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Louis.
Louis was the third son of the Pontina Ducal House.
He spoke to his father.
“Father, I am sorry.”
Remitri looked at Louis and sighed.
“How on earth did you manage it to squander the finances that badly?”
“…………..”
“You are a child of the Pontina family.”
The words were laced with weight.
The Pontina family had once been a glorious house.
Now, they had been pushed to the brink of collapse.
Of course, it was not solely the Pontina family’s fault.
Everything was a matter of ill fortune.
The location of the city they possessed, the frequent raids by barbarians, the chaotic kingdom, the powerful rival warlords….
Among those warlords, the Pontina family was the weakest.
The barbarian tribe called Gedra was the greatest problem.
And Louis was the least capable among Pontina’s three sons.
He lacked charisma, swordsmanship, administrative ability, insight, and even diplomacy—the essential qualities of a ruler. It always felt as though something was missing.
Remitri was convinced it was because Louis was an illegitimate child.
“Leave. Reflect on yourself here for the time being.”
“….Yes, Father.”
“He could at least come up with an excuse!”
This was the second city Louis had ruined.
The second son’s city saw its finances grow daily, the eldest son’s military city at the border with the barbarians grew more secure by the day, yet the commercial city entrusted to the youngest ended up like this.
‘The barbarians were strong. The one commanding them… was no ordinary man….’
“Excuses, excuses, excuses. At least give me one reason for your blunders!”
Louis stepped out of the room.
This time, he had actually managed to achieve decent results. Yet here it was again. The real mystery was why the barbarians had even been able to march into a commercial city, and of all places, not his second brother’s, but the very one he managed.
The plundering was expected, but Louis had nearly been killed by the barbarians.
Louis clenched his teeth as he left his father’s office.
Servants passing by greeted him politely.
Louis did not return their greetings.
He wanted to smash the marble column nearby with all his strength.
Everything felt as if it mocked him for being a bastard.
Even the marble itself.
He did not want to be ignored. Yet it was not as if Louis had not put in effort.
The problem was that every time he governed a city, misfortune struck, and because his brothers were so talented, he suffered constant comparisons.
Louis walked out alone and sat down on a tree stump.
‘Still, it starts now.’
From now on.
Because of the recent incident, a new world had opened before him.
When Louis had barely risen after nearly being killed by the barbarians, what greeted him was a single message.
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