Chapter 345

After delivering the news that all members of the Rose Cross Knight Order had chosen to stay, Leonor left my room, saying she should spar with Freide.

Since their skills are similar, the taste of battle must be excellent.

Well, it’s not bad that they get along.

Sparring will gradually improve their skills.

After she left, I opened the five letters on the table one by one.

First, the letter from Nigel.

——–

Princess Ha-shal-leur.

I recently heard news about the northern battle.

The tale of how you personally chased the beastman king, Ryu-rik, to the end of the Northern Wall and slew him has reached here.

I only hope you weren’t seriously injured.

You’ve suffered major injuries every time you’ve faced a fierce battle.

(omitted)

…Landenburg is now preparing for war, expanding its forces and training daily.

Strangely, there’s no sign of an invasion from the eastern forces yet, but we can’t let our guard down.

Thus, all of Landenburg’s swords, including myself, are gathered at the main castle. Every day is a series of sparring matches.

The more we engage in real-like sparring, the sharper our spear tips become.

(omitted)

By the way, the Marquis mentioned declaring you as Landenburg’s successor.

Some seniors were surprised, but no one strongly opposed.

I also fully supported it.

I believe that the Princess Ha-shal-leur I’ve seen will firmly protect Landenburg.

Then, I look forward to the day we meet again.

——–

Nigel’s letter was close to a simple greeting letter with no special content.

Except for the fact that it was decided to declare me as the provisional successor of the Frontier Lord.

Has the time finally come?

In the past, it was difficult to declare due to issues like the resentment towards Ka`har and my infamous reputation, but now I’m a hero renowned throughout the empire.

A hero, personally, I find it a bit embarrassing… but since that’s the setting, what can I do?

—-

Next, I read the letter from Ophelia.

She still only wrote the initials O.S. instead of her full name.

Her letter didn’t have much content either.

She mentioned being cleared of the charges of massacring the Sigmillus Count’s family and the witch accusations… but the family mansion had already burned down, and the fortune had disappeared, leaving only the name.

Even the territory had become another noble’s property, so she’d have to go through complex legal disputes to get it back.

Effectively, she’s become penniless… but since she’s now a high-ranking magician, there are plenty of ways to make money, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

She could join a magic tower or become a dedicated magician for other lords.

…Since it’s come to this, wouldn’t it be perfect to hire Ophelia as the Median family’s dedicated magician?

When I return to the City of Exra-shapel, I’ll finally be granted a territory. Not the northern territory given by Duke Pailoon as a reward, but a territory in the empire’s mainland.

They won’t leave me as a noble without territory forever.

Then, I’ll have a steady income… and since I don’t have many places to spend money, I can invest the collected taxes in the knight order’s operations or Ophelia’s research.

I should propose it to her later.

—-

Leopold’s letter envelope was as lavish as expected from the emperor’s personal letter, almost excessively decorated. The letter paper was the same.

I took out the letter and read it.

From the first sentence, it was a verbose letter filled with all sorts of embellishments, but the main point was exactly as expected.

He congratulated me on ending the civil war, killing the witch, and defeating the winter wolves, and said he had prepared sufficient rewards, so he asked me to return to the capital once I was in a condition to do so.

The issue of granting me the marquis title had been temporarily postponed due to concerns raised by Duke Bien and some nobles.

They pointed out that I was too young and that an unusually rapid promotion could disrupt the empire’s title system.

Of course, that didn’t mean the marquis title was completely gone.

Since it was Duke Pailoon’s proposal, the empire’s nobles couldn’t completely ignore it.

Thus, Leopold proposed a compromise.

If my age was a problem for granting the marquis title, then first grant the title to my family, not me.

…More of a trick than a compromise, right?

In short, it meant granting the marquis title to the deceased Ai-mel-ra de Median, recognizing the Median family as a marquis family.

I would inherit the Median family’s marquis title about two years later.

Hersela was thrilled. What a filial daughter.

Thus, I became the successor of both the Median marquis family and the Landenburg marquis family.

A growth that was unimaginable just a few months ago.

The aristocratic notion that values lineage and the game-like worldview that values martial prowess both gave me wings.

Personally, I wondered what the point of holding both marquis titles was, but it did have meaning. In terms of territory, not just the title.

Not only the Landenburg territory, but a territory befitting the Median marquis title would also be granted separately.

Ultimately, I would eventually have nearly twice the territory of other marquises.

In fact, Leopold’s personal letter stated that the existing Median barony and the surrounding nobles’ territories would all belong to the Median family.

Since the surrounding nobles who had encroached on the Median barony were all part of Isabella’s faction, it was easy to cut them down and seize their territories.

It didn’t feel real, but this made me a true Great Lord.

Of course, since I know nothing about territory management, no matter how vast the territory, I’ll leave the operation and management to agents and just reap the profits.

Besides the territory and title, there were many other things I would receive.

Like the grand mansion in the capital that belonged to Isabella, or the reward money that would more than cover all my debts.

Judging by the amount, I won’t have to worry about money anymore.

Thinking about how I was struggling with a few dozen gold coins not long ago, this is truly a relief.

—-

Below that, there was content about the rapidly changing international situation.

Panam and Dane were showing suspicious movements, the Holy Kingdom was persistently advocating for the dissolution of the dioceses… and Alvheim was invading Himmell, engaging in fierce battles.

I couldn’t help but sigh and took out a magic cigarette to light it.

My exhaled breath was mixed with unease like clouds.

…Why are these guys fighting each other instead of preparing for monsters?

I couldn’t consider it fortunate that they attacked Himmell instead of the empire’s mainland.

The demi-humans were cooperative with humanity, and the fairies’ ambitions wouldn’t end with just attacking the demi-humans.

If they succeeded in conquering Himmell, what would happen next was obvious.

They would either kill all the demi-humans or enslave them, and then attack the empire.

In the original work, they tried to do that but failed due to an unexpected event where the Great Forest burned down, but there’s no guarantee the same thing will happen here. Ryu-rik’s great invasion also didn’t happen in the original work.

…I don’t know. It’s a problem that won’t be solved no matter how much I think about it.

If the demi-humans and fairies have started fighting, it’s not something I can solve by going there alone.

For now, watching is the best option.

Given the fairies’ nature, they won’t believe me even if I argue that now’s not the time to fight each other with stronger monsters appearing.

—-

Lacey’s letter was filled with praise for the northern victory at first, but from the middle, it was full of her characteristic malice towards other races.

She wanted to see Ryu-rik’s taxidermy someday, or she had instructed research on how to deliciously cook demi-human meat… things like that.

Has the rumor that Freide is taxidermying Ryu-rik already spread to the capital? It seems the princess’s secret hobby is no longer a secret.

Surely that won’t become a trend…?

Moreover, researching how to deliciously cook demi-human meat? Does she really intend to make it edible?

I wouldn’t have put it in my mouth unless it was an extremely urgent situation.

Skinning them to make clothes, taxidermying them for decoration, and now cooking their meat for food…

…I don’t know anymore.

Which race is scarier, the demi-humans or the humans?

There was also a mention about the battle between demi-humans and fairies.

She hoped that the demi-humans would win after fighting to near extinction, as they were better than the fairies.

…Typical of her, I have nothing to say.

The latter part was about the Holy Kingdom.

They were resisting the establishment of the dioceses organization so much that they refused to cooperate with the empire despite the increasing threat from other races.

Even though the empire, having lost the 1st and 2nd legions, needed the church’s cooperation more than ever.

Thus, Lacey planned to return to the Holy Kingdom herself later.

She said it would be great if I could come along. Since there’s a suspicion of a connection between Isabella and the Holy Kingdom, she couldn’t feel safe even if it was her homeland.

The Holy Kingdom…

Yes, I should visit it someday.

—-

Lastly, Ludwig’s letter, true to the marquis’s character, was short and to the point.

———

I assume you’ve heard the news about Landenburg from Sir Nigel, so I’ll skip that.

The reason I’m sending this letter is to convey confidential information Sir Nigel wouldn’t know.

A few days ago, a giant paladin from the east came to the barrier and requested asylum.

Ja-han. He claimed to be a warrior from your personal guard. Is that true?

(omitted)

The paladin’s asylum is no small matter, so only a few within Landenburg know about it.

He said he has news that must be delivered to you… but he wouldn’t tell me the content. He said he wouldn’t speak until you arrived.

So, I’ve placed him under house arrest for now. Please come as soon as possible.

———

…A reason to head to Landenburg had arisen.