In childhood, one received education from hired tutors or trained elsewhere.
As one aged, the heir received their own title and took their first step as a ruler. From then on, they only awaited their parent’s remaining titles with covetousness.
Hoping for a strong familial bond in such a process was an unreasonable expectation.
In fact, Johan’s behavior towards Amien was surprisingly friendly, much kinder than the usual count.
“Why? Are you worried Amien might hate you?”
“H-How do you always read my thoughts?”
“I didn’t expect to guess right. Maybe you’re just too easy to read.”
“??”
Iselia was flustered. She had never heard such a thing before.
“Amien respects you more than you think, so don’t worry unnecessarily.”
“Is that true. . .?”
“I heard it myself, so it must be true.”
“She said that? To you?”
“Yes. So just accept this.”
Receiving the sword Johan handed her, Iselia tilted her head in confusion. The sword, from the marquis’ castle, was unusually sharp, seemingly of Eastern origin.
“Wouldn’t it be better to give it directly to Amien?”
“It’s not for Amien, it’s a gift for you, Iselia. Since you didn’t take anything from the castle.”
“. . .!”
Johan smiled and caressed Iselia’s cheek, then casually spurred his horse forward. The other knights cheered as Johan rode towards them.
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“Your Excellency.”
“?”
“I came like this because there might be prying eyes inside.”
“Speak. I am listening.”
As the priest of the order approached on horseback, Johan looked puzzled.
Currently, the vicinity was noisy with the pursuit of the marquis. Even Johan himself was running around the area, eradicating the remnants of pirates and searching.
“The people of the republic seem to be acting suspiciously. I thought I should report it to your Excellency. . .”
“The republic?”
At this moment, the republic was leading a fleet along the coast. To cut off the pirates’ escape route and supply them with materials.
Johan was bewildered by the news that those who were solid allies until a moment ago were acting suspiciously.
“There is a report that they received an envoy from the viscount.”
Viscount Ginolen. He was the agent ruling the remaining fiefdom of the Emperor in the south. Contact with such a noble couldn’t be ignored.
‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨?’
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“His momentum is truly terrifying.”
“Hmm. . .”
“It’s understandable that they say he is blessed. . .”
The captains of the republic were deep in thought. It was an unexpected dilemma.
Johan’s momentum was like a storm.
When they secretly allied with Johan and provided support, no one expected such an outcome. At best, they thought he would occupy the count of Coolia’s territory and linger there.
Swallowing an entire county wasn’t easy, even with the help of the order. The republic thought it would take Johan years just to deal with the rebellious vassals.
But Johan, having married and called his vassals, quickly sifted them out and stabilized the fiefdom in no time. There was no sign of the chaos typical of an occupation. One could mistake him for a feudal lord who had ruled for a long time.
It was astounding, but still acceptable. It was shocking, but understandable. Even so, Johan was still in a difficult position and couldn’t refuse the requests of the republic.
But suddenly, the pirates wreaked havoc, the marquis was defeated, and the western vassals called for Johan. The order, excited to suppress pagans, joined the republic’s fleet in support.
As a result, Johan advanced like lightning, swallowing the western vassals unexpectedly.
His momentum was terrifying, but the republic still had a glimmer of hope. The marquis’s stronghold remained, and the pirates’ forces were intact.
After dealing with these, Johan’s main force would be in disarray, and he would have to focus solely on recovery!
. . .But then, the insane pirates suffered a major defeat. Johan’s forces took the marquis’s stronghold without a scratch.
At this point, Johan was virtually the overlord of the south. There was no one left in the south to oppose Johan, except for Viscount Ginolen, but the viscount was too preoccupied with defending his own fiefdom. . .
When a seemingly easy opponent suddenly grows strong, it’s natural to feel anxious.
The people of the republic were deeply worried. They couldn’t openly oppose Johan given the favorable conditions they’d received, but the future was frightening.
If they weren’t fools, they would know Johan’s next move after dominating the south would be to control the nearby seas and expand trade. A troubling future for the republic.
Amidst this, an envoy from Viscount Ginolen arrived. The envoy was also pale due to recent events.
━𝐖𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭!
━𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞. . . 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬?
━𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰! 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜? 𝐈 𝐛𝐞𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐞. . .
The envoy was desperate.
Everyone thought the marquis would hold out, but he collapsed. The viscount’s fiefdom was also in a state of panic.
The Emperor may have abandoned the marquis, but he didn’t expect this outcome.
“If we smuggle out the marquis. . .”
“It will be a check. They will aim again with support from the Empire.”
“Hmm.”
The bribe offered by the viscount’s envoy was tempting, but smuggling out the marquis seemed an easy way to make a significant impact
“Let’s make a decision. It seems we are all in agreement.”
“. . .Fine. If the marquis’s family escapes, we will secretly send a ship to the Empire.”
“Thank you! Thank you!”
The envoy sighed in relief and exclaimed. Now, all that remained was for the marquis’s family to escape. The area was thoroughly searched, but the marquis’s family had deep roots in the vicinity.
They were not only knowledgeable about the geography but also had many who would hide them. Surely, they could escape.
“The marquis has been captured!!”
“What???!!”
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𝔞𝕨ė̇𝚋𝚜𝕥𝐨𝔯𝔦𝚎𝐬.𝘤𝕠ṁ
Johan looked at the marquis with pity. The marquis was already a cold corpse. The vassals who found him immediately killed the marquis and his family.
From their perspective, if the marquis was proven innocent in a trial, it would be their end.
“The village chief of the town where he was hiding informed us through a serf.”
“Well done. Give them a reward.”
The marquis believed in his status and authority. Even though he was fleeing and had lost soldiers, he was confident that the serfs and village chiefs who had been under his family for a long time would not betray him.
However, that was the marquis’s misconception. Had he known how much Johan had taken control of the area during his confinement, he would never have done so.
