Chapter 18
Chapter 18
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Collection (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"......"
Viscount Bargo sat there speechless, like a mute who had swallowed honey whole.
Denying the document's authenticity would challenge the emperor's authority, while questioning its forgery would cast doubt on the Mage Tower's guarantee.
In the meantime, Administrator Yuda scolded Federback.
"Young Master! What is this diplomatic discourtesy!"
"What's wrong with the lender asking for his money back?"
Federback threw Yuda's own past words right back at him.
Yuda glanced nervously at Viscount Bargo and shouted.
"Please, come to your senses! The Young Master is only the Young Master inside Meursault House—once you're out in the world, you're just a spoiled brat! Why are you doing this!"
"Hold on, hold on. Wait a moment, Administrator Yuda."
Viscount Bargo waved him off.
Naturally, his mood appeared extremely foul.
Yuda shook his head frantically.
"No, no, Viscount! I don't agree with this brazen shakedown at all! I tried to stop him, but Young Master Federback acted on his own......!"
"No, no. Our young master has done something truly noble and clever."
Viscount Bargo smiled faintly.
He then leaned back against the chair's backrest.
Creak—
His massive frame drew a scream from the chair.
"......"
Viscount Bargo remained silent for a long while.
In the heavy silence, he pulled out a thick cigar and sliced off the end with a dagger.
Hiss—
He struck a match to light it, then exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
"Tricky. This is very tricky."
"......"
"You're the first to give me such a headache, Young Master Federback. In the past ten years combined."
His words dragged on with a nasal whine.
The sound of his brain scrambling to escape the current situation.
Viscount Bargo exhaled another puff of smoke and raised his hand.
Maids slipped between the knights and laid out assorted items on the table.
Wine, cheese, dried fruits.
Viscount Bargo picked up a bottle of wine with his thick hand.
Unlike his claims of hardship, it was an expensive red wine sloshing inside the glass bottle.
He lifted the twisted corkscrew.
Twist......
The spiral auger bored deep into the cork.
Pop!
It came out with a crisp sound.
Now that the blockage was cleared, the contents should flow freely.
Glug glug glug glug glug—
Viscount Bargo filled his glass with wine.
Then, as if oiling his tongue, he began to speak.
"Right. Of course, Young Master Federback. That makes sense. Perfectly understandable."
"......"
"It happens sometimes, doesn't it? While cleaning your room, you find some old trinket you thought was lost forever."
"......"
"Let me say it again: I fully understand. You're a good child, so you clean your room diligently. And in doing so, you stumble upon some dusty old document from ages past. You must have been thrilled, like finding treasure. Of course. It happens."
"......"
"But here's the thing. Discovering an old relic, bragging about it, and getting praise—that's all fine. Believing it holds real value and bringing it to a merchant? That's an entirely different matter."
Viscount Bargo tapped his nose bridge with a heartbroken expression.
"Then the merchant has no choice but to shatter the child's innocent dreams. 'Child, this is so old it's no longer in use. It has absolutely no value whatsoever anymore!'"
In the meantime, Yuda slyly gestured toward the back.
Step— step— step— step— step—
Levarb House knights lined up behind Viscount Bargo.
"......"
"......"
"......"
They all fixed cold glares on Federback.
Their hands rested lightly on their sword hilts.
The room's atmosphere grew precarious, like standing on a knife's edge.
Viscount Bargo continued.
"Young Master Federback. In the past, Meursault blood ran thick and red—so vivid that other houses dared not show their own colors."
"......"
"But that's ancient history. Not anymore, right? The ones carrying Meursault's line now are from distant branches. The true direct bloodline sleeps beneath the snowy mountains. That once-vibrant blood has diluted to near-water, barely distinguishable."
"......"
"Our Levarb House's founder swore fealty to Meursault's direct line. Not the branches. So fulfilling that ancient vow now comes with difficulties. Times change, people change, don't they?"
He circled around, but the point was clear.
He wouldn't acknowledge the document Federback brought.
Viscount Bargo sighed as if troubled.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm not belittling the current Meursault patriarch for being from a branch. Just see it as my deep respect and deference to the direct line. That's why we manage Meurso Mountain, where they rest. Out of respect and deference, we tend it with utmost care."
At that moment, the silently listening Federback spoke.
"Bulldozing the graves and paving roads over them is your idea of respect?"
"Wouldn't it be better for a heroes' graveyard to allow many visitors for worship?"
"By that logic, Levarb House should bury its ancestors in the middle of the market."
"......Hahaha. That's a bit much for a joke."
Viscount Bargo chuckled lowly.
He lifted his wine glass to wet his lips.
Smoke and liquor.
White and red vapors swirled murkily in the glass.
"In any case, honoring a 100-year-old promise now is impossible. Our oath was to Meursault's direct line, not branches. If you object, feel free to petition the imperial court for trial. We'll assemble lawyers and meet in court. Of course, whether Meursault House can afford a prolonged legal battle financially is another question......"
It was absurd nonsense, but Viscount Bargo was bullying with his wealth and backing.
The best way to deny the oath without outright rejecting it.
Federback nodded.
"Got it. Then I won't get the money."
"Yes, if you're truly going legal...... Huh?"
Viscount Bargo's eyes widened as Federback pivoted so easily.
Yuda quickly interjected.
"Aigoo, Young Master. Why act like you're graciously backing down over something obvious? Holding merchants hostage over an ancient scrap of paper is the real issue. Now, shall we discuss Meurso Mountain rights again?"
"Take the ancestral grave too."
"......?"
Yuda faltered at Federback's successive bombshells(?).
Viscount Bargo tilted his head.
Drop the old debt and hand over the ancestral mountain?
What kind of self-destructive giveaway was this?
But Federback's next words shocked him again.
"If you win the war."
War.
The conference room's atmosphere turned deathly still, like a tomb.
"......"
"......"
"......"
A statement that left not just Viscount Bargo, but Yuda and the knights slack-jawed.
Yet Federback's demeanor remained calm.
"Why waste breath arguing when we have good swords? When opinions clash, war is the best dialogue. I've declared it. I'm leaving."
His chair scraped back as Federback stood.
Viscount Bargo said urgently.
"W-Wait! Are you serious? No, does Young Master Federback even have the authority to declare war......?"
"I do. I'm here as the patriarch's proxy."
Federback pulled out the Meursault patriarch's seal from his bosom and showed it.
Yuda cried out hysterically.
"Young Master, why are you doing this! Have you lost your mind? Do you think the patriarch gave you that seal for child's play? If he knew you were acting so recklessly, he'd be pounding the ground and vomiting blood! If you were my son, I'd have smacked your head a dozen times already! War isn't some kids' tag game! Aigoo, my stomach!"
"Yes, young master. Things aren't going your way, so you're excited—natural at your age. Sit down for now. I'll pretend I didn't hear. Let's discuss Meurso Mountain leasing again. I'm willing to raise the rent."
Viscount Bargo soothed Federback and continued.
"And you may not know, but Meursault House's forces aren't worth boasting about. Maybe five hundred at best? Levarb House has double—no, triple that. And with one word from me, the other northern houses will rise too."
The iron-blooded sword house of the far north, Meursault.
Five houses served under it.
Viscount Bargo was now threatening to incite them.
But Federback's expression didn't change.
"Not a bad picture."
"?"
Viscount Bargo, Yuda, and the Levarb knights looked puzzled at the out-of-place remark.
Federback gazed at the bribe paintings and continued.
"But they skimped too much on the red paint."
"Young master. What have you been saying since earlier...... This isn't the time for art talk......"
Viscount Bargo waved irritably.
But Federback wasn't done.
"Red dye is hard to get in the north, right?"
At the same time, a sword whipped out from his waist.
It happened so fast no one could react.
Slash!
Federback's blade cleaved the air.
A geyser of crimson blood erupted, drenching the paintings.
Splatter!
Administrator Yuda was sprinting across the floor.
Thud— thud— roll roll roll......
His head alone remaining.