Expedition to the Plague-Polluted Barony of Sevillea (1)
All military treatises share one common piece of advice before setting out on campaign: secure the rear firmly. Just as you ensure no thieves break into your home while you're away, the safety of your base is paramount. In that sense, the new mansion had become the second safest place after the old count's castle. My father would always be by their side, but even in the worst case, my mother could barricade herself in the bedroom alone and hold out for months. That was why I could leave the territory with such peace of mind.
And it was no small feat in itself—
"Young master."
"Yes, Sir Robert."
"Are you really never going to let the territory's people know we're always slipping out like this?"
"Of course not."
My escort was Robert.
"It looks like you're just sending the prickly Grey Gibraltar out to do the dirty work, over and over."
"That's exactly what the territory folk are saying. That you're making him run around outside while raising Young Master Noir in comfort."
"Perfect."
The process of directing the spotlight toward Noir was proceeding smoothly.
"I suppose it just feels like I'm heading out on an expedition with a single knight. Sir Mente, have you heard anything?"
"A embezzler traveling to neighboring territories on the precious budget and taxes of the margrave's domain?"
"That's another image I was hoping for."
The rumors Sir Mente had heard were just right for undermining my public standing.
"The core force of the knight order, the 'Black Knights'... yet you're taking none of Noir's knights on this expedition, just Sir Robert as your escort. No one will think of this as a real expedition."
The knights accompanying us were just Robert and Mente—only two.
"And even the attendants trailing behind are maids from the orphanage, suspected to be orphans from the Empire at that."
From White 36 to 81, a total of six Whites followed behind us as attendants.
"36. Noir hasn't been saying anything strange, has he? I hear he's been paying you extra attention lately."
"It's fine. Well... 27 is probably tempting him in my place anyway."
"Aren't they dangerous?"
"Sir Carlos of the Black Knights is there, so it should be okay."
"If it's Sir Carlos, I can trust him."
All of Gibraltar's talents were gathering around Noir.
"It's been two years since he got a harsh lesson from Morgania, so tell him to stay sharp in case he slips up again."
"Shall I pass that on?"
"No. I'll tell him myself after the expedition."
Of course, there were some like Sir Carlos, who knew our 'situation' yet still guarded Noir's side.
"Young master. You can't keep saying things like that to Sir Carlos."
"Why? Afraid he'll try to steal your position?"
"I'm not joking. It's true."
"That's right."
"......?"
Was there some unspoken understanding among the knights?
"What do you mean?"
"For Grey Gibraltar, who willingly shoulders the filth for Gibraltar's future! I, Carlos, will thrust my foot into that filth for true loyalty!"
"...If he said that verbatim, I need to warn him so thoroughly he can't even say that much."
"That's why no more knights come over here. Heh, young master. How did you gather all these types? Huh?"
"That's why it's the Shadow Knights, Sir Mente."
Those who shone as brightly as Carlos couldn't enter this place.
"It's a gray zone, neither black nor white. Gibraltar's shadow. It's perfect for people with dispositions suited to this kind of work."
Sir Robert hadn't been one originally, but over the past five years of me whispering various things in his ear by his side, he'd been dyed in this shadow.
"It doesn't matter if they don't know. Not the territory folk, nor anyone else in Gibraltar—they all love this."
I pulled a glass vial from my bosom.
"The fact that we're sourcing the raw material for the mana enhancer publicly known as 'mana herb powder.'"
"You're talking about Caroline?"
"Yes."
A mana supplement and low blood pressure treatment even Crimson Gibraltar, the margrave, favored.
"Sir Robert. As the only adult male in this knight order, what's your experience using Caroline?"
"I prefer burning it as incense, like you said, young master, rather than mixing the powder in water!"
"I figured as much."
There were all sorts of rumors, but officially, it was just a 'health supplement' or 'mana booster.'
Currently, even Saint Geo Nostrum was paying exorbitant premiums to verify its effects.
Suddenly, I'm set to hoard more gold than thalers.
The dealings behind the scenes were currently entrusted to Morgania, but the massive profits meant the brokerage fees didn't bother me.
"White 45. Has the Empire figured out Caroline's true nature?"
"They know it exists, but that it was developed in Morgania..."
"It's fine as long as they don't find out about uses beyond the intended ones, or the raw materials."
The Empire had figured out Caroline's identity, but they had no idea where it was produced.
"That it's made from materials we obtain on expeditions."
And.
"That it's produced in the Gibraltar orphanage's underground alchemy workshop."
Distribution: Morgania. Production: Gibraltar.
No one would ever know that 'pseudo-silver dust' was being made in the incorruptible Gibraltar margrave's domain, beneath the orphanage in the gorge.
The production site.
"That incompetent king is surprisingly helpful in times like these."
Also.
"Yes, really, unexpectedly so. That... maybe send a letter to Princess Naria later?"
"Letters can be intercepted, so I'll thank her in person next time."
In the capital, someone with whom I'd made a secret pact was conducting camouflage operations in full swing.
"While Naria draws the aggro, we'll move diligently in the shadows."
Empire, Crown Prince's Palace.
"So this is the silver dust they developed in the kingdom?"
"Yeah. What do you think?"
"......."
Crown Prince Hapsburg von Tersian prodded the white powder before him with his index finger.
He licked it directly with his tongue, then sniffed the remnants with his nose.
"...No. This isn't silver dust. It's just mana herbs and whatnot mixed together."
"Right? But people say they get all pumped up after sucking this."
"...A placebo effect, maybe?"
The crown prince continued fiddling with the powder on his finger.
"Didn't you get the wrong sample?"
"What are you talking about? I snuck this out right from the palace itself."
The gray-haired woman, Batori Erzebet, puffed her cheeks in annoyance.
"Do you know how much hell I went through sneaking into the capital without getting caught? You think there are no masters in the kingdom? Dodging all their senses and barriers, my skin burning, I barely snagged this sample!!"
"I'm disappointed because you're the only one who brought a sample. The purchases haven't fully gone through yet."
The crown prince regretfully rubbed the powder between his fingers.
"It might be mixed with decoy smokescreens. Try a bit harder."
"Ugh, isn't this just junk? Maybe it's the stuff you leaked to Nostrum, mass-produced by Saint Geo."
"Hmm... possible, but."
The crown prince stroked his beard, frowning seriously.
"That incompetent king?"
"They say his lower half makes him a lustful king, so maybe he's competent in that department."
"...Even setting aside breeding, he still functions as a male king."
The crown prince shook his head.
"Judgment reserved. Insufficient evidence. Need more intel."
"What about the gossip?"
"What gossip."
"Heard from a noble lady's maid who's under the incompetent king—apparently a kingdom princess is managing this."
"......Naria Geo Nostrum?"
The crown prince's eyes gleamed.
"Hmm. Indeed. Is that it...? No, that one's even less likely."
"Hey. I just relayed the story, don't make up your own secret conclusions that leave me out."
"The possibility of this."
The crown prince raised his thumb, then pressed down firmly on his wristwatch.
"Naria Geo Nostrum."
And rotated his thumb counterclockwise.
"......."
"Investigate her surroundings. Look for suspicious contacts. And if she's recruiting people without any apparent connection to the princess..."
The crown prince rubbed the white powder with his thumb that had touched the watch crystal.
"Figure out if they're hero material or not. Sigh, huff. If they know..."
The crown prince gave a wry smile.
"We could make silver dust just as convincingly."
"You've already slipped silver dust to the incompetent king ages ago. Didn't they try replicating it?"
"Who tried it matters, and who made this fake matters. Or..."
Shhh.
"Finding the one who came up with disguising this fake as real with effects—that's important too."
"Everything's important."
"But once we find them, countermeasures get easier."
The crown prince clenched the powder and paper packet in his fist.
"No matter how far into the future they see, it's still the future, not the present."
Sizzle.
"If it's still just a possibility."
The powder and paper packet dissolved as if burning, absorbed into the crown prince's hand.
"We make sure it never becomes reality."
Sevillea Barony.
If Gibraltar was protected by the gorge, this place was sheltered by the magibeast pollution zone.
Sheltered? Was that the right word?
Magibeasts and magi occasionally wandered out of the pollution zone, crossing the forest and descending.
A shelter, huh.
Magibeasts were a kind of wild animal. No different from beasts, and huntable with enough hunters.
But humans—Empire soldiers—were different. A magibeast attack ended in instant death or being eaten, but defeat in war meant capture, a wretched life as a slave ending in slaughter.
Five hundred years of hatred toward the kingdom—do you think it vanishes easily?
The war had ended more easily than expected, and traitor Crimson Gibraltar was still strong, so they held back out of caution—but.
No wonder they're second-class citizens.
Empire citizens treated kingdom folk like untouchables. The acknowledged second-class were early collaborators or urban middle class from the capital or big cities.
Against useless peasants, lower classes, and slums, the 'human circus' was unspeakably horrific.
—Do you know how the Empire ruled conquered nations? By divide and conquer. The emperor said so.
—Grant enforcement powers or authority to Empire followers, letting them control and suppress the lower classes.
These second-class citizens tore and burned kingdom flags themselves, overdoing it to prove their loyalty. Denouncing kingdom loyalists with street stonings. Accusing ordinary folk born in the kingdom as 'rebels.' Forming vigilante groups to report 'traitors' from the Empire's view.
Rule by terror and iron fist. The crown prince didn't mind getting his hands dirty, but if unnecessary, he manipulated from the shadows.
The prime example was right here.
"Welcome back to my hometown, young master. And everyone."
Nostrum Kingdom's northwest, the frontline of the magibeast pollution zone.
"Sevillea—it's always so peaceful, isn't it?"
Before the pollution zone was fully overrun by magibeasts, cutting off paths, Empire refugees had broken through and settled here—an old refugee camp turned kingdom territory.
"It just looks like any ordinary rural village... haha."
This place, in about six years.
"Aside from the magibeast rampages, it's a quiet town with nothing much to boast about."
Traitor Grey, age 21.
—If burning one city lets you rule the kingdom, sacrificing tens of thousands is a bargain.
A 'great purge' by Empire second-class citizens engulfed the plains in flames, burning tens of thousands alive.
"Its most famous feature is—"
"Cows."
A rural area. Cows were livestock, used as farm tools.
"Sir Robert. The locals won't eat cows raised on grass from the magibeast pollution zone, right?"
"Young master. That's prejudice against the locals. No matter how hungry, starved, or poor we are, would we eat cows gone mad from magibeast corruption?"
"......."
"What a joke."
"Yeah. A joke."
"...The way you say it makes it sound like someone might."
"Who knows."
For now, it was just the stage of 'possibility.'
"I hope so."
Flutter.
"I hope nothing happens to bother Gibraltar."
Above the blue sky, flocks of black-winged crows flew toward the Empire.
This time.