novelraw Chapter 162 : Chapter 162
Chapter 162 : Chapter 162
Chapter : 162
“She is a truly beautiful woman. Since when did you know such a woman? And she is asking to meet you too?! Hahaha.”
“Meeeeee. My lorrrrd. You are capable. Meheheheheh.”
The moment the conversation ended, Magician Agpiel and Bishop Marco the goat beastman wore very sly, knowing smiles.
“…….”
Of course, as the one listening, I could only feel dumbfounded.
“That woman is Princess Maceania whom we met last time, and…. she is the Duke of Aquitaine now, though…?”
“I heard that too. She has a very lofty status. But what does that matter? You two looked quite close. Hahaha.”
“Meeeeee. That is right. Wise sirrrr. Is spring finally coming to our lorrrrd? Mehrrrrr.”
“It is not bad. And she is the Duke of Aquitaine, and also of royal blood, so if you are bound by blood, it will help our lord too.”
Good grief… what were they even talking about?
They were spreading their wings of imagination with bizarre expectations.
Since when had the two of them matched so well? They were clicking together so perfectly it was ridiculous.
“That is not what it is, Magician Agpiel.”
“Iiiis that so?”
“Meheheheheh. My lorrrrd. You are a shy one. Mee.”
“…You should stop spouting nonsense too.”
My head throbbed on its own. Leaving the two of them still grinning behind me, I tried to leave.
But even that was not easy.
“Oh, I greet the pious Margrave, Your Excellency! I am from the kingdom’s western….”
“Your Excellency the Margrave! I have heard a great deal about you. I am a representative of the city council of Bbyultung….”
“Praise before God! I greet the performer of miracles. I greet Your Excellency from the order.”
At some point, countless guests began to surround me. Today…. it seemed I was not going to be resting any time soon.
---
In the depths of the capital, Parsiorum.
The Duke of Bourgogne entered his villa under the escort of knights.
The king of the Elang Kingdom had invited him to the annex palace, but the Duke of Bourgogne was not someone who would stupidly and innocently go there.
In all matters of the world, there was such a thing as the worst-case scenario, was there not? No matter how much nobles screamed about honor, once they were cornered, they would throw away their dignity and act cowardly.
Therefore, the Duke of Bourgogne had no intention of taking such a risk.
He had far too many dependents, and his own ambition was far too great.
-CREEEAK!
-THUD!
The heavy door closed.
Now there were no outsiders in this room. There were only the Duke of Bourgogne’s confidants and his sons.
That was why the Duke of Bourgogne relaxed and leaned back in his chair.
“So, how did what you looked into turn out? Is it true that the king intends to move exactly as he said?”
When the king first said he would open the Estates-General, the Duke of Bourgogne had doubted his own ears.
An Estates-General after eight years!
He could not help thinking the king had finally tucked his tail. But after learning what lay beneath it, he did not feel good at all.
“Yes, Father. The king is truly trying to adjust interest by law.”
It was plain to see that the king was not tucking his tail, but pulling a trick.
-BANG!
Then Sir Charles, the eldest, who had been listening to the second brother’s words at his side, flared up in anger.
“Father! This is a truly ridiculous move. Isn’t it obvious that he is trying to shake us nobles?”
The people who borrowed money were usually nobles.
Banquets, jousting tournaments, and war…. Were there not many places where money had to go?
Living as a noble meant living on top of debt.
But he was going to adjust the interest that was paid as the price for that debt?
It was truly a perfect way to win the favor of nobles.
“This is the king’s provocation. Stop it instead! And would not the merchants who sponsor us within our territory suffer enormous losses?”
“Is that so?”
It was a reasonable point.
But I did not like it.
It was obvious that his emotions still came first. A leader, from the start, had to escape emotion and look at the situation with cold reason….
“Tsk.”
The Duke of Bourgogne clicked his tongue in regret. Then he opened his mouth to the second son, Gertman, who had been bowing his head as if he were dead.
“Second. What do you think?”
“Y, yes?”
Second son Gertman, who had only been listening quietly, was startled.
This had never happened until now.
He had only played the role of receiving orders and carrying them out. He had never spoken his thoughts on his own. He had never been trained to do that either.
That was only for the eldest.
Was it not only Brother Charles’s?
But.
“What? Do you have nothing to say too? Do you think the same?”
At the sight of his father, the Duke of Bourgogne, glaring fiercely, Gertman’s hidden inner thoughts slipped out without him realizing it.
“N, no. I think a little differently than my brother.”
“Oh, do you?”
“What?”
He heard Brother Charles’s voice from the side, sounding displeased, but Gertman could not stop. Now that it had come to this, he could not back down.
“I, I think it is better for us to follow the king’s proposal as it is.”
“Why?”
“The Estates-General is an official place, is it not? All nobles and citizens in the kingdom will learn what is discussed there…. I do not think we need to step forward and be hated. If we are to beat the king, we ultimately need the support of the nobles.”
“Oho. Then what will you do about the complaints of the merchants who support us? Surely you do not plan to crush them with force while thinking they are mere merchants?”
Once again, the Duke of Bourgogne fixed his stern gaze on Second son Gertman.
Even as he shrank back, Gertman still asserted his opinion with a certain boldness.
“Even if the Estates-General decides it and the king issues a royal edict, aren’t we the ones who enforce it?”
“Yes, each regional lord will handle it as they see fit. Managing a domain is ultimately a lord’s inherent authority.”
“Then we can render it meaningless.”
“Meaningless?”
“Yes, Father. If the punishment for violations is very mild, wouldn’t such a royal edict become meaningless? If we explain that part to the merchants behind the scenes and soothe them well, there will be no complaints at all. Even if we merely stay still, it will be a great benefit to us.”
“Hmmm….”
After he finished, silence fell in the room for a moment.
Gertman worried that perhaps he had said the wrong thing. But then.
“Uwahahahahat!”
When the Duke of Bourgogne’s pleasant laughter burst out, Gertman realized his words had been right.
“You brat. That is right. There is no need for us to step forward and be cursed. Rather, the king is taking the lead and receiving the merchants’ curses for us, so why would we stop him? When you wage war, you need money. Merchants are absolutely necessary.”
With a satisfied smile, the Duke of Bourgogne said that.
He had been frustrated for a long time, but it felt like his shoulders, which had been heavy, finally became lighter.
“It is an excellent opinion.”
Of course, Second son Gertman, who was receiving this praise, felt a bit worried.
His eldest brother came to mind in an instant. Sure enough, Charles was looking at him with a hardened expression. And there was wariness mixed in that gaze.
‘Ah, damn….’
Cold sweat trickled down Gertman’s back.
“Th-that…. I only said what you always say, Father. My brother already knew that too. He was just a little angry and spoke peevishly. Isn’t that right? In fact, didn’t you and I talk about this first?”
“Ah, uh…. That is right. My brother and I already talked about it. Haha. Father.”
“Did you?”
The way he answered in a fluster was not quite right. But the Duke of Bourgogne soon put aside his suspicion.
“Well, that must be it. You two often talk, after all.”
Only then did Charles’s complexion improve. Thanks to that, Second son Gertman let out a sigh of relief.
What a relief.
It seemed his brother’s wariness had eased a lot.
‘Damn it. This is all because of the Margrave of Bellua….’
Ever since the Margrave of Bellua had provoked him, his brother’s wariness had been growing sharper by the day. And without realizing it, he had begun to feel curiosity about domain affairs as well.
‘Curiosity is forbidden….’
If he ended up fighting his brother for power, would that not be an outright catastrophe?
Anyway, the Margrave of Bellua was never helpful.
And as things flowed like this…. he ended up unable to say something he should have considered important.
That was.
‘How will the Margrave of Bellua move? Could this also have been an agreement with the king?’
The Margrave of Bellua’s suspicious movements. If the Margrave of Bellua and the king of the Elang Kingdom were holding hands and pushing this forward…. the blade of this edict might not be aimed at merchants.
For example….
‘The Crusader Knight Order!’
A group that played at moneylending despite being clergy. They were, in every way, a target that perfectly fit the goal. It would create a justification, and everyone would be happy to cut them down.
“Why are you like that?”
“N-no, it is nothing.”
But Second son Gertman could not bring himself to say it and had no choice but to gloss over his thoughts.
If he said more, the brotherly bond would be completely broken….
‘It is just needless worry. Yes, it must be needless worry.’
That was why Second son Gertman could only think like this.
---
-DING-DING!
[Someone connected to you has ranked up.]
[Your influence has awakened a person. Will that person be hostile to you? Will they be friendly? Whether you like it or not, you have now become a being who influences others. Be careful. Like a coin, everything has two sides.]
[Prestige increases by 5.]
[Fame increases by 5.]
‘Hmmm?’
What was this alarm all of a sudden? But I did not have time to care about it.
“Welcome. Sir Margrave of Bellua. Thank you for accepting my invitation, which may have been rude.”
“Rude? Of course I had to come.”
It was because I was having the meeting I had promised with Duchess Maceania of Aquitaine last time.
“Of course…. That is a very pleasant thing to hear.”
Duchess Maceania of Aquitaine lifted the corner of her lips slightly at my words and tipped her head.
“To be honest, between us, we do not need trivial embellishments or noble rhetoric, do we?”
“Hm. If we go straight to the point, I am glad as well.”
-CLAP!
“Good. I knew it.”
A character that did not fit the era of [Pangea Universalise] at all. I calmly waited for Duchess Maceania of Aquitaine to speak.
“Like the advice you gave last time…. I want to hear your advice again this time. You told me to change the board, right? But regrettably, I cannot think of many ways to change the board in this matter.”
And those words were not very different from what I had expected.
‘As I thought.’
But then.
“I received a proposal from the Catalia Kingdom. They want a marriage alliance. But what should I do? I do not want to go through with this marriage. What should I do? Could you tell me a good way?”
“……?”
That content was somewhat outside what I had expected.
Was she asking for marriage counseling now…?