Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Laying the Groundwork for the Divine Masterstroke (4)
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“Cunning rabbit? No, you're a cunning lion.”
“Cunning lion... To possess both the lion's ferocity and the serpent's wisdom— that's the highest praise, Your Highness.”
The duke let out a sigh, apparently at a loss for a retort.
“Come out in about an hour. I'll head out first.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Soon after he finished speaking, the sound of a door opening and closing echoed from beyond the wall.
For the next hour, I pondered how to cook up His Excellency, the grotesquely fat pig...
It was a foolproof strategy I'd refined in my mind countless times...
But my opponent was a mindless giant who could muster two or three times my forces, incompetent though he was...
If I failed, not only would my serfs be lost, but so would trusted vassals like Frost, Baldt, Helmut, and Weiss.
And Viscountess Ella, who had welcomed me into her family in this world and trusted me absolutely—not to mention her recent talk of wanting my child...
She would face torturously cruel punishment beyond words and meet a horrific end...
So until it was time to emerge, I gave thanks for the fortune that had made my grand strategy fall perfectly into place thus far, and I polished my plan to ensure I absolutely would not fail—for the sake of protecting my precious loved ones and vassals.
Like a master artisan breathing life into beautiful marble with chisel and hammer.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
For the next few days, using illness as an excuse to the count, I holed up in my chamber, continuing to devise the plan.
Ella, who brought my meals since I wasn't seeing anyone else, looked quite forlorn...
But if my grand strategy required more nobles, this was my only chance to recruit them.
The day before the imperial memorial service, I was huddled under a blanket in the corner of my chamber, pretending to sleep, when...
Suddenly, someone flung open the door.
For a moment, I feared my plan had been discovered and they were here to arrest me, but I kept a calm face and looked at the intruder.
It was Baldt.
His expression wasn't grave, so it didn't seem like my plot to usurp the County of Nant had been exposed...
“What's with the sudden entrance? Worried about me?”
Baldt gave a hollow chuckle at my words.
“You've barely eaten lately and keep shutting yourself away, so yes, I'm a bit concerned...”
“Got it. I'll eat properly. Once the memorial service is over, I'll rest up, so don't worry.”
“Please do, Your Excellency. Actually, for the past few days, a sharply dressed man in a butler's uniform has shown up at this exact time every day. Today, he shouted, 'If I can't meet Lord Kroitel today, I'll expose his secret!!' So I came to ask what to do.”
A chill ran down my spine at those words.
At least since he'd barged in so recklessly, he wasn't part of any force powerful enough to threaten me, even if he knew the secret...
Still, if he knew my secret... should I kill him?
No, whatever it was, since he'd come this far, a little coaxing would make him show his hand...
“Send a maid to have him wait in the drawing room. I'll go see him shortly.”
“Understood.”
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I washed up and changed—my first time in a while meeting anyone besides Ella, Baldt, Helmut, and Weiss—then headed to the drawing room.
The room, deliberately kept austere to my tastes, held a slender man elegantly enjoying tea and pastries.
He looked almost feminine at first glance... but his upper body was, uh, too flat. Definitely a man.
Yes, despite his womanly slender lines, delicate features, slightly red lips, and chic air...
I shook off those thoughts, sat across from him, and said,
“I am Siel von Kroitel, the rightful lord of the Barony of Kroitel.”
He replied in a clear, boyish voice, pure and unchanged by puberty.
“Chris Belladora. It's an honor to meet you, Your Excellency.”
“I'm not thrilled, am I? Someone barges in demanding I meet them personally or they'll expose my secret...”
He laughed in response.
“Yes, but I thought you wouldn't see a lowly one like me otherwise. Please forgive me.”
When I'd strong-armed the Duke of Brussels into negotiating, he'd probably felt this way.
How could someone with no power or influence act so boldly just because they held my one weakness?
This is subtly terrifying...
“Very well. First, tell me the secret you know. I'll give you what you want based on its value.”
I rang the bell on the drawing room desk and summoned a servant.
“He'll probably want money. Bring plenty.”
“Yes, sir.”
A few minutes later, the servant brought a chest about the size of a briefcase.
I opened the lid to reveal the contents, and Chris's eyes lit up.
“As expected of the rising star of Nant, 'Lord Kroitel'... Even dealing with someone like me, you go all out with dozens of gold coins...”
Not some hack just selling the secret for cash.
A third-rater would've pocketed the gold immediately and dragged out the reveal.
And his admiration for my “going all out”...
Either a sharp strategist or a pro gambler aiming for a bigger score.
“I've shown sufficient sincerity. Now, speak.”
“Yes. I, Chris Belladora... saw you meeting His Highness the Duke of Brussels a few days ago.”
“Is that so? And... so what? Meeting the duke isn't exactly earth-shattering.”
Chris smirked at my words and continued.
“Then why meet in a cathedral—specifically the confessional? Nobles only use that for affairs or utterly secret talks.”
For an instant, I felt like I was drowning in the clear blue depths of his sea-like eyes.
Even a dimwit like the count could infer I was plotting something just from my meeting the duke in the confessional.
That would force me into battle unprepared...
“Th-that was...”
Hearing my trembling voice, Chris pressed his advantage with a triumphant expression and tone.
“Combining the rumors Lord Schwein spread in Elisium with the bards' tales... Clearly, something happened during the Helsman reclamation—bad enough that 'you pointed your sword backward' at him. And seeing your reaction, it seems you met the duke to usurp the count's title...”
Like Sima Yi in that old Romance of the Three Kingdoms cartoon, always cornered and yelling,
“Damn it, this is Zhuge Liang's ploy!! Everyone, retreat!!!”
I'd laughed at Sima Yi's panic every time, but now that it was me... spot on.
I could silence “Chris Belladora” by eliminating him...
But someone this clever would've surely told someone, 'If I die, deliver this letter to Lord Nant.'
So I couldn't kill the man before me now.
Just hand over what he wants quick and pray he keeps quiet...
I'd planned to give him the gold chest, send a thug to shut him up quietly, and reclaim the money.
“You've got me. What do you want? I can't give land or title, so money it is.”
“How much?”
“As much as you want. Or become my man?”
Chris, as if waiting for that, flashed his brightest smile yet.
“Yes, I'll serve you, Your Excellency. Give me a position befitting my talents.”
“...No thought that I might not trust you and kill you?”
...I'd only asked if he'd serve out of spite—eyes wide open, getting fleeced over a “secret” technicality. Bluffing to save face... and he took it seriously.
Still, better to keep dangerous types close and watch them.
These archetypes give total loyalty if you meet their expectations...
Harnessing the skill that pinpointed my sole weakness from limited info... he'd surely aid my future strategies and direction...
Lost in thought, suddenly Chris began stripping off his butler's uniform.
Jacket, shirt... and underneath, a quilted gambeson.
As I wondered why the armor under clothes...
Chris grinned wickedly at me.
“Your Excellency, as proof of my loyalty—and another secret.”
Then Chris seized my right hand and yanked it to his chest.
The feel... a man's chest should be firm and dry...
But in my hand was a modestly sized breast—rubbery like a balloon, soft like sponge.
While I stood stunned speechless, she gazed at me earnestly and declared,
“I, Chris Belladora, am a woman. But to serve a lord worthy of my late knight father, I've lived as a man for years. Your Excellency, I pledge my full loyalty.”
In this medieval culture, even if a woman outsmarted Napoleon or wielded sword and bow like Britain's great Jack Churchill, she could never be a knight or hold office...
If this girl spoke true, she'd never betray me.
And if she did... the assassins' guild could handle it.
Grinning, I took her hand in a firm shake.
“I accept your loyalty. But until you prove your worth, pay is five silver coins.”
Thus, I acquired a strategist with a subtle androgynous charm.
And that day, I learned firsthand one meaning of “walk a mile in my shoes”: you only feel it when you're the one getting burned.
Damn, so that's why the duke was so shocked by me a few days ago...
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After recruiting Chris, I took her to my chamber.
To verify her abilities and, since she was dangerous, keep her under 24-hour watch until fully proven.
No one but Chris entered the chamber, but I stationed two knights outside on rotation, just in case.
Chris and I reviewed the “plan” right up until the memorial service, confirming our alignment before collapsing.
The plan's first line read:
[After the imperial memorial service, provoke the count appropriately, impeach his past dishonors before the nobles, and declare a duel war.]
From now on, the great Lord Schwein would soon cease to be a noble of this world.