novelraw Chapter 103
Chapter 103
Chapter 103
Day 3 of the meeting.
I wasn't even looking forward to it anymore.
It would probably fizzle out again after bickering like yesterday.
To be honest, I just wanted to call this stupid meeting off and return to my territory.
“Then we'll station defensive troops here in ‘Saint.’”
At least one proposal had reached a point of agreement.
To garrison defensive forces in the neutral city of Saint.
Each Great Lord would pull a few troops and they decided to firmly bolster Saint's defenses.
If this place were to be captured it would be a disaster for everyone, so there was no opposition to that part.
‘But this ultimately meant abandoning the Levelium region.’
It also meant that the Lord of Haken, who had insisted on advancing into Levelium, had finally backed down.
‘Still, since they're saying they'll defend this place, the Steward can't do anything about it.’
It looked like this meeting would be wrapped up roughly at that point.
“C—crisis. Knights of the Empire have come here.”
But then.
Something unexpected happened.
Knights of the Empire had come to Saint in person.
Claiming to be the rightful rulers of the Levelium region, the Empire's knights announced they would state their position directly at this Lord's Council.
They said it was a visit of good faith, that they would attend the council unarmed.
It was a completely unforeseen incident.
“What on earth is this now.”
About two hundred Empire knights had gathered here, or so they said.
And three of their knights would attend the meeting in person.
The rest were waiting outside the castle.
Since only three of them had declared they'd attend the meeting unarmed, it was awkward to flat-out refuse.
“…Let's hear them out for now. Even in wartime, envoys weren't harmed.”
“Right, let's hear what they have to blather about.”
“Heh, you live long enough and see everything.”
Starting with the Steward who led Saint, the other Great Lords also permitted the Empire men to attend.
They seemed curious to see what on earth the Empire was thinking and what they would say.
‘I am a little curious too. What are they thinking?’
Was this some kind of new provocation?
Claiming to be the rightful rulers of Levelium was already a joke.
—If they're Empire scum, they might actually believe that.
‘Really?’
—The Empire used to change territorial owners frequently. If their culture remained the same as before, it was plausible they'd think that way.
‘But still, isn't it a completely different country? This is seizing another country's territory, right?’
—Empire men probably wouldn't care about that.
Well, since they were the Empire, it would be typical of them.
“I am Octosia Deloson, Steward of the Katoren region of Katoren.”
“Katoren region?”
“We named the territory we seized Katoren.”
“Haha, these bastards really……”
A steward was an imperial office.
The vast Empire placed stewards above lords to manage several territories.
By our standards it was roughly equivalent to a Great Lord.
So after occupying the Levelium lands they had slapped on a new place name, Katoren?
The knight standing before me now was ruling that Katoren region.
Everyone was left speechless at the audacity of occupying another's territory and then changing its name as they pleased.
Truly the Empire.
This was apparently about average for them.
“Damn it, you cursed bastards!”
Some lords flared up, but nobody lunged at them.
They only glared angrily.
And for good reason—the three of them weren't a force to be taken lightly.
‘Three Masters. So they didn't come here without thinking.’
They had no weapons, but Masters were still Masters.
One of them in particular was someone I'd have to risk my life to face.
Only lords and their aides were admitted inside; the battle troops were all waiting outside the hall.
Among the active lords I was the only Master, so our combat strength was somewhat lacking.
There were at least two top-tier knights present who might help, but how much they would be able to contribute in this situation was uncertain.
‘If I summoned Unbreakable I could take advantage of the weapon edge, but three Masters would be hard to handle. I should have brought Leisha if I'd known.’
If Leisha had been here it would have been worth a try.
If we cleaned up these three, Levelium would be free for the taking, right?
Two hundred knights could be handled by Saint's forces somehow.
‘No, that might be reckless. If the lords were hurt or killed the atmosphere would turn sour.’
While I clicked my tongue in regret, sharp words flew back and forth in the council room.
Although the Empire knights at least used the kingdom tongue, awkwardly keeping a minimum of courtesy, their content was brazen.
“The Empire was destroyed, the kingdom was destroyed. We wanted safe land, and now that we've seized territory we have no intention of moving. We want peace.”
They claimed that having taken the Levelium land, they had no military movements planned.
“We seek trade. Anyone who wishes may trade with us. We have many good goods.”
As the rightful rulers of Levelium — no, of the Katoren region — they said any lord who wished could trade with them.
Of course, with appropriate compensation.
“So you intend to settle down completely on the plundered Levelium land?”
“This is not plunder. This is rightful rule.”
“Forcibly taking another lord's territory isn't rightful rule.”
It was the Lord of Haken who kept pressing Steward Octosia.
The other lords were watching for now.
Lord of Haken, who had been pushing hard to retake Levelium, seemed to plan to use this opportunity to gain the support of the other lords.
After all, the Empire had even changed the place name—an outrage that was highly insulting.
“It is rightful rule. The residents consented.”
“…What?”
But the other side hadn't come empty-handed either.
They produced dozens of consent forms recognizing Empire rule.
They said the previous lords had been driven away for oppressive rule and that the people wanted a new lord.
Each consent sheet carried dozens of signatures.
They claimed to have gathered signatures from at least thousands of people.
No matter how much Lord of Haken pressed, such documents shoved in his face would leave him flustered.
“Well……”
“You're not really going to believe that, are you?”
“No way. But it gives them a pretext.”
If it had been a proper feudal society, the consent of the residents would have meant nothing.
But it wasn't that kind of age anymore.
With no sovereign king to grant authority, public sentiment had become a fairly meaningful indicator.
‘If that was a legitimately made consent form, then fine.’
Those signatures could be forged any number of ways.
Besides, I couldn't tell whether they were signatures made under duress or of their own free will.
Most things were settled once someone waved a blade and threatened people.
‘But what could we do? For now, that was their justification.’
Even so, those consent forms served as a pretext.
Especially now, when most of the lords didn't want to march into Levelium, they mattered all the more.
‘Will it really stop here?’
They said they wanted peace — but would they truly?
From what I knew of the Empire, they'd buy time like that and then launch another offensive.
They were the kind of people who kept their distance from notions like harmony or peace.
‘I was all too familiar with that pattern.’
A classic divide-and-conquer tactic.
I knew it well. A neighbor to our north had repeated that kind of behavior for decades.
‘But if the atmosphere stayed like this…’
“Is that really so? Well, there were still many monsters, and in-fighting among humans would be premature.”
“If you had assurance you wouldn't expand your territory anymore.”
“If trade resumed like before, would it really be any different?”
Those who welcomed the Empire's proposal the most were the Deron Level faction.
They were fairly favorable.
Secretly, they had already given up on the Levelium region, so an offer to open trade wasn't entirely bad.
Actively retaking Levelium was a heavy burden, but it would also be unpleasant for the Vines faction to see Vines take the lead in trade.
In that situation, a new alternative had appeared, so there was no reason not to be pleased.
“Hmm, the Levelium region, huh.”
“I wasn't exactly seeking war….”
“If it ends up like this, nothing really improves, does it.”
“But we had effectively given up on the Levelium region.”
The Vines side showed a somewhat sour reaction.
The independence of the Levelium region had always been someone else’s affair, but the Empire opening trade made things proceed oddly.
That didn't mean they could now call for war.
The moment they tried to seize initiative, it would slip through their fingers.
Of course, they were satisfied at least that they wouldn't have to bleed for someone else's territory.
“Damn it. Has everyone grown flowers in their heads?”
Only Lord Haken looked strangely out of step.
It clearly wasn't right to me, but since the other Great Lords reacted that way, there was nothing he could do.
What could be done? This was a Lord's Council after all.
If we returned to our territories like this, that gentleman would surely be seriously ill at ease.
“Welcome, Steward Octosia. I am Deron Level. I hope you don't shatter this peace.”
“Royal blood? Was there still noble lineage on the Levela Peninsula?”
Deron Level reached out on Octosia's behalf as a representative.
Octosia clicked his tongue as if surprised to learn there were still royal bloodlines, and clasped his hand.
“We also loved peace.”
“Good. I'll trust you.”
It felt oddly staged.
Like watching a well-rehearsed play.
‘Deron Level. Very suspicious.’
Deron was the first to reach out and shake hands with the Empire men as if he represented this conference.
It was so natural that other lords found it awkward to butt in.
In fact, I had kept an eye on Deron Level and the New Level people from the moment the Empire appeared, and they hadn't been surprised at all.
Other lords within the New Level faction were quite taken aback, but Deron Level's close aides were not.
‘As if they had known all along.’
That man had, of all times, set off a major bomb at this meeting.
His ambition to become king and rule the entire Levela Peninsula might have been sincere, but there was no reason to proclaim it at this conference.
Instead the meeting had turned into a mess and dragged on.
His behavior was extremely enigmatic.
‘It was odd that a Level lord who knew very well that Vines monopolizing food would be disastrous would give up the Levelium region so readily.’
It made it seem like the Empire opening trade had been anticipated.
‘And the Empire, struggling to control their own territory, still bothered to attend this meeting. How did they even learn that such a meeting would be held?’
Someone had informed them about the Lord's Council.
And that someone was almost certainly Deron Level or one of his people.
Otherwise there was no explanation for this situation.
‘At least someone from New Level was connected to the Empire.’
But this wouldn't be a long-term partnership.
The Empire weren't the sort to maintain long alliances with anyone, and Deron Level also seemed to have other schemes.
Seeing those two groups shake hands made my head spin.
‘Not exactly the hour of dogs and wolves, but…’
It was dizzying.
I was reminded again that politics could never be absent from human history.
“Yuria. Could you keep an eye on Deron Level and his associates?”
“Heh, something feels off, doesn't it?”
“Everyone's probably sensing it, aren't they?”
“Well, not all lords were fools. I'll do my best. But don't expect anything grand.”
“Just check for any unusual activity. Tell me how New Level is moving.”
“Sure, I can do that.”
It seemed clear we would have to keep watching their movements from now on.
I had the feeling they'd try something, and we'd have to firmly stop it.