Chapter 551
My Villains Episode 551
68. To the capital(24)
“So watch your mouth.”
Raph's face, wrapped in bandages, was stained dark red. I clicked my tongue in regret..
“You understand. You see, our situation is… … It's a bit like that. I try not to be sensitive, but it's not working.”
“I understand.”
“I just believed the Marquis' words and crawled all the way to the center of the kingdom. There was no word on whether it was a starling or a messenger for three days, and after they appeared, they only spoke in vain..”
When I grunted lightly as a joke, the monster bowed his head deeply..
“My thoughts were brief, Your Excellency. I will be careful.”
“Oh my, thank you for understanding..”
I smiled, and the stiff air in the room softened a little..
“The need for follow-up is?”
“Judge Jeremiah of Marva will send an investigator..”
“……In Gallemant? why? It's not even a jurisdiction..”
“The position of judge in Alvivton is currently vacant, so Jeremiah is taking care of the officials there. So it looks like Gallemant's fire caught his attention..”
A judge refers to a judge who covers an entire province. Compared to magistrates dispatched to cities, their level is naturally higher. He is lower than the high judge of the royal capital..
Local judges have different roles and authority in each province and territory. Some judges are in charge of handling all lawsuits in a territory and have authority comparable to that of a lord, while other local judges serve as decorations in the palace of a great lord without any real power..
One thing these judges have in common is that they are direct subjects of the king. The king's associates, such as the Supreme Court and high judges, as well as judges and magistrates dispatched to local areas, are nobles appointed according to the king's orders..
The reason my face crumpled as soon as the word judge came out was because I was vaguely aware of the above situation..
“And I heard the judge here has a bit of a knack for it..”
“It's true.”
The power and presence of judges dispatched to a province are proportional to the influence the king has on the relevant territory. This means that the more the lord listens to the king, the more he listens to the voices of the judges..
And Marva borders the Trosher region across the Tail Mountains. The fiefdoms of sixteen barons, commonly referred to as ‘the king’s standard-bearers,’ are just around the corner. The royal road is also close by..
“Moreover, since the internal situation of Marva's owner, Count Mullin, is not favorable, the judge's influence is stronger..”
“Why is the Mullen family?”
“It was two and a half years ago that the Count, who was only holding his position, passed away and his good daughter took the throne..”
“I know that well. I was somewhat acquainted with the new earl's brother..”
“Doyle Mullen. He was hanged for poisoning Count Tristan..”
As I was thinking about the memories of confronting Doyle's army in Longville, I let out a secret laugh..
“Doyle is a poisoner. Does anyone believe that??”
“That's Count Clarissa's weakness. There was a suspicious stain in the process of succession to the title..”
In fact, she had already established her position as Count Tristan's successor long before his death..
The earl's eldest son, Alton, died young in his 20s, and his second son, Doyle, was an arrogant asshole. On the other hand, Clarissa was famous for her faithfulness and good nature, so she received the support of her retainers and subjects. Winning the position of successor wasn't much of a surprise..
The problem was that Count Tristan tried to give his poor son a small piece of land - Longville, Baron Mallory's fiefdom. By providing not only funds but also the military..
“It must have been a difficult situation for Count Clarissa, who was the successor at the time, to tolerate. The strongest competitor becomes a future vassal. But in an instant, all problems were solved. With the death of Count Tristan..”
As a result, Clarissa eliminated her strongest rival and became a countess. As soon as he sat down on the throne, he received an oath of loyalty from Dionea, the regent of Longville..
“Thanks to this, it seems there are suspicious rumors going around even among the vassals of the Mullin family..”
“authority is not firm?”
“It's a question of legitimacy rather than authority..”
“……Is that different??”
“Similar but different. What she is most wary of is not the vassals within, but the king outside..”
“King? Zacharis?”
“Yes sir.”
When I crossed my arms and gestured to tell him to continue speaking, Raph continued his explanation in a rough voice..
“Count Tristan is one of the seven great lords who rebelled against the royal family during the Thousand Days' War. And the current king clearly remembers the resentment from that time. It was at that time that he, the crown prince, was given the shameful nickname ‘the lion with its butt off.’.”
“Do it. You'll be grinding your teeth.”
“Count Clarissa must not show weakness to the King or allow him to find fault. It would not be strange for the king to threaten to strip him of his title..
“Umm…….”
Hearing the troubling story, I gently touched my temple..
“I know very well that Clarissa is watching the judge and his ally Zacharis. But anyway, if you can't find my traces, it's a mess.?”
“trunnion.”
The bundle whispered, fixing its sharp gaze on the monster. I patted him lightly on the back..
“Relax. Anyway, I'm in the same boat as you..”
Raph nodded as he looked for consent..
“Your will is firm, so we will not put you in any trouble..”
“…….”
Whether the bundle continued to glare or not, he turned to me again and asked.
“Do you think there is no possibility of finding traces of Your Excellency??”
“Well, because there is no direct evidence or witnesses..”
“If we delve into the circumstances, we will eventually reach your Excellency. Just like I did.”
“The conditions are different. You knew we were coming here. You must have guessed which route to use. It's a condition that anyone can guess..”
On the other hand, a judge named Jeremiah will have to head to the ground..
Of course, anyone who investigates the fire that engulfed Gallemant's stronghold will feel uncomfortable. The lord and his concubines, his vassals and soldiers, servants and maids, all burned to death without a single person escaping..
However, it would not be easy for anyone to connect the strange fire to the group of mercenaries that passed through Castle Village the day before. It would be more difficult to chase down that group of mercenaries, and it would be virtually impossible to reveal that they were a group of red knights..
“Even if the truth is revealed, wouldn’t it take at least half a year? I don't know if anyone would be so obsessed with what happened in a country estate..”
“……You think it's enough to keep quiet until you finish your business in the royal capital..”
“why? Not good?”
“I think that's a slightly different way of doing things than we do..”
“what was the way you thought?”
“It was to attract Count Clarissa..”
“Clarissa?”
“yes. Count Clarissa would be a great help in carrying out work in the royal capital. We will also be able to monitor Judge Jeremiah's investigation..”
When I expressed interest in the unexpected story, the monster quietly continued talking..
“I don't know if your Excellency knows, but she was once Prince Ulkar's very firm... … was a supporter.”
“I don't know why. It's a famous story..”
One day, I remembered an old story that Sir Langbolt and Ariad told me and burst out laughing..
“But from what I heard, I don't think it was at the level of a supporter? I heard you wrote letters several times when you were a teenager. When my father was broken by the prince and taken prisoner, he was so shocked that he fainted..”
“You know very well..”
“But what is that? Should I sell the name of the prince and beg for money??”
“I mean begging. It's not even possible.”
Raph looked at me with displeased eyes, while speeding up his speech..
“Are you threatening me?.”
“……what?”
“If they don't help you, threaten to send evidence of your betrayal to the royal capital..”
“Proof of betrayal? With whom? With me?”
“yes.”
“……What bullshit, where does that come from??”
he answered simply.
“Just make it.”
“how?”
“Now that your Excellency has arrived here in Multingham, it is no problem to create false evidence. It's not something that requires elaborate evidence anyway. Anyway, the king is prepared to be suspicious of Count Clarissa..”
“hmm…….”
“Count Clarissa, who deeply admired the Silver Prince, joined hands with the Red Knight. If such a rumor were to spread, it wouldn't sound like a complete bluff..”
“Zacharis is going to make the game happen..”
“yes.”
“…….”
Ellen, who had been sitting quietly on behalf of me who was lost in thought, opened her mouth..
“If Clarissa tries to capture us to prove her innocence,?”
“……If you send a letter just as you are about to leave the Marva region, what will the Count do to you??”
“write a letter?”
“yes. Neither the help in the royal capital nor the Galemant matter require immediate action..”
“hmm.”
“Of course, it will be less effective than meeting face to face. Still, the Count is famous for his cleverness, so he will realize that there is no other way..”
He also elaborated on ways to threaten Count Clarissa and their effects. I listened quietly and soon decided that it was a pretty good method..
“However, I think it would be more effective if we changed the direction a little bit..”
“If you say you're turning?”
“hmm.”
After thinking for a moment, I shrugged my shoulders and blurted out my words..
“Well, thanks for the advice. Don't worry, I'll take care of this..”
“Do you have any other tricks??”
“I told you not to worry?”
“…….”
Raph was silent. Of course, his facial expression was unreadable due to the bandages on his face..
“Leave the side legs at that. How are you going to let them into the royal capital? It's nice to disguise myself as a swordsman from Asuberg, but I'm a bit lost in the face..”
“If that's the case.”
As the subject changed, the monster took out two unidentified glass bottles from the hem of his robe..
“I'll solve it with this.”
“What is that? Well, is it a transformation potion??”
“It's similar.”
“……what?”
For a moment, I burst out laughing at his boasts..
About twenty minutes later, I looked in the mirror and couldn't help but gape..
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