Chapter 548
My Villains Episode 548
68. To the capital(21)
“If I were killed here, you would be in a lot of trouble..”
“……Wow. They even threaten me?”
As I awkwardly raised my eyebrows, Lantov became thoughtful and continued talking..
“No, that's not it. It's not a threat. That's not it, wait a minute.-”
Seeing the lord wave his hand out in a panic, I slowly raised my hand. Fritz, who was about to grab his hair, clicked his tongue and backed away..
“I just want to give you some advice. This means that serious problems can occur regardless of my or your intentions..”
“……It's a serious problem?”
“Because I lived almost my entire life as a wanderer before inheriting the title, I was never able to get officially married. There is no legitimate son to carry on the succession. This means that if I die here, the Lordship of Galleant will become vacant..”
“What does that have to do with me??”
“When I die, the title of Baron of Galleant will be inherited by my lord..”
“So that's it-”
I frowned unconsciously..
“……Who is your master??”
“Your Majesty the Duke of Wevelter.”
“Wevelter? That Wevelter? frost ball?”
“exactly.”
“…….”
There are a total of three dukes in the Kingdom of Milan. The Duke of Oppen is a title traditionally given to the crown prince, so in reality, there are only two dukes..
One of the two is Kaisis, the master of Eyland and the ruler of Namyang, ‘Baekrin-gong (白鱗公)’. He is my cousin and Heila's half-brother..
The other one is the leader of the North, ‘Frost Duke’ Wevelter..
‘An old monster who was called the strongest knight in the kingdom, ahead of Kalliora, the ‘Sword Demon’, and Geisel, the ‘Thunderbolt Sword.’ A great lord among great lords whose fiefdom is a vast land that accounts for ⅓ of the total area of Milan.…….
“The baron stuck in the southern valley is a vassal of the Lord Frost? nonsense.”
“But it's true. We, the Tomaros family, swore allegiance to him more than half a century ago..”
Lantov's expression was extremely proud. I briefly used my magic power to check his blood flow, but I couldn't sense any typical signs of lying..
“Therefore, if I die here, His Royal Highness Duke Wevelter will reclaim the land of Galleant and dispose of it, either by ruling it himself or by granting it to another vassal. Of course, before that, we will conduct a thorough investigation into the reason why vassals were cut off..”
I quietly scratched my chin. I glanced at my subordinates, but there was no one who could give me advice on this matter..
……Ah, what a pain in the ass. I wish I had Hayla.
“Looks like we're in trouble, Ludo..”
“Ah, b- Robert..”
Our current group did not only consist of my colleagues and subordinates..
There was a quiet guide assigned to me by the Milgrester family, and Sir Bran and Ogshlizo, who came to me as a messenger from the Marquis of Eavon, were also with me. These three were only scheduled to accompany us as far as Multingham, a stopover point..
And now the person who approached me calling me by my assumed name was none other than Lord Bran. He too had drawn his sword during the night raid earlier, but perhaps because he had been pushed aside by my men, his armor was clean without a single drop of blood on it..
“It seemed like we were talking about this town..”
“okay? Do you know anything??”
“little. Probably better than you.”
Bran's knighthood was relatively recent, but in the past he was a semi-noble of the noble class. Since I have a high level of knowledge, I knew quite a bit about this place, the Alvivton region..
When Lord Bran approached, smiling as if aware of his captive's gaze, I wrapped my arm around his shoulder. he lowered his voice.
“It's not a nonsense story..”
“What is it? That thief is Frost Lord's vassal.?”
“yes. Considering the situation in Alvivton, it's not strange..”
Unlike the neighboring provinces where the earl ruled as a great lord - Abyden of the Count of Milgrester, Marva of the Count of Mullin, and Savern of the Count of Éapride - the Alvivton region was not the territory of one family..
“It's just one region, but it's like being split into dozens of pieces. The most prosperous city is occupied by the Royalist lord, the fortress on the road leading to the central region is occupied by the Ishban family, and the port is occupied by the Mullin family..”
“By any chance, is your old man there??”
“Yes, probably. I understand that his blood relative, who is about the same age as his nephew, occupies six or seven villages..”
“okay.”
Well, is Marquis Eavon the kind of person who would fall for something like that?.
If you consider each family as a nation, Alvivton was like a collection of borderlands. After decades of grants, inheritances, transfers and sales, it became the land with the most complex structure in the kingdom..
“I once heard a rumor that decades ago, a Viscount family from Alvivton had a marriage with a branch of the Duke of Essen..”
“Viscount family? Then what about that guy? They say he's a baron.”
“The family got into a fight with another great family and was destroyed. In the process, those who inherited the lineage of the Essen family would have been scattered throughout Alvivton, and it would not be strange to say that they somehow came across a relationship and formed a master-servant relationship. This is especially true in Alvivton..”
“hmm.”
After finishing my advice, I patted Lord Bran on the shoulder and then looked back at Rantov with a mock sneer..
“So, the frostball will come after me?”
“maybe.”
“It's too much of a leap. Would that great guy even care about a brat like you??”
“Protection of vassals is the most serious responsibility of a lord..”
“What would a bastard who tried to stand out by leaving behind his subordinates say??”
“…… He is completely different from me. You have probably heard of Frost Duke's noble character. He is not someone who will lightly overlook the downfall of a loyal family from a far away country..”
Could the name of the Frost Duke be a spell of courage? The more the duke's name is mentioned, the more confident the lord's tone becomes..
But the problem was that the more I listened to him talk, the more plausible it seemed..
“During the reign of King Doksil, His Royal Highness suffered unfair oppression after pointing out the excessive greed of the royal family. In the end, he raised an army with other great lords who sympathized with his will, and mobilized a large army to pressure the royal capital..”
‘It's about the 'Thousand Day War'.
I laughed again.
“Ah, I know that well. They say he killed 5,000 troops in one turn.?”
“If His Majesty the Duke had been there, such a crushing defeat would not have occurred. If only I hadn't turned my back on resolving the commotion on the northern border.-”
No matter what the lords said, in the end, the seven great lords, including Lord Frost, were defeated in the Thousand Day War..
But that did not mean the downfall of Duke Wevelter..
The Duke, the leader of the rebellion, and his immediate vassals only threw in a few cartloads of gold coins as an apology or compensation, but in reality, they did not receive any punishment. The only people imprisoned in the royal capital were the nobles of the West and South..
The king and his subjects were well aware of the power of the North. Wasn't Zeoth, the first king of Milano, the legendary gangster and 'King of Conqueror', also a man from the North? It was not a wise choice to risk life or death with the fierce warriors of the North..
“It is thanks to His Majesty the Duke that he took the lead in fulfilling his responsibilities that the King's wrath did not reach the northern lords. He always said that any head of Essen should be willing to sacrifice his life to protect his subjects..”
The general people of the kingdom remember the Thousand Day War as an incident in which a young and handsome prince scolded the arrogant great lords. On the other hand, what many nobles noticed was Duke Wevelter, who boasted unwavering power even after the failed rebellion - at least that's how it seemed on the outside..
“I am not a northerner, but I am a vassal of His Majesty the Duke, and Galleant is a small land in the south, but it is His Majesty's fiefdom. So if you kill me, he will definitely find you..”
It was quite comical to be proudly talking about the subject of a night raid, but as expected, the name of Frost Duke was quite serious..
The idea that a nobleman as high as a duke would care about a baron who is no better than a landowner still remains the same. However, even if I were in the position of Prince Seori, I would have questions if the vassal family that was buried far away in the south fell..
What if the duke just said, 'Thoroughly investigate the downfall of the Tomaros family' without paying any attention? Northern knights who think his words are a revelation from God will flock to him like a pack of dogs..
“……It must be annoying.”
As I muttered softly, the lord's eyes sparkled..
“I will gladly relieve you of that inconvenience. I will also give you the five hundred gold coins mentioned above and the inheritance of my subordinates..”
“I feel bad about keeping you alive. Think about it, it's easiest to just clean it up here and get it over with..”
“What do you mean, I'm not afraid of Frostball??”
“How could a frost ball hundreds of kilometers away know that it was me? It's not like there are any other witnesses..”
“I am a lord. Is it possible that only 60 people were mobilized for this project? The remaining vassals in the castle-”
The lord, who had been speaking urgently, quickly shut his mouth. He realized too late that he was exposing the witnesses involved in this matter..
But I pretended not to know and was skeptical..
“But I didn't commit any sin in the first place. You were the one who launched the night attack, and I just counterattacked..”
“I've said it many times already, it's a mistake,”
“It's terrible. What kind of mistake did you make after starting a business or something?.”
“That, that… … . It meant public security work..”
I'm so desperate to survive somehow. Very smooth tongue.
I laughed to myself and shrugged my shoulders..
“No matter what you say, I was attacked. Frostball has no reason to punish me. Is that why you put a leader of thieves in the place of a vassal?.”
“but…….”
“uh… … Now that I think about it, it’s strange.”
I grinned and tilted my head..
“I didn't do anything wrong, so why should I worry about being chased by Frostball??”
“……I may have made mistakes, but I have not committed a sin worthy of death.,”
“The thief is talking very soft..”
What did you see? Rantov made eye contact with me and gasped..
“I thought you'd be afraid of the Frost Lord's pursuit..”
“Yes, that's right. Because everyone is afraid of Frostball.”
“Is that so??”
I scratched the tip of my nose and suddenly asked a question..
“Man, you know who I am.?”
“……what do you mean?”
Since I had already raised my magical power and was looking into the lord's body, I was able to immediately sense the expansion of blood vessels and the acceleration of blood flow..
I smiled even brighter.
“Oh, fuck. I wasted my time trying to get a trick..”
The lord's face turned pale, as if he realized that his and Galleant's fate had been decided..
“Wait, wait, please-”
Pak!
A huge amount of blood rushed to his pale face, turning red, and it took less than a breath before he finally exploded..
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