual event. I could say with certainty that it was the time of day she looked forward to the most.
“Where are we going today?”
She began to pull me along by the arm without even having a destination in mind, which seemed to prove my point.
“Why don’t you decide this time, my lady Castellan?”
“Hmph, asking for my opinion now? You, who ignores my commands every night not to do it and violates both me and Aenya?”
Considering we hadn’t gone far from the castle and the area was deserted, her words were quite bold. Eleanor didn’t seem to think there was anything strange about it.
Then again, when you spend half your day steeped in pleasure, something like this was probably nothing. Getting used to things was a dangerous thing indeed.
“Your mouth up here gave that order, but the mouth down there was saying something else, wasn’t it?”
“Wh-what are you talking about? What, do people have two mouths now?” Eleanor shouted, her face turning red. She was playing dumb, even though she knew exactly what I meant. I grabbed her hips, pulled her body tight against mine, and whispered in her ear.
“The person who was on top of me last night, riding me all on her own, would know the answer to that.”
“I did no such thing! Stop slandering me.”
Eleanor pushed against my chest with her arms, but there was no real force behind it. Was it because she knew from experience that she couldn't win against my strength? Or was it because, deep down, she didn't want to?
“You should be the one to stop telling such obvious lies, my lady. Don’t forget, there’s not even half a day left until tonight.”
“You per— Hah…!”
Eleanor, about to snap at me, let out a moan instead when I gently bit her earlobe. She habitually squirmed.
Then, realizing her own state, she pushed against my chest and broke free from my embrace.
“You beast! Do you have no self-control? Really, even an animal wouldn’t be in heat this constantly!”
“To handle two women at once, one must be at least this capable, no?”
“Shut up!”
Eleanor spun around and stomped away. But only for a moment. When I didn’t follow, she stamped her feet in frustration before coming back to grab my hand.
“Hurry up!”
The place Eleanor led me to was the coastline, where the barrier construction was in full swing. She looked down with an emotionless gaze at the members of the opposing faction, now captured and working as laborers.
“Now that you’ve struck the Montoya family, the Count will attack soon.”
I stood beside her. The sea wind was incredibly strong on the cliff. One wrong step could send you plummeting down the thousand-foot drop.
“Quaran’s coast is a cliff area. With even a simple barrier, the enemy wouldn’t dare think of invading from here.”
“Isn’t the problem the dock?”
The dock, nestled inside the ear-shaped bay where the ground was low, was the only berthing facility. An enemy coming by sea couldn’t advance inland without capturing it.
“The enemy won’t be able to enter the bay.”
The Eleanor of a future that would no longer come to pass had employed a defensive strategy that actively utilized the unique geography of the ear-shaped bay. I intended to use it a little earlier.
“What if they come by land?”
“That would be inefficient in many ways compared to an invasion along the coastline by ship.”
“But if they can’t even approach the bay, as you say, they’ll have no choice but to come by land, right?”
Eleanor wasn’t wrong.
If my plan worked, Count Dresden would be too preoccupied to worry about Quaran, but if he pushed himself, he had the capacity to wage war on two fronts.
Even so, that didn’t mean the war would become disadvantageous for us.
“I certainly hope that’s what happens.”
If the Count overextended himself, he would create an opening, and I could exploit it in turn.
Eleanor turned to me and frowned.
“You devious man. What are you plotting now?”
“It’s something good for all of us, so how about you call it wisdom instead of a plot?”
“I’m sure it is.”
Eleanor whipped her head away and started walking, though she still held my hand tightly. We walked like that for some time.
A cloud of dust approached from the distance, and a single horse and rider arrived before me. The man’s face was familiar as he hastily dismounted.
“Sir Muel?”
It was Muel, who had received a generous reward and even a knighting ceremony for switching sides at the right time.
“Sir Allen! The order is to return at once!”
The summons was much faster than I’d expected. By my calculations, the Baron shouldn’t have had enough time to properly investigate the Count’s scheme yet.
I remained calm and asked, needing to grasp the situation before making a move.
“Whose order is it?”
“It is Lord Segerik’s command.”
The Baron was the one who sent me to Quaran. But Segerik had issued an order that overrode it? That meant something had happened to the Baron.
Furthermore, the fact that Muel had sought me out as soon as it happened suggested that everything was proceeding according to my plan.
“Is it a civil war?”
“Gasp… How did you…!”
Muel couldn’t hide his shocked expression. He seemed astounded that I could grasp the situation in a faraway place from just a few words.
A moment later, he recalled the gravity of the situation and urged me again.
“This is no time for that! Everything is happening just as you said it would, Sir Allen. So please, hurry…!”
I turned back to Eleanor.
“A temporary farewell.”
“Good. You might as well not come back at all. I’ll take care of Aenya.”
The corner of Eleanor’s mouth twitched. She was deluding herself into thinking that with the nuisance gone, she could go back to spending sweet time with Aenya like before. Yes, it was a delusion.
“You won’t be able to go out anymore. Will you be alright with that?”
“I’ve managed just fine without it until now.”
“If you think that, you’re in for a rude awakening. Because someone who has tasted freedom once will never try to go back to how things were.”
She might not have known before, but having experienced it, the freedom of the past week would torment Eleanor and make her wait for me. My efforts had not been in vain.
“Dream on, will you?”
Of course, Eleanor couldn’t feel it yet. Not yet.
*
Meanwhile, at that same moment.
“Sir Joang! We have intelligence that Sir Muel has left Polton and gone to Quaran!”
Muel had tried to be discreet, but he couldn’t evade Joang Conrad’s intelligence network.
Upon hearing the news of the Baron’s assassination, Joang had raised an army with Ailgar at its head and was now encamped near the tower where the previous battle had taken place.
“Father-in-law. They’ve undoubtedly summoned him.”
Ailgar, who was present to discuss their future plans, was also there to receive the report.
“I suppose so. With the Baron’s advisors remaining silent, he is the only one Segerik can trust.”
After the Baron’s death, Segerik and Ailgar had accused each other of being the assassin. The problem was that both sides had plausible excuses.
Segerik, already confirmed as the successor, only had to wait to inherit the title. What reason would he have to assassinate the Baron?
And Ailgar, who had been staying in Joang Conrad’s domain to prepare for the crusade, was too far away to have done it himself.
Consequently, the Baron’s advisors had reserved judgment and decided not to participate in the civil war.
In truth, this was the result of Joang Conrad’s extensive political maneuvering.
If the advisors didn’t help Segerik, whose forces had been greatly diminished in the last war, it was a civil war he was bound to lose.
There was just one problem.
Allen Tobalts.
“I hate to admit it, but that man’s valor is the real deal. We must deal with Segerik before he arrives and I must inherit the barony.”
“War is not a duel. One man’s valor has no bearing on victory or defeat.”
“He is also a brilliant commander! Did Sir Powell not fall to him as well?”
“Even he swore the outcome would have been different if he had properly assessed the man before the war.”
Joang Conrad refused to acknowledge that Allen posed a significant threat to his plans.
He had only heard of Allen’s unpredictable skills secondhand, and as a strategist, he believed that an individual’s prowess was not particularly important in war.
Of course, the biggest reason was that he had left open the possibility of Allen switching sides through Josephine.
‘I need insurance. The fact that this man has hidden away a bastard son may be proof that he has other intentions.’
For Ailgar, who knew nothing of the agreement between Allen and Josephine, the situation was utterly frustrating. From his perspective, wasn’t this a game that would end as soon as they reached Polton before Allen and dealt with Segerik?
‘That old fool doesn’t even know what’s important…!’
With the two heads of the rebellion harboring different intentions, their movements were bound to be slow.
Allen was using that opening to rapidly close in on Polton. And behind him followed a hundred mercenaries.