Chapter 97. Birds of a Feather
After settling matters in Dijon and returning to Marcel, I became extremely busy cleaning up after the territorial war.
The problem was that I did not even have enough people to help with that cleanup.
I had no choice but to resort to one of the three classic cartel connections, school ties, regional ties, and blood ties.
In this case, blood ties.
I had a maternal grandfather.
His name was Thomas Meida, a knight who had retired twenty years ago.
He believed that flies gathered around the families of a lord’s wife and mother, so he had taken my two maternal uncles and moved far into the countryside.
I had also avoided calling them here because I did not want power spreading among relatives.
But now I had no choice.
After keeping my distance for a long time, I summoned them to Marcel’s lord’s residence.
“Grandfather, Uncles, it has been a long time.”
Mother and I went out to the entrance of the lord’s residence.
I bowed to my maternal grandfather and my two uncles.
“My lord, for someone as lowly as me to receive a bow from you... I am deeply humbled.”
“We greet our lord.”
Apparently, my two uncles had inherited my grandfather’s stiff and upright personality.
They greeted me with perfect formality.
“You must be hungry after such a long journey. Let’s eat first.”
“We are grateful for your grace, my lord.”
Even during the meal, my mother’s family remained extremely modest.
During tea afterward, they even strongly refused to sit at the same table as me.
It took a long time before I could finally get to the real reason I had called them.
“Grandfather, you can probably guess why I summoned you.”
“I apologize, but what work could an old man living in a remote countryside possibly do? Please spare me.”
“What are you talking about? Grandfather, you are a knight.”
He was over sixty and had not fought in a long time.
But that did not change the fact that he was a knight.
Even now, I could sense his Mid-rank Sword Expert strength.
Both of my uncles were at the same level.
Even while sitting down, they gave off considerable presence.
It made me wonder why they had never joined a knight order.
My grandfather did not even touch his teacup as he spoke worriedly.
“Does my lord perhaps require this old man’s sword?”
“Old? Life begins at sixty. You’re only getting started. Besides, where else could I find such an experienced and capable knight?”
My grandfather smiled slightly.
He seemed pleased that his value was being recognized.
“If my lord needs me, I will accomplish any task.”
Okay.
Grandpa, let’s work together.
“I want to entrust the Rhone River to you and my uncles.”
“The river? Ah, forgive me for questioning you.”
My mother’s family looked confused.
They clearly could not even guess what I meant.
“Cargo ships now travel from Marcel Harbor, through Ronalp Territory, all the way to Dijon Territory by the Rhone and the canal.”
“I’ve heard the rumors, but what work is there for us to do on the river?”
“I founded a company. It’s called Rhone General Logistics, and I own it. I want you to serve as director in my place and protect the company.”
In other words, I wanted to put trusted relatives in a place where money gathered, so they could protect the company and its assets.
“I am a knight. I know little about commerce. You should hire people who are good with numbers.”
It was a polite refusal.
Knights often looked down on commerce this way.
Many considered it dishonorable work.
“Grandfather, that company is extremely important. Far more important than you imagine.”
Even now, it had a monopoly over logistics passing through three territories.
Beyond its economic value, it was also a powerful tool for integrating the territories politically and culturally.
It would become an artery even more important than the railways and highways of my previous life.
I had already seen many examples in other countries and territories where a single river created one economic, cultural, and political sphere.
The history of my previous life had been the same.
I wanted my grandfather to protect that important river.
“Wolves will come after its profits. So will thieves and monsters. There is plenty of work a sword can handle. Even managing passengers aboard the ships will sometimes require one.”
“Then...”
“Build an organization under you. It doesn’t have to be an army. Ah, something like an organized crime gang.”
Shipping had already begun, so the company was generating revenue.
With money, gathering large men and building an organization was easy.
“I understand.”
I put down my teacup and emphasized my next words.
“The Rhone River is mine now. I can do whatever I want with it. If it isn’t one of my ships, it doesn’t travel there. Even fishermen need permits. I want you to enforce that too.”
My mother’s family bowed their heads together.
“We will carry out your orders immediately, my lord.”
What a relief.
I had dumped one of the most important jobs onto someone else.
Work was always best when someone other than me worked hard.
I wished the rest could be the same.
This time, I discussed the knight recruitment interviews with Knight Commander Axel and the chiefs.
“We’ll begin interviewing the free knights who came after hearing about the territorial war.”
“Those poor bastards must feel cheated. The war ended the moment they arrived.”
A considerable number of free knights had come hoping for permanent jobs.
Others were aiming for well-paid temporary contracts.
We planned to summon all of them to Marcel’s lord’s castle and select among them through interviews.
“Will you conduct the interviews personally again?”
“Of course. I’m fairly good at judging people.”
Axel apparently agreed, because he nodded.
“But we still won’t be able to fill every vacancy.”
“There are way too many open positions. Let’s recruit what we can for now.”
The Gray Wolf Knight Order of Dijon had collapsed.
Many knights had died fighting the trolls and lizardmen.
Others died fighting the Marcel Knight Order.
Some had followed Yanis.
The fewer than ten remaining Dijon knights all resigned, so the knight order itself disappeared.
All seventy positions were now vacant.
Sixteen knights remained in the directly controlled Ronalp Territory.
But there was no Knight Commander, and many were still recovering from serious injuries.
Out of an authorized strength of ninety, after subtracting the sixteen who remained and the ten taken by Baron Auvergne Ronalp, sixty-four positions were empty.
Together, the two territories had an incredible 134 vacant knight positions.
“Let’s promote some promising squires too. Tell Dijon and Ronalp to gather their squires as well.”
“This will take a long time.”
It almost looked like dark circles were appearing under Axel’s eyes in real time.
He had suddenly become the representative of the knight orders of three territories.
“Nothing we can do about it. Oh, should we make a nickname for our knight order too? The Gray Wolf Knight Order looked pretty cool. Their flags and coat of arms were nice. They even embroidered it on their surcoats.”
“Hmm. How about the Brown Bear Knight Order?”
Axel knew about the incident where I rode a Brown Bear.
“That sounds too slow. Don’t you have anything more original? Something like the JedaX Knights, or the PhoeniX Order.”
“...I’m not sure what those mean.”
“What about the Twisted Nether Knights? Or the Knights from Hell?”
“......”
Chloe rescued the troubled Axel.
During the meeting, a servant handed her a note.
She hurried over while breathing a sigh through her nose.
“My lord, the Franche royal family has ordered you to appear at the palace.”
“Why do you look like that?”
“My vacation...”
Whenever I traveled to Le Capital, Chloe had to serve as acting lord again.
“That’s why I told you to work while resting. Anyway, why are they calling me?”
“They’re holding an investiture ceremony for the titles of Count of Marcel, Ronalp, and Dijon.”
“All at once? Are they trying to cut off my head?”
Chloe replied calmly.
“Probably not yet. Maybe after you swallow Perrier or Ferrand.”
“Ferrand won’t work. My territory would become too large. Even the royal family would find that burdensome.”
“So you do plan to swallow Perrier.”
“Yeah. I just don’t intend to declare war myself yet.”
Axel’s face turned pale as he listened to Chloe and me.
How many people could casually talk as though they could swallow a neighboring county whenever they felt like it?
Axel stammered in shock.
“Um... Is there any way to stop the royal family from touching you, my lord?”
“There is. Become a hero, or use religion.”
But to become a hero, there first had to be a war.
A territorial war was not enough.
It needed to be a war between nations, or perhaps between humans and another race.
Using religion was the more realistic option.
In northern Franche, the noble families were dominated by the Church of the Sun God.
In the south, the God of Abundance was the popular religion.
If I used the God of Abundance Holy See to create a political structure of conflict between north and south, and between classes, I could protect my neck.
“My lord, then is that also why you’re trying to elevate the Marcel Diocese into an Archdiocese...”
“Exactly. That’s why I want to turn Bishop Daniel into an Archbishop, then a Cardinal, and eventually the Pope.”
“You were already planning this a year ago.”
More precisely, I had been planning it since I first met Daniel.
“Did you proclaim religious freedom so you could use the Cardinal of Aachen too?”
“No. Giving my territorial residents freedom of religion is one of my principles.”
However, I had “recommended” that all nobles and quasi-nobles governing my three territories convert to the God of Abundance.
It was only a recommendation in name.
Apparently, everyone felt pressured enough to begin converting.
Aside from the Ronalp and Dijon families, most of them were already followers of the God of Abundance anyway, so there was little resistance.
The ruling class are politicians. They can’t choose their religion carelessly.
Anyway, I needed to go to the royal palace in Le Capital and attend the investiture.
Only after both the royal family and capital nobles recognized all three of my countships could I distribute lesser titles to my subordinates without causing problems.
If they were offering them, I would bow and accept.
Being able to grant titles to subordinates was also a form of power.
Chloe hesitated awkwardly.
“Are you planning to distribute titles this time... and is there perhaps a chance for me?”
Chloe was the daughter of the lord of Verbier Barony in the Lowlands.
The title had since been returned.
Strictly speaking, Chloe was the daughter of a noble, not a noble herself.
People merely treated her like one.
Had something happened serious enough for her to request a title?
“Did something happen?”
“Nothing important. Jonas, Noah’s distant cousin, spoke down to me. It annoyed me a little.”
By principle, both of them were children of nobles, so neither ranked above the other.
But the position of liaison was traditionally held by people from noble families, while “Chief Secretary” was basically a rootless contract position I had invented.
From Jonas’s point of view, he could reasonably consider himself above her.
There was no reason to scold him for it.
Axel then made a suggestion.
“My lord, I recommend granting titles to all the Chief Secretaries. Their authority is considerable inside Marcel, but in other territories they could easily be mistaken for ordinary servants.”
That made sense.
The position of Chief Secretary was something I had created after coming to Marcel by combining duties originally handled by the Head Butler, administrators, and knights.
The chiefs were also young.
It would be fortunate if they were not pushed around whenever they traveled elsewhere.
But for Axel to bring this up meant he also wanted a noble title.
The authority of Knight Commander was no lower than that of the Chief Secretaries.
“Pascal, how many titles can I grant?”
“In the Franche Kingdom, a Count may have three baronies. Marcel has three available, Ronalp has two, and Dijon has three. There is technically no limit on landless Viscounts, but if you hand out too many, the royal family will probably refuse to recognize them. Usually one or two are accepted.”
All the baronies except Ronalp were currently vacant.
Marcel had originally been a viscounty, so it had no subordinate baronies.
The Ronalp baronial seats had disappeared during the territorial war.
Count Dijon had never granted baronial titles.
Still, even if I had many titles available, handing all of them only to my chiefs might cause the established local powers to resist.
I needed to give the existing elites something equivalent so they would not sulk.
I’ll give these guys titles, and calm the old Marcel local powers and administrators with financial benefits. I have plenty of businesses to start anyway.
After thinking it through, I decided how to distribute the titles.
“The three Baron titles of Marcel will go to Sir Axel, Raul, and Martin. The two Baron titles of Ronalp will go to Diego and Pascal. Chloe will receive a Viscount title of Marcel, and I’ll appoint her Governor-General and Acting Lord over all three counties. Her authority will be treated as equal to a Count.”
Axel shot to his feet and bowed.
His cheekbones looked ready to rise into the sky like missiles.
I only wished that same ambition for advancement applied to his swordsmanship.
“Thank you for your grace, my lord. I will remain loyal to you.”
The other chiefs were just as shocked.
They seemed unsure how to react.
Well, they were still basically kids around twenty years old.
“Axel’s fief will be the Provence region currently under development, along with the Great Forest east of it. Raul is still a slave, so his fief will begin at Camargue, the lizardman habitat at the mouth of the Rhone, and extend to the border with Perrier Territory. Martin’s fief will be the Avignon region from the canal to the Ronalp border.”
Naturally, they would take the names of their fiefs as surnames.
Axel Mirabeau Provence.
Raul Camargue.
Martin Morris Avignon.
And Diego Garcia Valence.
Pascal Sigan Macon.
“South of Ronalp’s lord’s castle, the land extending to Valence will become Diego’s fief. Northward to Macon will be Pascal’s. And Chloe Verbier, the reason you’re receiving no fief is because of the promise I made to you a year ago.”
On the ship traveling to Marcel, I had promised Chloe that I would someday grant her a Countship.
“I thought you were joking.”
“Of course not. I’ll rise higher and give you a Countship. Start thinking about which land you want.”
“If possible, Marcel Territory...”
“Anything except Marcel.”
“...I’ll think about it slowly.”
