The Betrayal in Plamont
The Rotinzel fleet anchored in Plamont continued to expand its control. Each time they did so, they clashed with the La Rochelle navy and suffered repeated defeats in small-scale skirmishes.
With one ship destroyed after every encounter, the Rotinzel naval power in the sea steadily diminished.
“Mathias.”
Leonhard called Mathias’s name with gritted teeth.
Losing to a mere twenty-something upstart filled him with self-loathing, but the young man’s indifferent reaction made the anger burn even hotter.
In the midst of this, news of the defeat at Peal arrived.
“Aaron, commander of the Bluisol occupation army, has been dismissed, and a new commander will take his place…”
Leonhard forced his rage to cool and sank into thought. The replacement from Rotinzel was still undecided, but Aaron’s replacement was certain.
‘Since the opportunity has arisen, I should change Walter Martinez as well…’
Since his string of losses to Mathias, Walter had lost all motivation. He no longer appeared for military drills and simply smoked his cigar.
Seeing his condition ignited Leonhard’s fury anew. This was the perfect chance.
Leonhard drafted a single report to be sent home. He minimized his own failures against the La Rochelle navy, exaggerated Walter’s mistakes, and portrayed even his own errors as unavoidable because he had been forced to clean up the admiral’s incompetence.
Whoever reviewed the report would blame Walter without question.
Leonhard had been able to write it only because Walter was too depressed to submit a proper report to the home country.
A sinister smile formed on Leonhard’s lips.
A defeat at sea was not limited to the navy. The army also felt the ripple effects, so for a time they would need to stabilize their own forces.
Leonhard ordered the entire fleet to be maintained.
Sunk ships would remain as they were, but repairs would be made on damaged vessels. Soldiers’ morale was at rock bottom from the endless defeats, so rest would be granted.
Even if Mathias’s La Rochelle navy currently held the momentum, recapturing Plamont in a direct attack seemed unlikely.
The number of ships available was still inferior, and Rotinzel could simply lead their fleet out, then return to attack once Mathias’s forces landed.
Therefore, even if they briefly withdrew, the enemy could not attack recklessly.
The Rotinzel-Bluisol war had fallen into a temporary stalemate on land and sea alike.
In the meantime, Leonhard had left Plamont and departed.
***
Two major cities stood in southern Bluisol.
To the west, La Rochelle. To the east, Plamont.
Plamont was a port city centered on trade. La Rochelle’s territory itself was vast, built on a solid foundation, and had developed in many directions.
Currently, Rotinzel occupied Plamont and was using it as a stronghold to seize sea supremacy, but progress had stalled against Mathias’s La Rochelle navy.
Meanwhile, between the two southern cities of Bluisol—La Rochelle and Plamont—lay a small city called Nantes.
It was known as a city of pleasure and entertainment, where taverns and gambling houses thrived.
La Rochelle had long forbidden the establishment of pleasure districts within its duchy lands. Plamont, being a planned city built by the state, had no such facilities.
Yet both cities were wealthy, and when wealth accumulated, people naturally sought pleasure. Thus pleasure districts inevitably appeared.
Moreover, sailors from rough seas needed places to drink. The middle point between the two major cities naturally became the gathering spot for such men, creating demand that was met by supply. That was how Nantes had developed.
People traveled from both La Rochelle and Plamont to enjoy the pleasures of Nantes. Although the city was small, it was still quite wealthy.
Illegal activities had begun to sprout, but it was not a brazen crime city like Gironde, home to the Black Wing assassins. It was simply a place where those seeking pleasure gathered.
In Nantes, the most luxurious and discreet salon was Salon de Lis.
A single guest arrived, cloaked and disguised.
The visitor to Salon de Lis, with his hood pulled up, slipped in through the rear entrance. He then showed a small token to the man watching the back door.
It was the exclusive pass given only to premium customers of Salon de Lis.
The guard confirmed it and allowed him inside.
Madam Elena, owner of Salon de Lis, who had once been strikingly beautiful in her youth and still maintained a slender figure as an older woman, personally greeted him.
“You haven’t visited for some time. Shall I send the same girl again?”
He nodded.
At Elena’s signal, one of her attendants led him.
The room they entered was the most exclusive in Salon de Lis, located at the very heart of the salon.
Rich burgundy wallpaper adorned the walls, with premium carpets imported from the Blesk Empire covering the floor, and the table was made of solid oak.
From the ceiling, crystal chandeliers hung long, sparkling like jewels. The bottles of liquor displayed on the oak shelves were all the finest the continent had to offer.
The softly lit room appeared quite luxurious at a glance. Once he sat, the attendant soon entered and placed a drink and snacks before him. The whiskey was strong, with fruit as accompaniment.
The hooded guest of Salon de Lis removed his hood. The eyepatch over his left eye was immediately noticeable. It was none other than Leonhard Plaren.
A short while later, a beautiful woman with blue hair and brown eyes entered the room.
“It has been a while, Lord Leonhard Plaren.”
“Come here and sit.”
The moment he saw her, Leonhard patted his neighboring seat as if anxious. The woman swayed her hips gracefully and approached.
“I can’t go anywhere, so there’s no need to hurry.”
“Emma, I couldn’t stand not seeing you.”
“How can you say that? It embarrasses me.”
The salon waitress called Emma lowered her head slightly, showing her shyness.
Emma sat beside Leonhard. He immediately wrapped an arm around her waist. Emma watched his expression and stroked the cheek below his eyepatch with her hand.
“Yet your expression isn’t the best. Did you quarrel with your superior again?”
“Hah, that useless old fool.”
In the empty room, Leonhard unleashed every curse he had for Walter.
Emma poured whiskey into the glass. Leonhard downed it in one gulp. A single glass of liquor cost the salary of an entire month for a commoner, and it vanished in an instant.
“Drink slowly. I worry you’ll get sick.”
“Stop worrying and pour another.”
Emma filled the glass again, her worried expression unchanged. The moment it was full, Leonhard drained it again.
Glasses kept passing back and forth, yet he alone drank. Emma sipped not a single drop and kept her mind perfectly clear.
“Are you certain it’s all right for you to come all the way here?”
“Didn’t you want to see me?”
“Of course I missed Lord Leonhard. But…”
“Missed?”
Leonhard laughed loudly at her words.
“Ah, so in Bluisol they call someone like you a girl.”
His words carried clear contempt for Emma, a salon waitress.
Emma lowered her gaze.
“A person’s true value and nobility do not come from birth but from their heart and actions. I feel no shame in calling myself a girl. Do I not?”
“You’re quite composed. You can even speak such words. But why do you say I cannot come here?”
“You told me you couldn’t visit for a while. Nantes is close to La Rochelle, so Lord Leonhard, a Rotinzel knight, would be in danger there.”
“A knight. Indeed, that’s a very pleasing word. For the sake of such a lovely creature, spending a little time is nothing difficult.”
Emma blushed shyly.
She leaned her body toward Leonhard. He placed his hand on her chest and began to grope. Emma brushed his hand away.
“You know Salon de Lis’s rules, do you not?”
“Even this won’t do?”
“Madam will be furious if she finds out. I don’t want to give my heart to a man who will leave me one day.”
Prostitution was officially tolerated in Nantes, but Salon de Lis, which claimed to be the highest-class salon, managed its employees with extreme strictness.
“Why would I leave you?”
“If you want to take me in, formally adopt me.”
“That would be difficult. But you already know how much I cherish you.”
“Then why not bring me now?”
“If I bring a woman, what would that old fool Walter say?”
“Even so, Lord Leonhard is far superior. Why are you serving beneath such a person?”
Emma spoke with much resentment. Leonhard stroked her and comforted her.
“It won’t be long. Soon I’ll bring you.”
“You just said the superior was the reason you couldn’t bring me a moment ago.”
“In ten days, in the home country… I will take measures. Such an incompetent… well, many changes will come.”
Drunk on whiskey, Leonhard blurted out words he should not have. Emma tilted her head in confusion and rested her head on his chest.
“Then I’ll believe it and wait.”
A satisfied smile formed on Leonhard’s lips.
He had embraced many women during his pirate days, but Emma was the most beautiful he had ever seen.
Leonhard stroked the blue hair of the woman falling before him. The unnatural blue stood out vividly in the warm red room.
“Why did you dye your hair?”
“Just for a mood change. Don’t you think it’s pretty?”
“I prefer blonde.”
Emma’s original hair color had been a bright, sunny blonde like sunlight. The current blue hair was beautiful, yet to Leonhard it felt somewhere alien.
“I obtained a dye containing powdered lapis lazuli and dyed it. I thought you would find it pretty, but if it displeases you, I will remove it.”
Lapis lazuli was as expensive as gold by weight. Using something so costly just to impress him, then offering to reverse it because he didn’t like it, satisfied Leonhard with Emma’s attitude.
“No, leave it. Sometimes variety is good.”
Emma buried her face in Leonhard’s chest. Her expression had been cold, as though everything she had done until moments ago—acting like a loving lover—had been false.
Leonhard, unaware of anything, kept drinking.