Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Next Lord
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Ian struck Berik's sword flat with the side of his hand in disbelief. What confidence did this guy have, who had gotten a hole in his stomach fighting just one knight in the Great Desert, to take on three at once?
The knights glared at him as if they couldn't believe this madman either, but with Ian standing firm, they seemed to hold back for now.
"Cut the nonsense and go fetch Lord Romandro."
"Ah, that's what you meant? Sorry."
He didn't look sorry at all, but at least he said the words. Ian signaled to the lady with his eyes.
"Everyone out. Help him bring back the advisor or get to your tasks. Don't stand around making things chaotic."
"……."
The knights must have judged there was no point sticking around, as they obediently filed out the door. The butler in the middle looked around uncertainly left and right, but the lady pulled out a new mana cigarette and gave instructions.
"Butler, go prepare some tea. We have a guest, and even if things are a mess, we must mind our manners."
"Yes, ma'am."
One of the knights stood in the hallway with arms crossed, planted like a post. Even as the door closed, he kept his head held high, a sign of his intent to keep the lady under semi-house arrest.
Creak.
Once the door fully shut, she exhaled smoke with a dazed look. Then she muttered to Ian.
"There's no sanity left anywhere."
"Pull yourself together, even if by force. Before those knights do something drastic, we need to secure the territory's rights. Have you informed the count's brother yet?"
"Not yet."
"Then you'd better do it quickly. Don't those knights hold the military command of Merelrof?"
Unlike Bratz, Merelrof didn't require many troops. It ran on a small guard detail from the estate and a private soldier system centered on three knights. That was enough for stable territory management. There were no threats like the Cheonryeo Tribe.
"Maybe? Probably?"
"From that answer, I can see why they're acting so boldly. If you don't hurry, you could end up like the count."
Ian nodded toward the bedroom where the body lay. Now was the perfect time to wipe out the Merelrof line and start a new history.
"If that happens to me, won't it put you in a bind too, Lord Ian?"
"It would be a bind, but just an annoyance. Not as fatal as it would be for you."
Aren't you sick of it? This time, the imperial palace was paying attention to Merelrof. But by then, Ian would be in the capital, and above all, he truly hadn't intervened in this incident.
'She could try blackmailing me...'
For example, confessing falsely to a negative relationship with Ian if he didn't help now, dragging him into the mud.
"Is that so? Well."
But the lady didn't seem inclined to do that. It could be the shock from last night was too great, or maybe she just wanted freedom from the start and didn't want to make a big fuss.
'Or perhaps she's clever.'
She must think provoking Ian now would get her nowhere. If she asked for help outright, that'd be different. Instead, she just chewed on her mana cigarette with limp energy.
"Madam, until Lord Romandro arrives, have the butler fetch the estate seal from the office. Whoever holds that becomes the estate's representative."
"Ah, that."
"And then handle things by the book. If the knights betray in the middle, we'll provide troops then."
Berik was there, and warriors who hadn't returned to Cheonryeo yet. They could easily subdue three knights and some soldiers.
"What do you want?"
The lady blinked and smiled. She knew early on there was no such thing as a favor without a price. Ian just shrugged at her words.
"Not much comes to mind right now. Tribute gold?"
"That makes it worth it. But I'd prefer something other than money. The knights could offer that too."
Ties bound by money could be severed by money. The lady wanted a contract only she could offer.
"I don't have much to give right now. I came to the estate with nothing but my body."
The lady moved to the vanity. With a light gesture, a drawer opened, and what she pulled out was a ring made by the mysterious alchemist. Just like Ian's necklace.
"You said you had many questions. Who knows? Maybe this ring and yours were made at the same time."
From the timeline or the distance between territories, if it was the same alchemist from the same merchant group, it was possible. Ian stroked his chin and replied.
"If it's the ring, I'd gladly take it, but the thing next to it... well."
It was the new sleep anesthetic smuggled from Hawan Kingdom. The round black powder compact was cleanly polished, just like before. The lady shrugged, leaving it up to him.
"Take it or not. I just offered my most valuable possession. The choice is yours, Lord Ian."
Seeing Ian hesitate, Berik snatched both from behind without a second thought.
"She's giving them away—why not take them?"
"Berik. Haven't you left yet?"
"I'm going? Huh, why won't this come off."
"You're something else. Really."
He'd slipped his index finger in casually, and it fit perfectly. Ian gave him a pitiful look, and he just fidgeted with an awkward laugh.
"...Can I oil it?"
"Cutting the finger off might be faster. Madam, could I borrow a knife?"
"...I'll fetch Lord Romandro right away. Master. Wait here."
At Ian's joke, Berik bolted from the room. He didn't forget to grab the compact on the way.
"Grind up the powder to use it. These days men wear makeup too, but it's still awkward for most."
"Where would I even use it?"
"You're heading to the capital soon, right? I overheard, but there, it'll come in handy plenty."
No idea where he heard it, but spot on. As Bariel's heart, it was flashy, chaotic, and thick with murderous tension. Most at the center of power struggles surely spent nights wide awake.
Whether from work or fear of death.
"The lethal dose is over 2 grams a day, a month straight. Stick to that, no problem."
"Not a month—side effects will hit years later. Anyway, is that stuff reliable? I still can't wrap my head around Berik collapsing just from smelling it."
"No idea. I was fine. Your subordinate must have a weird constitution."
The lady looked utterly sincere. Well, a guy wandering around fine with a hole in his gut wasn't normal anyway. Ian turned to look back. The doctor was packing up his kit.
"Honestly, tribute gold tops these little things."
"I could sell jewels for it. But no jewelers around here to buy them. Might need to go to Sheiron to cash in."
In Merelrof, apparently only the family head handled finances. At least in Bratz, Countess Mary managed the estate, but a jealous count like this one wouldn't share power with his wife.
"Anyway, hurry with the matters. Move first before the knights do."
"...And Clark?"
As Ian moved to leave the room, the lady grabbed him and asked. Her face was calm and blunt, but her voice surprisingly held a hint of moisture. The more he saw, the stranger this woman seemed.
"What about Clark?"
"What do you mean? Execution without exception."
Outside imperial judgment by law like Der's, killing a noble only happened on battlefields. It was a grave crime, and with the perpetrator a slave, no trial needed.
"I was surprised Clark's still alive. The knights not executing him on the spot proves they have other intentions."
"...No exceptions at all?"
"A slave killing a noble and surviving? Possible maybe, but I've never heard of it. Ah, there was a slave-turned-king in another country..."
Ian paused briefly. Checking if that history he remembered matched now. Tracing the years, the timelines seemed to align roughly.
"They say his first kill was a noble, his master. If Clark becomes king, he might survive too."
The lady lightly flicked her nail tips, as if pondering. She seemed to want to save at least Clark's life.
"Can you help?"
"Madam, sorry, but I must head to the capital soon. Can't get dragged into more commotion."
"I feel like you could, Lord Ian."
"How do you save a slave who killed a noble?"
"No. You've already done it. A lowly commoner crossing borders to survive and become family head."
Ian frowned. The conversation felt increasingly off-kilter. She muttered her side, he answered his.
"Madam."
"I'll become the lord."
"Pardon?"
"Can't I?"
Ian faltered at her bold question.
"...No law says lords must be men. But madam, you're not Merelrof blood. If there were even an adopted heir, fine, but with the count dead, to the Merelrof family, you're an outsider."
And that was just it?
The count's brother, holding the key to support or opposition, wouldn't endorse her. So to become lord...
"The only way is to change the ruling family here."
Like Bratz, erase the Merelrof name. No different from what the knights wanted. The lady sank back into her chair, staring out the window as if deep in thought.
"If I become lord, family head, I can't leave here, right?"
She could step away, but essentially tied to one place. No improvement from the situation Lady Rien so desperately wanted to escape.
'No. Better without the count.'
Freedom and love.
Ian could guess the two tangled worries swirling in her head. Honestly, her becoming lord benefited him more than some stranger brother he barely knew. They had some rapport, she knew his secrets, and she didn't seem ambitious for territory expansion.
If a knight or the count's brother took over while he was in the capital, who knew what trouble they'd stir.
'Still, with the brother around, rushing in could put me in a tough spot.'
It was a game of chicken.
Absorbing Merelrof too could give Gail pretext to intervene over excessive border expansion. But it could also impress his value firmly on Prince Marib.
'First, meet the count's brother.'
Ian straightened his outer coat and turned to the lady. She still looked lost in her own thoughts.
"I'll inform the count's brother. He lives in a manor outside the village, right? What's his name?"
"Dive Merelrof."
"Be right back."
Ian checked his pocket watch and muttered. If he hurried, he could make it back before Berik returned with Romandro.