Chapter 227: It’s Ti for to Claim Everything (1)
“The Young Lord has arrived!”
“The position of the Second Young Lord has been secured!”
“Reports indicate the Third Young Lord has just entered the castle!”
“The Fourth Young Lord is expected to arrive soon…”
“The Fifth Young Lord…”
Alia frowned as her subordinates reported the situation in real ti.
“He certainly fathered a disgustingly large number of children.”
Alia and her subordinates were currently gathered in a mansion near the lord’s castle.
Today marked the occasion of a grand banquet. It was a day when the heirs of the estate and its key figures would all gather.
For this reason, Alia had chosen today as the day for her decisive move—a chance to eliminate any who might resist her.
However, the sheer number of children her father had sired made it a daunting task to monitor them all. Naturally, this situation was driving her to irritation.
Clicking her tongue as she furrowed her brow, Alia turned to Bernarf and asked, “What about Ghislain’s movents?”
“The last report indicated he was enjoying the banquet with the other heirs across the estates.”
“Hmph, I suppose he feels quite relaxed now that he has plenty of food and land.”
Thanks to Ghislain, Alia had managed to secure a massive stockpile of food. She had followed his seemingly reckless plan, despite anticipating losses, and that gamble had paid off spectacularly.
Still, she hadn’t been able to determine whether Ghislain’s success was purely due to luck or actual skill.
After all, the idea of predicting the weather and stockpiling food seed absurd. The intention behind the stockpile must have been sothing else entirely.
That said, his move to start a war during the drought had been brilliant. If he had lost, it would have spelled disaster, but his swift victory had turned the tables.
‘That part, at least, was skill. I have to admit it.’
Looking at what he had gained, it was clear he wasn’t soone to be underestimated.
‘The Runestone, the iron ore—those are mine. They were always ant to be mine.’
Once she secured Raypold, she knew she’d inevitably have to confront Ghislain. To achieve her goals, she needed what he had.
She had to obtain them before Harold could, ensuring her path to the next step.
For that reason, Alia had been paying close attention to Ghislain’s movents ever since he claid the Cabaldi County.
“Still, I have to admit he’s done a favor in so ways.”
Although Ghislain’s actions had caused her so losses, the benefits she reaped thanks to him were significant.
Ghislain had inflicted substantial damage on Harold as well, allowing Alia to seize authority and plan her rebellion at the mont of her choosing.
“And it feels great to see Harold suffer.”
A cold smile spread across her lips.
After all, she intended to suppress all of them eventually. With Ghislain and Harold weakening each other through their conflict, things couldn’t have turned out better for her.
‘Anyone who gets in my way will be crushed by force.’
To claim the Raypold estate, Alia had prepared extensively for today’s decisive operation.
She brushed aside thoughts of Ghislain and Harold for now and turned to Bernarf.
“What about the other retainers?”
“There are no issues. We’ve secured their positions and are also monitoring their families.”
“Good. Then all we need to do is wait for the right ti. Everything is ready, correct?”
Bernarf was the first to bow his head and respond.
“The escort knights and soldiers are fully prepared.”
Next, a middle-aged man with a cold deanor, clad in a gray robe, bowed his head.
“We’re ready.”
This man was Caleb, the leader of the Wildcat Smuggling Syndicate, who had previously attacked Ghislain.
“Our boys are ready too!”
A burly and intimidating man grinned widely as he spoke loudly.
This was Vulcan, a notorious bandit once feared across the North and known as the “Ruthless Butcher.” He carried a massive iron club and took twisted pleasure in beating people to death with it.
Conrad, the leader of the Actium rchant Guild, was next to bow his head.
“Our rchant guild’s ard forces are ready as well.”
Several other leaders of various factions followed suit, bowing their heads to signal their readiness.
These were all individuals Alia had recruited and nurtured over a long period.
Alia looked around at them and briefly closed her eyes.
“It begins now.”
From the mont she had set her sights on her goal, she had steadily prepared, step by step.
Originally, she had intended to be even more thorough in her preparations. However, Ghislain’s actions had forced her to accelerate her plans. His rampage had complicated matters, disrupting Harold’s plans to unify the North entirely.
“Still, it’s not bad.”
Plans were, after all, just signposts. They could and should adapt to changing circumstances.
What truly mattered was achieving the ultimate goal.
Perhaps Bernarf, seeing Alia’s mont of reflection, felt a hint of concern. He cautiously spoke from beside her.
“My lady… Once you begin, there will be no turning back.”
Alia slowly opened her eyes and replied.
“I know.”
She wasn’t acting purely out of ambition or greed. Those close to her knew the deeper convictions she harbored in her heart.
“Even after obtaining Raypold, the road will remain difficult. The Northern lords and nobles won’t recognize you as the Countess of Raypold. Such a thing has never happened in the long history of this kingdom.”
“This kind of thing has happened often. It’s just that no woman has ever done it before.”
“Indeed. For that reason, people will slander you as a villainess, a witch. You’ll lose all the reputation and honor you’ve built up until now.”
“That doesn’t matter. What others think of is irrelevant.”
“But as our notoriety grows, the entire world will beco our enemy. We’ll live our lives fighting a lonely battle. Not just against other lords and nobles but also against people’s prejudices. Perhaps… this fight may never truly end.”
“…That was sothing I was prepared for from the beginning.”
“If you stop now… you could live a comfortable life as the daughter of a Great Lord, praised for your grace and elegance as a noble. You would never have to worry about anything.”
“That kind of life has no aning for . I don’t want to live like a bird trapped in a cage.”
“If we fail… we won’t et a gentle end.”
“No, we will succeed.”
With those words, Alia closed her eyes once more.
Even soone as bold as her couldn’t help but feel nervous in the face of such a monuntal task.
She cald herself for a mont and recalled the past.
All the events that had shaped her into the person she was now.
— “What? You want to distribute more food to the people of the estate? You think that will make the land more prosperous? Ha-ha-ha! Such brazen words from a re girl. Did you steal lessons in rulership from sowhere?”
— “Listen well. The people of the estate are nothing more than pigs and dogs. Keeping them alive, just barely, is enough. That is how our family and our land will thrive.”
— “A woman ddling in politics? Ridiculous. Stop acting so insolent and focus on preparing for marriage like the other noble ladies. You are nothing.”
Her father’s reaction was always the sa: utterly pathetic. He couldn’t even begin to think about what truly mattered in governing people.
And it wasn’t just her father. The retainers were no different.
— “Strengthening alliances between families is your duty, my lady. Your role is to marry well, nothing more. It’s ti to stop reading those useless books.“
— “The more serfs we have, the more prosperous our estate becos. That is a given. What more rights could you possibly want to grant them? Even as things stand, we are better off than the other estates in the North. This is already an act of generosity.“
— “We are a Great Estate. That ans the way we’ve always done things is correct. It will remain so in the future.“
—“ My lady, do not speak of such ideas out loud. Do not stir unnecessary trouble. You are a woman. Not an heir to the family. You are nothing.“
“Nothing.”
Why had that word pierced her so deeply?
Why had everyone said such things to her?
Why had they all been so quick to declare that she was incapable of anything?
— “Swear loyalty to the Ducal Family, and I will make you the master of Raypold.“
— “You’ll live a life of luxury and comfort. But that’s where it ends. Don’t waste your breath trying to change the world.“
— “Don’t forget, Alia. You are rely a noble’s daughter. Without us, you are nothing.“
Even the Ducal Family that supported her spoke to her like this. The mory brought a wry smile to her lips.
“Nothing,” huh…
“Pardon? What do you an by that?”
Bernarf, who had been standing nearby, looked at her with a puzzled expression at her sudden words.
Still keeping her eyes closed, Alia shook her head with a faint smile.
“No, it’s nothing.”
Yes, those words… truly ant nothing at all.
Creak…
The doors to the hall where they were gathered slowly opened, and the head maid who served Alia entered.
“M-my lady…”
Her voice trembled as she spoke. The weight of countless gazes bearing down on her made it hard to breathe.
The head maid had encountered many nobles and knights in her lifeti, but she had never seen people as fearso as those gathered here tonight.
So were tidy, others unkempt. So looked brutish, while others exuded an eerie calm.
Despite their outward differences, their eyes all bore the sa expression:
a resolute determination to drench this estate in blood tonight.
The head maid closed her eyes tightly and addressed Alia, who sat at the most prominent seat of honor. Her voice still quivered.
“The banquet… has begun.”
At those words, Alia slowly opened her eyes.
Having steeled herself completely, her voice erged, chillingly cold.
“Refined honor, immortal loyalty, familial glory, and blood ties—these have all lost their aning within . From now on, I will act solely for my cause. Before that, neither rank nor virtue matters, neither the good nor the wicked, nor even the systems and customs that uphold this world.”
After taking a mont to catch her breath, she gazed at everyone around her and continued.
“Any being that stands in my way will be broken, killed, and burned. Mark my words: from this mont on, my cause is the only justice, and it is the sole purpose for which you must stake your lives.”
To fight against absurdity, one must beco absurd. Alia had decided to beco a monster herself.
She would trample everything and remake the world into the one she desired.
Even if it ant burning the entire kingdom to ashes.
Hearing her unyielding resolve, Bernarf lowered himself onto one knee and spoke.
“I will follow you to the end, my lady.”
At that, everyone else in the room also dropped to one knee and declared in unison.
“We will follow you to the end!”
Alia’s eyes shone fiercely as she looked at them.
With a voice filled with unwavering conviction, she declared the beginning of the grand endeavor.
“Now, it is ti for to claim everything.”
* * *
Nyaaang.
A sleek, gray cat nad Bastet treaded through the deep darkness, making its way toward the Lord’s Castle of Raypold.
The people on the streets hurriedly stepped aside with fearful faces whenever Bastet passed by.
It wasn’t the cat that frightened them—it was the people following behind it that struck fear into their hearts.
Nyaaang.
With each step the cat took, the number of followers grew. So joined from where they stood in the streets, while others erged from mansions along the way.
Their attire varied widely. So were cloaked in gray robes, others were dressed like bandits, and still others appeared to be knights and soldiers in proper uniforms, equipped for battle.
With every new follower, the number of torches illuminating the night streets also increased.
What started as a small group steadily swelled until it had grown into a gathering of several hundred.
At the forefront of this crowd, leading them all, was none other than Alia.
The cat, which had been walking proudly ahead, stopped when it reached the Lord’s Castle and rubbed its face affectionately against its master’s leg.
“Stop right there!”
The guard captain stationed at the front of the Lord’s Castle shouted loudly.
Today was the day of an important banquet. No troops could move without prior approval.
But the sudden appearance of such a large force left the guard captain baffled.
‘What is this? How did such a large force gather so close to the Lord’s Castle? What were the watchn doing?’
There hadn’t been a single report from the city’s watchn, even as this sizable group approached the castle gates. The air was undeniably tense. Sothing was clearly amiss.
The guard captain, suppressing his growing anxiety, addressed the person standing at the forefront of the group.
“My lady, aside from a minimal escort, ard forces are not permitted inside the castle. Please disband your troops and proceed to the banquet.”
Alia did not respond to his request. Instead, with a graceful motion, she extended her hand forward and spoke a single word.
“Remove them.”
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