Chapter 94. Territorial War (5)
“My lord, do you know what day it is today?”
Martin suddenly asked me that.
“The day I cut off Count Ronalp’s head?”
“No, not something like that.”
“Nothing comes to mind.”
“Today is your birthday, my lord.”
Ah.
So it was my birthday.
It had already been a full year since I became the lord of Marcel.
Still, I was currently leading the knight order toward Ronalp’s lord’s castle.
There probably would not be a birthday party.
I stopped thinking about useless things and stood on the bridge of the canal cargo vessel, looking down at the murky waters of the Rhone.
The river had carved through mountains and fields before forming an enormous wetland near its mouth.
Normally, sediment should also have accumulated on the bottom of the canal.
But thanks to the blessing of Sebek, God of the River, clear water flowed through it.
Filtering the soil out of the water itself, divine power really is incredible.
I spoke to Martin, who was looking down into the river beside me.
“As the Rhone’s water level falls while the sediment keeps flowing downstream, the wetlands near the river mouth will gradually fill in.”
“That will change the lizardmen’s habitat.”
Should I ask the Provence Mage Tower to plant a forest there?
I needed to investigate what was required to eliminate wetlands.
“Do you think the lizardmen will seek revenge after losing their sacred relic?”
“Probably. I heard nearly three hundred escaped. Who knew those bastards could run away in the middle of a battle? Maybe letting the white one, High Priest Adder, live was a mistake.”
“I don’t think so. The white one didn’t even know who we were. Even if she sees us again, she probably won’t recognize us, just as we can’t distinguish individual lizardmen. But they may harm any human they encounter.”
That made sense.
We needed precautions.
The fishermen of the Rhone and these cargo vessels could become targets someday.
“Let’s finish the territorial war quickly, then discuss the lizardman problem.”
Soon, our cargo vessel arrived at Ronalp’s lord’s castle.
The Marcel Knight Order entered Ronalp’s lord’s castle without bloodshed under a white flag.
Count Ronalp and Countess Karin were waiting in front of the lord’s residence.
Apparently, they had abandoned resistance and chosen negotiation.
Their method was obvious.
Rather than fighting to the bitter end, they would surrender and negotiate to preserve certain rights.
If I rejected that, I would have to launch a desperate siege against the lord’s castle.
That would produce countless civilian casualties and enormous criticism.
The royal family might even start considering invalidating the territorial war.
Accepting a conditional surrender and taking intact territory was far better.
I stepped forward.
A Sword Master almost as tall as me, even while using crutches, came forward to greet me.
“You’re Eric Marcel? I, Count Ronalp, surrender on behalf of my territory.”
“Yeah. I accept.”
“Heh. You talk pretty casually for a brat.”
“My choice. But didn’t you receive healing from priests? Why are you using crutches?”
“There are too many severely wounded knights and soldiers. With injuries this minor, my turn hasn’t come yet.”
They look broken to me.
What a man.
He even cared for his subordinates.
“Should I negotiate with Karin?”
I looked at Countess Karin standing behind him.
Her expression was gloomy.
When our eyes met, she hurriedly lowered her head.
“That would be best. Karin is better with numbers than me. Slower than you, though.”
There was an edge to his words.
Did he realize my calculations had led to the territorial war ending this way?
If so, Count Ronalp might actually have better situational judgment than Karin.
Without Karin, this might have been a much harder war.
“I brought three priests just in case. Get treated by them. Put the cost under my name.”
“Heh, am I supposed to thank you?”
“Don’t bother. I’m going to negotiate.”
I entered the conference room with Diego, whom I had brought for the negotiations.
Karin and several administrators sat across the table from us.
I sat arrogantly, propped my chin on one hand, and spoke.
“First, let me hear your surrender conditions.”
Karin, wearing a submissive expression, shuffled through the documents on the table.
Then she showed me a blank document carrying Count Ronalp’s signature and seal.
A literal blank authorization.
“I have been given full authority over the negotiations.”
“Then tell me the conditions.”
“Please grant Dijon Territory immunity. In exchange, we will withdraw completely from Ronalp Territory.”
What the hell? No wonder Karin came out so obediently. This woman has been working her brain overtime to preserve her noble status.
Karin intended to divorce Count Ronalp and marry someone in Dijon.
That was why she offered all of Ronalp Territory to me in exchange for protecting Dijon from any consequences.
Count Ronalp had no idea Karin was betraying him.
With no rights guaranteed, he and the branch families would be thrown out of Ronalp as penniless nobles.
But what happens to Count Ronalp has nothing to do with me. I just choose whichever side gives me more.
I quickly calculated.
Taking all of Ronalp’s territory,
or forcing Dijon to surrender too and negotiating with both.
Which would benefit me more?
I reached my answer.
“Rejected. That isn’t even a normal proposal, and I’ve changed my mind about throwing Count Ronalp away.”
“What? Why?”
“Watch your tone. Question me one more time and I’ll cut off your head.”
Startled, Karin’s eyes darted around before she apologized.
“I apologize.”
“I have no intention of negotiating with you. Bring Count Ronalp. Replace all the administrators too.”
Karin opened and closed her mouth.
Then she apparently remembered my threat and obediently led the administrators out.
Diego, sitting beside me, could not suppress his curiosity.
“My lord, if you follow Countess Karin’s proposal, you can take all of Ronalp’s fertile land.”
Diego believed Ronalp’s productive farmland was much more valuable than negotiations with Dijon.
“Right now, expanding our external influence matters more than fertile land. Besides, we’re developing land ourselves.”
“You really do intend to become a conquering ruler.”
“You thought I was joking?”
“No. I suppose it only became real to me now. I’ll make a lot of money.”
“Heh. Make an enormous amount.”
Count Ronalp had gone for treatment.
We ate while waiting for him.
Then he suddenly threw open the dining room door and rushed in on crutches.
“Hey, Count Marcel. Why did you throw Karin out? Did you think negotiating with me would be more advantageous?”
I personally pulled out a chair for him.
“Sit down and eat. We’ll talk while eating.”
“What are you plotting?”
He dropped into the chair and allowed the maids to serve him.
Either he had gone without food for a long time or simply had a huge appetite.
He ate ravenously.
“Your wife, Karin Ronalp. She was planning to divorce you and become Karin Dijon.”
“Pfft! What?”
“She betrayed you.”
Half-chewed food flew into the air as Count Ronalp stared at me blankly.
“She said she’d give me the whole of Ronalp if I left Dijon alone.”
“...”
“That’s why I called you. I’ll give you the fertile land west of the river. Sign a vassal contract with me.”
Count Ronalp frowned and stared at me.
“Then why did you tell me about Karin? In the end, you chose this because you thought this deal benefited you more.”
Who said Count Ronalp was stupid?
He hit the core immediately.
“Uh... I figured if I didn’t tell you, you might keep living with Karin. She pissed me off.”
“Damn, you’d make a terrible son-in-law. I was thinking of marrying Anna to you after negotiations, but forget it.”
“Hahaha! Zero proposals, rejected twice.”
Count Ronalp smiled at me.
He would lose his title of Count, but apparently he was happy to retain noble status as the lord of a barony.
He still had an unmarried daughter.
And maintaining that enormous appetite would not be cheap.
“Fine. But I’m not changing my family name. And I’ll throw Karin out, but let her leave peacefully. Whether she goes to Dijon or somewhere else.”
“Very manly.”
“Fuck off. Stop lying. That sounds like an insult.”
“Watch your language. Say, My. Lord. Try it, Baron Ronalp.”
“Eat your damn food.”
And so, a regional great noble with Sword Master Baron Ronalp as his vassal was born.
Next came Dijon Territory.
By accepting Count Ronalp’s surrender and signing a vassal contract with him, Eric acquired Ronalp’s comital title.
He immediately sent an envoy to the Franche royal family to report the result.
Count Chatillon, the King’s maternal uncle and a court count, was delighted that the difficult Count Ronalp had been defeated.
He immediately allocated royal funds to cover half of the death compensation Eric would otherwise have to bear.
Of course, his older sister scolded him severely for spending so much money.
To fill the hole in the budget, bonds were issued.
In contrast, Count Calais, the King’s father-in-law and lord of Calais, became wary of the rising comet named Eric.
Inside a salon in Le Capital.
Count Calais was discussing the matter with the Royal Knight Commander, his old classmate from knight school.
“Eric Marcel. In only one year, he swallowed a neighboring territory, and not just any territory, Ronalp.”
“You should learn from him. Stop struggling with only Calais and expand a little.”
“Like hell. You think crossing the sea is easy? That bastard is the abnormal one.”
“He certainly is unusual. He’ll need to be kept in check going forward. I’ll look for weaknesses.”
Count Calais drank his wine and sighed.
“But this whole incident feels strange. Don’t you think? The moment war was declared, trolls appeared. Then lizardmen overran the battlefield. Bears were running around too.”
“The timing is suspicious. But isn’t that impossible for a human to orchestrate?”
“Exactly. Even a shaman shouldn’t be able to control monsters on that scale. But when the Orly mages died, soldiers watching from Ronalp’s lord’s castle testified that they clearly saw ‘a platinum-haired human riding a bear.’”
“You’re too suspicious. How would some country bumpkin judge that accurately? It was probably some other creature that resembled a human.”
Even his friend’s words did not stop Count Calais from doubting.
“While you’re looking for weaknesses, could you investigate that too?”
“Urgh. What do you want me to do, find an animal kingdom? And you send the spies. I’m the Knight Commander. The people under me are knights.”
“Can’t you send one knight? I heard you’ve been recruiting a lot lately.”
“Good grief. You really are a nuisance.”
The Royal Knight Commander grumbled.
Still, he was already thinking about whom he could send to Marcel.
Count Calais was a central figure in upper-class society centered around the knight school.
For the sake of his own children’s futures, the Knight Commander needed to grant the request.
All land in Ronalp Territory was first transferred to me, then divided into two regions.
The land west of Ronalp’s lord’s castle was known as the Auvergne region.
It was prime territory, mostly fertile farmland and pasture, and bordered Ferrand Territory to the west.
Baron Ronalp took the Auvergne region along with all the branch families.
I bestowed the name Auvergne upon it, making him Baron Auvergne Ronalp.
The new barony covered roughly one-third of the former Ronalp Territory.
He took only ten knights from the Ronalp Knight Order.
The remaining eastern territory, including Ronalp’s lord’s castle, became my direct domain.
The overall territorial name, Ronalp, remained unchanged.
I took over the existing administration.
For the time being, an administrator would govern the direct domain.
This region also had abundant farmland and pasture.
However, because it bordered the Great Forest, it also contained large forested areas.
To the north was Dijon Territory.
To the south was Marcel Territory.
Twenty-two knights had survived.
But six later died or lost the ability to use aura due to their battle injuries.
Sixteen remained.
As the reorganization neared completion, it was almost time to attack Dijon.
I summoned Diego and Knight Commander Axel to inspect preparations.
“Diego, send a messenger to Dijon and demand conditional surrender.”
“Yes, my lord. Also, there are rumors that the expelled former Countess Karin has become the wife of Young Lord Yanis Dijon.”
“Source?”
“A traveling merchant was spreading the story.”
Karin apparently wanted to keep the title “Countess.”
Yanis was destined to become Count soon anyway.
And if she had entered as his official wife despite remarrying, her family in Ferrand must have promised Dijon significant support.
“Commander Axel, continuously monitor any movement of knights between Ferrand and Dijon.”
“Yes. I’ll send soldiers in disguise.”
The two territories had lost enormous numbers of knights.
Dijon had lost fifty-five.
Ferrand had lost forty-eight.
They probably had only around twenty each remaining.
Even so, if they gathered in one place, that made forty.
That was not a force to underestimate.
Especially if those forty defended a castle.
Yanis Dijon, just wait.
I’m coming to collect the price for touching Westfalen and Marcel.
