Grankan Marquisate.
Since ancient times, the House of Grankan had served as a military city guarding the gateway to the capital.
Having been enfeoffed as founding meritorious retainers, they had protected the capital ever since, mobilizing troops when rebellions broke out and maintaining public order around the capital.
However, as the empire expanded, monsters and bands of thieves prowling near the capital became almost impossible to find.
Since the territory was only about a day's ride from the capital, the family had played the roles of both central and provincial nobles. In that sense, they were closer to the Imperial Family than to ordinary feudal lords.
Because of that background, they reacted sensitively to any issue.
Just like now.
“W-What did you just say!?”
“H-His Highness the Prince was a-attacked!”
“What lunatic would attack a prince near the capital!?”
“It was a horde of monsters. They say there were a thousand Ogres and Trolls!”
“Good heavens!”
Marquis Einsid felt as though the sky were collapsing on top of him.
He had indeed received an order from the Imperial Family.
An imperial command had instructed him to pay special attention to security because the Third Prince, newly appointed as Northern Commander, would be traveling north.
Because of that, Marquis Einsid had dispatched soldiers to inspect the territory as recently as yesterday.
There should not have been any bandits or monsters, but he had done it just in case.
Even a single small goblin suddenly appearing could have led to a catastrophe.
And now what?
A thousand large monsters was enough to wipe out the prince's party of veteran soldiers in an instant.
“The commander of the Imperial Third Knight Order came to demand an explanation, and the Third Prince has ordered that you be summoned immediately for questioning.”
“H-How does that make any sense? Could it perhaps be a deception?”
“……I saw it myself. A funeral was being held, and everything around the area was drenched in blood.”
“…….”
Cold sweat streamed down Marquis Einsid's back.
The Third Prince was notorious as a scoundrel.
He had returned after achieving a great military accomplishment, but many claimed that it had all been a scheme by the Imperial Third Knight Order.
People's perceptions did not change so easily, so Marquis Einsid could not even imagine how that scoundrel might react.
This place was close to the capital, which meant imperial authority applied here absolutely.
If things went badly, this was serious enough that he could even be accused of treason.
“Make preparations at once!”
Now that the disaster had already happened, there was nothing else he could do.
He would have to kneel and beg if that was what it took.
***
Kaon had been unable to move even a single step because of the post-battle cleanup.
Just recovering the bodies and sorting the monster carcasses had taken ages.
He had spent the entire day dealing with the wounded as well.
And yet, he did not feel tired.
More precisely, his body was exhausted, but perhaps because endorphins were flooding through him, his mind remained perfectly clear.
“Please put me to death!”
An elderly noble knelt at Kaon's feet.
He even bowed his head all the way to the ground, having clearly realized just how utterly fucked he was.
‘Of course this is how it should be.’
A faint smile leaked onto Kaon's lips.
He desperately fought to stop the corners of his mouth from twisting upward.
BANG—!
“Marquis! I am disappointed! Why did you not simply send an army instead? Hmm? If you wanted to kill me, would that not have been faster?”
“H-How c-could that be? I never harbored any treacherous intent!”
“Oh, so that is why you sent a thousand large monsters? You must have worked hard gathering them. I nearly fucking died, though.”
“No! I knew nothing of this!”
“Then shall I send a memorial to His Majesty the Emperor right now?”
Kaon held up a sheet of paper containing an account of what had happened today, along with his own subjective(?) interpretation, and fluttered it in the air.
Marquis Einsid had originally belonged to the Emperor Faction, but after the Crown Prince collapsed, he had quickly switched over to the Second Prince Faction.
For Kaon, this was a chance to wipe out one of the factions opposing him. There was no way he would simply let it pass.
Of course, whether it was the Second Prince Faction or the Crown Prince Faction, neither could avoid watching the Emperor's mood.
There were three hundred thousand Central Army troops standing behind the Emperor, after all.
For a marquis whose territory lay near the capital, the structure was even more unfavorable.
‘I can make a killing here.’
“Tell me! Why did you try to kill me!”
“I did not!”
“You bastard! Do I need to chop your head off before you come to your senses? Hmm?”
THUD! THUD!
“Please spare me!”
Kaon acted as though he might launch into a sword dance at any moment.
The knights, who knew all of this was an act, clicked their tongues inwardly.
‘They said His Highness has been acting like a scoundrel all this time, but I truly cannot tell whether he means it or not.’
‘If His Highness had not been born a prince, he would have become an actor in a theater troupe!’
After Kaon had made such a fucking scene, Marquis Einsid had no choice but to tremble and seriously consider the possibility that his head might actually come off.
Thump.
Kaon, who had been raising hell, dropped into a chair.
It was not easy to manufacture emotions he did not have and display them convincingly.
“My heart has been deeply wounded.”
“W-What must I do?”
“The empire has the concept of compensation for damages. Have you heard of it?”
“Yes! Anyone who damages another's property is obligated to compensate for it.”
“My property is not the problem. My heart has been wounded. How are you going to compensate me for that? Hmm? Ah, this is so heavy that I keep feeling tempted to send it to the Imperial Palace.”
“Eeeek!”
The marquis trembled from head to toe.
It was a ridiculous thing to say, claiming that a single sheet of paper was heavy, but he knew Kaon was not talking about its literal weight.
Kaon had seized the marquis by the throat and was shaking his life in his hands.
For the marquis to actually be punished, the Imperial Family would first have to launch an investigation and determine right from wrong. However, because there was so much evidence, there was a high chance even the Second Prince Faction would cut him loose.
“Ah, my heart is tearing apart!”
“I-I will compensate you! Five hundred thousand gold! No, I will give you one million gold as consolation money! So please, could you bury what happened today?”
“I feel as though my heart has healed a little. But it is still bleeding.”
“One and a half million gold! I have no more than that! It is more than an entire year's budget for the territory.”
The marquis looked as though he were about to cry.
One and a half million gold.
The annual budget of an average barony or viscounty was around five hundred thousand gold.
A marquisate several times larger than that would also receive annual subsidies from the Imperial Family, so its actual budget was probably more than one and a half million gold.
Still, Kaon decided to be generous and let it go.
‘If I squeeze him for any more, I might get indigestion.’
“Fortunately, the incident happened in the middle of an empty plain. As long as the marquisate's scouts and knights keep their mouths shut, word should not reach the Imperial Family.”
THUD—!
The marquis slammed his forehead against the floor several times.
Blood ran from his forehead, but he did not seem to care.
Kaon had intended from the beginning to handle things this way, but from the marquis's perspective, he probably felt as though he had boarded an express train racing back and forth between heaven and hell.
“Once I receive the money, my mouth will remain sealed forever. If you want, I will even issue a written contract.”
“Th-Thank you.”
“By the way, I intend to sell all of this.”
“Pardon?”
“The Ogre and Troll carcasses. They will spoil if we haul them all the way north, will they not?”
“Ah, yes! I will arrange the purchase immediately!”
Kaon decided to thoroughly squeeze Marquis Einsid dry and, at the same time, take care of the troublesome monster carcass sale in one convenient transaction.
The procession did not move the next day either.
They needed to make sure Marquis Einsid kept his promise.
Once they headed north, there was no telling when they would be able to come back down. If Kaon had secured a promise, then he needed to stay long enough to ensure it was fulfilled.
Marquis Einsid had been bustling around since early morning, personally directing his soldiers.
“Your Highness, the total comes to two million gold.”
“Two million?”
“Many of the Troll carcasses have already lost their blood, and most of the Ogres were bisected as well. If I purchase them for any more than this, the losses would be severe…….”
The marquis looked genuinely ready to cry.
Under normal circumstances, even if Kaon had visited the Grankan Marquisate, the marquis would probably have invented every excuse imaginable to avoid even holding a banquet for him.
Kaon was the Third Prince, while the marquis was the Second Prince's lapdog.
But now, the positions of power had been completely reversed.
A contract had been drawn up stating that once payment was made, yesterday's incident would be buried.
However, the contract had not yet been placed in the marquis's hands.
‘There is nothing stupider than paying everything up front in a private transaction.’
That was simply human nature.
It was also why transactions had something called a “remaining balance.”
Once people had been paid in full, they tended to become careless about finishing the job properly.
“Sir Chester!”
“You called?”
From a distance, Sir Chester came staggering over with a bottle of liquor in his hand.
It was a smokescreen.
From the Second Prince's perspective, there were few things more dangerous than Chester, the previous generation's Master, regaining his senses.
“What condition are the arms and equipment in?”
“They seem more or less fine.”
“More or less fine? Were you not the previous generation's Master?”
“In any case, they are not in bad condition.”
Even in this situation, the marquis could be seen giving Chester a sideways glance.
Right now, he was probably too overwhelmed by the possibility of being implicated in treason to think clearly, but once the storm had passed, he would certainly grow suspicious.
Kaon also needed to act like an idiot one more time.
“Hmm, is that so? If you say they are fine, then I suppose they are fine.”
“Yes. I will be going, then.”
Chester walked away drinking from the bottle, then went so far as to stumble and collapse for good measure.
Watching him, the marquis thought,
‘What an absolute mess. How in the world did they survive yesterday?’
Naturally, Marquis Einsid did not have the nerve to ask that much.
“The two million gold is what remains after deducting the cost of the arms, equipment, and food, correct?”
“Y-Yes.”
“You would do well to remember the contract. It states that if there is any defect in the goods, a memorial will be sent straight to the Imperial Family.”
“O-Of course!”
Nobles placed great importance on contracts.
That was only natural, since the entire aristocratic system itself was built on contracts.
Besides, if he tried to conceal something like this, he would immediately risk being branded a traitor. There was no reason for him to cheat.
When Kaon handed over the contract, Marquis Einsid fled with the expression of a man who had finally escaped a demon's clutches.
As soon as Marquis Einsid disappeared with his soldiers, Sir Chester, who had been lying on the ground pretending to be drunk, sprang to his feet and ran over.
“Your Highness, the arms and equipment are of excellent quality. The food has neither sand mixed into it nor old wheat. However, I do have one slight regret.”
“What regret?”
“When we sold the Ogre and Troll carcasses, I believe we could have squeezed a little more out of him. The Grankan Marquisate directly operates both a potion workshop and a leather workshop.”
“I know.”
“Do you have some deeper scheme in mind?”
“It is hardly a scheme. We needed to give Marquis Einsid at least enough room to feel that he had reduced his losses a little. If we do not allow him even that much compensation, there will be trouble later. We have already squeezed enough money out of him.”
“As expected……!”
“If the preparations are complete, we move out!”
“Yes!”
Once they had money in their pockets, the knights' hearts grew more generous as well.
Kaon was no different.
‘At this point, it is practically the same as getting a starter package.’