Chapter 37 – Fortress (2)
News of the sudden movents of the Foltaine Marquisate reached Narakas as well.
“Is this true?”
Narakas asked in a stern voice.
Standing before him was a mber of the continent’s most renowned intelligence organization, the Mask of Night.
“Yes, sir!”
Codenad Green No. 4.
Ben answered in a rigid posture.
He was already tense.
After all, the head of the Mask of Night personally ca here.
Hiding his identity.
That happened a few days ago.
But now, Narakas was asking him questions directly, despite Ben’s insignificance.
“Hey, Greenie. Do you want to die?”
“Pardon?”
……But today, he seed in a particularly bad mood.
“There’s sothing I’ve heard.”
“Heard sothing, sir……?”
“I’ve known for a while that the core noble faction, including the Foltaine Marquis, was plotting sothing, but…”
Even without hearing the rest of his sentence, Ben felt a sense of unease.
“They’ve been preparing secretly for so long, and now they’re acting so aggressively because a few spies were captured?”
“……!”
As Narakas muttered to himself, Ben beca certain.
‘The head is testing .’
Ben considered himself to be an ambitious person.
So, he had to demonstrate his ability here.
“I-In my personal opinion, this might be the prelude to a civil war they’ve been preparing for a long ti.”
“What do you an?”
“As you know well, sir, coups have often been carried out suddenly and unexpectedly like this……”
“But dismissing it as rely ‘unexpected’ would overlook the fact that they’ve defied a royal order, wouldn’t it?”
“……As you said, the faction including the king of the Hart. Kingdom must be in great confusion by now.”
“Oh. So, the real goal is internal chaos?”
“Yes!”
Shiver.
Ben trembled as he answered.
He worried his speculation might be wrong.
But his concern was needless.
“For a Greenie, you’ve got a good head on your shoulders.”
“Thank you!”
Ben’s face lit up brightly behind his mask.
“Anyway, the Arsene Count’s house must be in trouble too. While we know this, that bastard……”
“……?”
“……Ahem. From the perspective of the prince of the eke Duchy, who’s hiding his identity.”
Ben’s eyes shone at that mont.
To reiterate, he was ambitious.
A beast constantly seeking opportunities to gain rit.
‘A competent subordinate should understand what their superior is implying.’
With this thought, Ben spoke up.
“I will pass on the information we’ve just gathered to the Count’s house as well!”
“What? Why would you do that?”
“Pardon? We were commissioned to provide information for the upcoming war……”
“Hey, you idiot. This is just our speculation. Just convey the fact that the noble faction is preparing a coup. Why are you trying to reveal everything, even down to the last detail? Do you want to hand over your underwear as well?”
Wh-What?
Wasn’t the head fond of that prince?
‘I-I’m sure it seed that way?’
The fact that the head personally engaged in the deal.
And that he revealed the location of the Great Hero’s tomb.
These processes clearly demonstrated the emotion of ‘fondness’.
“If left alone, you’d ruin a certain soone’s business. Hey, do you want to be demoted to Yellow?”
“Gasp! I-I’ll correct my actions!”
“Co to think of it, it was you, right?”
“Pardon? Y-You an……?”
“The one who got the information about the colorless mask from that guy.”
Crack.
Suddenly, the head started cracking his knuckles.
A sight Ben found increasingly incomprehensible.
“Forget it, just take a beating for now.”
“Pardon……?”
Things were taking a strange turn.
Things were going well, so why……?
“Co here.”
“H-Head? Ahh!”
Smack!
After that, Ben was beaten senselessly without knowing why.
For quite so ti.
***
Count Arsene’s training ground.
“I-I can’t go on. My muscles are screaming. If I keep this up, I’ll really die……”
“Mother…… are you well? I’m doing fine…… H-Huh? Mother? Is that you……?”
“……Damn it.”
Harun and Kirian reacted in turn.
Gasping for breath, Jan cursed as he sprang to his feet.
Of course, it was right after he had finished his given training.
His whole body was already drenched in sweat.
“aningless physical labor at a ti like this. We should be learning new techniques, not this……”
“……Ugh. Just stop complaining and do as you’re told.”
“What?”
“You said you wanted to get stronger. This is what you asked for. Grit your teeth and endure it.”
Jan glared at Kirian as he spoke.
“You’ve got an interesting personality these days. You couldn’t even look in the eye before.”
“Thanks to soone. Anyway, the results speak for themselves, don’t they?”
“Results?”
“The honored guest is younger than us but is already an expert. That’s a rare achievent to find even in the whole continent. Even the prodigies of the Empiren aren’t on that level. That’s why you ca here on your own, didn’t you?”
“Grr……”
Only then did Jan bite his lip.
As annoying as it was, he couldn’t deny a single word.
If not for the current situation, he would have followed without complaint.
“Don’t be impatient and just follow along. Harun here has only been learning the sword for less than a month.”
“……What? Less than a month? Is that true?”
Jan had been observing their training closely for the past few days.
Of course, he also noticed Harun’s rapidly improving skills.
“Well, it’s true……”
Harun smiled awkwardly.
Jan swallowed hard at this confirmation.
‘It seed like he had been training for years at least……’
No.
It wasn’t just because his teacher was excellent.
No matter how good the soil is.
If the seed is poor, the flowers that bloom will be insignificant.
‘That ans that guy’s talent is extraordinary too.’
Jan had to acknowledge the honored guest again.
Not only was he a peerless expert, but he also had an exceptional eye for talent.
At such a young age.
‘……There’s a lot to learn. I need to watch more closely from his side.’
Even though his mother had passed away, Jan intended to honor her will.
She had always wanted him to beco the head of the family.
“To be honest, Jan, I’m envious of you.”
“What? Kirian, what are you saying out of the blue?”
“The swordsmanship that’s the very foundation of our family. The honored guest recognized that it suits you more than .”
“……!”
Jan’s eyes widened.
“The honored guest also felt that you are more suitable as the successor than soone like .”
“You……?”
“Well, you don’t need to console . I never had a big desire for the head position anyway.”
Kirian spoke with a genuinely relieved expression.
“Because I already have a new dream.”
“……A dream?”
“As soon as this bad blood with the Foltaine Marquis is settled, I plan to leave the territory.”
“……!”
It was sothing Jan hadn’t expected at all.
“If I stay here, it will only increase internal strife, won’t it?”
“……”
Jan couldn’t deny those words.
History tells so.
It’s better for the loser to leave aptly.
Whether outside the territory or to the afterlife.
“If only Father would permit it, I would beco a free knight and roam the continent with Harun and the honored guest.”
“……Are you planning to run away before even fighting?”
“No. I’m trying to uphold my mother’s wishes.”
“……!”
Jan’s single remaining eye widened.
Though their paths were different, their goals were the sa, weren’t they?
‘Even if we’re half-brothers…… Perhaps brothers are brothers.’
Jan let out a defeated sigh.
“You wished for my happiness. But in my happiness, there’s no place for the position of family head.”
“……HaHahaha!”
“……Jan?”
Kirian tilted his head in confusion as Jan burst into laughter.
‘Mother. He’s always been like this from the start. Just what were we afraid of, bullying him so much?’
Regret and self-reproach surged through him.
“Have you gone crazy all of a sudden?”
“……Hahaha. Yeah, I’ve gone mad, my cowardly brother.”
“……!”
Kirian’s eyes widened.
It was the first ti he heard the word ‘brother.’
A smile soon appeared on his face as well.
“Yeah. I am a coward.”
“It’s a pity. If we had competed to the end, I would have made you wet your pants.”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, but if we had competed to the end, you would’ve been the one wetting your pants.”
“Even with your newfound personality, you still talk the sa nonsense.”
“Heh.”
Both of them finally burst into laughter.
Just then.
“Isn’t that brat truly insane?”
“Just waiting here…… I’ve never seen such a reckless kid in my life.”
“Shouldn’t we pull out before it’s too late?”
“I’m really worried about the lord. How can he trust that brat’s words……?”
The sound of noisy conversation reached their ears.
Imdiately, the three of them looked puzzled.
“What’s that?”
“……It’s the retainers.”
A eting had just ended.
The retainers who had left the lord’s chamber first were venting their pent-up frustrations.
From the overheard conversation, the three could guess what had transpired inside.
“……Even so, how can they talk so carelessly without the person in question present?”
Kirian was furrowing his brow in displeasure, when suddenly.
Step.
“……Jan?”
Jan walked towards them without hesitation.
“Oh? Young master!”
The retainers greeted him with delighted faces.
They had always regarded Jan as the only rightful heir.
“How have you all been?”
“Goodness. You’ve grown so much, young master. I’m sure you must be worried, too.”
“Worried? Not at all. Thanks to your help, I’m able to train comfortably.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll do our best to support you, young master. Just leave it to us!”
It was almost a perfunctory exchange.
Jan smiled imdiately.
“Then, I’ll be counting on you for this war as well.”
“Ah……?”
“I feel very reassured. With such excellent retainers leading the charge, who would dare encroach on our count’s territory?”
“……”
A sudden, tense silence fell.
The retainers exchanged awkward glances and forced smiles.
“Young Master Jan. You’ve always been prickly on the outside, but secretly considerate, haven’t you?”
“……No. This is the first ti I’m seeing him like this.”
Harun and Kirian, who were watching the conversation from afar, were equally bewildered.
Albeit for completely different reasons.
***
Now, only the Count of Arsene and I remained in the eting room.
The Count imdiately spoke.
“Now, tell .”
“Pardon? What do you an?”
“I know. I understand what you’re thinking.”
“Excuse ?”
“You didn’t fully explain your plan because you were worried there might be a spy among the retainers, right?”
“……?”
I was even more puzzled.
“No?”
“Huh?”
“I ant it when I said we should wait.”
“……”
Count Arsene stared at for a long ti, as if trying to discern the truth of my words.
Then, suddenly.
Quiver.
His mustache began to tremble slightly.
“You fool!”
“Ah, you startled !”
“You laid all the groundwork with your grand talk about three reasons and whatnot, and for what? Just wait? That’s it?!”
“Sir. Calm down first……”
“Calm down, my foot!”
The voice of Count of Arsene grew louder.
“I’ll go to the palace right now! At the very least, I’ll request support from the royalist faction!”
“That won’t do.”
“What do you an, it won’t do! Those lunatics defied a royal decree. They are traitors! In such a situation, His Majesty would surely send reinforcents!”
I interrupted the Count.
“That’s not it. I’m saying that it would be useless.”
“What nonsense are you spouting now?”
“Do you still not understand? The Marquis of Foltaine declared war without any justification and started a full-scale conflict. Why do you think that is?”
Count Arsene trembled.
“……Are you saying they have another ulterior motive?”
“They want to draw all the attention here. It’s a precursor to a full-scale civil war, a ‘coup d’état’.”
“……!”
The Count’s eyes widened.
“A…… coup d’état?”
“They intend to accelerate their plans before we can prove their connection to the Empire and before the royalist faction can strengthen their defenses. They aim to crush the ‘enemy’ with overwhelming force.”
This would also boost the morale of their soldiers.
“If the Count’s house falls, or even before that, the enraged King will issue a new royal decree to arrest the traitors.”
“Th-Then?”
“Yes. When internal chaos reaches its peak, that’s when the coup d’état will happen.”
The Count’s eyes twitched.
“This is another opportunity for the Marquis of Foltaine.”
“An opportunity?”
“That’s how war is. High risk, high reward. Leading the charge involves sacrifices, but later on, they can claim the most s
ignificant rewards during the post-war ritorious service assessnts.”
Having said this, I slowly stood up.
The Count, already in shock, remained completely frozen.
“But, if we manage to stop them decisively, what do you think will happen afterward?”
Reviews
All reviews (0)