Chapter 106
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Killing Pappenheim (3)
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Rhine Palatinate Imperial Army, Estelle Margrave's Encampment
Outside the Margrave of Estelle's tent, the clamor of allied mercenaries shouting and raising a fuss filtered in.
"Please review the rewards again! We absolutely cannot accept this!"
"Baron Pappenheim made sure we didn't get a fair evaluation!"
"Please assess our achievements properly!"
Having wrapped up urgent matters in haste, Estelle had spent the previous night sleeplessly indulging in passionate trysts with his female slaves. The noisy racket forced him to open his eyes in irritation.
"Ugh, did I drink too much last night? My head's spinning and aching. And what's with all the commotion outside..."
Still not fully awake, he couldn't quite make out what the mercenaries were yammering about, but it put him in a foul mood regardless.
"Ha, what the hell are those guys on about now..."
He wanted nothing more than to bark at them to scatter immediately...
'Unless they mutiny or protest during battle, I'm duty-bound to hear them out, damn it.'
And so, he had no choice but to scrap his plans for a bath attended by servants and more pleasure upon waking.
"There's not a single thing in this world that goes smoothly or easily."
Muttering as much, he groped the breast of the slave sleeping soundly beside him.
No matter if it was the first time or the thousandth, it never failed to soothe his mind and stir his vigor.
He even felt like venting his anger on these female slaves—who were practically his concubines—but they were utterly blameless.
"I need to change clothes. Hurry out and handle things. Bring my uniform."
With that, he let the slaves dress him before stepping straight out of the tent.
"Goddamn it, why the hell does this problem have to crop up right after the rewards ceremony?!"
At his bellow, one of the margrave's knights rushed over and apologized.
"My apologies, Margrave. We failed to properly calm the mercenaries' protest..."
Estelle waved him off.
"No, it's hardly your fault. Mercenaries protesting for more pay after a war ends isn't exactly rare, even if it's not an everyday occurrence."
Be it in the Rhine Palatinate Empire or anywhere else in the world, mercenaries were guaranteed the right to protest for increased rewards under customary law.
Thus, nobles had to at least pretend to listen to their grievances, even if they didn't cajole or placate them outright.
Then, within their discretion, they'd bump up the reward gold a bit to smooth things over...
"Because of these mercenary bastards, I planned to spend the whole day indulging. Looks like that's shot to hell. So, what's this uprising about, Sir Belt?"
The knight broke out in a sweat at the question.
"It's the usual kind of thing where mercenaries demand more rewards, but the justification they're pushing isn't something we can easily brush off."
Estelle couldn't hide his unease at those words.
"What justification?"
Belt swallowed hard before answering.
"They're claiming Baron Pappenheim deliberately understated the White Beard Mercenary Corps' feats in the Pastec Valley when reporting to the Imperial Court."
"Whether it's true or false, the 'Imperial Court' name has come up, so we'll have to keep the mercenaries here for now and investigate. If it's lies, execute them all for insulting the Empire. If it's true, give them proper compensation."
Estelle spoke nonchalantly, but inwardly, his heart was burning.
With the mercenaries invoking the emperor over insufficient rewards, rumors could spread that the Rhine Palatinate Empire mistreated its hires.
That would naturally be a massive blow to the Estelle Margrave household at the center of this protest...
'If the ringleader's smart, we can negotiate. Otherwise, it's a headache.'
"Investigate the facts thoroughly. From my close observation of the White Beard Mercenary Corps, they wouldn't fabricate achievements out of thin air."
Estelle held Martin Meyer and Dalton von Prime in high regard, so he didn't think they'd senselessly drag the emperor into a protest that could cost their heads.
Besides, even if Pappenheim was just a baron, Estelle knew full well how incompetent the man was...
'That damn Pappenheim must've botched something in his report.'
His sharp mind chalked it up to a simple 'mistake' in report-writing by ordinary standards.
"Margrave, the thing is, Baron Pappenheim intentionally downplayed the White Beard Mercenary Corps' contributions in his report to the court. And he hid a ton of his own blunders—we can speculate, no, we're certain of it."
Estelle clutched the back of his neck at the news.
Then he erupted.
"That incompetent fuck Pappenheim got handed nearly half his barony's worth of land because Martin Meyer fed him the achievements whole cloth, and now you're saying he falsified the report?! You sure?!"
"Yes, certain. Reports from other mercenary groups attached to Pastec show the White Beard faced Count Rezume's elite unit—not 300 men, but 800. And they didn't just luckily snag fleeing stragglers on the battlefield."
Estelle was so flabbergasted he let out a hollow laugh.
"Baron Pappenheim, you piece of shit who deserves your limbs broken and offered to the heretics! If you're gonna die, ruin only your own house—why drag me into your mess?!"
With that, Estelle stood there stomping the ground for a good half-hour to vent his rage.
As his anger subsided somewhat, the margrave let out a laugh—half in disbelief, half in delight.
To Belt, it looked like Estelle had lost his mind from sheer fury...
But contrary to expectations, the wrath on Estelle's face had considerably eased.
"At least it won't end in disaster for House Estelle, so that's a relief."
"Pardon?"
"This protest was undoubtedly orchestrated by that Martin Meyer rascal. Right?"
"Yes, the ringleader is listed as Martin Meyer, company commander of the White Beard Mercenary Corps."
Estelle's face flushed at the name.
An excitement like during sex, a passion distinct from slaughtering foes on the battlefield.
The corner of his mouth curled up so high it seemed it might split—a telltale sign when he truly coveted talent.
"Martin Meyer has immense potential matched by his vessel. He won't be foolish enough to turn his back on the Rhine Palatinate Empire—or me."
No matter how freely mercenary companies roamed, senselessly screwing over their employer nation or noble tagged them forever.
In this business, you'd get blacklisted naturally.
And right now, the most Martin Meyer could do without crossing lines was something like 'exposing Baron Pappenheim for revenge.'
So even if he'd led the protest, Estelle trusted it was handled not to harm him in the end.
"Pappenheim's crimes are punishable by death anyway. If I petition the court—His Majesty has passed, so the Imperial Court—with tears in my eyes to lop off his head, I'll be in the clear."
Belt breathed a sigh of relief.
"No, better yet—if we divert some of our household's reward gold to the mercenaries as 'proper evaluation,' our House Estelle's reputation among mercenaries will skyrocket. And by not covering for Pappenheim's screw-ups at all, taking the lead in punishing him severely, and footing extra compensation for the mercs, the imperial nobles will praise me as fair-minded. Right?"
"Indeed. Baron Pappenheim is, after all, from a lineage of loyal service across generations."
"Call the soon-to-be-dead bastard whatever; it doesn't matter."
This was originally something Martin would've pitched during protest negotiations, but Estelle's brilliant mind had pieced it all together just from hearing Martin led it.
"Outstanding martial prowess, tremendous growth potential—and though his starting position was favorable, political savvy and judgment to mobilize countless mercenary groups as a mere company commander. Strategic brilliance to boot. Sir Belt, chaos is coming soon. Don't we need to pull a talent like this to our side?"
"Absolutely."
"It's driving me mad. Perfect timing too—Baron Pappenheim's barony will soon be vacant... Anyway, let's hurry. Calm the mercenaries' protest first."
Having grasped every intent of Martin Meyer's scheme, the count strode briskly toward the protesting mercenaries.