Negotiation - 4
After the envoy sent by Train Muller and the eldest son had departed, I reviewed the compiled report from the vassals. Once only the three of us remained in the office, my older brother asked our father, “What do you think?”
“Nothing has changed.”
Father, who had been examining the documents, spoke as if the situation remained exactly the same. Well, whether it came from the envoy dispatched by Train Muller and the eldest son or from the people the Franz family had planted, the core content was largely identical. There were differences in perspective, of course, but the facts themselves hadn’t shifted much.
Tirson Muller had enforced oppressive policies, and Tirus Muller had rebelled against him, sparking a civil war.
“Our task remains unchanged. Our army will crush Muller.”
The war itself would happen. It was inevitable. The troops had already been mustered. The professional soldiers of the Franz family—the private army and the knights—had completed their preparations long ago. Now that there was no need to hide our movements, the army was mobilizing even faster. We could march at any moment without issue.
Even if other territories tried to intervene, it was already too late. The Boran family wouldn’t sit still either.
“What about the second son’s faction? Don’t you think they’re worth using?”
“At the very least, we’d be gaining a viscount-level magic user, so yes, they have value. But is it really necessary?”
My brother shook his head at my question. A viscount-level magic user—Tirus Muller’s power—would certainly be helpful. But…
“It’s foolish to underestimate the enemy and let your guard down, but it’s even more foolish to inflate the enemy in your mind with unnecessary fear and uncertainty. Whether the eldest son’s forces and the second son’s forces unite or come at us separately to be crushed one by one, our army has only one job.”
Father took out a bottle of wine he kept stored in the corner of the office. He poured himself a glass of the wine that was always kept at the perfect temperature through magic and savored it. He didn’t usually show this side of himself in front of us, but it seemed his mood was a little different today.
“All they need to do is quietly keep their mouths shut and bow their heads.”
Even if the Muller territory threw everything they had at us, their forces were still no match for Father’s army. It wasn’t that we were underestimating them—it was simply that the gap in power was that overwhelming. Muller wasn’t weak by any means, but… there was no reason to take unnecessary risks. No matter how strong Father and my brother were, a strike from behind was always dangerous.
After watching Father drink with my brother, I brought up the final matter. Honestly, everything happening right now had little to do with me. The war, the surrender—those were things Father and my brother, who would be leading the army, could handle. To be frank, it wasn’t even a war where we had to go all out or risk our lives, so there was nothing for me to worry about.
What mattered was the final condition Train Muller had proposed.
He wanted to offer his niece—Triana Muller, the daughter of the second son Tirus Muller—as my concubine.
At my words, Father’s expression darkened.
“That’s a difficult matter.”
“As expected?”
It wasn’t that nobles didn’t take concubines, but if one already had two children, there was usually no need to do so. Besides, I was already in the middle of marriage negotiations with Irina Boran, the daughter of the Boran family, involving both our fathers.
There had also been talk before about me inheriting the Muller surname. It wasn’t strictly necessary to change my name, but in my opinion, the real goal was probably to claim the Muller lands, have Irina Boran take the Muller name as a middle name, and then marry her. Something like Irina Muller Boran.
By giving her the Muller name as a middle name and marrying her, we could eliminate any future succession disputes and deny other families any justification to interfere.
“In that case, for the sake of legitimacy, we should eliminate all of Muller’s bloodline.”
A game I had played back on Earth came to mind. If there was no justification, you simply created one. From that perspective, anyone in the direct Muller line—including the second son’s daughter, Triana Muller—would need to be dealt with.
“Hmm……”
Father fell silent for a moment, lost in thought. In the quiet office, I glanced at my brother, but he simply shrugged. Finally, Father seemed to reach a conclusion and looked at me.
“Leoric. Who did you say you’ve been keeping around lately?”
“Pardon?”
I stared at him blankly. Who I’ve been keeping around? Did he mean the people assigned to me?
“Chloe Tristan serves as both my bodyguard and secretary from my inner circle. And Zeke Phelast, whom my brother assigned to me, has been helping with my work.”
“Hm. Just those two?”
“Yes. Of course there are other vassals who assist with various tasks, but the ones who stay closest and support me directly are these two.”
“……Zeke?”
I caught my brother muttering with a slightly puzzled look, but it was probably nothing important. Anyway, Father nodded at my report.
“Excluding the vassals, who else?”
“Um…… Lena and two personal maids attend to me. When I go out, I often bring Isabel, the guildmaster of the adventurer’s guild. She’s surprisingly sharp, experienced, and full of random knowledge, so she’s quite entertaining. Other than that…… there isn’t really anyone else.”
I couldn’t exactly say I was “bringing around” Beatrice from the brothel district. She had my permission, but I’d heard she was busy recruiting and training staff in preparation for opening a shop in the Muller territory.
Father shook his head at my answer.
“Too few.”
“Is that so? The twins will be coming to see me later as well.”
“Even counting them, it’s still not enough. Hm.”
When I looked at my brother, he nodded in agreement. But honestly, I didn’t have that much work to do, and Chloe and Zeke were more than enough to help. The two of them even delegated tasks to the other vassals on their own.
“Then making her your personal maid wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
“You mean Triana Muller?”
“Yes. Do you dislike the idea?”
I scratched my head. Honestly, I wasn’t particularly excited by it. It wasn’t like I was short on women. Of course, my opinion might change once I actually met her……
“If your sex drive were a little lower, taking her as a concubine wouldn’t be an issue. But considering your libido, you’d probably get Irina Boran pregnant before the wedding…… Having children with maids or knights isn’t a big problem, but one born between two viscount-level magic users could become troublesome later. Even setting that aside, the Boran family probably wouldn’t like it. Though I doubt Count William would care.”
Ugh…… He had a point. It was a bit embarrassing to have my sex drive become the main topic of discussion with Father, but I couldn’t exactly deny it.
“For now, tell Tirus Muller that it’s acceptable to spare his daughter and make her either a maid or a concubine. We’ll decide the rest after the war is over.”
“Understood.”
“Yes.”
My brother and I nodded at the same time.
—Buuuuuuuuuuu!
The war horn sounded. It was the signal announcing the start of war.
Below Franz Castle, a vast army stood in perfect formation along the wide main road. The disciplined soldiers of Franz stamped the ground with magic-enhanced feet.
—Kuuuung!
A massive sound echoed through the city alongside the horn. The citizens watching simultaneously scattered flower petals into the sky.
“Waaaaaaaah!”
“Victory for the Golden Lion!”
“Glory in war!”
“Prosperity for Franz!”
Victory. Glory. And prosperity.
Beneath the sky thick with swirling flower petals and the roar of countless voices shouting the symbols of Franz, the army looked majestic—like something out of a festival or a movie.
At the head of that army, I could see Father and my brother in full armor, a sight different from their usual appearance.
Amid the picturesque scene of falling petals, the Franz army began to move slowly forward.
And I wasn’t the only one watching.
“Lady Grace. Are you alright?”
“……Lord Leoric. It’s been a while.”
I might call her “sister” in private, but it wasn’t something to say in front of others. We stood together on the highest part of the castle wall, away from everyone else, watching the Franz army slowly disappear into the distance.
“As you know, nothing too serious will happen.”
“Hehe. I know. I trust Father and Aidan, after all.”
Grace was dressed in formal attire. Holding a parasol, she wore a delicate smile as she watched the departing army. The sight was beautiful, like a painting.
“In the end, you didn’t get pregnant.”
“No. It couldn’t be helped. It was only one night, after all.”
I smiled bitterly. After that night, I never ended up visiting Grace again. Honestly, I had wanted to go see her many times, but even though Father and my brother had given permission, visiting too frequently wouldn’t have been wise.
Still, it would have been nice if she had gotten pregnant before my brother left for war.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. I believe he’ll return safely.”
The way she spoke while watching him leave was beautiful. But that was one thing, and this was another.
“Who is staying by my brother’s side?”
“Milene and Saren. They all left together.”
“Even Saren? Is that okay?”
Saren was supposed to be Grace’s personal maid.
“She shares the same bloodline as me.”
Ah, so even though she was from a branch family, she was still from the same house as Grace.
“Who knows? If a child is conceived, it might be better if it’s with Saren.”
Even though she said that, Grace’s expression didn’t look particularly happy. Her slightly sorrowful face made me feel bad as well. I didn’t think poorly of Grace, but the fact that she hadn’t conceived before the war still lingered.
I glanced up at the sky for a moment. Come to think of it, today was……
“It’s a full moon again today.”
“……So it is.”
Grace made a troubled face at my words. It had already been a full month since that day. The day that was said to be best for conception according to old superstitions.
Grace glanced at me with a look that seemed to ask, Did you really have to say that here? But seeing the slight curve of her eyebrows, she wasn’t exactly in a position to criticize me either.
I moved a little closer to her and whispered in her ear.
“I’ll come to you tonight, sister.”
“……You really are a bad boy.”
Even as she said that, Grace smiled faintly. It was the face of a woman whose husband had just left for war, already thinking about another man.