Chapter 121

The day after Irina and I spent our first night together, we left the mansion, escorted by the squad led by Mark, to explore the city.

“Siel, look at that… Wow…”

Irina pointed to where the actors from the troupe I brought were performing a play depicting the stories of Mark and Frost.

“Sir Frost… The soldiers are in despair. Why must we face such a terrifying and trembling battlefield?”

“Get a grip, Sergeant Mark! If we lose to that wicked Schwabin army… what will become of His Excellency, who has gifted a decent life to bastards like me and peasants like you? So fight. If your spear breaks, use your sword, and if your sword breaks, fight with your bare hands and teeth.”

“But, the enemy is a knight…”

The actor playing Frost said in a tense voice.

“Knights who have lost their honor are no longer knights. They are merely a band of robbers on horseback… Do not be afraid.”

Irina seemed to find this scene amusing, and before long, she stopped walking and stood on the street, enjoying the performance.

“This is the famous play based on the Battle of Stuttgart, right? It’s amazing, Siel… But was it really like that?”

It didn’t seem they were that terrified due to the extensive training and strict discipline…

However, I couldn’t shatter Irina’s fantasy here.

“Frost may not have been, but Mark is a peasant. He can’t speak that elegantly.”

“I see… Then I should hear the stories of this war from Mark and Frost someday. Watching it as a play is nice, but hearing it from those who really fought here would be much more vivid.”

And since we still had time to spare, I decided we could watch the play until the end for Irina’s sake.

Mark kept looking at Irina every time she focused on the play, gripping her hands tightly, as if to say, ‘No, I didn’t act like that…’ which was quite funny.

Beyond this performance, across the entire Croilet County including Nante, there were jousting tournaments and performances by troupes and clowns for the citizens.

Moreover, vendors likely set up stalls all over the city’s streets, created jointly by the merchant and food guilds, so tight that not even a needle could fit through for months before the wedding.

Every morning and evening, the church conducted masses to celebrate my wedding, and now they were probably praying for Irina to give birth quickly.

Especially the Archbishop would likely pray even harder, thinking about the money he would earn in baptismal fees when I had a child…

“The Count Schwabin is dead! That wicked pig has been turned into minced meat by the bastards he despised…”

“Is it true that even God hates him…? Though he is a Count who must pay for his sins with death, I cannot trust those who swore loyalty to him and then broke their vows. Kill them all, and I will bestow the title of knight upon Frost and nobility upon Mark, who did not spare his life in battle.”

At that moment, the play came to an end.

“Mark, send a soldier to deliver ten gold coins to the troupe, and have the soldiers spread a rumor that I am infatuated with Irina.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

Then, I took Irina to the jousting tournament, visited the street vendors, and returned to the mansion.

**

Once back at the mansion, Irina and I moved to the small conference room to rest in preparation for the banquet later that night.

As soon as we entered the small conference room, Irina, her eyes sparkling, said to me.

“The food sold at the vendors I used to know was at most rye bread that crunches with sand, or dough with a bit of honey brushed on it… but here, there’s ice cream, cakes piled high with fruit, and steak… I’ve heard from my father several times that this place is more affluent than other territories, but I never imagined they would sell such delicious things at the stalls.”

“Besides the ice cream, the other food can be eaten without much burden by citizens living at the center of the castle if they want. However, since today is my wedding, they are probably selling at a loss. I think that even peasants can indulge a little now and then to create some memories.”

Upon hearing that, Irina looked at me with wide eyes and asked.

“Are you seriously distributing dishes that would fit the banquets of lower nobility in other territories… across Nante Castle or the Croilet County? That must have incurred an enormous expense… You must have spent at least a hundred thousand gold coins on food, right?”

In reality, the money I actually spent was only around twenty to thirty thousand gold coins.

This was because I collected all taxes in grains or livestock rather than cash, resulting in enormous surplus food every year.

About half of that, three-quarters or so, is sold through Hamburg or other territories, and the remaining food is provided to soldiers as special meals or for enhancement…

So the meat and grains used for this banquet were largely sourced from surplus food that was difficult to manage, which meant the only real costs were for labor and the basic ingredients and sugar.

“No, I didn’t spend that much…”

As I continued speaking, a maid outside the door called out.

“Count Your Excellency, Lady Ela has arrived.”

I had told Ela that I would introduce her to Irina after the wedding, so she didn’t need to come all the way here while pregnant, did she?

“Please open the door.”

When the door opened, Ela entered, dressed in her usual maid outfit, pulling a cart laden with sweets.

Since she came without me calling, she likely came with the intent to treat Irina well by approaching her in a lowly manner first.

In fact, considering the political perspective, Ela’s choice at this moment was the most astute.

Especially in noble society, where a pregnancy carries immense significance, even if a woman has a dirty personality, bringing in sweets she had painstakingly prepared at six months pregnant while bowing down would lead to thoughts like, “Ah, this woman won’t threaten my position as long as I don’t torment her.”

Ela likely couldn’t make such calculations herself, so her father probably informed her.

Irina would have caught on to Ela’s status the moment the maid called her “Lady Ela.”

Also, seeing Ela’s protruding belly from the pregnancy, she would be thinking something similar to me.

Perhaps Irina shared that thought; when she saw Ela bringing in the cart of sweets, she stood up from her seat and pulled the cart herself, speaking in a surprisingly polite tone.

“You really don’t have to go to such trouble, so please sit down. You’re tired, right?”

After helping Ela to her seat, Irina looked at me and said with a hint of annoyance.

“I already knew that with the spread of the Stuttgart play, you had taken on a girl named Ela as a concubine. So I thought you would introduce her to me after the wedding… But seriously, did you go to such lengths to avoid fighting with me?”

Hearing that, Ela responded in a slightly deflated voice.

“His Excellency mentioned that you enjoy sweets, so I brought these directly for you, my lady. In fact, the master told me to take it easy and not overdo it since you have been pregnant for more than half a year.”

Irina and I were momentarily speechless at those words.

“I brought these with the desire to continue getting along well with Irina, so please enjoy them.”

There seemed to be no ulterior motive in Ela’s eyes as she said this.

Whether this sincerity reached Irina, I couldn’t tell, but Irina smiled as she ate the sweets Ela brought.

“It’s really sweet and soft, probably because of all the milk and sugar. It’s something that could be served at the palace where my father was.”

“I’m glad you like it, my lady.”

“After I give birth and recover my strength, make sure to teach me how to bake sweets, Ela.”

“Yes, and please feel free to call me just Ela.”

“Got it, Ela.”

Then, those two began to talk about the sweets and our territory, leaving me out of the conversation.

“So, the duel with Schwabin in the play based on the Battle of Stuttgart really happened?”

“In my opinion, no matter how dramatically the actors performed, they couldn’t have acted as splendidly as the master. When Schwabin tried to touch my chest, I would slap his hand away and declare, ‘Count Schwabin! I can no longer pledge my loyalty to you!’ thereby revealing all his wrongdoings. And then I would throw down my white gloves…”

“So, was it that Siel fought fiercely against Schwabin as portrayed in the play?”

“No, in reality, the master unilaterally beat Schwabin.”

Watching them, I felt a warm sentiment while simultaneously pondering how I could use this situation to make the next target, Architel, let down his guard.

Once I could catch them off guard, if they provided us with a pretext for declaring war, there was a good chance those idiots would fall for it.

Before long, the butler entered and announced.

“Count Your Excellency, my lady, and Lady Ela. The banquet for the second day is about to begin.”

“Got it, I’ll just change my clothes.”

“Master, may I take my leave now, Ela?”

Then, I pretended to be in pain and spoke.

“Ugh… I think I’ve fallen ill from eating too much rich food at last night’s banquet. Butler, please inform Count Vladimir that Siel von Croilet is ill and resting in his bedroom.”

“Yes, understood… However, others might worry…”

“That’s not for you to concern yourself with, Butler.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

**

Thus, I lay in bed in my nightclothes, pretending to be sick, purposely missing the banquet.

As I lay there, thinking of a bait to move the Northern Alliance, I heard a knock at the door.

At this hour, the only one who would come in would be Count Vladimir.

“Come in, Count Vladimir.”

The Count approached my bed and, in an exaggerated voice, expressed his concern.

“My Lord, you’re not really feeling unwell from the food at the banquet, are you? How is your health?”

“Why would someone who knows I’m not ill ask that?”

“Ah, so it was indeed to summon me?”

“Of course. I will ask you directly.”

Hearing that, the Count looked at me with a tense expression.

“I am planning to soon take the Duchy of Akitten; how can you assist me?”