The Real Reason
The Real Reason
"Everything turned out just as you said it would."
I had explained that if I pretended to be completely exhausted, the marquis would try to stab me in the back.
"Hildea-nim is the youngest Sword Master and the hope for standing against the elven landing invasion. Marquis Hapscorten, having lost his father, will want to take her as his wife by any means. So he'll attack when he sees an opening, thinking her strength is depleted."
So when I pretended to be out of strength, he really did reveal his true colors.
In reality, Luna had been working hard, and Hildea had just been leisurely munching on Calova CX bars.
"Now Hildea-nim needs to debut in high society. With a shocking concept fitting a Sword Master."
Chopping off the young marquis's head the moment the trial ended.
"If we keep instilling fear in the nobles that you're uncontrollable, they'll jump up one way or another."
"Is it to find out the remaining great nobles of the secret covenant?"
"Huh? I already know who all seventeen of them are."
Hildea was shocked by my words.
"How did you know? Who are the others?"
"You just list the seventeen largest territories in order by size."
"S-such a simple method...."
"For reference, the difference between the 17th and 18th is more than fourfold. They simply don't have the weight class to be included in such a secret covenant in the first place."
Since the top seventeen were in a completely different league from the rest of the nobility, it was easy to know all the covenant parties without any real investigation.
Lord Deville and the knights bound up Marquis Hapscorten and his knights and sent them first to Count Anbelrum's territory under escort.
The marquisate will be turned upside down by tomorrow.
Before I knew it, I had already climbed onto Hildea's back. My body had already adapted to the habit.
A subtle shampoo scent wafted from her long, soft silver hair.
It's a subtly addictive fragrance.
"Colonel Piel, isn't it uncomfortable being carried? I wish I were a bit taller."
"What do you mean? Hildea-nim is quite tall even among women."
"Still, because of our height difference, it seems uncomfortable for you to be carried. I wish I were as tall as Carlton Marquis-nim."
With nothing urgent, we decided to move leisurely.
Hildea was still strolling around the elf forest that was blazing fiercely.
Feeling the sweltering heat on her skin, she watched the fire demon created by the incendiary grenades.
"Even the Extinguishing Soul Torch wouldn't be this intense. Truly incredible firepower."
"I do want to see the real power of the Extinguishing Soul Torch sometime."
Come to think of it, I'd never seen it with my own eyes.
Before I noticed, Luna was quietly floating along behind us.
"Hmm, shall we have a late-night snack?"
"Late-night snack. Good."
"Kyaaaak! Give me mint choco!"
I spread out a mat.
I considered having a samgyeopsal party, but decided to keep it simple and finish with Marshall burgers, cola, and ice cream for dessert.
Luna devoured three burgers and then immediately started scooping up ice cream.
Hildea was already on her sixth burger.
"Luna, do mages not eat as much as knights?"
"Knights and mages use mana differently. Knights only use their own pure mana, but mages use their own mana to draw out natural mana to cast magic."
"But you still have to eat much more than a regular person?"
"Yes, yes, that's right. But still, we eat less than most mana soldiers."
"Colonel Piel seems to eat too little, which is probably why he can't awaken his mana."
"...Isn't that a reversed cause and effect? I think once I awaken my mana, my food intake will increase as well."
Luna, for whatever reason so excited, enthusiastically recounted stories about the aerial drops and detonations.
"Colonel-nim, you were planning that if an unfair verdict came down during that bastard's trial, you'd drop an incendiary package on the Noble Council and burn them all to ashes, right?"
"No. Absolutely not."
"...You weren't going to burn them all?"
It seems Luna has awakened to something rather strange.
I calmly explained my long-term vision.
"I plan to bring down all the great nobles and establish a new Noble Council centered around Hildea-nim. It won't happen overnight."
Hildea, Rebecca, Luna, Elenoa, and me.
Wouldn't the five of us be enough?
"A new Noble Council made up of the five of us. Just hearing about it sounds wonderful."
"I need to get my amnesty and reinstatement first though... but if I get amnesty, can I no longer serve as Airborne Unit Commander?"
"It doesn't matter at all. The Airborne Unit Commander is always your position, Luna."
"Kyaaaak! Thank you! I'll work hard!"
I didn't reveal my true purpose.
Because it was still too early.
'If Hildea receives the abdication and I become chancellor under her, a ministerial position might be recognized....'
Suddenly, Luna flinched and then stared intently at one direction.
"What's wrong?"
"The wind flow over there is suspicious. Something seems to be watching us."
"Elf!"
Hildea and Luna quickly put on their night vision goggles.
The ones I had decided to spend big on, selecting key knights and issuing them individually.
"There it is!"
"Ah, it's running away?"
"Luna, don't chase it! Protecting Colonel Piel is more important. There might be others hiding nearby."
"I'm not chasing. I'm not an idiot."
Only after confirming the elf had completely vanished did Hildea take off her night vision goggles.
"Colonel Piel, it seems to be that female elf we've encountered a few times before. A persistent connection."
"On the other hand, from that female elf's perspective, didn't she detour to avoid us, only for us to block her path again?"
"Ah, is that so? No wonder she bolted the moment we noticed her."
I quietly stared in the direction the elf had vanished.
'The plant legion was crushed by Rebecca and the mortar knights, the giant golem was shattered by Hildea's 105mm direct fire, and the elf forest was burned down by Luna's carpet bombing.'
Still, maybe because we've clashed several times.
I was a little curious about what that elf might be thinking.
***
The green-haired female elf ran as swift as the wind to put distance between them.
Only after confirming that Hildea was not pursuing her did she finally stop and let out a sigh of relief.
Kkiaak, keureureuk, keureureu....
"...."
The screams of her kin dying in the firestorm still seemed to echo in her head.
Strength drained from her slender legs, and the elf collapsed to a sitting position.
She took out a small fruit from a pouch woven of leaves and chewed it while resting.
"Quaes'til vae...."
(What in the world is that....)
***
There was a mountain of things to handle before going to crack down on the Noble Council.
First, after locking up Marquis Hapscorten's party in the count's castle prison, we sent a messenger to the Noble Council.
We also sent troops to seize control of the marquis's castle.
The vassals were horrified that the missing young marquis (the real one) had schemed such a thing.
From what I saw, it was closer to "Why couldn't you handle it perfectly!"
We decided to use an outer villa as the barracks for the dispatch unit.
I had stockpiled food in advance that would last for several months.
Flour, corn soup, glucose biscuits.
Rebate beer, pizza, Hamburg steak.
I felt a little sorry for just giving them the low-quality Hamburg steak (rebate), but the knights were happy, saying they could eat meat every day.
"To think we can eat meat every single evening! If the main unit guys knew our situation, they'd probably die of jealousy!"
"Meat every day! Truly unimaginable!"
"Colonel Marshall, can we really bring our families here to live?"
"Of course. You can take care of your family's meals at the barracks dining hall."
I set the rotation period at two years and allowed those who wished to bring their families.
Of course, leave is also granted.
Since all the airborne troops had no families, there was no need to apply a strict rotation.
So I decided to accept transfer requests whenever they wanted.
'I need to create a proper general staff department.'
Hildea had jokingly called me the Supply Commander, and it seems I really do need to create a department like that.
"Colonel Piel, I appoint you as the Chief of Staff of Ainshvan."
"I accept the order."
【Unrecognized position.】
Tch, I know that already.
But thinking of the day I might truly become Chief of Staff someday, I gave it that name in advance.
"An independent department solely handling logistics duties. This is novel."
"It's simply the superior unit to the Supply Department. It handles personnel assignments, duty rotations, leave, training, and salary."
"Salary...?"
Hildea's eyes trembled uncontrollably for a moment, and I was flustered as I asked.
"What's the matter?"
"...Why would you give a salary?"
"...."
"I, I don't have the money for that."
I realized a shocking fact.
Now that I think about it, I've never received a salary either.
'My direct farming unit was the only unit that received a salary...'
"...I will pay the salary for the dispatch unit at my own expense. They'll probably be satisfied if I give them flour exchange tickets so they can use the PX."
"P-please do...."
Seeing Hildea so embarrassed, it's been a while.
***
While waiting for the Noble Council's response, I spent my days handling dispatch unit administration and my nights receiving mana massages from Elenoa and Hildea.
I held a samgyeopsal party every few days to tempt noona, but she wouldn't give in.
"I want to follow you to the North too. But the territory must have a lord."
It's regrettable, but unavoidable.
Finally, a reply came from the Noble Council.
They had set a trial date, and we were to bring Marquis Hapscorten's party up.
The day before leaving home.
"Doryeonnim, the former count wishes to see you one last time, no matter what."
At the old former head butler's plea, I pondered, and then grew curious about what he would say as his final words.
'It was really funny when the best excuse he could make to Hildea was saying "I am Piel's father." Will he make me laugh as much as he did then?'
With Luna and Lord Deville as escorts, I went to the castle where he was confined.
They call it an outer fortress, but it's quite luxurious and magnificent.
'At this level, it's an emperor's incarceration life.'
Not only my father but also some of his closest vassals were confined in the castle.
Those too old or weak to even be used in the penal unit in the North.
As a precaution, I met him with iron balls chained to his hands and ankles.
"Truly thorough."
"Father is a knight, and I am an illegitimate son who hasn't even awakened mana. Please understand."
"A good mindset. You are now of noble status, so you should do so."
Father looked at Luna and Dvil for a moment before speaking again.
"I have something urgent to say to you alone. Can you not send your escorts away for a moment?"
"You know that's not possible."
"...Isn't there no reason for me to harm you now? And I am bound like this."
"It's because I am not alone."
The moment harm comes to me, the entire North collapses.
I don't want to see Hildea and Rebecca despair and starve to death or take their own lives.
"Please speak quickly."
"...."
My father's lips quivered before he took a deep breath and looked me straight in the eye.
"Elenoa... please take care of your noona."
"Don't worry about that."
"As her younger brother, please use your influence so that noona can marry into a good family. It was originally my duty, but now I have lost everything.... Piel, you are close to Elenoa, so I want to entrust her future to you."
"Of course, it is my duty as her younger brother."
"Yes, you are siblings. Please remain the closest siblings in the world until the end...."
How amusing.
Just because he heartlessly cast out his own flesh and blood, he must have thought I would do the same.
"I doubt we will meet again. Farewell, then."
"...I pray that you too meet a good woman and build a happy family."
I hesitated for a moment, then left without answering.
***
Piel had left.
Baron, a knight confined together, quietly approached the former count and spoke.
"...I thought you would reveal the truth."
The former count looked quietly at his old vassal before opening his mouth.
"What would change now if I told you that your mother was not actually my concubine, but merely sought refuge with me... that you are not my son?"
"...I truly do not understand. You cherished doryeonnim as if he were your own son... why did you suddenly send him to the frontier as if to die...."
"It was because he failed to awaken mana. If only he had awakened mana... I would not have sent him to die."
Among illegitimate children, there were many who achieved little as knights but found other talents, such as administration, to build their futures.
That was why Baron could not understand his lord's cruel decision.
The former count, who had been watching for a long while, finally decided to resolve his old vassal's curiosity.
"The moment I realized how Elenoa was looking at that boy, I had no choice but to kill him for the future of the count family."
The old vassal's eyes shot wide open.
"W-what? Are you saying Elenoa was in love with doryeonnim? That's absurd! Elenoa wouldn't know about doryeonnim's birth, would she?"
"Of course she doesn't know. Knowing they are siblings, she still loved him."
"T-that...."
"That child would have eventually taken Piel as her man. Then what would become of the child Elenoa would bear?"
The old vassal finally understood the reason of 'because he couldn't awaken mana.'
"If only that boy had awakened mana, I would have accepted Elenoa's feelings."
The lord had been worried about a future where the count family's bloodline would weaken.
"But the boy failed in the end, and I had no choice but to kill him to prevent the weakening of our family's bloodline...."
Because that was the only way to stop Elenoa after the count's death.