Chapter 266: The King's Return

Jard and Sesto stayed in the village, offering various unpleasant remarks. I wish they would just go back to the Marquis territory already, but it seemed they intended to wait until His Majesty returned.

I had no choice but to offer them the minimum necessary hospitality as guests.

“Lord Van! Lord Jard is demanding I teach him the mechanism for boiling water!”

“Tell him a Fire Mage is boiling the water constantly”. Well, that’s a lie.

“Lord Van! Lord Sesto is demanding that I hand over some of our precious ores!”

“Try selling it to him at five times the price we sell it to the Bell-Rango Trading Company.”

I politely responded to the unreasonable demands from the two of them. What a kind younger brother I am. They were more than they deserved.

Against the kindhearted genius boy Van, Jard and Sesto continued to make selfish demands with an overbearing attitude. At this point, it was a capital offense in the Seatoh Village court, but since they were technically Van’s brothers, I considered giving them the benefit of the doubt.

These two arrogant figures suddenly became docile when they heard that His Majesty had arrived at Seatoh Village.

“Oh, Baron Van! It has been a long time!”

“Welcome, Your Majesty. I didn’t expect the matter to be settled this quickly.”

I exchanged pleasantries with the triumphant King. Behind me stood Jard and Sesto, stiffly at attention like subordinates, whom I completely ignored.

“Hahahaha! I heard the news, Baron Van! I heard that Yelenetta had secretly brought the Shelvia Confederation into the fold, but you repelled them alongside Viscountess Panamera! To repel such a massive force, one capable of injuring even Marquis Fertio, your deed may even be considered a greater accomplishment than ours! Honestly, you irritating rascal!”

His Majesty praised me generously. As I offered a self-conscious laugh, the King vigorously ruffled my hair.

“My only regret is that I heard this news only after Yelenetta surrendered and we accepted their terms as a vassal state. Yelenetta! They cleverly concealed any disadvantageous information! If I had known about their advance on the Ferdinatto County and the spectacular repelment, I would have imposed even harsher conditions…”

His Majesty expressed his frustration. However, considering the outcome of the war, he should have gained more than enough in terms of military results.

Thinking that, I voiced my honest question.

“Your Majesty? The Kingdom of Yelenetta has become a vassal state, and the Shelvia Confederation has become an ally under conditions that place them close to vassalage. Isn’t that a sufficient result?”

When I asked, His Majesty blinked two or three times.

“…What? The Shelvia Confederation? They only said Shelvia had withdrawn, those cunning raccoons…!”

Gaining this additional piece of information, His Majesty entered another fit of pique. Well, they likely wouldn’t easily report a situation disadvantageous to their own country, but if they were resigned to becoming a vassal state, I thought it would be better not to lie clumsily.

So why did the King of Yelenetta not report the information honestly?

Pondering this, I decided to ask His Majesty.

“Your Majesty. What conditions were imposed on the Kingdom of Yelenetta when they became a vassal state?”

When I asked that, His Majesty raised an eyebrow and looked at me.

“Hmm? Well, first and foremost, the most important clause is that they must not oppose any requests for military cooperation from our country. That is primary. Next is the collection of monthly taxes. That’s where the regret lies. I set the tax rate at ten percent of their revenue. If I had had Baron Van’s information, I would have made the tax rate twenty percent… Well, I’m also having them hand over thirty percent of the personal assets of the royalty and nobility, so I suppose I’ll tolerate it.”

Hearing such terrifying terms, I gave a wry smile and refrained from answering.

It’s a serious matter to have ten percent of one’s revenue seized. Thirty percent of the royalty and nobility’s assets must also be worth a fortune, but if His Majesty doesn’t put a check on the nobles who manage the various territories, the people of Yelenetta might suddenly become incredibly poor. No, surely it’s ten percent of the net profit? If revenue is calculated without considering expenses, Yelenetta would instantly face poverty.

Thinking that, I decided to confirm another matter of concern.

“How will you manage the Kingdom of Yelenetta?”

“Hmm? For someone so young to be a lord, your perspective is quite interesting. Most of the nobles are celebrating the victory and clamoring about how much military merit they will receive.”

Pleased by something, His Majesty laughed happily at my question and then explained the management further.

“First, the treatment of the Royal Family. We will allow the current Royal Family to continue governing, but we will install supervisors. Similarly, we plan to place overseers in each territory. Generally, we will dispatch one person from the families with high military merit. As for the Royal Family’s supervision, I will send a subordinate whom I trust.”

As I nodded, thinking I see, His Majesty suddenly burst into laughter.

“You listen as if it’s someone else’s problem, but one of those people will certainly be Baron Van! You will be expected to send at least one supervisor, along with a Knight Order sufficient to protect that person and command the territory’s knights.”

“What!?” I exclaimed at His Majesty’s outrageous surprise announcement.

“That’s impossible! I don’t even have enough people as it is!”

When I laid bare the current state of my forces, His Majesty laughed heartily.

“Give up! Those who do not possess territory, like Viscountess Panamera, hire mercenaries and send them as subordinates, you know?”

“No, no, can’t we be excused? I would rather send my trustworthy subordinates to Brother Murcia’s place…” I tried to politely decline.

But Jard and Sesto, who had been silent until now, hastily spoke up.

“V-Van…! What foolishness are you speaking in the face of such a magnificent reward!? Th-then, I will represent the Fertio Marquis family and…”

“No, Brother Jard is poor at calculating taxes, so I should definitely…”

When Jard and Sesto leaned forward and started arguing, His Majesty’s expression instantly changed. He glared at Jard and Sesto and replied in a low voice.

“The second and third sons of Marquis Fertio. What merit could you possibly possess? Your actions ignored the strategy, endangered your allies, and, furthermore, you fled in the face of the enemy… There is no one more fitting for the phrase, ‘allies who are better off absent.'”

When His Majesty said that, Sesto paled and looked down. Jard, however, protested that it was a misunderstanding.

“Y-Your Majesty! While Sesto certainly abandoned me, his older brother, and fled, I did not! It may not have been exactly according to the plan, but at that moment, the enemy knights were overwhelmed by our forces and were retreating. If we had succeeded in breaking through them, we could have split their forces and significantly turned the tide of the battle…!”

Jard desperately argued, but His Majesty’s eyes remained sharply narrowed.

“Nonsense. I clearly conveyed the plan was to spread out and surround the enemy while attacking with ballistae and magic. To have a mere thousand men charge into the center ruins everything. If you cannot understand even that, you are unfit to be sent onto the battlefield.”

His Majesty, though angry, calmly pointed out their mistake. Perhaps he was overlooking their conduct because they were still young. Listening to this as a third party, Jard and Sesto had done something truly outrageous. If His Majesty were Oda Nobunaga, there’s a possibility both their heads would have been physically severed.

Well, it’s good that we won, but if we had lost, they might have been war criminals.

However, Jard was not convinced.

“Your Majesty…! That is too much! We even used our personal funds to scrape together mercenaries, hoping to be of some use to you! Should not those who participated in the battle be given at least minimal merit!?”

At Jard’s words, His Majesty sighed deeply.

“Enough. Out of consideration for the Marquis who defeated the allied forces of Yelenetta and Shelvia, I will promise you minimum military merit. Now, return to the Marquis territory immediately.”

When His Majesty said that, Jard and Sesto, their expressions stiff, simply bowed and turned on their heels.