Chapter 82. We Are Westfalen (1)
Ronalp’s knight order was powerful.
The Count himself was a Sword Master.
The territory also had a large population that could be mobilized as soldiers.
Even so, I could not accept a one-sided and humiliating agreement.
First, I needed to buy time through a mixture of persuasion and threats.
“Ronalp doesn’t own a single ship, does it? And the canal is shallow and narrow, so only specially built ships can operate there. Unfortunately, there won’t be any shipyard available to accept orders for several years. On top of that, if we permanently connect the canal to the sea, saltwater will flow backward during high tide and damage our farmland. The groundwater beneath the lord’s city would also be contaminated. We would lose the freshwater needed for both the canal and the port.”
In reality, there was a massive lake in the middle of the construction route.
We were also building levees, weirs, locks, and other structures to control seawater.
Karin did not seem to know that.
So I kept it secret.
She looked slightly flustered.
The salt damage might have been obvious.
The ship problem was something she would know nothing about.
“I didn’t know that. But if we find a way...”
Now it was time for the threat.
I sharply interrupted her.
“**How. Ever.** About that surplus wheat. I realized Ronalp would fall into serious chaos if I stopped handling it.”
Ronalp and Ferrand possessed vast farmland.
In the past, their excess wheat either rotted or had to be sold to other territories at extremely low prices.
I had been the one moving that wheat to Catalonia.
If I suddenly stopped handling the surplus wheat, prices would collapse and Ronalp’s economy would suffer heavily.
There was a massive difference between never having something,
and having it before suddenly losing it.
“What... Are you threatening me?”
“Yes. I’m threatening you. That’s always been our relationship, hasn’t it?”
“Ghk!”
It was already late summer.
Harvest season would begin in only a few months.
Now that export routes had opened, Ronalp had probably produced far more wheat than usual.
With this threat, Karin would be unable to say much until the surplus stock disappeared around next spring.
“You’re becoming arrogant. There are plenty of ways to maintain wheat prices.”
“Will those methods really work?”
Judging from her expression, she was probably thinking of fixed prices.
But that would create severe side effects.
Foreign wheat would be smuggled in.
It might honestly be better for the lord to purchase surplus wheat and burn it.
Karin’s face turned red.
She jumped to her feet.
“Viscount Marcel, I’ll see how long that confidence lasts!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Karin Ronalp stormed out of the reception room.
Apparently, I needed to find a way to shut Ronalp up permanently.
If I left things as they were, we would simply return to the old situation.
* * *
When Pascal and Martin returned and reported the situation in Westfalen,
I finally thought of a way to defend against Ronalp’s bullying.
Help the loyalist coup that was going to happen anyway.
Restore Count Michael’s hegemony.
If that succeeded, everyone would naturally assume Marcel and Westfalen had repaired their relationship.
From an outsider’s perspective, I was Michael’s only remaining heir.
For the time being, neither Ronalp nor anyone else would casually interfere with Marcel.
Marcel plus Westfalen against Ronalp.
Anyone could see which side was weaker.
Especially after the canal was completed.
Ronalp would constantly worry that Westfalen troops might travel downriver toward them.
I gathered Knight Commander Axel and my chiefs.
“We will support the loyalist coup in Westfalen.”
Axel did not immediately understand.
“You mean we are helping Count Michael Westfalen?”
“More precisely, we restore the Count’s authority by cutting down Countess Lorian, Lady Sophia, and Knight Commander Cain. During that process, we also eliminate every newly appointed official who obtained a position through corruption.”
Everyone became tense when I presented such a specific death list.
Pascal and Martin looked especially startled.
The pro-Michael nobles and quasi-nobles of Westfalen probably only planned to drive those people out.
They likely had not discussed cutting off heads.
Those bastards are too soft. A bloodless coup in this world will always fail.
A world of swords and magic.
How could anyone seize political power without bloodshed?
It was difficult even on modern Earth, where mass media existed and individuals had relatively equal physical power.
Chloe, however, trembled with a wicked smile.
She must have been imagining Lorian’s head flying.
“Ahem. Sorry, Chloe, but you stay here.”
“What? Why?”
“Run the territory in my place. You’re acting lord. Use delegated authority.”
Chloe’s shoulders dropped.
She had just lost her chance to watch the fun.
“Sniff. But my lord, will the former Count really remain silent? Even if he’s under house arrest, he still has strong connections with nobles in the capital, including Count Otto Leopold.”
“We have legitimacy. And if they casually strip Michael of his title when there is no clear successor, every provincial lord will feel threatened and start resisting.”
The lords of Franche had protested when Court Count Chatillon interfered in Corse.
There was no way the Germania Imperial Family had forgotten that incident.
And Chancellor Count Leopold was not Chatillon.
He was a legal scholar and philosopher who had completed the legal code of the Germania Empire under the ideal of absolute monarchy.
He was also a respectable noble.
He was not some thug who executed nobles without justification.
And the biggest advantage of a loyalist coup?
Once it succeeded, nobody could complain.
We were protecting the ruler of the territory.
What were they going to do about it?
“What if we also request help from the Cardinal of Aachen?”
“I don’t really like that.”
“We still need insurance.”
Would the Cardinal help me?
Our relationship had begun with mutual profit.
If he believed there was money or some other advantage to be gained from joining this game, he might cooperate.
I needed to write an excellent letter.
“Fine. I’ll send a messenger. Sir Axel, select a durable knight. Have him ride day and night directly to Aachen.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Now I’ll decide who comes with me. Pascal, Martin, Raul, both ghouls, and Sir Pierre.”
Axel seemed puzzled.
“Even Sir Pierre? Are you not bringing more regular knights?”
“If we bring too many, people will become suspicious. The number of knights isn’t what matters here. I’ll take only four regular knights. Sir Axel, choose Mid-rank men. And Sir Pierre used to be the Westfalen Knight Commander. If we want to use his old relationships for information warfare, we absolutely need him.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Pascal had become so nervous that his legs were shaking.
“But how are you planning to enter? With Young Lord Noah dead, inspections should be much tighter. Are we infiltrating through Palatinate?”
“What are you talking about? Obviously, I’m going to pay my respects. We’ll enter through the front gate openly.”
