Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: The Fake Wade Scandal
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Upon returning to Rainpole, I had to endure grueling work due to the refugee crisis.
With Kalliper preoccupied by the armistice negotiations, they couldn't provide proper care, so I stepped up on Crossing's behalf to directly assist with the refugees' resettlement.
Around that time, news arrived about the armistice agreement between Albad and Kalliper.
In this deal, Albad and Madon coughed up a staggering 2 billion silan in reparations, much to Kalliper's delight.
Kalliper capturing around 10,000 more prisoners played a big role. Since all of them were regular soldiers rather than conscripts, their value as POWs was quite high.
On top of that, Albad's demand for an additional one-year truce period inflated the reparations even further.
‘They must have been scared of Crossing.’
At this point, if Crossing and Kalliper pushed together, Albad would be in dire straits.
To prevent that, they signed a one-year armistice with Kalliper. That way, at least Kalliper wouldn't be a threat.
A few days after the agreement was sealed, word spread of a royal banquet to honor the war's contributions.
“Lord Als, this arrived for you.”
A letter via Anton. An invitation to the banquet from Duke Helian.
“Do you plan to attend?”
“No way. You think I'd actually go to that?”
It'd just be a spectacle for me to watch. I couldn't even eat the food thanks to the helmet.
I sent Duke Helian a message saying he could take all the credit for the war if he'd just hurry up with Rainpole's administrative handover.
A few days after skipping the royal banquet, I heard some shocking rumors.
─Wade appeared at the victory banquet!
─Wade showed up with Gilbert Salleon!
That was my reaction.
‘No way. Is someone impersonating him again?’
Having done it once already, maybe they had no qualms about repeating it.
Either way, this was a huge deal. The banquet erupted in chaos over this audacious stunt.
It made it look like the Salleon Ducal House had recruited Wade and led the victory.
‘The situation's getting weird.’
A few days later, Duke Helian himself visited me, bringing the official appointment for Rainpole's lordship.
The duke looked utterly exhausted; it had been a while.
“You must be worn out from postwar cleanup.”
“It's not the postwar stuff—it's those idiots from Salleon...”
“Things seem to be unfolding quite amusingly. What's the latest?”
“Before that... take this first.”
It was Rainpole's lordship appointment. My brother Max, who was there, froze like a robot upon seeing the royal seal.
Then, with stiff, creaking movements, he dropped to one knee.
This elevated our family to solid mid-tier nobility. Rainpole's population now totaled 220,000 including refugees.
Excluding Crossing, Kalliper's share was 80,000—not exceptionally high—but its position as a relay point between Crossing and Kalliper meant substantial trade revenue.
Offering those taxes to the crown over years could even lead to a title upgrade.
“An honor! I shall devote myself body and soul to Kalliper's prosperity!”
Max bellowed as he accepted the document, leaving Duke Helian blinking in stunned silence.
“Normally, we'd hold a formal ceremony in Alpenserd, but the palace is swamped. Bear with it.”
“Not at all! Your Grace coming in person leaves me at a loss!”
“No need for that deference. You're Wade's brother, after all.”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
Only Father, Percy, and Max knew I was Wade. I hadn't told the others to avoid worrying them.
With the appointment in hand, Max shot me a ‘What now?’ look.
“Shouldn't you discuss this with Father?”
“Y-Yeah. I'll step out then. Please make yourself comfortable, Your Grace.”
Max left with excited steps.
Duke Helian got to the point.
“Back to business. You've heard about the victory banquet, right?”
“The gist, yeah. Not the details. What exactly happened?”
“They thrashed about desperately, and it oddly worked out for them.”
Salleon's faction was on the brink of collapse after the war. Even talk of splintering off into a new faction had emerged.
“Sensing the crisis, Gilbert went all-in. He brought a fake Wade and claimed it was his merit that Wade joined the battlefield.”
“What gave him that confidence?”
“He brought a fake on purpose. If the real one showed, a challenge would naturally arise.”
“...No way.”
“Exactly. When the challenge happened, he'd push the king to have both unmask. That's how he'd confirm Wade's identity.”
Clever move. No one could refuse a royal command at a royal banquet.
“What's their upside? Their fake would be exposed too.”
“He guessed Wade was from Crossing. If the unmasked Wade turned out to be Crossing's man, he'd spin conspiracy theories about our Helian faction colluding with Crossing to muddy the waters.”
“Pretty crafty.”
“It's in his blood.”
But Gilbert Salleon's scheme fell flat. Because I didn't show up.
“That's what caused the uproar.”
“Even he must not have anticipated that. Forced to have his fake play the real deal. Our side could only raise questions. Without you there. So the Salleons' fake got treated as genuine and stole the war's glory.”
“Ha! That's what you meant by ‘oddly fitting.’”
“I never dreamed it'd play out like this.”
“But if the fake gets exposed later, they're still in hot water, right?”
“He'd pin it on the fake as a con artist and claim victimhood to cut ties.”
“Hmm, tricky situation.”
“Indeed. To really stick it to them, Als Ilrain, you'd need to reveal yourself. But that...”
“Yeah, no chance I'd do that.”
Good thing I skipped the banquet. If I'd gone, I'd have been forced to unmask on royal orders.
“Tch! We got played right under our noses.”
“Did you come here today to ask me to reveal myself?”
“Could you?”
“Nope.”
Duke Helian sighed deeply.
“Knew you'd say that. I'm here for another reason. The gold mine in Rainpole.”
“The one on the outskirts... the root of the border dispute with Crossing?”
“Yeah. Now that you hold all rights to Rainpole, maybe you can develop it.”
“...Fine. Here's the deal. Crossing takes full lead on developing the gold mine.”
“You expect us to just accept that?”
“Hear me out. We'll split the profits 40% to Kalliper. Factoring in 15% for mining costs and labor, it's basically 50-50.”
“Unexpected. I figured your family would insist on handling it yourselves.”
“Too big for that. Max isn't seasoned enough to manage it wisely. He'd get manipulated, succumb to power and greed. I don't want to watch my family change like that. You get what I mean, Your Grace.”
“I know that sting all too well. Fair enough. I'll discuss it with Prime Minister Pamillion. Get your side on board too.”
“Will do.”
“That's all. Time to go. Salleon's lot will keep me busy.”
He left with a weary expression.
‘A gold mine, huh...’
Even with Rainpole under my control making development easier, he'd moved faster than expected.
‘Stockpiling war funds as much as possible?’
It felt like preparing for the next war, a sharp premonition.
*
*
*
From the moment Duke Helian granted Rainpole's lordship, refugee resettlement gained momentum.
Max, Miller, and Father threw themselves into settling the domain's people, joined by Rosbel's refugees.
The Milstein Barons and Serpia Viscounts, who ruled Rosbel, received land on the plains below the city and settled there.
Just as resettlement wrapped up, the people I'd requested from King Pharaine arrived in Rainpole.
Ten thousand slaves from the Holy Kingdom of Kurabel.
Leading them, Bisceta Clen smiled and approached.
“Long time no see, Wade. Heard about the victory. Our returning officers all raved about an unparalleled strategist.”
“All thanks to Eonia.”
“Heh, even flattery should be cautious. Eo gets cockier the more you praise her.”
“Haha... Welcome, anyway. As I mentioned, we'll keep accepting Kurabel natives. Live here until you return home free from slavery. We'll provide every convenience.”
“Thank you. Especially handing the gold mine mining to us—words can't express our gratitude.”
I'd assigned all gold mine work to the Kurabel slaves.
That's what I'd asked King Pharaine for. The high mining wages would help them greatly.
I thought it'd be a tough request, but he upped the ante.
─Why not relocate all Kurabel citizens to Rainpole? They'll be your strength someday.
I took 100,000 upfront, with more later, aiming to bring all 700,000 to Rainpole.
That would make Rainpole a mega-region of 900,000, rivaling a capital.
The city's population would soon near 200,000.
King Pharaine showed no wariness about me ruling such a city. He seemed to want it.
‘King Pharaine truly supports me.’
I knew it tied to my hidden bloodline, but he wouldn't explain his fixation on it.
‘Anton swore loyalty because of that bloodline too.’
More secrets lurked. Until I knew them, fully trusting Crossing was hard.
With Kurabel folk settling, my workload exploded. Overloaded, I wanted to quit everything.
‘Time to recruit civil officials.’
My retainers so far were all military types.
Lutger had administrative skills, but his status made frontline roles tough, so not ideal for this.
Anton handled basics but missed details.
Eonia was out.
‘Among the seven vassals, who can handle internal affairs...’
Saintess, Young Dragon, Relief Squad, Master Craftsman. Those four were perfect for it.
‘Sheesh. I gathered all the internal affairs talent and skipped them.’
Then, the one least suited for internal affairs among the seven showed up.
Mad Dog Gaspar. He'd come to Rainpole at my request.
Sunset timing, so I gathered my comrades to greet him.
Gaspar grinned, lifting both corners of his mouth at our group.
“Krahat!”
....
A menacing aura.
“Whoa.”
I couldn't help admiring it. Like a movie scene.
Master Iliya with arms crossed, fully armored Anton, Lutger appraising him. The three exuded the vibe of a kingdom's three great generals.
Even usually goofy Eoma stared down Gaspar with gravitas, amplifying the intimidation.
“Impressive. I can tell at a glance. This prickling sensation. Nothing but monsters here, huh?”
He burst into mad laughter.
“Krahahaha! Fun! I get why you thought you could tame me, Wade. With these under you, you figured I'd be easy, right?”
“Didn't really think that.”
“Whatever! Fine by me! Nothing better than fun. But brace yourselves. I might rip your throats out anytime. Hope it doesn't come to that, eh.”
Loyalty? Far from it. He was outright basing it on potential betrayal.
Eo openly recoiled.
“Lord Wade, you're keeping this guy? I oppose.”
“Huh? Oh ho. You're that last Valkyrie of Kurabel or whatever. Ha, I thought the kingdom's guard captain would be something, but just a green girl. Want me to make you a real woman? Come to my bed if interested.”
“Nonsense! My body and heart belong to my eternal lord!”
“Krahahat! That's why I called you a green girl.”
“You bastard!”
Eo reached for her spear. My head throbbed.
‘He won't mesh with the group at all. Recruiting Gaspar was a bad call.’
How did game Als recruit him?
‘Maybe he didn't. What if Gaspar was a traitor infiltrating for other motives?’
A traitor among the seven vassals. Gaspar fit perfectly.
“Sniff, sniff! That Albad saintess smell? Those stuck-up prigs annoy me. Hope we never work together.”
“Lutger Rosenberg. I have no desire to work with you either.”
“Jade Rosenberg! Under Wade, huh! You a guest general too?”
“No, I pledged loyalty to him.”
“Kaien’s chick loyal to another? Intriguing!”
Gaspar picked fights one by one. Then his eyes turned to Ymir.
“A beastkin too? Oh ho, fine woman. How about you...”
He approached Ymir. My patience frayed; I moved to stop him, but then—
Sniff. Sniff sniff! Sniff sniff sniff!
Gaspar froze, then wildly sniffed the air.
His face twisted in horror. Sweat poured, matting his fur.
“Uh, ah...?”
He gaped at Ymir like a cartoon shock.
Then awkwardly turned to me.
“W-Wade. Let's talk alone, just us.”
Eo warned against it alone; he pointed to Master Iliya instead.
Alone with the master, Gaspar moped like a sulky frog.
“Hey, what's that beastkin girl's name?”
“Why the sudden interest?”
‘Don't tell me he fell for her at first sight and wants her.’
‘If so, I'll bury him in the back hills right now.’
But no.
“That one's... no, definitely...”
Gaspar stammered, disbelieving. He forced out:
“My daughter.”