Chapter : 88

The magistrate was ambitious, but he was not a fool. In fact, he wouldn’t have become a magistrate in the first place if he wasn’t smart.

Therefore, after finishing his internal arrangements, the magistrate had intended to swiftly resolve the Margrave problem.

And yet….

-A truly upstanding knight.

-What a benevolent and honorable lord he is. His taxes are reasonable, and he especially favors merchants and artisans, I hear?

-That’s right. Have you heard about the City of Mangtong? I heard His Excellency rebuilt the city with his own funds. He even built something called a public bath to maintain cleanliness.

-Hahaha…. Where did such a lord appear from at this time?

The city council members’ assessment of Margrave Bellua was unusual.

“Good grief. How long have they known him to act like this? Have they all gone mad?”

I didn’t know how he did it, but in that short time, the Margrave had won over all the city’s nobles.

It was truly maddening.

A sense of alarm soared in the magistrate’s mind. An alarm that his(?) city might just be handed over to that Margrave.

“What has the Margrave been doing lately?”

“He is said to be performing miracles while visiting the slums.”

“Miracles?”

What kind of absurd talk was this?

Was a miracle something that could be performed at will? No matter how he had earned the nickname ‘performer of miracles,’ it was simply absurd.

“He is going around spraying a transparent potion mixed with holy water, and its effect is said to be the best. Most illnesses are cured with a single sip of it….”

“Where would such a medicine exist! Get a grip. It must be a setup.”

“B-but….”

“Ahem! Enough of this nonsense.”

Even his educated subordinate was acting like this, so what would the uneducated common citizens think?

Thanks to this, the magistrate was even more frightened.

He had thought he was just a good-natured, pious knight, but it turned out he wasn’t.

The history of cities had long been a history of betrayal.

It was not strange to promise loyalty and taxes to the strong in exchange for protection.

Cities had always survived by changing their masters.

In that sense, that Margrave was a rather dashing and attractive candidate for loyalty.

“How about just granting the Margrave’s demands now, Magistrate?”

“What? Grant all of them?”

“Yes. Wouldn’t it be better to grant them and quickly chase him out of the city, Magistrate?”

“Ugh….”

At his subordinate’s words, the magistrate let out a groan.

As it happened, one of the great lords to whom they had been paying loyalty and taxes had just been eliminated due to the southern heretic hunt.

The magistrate had intended to use this opportunity to elevate Tulung City to an independent city….

“Can’t we just hold out a little longer?”

“Is that possible?”

“The war will be over soon, won’t it?”

The southern heretic subjugation force led by the Prince-elector of Bohemia had crushed the last of the heretic forces and was preparing to pursue the remnants who had fled to the Kingdom of Aragon.

That meant the war would be over soon.

Then, that Margrave would eventually have to return to his own domain. He could probably just brush him off for a while and then settle things with a few coins when the time came.

Just then.

“Magistrate! There’s big trouble.”

Someone burst through the door from outside. The magistrate, who had been having a secret conversation, was startled and snapped in anger.

“What is this commotion! I told you not to disturb me when I am thinking in this room! Do you want to be whipped!”

“Th-that’s….”

“What!”

“His Excellency the Margrave is leading his army and subjugating the vagrants.”

“?!”

* * *

“Search every nook and cranny. Don’t burn the documents carelessly; bring them all to me.”

As we raided the hideout of the back-alley gangs, I gave my soldiers strict orders.

Things burning down during a battle was unavoidable, but the people of this era generally didn’t understand the importance of preserving records.

Especially.

‘Oh?’

When shaking down bastards who did someone else’s dirty work, like this time.

-Tiriring!

[Notification: You have secured documents on the collusion and corruption between the Tulung City Magistrate and the back-alley gangs.]

Indeed, what the cat beastman Captain Bastes said was true.

For a back-alley gang, they had been quite meticulous, writing down all the things they had done at the magistrate’s behest.

Among them was a very serious matter that would cause a huge problem if discovered: the murder of a city council member.

“Hah. You’ve used your power in quite a variety of ways.”

“That’s the scary thing about power. If you get too caught up in it, you gradually become a monster yourself.”

“Didn’t you once say that the cunning of a fox is necessary, Magician Agpiel?”

“There’s a limit to that. In the end, what’s important is the heart of a courageous lion, isn’t it?

If you rely only on cunning, you will eventually fail to rule.”

“Well, that’s true too.”

At Magician Agpiel’s words, I shrugged my shoulders. It was only natural that people had different thoughts.

“By the way, how are you going to use that? It could be an important weapon to take down the magistrate.”

“Oh dear. Magician Agpiel. What’s the point of taking down the magistrate with this?”

At first, I intended to use it to put strong pressure on the magistrate or to get rid of him. But after thinking about it a little, I saw another way.

No matter how much I had the support of the city’s influential figures and citizens now, I was an outsider.

Even if I deposed the magistrate and installed a new person, I couldn’t guarantee that they would follow my words completely.

Moreover, my domain and this place were very far apart.

“Hm? Then?”

“Of course, we must work with the magistrate, Magician Agpiel.”

-Tiriring!

[Insidious Stratagem!]

[You receive a high Stratagem bonus. The possibility of pressuring the opponent more effectively increases.]

There was nothing better to have in hand and control than a powerful person with a weakness.

Since he had a lot to lose, he would have no choice but to cooperate with me.

Understanding my words, Magician Agpiel laughed heartily.

“Hahaha. You really do have the cunning of a fox.”

“Ahem. I don’t know anything about that. The cunning of a fox? If someone heard that, wouldn’t they think I’d committed some shady act? It wasn’t me who did that, it was the magistrate.”

“Of course, you would say that.”

As Magician Agpiel and I were bantering back and forth.

“Oh, speak of the devil.”

The Tulung City Magistrate pushed his way through the soldiers and approached, panting with anger.

The magistrate looked thoroughly enraged.

“Your Excellency! What is the meaning of this? How dare you command soldiers in the city as you please-!”

Originally, one could not bring weapons into the city. The fact that he had allowed my soldiers, who were outsiders, to be stationed in the city was a huge privilege in itself.

But to command soldiers and carry out a subjugation without permission? And without asking for permission beforehand? This was a tremendous breach of etiquette.

Of course, I went beyond indifference and gave a cold sneer.

“How dare you?”

-Sreureung.

At my words, the knights and soldiers around me half-drew their swords.

Where did a mere city magistrate get the nerve to say ‘how dare you’ to me, a high noble?

“Uh, th-th…”

Only then did the magistrate, who had finally noticed the cold glares, look bewildered. He had made a mistake; he should have brought the garrison with him.

“Well, I made a mistake too, so I will understand your breach of etiquette.”

“A-ahem. Thank you, Your Excellency.”

I chuckled, watching the magistrate who coughed and apologized awkwardly. Then I slowly approached the magistrate and whispered.

“I happened to see a mountain of sins in the process of subjugation.”

“What is that…”

“Oh dear. Don’t frown. Those friends of yours kept such diligent records that a variety of evidence came out.”

“?!”

In an instant, the magistrate’s eyes widened. To think those damned bastards would have left records. This is why he shouldn’t have worked with lowlifes.

“A-are you threatening me right now! After pretending to be so faithful in front of everyone, are you now revealing your insidious intentions-!”

“Hmm…. Your words are a bit short, aren’t they?”

“Don’t try to change the subject with that, Your Excellency! Do you think you can take over this city by doing this!”

“Calm down. I’m worried others might hear. I didn’t bring this up to depose you.”

“?”

At my calm words, the magistrate was now confused. He was just going to leave him alone even after getting a card that could take him down?

I chuckled, looking at the flustered magistrate.

“My negotiation partner is you. Not some other family. The ruler of this city is the magistrate, you, isn’t it?”

As I said that, I tore a part of the collected documents and set them on fire.

Fsssh.

The oil-soaked paper burned brightly. As the evidence began to burn before his eyes, the magistrate’s pupils dilated even further.

It must be hard to believe.

“The back-alley vagrants, who were the city’s headache, have all been wiped out, and some of the evidence that could be used as your leash has been burned. Now, no particular evidence to impeach you will come out of the city.”

“Uh….”

The longer I spoke, the more bizarre the magistrate’s expression became.

A face that said, ‘What on earth is this person?’ I looked at the magistrate and slowly continued.

“The first person I formed a connection with in this city was you. And the only person I have to talk to is you. What help would it be to me to get rid of you? I would have to negotiate all over again.”

“…What do you want from me?”

What do I want?

Of course, I want the rights to my trade network to be guaranteed in Tulung City, and I also want to put a leash on the magistrate.

“Full cooperation. If so, I will be your backer.”

I continued in a benevolent voice.

“How about it? Ah, and don’t worry about the remaining evidence. I will be carefully storing ‘some’ of it.”

And.

-Tiriring!

[The Magistrate of Tulung City follows you. You have become the behind-the-scenes ruler of Tulung City. This will be of great help when you eventually conquer this great city.]

My proposal was, of course, a success.

* * *

After winning over the magistrate, everything that had been blocked proceeded in an instant.

The magistrate, through the city council, expressed his intention to actively participate in the relay trade network I had envisioned.

From now on, merchant guilds bearing the token I provided would receive enormous tax benefits in Tulung City, being exempted from customs duties.

At the same time, I received a promise that Tulung City would support my army’s supplies until the end of the subjugation, so I had received a very handsome reward.

“Hmm…. You really have the makings of a lord. A lord. That cunning art of governance is excellent. Grabbing a weakness and shaking it to reap benefits.”

“…I’m afraid someone might hear, Magician Agpiel. And that is a compliment, right?”

“Of course.”

I couldn’t help but burst into laughter at Magician Agpiel’s nonchalant demeanor.

“By the way, are we just waiting for the Prince-elector of Bohemia now?”

“Yes. We decided to gather here to strike the Kingdom of Aragon. The war will be over soon, and we can return to the domain, Magician Agpiel.”

“Aigoo…. I really hope it ends soon. Now that I’m old, it’s quite tiring to wander around the battlefield for a long time.”

Magician Agpiel said, patting his lower back. In fact, even I, who was young, was getting tired, so it must be even harder for the elderly Magician Agpiel.

‘Hmm…. I should rest well for a while when I return to the domain this time.’

Why were there so many excursions?

I should just focus on tending to my domain while preparing for the Great Famine.

And as I was thinking that.

“Your Excellency. An envoy has arrived.”

“An envoy?”

An unexpected guest had arrived, not the one I was waiting for.

“Yes. It is an envoy sent by the Emperor. He is currently at the city council, and the magistrate has requested that we receive him together.”

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