Chapter 144: A Choice Between Two (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 144: A Choice Between Two (2)
Roman took a slow sip of his tea.
Savoring the bitter taste, he set the cup down. Standing across from him, Lucas delivered his report.
"Everything is proceeding exactly as you anticipated, My Lord. Once we mobilized the Black Moon to leak the information, Count Douglas immediately contacted the Northeast Association and declared his intent to go to war. Seeing as he is already rallying troops and instigating the lords of the North, this won't end as a mere emotional outburst."
"The Beast of the North is an extreme man," Roman replied. "Even if he acted entirely on emotion, he is not the type to take back his words once spoken."
While formulating his grand design, Roman had carefully selected his targets.
When he absorbed the Black Moon into the Hao Sect, he had acquired crucial intelligence regarding the Barco family's slush funds. The volatile relationship between Count Douglas and the Northeast Association presented a highly attractive opportunity. From that moment, Roman let his imagination run wild. In a time when the entire hierarchy of the northeast region needed to be reorganized, he examined the board from every angle, searching for the perfect way to exploit the situation.
The moment he met with the farmers of Dmitry, the final piece fell into place.
As the scattered puzzle pieces locked together, Roman envisioned a flawless picture that would bring the Northeast Association to its knees.
'Not a single word or action was left to chance.'
The provocation at the social party had been deliberate.
He had intentionally made aggressive remarks in front of everyone, knowing full well that Viscount Conrad would flare up. The Hao Sect's reports had meticulously detailed the viscount's personality. Taking immense pride in being a core member of the Northeast Association, there was no way Conrad would tolerate such outrageous disrespect from the mere eldest son of a baron.
Roman had perfectly grasped the man's disposition.
Viscount Conrad was a key figure in the Northeast Association, and his hot-headed arrogance was bound to heavily influence their collective decisions.
From beginning to end, everything unfolded exactly as expected.
When Viscount Conrad swallowed the bait, the discord between the Northeast Association and Dmitry flared into the open. The moment Roman announced the tournament, the Association naturally marched right into his trap. The issue with Count Douglas was no different. Had the Northeast Association bowed their heads in humility from the start, Count Douglas might have found a pretext to cool his temper. Instead, they greedily tried to snatch a half-baked profit, only pouring oil on the fire.
Did they even realize?
That the foolish disposition of a single man was dragging the entire Northeast Association deeper into an abyss of despair with each passing moment.
Roman broke the silence.
"So far, things have proceeded according to plan. However, unlike Count Douglas, Viscount Conrad is not the type to charge forward blindly when cornered. That is why he apologized to me at the social party and kept his head down after the tournament ended. It will be the same this time. If Count Douglas pushes hard enough, there is a high probability that Conrad will swallow his pride and raise the white flag first."
It was obvious.
Strong against the weak, weak against the strong.
He was a textbook noble.
Faced with the Beast of the North, Conrad lacked the courage to fight to the bitter end.
Therefore, Roman gave his next order.
"From now on, spread the rumors as planned. Make it so that the spilled water can never be gathered back. No matter what methods the Northeast Association uses to defuse the situation, ensure Count Douglas's anger does not subside. Only when they are backed into a corner with absolutely no escape will they finally cast aside their pathetic pride."
"Understood."
Suddenly, Lucas felt a fleeting pang of pity for their opponents.
Like a snake slowly tightening its coils around a victim's neck, Roman's plan left the enemy absolutely no room to breathe.
* * *
The rumors began with something trivial.
In the Douglas territory, a merchant sighed heavily as he handed a customer their goods.
"I probably won't be able to run my business properly for a while," the merchant lamented.
"What do you mean by that?"
"What else? I get my supplies from the northeast region, but the atmosphere between Count Douglas and the Northeast Association is extremely grim right now. At first, I thought it was just a simple disagreement, but apparently, the Northeast Association is sweeping up all the war supplies and preparing to attack the Douglas territory. So, I have to close up shop for the time being. I won't be able to get deliveries, and you can't exactly run a business in the middle of a war, can you?"
"...Is that really true?"
The customer gasped in shock.
News of war was not something to be taken lightly. As soon as he returned home, he relayed everything he had heard to his family.
Upon hearing her husband's words, the wife quickly passed the news to the neighborhood women, who in turn told their own families with grave expressions that the Douglas territory was in danger. As the saying goes, rumors have wings. What had started as the most trivial of conversations began to spread across the entire Douglas territory like wildfire.
That was not all.
The servants working within Douglas Castle subtly dropped whispers while going about their daily chores.
"I heard from a servant working in the Conrad estate that Viscount Conrad flew into a massive rage after speaking with Count Douglas. Apparently, he went wild, smashing all the furniture. It's not confirmed, but it seems he's plotting some kind of scheme to get revenge on the Count."
"Viscount Conrad is a real snake. He might try to smooth things over with a smile on the surface, but he'll definitely try to stab Count Douglas in the back. Otherwise, why would there be rumors about the Northeast Association mobilizing troops? Word has it he's determined to crush the Count. Aren't we going to get caught in the crossfire if we stay here?"
Normally, the idle chatter of servants wouldn't amount to much.
However, with rumors already saturating the Douglas territory, their gossip could no longer be ignored.
The rumors ballooned in an instant.
While they had initially merely predicted the possibility of war, they soon morphed into absolute claims that the Northeast Association harbored deep, malicious intent toward Count Douglas.
The merchant who planted the seed, and the servants who fanned the flames—they were all members of the Hao Sect.
The Hao Sect consisted of those living at the very bottom of society.
The nobility paid them no mind, but every single word they uttered ultimately shaped public opinion.
And those rumors, having ballooned to catastrophic proportions, finally reached their intended target.
Crash!
"They dare try to do what to me?!" Count Douglas roared. "Issue a conscription order immediately! I would have let them off if they had admitted their fault and crawled before me, but if they are going around spreading such insolent nonsense, they deserve to be punished. In the name of the Douglas family, I will never forgive those rats!"
The Beast of the North had finally exploded.
* * *
Immediately after their first disastrous contact with Count Douglas, the Northeast Association had reached a consensus following a long, heated debate.
"We have absolutely nothing to gain from a war with Count Douglas. Right now, we are fiercely competing with Dmitry for hegemony over the northeast region. If we needlessly bleed our troops in a war, we won't be able to handle the aftermath. Roman Dmitry is an extremely aggressive man, is he not? Even if we have to bow our heads to Count Douglas and suffer severe financial losses, we must conserve our strength to prepare for the danger looming right in front of us."
"Then let us wait a few days before contacting him again. We must maintain at least a shred of our pride, after all."
If they tucked their tails and ran the very moment the other party got angry, the Northeast Association would look pathetic.
So, they waited.
But the Northeast Association could never have imagined the malicious rumors that would spread during those few days of silence.
"Count Douglas! That is a slanderous lie! War? The Northeast Association has absolutely no intention of going to war, and we are even preparing financial compensation to seek your forgiveness in this matter. So please, calm your anger. The rumors spreading around are completely contrary to our true intentions!"
On the magical communication screen, Count Douglas's furious face loomed large.
Viscount Conrad desperately tried to explain, but Count Douglas had already closed his ears.
[Contrary to your true intentions? Viscount Conrad, do you take me for a blind fool? Everyone in the world is saying the Northeast Association is plotting some dirty trick. There is no smoke without fire. You must be planning something for the people to be so frightened and preparing for war.]
He was thoroughly incensed.
The way his opponent spouted flimsy excuses only served to turn Count Douglas's stomach.
[I never liked you lot from the start. I figured that opportunistic bats like you, who cling to whoever offers a coin, would eventually bare your fangs at me too. The reason I contacted you was not to compromise. So drop the fake act. The day you and I meet face-to-face, I will trample your face so hard you'll never be able to smile again.]
Click.
The communication cut off.
It was a declaration of war.
A raging fire had been lit under the Northeast Association's feet.
They desperately wanted to defuse the situation, but now that Count Douglas had gone this far, war was inevitable.
One of the nobles spoke up, his voice trembling.
"This is a disaster. Count Douglas is not a man to make empty threats, and rumors say he is already rallying the lords of the North. We can never win with our strength alone. If war is unavoidable, we must somehow amass a force that can overwhelm them."
"The Central Government! Let's contact the Central Government!"
There was no other way.
It would have been wonderful to receive help from neighboring nobles like Count Douglas did, but due to their ongoing discord with Dmitry, no one outside the Northeast Association was willing to lend them strength.
Thus, drawing in an external power was their only solution. Although their last contact had not been a pleasant memory, they reached out to Count Fabius in a desperate bid to grasp at straws.
[Yes, yes. I understand your difficult situation, but the Central Government cannot interfere in such matters. And besides, isn't the Northeast Association at fault here? You committed the wrongdoing first, so do not dump the cleanup on others.]
Ever since their last interaction, Count Fabius's attitude had been ice-cold.
Faced with this clear drawing of boundaries, Viscount Conrad cut the communication and turned to the other nobles, his expression vacant.
"...It is over. We can no longer avoid war."
He felt utterly helpless.
With their retreat completely cut off, he felt sick to his stomach.
A war with Count Douglas... He didn't think the Northeast Association would necessarily lose, but they stood to lose far too much in the ensuing bloodbath.
No one could say a word.
They had run themselves ragged trying to resolve the issue, but reality refused to grant them even a single shred of hope.
It was then.
"My Lord! Roman Dmitry has requested contact!"
At the communication soldier's shout, the eyes of every noble in the room instantly snapped toward him.
* * *
The reason for the contact?
It was obvious.
Roman Dmitry surely intended to mock the Northeast Association.
Though he had absolutely no desire to answer, Viscount Conrad accepted the call in a state of utter despair.
[I heard you are having trouble with Count Douglas. Would you care to explain the situation?]
Roman's question was entirely unexpected.
Caught off guard by that calm, even voice, Viscount Conrad found himself pouring out his frustrations before he could stop himself.
"This is hardly something to say to the Dmitry family, but the members of the Northeast Association, myself included, had debts to collect from Barco. However, Count Douglas unilaterally moved to siphon off the Barco family's slush funds. We discovered this and simply took our rightful share. That is all. When Count Douglas later found out the truth, he declared war, blaming us despite being the one who erred first. We are the victims here! If he had fairly disclosed the slush funds and distributed them properly, we would never have siphoned them off in secret."
He wasn't seeking sympathy.
His opponent was Roman Dmitry, after all.
He knew Roman wouldn't care, but he had spoken out of sheer frustration, desperately venting his sense of injustice.
Yet...
[So, what do you plan to do? We cannot simply stand by and watch a northern power cross over into the northeast region, can we?]
In that instant, Conrad stared blankly at Roman's image.
What on earth did those words mean?
"...Are you saying you will help us?"
[That depends entirely on the attitude of the Northeast Association. What I can say for certain is that, regardless of what our relationship has been in the past, Dmitry has no intention of standing idly by while outsiders run rampant in the northeast region.]
Those words marked a completely unexpected turn of events—a lifeline the Northeast Association had never even dared to dream of.