Chapter 56

Chapter 56. Domestic Affairs (1)

The office of the Marcel lord’s residence.

The moment I returned, I summoned Chloe, Chief of Foreign Affairs.

The subject was, naturally, the creation of an intelligence department.

“Chloe, this latest incident made me realize something very clearly. We absolutely need a department that handles intelligence. Its top priorities will be monitoring the movements of neighboring territories and rooting out spies.”

“So we plant our own spies while pulling out the enemy’s spies. Is that the correct way to understand it?”

“Exactly. And what I’m about to tell you stays with you alone.”

Chloe’s expression became serious.

I explained all the interference Marcel had suffered from other territories until now.

“...So, to summarize, we’re planning a marriage alliance with Ronalp, but we can’t completely relax around them. Dijon wants Westfalen, and if they succeed, they’ll eventually target Marcel too. And either Perrier or Toulouse seems to want something from us.”

“May I give you my opinion?”

“Speak freely.”

She was usually blunt enough already, so I was slightly worried about what she might say.

“I don’t believe Dijon can take Westfalen. Young Lord Noah doesn’t even have a child.”

“I know. But we still need to prepare.”

“Then I’ll lower them on the priority list.”

“And?”

“I don’t think you need to worry much about Ronalp. They don’t seem capable of that level of scheming.”

The ruling line of Ronalp had changed.

Its capable officials had either died or grown old.

According to Chloe, the current officials were inexperienced and foolish.

“The enemy I’m more worried about is the one we still can’t identify.”

“Can you plant spies there?”

Chloe shrugged.

“That would be impossible at first. I’ll start by recruiting useful people and moving them into the area. Sometimes general information about local movements is enough to infer someone’s intentions.”

“Will you start with Perrier?”

The Perrier Territory bordered Marcel to the west.

A major river and wetlands blocked the overland route, but geographically, it was still close.

“No. We should actually begin with Toulouse.”

The Toulouse Territory was an inland territory west of Perrier.

“Why?”

“Although they are both count territories, their capabilities are very different. Perrier doesn’t even possess a proper port, and Toulouse is the only territory connected to it by land. Perrier practically survives through trade with Toulouse.”

Simply touching the sea did not mean a territory could operate a proper port.

The Perrier Territory was surrounded by huge marshes and tidal flats.

Only small flat-bottomed vessels could move there.

Larger ships risked becoming stranded in the mudflats.

That meant Perrier could only conduct major trade overland.

And its only overland route led to Toulouse.

“So you believe Perrier is economically dependent on Toulouse?”

“After reviewing several records, that is the conclusion I reached.”

I already knew that much.

I simply wanted to confirm it through Chloe.

“Excellent. As expected of you, Chloe.”

She smiled brightly.

So she was weak to praise.

Then Chloe said,

“However, my lord, one of the spies planted inside our territory has already been exposed.”

That was news to me.

If they were already exposed, how could I not know?

“Who?”

“Lady Maria’s maid. She is Countess Lorian Westfalen’s spy.”

My head immediately began to hurt.

I had missed the spy sitting right beneath my nose.

“Why did Countess Lorian plant a spy?”

Chloe sighed.

“She is genuinely afraid that you will rebel.”

“Rebel? She thinks I’m going to overthrow Young Lord Noah?”

“Yes. I tried telling her it was a baseless delusion, but she refused to listen.”

Considering Lorian’s personality, I could understand how that happened.

I simply disliked being the target of her paranoia.

“I can’t casually kill Mother’s maid. They’ve known each other for ten years.”

“I know. But we cannot simply leave her alone. We have no idea what orders she may receive later.”

Chloe was worried about assassination.

Not of me.

Of my mother.

“Does Lorian have some kind of leverage over her? Why would she agree to become a spy?”

“Her entire family remains in Westfalen.”

“So they’ve been hostages from the beginning. She must have been spying for a long time.”

I tapped my fingers against the desk and thought.

Would bringing her entire family here solve the problem? No. Leaving aside whether that’s even possible, someone who has already worked as a spy could always do it again.

Seeing me hesitate, Chloe carefully suggested,

“Why not ask Lady Maria for her opinion? She is a wise woman. She should make the right decision.”

That was the proper approach.

Still, as the head of the family, a part of me wanted to handle it myself.

“I suppose there’s no choice. I’ll discuss it with Mother.”

“Yes, my lord. Then what about the other spies?”

“The moment we identify them, have Raul, Chief of Security Affairs, arrest them. Interrogate them under torture and execute them.”

“Won’t you use any of them to spread false information?”

“They’ll cross-check their information anyway.”

“Surprisingly, many spies are quite naive.”

Would anyone really fall for deliberate misinformation?

Well, the Ronalp officials did seem rather naive.

“I’ll decide that on a case-by-case basis. Leave the spies useful for misinformation alive.”

“Understood.”

* * *

I went to find my mother.

She was in the backyard of the lord’s residence, filtering oil for soap while wearing an apron.

“Eric, marriage seems to have made your face brighter.”

“Mother... My bride is a ghoul.”

She merely laughed.

Mother had recently become absorbed in producing soap and cosmetics.

Then she forcibly sold them to the wives of local nobles and merchants.

Fortunately, the quality was good.

Otherwise, forcing people to buy so much probably would have created resentment.

She intended to use the profits for relief work among the poor.

I looked at the large amount of oil.

“That’s a lot of oil. Where did you get it?”

“It was imported olive oil from Catalonia.”

That was going to become ridiculously expensive soap.

“Why did you come all the way here? Did you want to talk about something?”

“Yes. About your maid.”

Mother stopped working and looked at me.

“Has Chloe already started moving?”

So Mother already knew.

“I’ll follow your wishes.”

“Really?”

“But I will keep her under surveillance. If she uses poison, we may not be able to stop it in time.”

Mother chuckled.

“That child doesn’t have the courage for something like that.”

“I heard her family is being held hostage.”

“She is the kind of child who would accept that as fate.”

“...Do you even intend to prevent me from warning her?”

“I’ll handle it myself. Leave her alone.”

Mother immediately returned to filtering the oil.

I watched her for a moment, said goodbye, and left.

Is she truly trustworthy, or does Mother simply want to trust her?

I could not bet anyone’s life on something that uncertain.