Chapter 14 - The Flames of Paranoia
The Flames of Paranoia
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Translator: Dusky90
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: The Flames of Paranoia
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Condor, who executed the loyal vassal Allen, engaged in all kinds of schemes and guerrilla warfare, devoting himself to recapturing the Ort Territory.
However, the defense of the Orth Territory was firm.
No matter what schemes Condor tried, none of them succeeded.
Therefore, Condor became increasingly worn out.
And the embers of suspicion grew larger, turning into roaring flames.
Since no matter what schemes he carried out, they were seen through as if the information had been leaked beforehand, his paranoia deepened even more.
"You filthy traitor!"
Condor executed his subordinates every single day.
"Are you betraying me too?"
"N-No, my lord! I would never! My lord! I am innocent… aagh!"
"You bastard! Even ripping you to shreds wouldn’t be enough!"
The reason for Condor’s growing paranoia was simple.
‘Just how many traitors are there? How many spies has he planted?’
Condor refused to admit that Otto was outsmarting him.
He never considered that Otto might have outstanding strategic skills.
So naturally, he ended up suspecting those around him.
In truth, Otto wasn’t particularly brilliant in strategy. He just understood all of Condor’s behavioral patterns thanks to years of experience, but Condor had no way of knowing that.
So he, day after day, suspected, executed, and shouted at his subordinates, constantly repeating actions considered taboo for a lord.
The more he behaved like that, the more the knights and soldiers’ loyalty declined.
“Damn it! This nonsense has gone on long enough!”
“Why is he suspecting us just because the operation failed?”
“I wonder whose head he’s planning to cut off today.”
Complaints began to pile up.
‘Surely he’s not suspecting me, right?’
‘Damn it. What if that lunatic starts suspecting me?’
The sense of anxiety kept growing.
‘Could he be a spy from the Lota Territory?’
‘He’s been acting strange. Why does he look so nervous?’
Mistrust spread like an infectious disease.
‘I can’t let this continue.’
Condor, not even realizing that internal conflict was breaking out because of his suspicion, prepared for the next operation.
“The enemy’s forces are focused on our territory, so we’ll circle around and strike the Lota Territory. That will force them to withdraw from our land.”
“Yes! My lord!”
Condor was full of confidence.
‘Will you still cling to my territory even as your main base burns, Otto de Scuderia? I’ll slaughter every last one of your people.’
With that, Condor marched his troops toward the Lota Territory.
But then.
“E-Enemy sighted!”
“It’s an ambush! Everyone, get into defensive formation!”
The Lota Territory’s army attacked Condor’s forces as if they had been expecting them.
The Lota Territory didn’t have many troops.
However, because they ambushed from a favorable position, Condor’s army had no choice but to suffer heavy damage.
“D-damn it…! Retreat! Everyone, fall back now!”
And so the looting operation ended in complete defeat, and Condor had to lead the routed soldiers back to the temporary camp.
‘Who is it? Where is the leak coming from? How many spies has he planted?’
Condor’s mind was filled only with suspicion.
However, an event awaited that would instantly sweep away all of Condor’s suspicion.
Fwoooosh!
The temporary camp was engulfed in flames.
The storage holding the food, war supplies, and military funds of Condor’s army was consumed by flames, turning to ashes.
“N-No…!”
Condor’s face went pale at the sight of the burning temporary camp.
As if suffering great losses in the battle just earlier wasn’t enough, he had now lost his base, the temporary camp….
“P-Put out the fire! Quickly! I said put out the fire!”
Condor shouted in a desperate voice.
“Pour water on it!”
“Put out the fire quickly!”
His subordinates tried to put out the fire, but it was already too late.
The flames had grown too large, and no matter how much water they poured, it was futile.
In no time, the temporary camp was reduced to charred ruins.
“Otto… you bastaaarrrrdddd!!!”
A desperate, rage-filled scream burst from Condor’s mouth.
* * *
At the same time.
“Wow~ it’s burning nicely~ blazing bright~.”
Otto was standing atop the tower of the Orth Territory, watching the flames in the distance.
On Otto’s table were all kinds of desserts and wine.
He was snacking and having a glass of wine while watching the burning temporary camp in the middle of the night.
Condor, who was on the receiving end, must have felt as if he were coughing up blood….
‘He’s a devil. He must be possessed by a demon.’
Camille shivered at Otto’s behavior.
Thinking about how Otto had tormented Condor over the past month sent chills running down his spine.
But now, taking advantage of Condor leaving for a flanking operation, he ambushed his forces and burned down the temporary camp.
At this point, it felt like Otto was deliberately toying with Condor, making him no different from a devil.
“My lord.”
Camille asked Otto.
“Hmm? Munch munch.”
Otto replied, chewing with his mouth full of food.
“May I ask you something?”
“Munch munch. Be gentle when you ask. Munch munch. Don’t make it hurt. Munch munch.”
“…Ah.”
Camille’s face immediately contorted.
“Oh? What’s with that look?”
Otto narrowed his eyes and glared.
“Not going to wipe that look off your face?”
"......"
“Your lord cracks a joke, and you don’t even laugh?”
“Isn’t this abuse?”
“Abuse? What are you talking about! I’m such a kind lord!”
“Of course you are.”
Camille replied, squeezing his eyes shut.
“So, what are you curious about?”
“Why haven’t you killed Condor? You could have killed him easily if you wanted to.”
“That’s what you were curious about?”
“Yes.”
“I could kill him if I really wanted to.”
Otto smiled.
“But it’s more beneficial not to kill him.”
“Why do you think that?”
“I told you, didn’t I? The more people make reckless moves, the uglier they get. By now, he’s probably doubting his subordinates and making a huge fuss. With all the stress from his constant failures, he must be on edge. He’ll treat his subordinates more harshly. But it’s at times like this that maintaining loyalty is crucial.”
“Are you trying to make them lose their loyalty?”
“They’ve already lost it.”
Otto said with confidence.
“And by now, Condor’s men must have realized it too. That he’s not as competent a lord as they believed. That Condor is a sinking ship.”
“That seems likely.”
“In a few days, knights or soldiers with lower loyalty will start deserting one by one. Some of them will come to me.”
“You even… anticipated that…”
“In the end, he’ll be completely cornered and make an even bigger reckless move, right? By then, he’ll lose not only his subordinates’ loyalty but also the people’s support.”
“Then… isn’t that ruin?”
“Complete ruin.”
Otto smiled.
“That way, the people’s support in the Orth Territory will come to me. I need to be seen as a more capable lord than they thought, and Condor has to appear as a cowardly, petty incompetent. That way, there will be no problems later.”
“How do you even come up with ideas like that?”
Camille asked honestly.
“Well.”
Otto shrugged his shoulders.
“Let’s just say it’s a vibe that comes from experience….”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It’s just a saying.”
"....?"
“Ah, I’m sleepy. Time for bed. Yaaawn.”
Otto let out a huge yawn, stretching his mouth wide, then started down the tower.
“Ah, it’s so high. How am I even supposed to climb down this thing? Ugh.”
At that moment.
Slip
“Argh! Aaaaaaah!”
Otto missed a step and rolled down the stairs.
While going down the narrow stairs in armor, he lost his balance.
“Right… you’re actually rolling down the stairs.”
Camille shook his head in disbelief.
* * *
Condor and his subordinates, having lost the temporary camp, had to endure all kinds of hardships in the mountains.
It was the beginning of autumn.
Thanks to the gradually cooling weather, the nights in the mountains were very cold.
Campless and without shelter, Condor and his men had to sleep each night, shivering in the freezing mountain cold.
And that wasn’t the worst of it.
With the temporary camp burned down, they had no food left.
So Condor and his men had to hunt or desperately gather berries and roots just to keep from starving.
After about two weeks, Condor and his men looked less like an army and more like a band of mountain bandits.
In the end, unable to endure any longer, some knights and soldiers began deserting one by one.
Because staying hidden in the mountains like this would obviously result in starving to death, becoming prey for monsters, or being hunted down by the army of the Lota Territory.
There was yet another problem.
“Oh no! Soldiers, please! You can’t do that!”
“Shut up!”
“Argh!”
“You can’t even offer this meager tribute to the lord?”
Some soldiers, no longer under Condor’s control, started raiding and looting small villages in the territory.
Some even attacked villagers, killed people, and went so far as to forcibly violate women.
Otto deployed soldiers to protect nearby villages, while agitators spread word across the Orth Territory about the atrocities committed by Condor’s men.
“Our soldiers are looting villages?”
“That girl Angela from the lower village… they say she was violated.”
“So Lord Condor is no different from the rest after all.”
As a result, the public sentiment of the Orth Territory’s people toward Condor began to rapidly worsen.
“Wouldn’t it be better to stop now?”
Camille tried to dissuade Otto.
Although Condor was an enemy, Otto’s actions were so vicious that it was enough to stir even sympathy.
“No.”
But Otto clearly had no intention of pulling Condor out of this hellish ordeal.
“He hasn’t given up yet. Sooner or later, he’ll probably hire mercenaries and try to seize the territory again. He’ll set fires to create chaos, maybe even poison the wells, and then attack us while our soldiers are busy dealing with the aftermath.”
“I will strengthen the defenses.”
“Don’t strengthen them too much.”
Otto hinted to Camille.
“The people need to witness what they’re doing.”
“My god.”
“It’s almost over. This will probably be their last attempt.”
Otto knew full well that Condor had reached his breaking point.
He was on the verge of a complete mental collapse…
* * *
Otto’s prediction hit the mark.
Condor struck a deal with a mercenary group, promising them half the territory if he reclaimed it, and succeeded in hiring about 200 mercenaries.
‘This is my last chance.’
Condor, determined to reclaim the territory this time for sure, proceeded with the operation.
The infiltration went smoothly.
Condor, with his remaining men and about 200 mercenaries, managed to slip into the Orth Territory through a secret passage—one he believed only he knew.
“After completing your assigned tasks, gather at the inner castle. We’ll infiltrate the inner castle while the enemy is busy putting out the fires. Understood?”
“Yes, my lord.”
And with that, the operation began.
“Move, hurry up.”
“Bring more oil.”
“Shh. Be careful.”
Condor’s men and the mercenaries split up, getting ready to start fires in different locations.
“Now that’s true madness.”
Up on the spire, Otto observed the enemy’s movements through his telescope, a cold smile on his face.
“I think so too.”
Camille also agreed with Otto’s opinion.
Sacrificing the flesh to cut the bone.¹
Condor was desperate to reclaim the territory, willing to burn the very land his family had built for generations with his own hands.
He even went so far as to sell half the territory to a mercenary group, which could be considered foreign.
“But… isn’t the one who made Condor like that… you, my lord?”
“Hm?”
“I only said that because it seems like you pushed him too far.”
“Me?”
“Then isn’t it true?”
“Anyone listening would think I was the one who corrupted him.”
“Isn’t that true though?”
“Hey, you.”
Otto shot Camille a sharp glare.
“Saying it like that makes me sound like a devil!”
"....."
“Oh? That look on your face? Seems like you do think that.”
“No, not at all.”
“What do you mean no! Ugh!”
Otto burst out in anger.
“Lately, there’s been a lot of insubordination…”
“The enemy’s on the move, so I’d better go.”
Camille hurriedly left the place.
Because if he stayed here any longer, it was obvious that he would be scolded by Otto again.
** ** **
TL/N:
1. This phrase is a variation of the Korean idiom 살을 내주고 뼈를 취한다(sal-eul naejugo ppyeoleul chwihanda) implies willingly giving up something less vital (flesh) in order to make a deeper, more meaningful impact (cutting into bone). It can also suggest enduring pain or loss to achieve a more significant goal.