Chapter 55: The Fallen Noble
Everything seemed set for me to go on a rampage in this fallen noble's territory. The problem was that the state of the fief was far more dire than I'd imagined.
As I entered the main castle, the streets—which should have buzzed with life—were eerily deserted, stirring up only dust. Corpses lay scattered here and there from starvation, and the residents stared at me vacantly, their gaunt frames making them look like utter wrecks.
That bastard Ricado Viscount must have been a real piece of trash. He'd looted even the relief grain and military rations before fleeing. With no knights in sight, it looked like they'd followed him. Of course, he'd need guards to make off with untouchable assets like that.
A hundred knights would be more than enough to fend off any common bandits.
'If the main castle's this bad, no need to bother checking the other towns or villages.'
It was obvious at a glance just how severe things were. I hadn't expected the emperor to hand over a thriving fief as a reward from the start. But this was beyond the pale.
An already impoverished territory, saddled with a scumbag lord, and now the innocent folk were dying off because of it.
A few knights were visible inside the lord's castle. They must have stayed behind, pricked by their consciences, unable to follow Ricado Viscount.
"Who...?"
Two knights looked at me and asked. My bearing clearly marked me as no ordinary man.
I unfurled the appointment decree.
"His Majesty has appointed me lord of this place."
"C-Could you be Viscount Auron Blaine?!"
"And?"
"Welcome, my lord! We've been awaiting your arrival with bated breath!"
"You were waiting for me?"
"Sob! Please save our fief!"
The knights tearfully pleaded.
"Sigh. Where's the steward?"
"The territory's steward fled with Ricado Viscount."
"Then who's handling the administration?!"
"We've been managing it."
"......"
This was a hopeless situation. If the fief had been left like this just a bit longer, it would've been a disaster. Plenty must have already fled the territory. Still, it was a relief that these knights had kept things running.
The knights introduced themselves.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Mitchell."
"I'm Python."
"Hm."
The knights' conditions were pitiful too. They were supposed to handle mana, yet their bones stuck out so sharply it was hard to tell if they were knights or ragged survivors.
A few maids wandered the lord's castle, but they were in the same state. It was infuriating.
Mitchell's will to survive burned fiercely, but he hoped I'd provide relief for the entire fief.
The gods were watching from above to see how I'd handle this crisis.
Simply hauling in relief grain from my own territory wouldn't cut it. The fief's warehouses were empty, and people were scraping by on a single piece of black bread for days. Even the knights subsisted on that one piece. The fief was in its worst possible state.
At least the buildings looked sturdy. Traces of effort by previous lords were evident.
I entered the lord's audience hall and surveyed the retainers.
"Is this all the retainers?"
"...We're ashamed."
Two knights and one head maid. The head maid could barely stand on her trembling legs.
"Sigh. Sit down."
"Thank you."
I pulled ham from my bag and handed it to them.
"Gasp! Thank you!"
"When was the last time we even ate...?"
They wolfed it down greedily. Once their hunger eased somewhat, I asked Mitchell what had happened.
"This place is part of the empire. No matter how much power a lord wields in his fief, a crisis like this should've drawn intervention from the central government. How did it come to this?"
"Ugh, it started with the lord's gambling."
"Gambling? The fief ends up like this over gambling?"
"Lord Ricado was ambitious at first. He tried all sorts of ventures to develop the fief and managed things well. Then he got scammed on a huge batch of magic stones—that was the beginning."
"Scammed?"
"He paid a merchant who promised magic stones at a bargain price, but the guy vanished, dealing the fief a massive blow. The lord went to the capital to borrow funds, but he blew what little he had left on booze and gambling, racked up debts, and came back. The harsh exploitation began... and eventually, it hit rock bottom."
"After the bankruptcy?"
"The exploitation only worsened. And just three days ago, before Your Lordship arrived, he stripped the military rations and relief grain bare and fled."
"Three days ago?"
"So he couldn't have gone far?"
"...Pardon?"
"If I don't catch that fucker and kill him, I'll lose my shit."
"M-My lord?"
"I'll catch him and burn the fucker at the stake! Where'd that bastard go?"
"T-To the west, they say."
"Destination?"
"His fellow knights said Aran Territory..."
"He has ties there?"
"It's his maternal family's fief."
BAM! I smashed the table in front of me to dust.
The knights shuddered at the display of power. They'd probably heard the rumors about me. Even so, they'd begged for relief—immediate survival trumped any gossip.
"Sigh. Putting that aside, why didn't you flee?"
"How could we abandon the fief and save only ourselves in this state? It goes against knightly honor."
"Ha. It's a surprise knights like you still exist these days."
"You're too kind."
"Tch. I'll contact the territory for relief grain first—recover your strength."
"Ooooh! Thank you!"
"I'll go hunt down that son of a bitch."
"Thank you! Thank you, my lord!"
I pulled out the mana communicator right away. It could reach about a day's distance—cutting-edge tech for now.
I requested 10,000 sacks of relief grain from old man Kane, then kicked off from the terrace.
BAM!
"My lord?!"
And I soared into the sky. Destination: Aran Territory. Three days out, so I'd catch them en route.
By evening, the sun was setting over Ricado fief too.
Knight Mitchell and Python gathered the residents in the plazas of each town.
Ricado fief had about 100,000 souls across two towns and ten villages. No telling how many days they'd gone without proper food. They'd dug roots, hunted, scraped by—until they hit the limit.
Murmurs rose.
In the main castle plaza, residents gathered with their last flicker of hope.
"Will the new lord really provide relief?"
"They say he's kind to the people."
"Ugh, when was the last time I had bread...?"
Black bread mixed with dirt—the worst slop, half caked in black soil. They were desperate enough to devour it, so the crisis was beyond imagination.
They believed the lord would provide relief. But Mitchell and Python were skeptical.
"Ugh, what do you think?"
"You doubt if the lord will really save the fief?"
"Yeah."
"The rumors paint him as a monster, no doubt..."
Python shuddered. Tales of Auron Blaine were infamous across the empire. A fiend who tore people apart for eye contact and raped women in his path. Yet he was also the war hero dubbed the Hero of Herculean Might.
Rumors said he dominated battlefields single-handedly, his personality matching his infamy. But there were counter-rumors too.
All the bad press was fabricated. Auron Blaine was a warrior chosen by the gods, leader of the Vivian Church, even tutoring the pope himself and ruling benevolently. Jealous foes spread lies out of envy for the gods' favor.
Only those who'd met him knew the truth.
Whoosh!
"S-Something's coming!"
A sound came from outside the fief. The gates opened, and dozens of levitating carriages streamed in, linked in a long train.
A beautiful woman and knights rode at the front. Mitchell and Python recognized her instantly.
"Lady Sharel, at your service!"
"You two the knights?"
"Yes!"
"I've brought 10,000 sacks of wheat and fresh-baked bread in a rush. Distribute it."
"Thank you!"
"Woooah!"
The savory aroma of bread wafted out. Even after the ham earlier, mouths watered.
"Move it! I'm a busy woman. Tch! What a mess on my way to do business."
"Y-Yes! Thank you!"
Sharel had the haughty air of nobility, but her actions proved otherwise. Nobles without arrogance lost their authority. People were used to such rule.
Sharel eyed Mitchell.
"You're in charge."
"Yes!"
"If I catch anyone skimming, I'll rip off their limbs. Distribute evenly."
"Of course! If they're caught diverting grain, feed them to the beasts!"
"Hmph. I'll be watching."
Sharel turned away. The residents cheered. For the first time in ages, they could fill their bellies.
BAM!
The sun was rising. I'd wandered all night.
I'd thought it'd be easy, but the bastards had zigzagged to shake pursuit. Or hidden in another fief? No, traces confirmed otherwise.
I'd hitched rides with passing merchants and tapped the info guild. Two days of chasing.
The info guild said they'd passed through Laydo Forest. I'd scoured it all night—no luck.
Flying high, I spotted a path and descended.
"Wheel tracks."
Carriage marks and signs of a large group. Not a merchant route—too unsafe from monsters and bandits.
The gods were getting bored. Then, a savory smell drifted from somewhere.
In this forest, few groups could leisurely roast meat. Unless a thousand armed soldiers or a full knight order.
BAM! I kicked off again, leaping high toward the rising smoke. There they were.
Residents starving to death back home, while these knights gorged on roasted meat. And nobles in view.
"Ha! Ricado Viscount, you fucker?"