Chapter 83. We Are Westfalen (2)
Cut off Eric’s head myself? No. Why should I take that risk?
Even Cain, simple and violent as he was, could not casually attack a noble like Eric.
There was a reason nobles could exist as nobles.
If someone touched one,
other nobles rushed in and showed them how badly they had fucked up.
To eliminate one noble, Cain needed another noble standing behind him.
During the previous assassination attempt, Noah had served as that backing.
Now Cain needed a replacement.
So he went to Countess Lorian.
Lorian was still the true power behind Westfalen.
Even the influence of the former Count still flowed through her.
Cain entered Lorian’s chambers with the Head Maid.
The moment he stepped inside, he covered his nose.
Ugh. What is that smell? This woman really hasn’t taken a single step outside.
The room was filled with the mixed smells of excrement, perfume, sweat, and several other unpleasant things.
After her only son Noah died, Lorian had locked herself in the room in grief.
If Count Michael had cared for her even slightly, it might not have become this bad.
Michael was probably ignoring Lorian while playing around in the beds of his mistresses.
Cain approached Lorian.
She lay on her bed, silently staring out the window.
“This is Knight Commander Cain.”
Lorian slowly turned her head.
Her empty eyes reflected how deeply she had been broken by loss.
“Eric has come here.”
“......”
Even the name Eric seemed unable to stir her.
She turned back toward the window.
“You should avenge Young Lord Noah.”
That made Lorian look at Cain again.
Focus slowly returned to her eyes.
“What do you mean, avenge him?”
“Isn’t it obvious Eric killed the Young Lord?”
“...Explain.”
“Think carefully. Who benefits most from Young Lord Noah’s death? Only Eric. He must have cursed the Young Lord to kill him, then come here to become Count Michael’s successor.”
Lorian’s lips moved weakly.
She still did not seem convinced.
Cain pulled out something from the past to drive the final nail.
“Eric has the signet ring. He is definitely going to start a rebellion.”
“...!”
Lorian’s eyes widened.
Everyone had always mocked her suspicions as delusions.
Now those delusions seemed to be becoming reality.
It felt as though fire suddenly ignited inside her chest.
“A rebellion! Eric is starting a rebellion!”
“Yes. Just give the order. I will bring you the head of Eric, the leader of the rebellion.”
Cain opened a scroll he had prepared in advance.
The title read,
‘Order for the Suppression of Rebellion.’
Eric was named as the leader of the rebels.
Below that was a death list containing nobles and quasi-nobles belonging to the pro-Michael faction.
Several retainers had already signed it.
Only the final signature line remained blank.
“Sign it.”
The Head Maid, who had already been bought by Cain, handed Lorian a feather pen.
Lorian’s hand shook violently.
But she signed.
“I want bloody revenge against my son’s killer... Sir Cain, please.”
Lorian trembled and cried.
The sight was pitiful enough to inspire sympathy in most people.
Cain merely smiled.
“Hehehe. I will set everything right.”
Even after leaving for the knight order headquarters, Cain could not stop smiling.
Noah’s death had ruined the marriage between Noah and Cain’s daughter.
But Count Michael still remained.
If Cain used the death list in his hand to eliminate every opposing faction,
then married his daughter to Michael,
he would become Michael’s father-in-law.
Wouldn’t that make me practically a Count? I would effectively become a noble. Hehehe.
Cain’s grin widened until his white teeth shone.
* * *
Knight Commander Cain first wanted accurate numbers.
He scattered his knights through the lord’s city to gather intelligence.
The result was bad.
“The enemy has thirty-seven knights?”
“Yes. Both Deputy Commanders appear to have joined that side, the faction supporting Eric and Count Michael.”
The Westfalen Knight Order had four Deputy Commanders.
Two had recently been dispatched to the colonies, removing them from the current struggle.
One had always been friendly with Pierre and the Head Butler, placing him firmly in the pro-Michael faction.
The other position had belonged to Brock.
After Brock died, a politically neutral knight had been selected as the new Deputy Commander.
Now both remaining Deputy Commanders had switched sides.
Twenty knights stationed around the lord’s castle followed those two.
Ten more knights had arrived with branch-family nobles.
Eric had declared seven knights at the inspection point.
Then intelligence arrived that both the former Guard Captain and the current Cavalry Commander had joined Eric’s side.
Cain had always ignored factional loyalties among ordinary soldiers.
That effectively meant almost every soldier stationed around the lord’s castle now supported Eric.
We have twenty knights. They have at least thirty-seven plus soldiers. Numerically, we are at a disadvantage. I am a Sword Master, but if this becomes a chaotic melee, I cannot predict the result.
A Sword Master was powerful.
But if a street battle broke out around buildings and narrow roads,
even a Sword Master could exhaust himself and get cut by a blind sword.
Eric’s own knights were another unknown variable.
Cain did not understand how they had done it,
but Marcel’s knights had slaughtered four Upper-rank Sword Experts and one Mid-rank Sword Expert.
There might be an unknown high-level knight among them.
Cain silently thought.
The reporting knight cautiously spoke.
“Commander, the knights are becoming restless. Please give us a direction quickly...”
What he could not bring himself to say was,
some knights were already talking about running away if their side started losing.
Still, the meaning reached Cain.
Cain rose.
“I will meet the Count.”
“The Count?”
If Cain could pull Michael to his side, the game would end.
Westfalen had a pro-Michael faction.
There was no such thing as a pro-Eric faction.
But unless Michael was a complete idiot, there was no reason he would support Cain.
Even so, Cain thought the gamble was worth taking.
Michael is the biggest idiot of all. I should at least try.
Cain immediately headed toward the Count’s office.
* * *
Count Michael almost laughed when Cain entered.
It was absurd enough that Cain openly placed a death list signed by Lorian in front of him.
