novelraw Chapter 187: Shadow Peace - Pride
Chapter 187: Shadow Peace - Pride
Episode 187. Shadow Peace - Pride
I held a simple disbanding ceremony, spoke briefly with those I couldn't meet during the war, and returned to my long-vacant mansion in the Capital City.
And there, I came face-to-face with a man I had not expected at all.
“It has been a long time, Marquis-nim!”
“Oh- It has been a long time, Baron Dumont.”
Robert de Dumont.
The pot-bellied man who had long served the House of the Marquis Lafayette, following his service to the House of the Count of Toulouse, greeted me in my mansion.
No, with his hair now so white, should I call him an old man?
Dumont answered with a smiling face.
“Haha, I am the former baron. My son is Baron Dumont now.”“Oh, did you pass on your title early?”
“Hehe, that's how it turned out. Though now it's a title with nothing but a mansion attached to it....”
Dumont laughed awkwardly, so I gave him a bitter smile in return.
...The attendant behind him is fidgeting; is it because he let a guest in without my permission?
Dumont, following my gaze, cleared his throat and protested.
“Ahem, ahem. Look here! What did I tell you! I told you this Dumont is on close terms with Marquis Lafayette! Why don't you believe me!”
“I-I apologize. I didn't realize you were a guest of the Marquis-nim....”
Even though the mansion is half-neglected, so many people want to connect with me, the Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Army, that he must have been suspicious of anyone claiming to be a guest.
It seems Dumont, having come from the south and not knowing the situation, stubbornly insisted he was a guest and stayed.
“Ah, it's fine. I will handle it.”
When I gestured to the attendant that it was alright and to withdraw, he bowed his head to me repeatedly and stepped back.
After coming to the Capital City, I've spent far more days on the battlefield than at the mansion, so I only kept one attendant....
This becomes a problem in a situation like this.
The attendant's expression is quite poor; it seems he suffered a great deal while I was away...
“Well, I apologize, Lord Dumont. I rarely stay in the Capital City, so I wasn't properly prepared to receive guests.”
Dumont beamed, as if he had never been cross with the attendant.
“No, not at all, Marquis-nim. One wouldn't be a citizen of Francia if they didn't know you have been moving from battlefield to battlefield for a long time to protect this country! Even in the Marquisate Domain, we are proud of your accomplishments!”
Though it's not a Marquisate Domain anymore.
“Haha, then this way....”
Instead of correcting his perception, I guided him to the drawing-room.
“I'll be staying in the Capital City for a while now, so I suppose I'll have to prepare for receiving guests.”
I've fought for so long, but now I'll have to adapt to an era of peace.
And the demons who intervened multiple times during that long war had all their efforts come to nothing, so can I expect them not to make any particular moves?
“If that's the case, how about purchasing a new mansion first? For the mansion of the Marquis, the Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Army, to be like this... your prestige....”
Dumont looked around my mansion with a displeased eye. It's a nobleman's mansion, so it has two floors, but it's not that large.
Most assemblymen live in better houses than I do.
Well, it's true I thought, 'What's the point of buying a good house when I won't be staying long anyway...'
I served Dumont the black tea he enjoys and, holding my coffee cup, I spoke.
“For now, I don't think it's particularly necessary. Though I might need to hire a butler for receiving guests.”
“Then hire me, Marquis-nim!”
Dumont shouted so suddenly that I almost spat out the coffee I was drinking.
“Keok, wh-what did you say?”
“I shall become your butler, Marquis-nim!”
Ah, no, even if you say you've relinquished your barony, why would you become my butler.
“What about your position as Governor of Toulouse?”
“I resigned!”
“What?!”
“Don't even ask! Can't you see my hair has turned completely white? The Marquisate Lafayette, ahem. No, the Toulouse region still has some system left thanks to you, Marquis-nim, but the central government, which lost all its officials in the revolution, was a complete mess! After cooperating with those folks to build the whole system, it was so taxing I couldn't do it anymore!”
“Heh heh....”
True, I didn't know much since I was moving from battlefield to battlefield, but the post-revolution central government operated in a very haphazard way, having gotten rid of all its bureaucrats at once.
Even so, it was a position I arranged for him after negotiating with the National Assembly....
I feel strange about it, but what can I do if he himself doesn't want it.
“No, but didn't you resign to rest comfortably now? Even if you have nothing to do, why my butler....”
At that, Dumont, with a frustrated face, thumped his chest with his fist and shouted with eyes that seemed to burn with fire.
“Marquis-nim, when on earth are you getting married!”
“Pardon?”
“At this rate, this old man will feel too guilty to face Lady Yuria to even die! I must quickly set you up with a fine young lady and see you continue the Lafayette family line!”
Faced with the pot-bellied old man's vigor, which most knights couldn't match, I laughed awkwardly and replied.
“I am engaged to Countess Aquitaine, but....”
“So when are you getting married? I know it was wartime, but both of you are nearing the end of your twenties with no news, so didn't I come all this way to help out myself! To break off an engagement and then postpone marriage until you're past the prime age, how outrageous-!”
No, even without him saying so, the war is over, and Louis has come of age.
All that's left is for Christine and Louis to decide.
“You don't have to worry so much, soon-”
“When is 'soon'! Everyone left at the Lafayette estate is waiting with bated breath! This will not do. This Dumont will stick right by your side and help you until the day you produce an heir, Marquis-nim!”
I sighed, watching the zealously chattering Dumont, his belly fat jiggling.
...Agh, my head.
...So this is more or less how Eris feels when she looks at the central party's assemblymen.
I never thought I'd form a bond of sympathy with Eris this way.
*
Pandemonium, the capital of Abyss Corporation.
Covered in a thick, murky violet fog, the city where the sun never rises is brightly lit as if it were midday, and humanoid Drones scurry about diligently.
Baal, the CEO of Pride Inc., stood as always in armor decorated with the shattered crown of the Demon King on his shoulders, watching the scenery of Pandemonium with his arms crossed.
And soon, the teleportation magic circle behind him began to glow—and a demon in the form of a human wearing glasses and a succubus in a nun's habit appeared.
“Welcome back, Vassago. It seems we'll be able to see the CEO of 'Greed' Inc. at the regular meetings for a while.”
Vassago, who had returned after spending decades as Justin von Wittenfeld, pushed up his glasses and replied.
“Decades, a long time if you think it long, a short time if you think it short, Baal. I believe I carried out my mission quite well....”
Vassago had nurtured the Krafte Kingdom, which was merely a border territory of the Empire, into a joker that would accelerate the Empire's chaos.
The Krafte Kingdom's victory over the Empire stimulated the other Feudal Lords, and as the Empire's already loose centralization weakened further, the Feudal Lords all began raising armies, becoming big clients of Abyss Corporation.
Setting aside Gremory, who crosses the boundaries of dreams, for a CEO like him to insist on acting as an infiltration agent is largely a matter of taste to satisfy his ‘greed’, but it is natural that he, who has shown such ability and results, remained the CEO of Greed Inc. despite being away from the Abyss Corporation homeland for so long.
However, Vassago paused for a moment, then twisted the corner of his mouth up.
“It seems headquarters wasn't quite able to do the same.”
Baal, still with his arms crossed, slightly hardened his expression.
“It must be because of the indeterminate variable. Marquis Lafayette, I've met him in person, and he is unusual for a general. But that should have been all; despite making preparations that should have normally taken care of him, he's still alive.”
Vassago muttered, stroking his chin with his hand.
I passed on information about those who would gain the most from Marquis Lafayette's downfall, or those who had to take revenge on him.
Not only that, I even prepared Abyss Corporation's deadliest poison, which can kill a mere human with ease.
And yet, the fact that he handled it all means he has luck beyond just popularity, and that the Saintess Queen, who could resolve the deadliest poison, just so happened to step in.
“How tiresome. I did everything I could, yet headquarters failed and spoiled the work.”
Baal slowly furrowed his brow.
“That's not something you should be saying, having been swayed by Countess Aquitaine, Vassago.”
“Oh, that was unavoidable as long as I was dealing with her as Justin von Wittenfeld, Baal.”
His limbs as Justin von Wittenfeld. That is, he could only move the agents of Krafte, so his constraints were considerable.
Nevertheless, in terms of military operations, he could overwhelm Christine Aquitaine, but that was as far as it went.
In the end, his defeat in the field of diplomacy, where he had no foundation, was inevitable.
If he could have used all his assets as the CEO of 'Greed' Inc. from the start, well.
Vassago thought that would have been an interesting confrontation and let out a small laugh before speaking.
“Anyway, this is a big problem, a very big problem. This Vassago managed to cause the division of the Empire and move Krafte to start a war with Francia without a hitch, but to think that Pride Inc., in charge of Abyss Corporation's 'head', was repeatedly failing in its grand strategy.”
“Is 'Greed' Inc. trying to challenge 'Pride' Inc.?”
As Baal spoke in a low, deep voice, Gremory, who had been silently floating in the air, quickly intervened between the two.
“Now, now, calm down~ Love & Peace! In-company conflict is forbidden at Abyss Corporation! Forbidden! Everyone smile and be happy, happy~”
Thanks to the succubus struggling, winking, and smiling with her eyes, half-intentionally, in the middle, both of them backed down.
“Hahaha, then I should inspect 'Greed' Inc. after such a long time. Well then, the walk in the dream world was enjoyable, Gremory.”
“Please use my services again- Mr. Greed of Bad Taste.”
Vassago snorted and turned his back.
Only then did Gremory let out a sigh of relief, spun around in mid-air, and looked at Baal while curled up, pulling her legs with both hands.
“Baal, you've been so prickly lately-”
Baal stared intently at Gremory before opening his mouth.
“Gremory, what was Marquis Lafayette like when you saw him?”
“Hm?”
“It has been almost 400 years since the founding of Abyss Corporation. In all that time, Pride Inc.'s assessment and prediction of military strength have never been so repeatedly wrong. I don't understand how it's possible.”
Marquis Lafayette clearly did not distinguish himself in the early stages of the Civil War.
Then, at some point, he appeared like a comet and twisted the Civil War scenario prepared by Abyss Corporation, and because of that, their plan to profit from the Central Continent using the revolution was completely shattered.
In the end, Abyss Corporation tried to eliminate Marquis Lafayette and defeat Francia by letting the Empire win, even if it meant giving up the profits from the revolution.
At least in their judgment, the weapons provided to the Empire were sufficient to make that possible. There was also the assassins' deadliest poison.
Nevertheless, Marquis Lafayette overcame it and even intervened in the Iberian Peninsula, their main source of materials, and routed Paimon.
As a result, Marquis Lafayette became something more than a simple variable.
Because of him, many connections Abyss Corporation had planted on the continent over a long time were lost, and when the Empress of the Empire cut off her dealings with them, their imports and exports were halved.
In the end, they mobilized the strongest card they had.
But even the attempt to capture him at all costs, using a card they had nurtured for the division and turmoil of the Empire, ultimately failed.
“Despite making preparations that couldn't possibly fail, we fail every time. I can't understand it.”
They had certainly evaluated Francia's military strength correctly. But in every battle, the enemy showed power that far surpassed their previously demonstrated strength.
Saintess Queen Esilliste, Countess Aquitaine, Count Milbeau, and many other threatening elements in Francia exist, but in the end, the one who is their focal point and has moved as if to ruin Abyss Corporation's plans from the beginning is just one person.
“How on earth does Pierre de Lafayette break our company's predictions and ruin our plans every time?”
Gremory gave a subtle smile and replied.
“Well now- maybe he's loved by God or something-”
Baal snorted, but Gremory spoke cautiously.
“Baal, how about changing our policy, even now-? It's slowly reaching a dangerous level. If it's no longer easy to gain an advantage against them, then maybe it's time to appropriately cooperate-”
“You were a saintess of humans hundreds of years ago, Gremory. Are you still empathizing with them?”
Gremory shut her mouth.
The 'arrogance', or 'pride', of demons.
Baal, the CEO of Pride Inc., declared simply.
“Abyss Corporation still holds a firm technological superiority over the inferior races of that continent. They have always been our puppets, and they must remain so.”
And if anything gets in the way of Abyss Corporation's hegemony, it must be eliminated, one way or another.
Baal turned his back on Gremory and began to walk away.