Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Anger and Joy
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Sion was feeling dual emotions.
He felt disappointment and anger toward his great-grandson Gede and the retainers clinging to him, but he still held affection for the territory's people.
That made sense, for the Dukedom was a place Sion had built from the ground up.
To exaggerate slightly, it was no different from creating something out of nothing.
How could he not find the territory's people, born and striving hard in this Dukedom, utterly endearing?
He didn't need them to express gratitude to him.
As a great pioneer, Sion was pleased and satisfied just seeing them live diligently.
Yet now, there were people trying to steal this great land he had pioneered—outsiders and those at the highest levels, no less.
On the flip side, the lowly ones with no real prospects were still resisting those deemed enemies of the Dukedom.
It was infuriating, yet joyful.
That was how Sion, the founder and pioneer of this land, felt. And so, he decided to express his emotions honestly.
“Longlive!”
When Sion bellowed, Knight Longlive threw off his mercenary gear and approached.
“Kehek? Kep!?”
Marcos, whose face was red beyond flushed and on the verge of bursting, recoiled in shock at the sight of Longlive.
The Paloma guardsmen, who had been pointing their spears at Sion, also widened their eyes.
“Sir Longlive?”
“Why is Sir Longlive here…?”
Shaking off his complicated feelings, Longlive stood rigidly beside Sion with a stern expression.
“Do you know this man?”
“Yes. He’s the steward of Paloma Castle.”
“I see. And he claims he was ordered to slaughter all the guards here as planned.”
“…….”
“Did you know about this?”
“…I didn’t, but it’s entirely possible.”
“Then tell those soldiers yourself. What plan Viscount Gede Sion devised, and what this man intended to do to them right here.”
Sion flung the gasping Marcos to the ground.
“Kek! Kekek!”
Longlive glanced at Marcos, who was coughing and drooling, bit his lip as if resolving himself, then addressed the Paloma guardsmen staring at him in bewilderment.
“Soldiers of Paloma. You all know me. I am Ethan Longlive! As a knight of Paloma and Sion, I have something to tell you.”
“Kek, kep! N-No… Kkulk!”
The guardsmen sensed something grave from Longlive’s solemn tone, as if he were delivering a deathbed confession, and Marcos’s desperate attempts to stop him.
Of course, Marcos’s wretched state and Longlive’s sudden appearance had already made it clear this was no ordinary matter.
“Paloma Governor Viscount Gede Sion… no, traitor Gede Sion has colluded with the Pamell Count family to usurp the ducal seat!”
“Eh?”
The guardsmen’s thoughts froze at the shocking, unimaginable declaration.
But the words that followed were even more earth-shattering.
“Moreover, Gede Sion ordered this steward Marcos to kill all of you who came this far to silence you. If we hadn’t dealt with the mercenaries trying to invade the Dukedom through the Silent Forest… if the mercenaries sent by Count Pamell were here now, you would all be dead.”
“N-No….”
Marcos’s face was dyed in despair, while the guardsmen’s faces twisted rapidly with rage.
“Is it true!? Sir Longlive, is that the truth?”
“You fucker! Marcos! Is that bastard telling the truth?”
The spear tips that had been aimed at Sion now swiveled unanimously toward Marcos.
“N-No. That’s a lie… I-I….”
As Marcos panicked and staggered backward on his rear, Sion stepped forward between him and the soldiers on the verge of exploding with shock, rage, and betrayal.
“Sir Longlive speaks only the truth. Because we’ve already confirmed it with those guys.”
Sion jerked his chin in a direction, and the soldiers’ gazes naturally followed.
Jonas and the cavalrymen below him, along with Priel and the three elf tribe warriors at the fore, were dragging along two men who looked like beggars.
“Sir Jonas?”
“Those are the elf rangers who patrol the forest!”
Even those who had been half-doubting erased all suspicion the moment they saw Jonas.
Moreover, the cavalrymen who appeared with Jonas were all from Paloma, so some of the guardsmen even knew them personally.
With Sir Longlive, followed by Jonas, and now familiar cavalrymen appearing—and none raising objections—it meant the words of this mysterious knight disguised as a mercenary captain were entirely true.
At the same time, it meant every last shred of hope vanished for Marcos.
* * *
“No one but me can do it.”
After a quick wash, Gede Sion muttered as he glared at his reflection in the metal mirror.
Over fifty, yet he still looked vigorous. He was confident he could live at least another twenty years.
And in that time, he would become ‘Duke Sion’ and lead the Dukedom to prosperity once more.
“That is heaven’s mandate.”
He couldn’t let his nephew, who devoured his brothers, inherit the ducal seat.
Competence? Legitimacy?
Even the nobles of Triad Eagle Castle who followed his nephew Blint would inwardly admit that he, who had committed fratricide and was incompetent to boot, was inferior to him.
What about legitimacy then?
His father was the direct grandson of the great founder Duke Sion.
Compared to his nephew Blint, born of the previous duke—his already deceased brother’s second wife—this side had thicker blood.
“Nothing is lacking.”
That was why he had stepped forward.
He couldn’t let the family and Dukedom fall into crisis like this.
He alone was the chosen one to make Sion Dukedom great.
Gede truly believed that.
“Fuu….”
He took a light breath, turned, and saw his eldest son Horat standing there, suppressing excitement and tension.
Naturally, that brought to mind someone who strongly resembled Horat.
His youngest brother, Jonas.
‘No issues, right?’
It had been over a month since he went to August Territory with his youngest son Sirban.
Some guy claiming to be the grandson of his distant aunt-grandmother Maria, whom he barely remembered, had come seeking recognition as a Sion?
When he heard and sent Jonas to August Territory, Gede had thought a good card had come his way.
If he was truly Maria aunt-grandmother’s grandson, recognize him as a Sion and bring him to their side.
If a fraud?
Have his son Sirban and half-brother Jonas execute the wretch who sullied the Sion name, use it as merit, and as a bonus, attack Blint, the ultimate culprit who made their proud house a laughingstock.
Yet there had been no word from them since the report a fortnight ago.
‘They should’ve entered the Dukedom by now….’
Nothing to worry about, but it felt slightly off.
Gede shook off the thought.
His youngest son Sirban, and even his brother Jonas—who had only him to call family—would never act against his will.
Moreover, while Sirban might not know, Jonas was aware of his intentions and plans to some extent.
As always, he’d be doing something helpful to his brother.
Perhaps he’d already recruited Maria aunt-grandmother’s grandson and arrived at Triad Eagle Castle.
“Father, shall we go now?”
“Mm.”
At his eldest son Horat’s words, Gede stood and spread his arms.
Waiting servants hurried over, dressing him in a new, spotless chainmail hauberk over his red gambeson, fastening the belt, and equipping his sword.
Finally, with a thorny iron crown-like helm placed on his head, Gede perfectly embodied a high noble knight.
His neatly trimmed gray beard and piercing eyes lent his face an extraordinary aura. Though not as legendary as the founder Duke Sion, his considerable height and sturdy build added to his commanding presence.
As Gede emerged from the tent, the waiting nobles and knights bowed in unison.
They were his vassals and the Hundred Household Captains of the Paloma region.
The Dukedom’s Hundred Household Captains had originally started as knights who followed the founder Duke Sion and veteran soldiers who earned merits.
But they hadn’t managed a full hundred households from the start.
Back then, the Dukedom’s population was so small that they typically oversaw thirty or fifty households.
They had ruled their charges almost like minor lords.
But now, with the population over ten times greater than in the founder Duke Sion’s era, most of the small villages once under Hundred Household Captains had grown into large ones exceeding a hundred households.
Some even had thousands of households and populations of three or four thousand.
Unable to handle everything as before, they had become quasi-nobles—local magnates and landlords.
In the Paloma area alone, there were over ten Hundred Household Captain families, more than half of whom had joined Gede’s plan and gathered here.
“Jerbi, long time no see. Feels like yesterday we smashed and burned that goblin horde in Jopin together.”
“Haha! That was over twenty years ago, wasn’t it? You haven’t changed a bit since then, Viscount.”
“Hey now! If we’re talking unchanged, that guy Poltner over there takes the cake. I figured his gut would pop out more with age, but it’s still the same. Amazing.”
Hahahaha!
Everyone burst into laughter at Gede’s jovial greeting, a product of his long good relations with the local Hundred Household Captain families.
“Still, I don’t see a few of them.”
“……”
The laughter died instantly at Gede’s remark as he scanned the surroundings.
Not all Paloma-area Hundred Household Captains were present. Roughly three in ten hadn’t followed him.
“Ungrateful bastards….”
“Aren’t they just timid fools who can’t read the tide?”
“Why not clean up those guys first?”
Some Hundred Household Captains spat radical words.
Gede shook his head.
“Not everyone can be brave and wise. Our absent friends are just a bit more timid and cautious than others. However.”
Gede, who had worn a gentle smile, hardened his expression and raised his voice.
“Only the brave can claim glory! So I ask you! Are you prepared to share in glory with me?”
Woooaaah!
These men, who saw themselves as patriots but were traitors plotting usurpation to others, roared in cheers.
Before the group centered on Gede Sion, troops finished with march preparations stood arrayed.
Their destination was the heart of the Dukedom: Triad Eagle Castle.
At the latest, everything would be decided in four or five days.
* * *
“There it is, Uncle. That’s the capital of the Dukedom, Sionia.”
Sirban, thrilled and beaming with pride, pointed to a distant spot.
“Wow…”
Piot couldn’t help gaping.
Behind three not-particularly-high peaks, from the mountainside down to the base, a city filled the entire area without gaps—a sight beyond Piot’s common sense.
The towering wall in front alone looked easily three or four kilometers long, packed inside with thousands of buildings in meticulously planned districts.
At the center of the slightly oval-shaped city ran an obviously man-made river, over a hundred meters wide in places.
And it wasn’t just the city protected by walls totaling around ten kilometers in circumference standing alone.
Outside the walls, some areas had hundreds of buildings facing them, forming districts equivalent to four large villages—enough for populations in the tens of thousands.
And that wasn’t the end.
From the hill where Piot and the group stood, they could already see about ten villages scattered around the city in the distance.
Too far to gauge exact sizes, but each seemed at least as big as the village with Logos Lord’s Castle in Piot’s hometown.
‘The place Grandma was born… where the Founder pioneered my roots.’
Piot’s heart pounded.
Excitement from his first sight of such a massive city mingled with immense pride that the true master of this splendid place was his great-grandfather.
But Piot tamped down the thrill.
He wasn’t here for sightseeing.
He had to complete the mission his grandfather had given him.
“Uncle, Uncle. Let’s hurry! I’ll take full responsibility for showing you the full Sionia course…”
“Wait a moment, Nephew.”
“Yes?”
Sirban, excited at the thought of giving his country bumpkin uncle the full Sionia course—one of the Dukedom’s famed attractions (though he didn’t know it well himself)—faltered.
“Smirnov, where does the Black Eagle Regiment go?”
Smirnov, the Iron Mountain dwarf leader, climbed onto his pony’s saddle and pointed to one spot.
“That way. Looks close from here, but it’s about five more kilometers.”
“The Black Eagle Regiment? Uncle, why go there?”
Sirban blinked in confusion.
“Because I need to meet the regiment commander.”
The man who might play a key role in this incident—and perhaps become Piot’s ‘master’—was none other than Black Eagle Regiment Commander Joden Blaho.
And he was a Swordmaster.
(To be continued in the next chapter)