This Money is Now Mine (1)
I must have been around twenty-seven. That was probably the age when I was sentenced to execution.
The Empire tried to poison me with liquor, but it didn't work. They killed my father first, then came for me. But they failed. I was rescued by the "Kingdom Revival Army" that raided the execution grounds. The one who led the rescue operation was none other than Naria Geo Nostrum.
I still remember it vividly. A rickety old bed. A ceiling that looked ready to collapse at any moment. Through my blurred vision, a golden-haired woman wrapped head to toe in white bandages.
Naria, the princess who had lost her kingdom and was fighting as a resistance member, was broken in every way. Her body was covered in torn and slashed wounds. Her left arm bore burn scars from her shoulder all the way to her fingertips. Even her abdomen showed signs of being pierced by something.
She'd been chased by Imperial forces, suffered abrasions, taken arrows to the body, and even had her gut shot open by a magitech rifle. And she'd gotten those wounds during the raid on the execution grounds to save me.
"Why the hell did you do it?"
I couldn't understand. I was from a family that had sold out the kingdom—a traitor in Nostrum's eyes.
"I didn't save Grey Gibraltar."
In a hoarse, weary voice, Princess Naria answered my question.
"I just saved the man who will kill the Emperor."
To her, I was nothing more than a "tool" with value as a means to an end.
"You've learned the Imperial sword arts, haven't you?"
"Yes."
"Teach them to me. Or wield the blade yourself."
An assassin's dagger meant for the Emperor. He was the strongest martial artist on the continent—a monster with at least master-level talent in every cold weapon. Above all, he favored the blade, a curved sword. The Empire had long honed arts like Iaidō and other sword styles, and the Emperor stood at the pinnacle of Imperial Swordsmanship.
"I'll take revenge on him myself. For that, I'll save and use you without hesitation."
The princess meant every word.
"You were betrayed by the Empire too. Don't you want revenge?"
"......"
"Still the same. Refusing to do anything."
She despised me for it.
"Doesn't matter. But remember this: if I hadn't saved you, you'd be dead."
The princess grabbed my collar with her bandaged hand.
"I'm not holding a traitor accountable. I saved your life, so now you're mine."
The look in Princess Naria's eyes at that moment was sadder and more desperate than I'd ever seen.
"If you don't want to do anything, if you have no idea what to do... just do as I say. Become my blade."
That was how she forced me to become her blade—her knight.
"What are you thinking so deeply about, young master?"
On the road in the carriage, a knight rode up beside me and asked.
"Sir Robert."
"...Oh!"
"Why the surprise?"
"Well, you rarely call anyone by name, young master...?"
The knight in his mid-twenties, Robert Seville, scratched his cheek with an awkward grin.
"You hardly ever use the butlers' or maids' names either."
"Do I need to remember everyone's name?"
"Ah, haha...."
I'm serious. I don't see the point in memorizing names of people who aren't that important to me. Even if they work for the family.
"You're just like the Margrave in that regard."
Whether it's my obliviousness to those around me coming from my father or it's in the Gibraltar blood, I don't know.
"Not to call myself a substitute or anything..."
"I do make sure to remember the names of people important enough to bother with."
"Yes. That's why I'm glad."
"That I know your name, Sir Robert?"
"Yes. It's an honor. For the eldest young master to know my name."
I had no choice but to know it. He'd been a key figure in the past, and he would be in the future too.
"Sir Robert."
"Yes, young master."
"It was I who specifically requested you as my escort knight for this trip to the 'Gates' of Gibraltar Canyon."
"...Pardon?"
Robert's mouth hung open in shock.
Margrave Grey Gibraltar! Why, why did you betray Nostrum!!
For a moment, his desperate, twisted expression from the future overlapped with the present.
"It was I who named you, Sir Robert Seville, as my escort. Any objections?"
"N-No way!! It's an honor!!"
Robert enthusiastically waved both hands from his saddle, shaking his head vigorously.
"Heh heh, the young master chose me himself...."
Of course he'd be pleased. No matter the reason, it meant the next Margrave had taken a liking to him since childhood.
"Sir Robert."
"Yes! Young master!"
"Are you satisfied with the Nostrum Kingdom?"
"......Pardon?"
Such a man couldn't help but be flustered when I suddenly dropped something so loaded.
"No complaints about the kingdom?"
"...Ah, haha! Of course not. I love Nostrum. I was born in Nostrum, and I'll die in Nostrum!"
Sorry, but you'll die not in Nostrum, but on what used to be Nostrum soil.
"But why ask something like that? Gasp, is this a loyalty test...?"
"Something like that. I can tell you're sincere about the kingdom."
"Phew. You scared me half to death."
"Over something this minor."
He's skilled, but mild-mannered and naive. The type who'd get pushed around in the capital and end up in some dead-end post. A loyal fool of a knight. That's why I made a point to remember—and re-remember—his name.
"Sir Robert. Next question. How long do you think the 'Gibraltar Gates' will protect Nostrum?"
"......."
"Answer me. You've seen them before, haven't you?"
The carriage came to a halt. I stepped down, surveying Gibraltar's frontline—the Gibraltar Gates—with my escort knights in tow.
Sheer cliffs rose on either side, towering 300 meters high. They stretched for several kilometers, with the canyon between them a mere 1.4 kilometers wide. At the center of that 1.4-kilometer stretch stood the Gibraltar Gate wall.
Three gates total, built along the 3-kilometer canyon path—the only land route connecting the western Empire and eastern kingdom. For centuries, the Empire had never breached the final gate. The Gibraltar family had guarded this canyon since the first generation. A wall of endless lament.
Detours? Impossible to the north, with the elves' forest. Even if you fought through them, a massive river barred the way afterward. To the south, monster-infested lands. Too far to cross in a day, and cursed with magic that prevented camping—no place for a man to lie down. There's even a "statistic": out of 30,000 who try bypassing the canyon, only 3,000 survive.
In short, invading eastward without the canyon was near impossible. So the Empire, relying on their core tech of magitech, researched invasion methods—but
Margrave Gibraltar! The Empire will liberate Nostrum's people from their incompetent king! Open the gates!
The Margrave opened the gates.
I offer Gibraltar blood to open the gates.
The gates couldn't be opened by physical force. Only Gibraltar blood could activate the magic sealing them.
Advance! To the capital!!
With the three gates—capable of holding off 30,000 with just 300 men—flung open, the Imperial army poured through the canyon and set up base at the Gibraltar count's residence.
The kingdom went into maximum alert. By my memory, around "100,000" troops made it through.
If the Margrave had fought tooth and nail with his soldiers, maybe only 10,000 would have survived the crossing. Or none at all.
"Young master, with the Margrave glaring daggers, how could the Empire ever breach the canyon?"
If the Gibraltar Margrave had simply drawn his sword against the Empire.
"The kingdom's strongest Sword Master. I think you're the true strongest in the kingdom!"
"I think so too."
"See!"
Because that strongest warrior decided to rebel and roll out the welcome mat.
"With just Father standing firm here, the enemy couldn't cross carelessly. A Sword Master hurling sword beams from atop a 50-meter wall? How do you break that?"
"And the walls have mana shields too. Unless the mages or mana stones run dry, enemy artillery can't touch them. Heh."
"Right. The ultimate invincible shield."
Looking at it now that I've returned to the past, it's absurd all over again.
"Sir Robert. Do you know? This canyon can only be opened by us Gibraltars."
"Ah, yes! I know well. When I was first assigned here, I walked those aerial bridges."
Robert pointed to the wooden stairs and ladders in the canyon.
The gates were sealed tight, but maintenance continued, so these facilities were for the workers.
"Without those cloud bridges and ladders to climb the 50-meter walls, the Margrave would've had to come open them every time. Haha!"
In wartime, the kingdom side used fireproof enchanted wood, exclusive to us. The other side? Regular timber.
Come to think of it, those maintenance workers...
"Hm."
Something occurred to me.
"Let's head back."
"Pardon?"
"I've seen enough. Wanted to get some air and chat with you anyway."
"Ah, yes!"
Robert didn't suspect a thing. His lips twitched upward as he turned his horse toward the count's castle.
"Let's go, young master!"
Truly. A loyal retainer like this should've been at Princess Naria's side.
Private meetings with Father always send a slight chill down my spine.
"Son."
Partly because he has a Sword Master's senses.
"How should we go about selling the kingdom?"
But mostly because, whenever I try something new based on those senses, his methods feel off.
"I'm a bit ashamed to ask a ten-year-old, but you'd surely have an answer I've agonized over for ten days."
Still, Father knows how to handle people.
"Speak freely. To pave the way for the Empire to conquer the kingdom, what should I do?"
If I hadn't shown promise, he'd have quietly summoned family members discontent with the kingdom. But since I exist, he called me.
As consultant and advisor for treason. Comrade and heir.
"We need to crumble the kingdom from the bottom up."
"From the bottom?"
"Yes. To keep Father from taking the fall later, we must make it seem like 'the Empire might start a war on their own.'"
"Indeed."
Father drew the sword at his waist.
"Even in a clash of swords, to lure the opponent in, you show an opening first. That's basics."
Politics is like a sword fight to him. Father understands it that way.
"So, how do we show that opening? How do we create it?"
"Look at it long-term first."
It took ten years in the future.
"Most importantly, we need to make the Empire eye the Gibraltar walls."
"Specifically? Rough ideas are fine."
Ten years old. Father wants the bare minimum an child's brain can produce.
"Naturally, create points of contact with the Empire."
If things had flowed naturally, I'd have played the confused kid: "Uh, well, um."
You did nothing.
Princess Naria's words stabbed like a dagger in my mind again.
If only you had...
She trailed off, but probably meant "taken initiative."
So.
"We draw in Imperial spies. Pretext? We make one."
"Pretext?"
I gladly became the "genius."
"Yes. I just inspected the Gibraltar Gates today. Hm, the ladder facilities... they're worn out."
"Hm? What are you saying? The ladders are—"
"Father. We don't buy wooden toys or stuffed dolls just because they're worn; we replace them."
"......Ho."
Father's eyes began to gleam.
"Rip them all out and rebuild. Not with territory folk—hire contractors directly."
"Brilliant, brilliant... Bring in workers, and Imperial spies slip in naturally among them...?"
"Yes. Who'd question repairs for national defense?"
We must protect our assets.
"Anyway, they're old, so we build new."
For greater treason to come.
"And this is the most important part..."
Treason's first step.
"Bill the budget... to the king?"
Waste of taxpayer money.