Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Domain War (2)
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“Damn it!”
Bellun Count hurled the stacks of documents off his desk.
‘What the hell happened?’
The business he thought was going smoothly had collapsed in an instant.
The merchant groups he dealt with had vanished long ago, and the nobles he was connected to had turned their backs on him.
With things this bad, there wasn’t even money left to operate the numerous mines owned by the Bellun Count family.
They were short on wages for the laborers, and even if they somehow managed to mine, paying off the debts seemed like a distant dream.
“Clay, Banheart…!”
Bellun Count glared at the papers scattered on the floor with bloodshot eyes.
One of them detailed the recent movements of the Banheart Count family. The moment he read it, he couldn’t contain his boiling rage.
“So that’s why you wanted those mines? How the hell did you know!”
The abandoned mine he had handed over to the Banheart Count family.
Who would have thought magic stones were buried there?
“If only, if only I had that!”
Bam!
Unable to hold back his fury, Bellun Count kicked the desk, shattering it into pieces that rolled across the floor.
As a Sword Expert of advanced rank, it was something only a superhuman like him could do.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
Breathing heavily, Bellun Count gathered his thoughts on how to overcome this situation.
“Yeah… You brought this on yourself, Clay Banheart.”
Staying like this would mean the ruin of the Bellun Count family anyway.
In that case, gambling was the better option.
His honor might fall, but at least he could save the family.
* * *
“Domain war?”
I was baffled by Dorian’s sudden report.
“That’s right. I never expected Bellun Count to declare a domain war so abruptly.”
I let out a hollow laugh at Dorian’s serious expression.
Wow, I figured he might try something, but a domain war? Really?
‘He’s really going all in.’
Tapping the desk with my index finger, I asked Dorian.
“What’s the reason he gave for declaring it? He knows he can’t declare a domain war without a valid justification, right?”
“It’s on the grounds that knights went missing in the Dream Forest recently, and we failed to conduct a proper investigation.”
“Oh, come on.”
In other words, they were pursuing Jack Veil’s case separately from Nior’s.
They couldn’t touch Nior’s incident since Riya was involved, so that was their only option.
“But isn’t that reason enough for us to declare a domain war on them? What a joke.”
Those knights had clearly ambushed me with intent to kill.
It was laughable how they were pretending it never happened.
Bellun Count family’s attempt on my life was something even Duke Gail knew about—I had secretly reported it to him.
I’d planned to crush them through Duke Gail if signs of recovery appeared and altered the future, but this was unexpected.
“We can just refuse. End of story.”
A domain war required the king’s approval.
Since Duke Gail knew the full truth, refusal on my part meant it wouldn’t be approved.
“But…”
I stood up slowly and tore Bellun Count’s letter in half.
“Shall we accept it?”
Dorian stared at me in shock at my casual remark.
“Y-Young Master, we don’t have nearly enough knights or soldiers to wage a domain war!”
“Knights and soldiers matter, sure, but war isn’t that straightforward.”
“…Pardon?”
In war, troop numbers were crucial, of course, but they didn’t decide everything.
If it were just about numbers, there’d be no need for strategy or tactics.
“Besides, if Bellun Count family collapsed like this, it would’ve been a bit tricky for us.”
After the Aintban incident, Jade had set up a Thieves’ Guild branch in Banheart territory. He’d even come to Talua Kingdom personally.
I didn’t know his intentions, but it wasn’t bad for me, so I let it slide.
According to intel from Jade, who followed me, the Deolic family was moving to swallow up the Belluns.
Impossible under normal circumstances, but with Bellun’s finances in shambles, it was feasible.
‘A domain war changes everything, though.’
If the war proceeded and I won, the Belluns would disintegrate.
Everything they owned would naturally fall to the Banhearts.
‘The Deolics wouldn’t sit idle then…’
I’d deal with that later.
For now, let’s smash the enemy right in front of us: Bellun Count family.
* * *
After sending a reply to the Belluns, I gathered everyone in the mansion.
The area would soon become a battlefield, so I needed to tell them to evacuate elsewhere.
“Heh heh heh. That noble… turns out he’s more entertaining than I thought.”
Riya spoke first.
She covered her mouth with one hand in a refined pose, but her eyes were ice-cold.
“What do you think, Clay? Need knights or soldiers? We’ve got plenty.”
“No plans to borrow imperial forces. That wouldn’t achieve my goals.”
If it could be solved by brute force, there were ways without the empire.
But that wouldn’t get me what I wanted.
“Declaring this domain war isn’t just for material gain.”
“…I see. You plan to demonstrate Clay’s—and the Banheart family’s—power by winning against the Belluns.”
“Exactly.”
Riya got it right away, as expected.
Mone, however, still looked worried.
“But we’re short on knights and soldiers. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, we haven’t recruited more yet. But… we’ve got plenty of money now, right?”
“You’re hiring mercenaries.”
“Correct.”
Maria, who had just arrived at the mansion today, answered.
She showed no change in expression despite being summoned right after unpacking.
“But mercenaries don’t count toward a family’s strength, do they?”
Mone was clearly anxious about her first domain war.
To ease her concerns, I should explain in more detail.
“For ordinary mercenaries, sure. But I’m hiring from Aintban.”
Aintban mercenaries weren’t easy to hire.
They were the premium of the mercenary world, so to speak.
With skills rivaling most knights, it made sense.
“As you know, our territory is quite far from Aintban. Mercenaries wouldn’t come here just for money under normal circumstances.”
Unless we had deep ties with them.
“It’s a chance to flaunt both connections and wealth.”
“That explains why Mother isn’t here today.”
“Yeah. I asked her urgently.”
It’d take time for a round trip.
But they should arrive in time for the domain war.
‘With Black Skull Mercenary Corps and a few others, winning a domain war will be easy.’
Unlike before, Bellun’s finances were wrecked, leaving them short of full strength.
Local mercenaries to replace soldiers would be more than enough against them now.
“Anyway, that’s the situation. Sorry to Maria who just arrived, but it’d be best to take shelter in another territory for a while.”
“No, it’s fine. I don’t think it’ll be particularly dangerous.”
Maria glanced at Riya as she spoke.
[Yeah. With that lizard girl here, where could be safer? Safer than other territories, even most kingdoms.]
Fair point—I thought the same.
It was just in case; I didn’t expect real danger.
Domain wars were matters of honor. They rarely caused pointless damage to each other’s lands.
“That’s all I have to say. Sorry for calling you late.”
I stood up, as it was bedtime for everyone, and holding them longer felt wrong.
Then Maria stood with me and spoke.
“Ah, Clay… Mmph.”
She quickly covered her mouth.
Since returning from Aintban, she’d called me “Count” even after I permitted otherwise.
Calling my name now must’ve been a slip.
“You can use my name freely in front of everyone here.”
“Oh, yes.”
Maria sighed in relief and smiled brightly.
I found myself staring blankly at her face for a moment.
I already knew she was beautiful, but her rare smiles made it hard to look away.
“Hmm.”
A subtle hum drew my gaze to Riya, whose eyes had darkened noticeably.
Realizing I’d been staring at Maria, I cleared my throat and changed the subject.
“Ahem. So, what is it?”
“Well…”
Maria glanced at Riya before speaking cautiously.
“I’ll tell you outside. It’s a bit… not for here.”
What? Something too secret for this room?
“Alright. Let’s talk outside then.”
I stepped out of the drawing room with Maria.
Confirming no one around, she whispered.
“So… can I start today?”
“Oh, that.”
She was asking about using the ‘dream’ starting today.
Yeah, not something to mention casually in front of others.
“Yes. Come to my room tonight.”
“Understood.”
No reason to delay when every day counted.
I’d have asked her to start right now if I could.
“Dear me, heh heh heh.”
If not for the eerie voice of Riya behind me.
Maria rarely paled, swallowing hard at her sudden appearance.
“…When did you come out?”
“I wondered what you two had to discuss alone, so I used a little magic. Overheard something interesting.”
That’s eavesdropping.
“I never imagined you two would be sleeping in the same room… Didn’t cross my mind.”
Riya’s eyes slit like a lizard’s as she finished.
On the verge of activating Dragon Eye.
Of course, it wasn’t aimed at me.
Her Dragon Eye targeted Maria right beside me.