Chapter : 141

Lord Gertman did not trust the Margrave of Bellua.

Just think about what he had done to him in the past. Pretending not to be scheming, he had poked and prodded at him, only putting the family in an awkward position.

Lord Gertman judged that the Margrave’s words could not be trusted at face value. There was surely some dirty ulterior motive behind that proposal.

But this proposal….

The moment he heard it, Lord Gertman felt his heart pounding.

‘The family’s long-cherished wish!’

To become a fully independent kingdom.

And now the Margrave of Bellua, who had grown into a force the kingdom could no longer ignore, said he would support it.

How could one possibly refuse this?

Although he himself did not have the authority to decide this immediately and was merely a messenger, even so, he knew.

That his father, the Duke of Bourgogne, would never refuse this proposal.

‘He is a dangerous man…. This is troubling.’

Because of that, Lord Gertman felt a sense of alarm. As someone in charge of administering the duchy, he knew how difficult it was to take control of another territory’s administration.

First of all, the laws between territories were different, and customs often differed as well.

Yet the Margrave of Bellua had succeeded in stabilizing the territory in less than two months after occupying the County of Bozen.

It was truly a chilling level of administrative execution. According to rumors, he intensively trained administrative officials in the cities he owned….

‘If we leave him alone, he will surely become the greatest threat to our family….’

Would the Margrave of Bellua, who showed such moves, really continue to support his family to the very end?

Lord Gertman could not believe that.

If, after growing his power, the Margrave of Bellua were to betray his family later, it would amount to having done all the hard work for someone else.

But that was as far as it went.

He did not make a personal judgment.

He was merely an aide to the rightful ruler of the Duchy of Bourgogne, the Duke, and to his elder brother Charles, who would succeed him. Doing exactly what he was told was all he was. Decisions of the duchy were made only through those two.

‘A messenger…. Yes. I have no right to interfere in this conversation. Heh heh….’

That was why Lord Gertman felt regret for the first time. He wondered whether his father and eldest brother could sense the danger he felt.

-Tiriring!

[You have sent an attractive proposal to the Duke of Bourgogne through Lord Gertman. The Duke of Bourgogne will gladly accept your proposal. As a result, the distrustful cooperation that had been restraining you is dissolved.]

[Notification: The Duchy of Bourgogne enters a temporary alliance.]

[Notification: The anti-alliance coalition has been dismantled.]

Hmm, as expected, the Duke of Bourgogne moved just as I had anticipated.

He chose to join hands with me right away. Well, it would have been difficult for him to refuse my proposal.

He might be the head of the aristocratic faction, but that only applied as long as he remained within the Elang Kingdom.

There were, in fact, no nobles within the kingdom who would support the Duke of Bourgogne’s ambition to betray the kingdom and declare independence.

‘Whew, then do I just wait for the special envoy sent to the Holy See?’

Having removed the Duke of Bourgogne from the axis of heavy pressure, all that remained was the support of the Holy See to back my actions.

And this, too, was resolved before long.

“My lord! I have returned.”

“Meheh! My lordi. I’m back. Meeeh.”

“Oh? Good. What did the Holy See say?”

“They said they were grateful for your cooperation so far and that they would, of course, support you. They will reconfirm the judgment on the heretical acts of Count Bozen.”

“Meee! I put in some effort. Mehr!”

“It is true. I heard internal news from the Holy See and used that to persuade the officials there. It seems the power struggle within the Holy See is fiercer than expected.”

“Oh…?”

“Meheheheheh!”

Bishop Marco, the goat beastman, said smugly. Normally, I would have scolded him, but not today.

“Good! Very well done! You did great.”

“Mwa…?”

That troublemaking goat beastman Bishop Marco had actually done something useful! And at a time when I desperately needed it.

Wasn’t that truly wonderful?

I could let him act smug dozens of times over something like this. It even seemed cute.

Of course, Bishop Marco the goat beastman thought otherwise.

“My, my lordi. Why are you like that. It’s scary. Mehr….”

He shuffled backward, sweating profusely at my unusual reaction.

In any case, with things being like this now, there was no need to stay hunched down.

I decided to move proactively instead.

“Summon Captain Konrad and Sir Biden.”

“Do you have something you wish to order?”

“Yes. Shouldn’t we show a bit of a military demonstration to the nobles who are just watching from the sidelines?”

I said with a grin.

That’s right.

A show of force.

This time, I felt like gathering up all the troops and flipping the king’s insides upside down to feel satisfied.

-Doom doom doom!

The sound of drums echoed.

-Advance! Advance!

-Keep your ranks. March in step with the commands!

The shouts of the knights and intermediate commanders rang out.

The ten thousand pikemen formations I had additionally gathered, along with about five hundred knights, were all gathered in one place and moving.

Until now, at most, it had only been a few thousand, but this was the first time I had mobilized an army reaching ten thousand.

This was now practically a kingdom-level mobilization force.

With a bit of exaggeration, as countless sharp pikes moved together, it looked like a gigantic mountain was moving.

No, in fact, that expression might not have been an exaggeration at all. Beyond the ridge, all the way to the far edge of the horizon, all one could see was people.

“Ho ho, what a spectacle.”

“What brings you out here today, Magician Agpiel?”

“You rascal. Were you planning to keep me cooped up in that cramped study forever, just pushing a pen around every day?”

“C-cough. No. Of course not.”

At Magician Agpiel’s words, I let out an awkward laugh and subtly turned my head away. I felt slightly guilty because I had kept him on administrative work for so long, having few people I could trust.

“Hm hm, how has Azuela been lately?”

“Hm. That half-baked mage seems to be competing with Professor Vesalius. She asked me whether it would be possible to create a department of herbal studies.”

“All of a sudden? Does she really have no intention of returning to the Emperor?”

“How would I know? In my opinion, she seems to have already forgotten about it…. Take good care of her. I feel uneasy.”

“Oh dear….”

I rubbed my temples without realizing it. That mage was trying to plant herself permanently in my territory instead of returning to the Emperor.

Well, I was grateful that such high-level talent was working in my domain, but….

‘Is she not afraid of the Emperor’s wrath?’

I could only tilt my head in confusion.

Maybe, just as Magician Agpiel said, she had already forgotten. In any case, she really was a half-baked mage.

Just like Bishop Marco over there bleating like a goat in the distance, she required a lot of care.

“Mwa?”

“No, it’s nothing. Just enjoy yourself.”

“Meheheh. Our lordi.”

Leaving Bishop Marco, who waved his hands shyly, behind, I turned back to Magician Agpiel.

“So, when are you planning to wrap this up? Moving ten thousand men is quite a burden.”

“It is burdensome, but if not now, when will we ever get to train like this, Magician Agpiel?”

“Well. That’s true. Opportunities to move a force of this scale are rare.”

Unless it was the era of the ancient empire, military movements were usually only in the thousands at most. A march of ten thousand under a single power was truly exceptional.

That was why the shock it delivered to the surroundings would be great.

“Still, moving aimlessly without a goal is just wasting money on a pointless contest of pride. Nobles sometimes ruin things because of their pride. I hope you won’t do such foolish things.”

“Yes, I understand.”

As expected, Magician Agpiel was the only one who would say such things to me.

And I understood his concern very well.

In the first place, the objective of this march was already set.

‘Sweep all the borderlines, just like during the suppression of the Markel City rebellion.’

The difference was that this time, I planned to sweep not only the territory of the Bellua Margraviate but also the newly incorporated County of Bozen.

‘And on top of that, summon the armies of the feudal vassals under the County of Bozen!’

There might be some minor backlash, but no one would refuse a legitimate mobilization order.

Moreover, with an army of this size issuing the command, no one would have the guts to refuse. If someone did, they would not have sat on the sidelines when fighting Count Bozen in the first place.

‘If I gather them all up and parade my power while circling the area…. Hehehe.’

There was no need to think further.

The encirclement the Elang Kingdom’s king had envisioned around the Margrave of Bellua would surely be shattered by that alone. With the Duke of Bourgogne having joined hands with me, it was safe to say there would be no mid-sized or small lords who would side with the king to the end.

“Tsk tsk. Looks like you’re plotting something devious again.”

“C-cough. Devious plotting? Whatever do you mean.”

“You sometimes show it on your face. What kind of scheme are you cooking up now? Tsk. Well, seeing how you’ve dragged along a bunch of bureaucrats behind you, I can tell even without you saying it.”

Magician Agpiel scolded me while looking at my face.

It seemed my thoughts had shown without me realizing it. Embarrassed for no reason, I cleared my throat and hurriedly ordered the people to march.

The destination was the border between my domain and the County of Bozen. I planned to rampage to my heart’s content this time.

“W-withdraw your army at once!”

“I am not trying to invade your territory, am I?”

“T-this is no different from a threat, Your Excellency!”

“My, listen to yourself. A threat? I am simply conducting training.”

The reactions were intense.

The surrounding lords were busy reacting in all directions like a swarm of locusts engulfed in flames whenever my army circled the borders.

Of course, some of them did gather people and protest. But nothing really changed.

The Duke of Bourgogne had already turned his back on the king, and the king of the Elang Kingdom was stuck in the capital, unable to move an inch because of that duke.

-If you do not withdraw your army, we will not stand idly by.

-And return the title of Count of Bozen. To punish a high-ranking noble of the kingdom without even a proper trial is unacceptable.

Because of that, the king continued to spit out such sharp threats, but it was useless.

The capital where the king resided was far too distant from the southern region where I was.

“My lord. It is reported that troops are being gathered in the southern royal demesne.”

“It is said that the southern lords who are uncooperative with us are forming an alliance. I hear mercenary captains are coming and going within their territories. What shall we do, Your Excellency?”

Even so, perhaps they were not empty words, as intelligence about troop gatherings in the surrounding areas began to come in one after another.

But I merely snorted.

‘War? An actual war?’

What nonsense.

It was about to begin.

The global event that would strike the continent, topple kingdoms, and dismantle the feudal order.

All I had to do was wait comfortably for about three months.

And then.

Sure enough, before long, as early summer began.

“My lord! A tremendous downpour has suddenly begun.”

“A swarm of locusts has occurred and some farmlands have been devastated.”

“N-no rain is falling. The rivers are drying up.”

“Food prices are suddenly skyrocketing. It is becoming difficult to purchase any more. What should we do?”

Chaos erupted.

Urgent messages came in from all directions, reporting confusion over sudden climate anomalies.

The Great Famine.

The one I had been waiting for so long had begun.

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