Becoming a Lord (2)
The next morning, Marquis Espera mounted his horse, intending to head for the inner castle. “Marquis! Marquis!” He loosened the reins he had been gripping and turned his head. The commander of the scouts, Bartnai, hurried over and pressed close, looking up at him urgently.
“There’s something strange about Kang Hyun-woo’s movements.”
Marquis Espera had already ordered Bartnai to keep watch on Hyun-woo’s activities. “What exactly seems strange?”
“Rumors are spreading that a title-bestowal ceremony for him was held at the inner castle a few days ago. And last night, I personally confirmed with my own eyes that a building registered under his name was sold off recently at the city hall.”
Bartnai continued without waiting for the marquis’s reply. “It looks like he’s planning to slip out of the city like a rat. We must mobilize troops and arrest him immediately. There’s no telling when he might run!”
He glanced around before lowering his voice even further. “There must have been some secret deal between His Majesty and Hyun-woo. If we’re not careful, we’ll lose Princess Dana to him.”
Marquis Espera stared at him with a hardened expression. “How many troops can we assemble right now?”
“Including the twenty knights our house brought for this inspection and their squires, we can gather roughly sixty men.”
“We must also keep Gregory in mind.”
“If you give me more time, I can persuade the lords who support us to raise troops. On top of that, I’ll even hire mercenaries from the city. Ah! Now that I think of it, there’s the ‘Nameless Unit’ in Nobern—formerly known as the Blue Arrow Unit. Since Nobern has no lord, they’ve lost their master and will move for money. There are over a hundred of them, so I’ll meet their captain and buy them off.”
“Good. Do that.”
Marquis Espera did not head for the inner castle. Instead, he dismounted and returned to the official residence. There he donned his armor, gathered his weapons, and fully armed himself. His plan was to lead soldiers immediately, arrest Hyun-woo, and confine him in the residence. He could not lay a single finger on the noble Princess Dana, but a lowly-born man like Hyun-woo could be roasted, boiled, killed, or disposed of in any way he pleased. He intended to capture him before he could pull any tricks.
“Hurry to Olivia and tell her to arm herself. We’re going to arrest Hyun-woo.”
The adjutant who received the order dashed off and urgently delivered Marquis Espera’s command to Olivia. She in turn sent a trusted subordinate to inform Hyun-woo of the situation.
Father is leading troops to your house. You’d better leave the city quickly.
The fire had reached their feet. Hyun-woo hastily informed the members of his group. Those who had been leisurely packing their belongings in the rooms and living room after breakfast were all startled. They had planned to leave the city that evening, but the sudden crisis sent everyone scrambling in a flurry of activity.
Mateus was the first to leap from his seat. “I’ll go to the inn and bring the lady!” He spat out the words and bolted outside in a rush.
Next, Ebibia stood up. “Th-there are weapons I need to pick up from a friend’s forge! It would be terrible if we left them behind!” As Ebibia hurried off, Kelly—who had slept at our house the previous night—also made a desperate face and quickly followed.
“I have to find Flavio! He said he was going drinking with friends last night, so he’s probably still asleep at the tavern at this hour!”
Her younger brother Flavio had also quit his soldier duties in Nobern and planned to leave with us. Then Pasvachio quickly changed clothes and ran out, saying he would find a wagon to carry the moving goods.
“Unia, you don’t have anywhere to go, right?”
“As for me, I’d better hurry and pack.”
“Dana and I will pack the luggage, so Unia, I have a job for you.”
Hyun-woo sent Unia to Marquis Gregory to request assistance.
Before long, Marquis Gregory, upon hearing the news, flew into a rage.
“What? Espera is mobilizing troops? That mad bastard! His Majesty is staying in this very city, yet he dares to flaunt military force so recklessly. What an insolent fool!”
He had no desire to get caught up in Marquis Espera’s insane actions—exercising military power without regard for propriety in a city where the king resided. Yet he was equally unwilling to let Hyun-woo and Dana be taken from him. To protect his daughter’s fiancé and future son-in-law, he needed soldiers. And to suppress Marquis Espera without a fight or major disturbance, he would need far more troops than the other man possessed.
In terms of military strength, Marquis Gregory held a clear advantage. More than half the soldiers who had accompanied him on this inspection belonged to the Wittensbach Knight Order. The marquis summoned the vice-commander Edmond and Adelia to his office.
“Edmond, assemble all the troops. How many can we mobilize?”
“Excluding the sick and those on duty, we should be able to gather over two hundred.”
“That should be enough. Be quick about it.”
Edmond bowed and promptly left the room. Marquis Gregory’s gaze then turned to Adelia, who stood silently.
“Your fiancé is currently in danger. That Espera fellow intends to mobilize soldiers and kidnap Hyun-woo.”
“That can’t be?!” Adelia’s eyes widened. Then she ground her teeth. “Those vile Penclau bastards…!”
“Gather the entire Lion Heart Unit and the Valkyrie Mercenary Band. We will join my forces and stop Espera together.”
“As you command! How dare they try to touch my husband!”
Adelia stormed out, her eyes blazing with fury.
Fortunately, the commotion ended far more easily than expected, without any major armed clash. Marquis Espera ultimately refrained from the extreme choice of moving large-scale forces within the city. A letter from Olivia arrived later, and it seemed she had played a major role in dissuading her father.
Just before Marquis Espera led his troops out of the residence, Olivia had quietly informed him that she and I had become sworn siblings. Upon learning this, the marquis was not exactly pleased, but he appeared somewhat satisfied that, through his daughter, he still maintained a connection to Princess Dana. He immediately disbanded the assembled troops.
When news spread that Marquis Espera had dissolved his forces, Marquis Gregory also relaxed and returned to his usual demeanor. Thanks to that, my group and I were able to leave the city safely around noon without any interference.
The reason Olivia had informed her father of our sworn sibling relationship only after the fact seemed to be to publicly reveal that I maintained a favorable relationship solely with the royal family. Knowing that Marquis Espera had flown into a rage would reassure King Mikelan, and hearing that Marquis Gregory and Marquis Espera had nearly clashed would have greatly pleased him. After all, he would assume I had only made a deal with the king.
Moreover, this incident would have reassured Marquis Gregory that I had not made any deal with Marquis Espera. Conversely, Marquis Espera would be satisfied that his daughter had become my sworn sister. In short, thanks to the commotion that Olivia had deliberately amplified, I obtained everything I wanted, while the three houses each gained and lost something in their own ways.
In any case, I was glad the conflict had been avoided and everything wrapped up well, but there was one regret. We had been forced to leave the city earlier than planned. In our frantic escape, we had left behind a mountain of items we couldn’t properly gather.
Lanchester territory lay more than three hundred kilometers east of Nobern territory. Our group consisted of fourteen people—me, Dana, Haida, Evynee, Ebibia, Marcus, Pasvachio and Jane, Peggy, Unia, Mateus and his lady Margaret, Kelly and her younger brother Flavio—plus ten more: Princess Irene, three maids, two pages, one knight, and his three squires. In total, twenty-four people traveled east in two wagons, one cart, and on five horses.
On that first energetic day, we pushed hard, covering as much distance as possible before sunset. The scenery of the mountains and fields we passed was truly spectacular. The majestic grandeur of nature was enough to steal one’s soul just by looking at it. The visual delight was perhaps the true charm of travel.
That evening, we decided to camp in a scenic spot overlooking a magnificent valley. We pitched tents for the women and children and lit a bonfire in the center. I gazed at the splendid distant landscape and fell into quiet contemplation for a while.
Becoming a lord so suddenly and shouldering the heavy responsibility of caring for so many people—if I claimed I felt no fear about whether I could manage it, that would be a lie. How should I proceed from here? How could I develop the territory? Worries about the future awakened my reproductive instincts. I wanted to have children as soon as possible and prosper the family line.
The Richard family currently consisted of only three—Dana, myself, and Adelia, who would soon join us. It felt far too small and lonely. Above all, I was the only man in the household. If we had children to protect Dana and Adelia, it would feel truly reassuring. The desire to have children quickly welled up inside me.
While the men set up obstacles around the campsite and the women prepared food, I suddenly took Dana’s hand and led her into the forest. Haida and Evynee tried to follow, saying they would attend to us, but I sent them back to help with cooking.
We pushed through the forest as twilight fell, entering the deep darkness. It was a moonless, pitch-black night.
“My name is Dana Richard,” Dana whispered happily as she followed behind me. She seemed to already know where I was taking her. With a blissful smile on her lips, she followed obediently.
By the time we reached a place where a stream babbled softly, it was so dark that nothing could be seen. Even the stars in the night sky were hard to find.
“I love you, Dana.”
“Me too.”
We kissed passionately as I peeled off her clothes layer by layer. Dana helped too, lifting her arms or shifting her hips. Soon I laid her down on a smooth, rounded rock. While licking her earlobe, I thrust my massively erect member between the parted folds of her lower body.
“Ah…!”
The moan that flowed from Dana’s lips started soft but gradually grew stronger as time passed. Eventually she was panting as if she might lose her breath, letting out one urgent gasp after another. Stimulated by those sounds, I reflexively put strength into my hips and thrust into her mercilessly, as if I would pierce her through.
“Dana! Dana! Dana!”