Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Inland Sea
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Inland Sea.
Its official name was the Eltis Sea, but the people of this world simply called it the Inland Sea—a body of water remarkably similar to the Mediterranean.
The difference was that the Italian peninsula, which split the Mediterranean down the middle, was absent from the Inland Sea.
More precisely, it was as if the Italian and Balkan peninsulas were simply joined together without the Adriatic Sea in between.
In any case, unlike the Mediterranean, the Inland Sea was a vast oval-shaped body of water with an empty center.
There were dozens of large and small islands, but even the largest was smaller than Jeju Island, so there were no islands with independent cultures or significant powers like Sicily, Cyprus, or Crete in the Mediterranean.
If there was one exception, it was Eltis Island—one of this world's great mysteries, named after the Inland Sea's official title. But since no one had ever actually been there and returned, it had to be excluded from consideration.
In any case, an enormous number of powers surrounded and shared this Inland Sea.
Even the real Mediterranean was bordered by Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, and many more. The Inland Sea in this world was ringed by roughly twice as many cities, territories, and kingdoms.
All these powers formed a massive economic sphere centered on the Inland Sea, and the Gooselander Kingdom was one of its key pillars.
The relationship between the Gooselander Kingdom and the Obla Kingdom could be described as neither particularly good nor bad.
As neighboring countries, their languages were similar enough to be dialects of each other, and their royal families and nobility were intertwined through marriage.
Even when disputes arose, they were almost always resolved through dialogue. Borders were lax, so as long as one's identity was clear, there were no issues with travel.
It wasn't quite "haha hoho, we are the world," but it was on the level of bumping into someone at a bar, getting drunk together and shouting "We're friends now!", then sending an awkward KakaoTalk the next day saying, "Let's grab a meal sometime~ (someday)."
But here's the thing.
That only described the relationship between the Gooselander Kingdom and the Obla Kingdom—it had nothing to do with the Sion Dukedom.
Though nominally part of the Obla Kingdom, the Sion Dukedom was treated as almost an independent state.
Even brothers raised together in the same household couldn't expect their middle-aged sibling—who had married and split off decades ago—to come back and work for them or bow every time they met, right?
So.
The words coming from the noble named Jaice Galen, who was grinning and smiling in front of Sion right now, were utter nonsense not worth a single thought.
"You obtained permission from the Obla Kingdom?"
"Yes. The situation with the Sion Ducal House wasn't great, was it? So we informed the Obla Kingdom of our position and came here. Haha."
In short, Jaice Galen's claim was this:
When Fland, in dire straits, requested aid from a great noble of the Gooselander Kingdom, it happened to be during a time when the dukedom's handler had not yet been appointed.
Fearing their "good intentions" might be misconstrued, the Gooselander Kingdom—which had decided to provide aid—sought approval from the Obla Kingdom, the "superior authority" over the Sion Dukedom, before arriving.
At first glance, it seemed perfectly reasonable.
"But there are two errors in what you've said, my lord."
"Hahaha. Errors, you say?"
Sion looked at the ever-slick Jaice with impassive eyes and spoke.
"First, the Obla Kingdom has no right to grant or receive approval regarding the Sion Dukedom's diplomacy or foreign relations."
"......"
Jaice's smile remained, but his eyes hardened slightly.
"Second, even if it did have such rights, did the Obla Kingdom permit a foreign army to enter its own territory?"
"......"
Jaice's entire face stiffened, his smile turning extremely awkward.
"So let me ask you plainly. Sir Jaice Galen. In this matter, did the Gooselander Kingdom truly obtain permission from the Obla Kingdom? Choose your answer carefully."
As far as Sion could tell, there was a 99% chance Jaice Galen was lying through his teeth.
Unless the Obla Kingdom had lost its mind, it would never permit Gooselander forces to enter the Sion Dukedom. It was a fact known to the top brass of both kingdoms.
So the talk of "permission" had likely never even happened.
And while he hadn't noticed at first glance, upon closer inspection, the crests on the armor of the knights lined up behind Jaice Galen were not those of the Gooselander royal family. They belonged to some noble house or territory in the Gooselander Kingdom.
In other words, he had come from the Gooselander Kingdom, but he had not been sent by it.
Wasn't that Jaif guy the same?
-We are from the Gooselander Kingdom.
It's the difference between a Korean grade-5 civil servant abroad saying, "I'm from Korea," versus "I'm here on behalf of the Korean government."
The former is for personal business abroad; the latter is for official duties.
To Sion, Jaice Galen was definitely the former—pretending to be the latter.
And Sion's hunch was correct.
* * *
Jaice Galen was a direct descendant of the Galen Count family, one of the Gooselander Kingdom's great lords, and served as the proxy lord of Sauden, the territory's only port city.
The lord of Sauden was the current count's heir, and when that heir succeeded to the countship, the heir's eldest son would naturally take over as lord of Sauden.
However, since the great territory's heir couldn't always stay in Sauden, it was customary to appoint a trusted brother or collateral relative as administrator to govern in their stead.
Thus, two years ago, when his father became count and his eldest brother was named heir, Jaice had been appointed to govern Sauden in his brother's place.
At just 24, the young Jaice was brimming with ambition.
Unlike his other siblings, he had no interest in being handed a manor in a village of fewer than a hundred households and idling away in the capital or Sauden on its meager proceeds, lording it over as "the count's child."
But his eldest brother was the heir to the Galen great territory, and that would never change.
From the moment he came of age, Jaice had unwaveringly pledged loyalty to his brother and begged to be made proxy lord of Sauden if his brother ever became its lord.
Jaice wanted to demonstrate his abilities as Sauden's proxy lord and become its "governor."
Even after his father died, his brother succeeded as count, and his eldest nephew became lord, he would continue ruling Sauden as its lifelong governor.
After all, Sauden had always been a place for successive Galen counts to amass wealth during their heir periods, with little deep involvement in its day-to-day operations.
But if he proved his worth as proxy lord.
If he delivered his brother far greater profits than their father had gained as lord of Sauden during his own heir days.
If he showed he could deliver similar profits to his nephew.
Then he believed he could become Sauden's governor for life.
But upon arriving in Sauden with grand dreams as proxy lord, Jaice quickly realized it was no easy task.
The stagnant waters ran too deep.
Of course, it would be stranger if a port city—important even within the Galen great territory and one of the top three in the entire Gooselander Kingdom—had no entrenched interest groups after centuries of rooting themselves there.
In fact, because it was merely a stepping stone for the great territory's heirs, who felt less personal attachment or possessiveness toward the city, Sauden was precisely where those interest groups wielded even greater influence.
Jaice, young and ambitious, had overlooked that very point. The ancient goblins who had festered in Sauden for generations toyed with the green proxy lord like putty.
He couldn't just charge in recklessly, either—those stagnant goblins were all favorites of his father and even his grandfather.
Some were on brotherly terms with his uncle, the previous proxy lord, making them far too big for Jaice to challenge.
And those goblins delivered steady profits to the great territory's heir each month, pocketing the rest for themselves.
To achieve his ambitions, Jaice had to deliver his brother greater profits than their father had, no matter what—and he was growing increasingly anxious.
There seemed no way to claim a larger slice from the existing pie, no matter how hard he looked. The slightest hint of it, and the goblins wouldn't leave him be.
After two years of mounting frustration.
His cousin—married to Fland's mayor—sent a letter to the lord of Sauden begging for aid in the Sion Dukedom.
And that letter fell not into the hands of his eldest brother, who had been lord for less than a month and barely spent time in Sauden, but into those of "proxy lord" Jaice.
Jaice knew instantly.
This was his chance. An incredible opportunity to leave a deep impression on his brother.
So Jaice worked hard to persuade Sauden's stagnant goblins.
If they played it right, they could crack open the Sion Dukedom like an egg.
They bought it, and in the end, Jaice gathered knights and troops from a few of those goblins and marched to Fland.
What pretext? The desperate plea for help from his cousin, now wife of Fland's mayor.
How could he ignore the cries for salvation from his cherished cousin (whose face he barely remembered) of the same Galen blood?
What if the Sion Ducal House protests later?
What about them?
What? The family of a hero from the Demon Dragon War?
That was ages ago—why bring it up now?
To Jaice, the Sion Dukedom was nothing special.
A middling territory coasting on past glories, pretending to be refined.
They strutted around as a "dukedom," but they were country bumpkins several cuts below even the Galen County, let alone the Gooselander Kingdom.
And his cousin's brother-in-law, Fland's mayor, whom he met in person, was weak-willed.
He didn't seem stupid, but not particularly sharp either. Not ugly, but not handsome enough to call it.
Vaguely mediocre in every way.
The city's officials and notables were much the same. For some reason, they cowered, watching his every move—pathetic lot.
So when the Sion Dukedom's Great Monster Unit and their leader, the "instructor," arrived, Jaice felt no tension whatsoever.
Far from it—he planned to seduce and manipulate this kid who looked about his own age.
Compared to Sauden's goblins, this pup was just a seal before a killer whale.
That had been Jaice's thinking right up until a minute ago.
'What the hell is this guy?'
Jaice panicked.
A country bumpkin raised in a backwater like the Sion Dukedom having such sharp insight?
Seilun? Sounded familiar, but even so, he wasn't Sion—he was just a collateral of the ducal house, right?
'What should I say? Damn it! Sell out the family first?'
As Jaice floundered in panic, word arrived from the main family's Triple-Eagle Castle that troops had come. Fland's mayor and officials came rushing over.
"Ohhh! Pride of our ducal house! Pride of the Obla Kingdom! My pride! Sir Seilun, you've arrived!"
"......???"
Jaice panicked.
His indecisive, vague cousin-in-law seemed like a completely different person.
'Is this some hidden camera prank for ultimate laughs?'
And it was just as bewildering to Sion, who had been pondering, 'How should I crush this arrogant bastard to make the rumors spread far and wide?'
(To be continued in the next installment)