Chapter 46: You Must Have Many Worries (1)
Chapter 46: You Must Have Many Worries (1)
“Hmm, so that’s the man…”
Petrick narrowed his eyes, observing Count Parmas.
Though he had traveled to the Parmas County several times for business, this was his first time seeing the Count in person.
With golden-grey hair streaked with silver and sharp features despite a few wrinkles, he was a handsome middle-aged man who likely broke many hearts in his youth.
His stride was confident, and his gaze was somewhat cold, giving off an impression of severity rather than benevolence.
‘He looks like a real piece of work. Huh? Wait, Father? What are you doing there?’
Beside the appearing Count stood Baron Schneider, looking visibly anxious.
Count Parmas stepped forward and spoke.
“Let the one responsible for this commotion step forward.”
At those words, Petrick let out a small sigh.
‘Sigh. Others do the fighting, and I’m the one who has to clean up the mess.’
This was a first for him. Usually, it was the other way around.
But what could he do?
“I am Petrick Schneider.”
“Schneider… Baron Schneider, is this your son?”
“Yes. I’m afraid so.”
“What do you mean, ‘afraid so’…?”
Baron Schneider glared at the grumbling Petrick to silence him. Then, he turned to the Count.
“My apologies. It seems my son and the soldiers have made a mistake. If there is anything I must take responsibility for, I shall do so.”
“Whether you take responsibility or not will be decided after I grasp the situation. Now then, young Petrick.”
“Yeah?”
“Hmm…”
Count Parmas felt a flicker of interest as he watched Petrick answer his call so nonchalantly—or rather, somewhat rudely, and to be blunt, like a total punk.
‘Is the boy brave? Or is he just thoughtless and ill-mannered?’
Usually, when people saw him, the Margrave of the East, they were visibly tense, showing the utmost courtesy and trying their best not to give him any reason to find fault.
Yet, this young man, who wasn't even a lord but merely a lord’s son, looked utterly bored.
Seeing that expression tinged with arrogance, the Count felt more intrigued than angry.
“Right. Can you explain why this fight broke out?”
“It’s simple. First…”
Petrick told the facts exactly as they were.
We were resting in a spot we took first, they picked a fight telling us to move, a quarrel broke out, they insulted the Baron first, and as a result, Sanson threw a punch. The resulting brawl is the situation you see now.
After hearing the explanation, Count Parmas thought to himself.
‘With this many people gathered, some level of conflict was expected.’
As the Margrave of the East, he had to resolve this matter as fairly as possible.
“I see. However, I cannot make a judgment based on only one side’s story. I must hear from both parties. Viscount Landes.”
“Yes, did you call for me, Count?”
Viscount Landes, who had joined the scene at some point, answered the Count’s call.
“What is your side of the story?”
“I did not witness it personally, but there is no way my knight would commit such an uncivilized act. He is a man who knows honor.”
‘Why, that little piece of…’
“Furthermore, even if there was a problem, isn't this too much? They unilaterally assaulted our soldiers, who weren't even resisting.”
‘Oho… look at him flapping his gums.’
Viscount Landes was quite skillfully trying to steer the situation in his favor.
First, he created room to back out by saying he didn't see it personally, then he invoked the "my knight would never do that" card without any evidence.
A superior coming in to shield the one who caused the trouble by saying, "My boy is a good kid; he would never do such a thing," was the twenty-second thing Petrick hated most in the world.
On top of that, before the Count could even judge the facts, he said, "Even if he did, isn't this too much?"
Complaining that "even if I was wrong, this is too much" was the seventeenth thing Petrick hated most.
And finally, looking at the scene where his soldiers were utterly thrashed, he claimed they didn't fight back—implying, "We could have won if we actually fought, but we went easy on them."
That was the ninth thing Petrick hated most.
Petrick hated many things, but anything in the single digits carried a different weight.
In that short moment, the man had stepped on three of Petrick’s taboos, and one of them was a single digit.
This was dangerous.
‘What do I do? What should I do?’
‘Should I… should I stop him?’
‘Should I just stab him in the back right now?’
The soldiers, who had experienced enough of Petrick, couldn't hide their nervousness.
To others, however, they looked like they were trembling in fear of the Count’s punishment.
Just as Petrick’s hands were slowly creeping toward his sword hilt…
“Viscount Landes.”
“Yes, please speak, Count.”
“Do you think I’m a pushover?”
Count Parmas’s chilling words made Petrick’s hand stop.
Viscount Landes was greatly flustered by the Count’s remark.
“Count! How could you say such a terrible thing…”
“I told you to explain your position. Did I not?”
“Yes. And so, I was explaining my position…”
“Is your position merely baseless speculation? Your knight would never do such a thing? How am I supposed to know that?”
“Co… Count, I trust my knight. And so, based on that trust…”
“Furthermore, whether or not to severely punish them is for me, the master of this land, to decide. It is not for you to judge as you please.”
“That… that was not my intention. I…”
As Viscount Landes stammered out excuses, Count Parmas looked at him with cold eyes.
“You…”
“……”
“It seems you thought I was someone you could manipulate and toy with using that tongue of yours.”
“Count, that’s not it. I…”
“You must have found me quite easy. Perhaps I’ve been too kind lately?”
“I apologize, Count!”
Leaving Viscount Landes prostrating himself, Count Parmas spoke.
“Is there anyone who witnessed this incident from the beginning? If so, come forward and testify honestly.”
When Count Parmas said this, several knights who had been standing a step back stepped forward.
“I saw it from the start.”
“It is true that Viscount Landes’s knight, a man named Gavin, picked the fight first.”
“I also clearly heard him make remarks insulting Baron Schneider with my own ears.”
“And the claim that Viscount Landes’s soldiers did not resist is a misunderstanding. They clearly fought back. They even drew their weapons against unarmed opponents.”
As the testimonies continued, Viscount Landes’s face turned pale.
If this were his own territory, it would be fine. If there were only one or two witnesses, he could have salvaged it.
But in this situation, where multiple witnesses were testifying to Count Parmas, there was no turning back.
“Count! Please, have mercy!”
In the end, Viscount Landes threw himself to the ground. Since things had turned out this way, begging was his only option.
Count Parmas looked down at him and spoke.
“Setting aside the crime of causing a commotion on my land, it seems there is someone the Viscount should apologize to first.”
Count Parmas stepped aside slightly and spoke to Baron Schneider.
“As the person whose honor was insulted, what would you like to see happen, Baron Schneider?”
“Ah, er, hmm…”
Startled by the sudden nomination, Baron Schneider cleared his throat and tried to organize his thoughts.
The Baron, who had been worried about how to clean up the mess his son made, had instead gained an opportunity thanks to Count Parmas’s fairness.
If he put his mind to it, he could squeeze a hefty sum out of Viscount Landes right here.
The problem was…
“I believe that since this occurred in the Parmas County, the judgment should be left to your discretion, Count.”
‘Oh, Father…’
Petrick pressed his hand to his forehead and shook his head.
Yeah, he knew this would happen. He knew, but seeing it actually happen didn't make it any less frustrating.
‘Father, Father, my dear pushover Father.’
If it had been Petrick, Viscount Landes wouldn't be breathing right now. He would have officially requested a duel and finished him off.
But Baron Schneider threw that chance away, and now only Count Parmas’s choice remained.
“I shall pass judgment. Viscount Landes, listen.”
“Yes, Count.”
“Your knight was rude to Baron Schneider and insulted his honor, and you wickedly tried to cover up that fact with clever words. Do you admit to this?”
“…Th-that is…”
“Are you saying you cannot admit it?”
“No! I admit it! I admit it!”
“Good. Then I shall hand down the punishment. Viscount Landes shall pay 2,000 gold in damages to Baron Schneider.”
“Count! To suddenly ask for such a large sum…”
“I do not care if it is paid in installments over ten years. But you must pay it. This is an order.”
“I… I shall obey your command.”
Viscount Landes had no choice but to agree, swallowing his bitterness. Having delivered the verdict, Count Parmas turned his gaze toward Petrick.
“Petrick Schneider.”
“Yeees, Count. Did you call?”
“……”
Wait, what? Something had changed.
Count Parmas’s original plan was…
[You’re a spirited young man. But next time, learn to choose your opponents and the situation.]
[I shall keep that in mind.]
He had imagined a conversation roughly like that. He intended to wrap things up by showing a mature side, advising a young man who was full of confidence and vigor but lacked wisdom.
But Petrick’s attitude now was completely different. Where did the rude, punkish brat from a moment ago go? Now…
“Oh, Count. You’ve got something on your shoulder. Let me get that for you.”
What was this? Who was this sycophant?
Were that rude but bold young man he’d liked earlier and this oily fellow really the same person? Had he been swapped out for someone else?
“Ahem. Do you have any complaints about this verdict?”
“No! How could I possibly harbor complaints against the Count’s orders? Who would dare?”
“……”
“Just tell me who. I, Petrick Schneider, will snip their head off for a very reasonable price…”
“That is enough.”
It seemed he had completely misjudged the boy. He thought he’d seen a confident young man for the first time in a while, but it turned out he was just a petty fellow who only cared about money.
If this was the case, his overly polite and good-natured father was actually better.
Count Parmas spoke to Baron Schneider, who was standing behind them with a look of utter devastation.
“You must have many worries.”
“……”
Baron Schneider couldn't even bring himself to deny it.
* * *
“Ah… I’m telling you, I did it on purpose. On purpose!”
“……”
“What’s our goal? It’s to stay quiet, not make a scene, not earn any merits, and just go home, right?”
“……”
“But if we crush an enemy three times our size with our bare hands, what will the Count think? He’ll think, ‘Oh, these guys are useful. I should put them on the front lines,’ won’t he?”
“……”
“So, I had no choice. I had to hide us from the Count’s eyes by acting like a pathetic guy who only cares about money. It definitely wasn't because of the 2,000 gold… Hehehe…”
“……”
“Ahem. Anyway, it’s not like I acted that way because of the 2,000 gold… Pffft, hahaha…”
“Sigh…”
Baron Schneider let out a long sigh.
Honestly, he couldn't believe his son’s claim of having such deep intentions, but things had turned out exactly as the boy said. If they wanted to avoid the front lines and just go home quietly, they certainly needed to avoid standing out.
“Fine. What’s done is done. Let’s just be satisfied that the matter was handled well thanks to the Count’s wise judgment.”
“Ah, speaking of which, he turned out to be more impressive than I thought. Listening to both sides to judge the situation, and the vibe he gave off when he was crushing that Landes or Rades guy was just legendary.”
“Where on earth did you learn a word like ‘legendary’?”
“The point isn't the word, it’s that the Count is a truly great man.”
“Oh, boy…”
He couldn't get through to him. He couldn't communicate with his only son at all.
While Baron Schneider lamented this tragedy, Petrick continued to pour out praise for Count Parmas.
“Man, the moment those words ‘2,000 gold’ came out of the Count’s mouth, his charisma was just overflowing. It was epic, insane, just straight-up fire…”
“Shut your mouth! Just shut it!”
Baron Schneider grabbed Petrick’s mouth with both hands and pulled it wide.
“Whay are yoo doing thih for?”
“Then just live like this for the rest of your life!”
“I don’t wanna!”
“What do you mean you don’t want to!”
Baron Schneider prayed fervently. He prayed that at the banquet tonight, his son would please, for the love of God, not cause any trouble.