The leadership of Torres Territory assembled at House Leonard.
This was a regular council meeting, held once every three months to report matters requiring attention within the territory and urgent problems, then discuss solutions.
Before receiving reports from its retainers, the count's house followed a system in which administrators delivered various matters in advance.
The administrators also played an important role in resolving the problems submitted in this manner.
Even so, the opinions of seasoned nobles within the territory were not ordinarily ignored.
Of course, Count Leonard made the final decision.
“Developing the mine will require at least 40,000 gold. However, our currently available funds fall short by 10,000 gold. To resolve this, we must raise the tax rate.”
Torres Territory had a population of 100,000, and its tax rate was the Empire's official rate of 40%. Calculating each household's annual income at twelve gold placed the estimated tax revenue at 130,000 gold.
However, all tax revenue could not be spent solely on developing the mine. The territory's annual operating expenses, including military and administrative costs, amounted to 100,000 gold.
Everyone was already crying that even that was insufficient. To secure the 40,000 gold required as the initial cost of developing the mine, they needed another 10,000 gold.
The easiest way to cover the shortfall was to raise the tax rate. However, it was also true that higher taxes would shake the territory's foundations and create an ominous atmosphere.
“This year's harvest is worse than average. If we raise the tax rate, the people may not survive the winter intact.”
“What if we borrow the funds from the Zephyros Merchant Guild?”
“We have yet to repay the money we borrowed before. Borrowing again will cause problems later.”
The central issue of this meeting was the mine's development.
Count Leonard ultimately decided to raise the tax rate slightly and cover the remaining cost through debt.
At a glance, it seemed like a reasonable compromise, but unless they generated additional income, the mine would become a hole through which money continually leaked. They needed to devise a way to secure funds on an ongoing basis.
Moreover, the newly discovered mine was an iron mine. It offered military advantages, but refining and selling the iron would take time.
Most importantly, the ownership dispute with Viscount Rehalt had not yet been resolved.
In ambiguous disputes, judgment generally favored the higher-ranking noble. Even so, they needed to proceed carefully in case something went wrong. If they poured money into development without restraint and Viscount Rehalt later contested it, they would merely have wasted their funds.
However, no one dared oppose Count Leonard's decision. He readily accepted opinions that aligned with his own, but once he reached a decision, he rarely reversed it.
“We will end the meeting here.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
Just as they were about to conclude the regular council meeting—
A commotion arose outside the chamber.
CREAK—!
After receiving the count's permission, Radon entered the meeting room.
BANG—!
Count Leonard issued a stern reprimand. Once a meeting began, courtesy normally demanded waiting until it ended.
“What is the meaning of this commotion?”
“We were attacked on the way here.”
“……What?! Is my Adelia safe? Damn it, this is no time for me to sit here!”
The count had embodied dignity and restraint only moments earlier. Now he was the very picture of frantic fussing.
It was an astonishing sight, yet none of the retainers were surprised by his behavior. This concerned no one other than Adelia's safety.
The count vehemently denied it, but not one retainer was unaware that he was a fool for his daughter.
Radon had expected this reaction and quickly continued. At this rate, the count seemed liable to dash from the meeting room in an undignified panic before anyone could stop him.
“The young lady is unharmed. She is on her way here now, so you need not worry. I merely came ahead to deliver the news to Your Excellency!”
“She is not injured, is she? If she has so much as a scratch, I will tear the culprit limb from limb, whoever it may be, and throw the pieces to the dogs!”
Whenever Adelia was involved, Count Leonard disregarded all consequences. That was why he had been reluctant to let her leave in the first place. He had permitted the journey only because Adelia remained unyieldingly insistent.
“I am back.”
“Oh, my daughter! Did I not tell you that going outside would only make you suffer like a dog?!”
“I am fine.”
“Come, come. Let us go to your room at once. Today's meeting is over. Everyone, get out… I mean, this meeting is adjourned!”
Radon hurriedly intervened.
If the meeting ended like this, there was a risk they would fail to grasp the full extent of the situation. Moreover, the details needed to be conveyed while everyone was gathered.
“Should we not first determine who was behind the attack on the young lady and why they committed such an act?”
“…That is true.”
Count Leonard reluctantly agreed, though he wanted to take Adelia somewhere safe and question her about what had happened as quickly as possible.
The weakling First Young Master.
The brainless Second Young Master.
The fucking idiot Third Young Master.
They too heard the news belatedly and came to the meeting room.
Though they were frail, simpleminded, and flawed in their own ways, their feelings for their younger sister were sincere.
“Adeli… Huff, huff! Are! You all… huff, huff! Right?”
“Catch your breath first, Brother. Which bastard dared touch our sister?!”
“Adelia, you bought what I asked for, right?”
Count Leonard returned to his role as lord of Torres Territory and lowered his voice with solemn authority.
“Tell us everything that happened.”
……!
This was why the house was going under.
***
Ron was in the Hall of Silence, a waiting room within the House Leonard estate.
The Dust Set had waited on him throughout the journey, but inside the waiting room, he was merely another probationary knight.
The Hall of Silence was where members of the Dawn Knight Order, officials of the count's house, and retainers waited after returning from outside assignments until the count or the leadership summoned them.
A senior member of the Dawn Knight Order approached.
Belkerson Meyer, known within the knight order as a reliable source of news, asked what had happened.
Dane, who had received a thorough lesson in discipline beforehand, answered carefully.
“The young lady and Sir Ternoar instructed us to remain silent, but if you wish, Senior Belkerson, I will tell you.”
“……Wait. You should not speak carelessly.”
“You are no ordinary person, Senior Belkerson. Everyone knows you can keep a secret, so I can trust you.”
“It will become known eventually, but defying a superior's command while still a probationary knight is a bad habit. Do you understand?”
“I will remember that, Senior!”
“Good. I am busy, so I will be going.”
Belkerson hurriedly left the waiting room with his comrades. Judging by the young knights' condition, they appeared to have suffered through considerable hardship.
Moreover, if both the young lady and Sir Ternoar had ordered their silence, they must not speak of it carelessly.
Had Belkerson learned the truth here, he would not have been free of responsibility if the information later leaked.
“Well done. Keep doing that from now on.”
“This really works… sir.”
“Are you using polite speech to screw with me?”
“No, absolutely not!”
“I was joking. Speak comfortably. I am not that rigid a person, you know. The more uncomfortable you are around me, the more uncomfortable I become. So behave as you normally would.”
What kind of dogshit was that?!
They had never even spoken to him before. How the hell were they supposed to behave as they normally would?!
Every time Ron opened his mouth, the probationary knights felt as though they were sitting on chairs covered in thorns. Yet they could not lash out. The vivid image of Ron expressionlessly lopping off the attackers' heads—chop, chop—had been branded deep into their souls.
‘This is the ideal relationship.’
Ron preferred awkward and uncomfortable relationships.
Becoming comfortable with coworkers only made both sides' faces burn more when the relationship later soured. Drawing a precise line and maintaining a relationship in which no one crossed it was how one protected peace.
“You all know that I have surpassed the level of a probationary knight. I will soon be promoted to full knight, rise to mid-ranking knight, and receive a family name. When that happens, feel free to address me respectfully.”
“…All right.”
What the hell did it mean to address someone respectfully while feeling comfortable?
After Dane's trolling, the probationary knights had encountered a world far removed from common sense. It was as though they had flung wide open a door that should never have been touched.
GLARE—! GLARE—!
Dane, receiving the concentrated resentment of the probationary knights, felt deeply wronged.
‘What did I do?’
He had not been the only one who refused to believe Ron's performance as it was. Yet everyone directed all their anger toward him alone.
Ron offered a solution to Dane's sense of injustice.
“If you feel wronged, become stronger. That is an unchanging truth of the world. Is it not?”
“Right. Of course!”
The moment Dane agreed, Ron's attitude changed.
“You must feel terribly wronged, being so weak. Or do you think this is my fault?”
“It was entirely my fault! There is no way I would blame you!”
“Life becomes this comfortable once you know yourself.”
“……Thank you.”
After making his comrades uncomfortable, Ron alone remained at ease.
Silence followed.
His comrades wanted to escape the silent space, but time passed agonizingly slowly.
‘We should never have touched him!’
‘That was a Demon Realm we should never have approached!’
‘He is worse than a Demon King!’
‘Just hit us instead!’
Ron savored his comrades' curses while meeting each person's eyes in turn. Every time he did, the probationary knights flinched and recoiled.
‘…This madman!’
Dane, Rotan, and Zenon felt as though they were going insane at Ron's apparent enjoyment of their disgusted gazes. If ever there were a lunatic whose disposition clearly differed from anything normal, it was Ron.
“I heard probationary knights need to be beaten three times a day.”
“Who the hell said that?”
“I did.”
“…Violence without proper justification violates the laws of the count's house!”
“You like the law.”
……GASP!
Ron's sinister gaze asked whether a man who liked the law had joined his comrades in swinging a sword at him. They had thought he had finally forgotten, but rather than forgetting, he reminded them at every opportunity.
“What did the laws of the count's house say about slashing a comrade in the back? Was it beheading?”
“Please…. We were wrong!”
“I am joking. Do not look so serious. I am not the sort of person who would tell anyone.”
“Right. Ron would never do that!”
“Still, the young lady and Sir Ternoar already know.”
“……(You bastard—)!”
I know what you did. And I am not the only one.
Ron informed them that he was on the same side as Lady Adelia and Sir Ternoar.
Reminding comrades who stood above whom whenever they forgot was also a comrade's duty.
It was an act of consideration meant to prevent them from forgetting their place, acting up, and being thoroughly taught another lesson.
‘It will become known anyway. There is no need to put on an act.’
Once his nature had been exposed, he only needed to behave accordingly.
Unnecessary humility merely made a person look like a sucker and invited betrayal.
This was the taste of power.
How sweet.
Do nothing and follow nature. Power above all.
This Taoist may live in the green mountains, but my power is eternal.
It was the spirit of Wudang.
“I do not dislike any of you.”
“…We feel the same.”
It might have been difficult to believe, but Ron did not maliciously denounce his comrades or distort the facts. He merely treated them fairly as an objective third party. Therefore, appealing to affection would change nothing when they made a mistake.
As he promoted harmony with his comrades and spent this heartwarming time together—
Sir Ternoar returned.
“His Excellency has summoned you.”
“Yes.”
Ron shrugged.
It meant he did not have much time left to remain on equal footing with them.
“The rest of you may return.”
“Understood.”
At times like this, humility was especially important.
Watching Ron swell with pride, Radon felt a flicker of unease.
‘Surely not.’
***
The regular council chamber had grown as cold as though a winter gale had swept through it. Anger and killing intent mingled within the frigid atmosphere.
It contrasted sharply with Adelia, who calmly explained everything that had happened.
That alone showed how shocking the attack had been. The fact that no one had anticipated it pressed even more heavily upon the chamber.
SEETHE, SEETHE—!
Count Leonard looked ready to seize a sword and charge out at any moment. Unable to suppress his rage, he poured it out without restraint.
“Rehalt! That son of a bitch!”
Adelia had not mentioned Viscount Rehalt, but no one in the meeting room denied that he was likely behind the attack. Had they not been discussing the mine ownership dispute with Viscount Rehalt only moments earlier?
The instant a lower-ranking noble entered into conflict with a higher-ranking one, the former had almost no chance of victory. Yet unexpected variables sometimes caused the higher-ranking noble to lose.
Excessive excitement was poison.
Adelia wanted Count Leonard to restrain himself.
“I trust you will not overturn a matter vital to the house because of me.”
“Ugh.”
Count Leonard swallowed a groan. He desperately wanted to state clearly that he would do exactly that, but as head of the house, he could not. He found that reality unbearably displeasing.
The retainers did not agree with Adelia's statement either.
Viscount Rehalt had struck precisely at House Leonard's blind spot. Could His Excellency truly abandon Adelia? Judging only by everything he had said and done until now, the answer was obvious.
“It is clear that he intended to use the young lady as a hostage and force victory in the Knight Duel!”
“Indeed. We must never forgive Viscount Rehalt for committing an act unworthy of a noble!”
“We must report his crime to the imperial capital, strip him of his noble status, and display his severed head above the castle gate as a warning!”
The retainers continued responding with violent fervor.
It might have seemed excessive, but it was only natural.
Had Adelia been abducted, the resulting consequences would have been difficult to endure. They might have squeezed the territory's finances dry to develop the mine, only to hand it over wholesale to Viscount Rehalt.
Even if the truth became known after everything ended according to Viscount Rehalt's scheme, House Leonard would have become a laughingstock.
In another respect, it was chilling.
Even during the regular council meeting, they had dismissed Viscount Rehalt's ownership claim as an insignificant matter. Their entire debate had concerned only the financial expenditure required to develop the mine. What would have happened if they had made no preparations whatsoever?
Now they had to consider the power backing Viscount Rehalt. If he was willing to act this recklessly, then a force capable of covering up everything he did had to stand behind him.
And they had a suspect.
Marquis Calix.
They had to assume he had revealed his ambitions.
Therefore, they could not leave room for Marquis Calix to intervene. To prevent that, they had to uncover the true culprit behind this attack.
“We captured one of the attackers and discovered that they were Blade Shadow.”
Adelia's words drew low groans from the room.
Blade Shadow was a professional assassin organization. Its members never revealed their clients. Finding their base would be difficult, and even if they located it, subduing them would be troublesome.
If House Leonard mobilized troops to find them, they would scatter in every direction at once. In the end, they would have to move with a small force to prevent information from leaking, but that carried great risk.
Then again, Viscount Rehalt was not the sort of man who would move if there were a risk that his identity might be exposed.
That must have been why he attempted to abduct Adelia.
GRIND—!
TREMBLE.
Of everyone present, the most enraged was none other than Count Leonard.
He knew perfectly well that this was Viscount Rehalt's scheme, but they lacked evidence. If he pressed Viscount Rehalt on suspicion alone, the matter would drag on until it quietly fizzled out. This was why disputes between nobles were so difficult.
Without definitive evidence, there was a high risk of suffering a counterattack. Even with evidence, matters often became muddled once they turned into a power struggle.
“I understand that the head of the house and everyone here are angry. Even so, we cannot act on suspicion alone. However, I do not believe we need to despair. Viscount Rehalt's scheme failed, and now we can prepare against him. If we remained careless, that would be another matter, but once we are prepared, the advantage is ours.”
“Those are truly wise words!”
The retainers began seeing Adelia differently. She must have been deeply shaken by the attack, yet even then, she calmly made a decision for the sake of the house.
She proved that she was not merely a sheltered daughter of the count's house, hidden beneath the burdensome favor of the head of the house and ignorant of the world.
“Ria, how can such words come from your mouth? I will cut off Rehalt's head this instant!”
“Cough…. Ta…ilon, for now, following Ria's… cough! advice is the best… cough! choice!”
“It is because you are so soft, Brother, that a mere viscount's house cannot recognize its place and dares look down on us!”
“Anyway, Ria, you definitely bought my gift, right?”
The brothers' utterly disunited opinions made the retainers reevaluate Adelia even more highly.
At the same time, it was deeply regrettable that not one of the three brothers could speak with Adelia's wisdom and resolve. No matter how exceptional Adelia might be, the ancient traditions of the count's house would not change easily.
“Even so, we must never let our guard down. If Marquis Calix is supporting Viscount Rehalt, then he will have a hidden weapon prepared. For now, we must play a card that guarantees victory.”
“The young lady is correct. A man like Viscount Rehalt, who does not hesitate to employ cowardly schemes, must have a hidden move prepared!”
Adelia had taken control of the meeting, but she did not reveal her true intentions. As with all things, exposing ambition too hastily could create conflict. She needed to change their perceptions gradually.
For now, she had to be satisfied with this much. Excess was worse than insufficiency.
She also needed to prove that she had changed. That was why she had explained the attack in detail.
“During this attack, I hid behind the knights and could do nothing. The attackers also used me as a hostage to pressure them. That made me realize something. I must learn the sword as well.”
“What in the world are you saying? The sword?! Why would you learn something so dangerous?!”
“Head of the House! I do not wish to be someone who is dragged around helplessly or burdens others. Or are you saying I must spend my entire life confined within the house like a bird in a cage?”
“…There is no need to take it that far.”
“It would be beneficial to learn the sword in preparation for the unexpected and for self-defense.”
“…That is true.”
Under ordinary circumstances, Count Leonard would not have permitted it. However, his daughter had been attacked and now wanted the means to protect herself. He could not refuse her to her face.
‘Learning it may not be a bad thing, but can she endure such harsh training?’
The thought of his cherished daughter, raised delicately for fear she might break, undergoing grueling sword training made his heart feel as though it would collapse. The more he considered it, the more his fury toward Viscount Rehalt surged.
“I permit it.”
“Thank you. On that subject, I would like to appoint a Personal Knight for my sword training.”
“What bastard dares— Ahem! Who… is this man?”
Count Leonard even began to stammer.
A bastard his daughter had chosen as her Personal Knight!
Even if nothing ever came of it, the mere fact that his daughter dared hold someone in her heart shattered her father's spirit.
At that same moment—
On his way to the meeting room, Ron stared at the Progress.
-Progress: -77%, -79%, -80%, -77%
‘What is this?’
At this rate, would he have to cough the Coins back up?
-6 Coins
Phew.