Ill-Fated Relationship (1)
Ill-Fated Relationship (1)
We couldn't let nearly a thousand soldiers who had suddenly arrived into the city.
We set up camp outside the city and had the troops we'd brought stay there.
Several other camps were spread out beyond the city, in addition to ours.
Each was small, with dozens or hundreds of people, but the mercenaries and soldiers from other territories had gathered together, making the area quite noisy.
Most were the forces of lords who had gathered to follow the Princess and the Duke of Gracia.
The knights, of course, had gone inside the city, and wealthy mercenaries could secure lodging there as well. Those who couldn't had no choice but to pitch their tents outside the outer wall.
Fortunately, the weather was good.
I heard it had been pouring in the capital for some time, but here the sun was hot enough to burn.
Thanks to the people the Duke of Gracia had assigned to help us, we were able to set up camp without difficulty.
After confirming that the camp was ready, I left the soldiers in Axel, Miro, the two escort knights, and Juan's hands, then headed to the mansion with the others.
Perhaps she'd heard the news from the knights who arrived at the mansion ahead of us, because my mother was standing outside the mansion with several others.
Although I was seeing her sooner than I had last year, it had still been well over half a year since I'd last seen my mother.
As I dismounted, my mother pulled me into a tight embrace.
"You did well."
I used to be the one held in her arms. Now the roles had reversed, and I was the one holding her, but her embrace was just as warm.
"The sun's so hot. What brings you outside?"
"Now no one says anything, even if I wander around, and my son is here, so of course I had to come out and see you."
Lowering her arms, my mother, Lady Amanda, glanced to the side.
The Duchess and the Princess were greeting each other over there.
The Duchess had come out to welcome the Princess in place of the Duke.
While the Princess exchanged greetings with the Duchess, Balea dismounted and approached us.
My mother recognized Balea immediately.
"Ah, are you Lady Balea? I've heard a lot about you."
"I am Balea de Messesia. I greet the Duchess."
Balea straightened her posture and bowed with impeccable courtesy.
This sort of polite greeting, as if she were addressing a queen, was something I only saw when Balea's act was at its absolute peak.
Perhaps her acting had improved, because even to my eyes, her greeting didn't seem the least bit fake.
"You can just call me Lady Amanda."
My mother corrected Balea's form of address, but she seemed to approve of the greeting itself.
"Then, shall we go inside together once the Princess has finished her greetings?"
"Yes."
What a relief. Although my mother was kind, she was also quite discerning when it came to judging people, so I'd worried she might not like Balea.
As expected, Balea's social skills were remarkable.
The Princess's greetings didn't end quickly. Even after she'd greeted the Duchess, many people were still waiting for her.
They ranged from other nobles of the Gracia Dukedom to nobles who had visited the mansion.
She didn't have to talk to everyone, but even just showing her face to each of them would take a long time.
As I waited for the Princess to finish her greetings, the Chief Butler came over to me.
I felt as though I was finally beginning to understand the old man's true strength.
I didn't know what his ability was, but I'd known for a while that he was an awakened noble.
But he hid his strength so well that it was difficult to gauge how powerful he was. Now that the gap between us had widened, I could gradually sense it.
But the Chief Butler wasn't someone I had to fight.
Even now, he had merely brought me instructions from the Duke.
"The Duke is looking for you."
I glanced at the Princess, who was still receiving greetings.
"Just me alone?"
"Yes."
Just me. I wondered what he wanted to talk about.
Well, I'd find out once I went in.
"Understood."
My mother, having overheard our conversation, waved to me.
"I'll be chatting with the Princess and the Baron's daughter, so come find me in my drawing room later."
I had no idea when they'd become so close, but after saying only that, my mother was already completely absorbed in her conversation with Balea.
I shook my head and followed the Chief Butler into the mansion.
On the way, I happened to pass the Duchess, but she and I merely exchanged brief, expressionless greetings as we passed.
Perhaps because so many people were flocking in, the mansion's interior was a little bustling.
There were unfamiliar faces among the servants, and nobles I'd never seen before passed by.
But they seemed to know who I was.
The problem was that I had no idea how the rumors had spread, but not a single person reacted normally.
Some avoided me, but far more looked at me with fear.
To them, I seemed to be some kind of monster with three heads and six arms.
Fortunately, the maids and servants I'd known from before didn't react much differently.
"Ah! Young Lord Alex, you've arrived!"
Flora spotted me and came trotting over.
But when she saw the Chief Butler standing in front of me, she merely bowed and quickly scurried away.
The Chief Butler was still an object of terror to the servants.
I passed through the mansion's corridors, which I hadn't seen in so long, and arrived at the Duke's office.
The Chief Butler announced my arrival from outside the door. Once permission to enter was granted, he opened the door for me.
I stepped into the office.
This was the office I'd visited as a child after working up immense courage.
The office was just as I remembered it.
Even though I'd entered, the Duke was diligently writing something, just as he had when I was a child.
The first time I'd come here, I'd waited patiently until he spoke to me...
But I had no intention of doing that now.
"Did you call for me? It is Alex."
When I said that, the Duke put down his pen and raised his head.
His eyes flashed with a sharp light, and an aura slowly rose from him.
A natural charisma radiated from the Duke.
But that charisma had little effect on me.
I stared back at the Duke with a blank, indifferent expression.
"Amusing."
I wondered what he found so amusing.
"I've heard about what you've been up to from various people."
I'd sensed this before, but the Duke had planted a lot of spies in various places.
There was no way he would station people like that without a purpose.
Looking at it now, it was all part of some scheme.
"I've heard about your trip to the Duchy and your battle at Soroka Fortress. And I hear you even met with the Grand Prince in person."
Come to think of it, I should have told the Duke of Gracia about the negotiations with the Grand Prince.
It wasn't something I should have let others pass along, and since I'd only told the Princess before heading straight to Soroka Fortress, I hadn't had time to inform the Duke.
I explained the details of my agreement with the Grand Prince.
The secret agreement between the Grand Prince and Princess Aisha.
Though it had no public credibility and left no contracts or documents behind, it was something I'd heard directly from the Grand Prince.
The Duke furrowed his brows as he listened to my story.
He didn't seem pleased.
And he had every reason not to be.
It was a plan the Princess and I had devised on our own, without informing the Duke.
There was no way the Duke would be in a good mood after suddenly hearing such news now.
Even so, true to his nature, the Duke didn't lose his temper right away.
"The negotiation itself is not bad."
Instead, he even offered something akin to praise.
"So you set the Duchy aside and focused only on the First and Second Princes..."
"For now, it seems we only need to focus on the First Prince. The Second Prince has headed west, after all."
The Duke nodded at my words.
"That is not incorrect either."
Accepting my words after praising me—this was highly uncharacteristic of the Duke.
I wondered what kind of day it was.
I was starting to feel a little tense.
"Negotiating with the Grand Prince, playing a major role in defending the fortress, then traveling around the northeastern region with the Princess to secure the territories' support and gathering nearly a thousand troops..."
The Duke tapped his desk as he continued.
"This is something I cannot help but praise."
I tensed up completely.
After laying on such heavy praise, I couldn't begin to guess what he was about to bring up.
"But you did so well that it has caused a problem."
The Duke threw the document he'd been writing toward me.
Perhaps he'd infused it with mana, because it flew like a throwing star.
I snatched the document out of the air and read through it.
It was filled with numbers.
It was the territory's financial ledger, with the debits and credits barely balancing.
It was similar to a financial statement from my past life.
I wanted to pretend I didn't know what it was, but I'd been famous as a genius since childhood.
And the contents of this document were hard to ignore.
The territory's funds had been continuously drained to feed and house the troops and knights sent by neighboring territories to help us.
It was only natural for money to be spent at a furious rate once a war began.
"Until now, we've barely managed to prevent a deficit, but now that will be impossible."
The fact that they hadn't run a deficit despite gathering so many people and knights showed just how incredible the Gracia Territory truly was.
Looking at this document, though, they were barely maintaining a balance. If expenditures increased any further, a deficit was inevitable.
"The northeastern territories you and the Princess won over aren't wealthy. They had no choice but to offer soldiers instead of money or food. On top of that, there are the thousand soldiers you just brought."
They were all extra mouths to feed, and would deal a blow to the territory's finances.
If we had to endure a deficit, we could, or we could even issue bonds.
Wait, did bonds even exist in this world?
In any case, the Duke's words felt a bit like an exaggeration, but since I was guilty of bringing so many people, I didn't raise any objections.
The amount was far too large for me to pay.
"Now that negotiations with the Grand Prince are complete, and we can't hold out for long, we'll begin moving toward the capital once the First and Second Princes start their battle."
Perhaps because he had finally recognized me as a proper knight, the Duke smoothly laid out the crucial strategy.
"But before that, we need to stabilize our rear. We must also gather more of the funds we're lacking."
This was the very reason he'd showered me with praise and kept talking.
The Duke threw another document to me.
This time, it was a document with a list of territory names written on it.
They were all territories in this vicinity.
"These are the territories that refused both cooperation and our request to maintain neutrality. Some even refused to send a reply at all."
Now I understood what he wanted me to do.
"Take some knights or whoever you want, tour these territories, and verify their stance. If any territory refuses, you may show them our strength."
He could have sent his own order of knights.
It seemed he intended to send me in order to preserve his own honor.
I suppose the story would be that an illegitimate son who knew nothing of honor was running wild in all directions.
I recalled the servants I'd seen moments ago.
The faces that had looked at me with fear. Could it be because of rumors the Duke had spread?
I fell into thought for a moment, weighing which option would be more advantageous to me.
If there was no advantage, there was no reason to do it.
I read through the document once more and asked the Duke.
"How far am I allowed to go?"
"We are in the midst of a civil war. If they refuse, you may consider them enemies."
At the Duke's words, I questioned him again.
"I noticed the name of Viscount Ibiza on this document. Will that be all right?"
The Duke flinched.
It was uncharacteristic of him, but completely understandable.
Viscount Ibiza was the family home of the Duke's second wife, who had been kicked out because of me.
The Duke's second wife was currently living in that territory.
I was asking whether it was all right for me to deal with the Duke's second wife.
The Duke stared at me before opening his mouth.
"It does not matter."
I couldn't help smiling bitterly.
Even after growing up, I could never match the Duke's cold-heartedness.
In any case, this task was sufficiently advantageous to me.
It was finally time to put an end to this long, ill-fated relationship.
"Understood. I will take care of this matter."
Holding the second document, I left the room, and the Duke began looking at his papers once again.