novelraw Chapter 33 : Chapter 33
Chapter 33 : Chapter 33
Chapter 33. Moltke (1)
“You’re going to invite Marquis Moltke to our home? Why?”
Adel stared at me, her eyes wide as if in disbelief.
To be honest, this would be the normal reaction.
The Marquis was the mastermind behind the recent incident, and our families had been on bad terms for a long time.
Wasn’t I ruling over a place that was once his domain?
But right now, this was the best course of action.
“Since Bruno returned empty-handed, he will surely devise another scheme. If that’s the case, it might be faster to lay our cards on the table and talk.”
“That’s unrealistic! There’s no reason for him to come here, is there?”
“That’s exactly why we should be the ones to take the initiative and invite him.”
“I just don’t understand.”
Adel clutched her head with one hand, a look of complete bewilderment on her face.
I smiled gently and explained the reason.
“Thanksgiving is not far off.”
“What about it?”
“It’s one of the few opportunities for an official at the royal palace to return to his own domain.”
“Ah.”
Adel finally understood my words and continued.
“You’re hoping he’ll stop by here on his way, instead of going straight to his castle?”
“Yes. Thanksgiving is a period for the lord to have his authority recognized by the people of his domain. He will have to inspect various parts of the land he governs one way or another, and passing through Rarc Village would be much more advantageous.”
The land the Marquis governed was in the kingdom’s northeast.
The fastest way from the capital to his castle would be to take the eastern highway located far below Rarc Village, but doing so would make it difficult to patrol his northern domain.
That place was blocked by another mountain range as rugged as the Elburz Mountains.
The path was a steep uphill climb, so the soldiers would tire easily.
On the other hand, if he were to pass through Rarc Village, patrol his northern domain, and then go to his castle, he would be able to march with ease down a descending path.
“It’s true that for the past few years, the Marquis hasn’t been able to properly look after the northern region. Naturally, the discontent of the domain’s people has also grown.”
“That would be the case. It’s inevitable for public sentiment to drop if the lord doesn’t show his face. In that situation, if I take the initiative and invite him, he will have no grounds to refuse.”
Adel made a face as if she understood, but then asked back if there was really a need for it.
“He tried to harm you, Father, so why are you trying to help him?”
“As I said before, it is to make the first move.”
“The first move?”
“Yes. If he were to summon me to the royal palace instead, wouldn’t I be the one in a difficult position?”
The royal palace was the Marquis' sphere of influence.
Except for the King and the Saintess, the majority of high-ranking nobles were all on his side.
‘Besides, Saintess Isabel is also away right now. It’s a dangerous place for me.’
I had somehow managed to get past the issue with Iris and Noemi, but the Marquis would relentlessly plot against me.
In that situation, there was no need to voluntarily walk into the alligator’s mouth.
It would be more advantageous to lead the negotiations in a more favorable space.
Besides, I had good bait to lure the Marquis to my side.
Without delay, I began to write a letter inviting the Marquis.
However, Adel’s expression had been poor for a while now.
She had been like that ever since Alvarez was imprisoned. Did she have some complaint against me?
But I had to prioritize the Marquis over worrying about that.
***
Inside the carriage heading to Rarc Village.
Paul, the head butler of the Moltke family, asked with a worried face.
“Why did you accept his proposal?”
“Hoot. Isn’t it amusing? To think he would invite me, knowing full well that I intend to harm him. He may have lost his power, but this must be proof that he is the Hero who defeated the Demon King.”
“He might be plotting a scheme from behind the scenes.”
“Haha. Do you really think so? To me, it seems like he’s doing everything he can to try and bring me over to his side.”
Upon seeing the letter Frank sent, Marquis Moltke couldn’t help but burst into a broad smile.
It was a reason that was sufficiently convincing for Marquis Moltke.
First, he would be able to make an appearance before the people of his northern domain, whom he had neglected for several years.
Second, a return to the place that was once his domain.
Although it was no longer his land, it was because he could prove that his influence was still strong.
He looked at Paul and slowly opened his mouth.
“How many years has it been since you started serving me?”
“It must be well over thirty years.”
“Right. There is no one who knows me as well as you do. What is the most important thing to me?”
Paul answered immediately without a moment’s hesitation.
“It is to earn a good reputation among people.”
“Correct. I do not want to hear bad things about me from others. Not just from royalty or nobles, but from commoners as well. That’s why I took a step back in this matter and had Bruno make a move. This venture will only be a gain for me, never a loss.”
In addition to winning the hearts of the people in his northern domain, if things went well, he might even bring Frank under his command.
“Come to think of it, I should have just made Frank my ally from the beginning. He is a clever man, unlike that foolish Jorge and his son Bruno. What does it matter if his origins are humble? It seems I have been too preoccupied with useless matters until now.”
It was true.
No matter how noble their origins, Jorge and Bruno were useless.
On the other hand, Frank was the Hero who defeated the Demon King.
He was a hero of mankind and had the protection of the King and the Saintess.
If he could make him his subordinate, what was the kingdom? His position would become solid on a global scale.
However.
‘There seems to be another hidden motive besides this. What could it be?’
He thought as he looked out the window.
Unlike what was written in the letter, he surely wasn’t invited just for the sake of convenience.
He had a feeling that a big proposal would be made.
‘It would be right to show the magnanimity of a great noble here. In any case, that fellow cannot harm me.’
Unless Frank had gone mad, there was no way he would harm him.
He was, at best, a Baron, a low-ranking noble.
Besides, wasn’t he a Hero who walked the path of righteousness?
Marquis Moltke enjoyed his journey with a face full of anticipation, calculating on his abacus what kind of proposal Frank would make.
***
“Thank you for coming like this, Marquis.”
“Huhu. It has been a while. I heard you struck a gold mine, and I can see at a glance that the village has prospered.”
Marquis Moltke observed his surroundings with a relaxed face.
As he said, Rarc Village was prospering day by day since the development of the gold mine.
Of course, all the villagers had become rich through the abundant gold.
It was also the effect of people moving in from outside, causing a large increase in the population.
I led him to my room and exchanged some small talk.
‘This should be enough small talk.’
Making useless chatter in front of a man of his stature would be a waste of time.
I immediately got to the main point.
“Our Benedict Kingdom can be said to be safe thanks to you, Marquis.”
“Haha. To think you’d praise me out of the blue. You’ve changed a lot, too.”
I had no choice but to change.
I was no longer the Frank of the past.
“But I have recently heard some suspicious news.”
“Suspicious news? What is it?”
Marquis Moltke leaned forward from the sofa, moving his body towards me, and tilted his head.
“I heard that the Lombard Kingdom, which borders your domain, is increasing its military forces.”
“What?”
At the mention of the Lombard Kingdom, Marquis Moltke was startled and retorted.
“How do you know information that even I don’t know?”
“I may look like this, but I am a former Hero. Information comes in from here and there. Besides.”
“Besides?”
“You are in the royal palace, Marquis, but I am staying here, close to the Lombard Kingdom, so naturally, I hear more news.”
“Hmm.”
The Marquis' face darkened.
His territory was the easternmost region of the kingdom.
Next to it was a country called the Lombard Kingdom, a nation as crazy for territory as the Durani Empire.
‘Until now, they’ve been quiet, organizing their internal affairs since it hasn’t been long since I subjugated the Demon King, but now it’s different.’
If the first episode that occurs after the mid-game was the invasion of the former Demon Tribe, The second episode was the invasion of the Lombard Kingdom.
It was not a war that broke out suddenly.
‘The Benedict Kingdom and the Lombard Kingdom have been on bad terms for a long time.’
Here, for the first time, my daughters had to kill humans, not monsters or the Demon Tribe.
Before being Children of God, they were members of the Benedict Kingdom.
They had no choice but to lend their strength in a war between nations.
‘Adel was deeply hurt by this incident. She had trained her strength to defeat the Demon Tribe and monsters, but she had to cut down people like herself.’
The other daughters hunted humans without much of a problem, but the kind-hearted Adel was different.
She suffered from this incident and had to endure a large drop in her stats.
She had lost her confidence, questioning whether what she was doing was right.
So, I needed to act first before that happened.
‘If the Marquis strengthens his defenses, there’s a possibility that the war could end early without my daughters needing to step in. In the game, the Lombard Kingdom’s invasion intensified, starting with the Marquis' domain, which had been negligent in its preparations.’
So, it was like this.
Through my advice, the Marquis strengthens his military power.
If he successfully repels the Lombard Kingdom’s invasion, there would be no reason for me and my daughters to move in the second episode.
But then, the Marquis brought up an unexpected topic.
“Why are you telling me such information?”
“I, too, am a citizen of the Benedict Kingdom.”
“But didn’t I try to harm you?”
Wow. He’s coming on stronger than I thought.
To think he would unhesitatingly reveal with his own mouth the fact that he tried to harm me.
I chuckled and shook my head.
“With just that, you couldn’t even graze my clothes.”
“Hah. Your confidence is excessive. I am a Marquis, and you are merely a Baron.”
“But you couldn’t inflict any damage on me, could you.”
Despite the provocation.
He clutched his stomach and laughed as if he were mad.
“Hahaha! Amazing. Well, one has to be at this level to be called the Hero who defeated the Demon King. I admit it. You are far more capable than I thought.”
“Then, may I understand that we are shaking hands on this?”
There were many meanings embedded in this.
Do not attack me anymore.
You have your own problems to deal with right now.
It would be wise to prepare for a war with the Lombard Kingdom instead of attacking me,
a fellow countryman.
But he was not an easy man.
I “I feel like I’m getting the shorter end of the stick.”
“In what way?”
“I have to protect the kingdom, while you just sit back and reap the benefits.”
“That’s not possible. You know better than anyone what would have happened if I hadn’t told you about the Lombard Kingdom’s situation, Marquis.”
In the game, unable to withstand the Lombard Kingdom's army that came flooding in, the Marquis' domain had to be erased from the map in an instant.
This incident became a pretext, and after defeating the Lombard Kingdom, his territory was reduced to a third of its original size.
Despite that.
The Marquis made this proposal to me.
“I need a lot of money to strengthen the army. Hand over the gold mine to me.”
I refused firmly.
“The person who discovered the gold mine is none other than me. The one who received Anticus' permission is also me. That is impossible.”
“Then how about handing over half of the shares? Wouldn’t that much be necessary for the sake of the kingdom?”
“That is also impossible. However, I can lend you gold at a low interest rate.”
Marquis Moltke said with a surprised look.
“I’m starting to doubt if you’re the man I know. Low interest? Did you even know how to say such words?”
Who does he think I am, a fool?
Well, Frank was a Hero, but he was of commoner origin.
He would have been ignorant about finance.
But I was different.
“After subjugating the Demon King, I studied various fields of knowledge. It doesn’t fit my values to only train my daughters.”
“Quite impressive. Lending gold at a low interest rate, you say. But that’s not enough to satisfy me.”
He stared intently into my eyes and brought up these words.
“If you agree to two conditions, I will consider you my man.”
“Please state them.”
“First. Lend it to me without interest, not at a low rate. This is a matter related to the survival of the kingdom, so you can do that much, can’t you?”
“I will think about it.”
“Second. I heard you are close with Anticus. Persuade her so that if a war really breaks out, she will commit the dragons to the front lines.”
Huh? This was an unexpected answer.
Asking me to commit the dragons to war.
The only route in the game where Anticus built a paradise for dragons here was when she became the Demon King, so using dragons in a war was something I couldn’t even imagine.
But the more I thought about it, it wasn’t a bad proposal.
‘If I use the dragons, the Lombard Kingdom will be no problem at all.’
With the dragons’ breath, the battlefield could be scorched in an instant.
The problem was, ‘Whether Anonymous will accept this proposal.’
To her, humans were like mere insignificant creatures.
If I were to ask her for such a thing, she who despises human wars might get angry at once.
I quietly shook my head.
“That is not something I can decide on my own.”
“In that case, any further talk would be meaningless.
Putting the Lombard Kingdom aside, I’m not sure if I’ll just leave you be as you are.”
The Marquis glared at me with eyes that blazed like fire.
‘Damn it. The kingdom’s crisis is right around the corner, and he’s threatening to attack me?’
Then, suddenly.
A way to make Anonymous have no choice but to accept this proposal came to mind.
The magic potion.
What if I used it not to break the Demon King’s curse, but to make Anonymous obey?
I unknowingly swallowed dryly.
Is this really the right thing to do?
My mind became complicated.