Chapter 69

And for a person, betraying someone for the first time is difficult, but once it happens the second time, if the situation starts to turn, they will betray immediately.

It’s a bit different from betrayal, but why is it that having an affair is difficult when committing it for the first time? Later, if the husband or wife isn’t around, it becomes easier to do it at home.

Of course, in this case, it’s a bit different from the ‘betrayal’ of hitting someone from behind…

Regardless of the reason, killing a count before sending a secret letter to me stating that they would surrender is an act that ‘crosses the line’, but…

Still, since they assaulted Ella, and depending on how I utilize them, they might be useful…

I should give them one more chance.

If not, I’ll have no choice but to use them as justification for securing the Nante count’s territory.

“Thank you for killing the Schwabin for me. So, why did you do it? Answer me honestly. That way, it will be easier for me to help you, right?”

At first glance, it might seem like a nonsensical question.

Because the people before me already said they killed the Schwabin for me.

However, the words I asked contain the only hint and clue that can save them.

Can I truly find it…

The man kneeling before me spoke after getting down on both knees.

“I will speak honestly. Your Excellency, even now we wish to oust our dishonorable lord and serve the honorable SIEL von Croilet. Please accept our loyalty.”

First, I have to respond to what that guy said, but I’ll have to provide ‘different treatment’ to those with differing opinions.

Just as punishments differ based on whether a person was killed intentionally, accidentally, or in self-defense.

“Do you all share the same opinion? If so, raise your hands.”

The illegitimate children in front of me raised their hands and whispered, except for one person.

“It’s right to follow the honorable and great Croilet rather than the dishonorable lord.”

“If I could work under Count Croilet, could I also become a knight?”

“If I receive a territory, and if I can be recognized by my father…”

Ignoring them, I approached the one who hadn’t raised his hand and asked.

“Why did you not agree to the killing of the Schwabin?”

The man I questioned stuttered as he spoke.

“I would rather beg for my life from Your Excellency than die dishonorably. If we truly wanted to serve Your Excellency, the honorable one as they say, we should have… surrendered before we met like this.”

What this man said is correct.

No matter how garbage the count was, and even if no one would criticize the betrayal…

Nobles, politicians, and soldiers should at least refrain from betraying for the excuse of ‘the situation of war has turned unfavorable.’

Those who do such things, despite being unworthy of trust, will abandon their master like a discarded shoe as soon as circumstances turn slightly unfavorable or they think they can gain a greater benefit.

And that is a significant disqualification for anyone pretending to be a knight or even just a noble.

“I understand. Thank you for telling me. I have heard everyone’s opinions, and I will give you the most suitable treatment accordingly.”

At those words, the illegitimate children’s eyes began to sparkle.

It seems they are under the illusion that a rosy future will unfold under me. Although I have made some of the likes of you into knights…

They have never once betrayed their honor.. They didn’t betray me at all.

If those foolish guys had simply said, “I just wanted to live! Please spare me!” their lives would have been saved, and I would have found a way to wash away their identities, allowing them to become a squire or something similar…

These guys only have one viable option left.

Whether they know my feelings or not, the illegitimate children looked at me with joyful expressions, beginning to shed tears.

I clapped to signal the soldiers across from me and shouted.

“Take those bastards and bind them. Then, sharpen the axes, and execute them all.”

I’m not sorry at all, but if you came back having killed your master in an advantageous situation, I could use it as propaganda to show that ‘if you betray in a favorable situation, you will receive this treatment.’

However, because you killed your ‘master’ in a favorable situation, it has become difficult for me to build a justification for taking Nante.

Given this situation, I am forced to use a justification that is not highly applicable in Europe.

Killing the dishonorable count, a sex offender, along with the cowardly and greedy nobles under him, in order to improve the lives of the serfs of Nante and to restore justice.

It’s not bad, but I never thought I would sound like, “For the people!! For a country where Confucian scholars still live!” just like the Joseon era.

Is this the result of what Clausewitz referred to as ‘the chance of battle’?

**

And the next day, I gathered all the soldiers in a plain a little distant from our barracks.

The soldiers lined up in the plain looked quite tense as they stared at the ‘makeshift gallows.’

As I sat in the chair prepared at the top of the gallows, the idiots who sold out their master to save themselves began to kneel and shout.

“Your Excellency, please spare us!!!”

“We merely did this for Your Excellency. It’s unfair!!”

“Please, just spare our lives. We have children like rabbits and wives like foxes!!”

Hearing those words, my heart grew heavier.

Not because I was killing these guys, but thinking of the ones who had died while enduring the extreme fear and pain of facing over 500 kilograms of iron for SIEL von Croilet.

In reality, some soldiers lost an eye, a jaw, or the top of their heads after being struck by iron mallets, yet they kept charging with their spears until the end…

Thinking about how saddened those soldiers’ families would be when they heard the news of ‘warriors,’ I felt burdened.

So, to vent my frustrations on those who were about to die and to solidify Chris’s ‘position’ for all the work she has done until now, I called for her and said.

“Chris Belladora, put on your armor and come out immediately. Oh, and also carry your ‘sword’ at your waist like a noble.”

Chris gave me a puzzled look and said after hearing my words.

“Your Excellency? Why must it be… just me…”

“It’s an order. If you come out dressed like that, I’ll give you a surprise gift.”

“Yes, understood.”

As soon as she heard that, Chris bowed her head to show her respect and then withdrew.

I then beckoned an older lieutenant beside me and asked.

“How many of the illegitimate children surrendered with the head of the Nante Count?”

“40… No, 58. The rest fled.”

“Then how many people are we bringing to the execution ground?”

“57, as per your orders, excluding the one you secretly let escape.”

The honest guy I let escape yesterday had at least minimal judgment skills.

As proof, even when he briefly waved the ‘reward’ he might get for killing the count in front of him, he honestly answered that he was afraid of the ‘dishonorable death.’

In Joseon, if you are forced to die like a dog, you would have to say, “The grace is overwhelming,” and take a poison shot to avoid being a traitor, but under feudalism, a lord forcing a ‘dog’s death,’ provided it’s not my fault, sometimes legally allows for others to kill them.

So I sent a letter to that guy telling him that the Duke of Brussels would soon meet in Brussels.

Delivering my letter, which holds a territory equal to the Duke’s scope, during a civil war is a bit risky, but if he does well with this…

I might allow him to be commissioned as a lieutenant based on his abilities.

“Got it. How’s the blade of the axe?”

“As directed, some of the axe’s blades have been dulled. At this point, it’s almost more like a mace than an axe.”

I handed the old lieutenant, who was supervising this execution, two gold coins and said.

“Well done. You and your three subordinates should have a feast when you go to Nante. Keep the rest of the money.”

“Thank you.”

Soon after, Chris came up to me, fully armored.

Of course, the armor worn by Chris, who hasn’t undergone professional physical training and is a ‘woman’, only consists of a breastplate and iron greaves, with the rest being a ‘fitting outfit’…

As for the ‘chest,’ which is typically an identifying feature, she wore a thin padded armor underneath to conceal it…

Thinking back, I wonder if there would be any fools who, like in cartoons, would look at Chris and think, “Am I crazy? Why am I getting excited looking at a man?”

Then I looked at Chris, wanting to give her the last test as well as an opportunity to be recognized by them, and said.

“Chris Belladora, have you ever killed a person?”

“No, Your Excellency.”

Upon hearing that, I declared to her in a calm manner.

“The continent of Europa you live on is ruled by knights. Thus, anyone who cannot even kill an enemy, which is the minimum ability to be a knight, cannot stand above anyone else. Oh, the Emperor does not have to do that, of course. But you are not royalty, are you?”

It seemed that the thought of having to kill a person was making Chris tense as she slightly bit her lip and spoke.

“That’s true…”

“I’m not demanding you to wear plate armor and wield a lance like the knights do. Because Chris Belladora is already valuable enough to me without that. I don’t want to force you into something dangerous and that you can’t do. Also, you mentioned a dream a few months ago about wanting to, despite being a woman, restore your family and be an administrator who is respected equally with men, right? I will give you that opportunity.”

After a brief silence flowed between us, I then spoke to Chris.

“Kill our enemies. If you can do that, I will give you another chance to regain your title as a noble and to restore your family. Or, starting tomorrow, you can come to work wearing a dress unless it’s ‘wartime.’ And, our Croilet has no luxury to discriminate against talented people like you just because you are a woman.”

If it’s about noble status, there would usually be a need to recognize Chris, but even recognizing her would lead to the taboo of placing a ‘woman’ in charge of the army.

However, our family is not just any noble family.

Perhaps by the end of the distribution of titles, Balt, who will receive the title of Count, will be far above the two lowly knights who were born as serfs that have won tournaments held in the territory of Nante and are now active as the chiefs of mercenaries.

If those who are illegitimate and cannot become knights do not achieve significant contributions and feats that can influence the war, some of them who have served under me for just a few years have already been officially recognized as knights.

Some of the serf soldiers will soon be promoted as ‘lieutenants’ and will be treated with the status equivalent to that of a knight.

To cover the aggro that this will create, and to create propaganda that ‘everyone can rise equally,’ I personally think…

It would be best if Chris Belladora comes to work in a dress, showing herself commanding a lieutenant or a bailiff.

Then all the interest of ‘those who failed to rise’ would focus solely on Chris, making it easier to manage those fools, and of course, Chris would have to be willing to serve me to the death.

So I took the same position I had when I threatened Chris initially, but unlike then, this time I raised my right hand to her chin to make a ‘devilishly sweet proposal.’

Not having any resistance towards men, Chris’s face flushed a deep shade of red.

And when our eyes met, I sweetly whispered in her ear.

“Chris Belladora, I don’t know what your family was like, but dedicate everything for me. If you do, I assure you: in ten years, the Belladora family will become an honorable knightly family, with the only woman as its founder, known throughout Europa. Though I can’t grant you the title of knight for now due to not directly achieving merits on the battlefield, I will soon grant you an official administrative position. Will you follow me with everything you have? If so, grab onto the axe that the lieutenant is holding over there.”

Upon hearing that, Chris made a serious expression, grabbed the axe, and briefly stared at the blade.

“Lieutenant, begin the execution. The axe held by Chris has been purposefully dulled, so place the worst of the offenders in front of her.”

Then Chris and the executioners stood at the gallows, mercifully striking down the necks of the criminals before them.

Not long after the axes of the executioners, excluding Chris, touched the necks of the condemned, the sound of ‘thunk’ echoed, and blood splattered onto the executioner.

They then tossed the corpses and heads into a pit I had already dug before the execution ground.

Meanwhile, Chris, with a visibly tense expression, mechanically raised the axe once more to strike down the criminals.

Then, the criminal assigned to Chris began to scream loudly.

“Please, I, I, don’t want to die….”

Although the pitiful cries could be heard, Chris, as if in a daze, didn’t respond at all and continued to strike down his neck.

And as that criminal’s neck turned purple and crumbled like a meat paste, he no longer moved.

Seeing that criminal, Chris coldly, or rather pretended to be cold, kicked the corpse into the pit.

Thus, Chris and the executioners mechanically struck down the disloyal betrayers before them.

As a side note, that day, due to the physical and mental fatigue of executing, as soon as she called for the end of the execution, Chris collapsed.

To spread the rumor that I fondly cared for Chris, I personally carried her into her barracks in a ‘princess carry.’

That day, I heard rumors among the soldiers that perhaps the Count of Croilet was…

**

Then we started marching towards Nante Castle as quickly as possible, divided into ‘company units’ just like before.

It took just seven days to travel from the battlefield of Stuttgart Plain to Nante Castle.

During that time, I sent messages to two counts who had declared ‘neutrality in the war,’ instructing them not to want to die like Schwabin and to rapidly establish themselves in the eastern territory of the Count. The costs of garrison must be paid in cash at 1.5 times, so they should prepare their accounting books.

If I send this now, by the time they try to leave, the two counts will be firmly waiting for me.

Also, to avoid hearing the damned stories of them being gay, I marched alongside Ella in a noble carriage.

Although I have no plans to engage in those kinds of activities with Ella in the ‘carriage,’ it might stimulate the soldiers’ unnecessarily excellent imaginations and… such rumors would likely die down in a few days.

Thus, I spent the time almost like a journey with Ella in the carriage and finally arrived at Nante Castle.

Then, following the previously agreed outcomes, I commanded the soldiers standing at the castle gates to take over the territory of the Nante Count.

“The honorable lord of Nante, SIEL von Croilet, has arrived. Open the gates for the new lord.”

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