Soudouki Vol 4 Chapter 3 (Patreon)

Chapter 3 – Those Who Lurk

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Part 1

「Stop over there!」

A soldier of Antrim stopped a portly merchant who was riding a horse carriage and approached.

「──Thank you for your hard work. Here is my draft.」

「Uh huh.」

The soldier took the draft from the merchant with a business-like attitude and checked the draft’s seal and handwriting.

The three major roads that connected Antrim territory with Haurelia  Kingdom had a checkpoint in each road. Recently the number of people  visiting these checkpoints was continuing to increase without any sign  of decreasing.

Because of that the soldiers who were in charge of controlling the  coming and going of the roads were swamped with work even after their  number had been increased.

「This is certainly a draft from Count Savoie. What is your load?」

「Yes. I’m planning to sell cotton wool in Antrim and exchange it with string.」

「There are a lot of string trading recently……」

「The string produced in Antrim is relatively cheap in proportion of its quality after all……」

「So it’s like that.」

The soldier didn’t seem to know at all that there was a workshop of  the new type spinner in Antrim. He only nodded without looking  interested.

The merchant kept smiling, but inside he couldn’t hide his disappointment.

(Good grief, he isn’t even looking interested──this is why country bumpkin is just hopeless!)

The true identity of this man who disguised himself as a merchant was Sobat, the head of intelligence of Count Savoie.

His subordinates were only sending him uncertain information from  rumors. In addition some of his people were even starting to get  discovered, so in the end he had no other way but to infiltrate Antrim  personally.

(However, I don’t think that my men can be caught with a security of this level……)

Seeing how unwary the soldier just now, it was hard to believe that a  spy would be caught as long as they didn’t commit a great blunder.

Even so, before this the checkpoints here would only be like a place  to send soldiers as punishment. It was already surprising enough that a  proper soldier with the drive to do his job was stationed her.

「I heard that the new lord count is a person who is really capable.」

Sobat made a careful smile and made a small talk with the soldier.  The soldier’s expression turned happy for a moment, but he seemed to  catch himself and redid his expression.

「Don’t make any unnecessary talk about some rumors.」

「How thoughtless of me, please be lenient on me.」

Sobat courteously bowed, but he wanted to click his tongue inside his heart.

The soldier’s reaction told him two things.

First, the soldier looked happy when Sobat praised the new lord as  though it was he himself who got praised. That meant the count of Antrim  had won over the heart of the population.

This was something unusual for a feudal lord who hadn’t even taken his post for a year.

No matter how unmotivated and incompetent the previous magister was,  ordinarily it would take four or five years for the population to get  attached to their new lord.

Edo shogunate also forcefully relocated all the influential daimyos  was also with the objective so that those daimyos couldn’t make war  substantially until they managed to seize the heart of the population.

If those daimyos failed to seize the heart of the population and  caused an uprising, the national power would decay and in the end their  territory would be confiscated by the shogunate and their clan crushed.

It was abnormal for Baldr to already succeed in obtaining a firm support until from even a lowly soldier.

Second, at least people in governmental work like soldier and government official had been formally forbidden to make idle talk.

Actually even this soldier wanted to boast about the blessing that Baldr had brought to Antrim.

From how the soldier looked like he had to forcibly stop himself from  talking, it was clear that there was some kind of will from above that  was holding him back.

This could be said as an extremely troubling situation for someone who was trying to gather information here.

For a spy at Sobat’s level, it was possible to analyze several  information that he obtained from small talk to reach a conclusion to  some degree, but even that was impossible to do if he couldn’t obtain  any information.

「──You can pass. A warning before that, if you enter a place that is  forbidden to enter, you won’t be able to avoid punishment even though  you have a draft from Count Savoie.」

「Thank you for the warning.」

(Looks like this mission will be far harder than I thought.)

Sobat was convinced that Antrim wasn’t a burden for Mauricia Kingdom  like in the past anymore. This territory was changing into a formidable  enemy that Haurelia Kingdom couldn’t underestimate.

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Part 2

「Shit! Why was I found out that quickly? There should be a limit no matter how much they strengthened their eyes……」

A man was pushing his way through a trackless path while running with gasping breaths.

Two of his comrades who accompanied him were already turned into  silent corpses. He lost sight of one other and he didn’t know what  happened to him right now. Most likely he was also continuing to run  away like him for his dear life.

It was safe to enter Antrim by using a draft like Sobat, but their  action would be limited that way. They could also only bring weapon in a  limited fashion because of the need to hide it.

The spies from Haurelia also considered extortion and kidnapping to  some degree, so they attempted to infiltrate Antrim illegally through  the border but──.

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「Zirco, go over there. Around twenty meters more.」

A lovely voice reached Zirco’s ear like a whisper.

This was an application of wind magic. The mercenaries that Zirco was  leading worked together with each other and continued to pursue their  targets accurately like in hunt.

「Heh! So he is coming to my spot of all people, what an unlucky guy!」

Although she said that, Zirco was pulling out her great sword happily.

Even someone like her who turned slovenly when facing the temptation  of food would become a first-rate warrior who bared her predator  instinct when standing on the battlefield like this.

Zirco filled the tip of his feet with strength, like a beast that was gnawing into the ground.

She couldn’t be compared with a monster like Maggot, but Zirco’s body  strengthening also wasn’t something that could be underestimated. The  origin of her nick name as Zirco the Gale was her mighty blow that made  full use of her charging power. She was famous for this among the  mercenaries.

Zirco’s huge body was slowly leaning forward.

At the same time, her feet that were stepping firmly on the ground  also sank for a few centimeters into the soil. The pebble that was  coincidentally under her foot was shot off with a dry sound.

「Ten more meters.」

The wind magic that notified her of the situation became the signal.  Zirco’s body accelerated explosively like a fighter jet that was fired  from a catapult.

「GET OUTTA MY WAAAAAAAAAAYY!」

Zirco rushed through the distance of ten meters in the blink of eye.  Anything that got in her way, whether it was a tree or a rock would be  torn apart if they got hit by her attack.

It was too bad for the man who got hit by a slash that came from far  outside a sword range. He wasn’t even allowed to perceive Zirco coming  at him.

「Eh……w-what is……?」

The man was only able to speak until there.

His entrails burst out from his torn apart stomach due to the abdomen  pressure. At the same time, the man instantly lost consciousness due to  the rapid decline of his blood pressure.

It was a heroic attack from Zirco that took down everything in its  way. It didn’t even allow the target to realize that he had been killed.

Unlike Maggot, Zirco needed to charge her strength and couldn’t use  it in succession. But that might and speed were enough to call the  attack as godly fast.

「What? You kill them again huh, Zirco.」

A petite silhouette came down from above with a sarcastic voice. It was the mercenary Cell.

「Too bad, I’m not good with holding back.

「Aa~aa, the guy get completely split into two like this……」

Cell himself had splendidly caught another spy alive.

Cell used a knife that was smeared with paralyzing poison. He was a  type that displayed his strength fully in this kind of unconventional  warfare.

「I knew you were going to catch one anyway, so it should be alright for me to do whatever I please.」

「Yuck, this is why you will never be able to become a wife.」

「That’s not your damn business!」

As expected, Zirco who had reached the age where she could be called an old maid replied angrily when Cell pointed out that.

She wouldn’t be worrying if it was that easy to find a man who would  receive a savage mercenary like her as a wife. Besides Zirco didn’t have  the slightest intention to discard her current self just for the sake  of a man.

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「Clean up finished. Let’s go back Zirco.」

The battlefield control magician Marine(マリン) announced the end of their mission.

「Sure thing. You were a big help just now, Marine.」

「I was only doing as I was told. You should thank Baldr-sama instead for thinking up something like this.」

Marine let out a deep sigh seeing how the battle went without a hitch like usual.

She commanded the battle by using wind magic to send messages and  used an application of water magic to detect heat source. By combining  these two things, it gave an overwhelming advantage to Zirco and others  in unconventional warfare.

No matter how hard the spies tried to hide themselves, it was  impossible for them to eliminate the influence of the body temperature  that was emitted from their bodies toward the air around them.

If that was detected using magic, it would be possible to have  advantage even when battling inside mountain or forest where there were  many covers.

The battle system that Baldr thought up was displaying immense effect  like this. It already consigned countless spies into oblivion.

「I wonder if our work will decrease a little now?」

Cell answered Zirco’s muttering.

「If it’s you, will you be able to ignore a mysterious area that continue to absorb the life of spies?」

「Fuu……looks like it will be a bit longer till we can have day off……」

Zirco hung her head down while recalling the numerous delicious foods  that she tasted at Baldr’s side and pressing her hand on her stomach  that had slimmed down slightly.

The price of spies’ lives were cheap as it was.

Zirco’s ordeals would continue for a while more until there were new mercenaries to reinforce them.

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Part 3

Sobat advanced through a main road of Antrim. He put on a relaxed expression while observing his surrounding vigilantly.

What surprised him the most was how many soldiers there were.

Savoie House only had around 800 soldiers at best in peace time. When  it was war time, around 2000 people could be pressed into military  service. This number was a lot, no noble would have the leeway to just  leave those soldiers to stay idle daily.

Considering how tight the security at the border was and how their  spies kept getting captured, most likely Antrim possessed a military  force that rivaled or perhaps even surpassed Savoie House.

「……Impossible.」

The livelihood of the population that he saw from the street didn’t look that different from the population of Savoie territory.

Antrim territory’s size didn’t even reach half of Savoie territory.  Normally it should be impossible for such territory to maintain this  many soldiers.

(Don’t tell me……Mauricia’s king is seriously starting to prepare for war?)

If it was impossible for the economic strength of Antrim, that meant there was someone else who was lending money for this.

The most likely person who did that in Sobat’s opinion was King Welkin who appointed Baldr to be Count Antrim.

In that case, this mission that fell on the shoulders’ of Sobat was  important. If Antrim was being fortified for the preparation prior to  invade Haurelia, Savoie House would be exposed to danger.

Sobat didn’t let the uneasiness inside his heart to appear at the  surface and kept acting like a sociable merchant. He stayed in an inn at  the city of Kosse that was located at the center of Antrim.

The main road stretched to the east and west from there. It would  take two days to reach Gawain castle and the city around it at the east.

「Welcome.」

The expression of the inn owner was bright when welcoming a customer.

The inside of the inn was also kept clean. Seeing how there was a  refined antique decorating the inside, it seemed the business was doing  quite good.

「I’ll stay for a night. Please give my horse water and fodder. Looks like the business is going really well here.」

「Yes. Since the new lord came, the number of people coming and going has doubled. Thanks to that business is booming.」

Sobat chuckled inside his heart.

As expected, unlike the soldiers, it seemed it was impossible to close the populace’s mouth even for the count.

「I was also surprised after coming here. This is my first time coming  to Antrim for business, what kinds of people are coming here?」

Sobat had also learned that recently the number of good quality string produced from Antrim was increasing.

However the number of people coming and going wouldn’t double just from that. There should be other big reason.

「There are a lot of rowdy mercenaries and wanderers searching for  work coming here. This place is originally an abundant land as long as  war doesn’t break out after all. When my father was young, the rock salt  of Antrim was a famous high-class commodity.」

Actually other than rock salt, Antrim was also blessed with abundant mineral resources like iron.

Because of that too, this Antrim was a land that would be contested by the two countries right from the start.

「The new lord brought a lot of soldiers from his family territory and  the capital, thanks to day the safety of the highway is improved  greatly and everyone can do their business without worry.」

So that was how. The lord seized the population’s heart by improving  public order and cultivating industry at the same time──the viscount  Antrim really understood the subtleties of economy despite his youth.

「No wonder I kept passing soldiers along the way. However it must be difficult to maintain that many soldiers.」

At the very least there was no doubt that such thing would be too much for the finance of normal viscount.

「Perhaps……it seems the lord is really generous with money that even  the mercenaries never really done anything outrageous. From the rumor I  heard, it seems the lord received a loan from the royal family.」

「Is the lord count a favored retainer of the king?」

「Who knows……I was told that the lord is the childhood friend of  Teresa-sama who is the fiancée of Sanjuan Kingdom’s crown prince, and it  was also he who settled the marriage talk deal.」

Sobat also knew about that rumor.

It was certainly a fact that the viscount was once dispatched to  Sanjuan as ambassador. Most likely the rumor about how he was the one  settling the marriage deal was also true.

That accomplishment seemed enough to make him promoted to be viscount.

「I see……looks like Antrim’s future is bright.」

「This land only kept declining since the war but……truly, I have nothing but thanks to our lord.」

Sobat enjoyed an idle talk with the inn owner for a while before he  went to his room and sat down on a thoroughly cleaned bed. He let out a  deep sigh.

The situation might be even more serious than he thought.

The development of Antrim and the expansion of the military power  here weren’t the work of Viscount Antrim but the policy of the king who  was behind him. The possibility of that was high.

His lord Count Savoie didn’t want a new war to break out, but if  Antrim’s strengthening was Mauricia King’s plan, it would be necessary  to start the war while the preparation here still hadn’t finished.

「This is……I should resolve myself.」

Sobat knew very well how dangerous it would be to do spying activity at the center of Antrim while the security was this strict.

However the pressing situation that Sobat hypothesized was far more important than his life.

He had no intention to undervalue his own life, but he knew firsthand  how just a single information could possibly affect the lives of tens  of thousands of people. There was no reason for him to hold his life  dear.

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Part 4

「S-say, perhaps we should just stop this? As I thought this is just strange!」

「Agatha, can you return to your usual self soon?」

Baldr had lost count how many times Agatha had spoken about returning back to Antrim with this.

Agatha hadn’t returned to her usual confident and sadistic self at  all since several days ago. Baldr scratched his forehead in bewilderment  seeing her like this. ……It wasn’t because he wanted to torment Agatha,  not at all (he insisted).

「Because! It’s impossible for someone worthless like me to be adopted  into Randolph House! What if I’m treated like an impudent woman……」

──It would be better to get called Onee-san by Baldr.

「Please calm down Agatha. You must have known that there is a discord  between the nobles at the central and the nobles at the remote region.  Cornelius House is in the end just our last resort.」

「But……」

Randolph House was far different from the average noble.

The seats of ten great nobles were mostly occupied by duke, a rank  higher than marquis. But Marquis Randolph’s influence was at the top  three among such nobles. He was counted as one of the strongest nobles  in the kingdom.

Though of course it was greatly influenced by the special  circumstance of how Silk was the one in possession of the right to  inherit the throne of the overthrown Trystovy Kingdom and how Trystovy  nobles who became political refugee in Mauricia Kingdom were behind  Marquis Randolph.

By any means, it wasn’t a house that a mere daughter of a baronet house could interact with so casually.

Agatha was a close friend with Silk due to her history as Silk’s  private tutor, even so it made her stomach ached with anxiety when she  thought that she would become Silk’s step-sister.

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Six days had passed since they departed from Antrim.

Around this time there was no doubt that Antrim had turned into a terrifying hell on earth with both Baldr and Agatha’s absence.

Baldr offered a meager prayer for his subordinates who he abandoned in the battlefield.

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Part 5

「Brandon-san! Please take care of the settlement of the salary payment!」

The woman from accounting piled up a tall stack of paperwork in front of Brandon.

The height of the stack was already making Brandon’s face to be hidden.

「Marquez-san! What happened with the repair approval for the east highway?」

Beside him Cecil was yelling to Marquez without even wiping the sweat on her forehead.

「The settlement is pending! What about Cecile’s meical care aid program?」

Marquez also asked back powerlessly without even hiding the color of exhaustion on his face.

「That’s also still pending!」

The administration center of Antrim was truly a battlefield.

The staffs were running around hurriedly. Countless paperwork were  fluttering in the air. And then the mountains of paperwork, paperwork,  and paperwork that kept getting transported in.

The reliable Agatha with her amazing paperwork processing ability and  Baldr with his excellent decisiveness and discernment were both absent  right now. Brandon who was entrusted to lead this place in their absent  was tormented by a lack of sleep and intense stomachache.

「This……how can I deal with something like this!」

Brandon wasn’t incompetent by any means. Rather he was an administrative official who could be categorized as quite capable.

Furthermore he was also a person with strong love for his hometown.  He wished to devote his all for Antrim’s sake even since the government  of the previous magistrate.

「I’m begging you Agatha-san, please come back quickly. I won’t say that you’re a sadist or a slave driver anymore……」

Brandon muttered spell like words that undoubtedly would earn him a  beating if Agatha heard it while his hands continue to work without  resting even now.

The future of Antrim was hanging on his shoulders.

It didn’t matter even he was crying or wailing, as a man there was no option for him to stop working.

「Ah, Brandon-san. Here is more.」

A new mountain of paperwork was piled up with a thud. Who could blame him for screaming?

「NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!」

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Part 6

Agatha’s footstep was heavy even now after arriving at the familiar Randolph House.

「Uuu……we arrived……」

「What’s with that tone! You really don’t know when to give up.」

「My lord, you can say that because it’s not you who come here to get adopted!」

「Certainly it’s not me who will get adopted, but I’ll be the one who have to talk you know?」

There was no way a low class noble like Agatha could ask something like please adopt me, naturally Baldr would be the one who made the request as the lord of Antrim.

This was something that he was forced to do because of a pressing  need. To be honest, Baldr himself also felt like there was a hole opened  in his stomach.

「……Please wait over here.」

The butler of Randolph House watched the conversation of the two  youngsters with a warm smile. Even so he avoided saying anything and led  them courteously to a guest room.

The guest room was decorated with a splendid stuffed lion that wasn’t  there when Baldr visited before, as though to display the financial  strength of Randolph House.

「This is rare……I wonder if this is from Trystovy.」

The habitat of lion was mainly at the south. They only lived at a  part of Sanjuan Kingdom and Trystovy Dukedom. This was also Baldr’s  first time seeing it.

As always Marquis Randolph had a connection that stretched around Trystovy Dukedom.

「What, you have run away already?」

Alford appeared with a sarcastic comment without even trying to hide his displeasure. Baldr smiled wryly and bowed.

「I have no intention to run away, but I have various things that I need for obtaining victory.」

「Hmph. I completely thought that you came here for a consultation of how to clean up your mess after violating Agatha.」

Alford was completely joking, but Agatha who had little experience  with that kind of thing due to her personality was reflexively holding  her breath while blushing.

「Oi……brat, don’t tell me……」

Alford’s complexion changed. At the same time, a splendid oil  painting that depicted the lake surface of Aleister Lake inside the room  was shaking and making a thumping sound for some reason.

「Wait! Why are you turning red! Please spare me Agatha. You’re making it look like I have done something to you!」

「I won’t let you say that you haven’t done anything after showing such thing to me!」

「Before, I was telling you jokingly to lay your hand on Agatha but,  to think that you’ve really done it……even with these eyes of mine, I was  unable to predict that you will grow into an enemy of woman that  surpassed even that Ignis!」

「Wrong! That’s completely wrong! Believe me! PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!」

The oil painting hanging on the wall was shaking unnaturally once more with *bump, bump* sound once more.

Agatha turned her gaze there with a bit of suspicion, but Baldr who  was under condemnation didn’t have any leeway to notice such thing.

「Your excellency! It’s true there was an unfortunate accident, but I  swear that I haven’t laid a hand on Miss Agatha. Besides, no one will  leap into a thorny bush by choice!」

Agatha’s pride as woman was wounded for being treated as a landmine like this.

「Do you really need to go that far?」

Perhaps she should seriously commit a mistake at this occasion.  Agatha was thinking of such thing that would make Baldr ran away crying  if he heard it while raising her voice in protest.

「──Then, can you imagine yourself as a good wife or a good lover like Seyruun and Selina?」

「That kind of me won’t be me anymore!」

The answer came in 0,2 second. It was a refreshing decisiveness.

Alford too had guessed the situation to a degree from this exchange between the two.

Most likely it was the truth that Baldr didn’t lay his hand on Agatha.

Although, it also didn’t look like that Agatha herself wasn’t harboring such feeling toward Baldr.

「How about stopping there. I don’t think that you two came from Antrim just to show me your lovers’ quarrel.」

Baldr and Agatha finally returned to their senses at the calm words from Alford. They stopped their ugly quarrel.

「──Forgive us for showing something unsightly.」

「Hmph. That was certainly unsightly, but it would be most satisfactory if Silk become disillusioned with you because of it.」

*Thud*, a sound like a head hitting a wall came from the direction of the oil pointing.

「I don’t want to be hated by Silk as her friend, but……we are asking  for your excellency’s time today is of course not for showing a lovers’  quarrel.」

「Obviously. If you actually came just for that then I’d challenge you to a duel.」

Baldr was able to easily get a meeting with Alford because he was  Silk’s school friend, a favorite of King Welkin, and also someone who  had brought benefit for Randolph House politically.

However if Baldr was just a normal viscount, it would be difficult  for him to meet Alford without an intermediation from an influential  noble.

And yet Baldr showed no sign of timidity at all. Agatha renewed her  perception of him. As she thought, Baldr was really abnormal.

「Actually──I’m wondering if it might be possible for Randolph House to take Miss Agatha over here an adopted child.」

……*Thud*.

From the other side of the oil painting, there was a sound like  something with the weight of a human stumbling and falling on the floor.

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Part 7

Sobat finally arrived at the castle town of Gawain Castle on his  horse carriage. It was two days after he left the city of Kosse.

His arrival was late from his original plan because of the rain that  fell on the way. The sun was already falling to the west since a long  time ago.

However the castle town was still lively even now that the day had turned into night. It renewed Sobat’s surprise.

No matter the territory, in most cases it would only be the sex industry that would still open at night.

Even Savoie territory was the same. There was no brothel intended for  noble like in the capital, but at least there was no lack of  establishment there for the commoners to forget their troubles for the  night.

Since he heard at the inn at Kosse how the number of guests had  doubled, he thought that the castle town’s state would also be amazing.  But this number of people surpassed his expectation.

Fundamentally commoners only had enough money to make their ends meet  for the day──especially the local people, they wouldn’t be that  proactive in spending their money at the pleasure quarter.

That was to say, the possibility was high that the people who came to  Antrim from other region were occupying the greater percentage of the  liveliness before him.

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Sobat stopped walking in front of a signboard that had the words  『Hound of Spring』 carved into it with a quirky calligraphic style.

「Is there empty room here?」

「Yeah, it’ll be ten copper coins for a night. There’ll be extra two copper coins if you want your horse taken care of.」

It was an inn with its first floor used as a bar.

The boorish looking innkeeper smiled bitterly. Sobat took off his coat.

「For now I’ll stay for three days. Also can you give me something to fill my stomach? I haven’t eaten anything since noon.」

「Oi, lead the horse to the back yard.」

「Sure thing!」

A child around ten years old who didn’t really look like the  innkeeper replied energetically. He took away the horse carriage from  Sobat.

And then he led the horse with a splendid rein handling that didn’t  match his age. Sobat narrowed his eyes and stared at the boy with  delight.

「Time really pass quickly──how old is he?」

「He is eleven this year. I have also aged a lot huh.」

Sobat nodded and sat at the counter in front of the innkeeper without hesitation.

There were still around five or six customers in the bar, but there  wasn’t any sign of anyone approaching the innkeeper due to his large  body and boorish atmosphere that didn’t have any amiability.

It had been around eleven years since Sobat and the innkeeper parted way.

「It’s lamb grilled with herb. I got a good meet today. ……Are you alright with drinking ale?」

「What is that black alcohol they are drinking over there? It doesn’t look like ale.」

「It’s a novel alcohol, made from roasted barley. The lord ordered its  creation, and it seems it’s called stout. Even though the lord isn’t  that much older than my kid, he is knowledgeable about alcohol. It’s a  bit popular among the commoners.」

「……I’ll try that one.」

Sobat who was just a normal human couldn’t even possibly imagine that  Baldr was borrowing Masaharu’s knowledge and he was in the middle of  experimenting how to create pilsner and starting the experiment of  beekeeping in order to mass produce high class mead.

However Sobat felt a feeling of affection toward Baldr at the end of  the brusque innkeeper’s words. He instinctually felt the need to change  his perception toward Baldr.

It seemed he had to revise his perception that Baldr was just a puppet of the king.

「……Sorry but this is a talk about work.」

「Tsk……even though I was starting to think that I’d be able to retire soon without anything significant happening.」

「Sorry.」

The innkeeper’s name was Dario Bowen(ダリオ・ボーエン).

He was once an associate of Sobat. He integrated into the local  populace for the sake of the future war and spent a long time earning  the trust of the local populace. He was what would be called a sleeper  agent at the modern earth.

Right now he was one of the influential men in the castle city of Gawain.

Although he was a brusque person, he was a diligent person and also  familiar with fighting at the level of a mercenary. Other innkeepers  often relied on him.

This success wasn’t because Dario was capable as a spy. It was because Dario was fundamentally a reliable man.

「I have tied the horse and feed them!」

Dario patted the head of his son who returned cheerfully. He didn’t even smile and told him to go to sleep.

Sobat caught a glimpse of a clumsy parent and child love there. He looked down melancholically.

Sobat felt agonized that he had to make use of an ordinary and good person like Dario.

Originally, he was sending Dario here to Antrim because Dario wasn’t  suited to be a spy. He sent him here to keep him away from bloodshed,  and yet…….

But, he couldn’t use his personal feeling. As the head of the  intelligence agency directly under Count Savoie, he had no other way  than to borrow Dario’s help.

After the last of the customers finishing drinking his sake and  returned to his bedroom, the two of them started to talk with ale on  their hand.

「The number of soldiers here is really many.」

「The war is over and the civil war at Trystovy is also calming down  for the moment. There are a lot of mercenaries who don’t have work  because of that. Nordland Empire and Gartlake Kingdom are still  skirmishing like usual at the north, but there aren’t that many fanciful  people who want to go that far north.」

There wasn’t any war in Antrim, but Baldr was fully relying on his money to recruit a lot of regular soldiers.

In other words, it was like the offer of regular employment was  rolling in front of the mercenaries while the demand for them in their  irregular employment was declining.

It was only natural for mercenaries from every corner of the  continent to rush here with letter of recommendation (curriculum vitae)  in their hand.

Dario glanced at the grimacing Sobat and continued.

「There are also several famous mercenaries with nickname here……it’ll be better if you don’t underestimate them.」

「But……they’re just mercenaries in the end right?」

It wasn’t just Haurelia, every country in the continent was  half-hearted about recruiting mercenary into regular employment. It was  because their loyalty couldn’t be trusted.

Even if Antrim was recruiting mercenaries to be regular soldiers,  Sobat couldn’t help but feeling doubtful at how useful they would be as  fighting strength.

「That’ll be the case if you think normally but, there are cooperative  mercenaries among them like Zirco the Gale for example. In  addition……any veteran mercenaries know very well just how terrifying the  Silver Light Maggot is.」

「So they don’t want to turn that demon into enemy……」

Really, that woman was really a curse toward Haurelia Kingdom no matter how much time passed.

If the morale of the troops here was maintained by fear toward that  demon, then it was highly possible that even mercenaries would turn into  fighting strength that couldn’t be underestimated.

Even so……Sobat tilted his head.

「Just where did the money for that come from?」

Even Savoie House that was in the category of relatively wealthy in  Haurelia Kingdom would find it very hard to employ several hundred  additional mercenaries.

If the situation was already like this in Antrim alone, what would  happen if the whole Mauricia Kingdom converted its economic strength  that was more developed than Haurelia into battle strength? Sobat felt a  chill just from imagining that.

「One of the viscount’s fiancées is the president of Savaran Company.  Naturally Dowding Company is also taking a part here. Most likely……as  you can see from that ale, the viscount himself is also really talented  with money.」

「You’re saying, it’s not because the king is involved?」

「I don’t know that far. At the very least it’s certain the viscount isn’t simple just a manipulated puppet.」

If Sobat didn’t appear, Dario would also honestly rejoice at Baldr’s appointment as one of the populace of Antrim.

「……This is troublesome.」

Until he arrived in this city, Sobat was thinking that the change in Antrim was due to the king’s instruction.

However if this change was simply due to the feudal lord’s own  discretion, that made the type of danger here was completely different.

The problem was too great to be ignored, but with this the  possibility of there was a plan to invade Haurelia Kingdom was lowered  drastically.

「No, either way we can’t just stay quiet watching Antrim developing even more than this.」

Even Count Savoie who didn’t agree with war couldn’t just stay quiet seeing this.

Antrim’s development was just that striking.

If this place was left alone like this, Antrim would turn into a  sharp blade that was pointed at Haurelia’s throat at the future. They  had to do something before that happened.

「I want to learn more about the security of Antrim. Do you have any information?」

Dario folded his arms and tilted his head with a complicated expression.

Dario who was well known among people of the same profession had  various informations coming to him, but there was no military  information among that.

「……I heard that laborers are mobilized to the border. Something else  also caught my attention──blacksmiths and magicians were gathered some  time ago.」

「──Blacksmith and magician?」

Both were occupations with limited use.

They were fundamentally used for production work, so Sobat couldn’t  even imagine how they were used at the national border that was a  frontline.

However putting it another way, such big secret was being hidden at  the border. The importance for Sobat to investigate it kept increasing.

After all there was no way that the shadowy force of Savoie and Selvi could be easily found and killed at the border.

There was no doubt that there was something there that would trouble  Viscount Antrim if it was discovered. Furthermore it was something  beyond the common sense so far. Such thing was currently in progress  toward completion.

「Sorry to ask you this but, please help me to slip among the people  transporting material to the border. I won’t bother you anymore after  that.」

As expected he had to confirm it with his own eyes. It was impossible  with his ability to deduce the correct conclusion using just indirect  information.

「……I have a wholesaler acquaintance who stock up foodstuff. I’ll try asking him.」

No matter how secretive the location was, it would still need food,  water, clothing, and medicine. If Sobat could slip among the people  transporting those things, he would be able to manage the rest.

And then he wouldn’t need to disturb Dario’s life even more than this.

(I’m the man who is called the Owl of Sendia(センディア). I’ll bring back the information even if it cost me my life!)

.

Part 8

「Taking Agatha as my adopted child──you are asking that from me?」

He is angry as expected! Agatha shrunk into herself.

The opponent was just too bad. Alford was an influential person who  could crush Agatha like an insect with his fingertip if he felt like it.

Besides this request was impossible from the start. There was no way a  troublesome and strong-minded woman like her could be adopted by one of  the ten great nobles!

「Of course. Or I should say that there is no other choice than your excellency for this.」

Baldr ignored the flustered Agatha and stayed annoyingly calm.

She couldn’t believe that this was the same man with the man who was  shaken up to that degree when he was suspected of laying his hand on  Agatha.

「……I guess I’ll listen to what you have to say.」

It seemed Alford’s anger was just a pose to gauge their reaction.

Alford’s attitude changed completely as though to say that he was bored by Baldr’s calmness. He urged Baldr to explain.

This kind of bargaining was completely out of Agatha’s specialty.

It was only natural for someone of her position, but she couldn’t stop herself from feeling irritation and powerlessness.

When she was first introduced to Baldr in this place, she swore that  she would exert everything she had to help this unreliable lord.

However in reality it was completely Agatha who got helped by Baldr.

She felt happy somewhere in heart by that, on the other hand she was  also filled with frustration and shame that she couldn’t bear.

「The family that Agatha has cut ties from sent a letter to me asking  me to take Agatha as my concubine. The letter was even accompanied with  an accompanying note from Count Orkney.」

Strange noise could be heard from the oil painting again, but the  three purposefully ignored it. How to put it, it was too flagrant that  it would feel insensitive to even retort about it.

「There is almost no difference about having two or three concubines. It’s fine if you marry her.」

「So your excellency will do that if you’re in my place?」

Alford’s face scowled in displeasure at Baldr’s question.

「Is there any idiot who will want to become related with parasite?」

「That’s how it is. Mileton House’s aim is Antrim House’s assets. They  want to make use of this relationship to take in Antrim House to the  faction of conservative nobles. I still don’t have the intention to be  in opposition against his majesty Welkin.」

「From the way you say that, it sounds like you’re going to oppose him one day.」

「……Well, I want to get at least some payback from him one day.」

The influence of blood relationship in noble society was great.

If a noble didn’t help someone despite the blood relationship between  them, that noble’s evaluation would fall among the high society. He  would also be considered as incompetent with managing his own clique.

That was to say, if Baldr married Agatha and then abandoned Mileton  House that was in danger of bankruptcy, it would become extremely  difficult for Baldr to form connection with his fellow nobles.

Of course it was obvious that if Baldr rejected the marriage talk  with Agatha, he would be considered as disrespecting the influence of  the great noble backing Mileton House and numerous nobles would break  off relations with him.

Alford too wasn’t that foolish a politician that he couldn’t see that big picture.

However…….

「That’s why I’m asking, where is there a reason for Randolph House to  have to go as far as adopting miss Agatha just to help you lord Baldr?」

Alford understood the objective of Mileton House and the nobles behind them.

The problem was why did he have to adopt Agatha in order to protect  Baldr from that scheme? It wasn’t the business of Marquis Randolph  House, a noted family that was one of the ten great nobles.

Agatha thought that what Alford said was only natural.

For any nobles, trickery of that level was something that all of them  would more or less play with. There shouldn’t be any reason at all for  Randolph House to give Antrim House a special treatment and saved them  from this.

「──That’s because the target of this scheme isn’t my Antrim House but his majesty the king.」

Alford’s eyes narrowed quietly at Baldr’s words.

「This kind of plot is perfectly commonplace in noble society. However  their true aim isn’t Antrim House. They are trying to reopen the war  once more.」

「I want to refute you saying that there is no way such foolish people exist but……what is your basis of your claim?」

The previous war had proved just how stupid nobles could be simply for the sake of the profit before their eyes.

The number of noble houses that launched reckless attack repeatedly  for the sake of honor and reward only to end up losing their lives  helplessly reached dozens of houses regardless of their house’s size.

If the number of retainers that were made to accompany those foolish  nobles was included, thousands of lives were lost without any meaning at  all.

At that time Alford was assisting his father who was still alive. He  had seen so many of his former comrades fell into ruin that he got fed  up with it.

「Does your excellency really think that Count Orkney is going to  seriously back up a mere baronet house like Mileton? And is Antrim  really that valuable that all the discontented nobles starting from  Count Hastings will group up just to crush us?」

Now that Baldr said it, that was true. Alford nodded in agreement.

Mileton House didn’t have that many connections that they could enter  a faction of nobles. They were just a tiny existence that was no  different from commoner from the perspective of noted family like  Randolph House.

In contrast with that, although not as influential as Randolph House,  Orkney House and Hastings House were also counted as noted families of  the kingdom. It was too unbalanced for nobles of their status to back up  Mileton House.

「If it’s just as you say then, what are they trying──I see, disownment!」

Alford deduced the answer on his own before Baldr replied.

It was an old custom that there were fewer people who remembered it than those who weren’t.

Alford accurately discerned the meaning of the unwritten law where it  would be fine for nobles to not send reinforcement to a noble who they  had broken off relationship with.

「──How very self-centered. They are planning to use Antrim as bait to lure Haurelia!」

Why did they try to entrap Antrim with this kind of scheme even  though there wasn’t any considerable financial profit that they could  possibly gain from it?

Baldr’s status as the heir of Count Cornelius had a large meaning here.

Cornelius House was the irreconcilable enemy of Haurelia Kingdom, or  rather Marquis Selvi. What would happen if its heir appeared at Antrim  that could be said as the frontline?

It wouldn’t end with just Marquis Selvi feeling displeasure.

Such act meant the increase of influence at the border of Cornelius  House that was a prestigious military noble. At the same time it was  also like Cornelius House presenting its Achilles’ heel right in front  of the enemy’s eyes.

If it went well, it would also be possible to lure Ignis and Maggot to Antrim to save their son.

Ignis was certainly a famous general and Maggot was a peerless  warrior, but Cornelius army was able to fight the large army of Haurelia  was mostly because of the geographic advantage at Cornelius territory  when they fought defensively.

What would happen if Mauricia nobles were all breaking off relationship with Baldr?

Here comes a sucker just begging to be parted from his money. There  was a possibility that Haurelia Kingdom would make such judgment in  front of this ideal chance.

「──They are like children playing with fire. They won’t understand just how dangerous it is until their clothes caught on fire.」

「It’s pointless to expect loyalty to the country from them. They must  be planning to change side to Haurelia as soon as the situation looks  bad.」

「They’re going to go that far!?」

I swear on my mettle as a noble that there is no such traitor in this kingdom. Alford was unable to say that.

A moronic noble like Hayne might only think of everything using their  own conveniences. But there was no way the mastermind behind him  couldn’t notice the possibility of Mauricia Kingdom’s destruction.

They wouldn’t care even if the kingdom was destroyed if it was in order to protect their own vested rights.

They were none other than parasites that were nesting inside Mauricia.

「This is troublesome……even if by some chance they aren’t actually  planning to involve Haurelia, there is no way Haurelia will just watch  quietly without doing anything.」

Although the faction opposing the king had fallen to be the minority  faction right now, they still had enough strength that couldn’t be  underestimated. And there was no doubt that there were traitors that  would turn to Haurelia Kingdom among them.

The problem was the identity of those traitors…….

「It will depend on which side Duke Beaufort(ボーフォート) is on.」

Who was the number one among the ten great nobles at the present  time? There was no need to argue about the answer. That would be the  prime minister, Duke Harold Edinburgh(ハロルド – エジンバラ).

However in the past that position belonged to Beaufort House for a long time before the war.

Even now the house still possessed powerful influence that surpassed Randolph House.

The current head Arnold(アーノルド) had bad relationship with the king  Welkin. He was famous as a defender of the vested interests of feudal  lord nobility.

It was said that his stance was greatly influenced by the death of his beloved eldest son at the war.

Arnold was already seventy years old. His successor was his grandson  Austin(オースティン) who was still 17 years old. Various difficulties were  expected when the head of the house was changed.

The one who played the role as the educator of this Austin and also  boasted to be his guardian was the vanguard of discontent nobles, Count  Hastings.

The influence of Duke Beaufort who counted as Welkin’s uncle and  possessed vast territory at the northern part of the kingdom was great.

If the discontent nobles gathered under him, there was no doubt that a  fourth of the kingdom’s force would change side to the enemy.

「……It’s not his majesty’s fault that Duke Beaufort’s son died at that time. That old man is really troublesome.」

Arnold’s only son, Harry Beaufort(ハリー・ボーフォート) was someone who couldn’t be said as capable even when viewed in a favorable light.

He was a man that was like the embodiment of vanity. His notable  trait was how his reason for living was to gain even greater fame than  the king Welkin.

Perhaps it was because of that, he unexpectedly encountered a force  of Haurelia army at the early stage of the war and died easily in  battle.

Perhaps if the fate was slightly different, it was possible that  there was a future where it was Arnold who became the king and  consequently Harry as the crown prince.

If only Arnold was born three years earlier, or if his big brother the previous king, Wales died at young age…

It was such feeling of rivalry that drove his son to such recklessness. But Arnold was trying to forget it by hating Welkin.

He wanted to think that he lost his son because he was unable to ascend to the throne.

Since then, Beaufort House kept getting in the way of the various reformations that Welkin and Harold proposed.

Thinking calmly, the possibility that Beaufort House wasn’t involved with this outrageous plot was low.

「If Agatha is welcomed into Randolph House as an adopted daughter, I  believe the number of nobles who announced disownment will be few. After  all at the surface we won’t violate any noble custom. Of course Count  Orkney and Count Hastings will announce disownment with us, but the  scale of this event won’t be at the level that make Haurelia burst into  action.」

Alford nodded with a bitter expression at Baldr’s words.

「If the mastermind is Duke Beaufort, having his majesty protecting  you will only bring the opposite effect. It might even become a civil  war if Haurelia invade at that timing.」

That would be a nightmarish future for Mauricia Kingdom.

If the kingdom was forced into an all-out war while the discontented  nobles and the royal family were in the middle of confrontation, it  would be difficult to win the war unless a miracle occurred.

Luckily or unluckily, the previous war ended up in a draw with both  sides paying heavy price. But because of that there were a lot of nobles  who were underestimating how dangerous the current situation was. That  was a problem.

Besides it was unthinkable that the discontented nobles who switched  sides to Haurelia would get away unscathed after Mauricia Kingdom was  destroyed.

Having nobles who might turn traitor anytime would only bring great  harm to the royal authority without providing even single advantage.  Haurelia Kingdom would surely search for a chance to put a false charge  on them one day and purged them.

This was what they called counting one’s chickens before they had hatched.

However Alford knew that the number of nobles who were swayed with  such over-optimistic calculation wasn’t few by any means. In the worst  case, Haurelia Kingdom might even tempted Duke Beaufort with the  possibility of him getting the throne to make him dance on the palm of  their hand.

「……It’s that old man. He might be thinking that he can lead Haurelia around by their nose to obtain even better result……」

「For Haurelia it will be most satisfactory already if they can just  make those nobles stay positively neutral toward them after all. They  won’t hesitate to make as many empty promises as they can. From the  beginning they don’t have any intention to keep those promises afterward  though…….」

In the first place, the prerequisites of both sides were different.

Haurelia Kingdom was completely serious to destroy Mauricia.

The discontented nobles who wanted to destroy Welkin and profited greatly from it were decisively lacking in such awareness.

「We will lose to Haurelia if they work together with those nobles and  cause an uprising. There is no doubt about it. The problem is how to  not make them burst into action.」

「Those bunches who can only badmouth his majesty from the shadow won’t have the guts to go that far.」

They would revolt only when Haurelia Kingdom’s victory was practically assured.

Besides, if they had the guts to oppose Welkin from the start, they  would not need to dirty their hand with this kind of cowardly scheme.

However it was also necessary to handle the matter of Agatha carefully to not make any opening that could be taken advantage of.

「──Let’s return to the first question. I understand the reason why I  need to make Miss Agatha my adopted child. However that is not a reason  why it has to be our house.」

「I guess……」

Baldr scratched his head with a troubled look while sending a glance at the oil painting.

Alford nodded deeply to show that he didn’t mind for Baldr to  continue talking even while noticing the meaning of Baldr’s gesture.

「There is still another old custom other than disownment. For  example, something like how it’s allowed to send reinforcement  independently in case a kinsman of the third degree is attacked by other  country.」

Alford’s face turned red in rage the instant he heard those words.

「You bastard! You’re planning to count on the help of Randolph House’s soldier! There is a limit even in being conceited!」

「Your excellency, please think of this as a domestic military  alliance with blood relationship as the intermediary. Antrim has been  making preparation to give the coming invasion to Trystovy our full  support.」

Alford was honestly speechless at the attack that came from a completely unexpected direction.

However he immediately recovered his composure and glared at Baldr with a sharp gaze like a hawk.

Against that intense gaze, Agatha who was nothing more than a mere  young woman despite her capability was desperately stopping her teeth  from clattering in fear.

(Please don’t anger the marquis even more than this~~!)

If Alford got seriously angered, Agatha’s life would be lightly blown  away like a mere feather. It wouldn’t stop there, even her innocent  relatives at Mileton House might also get harmed.

The marquis Alford Randolph was someone who could go that far.

「Brat. I’ll praise your sharp with for exposing this scheme just from  the circumstantial evidences. However know that Randolph House will  become your enemy if I judge that there is no basis with your words just  now.」

Alford emitted a vigor and spirit that only a noted noble who shouldered the foundation of the kingdom could have.

For Agatha who had only interacted with her father and brother who  lacked any potential for advancement, the pressure she felt made it  difficult for her to even breathe.

「Your excellency, please calm yourself. Look, even that strong-minded Agatha is looking this scared……」

「I’m just a daughter of an unremarkable noble! It’s my lord who is  strange that you can still stay calm like that in this situation!」

Agatha had no experience in facing an inhuman monster like Baldr.

It wasn’t her fault that she was getting scared and trembling by this situation.

Everything was Baldr’s fault.

「──Threatening you isn’t amusing at all. However my words just now aren’t a lie you know?」

It seemed his pressure just now was mostly an acting. The heavy aura that Alford emitted dispersed like it had never existed.

Agatha was finally liberated from the pressure and she was able to regain her calm.

「An all-out clash with Haurelia Kingdom will only be nightmare for  your excellency who is aiming to take back Trystovy. It’s easy to see  that with common sense.」

「Impudent talk! There is no way something like that is common sense!」

An urge to strangle the neck of the brazenly smiling Baldr ran through Alford.

Certainly, as Randolph House had Silk, the only one with the right to  inherit the throne of Trystovy Kingdom, it was reasonable to think that  they were aiming to recapture Trystovy.

However Alford didn’t have the slightest intention to use Silk as a political tool.

To be frank, he wanted to just sever the relationship with Trystovy  for Silk’s sake, but as he couldn’t do that, he wanted to at least  reduce the risks that would endanger Silk.

Alford was maneuvering behind the scene to split up the duke faction  of Trystovy Dukedom and lobbying many nobles to smooth over the invasion  that would happen in the future.

It was a bitter realization to know that Baldr had learned of the  movement that he did in absolute secrecy, but even more important than  that, if Baldr carelessly spread this information around, it would mean  wasting all the efforts that Alford had done for many years.

(How? How can this brat learned about my maneuvers?)

Baldr’s discernment that could see through the plot of the discontented nobles was certainly something uncommon.

But Alford was also a first class politician. Especially when it came  to diplomacy. In most cases, connections and debts that had been  cultivated for many years were more necessary than talent in this field.

If Baldr was able to easily grab him by the tail like this, the only  possibility that Alford could think was that he had committed some kind  of fatal miss somewhere that got him exposed.

「Originally someone like me who has no acquaintance at Trystovy can’t  possibly learn about your excellency’s maneuvers there. But if I use a  different approach, it’s not that difficult to at least find your  intent.」

「──Talk. I won’t allow you to hide anything.」

Alfred’s tone sounded like he would kill Baldr if he didn’t talk. Baldr only smiled wryly with aloofness.

Agatha’s heart jumped in her chest seeing Baldr’s composed bearing.

Even if she searched the whole Mauricia, she wouldn’t find ten people who could receive Alford’s serious gaze head-on like this.

It seemed that it wasn’t just Baldr’s knowledge and martial art that were outside of the norm.

(But──it’s because my lord is like this that it’s so pleasurable to bully him!)

Baldr felt a chill running through his spine. He continued his words even while feeling puzzled by the feeling.

「I don’t have any connection with the nobles at Trystovy, or even any  spy or intermediary there. That’s why I don’t know what kind of  measures your excellency has been preparing there but……」

No matter how abnormal Baldr was, Trystovy was just too far.

Baldr had only just become a viscount of a remote territory. Only  stupid and puny noble would bother to make any time to deal with a  foreigner of such status.

But for the people of a certain sort, Baldr was a VVIP who they mustn’t turn into enemy no matter what.

「──There is a lot of money moving hand to several Trystovy nobles in  the archduke faction. They’re a bunch without any patience, that’s why  they immediately attempted to exchange the money into promissory note.」

For general trading companies like Dowding Company for example, it  was normal for them to use promissory note for payment of foreign trade.

It was dangerous and inefficient to walk around carrying a lot of cash in hand.

There was a close mutual relationship of complementation between  companies when it came to circulation of money and goods and foreign  exchange. Naturally Dowding Company had deep knowledge about the  payments that were carried out there.

And then, Baldr and Selina were close with the fourth department of Dowding Company that was supervising such information.

「Those stupid pigs. Even though I had stressed so much how it would be suspicious if they suddenly throw money around……」

「They just wanted to convert the money immediately and feel self-satisfaction. It seems they’re quite cornered right now.」

In the first place Trystovy was operating using the tax yields from  the business transactions by many merchants, and yet the archduke  faction turned those merchants into enemy at the civil war. Many of the  nobles of the archduke faction were destitute right now. There were even  some among them who regretted joining hand with the archduke.

That was the reason why Alford didn’t think that regaining Trystovy was just a pipe dream.

「Weapons are also being send to the merchants of port city Mulberry.  And it seems there were military personnel who had received formal  education being dispatched in order to training the militias.」

「Are the lips of merchants actually that loose?」

Alford sighed in exasperation.

It had been exposed this completely that it felt foolish to even try to hide it.

He had never considered it before, but he had to think of countermeasure if this much information was leaked from the merchants.

「They will keep their promise if they are given hush money. But the  flow of money is the only thing that cannot be falsified. After all  their reputation is assured exactly by money.」

There was nothing more pitiful than a merchant without money. To have  no money and being unable to do any transaction was like a fish that  got stranded on land.

Exactly because of that, they were an existence that was always loyal toward money.

「In other words my awareness has been insufficient huh.」

「I’d still believe that your excellency is doing such thing even if I  have no information at all about it. There is no way that your  excellency won’t try to take back Trystovy before Silk reach the age  where she will have to bear the full brunt of it.」

Another banging sound came from behind the oil painting.

Alford glared at Baldr with a face that looked like he had bitten a  sour grape because a matter that he didn’t want anyone to know about  became known.

He finally realized the reason why just now Baldr was concerned with the person who was behind the oil painting.

「──It’s my defeat. I’ll welcome Miss Agatha as an adopted daughter of  Randolph House just as you asked. Though of course it will only be as a  daughter who doesn’t have any inheritance right.」

「My deepest thanks, your excellency.」

Baldr let out a sigh of relieve because he had won this dangerous bet. But then Alford made a mean-spirited gaze.

It wasn’t good to say this but, Baldr was taking the depth of the malice in noble society too lightly.

That might be because Baldr’s true nature as someone virtuous, but if  he stayed like this, he would get tripped up by that malice one day.

「Seeing that I will become Agatha’s father, there is no way I can let  my daughter to stay in a dangerous place like Antrim. I guess I’ll have  Agatha stay behind here.」

「What-?」

Baldr was flustered by Alford’s completely unexpected words.

Agatha was a completely indispensable person for Antrim House.

That was why Baldr was asking for Alford’s help like this, and yet it  would be putting the cart before the horse if Agatha got taken away by  Randolph House.

「Hmph, I’m satisfied just from being able to see that face. However  to be frank, the best I can do in case Antrim get dragged into war is  only to take Agatha back home.」

Even if it was the custom of noble to dispatch soldier for the sake  of saving their son or daughter, it still didn’t change the fact that  doing that would disturb the order of the kingdom.

A befitting pretext would be necessary in order to justify of going as far as dispatching soldiers independently.

「If you’re seeking for a concrete military alliance between us, then  just making Agatha my adopted child won’t be enough. You should marry  Agatha as my adopted daughter.」

*Crash, bam!*

The sound of something falling from high place to the floor came from  behind the oil painting. Right after that there was the sound of a door  being opened loudly and it was followed by the sound of feet stamping  noisily through the corridor.

「──Otou-sama! What are you saying!?」

Silk appeared while breathing hard. For an instant Alford wondered if  he had raised her wrong while telling her with a cold tone.

「I meant what I said. What is it that you are opposing? This is the  best choice to accomplish you and your late mother’s dearest wish.」

「B-but then, what about Agatha-oneesama’s own will……」

「Do you think that a girl whose life is targeted by her family has  any room to be picky? If you think that you can prepare an even better  candidate for marriage than this for Agatha then tell me. However if you  can’t then don’t say anything.」

Her father’s uncompromising words told how her words wouldn’t be able to reach her father no matter how much she opposed this.

Silk turned her gaze toward Baldr looking for help, but her  expression froze in disappointment seeing how he only looked down with  his fist clenched.

「N-no way……!」

Tears unconsciously leaked out from her eyes.

Baldr was unable to spurn her father’s demand.

She understood that clearly.

Silk turned around on her heel and rushed out of the room to escape from Baldr and Agatha.

「You made use of me, your excellency……!」

「You  yourself are trying to make use of me aren’t you? Or perhaps,  are you saying that you lord will marry Silk and succeed this Randolph  House?」

Alford calmly received the hateful gaze of Baldr that was even filled with killing intent.

「That girl too should abandon her lingering attachment to you too  already. There are things that you will inevitably lose as the price of  chasing your dream. If she doesn’t has the intention of forsaking the  will that her mother left behind, what is she going to do if she doesn’t  have the resolve to discard one or two love? Or perhaps, are you saying  that there is a choice where everyone can be happy without sacrificing a  single thing, brat?」

Mankind wouldn’t experience war if there was something so convenient.

Alford was completely correct.

Baldr had faintly noticed Silk’s feeling. But he was lacking in capability and resolve to make that came true.

Even so, Baldr had to say this.

「Something that is impossible today might not stay impossible in the  future. I absolutely won’t give up searching for even better choice for  the sake of my important companions.」

「──Big words. Then come again when you have this so called choice that can convince me.」

The current Baldr didn’t have anything to say to that.

.

Silk leaped to her bed while crying. She kept crying for a while.

She was feeling a bottomless despair that felt like the ground she  had been standing on until now had crumbled and she was swallowed into  abyss. It made her aware of just how attracted she was to Baldr.

And she once more realized why she was able to always watch like an  outsider even with the engagement of Seyruun and Selina right before her  eyes.

──There was a fate that wouldn’t let Silk and Baldr to marry.

She was simply averting her gaze from that conclusion.

At the very least she was able to dream that there might be a  possibility of her getting married with Baldr while she was averting her  gaze like that.

Her father was rebuking her because she kept acting by halves like that.

Silk was someone who shouldered the future of Trystovy, while Baldr  was the heir of Cornelius House that was the cornerstone against  Haurelia Kingdom. If she thought it through, there were insurmountable  obstacles for them to marry due to political reason and difference in  social status.

It wasn’t like a marriage between an only son and an only daughter never happened in noble society.

However in such case, the two would need two children as heir. One of  the children would be adopted by the other house to be heir.

Until the second child was born, the house that gave away their heir as bride or groom would stay heirless.

Of course in case that the pair couldn’t produce more than one  children, the house without heir would become discontinued or they would  need to adopt a child from other house to be the heir.

Randolph House that was one of the ten great nobles and Cornelius  House that was a corner stone in Mauricia’s national defense weren’t so  trivial of houses that it could be permitted for them to be in such  unstable situation.

In addition there was no way King Welkin would allow such risky  situation where there was a chance that one of the two houses would  become extinct.

After all both houses were indispensable existences in the politic and military of Mauricia Kingdom.

(That’s why, I can only give up.)

Yes. Hadn’t she also arrived at that conclusion in the day when she sent off Agatha to Antrim?

But, perhaps──if it was Baldr then perhaps, he might manage it somehow.

She knew she should just let go already, but even now Silk was unable to throw away such sweet expectation.

She didn’t know that she was a woman who was this frail and foolish.

(I’m sorry, Otou-sama……just a bit more……give me just a bit more time……)