Chapter 353
Chapter 353
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 353
Chapter Title: Immortals and Mortals (22)
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Guir was probably among the most prosperous of all the Empire's great cities. From the Fifty Years' War, through the imperial civil strife, and even up to Caradskar's great northern advance, it had suffered no damage whatsoever.
Guir's other nickname was the Golden Harbor. It was the final free port adjacent to the north, occupying the most vital position on the vast North Sea trade routes. Any extensive trade route stretching to the east, north, or even Kirjat inevitably passed through Guir.
Thus, at present, Guir enjoyed nights more brilliant than its days and days more refined than its nights. It had become the Empire's largest-scale trade port and the seat of a domain amassing wealth to rival Paltenoia itself.
"Impressive!"
Kirhas's eyes sparkled as she continually scanned her surroundings. With her experience as regent to the Grand Duke of Vurang and leader of two factions, she had become someone capable of appraising a city's prosperity with objective measures.
As a lord in her own right, she fully appreciated just how extraordinary Guir's wealth truly was.
The passing commoners had bright, healthy complexions, and the streets were impeccably maintained. It was worlds apart from the near-ruins of Vurang. Unlike the barren, impoverished Vurang, this place teemed with laughter, the smell of cooking rice, and the raucous shouts of merchants all tangled together.
It was the sound of life burning bright. Unlike Vurang, which had been struck directly by scorched-earth tactics and war. Amid her admiration, she felt a pang of envy deep inside as her eyes darted about.
At that moment, a hand rested on her shoulder.
"Robert is a man of great talent. Kirhas."
"Yes, my benefactor."
"And Guir has sidestepped every repercussion of the wars. Even during the civil war, Guir's fleet raided and plundered neighboring domains. Their accumulated wealth is built on the spoils from those around them, so it can't be compared to your domain."
"Ahem. Wouldn't that be a problematic thing to say in front of Lady Tremure of the Court, Duke Cerned?"
"It was a strategy I devised alongside the previous Court Minister, so of course I can speak on it."
Fernandez responded cheerfully to Everiz's uncomfortable interjection and tugged the reins. Clop, clop. With the loose rhythm of hooves, his horse advanced as he continued.
"In any case, it isn't fair to compare Guir's wealth to that of Vurang's beastkin right now. Give it another fifty years or so. In that time, Vurang will surpass Guir."
"Pardon? How?"
Kirhas blinked in surprise. It seemed vague and impossible. Guir was such a radiant port city, while Vurang was little more than ruins bordering the wilderness. And due to the scorched-earth tactics during the war, even its basic infrastructure had been utterly destroyed.
With western expedition support halted, Vurang's economy was in shambles. Come winter, half the commoners would be scraping at grass roots just to survive.
There were no proper trade routes, the domain's specialties were unremarkable, and its own granary regions had been completely devastated in the war, requiring no small amount of time to rebuild. On top of that, most of the domain's young population consisted of beastkin suited for farming and wall-building.
"Empress Carbellier is fostering ties with Kirjat, and once western trade activates, the Silk Road of old La Mertion will open to the west once more."
"Uh, Duke Cerned? Wouldn't that require trade with the eastern kingdoms to collapse first?"
"Indeed. The east will be too busy surviving among themselves for the time being."
Fernandez replied in his usual casual tone. Even if the war unfolded as expected, the petty eastern kingdoms' national strength would be halved at minimum. If it heated up beyond expectations, half the eastern alliance would be reduced to ash.
"And with eastern trade routes severed, western trade crossing the Great Wilderness will boom. If we limit paths through the wilderness to land routes, there are two major ones."
"Vurang and Livue?"
"Exactly, Lady Tremure of the Court. Empress Carbellier may wish to make Livue her trade hub, but Vurang has a tremendous advantage Livue lacks."
"...Beastkin!"
"Right. A powerful warlord commanding the entire Great Wilderness protects Vurang. Unless Livue receives knightly support, it can't guarantee safer merchant caravans than those guarded by beastkin warriors...."
"The beastkin warriors... yes. Their rates are cheap!"
Kirhas, as Great Chieftain of the beastkin, saying that felt a bit off.... Fernandez nodded anyway, though it left him with a strange sensation. But it was true nonetheless.
Vurang had vast farmlands, but they were now all but wasteland. Beastkin tended unprofitable crops and livestock atop them. They were poor nomads ignorant of proper agriculture.
Teaching them farming techniques and supporting settlement was like pouring water into a leaky jar. There was a better way to make use of them.
During the Fifty Years' War, beastkin had often been employed as mercenary bands. Nearly every member of their tribes was adept at riding, inured to long journeys like long-distance trade caravans. They even knew the Great Wilderness's geography inside and out.
Once the Kirjat situation stabilized and trade routes opened, Vurang would rebuild swiftly. It was only a matter of time.
'Yes, just a matter of time.'
Perhaps the world was like a balance scale. If one side fell, the other rose in wealth and honor as compensation. The east's fall and the west's rise even matched that balance perfectly.
Just as this city, Guir, had grown through the horrors of the recent wars. The development of cities and domains might require sucking the lifeblood from others. Fernandez thought as he gazed at Guir's bustling streets.
"Ah, by the way, Duke Cerned. I've prepared the trade ships as requested, but why trade ships instead of warships?"
"You know we're heading east, don't you?"
"That's why I'm asking? We should confirm how far the eastern situation has progressed, but it hardly seems like a time for trade."
"Sending warships east could be seen as the Empire's active intervention."
Fernandez spoke without halting his steps. Guir's citadel came into view. The grand avenue leading to it, lined with houses along the ridge, stretched toward the slowly rising horizon.
Bright sunlight illuminated the northern harbor. The sea on the horizon sparkled beautifully. Fernandez gazed at the ships dotting its surface and continued.
"The entire east hasn't fallen to corruption yet. On the contrary, they're concealing demonic involvement while amplifying the Church's faults. Imperial intervention in this situation could be politically exploited."
The eastern kingdoms were now a powder keg ready for civil war. The Fairn royals would soon formally condemn the Beitasser Church, and the strife between secular powers and the faithful would erupt into a conflagration engulfing the entire alliance.
The Empire was never a kind neighbor to the eastern alliance. Outwardly allies and major trade partners, but in truth a superpower extracting tribute under pretexts like heavy tariffs and route maintenance fees.
If the Empire showed even a hint of military involvement amid this chaos, Fairn's position would solidify further. They would rally the moderates like Dane's petty kingdoms against the Empire under a banner of unity.
'That's the surest path for them.'
Fairn aimed for a new alliance centered on themselves, beyond mere regional dominance—perhaps swallowing the entire alliance.
Meanwhile, the Empire lacked both pretext and capacity to aid the east. The long wars had drained its capital for further expeditions.
'At best, a defensive line centered on La Mertion in the east. An eastern campaign is impossible.'
Fernandez shook his head slightly and pressed on. Guir's citadel loomed close now. Family banners fluttered in the breeze atop its sun-glinted walls.
'The Carbellier banner...?'
Amid Tremure banners and Guir's military standards, the Carbellier crest flew highest on the tallest flagpole. Fernandez halted unwittingly.
Seeing it, Everiz grinned mischievously.
"No way?"
"Correct. His Imperial Majesty is personally visiting Guir right now."
"Since when?"
"He entered with me and has been eagerly awaiting your arrival. How delighted he'll be. Your Majesty?"
Fernandez grimaced and rubbed his forehead. No wonder the Grand Duke had come out to the domain's outskirts to greet him personally—it was Rene's orders.
"His Majesty instructed us to ensure your entry was handled meticulously, lest you lose your way. Heh heh, you see how precious you are to him?"
"It means don't run away."
"Such an unromantic attitude ill suits you."
"My romance lies elsewhere."
"A banquet and feast are planned. Properly, your triumphant return should have been celebrated with a gala in Paltenoia, but oh dear. Didn't you plan to snub Paltenoia and depart straight through Guir?"
"I recall stamping the divorce papers."
"The Ministry of Justice rejected them. As Her Majesty has not remarried, legally you remain the Emperor's consort."
Everiz tittered on. Fernandez turned his horse, suppressing the urge to bolt. Reuniting with Rene now was unwise.
'Too conspicuous.'
Should he have detoured through Paltenoia? The Emperor leaving the capital for an impromptu visit to Guir was intelligence that would alarm not just the Grand Dukes but all neighboring kingdoms. The current Emperor was a war hero, and the late Tremure Court Minister a founding merit.
But soon Fernandez shook his head. No plan could be perfectly covert, especially a national-scale operation like this where leaks were inevitable.
The eastern alliance's petty kingdoms weren't run by fools. They were ever-vigilant jackals attuned to the alliance's internals and imperial movements. If leaks were inevitable, this could serve as a filter.
'An opportunity to see who's on which side.'
Information opacity plagued Fernandez too. With Caradskar fallen, he knew nothing of what the future held.
Just as the late Tremure Emperor had suddenly fallen to corruption, and Fairn prepared for civil war. The achievements he'd built now stretched before him as an unpredictable future.
The political landscape was shrouded in fog. For him, his enemies, and the secular monarchs struggling to distinguish friend from foe. If gauging starting points was impossible—
'Then sow equal confusion everywhere.'
War was an unfair game. Not a gentlemanly chess match with equal pieces and funds for all. Battlefields teemed with chaos, greater chaos. Information tangled wildly, variables sprouting unpredictably.
And chaos was no enemy to black mages. Fernandez twitched his fingers and nodded. A sensation he hadn't felt in ages. One a temple priest facing great demons shouldn't have.
The sentiment of a black mage facing secular kingdoms, their heroes, and massed legions. A black mage overlooking the battlefield.
'Not bad.'
It had been quite some time since merging with Feizashi Wildcast. Fernandez walked on, pondering if this thrill was his own or Feizashi's.
* * *
"The Empire's consort, Duke Fernandez de Carbellier, enters the hall!!"
As Fernandez's party crossed the corridor into Guir Citadel, knights flanking the doors shouted in unison and flung open the doors to the banquet hall. Noisy clamor had echoed from beyond just moments ago, but silence now blanketed the interior.
Imperial nobles stared as he strode into the banquet hall. A young man with unkempt black hair and piercing blue eyes marched across the crimson carpet toward the Emperor, his sturdy knightly frame unyielding.
Murmurs rippled outward from him like waves. Nobles whispered hushed rumors of Fernandez. The Emperorslayer, demon hunter, the man who alone civilized and crushed those ferocious barbarians.
He wasn't the hulking knight or scarred lion-maned field commander of the tales. Yet no one dared belittle his feats.
Kirhas watched the scene with deep emotion. Back in Livue's throne room, their first foray into imperial politics. They had endured knights' sneers and scorn, proving their worth.
Now, with the Emperor lounging legs crossed and gazing down, not a soul questioned their authority. Only awe-filled whispers. Kirhas halted, heart complex, watching Fernandez advance.
-Clink.
At the carpet's end before the Emperor, Fernandez stopped and knelt on one knee. His greaves clinked softly. He bowed his head briefly, drew a breath, then lifted his gaze.
"Your servant Fernandez Cerned returns from expedition, Your Majesty."
"Cerned?"
"I have no recollection of changing surnames, sire."
Rene gazed down wordlessly. Their faces were utterly impassive as they stared. Then, slowly, Rene's lips curved upward.
As the ominous air made nobles tremble, the Emperor's clear laughter rang through the hall. Courtiers gasped at her smile—the first hearty laugh since ascending the throne.
"Ahahaha! Did my jest displease you?"
"It was amusing."
"Good. What are you waiting for? Our honored guest has returned—begin the banquet!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!!"
Rene sprang from her seat and approached him. Attendants swiftly lifted her mantle to match her steps. As she extended her hand, the chamberlain offered a crystal goblet.
"Take it, Lord Cerned. Don't kneel there so awkwardly."
"Lady Carbellier."
"Hee hee, hasn't even been long, yet already a cherished name. For you, and for me?"
"...Indeed."
"That one person from then has returned, but the other never will. I mourned alone sufficiently, but couldn't share a drink. Will you help me?"
"Gladly."
Fernandez accepted the goblet from Rene. She poured wine into his, then hers. Clink—the clear chime as they touched.
"To the great Grand Duke, Erb de Carbellier."
"To Livue's father."
"Holy Pantheon, bless us."
They nodded briefly and drained their cups. With that, the banquet began.