11 (6)

As they went a little farther, the buildings became even more luxurious. Moreover, guards stood posted everywhere, and the moment they saw House Pontina’s crest from a distance, they already split to either side and showed Louis proper respect. Little by little, the stares turned cold. They had come out of curiosity, only to develop resentment toward Louis’s imposing presence. Even so, not one of them dared lift their head carelessly.

Louis’s Charisma Trait pressed down on the surroundings even more fiercely through its intimidation effect. Once Louis moved deeper inside, the male nobles finally relaxed and began chattering.

“He’s no ordinary man. I’ve seen Remitri in person—this one seems to have surpassed his father.”

“Not just his father. Among the nobles of every house at that age, someone like Louis is rare enough to count on one hand.”

“Isn’t a rebellion going to break out? It seems the blessing of Mars wasn’t a lie. The warrior leading the front and the one at his side are both Sword Experts. And he himself seems comparable.”

“It looks like the king and the seven houses will split again here. Wasn’t the situation already unstable? You could say the moment the crack appears is now. If so, what we must do is decide whom we choose…”

“Even if Louis is the storm’s eye, if the houses decide to make him their enemy, even Louis won’t be able to endure it. But I don’t see any sign of that. Did you look at the man beside him?”

“Who do you mean?”

“Parse Akiteia of House Parse. He’s guiding Duke Louis.”

“So it’s House Parse after all. They’ve already moved in. Their intent is obvious—so it depends on how the other six houses respond.”

“As long as Duke Louis isn’t incompetent, he won’t make enemies of the houses. I’ll attend the party tomorrow with my daughter. At least I like him. I believe it’s wise to line up anew around him.”

“You shameless bastard. Are you a bat without honor? You’ve followed the Prince-King, and now you’ll switch lines like that?”

Even among themselves, their choices were beginning to diverge, and the talk grew chaotic. That was how turbulent the situation was.

At last, Louis entered fully inside. This truly was the upper district where the highest ranks resided. The minimum rank was count, and all of them served within the castle, entangled through blood and marriage with the most prominent houses. Each mansion was enormous, occupying vast grounds, and they had many servants. The servants, fascinated, even abandoned their work to watch Louis’s entrance. Nor were they the only ones. The commotion swelled in many places—soldiers moving first to inform the king, and the soldiers of houses that had arrived earlier, unpacked their travel burdens, and were now coming out to meet Louis.

‘Just how long is he going to take?’

Just as Blancfor of House Batenberg—waiting inside his mansion with growing impatience—rose from his seat, the door flew open and a subordinate reported,

“Duke Louis of House Pontina is said to be heading this way.”

“Good. He’s finally here.”

As he hurriedly pulled on his outer clothes, he shouted,

“Go straight down and prepare the horses!”

“Yes!”

Blancfor rushed down while searching for his younger sister.

“Linsia! Shall I introduce you—are you coming with me?”

When he opened the door, a beauty staring so hard out the window it seemed her eyes might fall out turned her head.

‘Whew. She’s my sister, but still…’

“Idiot. You don’t meet him like that with zero mood!”

“What? Isn’t seeing his face first always better?”

“I’m meeting him properly at the party tomorrow, so you must introduce me then! Standing in the street just to see him—that’s what lesser nobles do.”

It was a fair point. But knowing she wanted to see Louis with her own eyes even more than he did, Blancfor clicked his tongue. Women, honestly.

“Fine. I’ll meet him first and tell you the details of my impression, so stay here and wait.”

Before he even finished speaking, Blancfor went downstairs, mounted the prepared horse, and dashed out of the mansion. Watching him, Linsia hurriedly stood up as well. The attendants rose in a flurry. A young steward signaled for haste.

“We have secured a spot. From that window, you should be able to see Duke Louis as he passes. There isn’t much time. We must hurry.”

Linsia began hurrying down too. She had only kept quiet out of embarrassment before her brother, but she had no intention of letting Louis pass by like this. What she had devised was to watch him in secret. Her brother would surely follow Duke Louis all the way into the castle, so returning to the mansion would be faster for Linsia.

‘Hah. What is this madness? This is beneath my dignity. I’ve never done this before.’

She complained in a way that wasn’t quite a complaint, yet she was already moving, mixed among the soldiers and attendants preparing to go. Not only Linsia—maids who had served her for years also looked desperate to see Louis because of what she was doing. They knew well how proud and high-nosed Linsia usually was.

Entering an empty guard building, Linsia poked her head out from the lookout and saw House Pontina’s banner approaching from far away. Whether because she feared being caught behaving so undignified, or simply because of the pressure, her heart pounded as she watched the procession draw nearer.

She herself had passed through here with a procession and met the king first. Yet there was something House Pontina had—something her own house, and the others, did not. It was hard to put into words. It was only natural that people whispered. That was how many fierce figures House Pontina had gathered. And then her pupils fixed on one man, speaking with several other men.

It was Louis. The man talking eagerly at the far left was Akiteia Parse of House Parse—someone she knew by face. He was handsome and so popular among noblewomen that tempers had flared more than once because of him. Next she spotted her own brother, Blancfor, finally speaking to Louis, and then the man speaking after him was Spesart of House Orsini. The houses that had made contact immediately were House Parse, House Batenberg, and House Orsini—those three. The rest were hesitating and watching. And the one peeking in secret, Linsia, could now clearly see Louis.

The judgment that followed was simple.

‘Father, I love you. I will never let this man go.’

Her competitive spirit flared in its own distinctive way. But startlingly, Louis—who had been talking pleasantly—suddenly looked directly toward the watchtower.

“Oh my—!”

Attendants who had been peeking from other windows startled and lowered their heads, and as Linsia tried to duck as well, their eyes met.

‘D-did he see…? What do I do! No, he couldn’t have. There were so many attendants beside me—how would he have seen my face?’

She had deliberately dressed plainly, which was fortunate if anything was. She was full of anxiety, yet she was dying to see Louis up close as he came nearer. In the end, after hesitating, she gripped the sill and slowly peeked out again. Louis was only speaking to someone—he was no longer looking at the tower.

‘Hmph, what was that?’

Louis recalled the woman in the tower a moment ago. He did not know why there were women up there, but at least one of them had been memorable. More important than that, though, was that everything was going smoothly for Louis right now. The men who had barged in at his left and right were all sons of their houses who had come here as their fathers’ representatives. House Parse, House Batenberg, House Orsini. All three were showing Louis open, almost blind favor.

As Louis understood it, House Batenberg and House Orsini did not get along. Yet both wanting to cooperate with Louis meant their existing alliances had fallen apart under various selfish interests. House Parse excelled greatly in diplomacy; House Batenberg held the bridgehead on the Rhine River that connected directly to the capital, so among the seven houses they likely possessed the most money and commercial leverage. House Orsini was a house that produced many mages. With their uniquely abundant resources, they held the largest number of mages in the Duchy of Eron. Of course, Orsini blood itself traced back to the royal court mage line from the early days of Eron’s founding.

All three houses could be said to help in war. Mages could unleash tremendous firepower in direct combat, money went without saying, and diplomacy could sabotage things so that reinforcements did not arrive at the right time.

As various conversations flowed, they reached the very end. Only a tiny few could enter the castle now. Louis brought only three warriors with him, and told Boromir to guide the remaining soldiers to the mansion where Louis would be staying.

Inside the castle was complex and enormous, and it seemed to have been expanded many times, because the colors were distinctly different in places. Even so, it felt harmonious rather than disjointed. Located at the highest point, the castle interior had quite a few stairs. Soldiers inside stood in rigid lines, and maids bustling about bowed on their knees to Louis—then, unable to resist curiosity, stole repeated glances at him.

While Louis was on his way to inform the king of his arrival, three men outside were talking. They were Akiteia, Blancfor, and Spesart—those who had just approached Louis to make his acquaintance.

The ones who already knew each other by face were Spesart and Blancfor. Spesart was a young man with a pale, almost bloodless complexion and a somewhat haggard look. He was unbearded, so his face was not as mockable as one might expect. True to a mage family, he gave off an academic air, and as if he pursued that temperament himself, his clothes were almost half robe. He even carried a portable crystal orb in his arms—so he was both a marquis’s representative and a mage. Unfortunately, Spesart and Blancfor’s acquaintance was not of the friendly kind. Their houses had long stood on opposing lines, snarling at each other.

“I thought Lord Akiteia of House Parse might do this, but as expected, you were already here first. I believed I was the first to approach—where exactly were you waiting from?”

“To build a relationship with a compelling person, it is basic to watch from the castle gate. My house does not stand on ceremony when we judge someone to have value.”

“I see. I learned yet another lesson. But why are you even here, you debauchee?”

“Tsk. Don’t worry—I have no interest in a stiff old scholar like you. I’m only interested in Duke Louis.”

Spesart’s lips twitched, and he continued,

“That is surprising. Your house is not the kind to recognize such talent first. Even if House Pontina has been making a name lately, commercially it is not that valuable. Am I wrong?”

“Who are you calling a money-grubber? You brat. Money is the most important means within a territory. And the means of making money isn’t a tool—it’s people! Our house rose to this position by discerning valuable people. Don’t compare us to your house that only reads books!”

Akiteia smiled and quickly stepped in to mediate.

“Easy. This is in front of the castle. Watch your words. There are far too many ears. In any case, the three of us have something in common.”

Both of their gazes snapped to Akiteia.

“It is that we recognized the value of the man called Louis.”