“W-wait! N-no, this isn’t right! This makes no sense!”
Only after seeing Tylan being carried out by the servants did Viscount Javico finally come to his senses, his expression urgent.
If he went back like this, Count Sailharun was bound to be furious.
And to his lord, anyone without ability—be it son or brother—was worthless.
“What kind of victory is this! This is invalid, invalid!”
His face flushed with rage, he bellowed at the top of his lungs.
Just as Sir Dimit, the judge, was about to intervene, another voice cut in.
“Invalid, you say?”
The Duke, who had been heading back to his office, halted in his tracks and glared at Viscount Javico.
“Y-yes! This is invalid! It needs to be redone!”
“And why exactly is it invalid? You’d better explain yourself.”
The Duke’s hard expression exuded pressure, but Viscount Javico, blinded by anger, failed to notice.
“How could you end an honorable knight’s duel with such a cowardly sneak attack? That’s something street thugs would do!”
“Cowardly, you say… So, after drawing marks on each other and exchanging pleasantries, is that how you think a duel should end?”
“That’s not what I meant!”
“If this were a battlefield, your nephew’s head would already be rolling on the ground. Do you understand? Glenn only let him off because this was merely a match.”
His breathing grew rougher.
It was a side of the Duke rarely seen.
“And yet, you dare, right in front of me, to call my son a coward?”
The veins on the Duke’s forehead began to bulge, and his aura grew more and more menacing.
“Th-that’s…”
Only then did Viscount Javico start to read the room.
His explosive rage had already fizzled out.
Now, all that remained was the wrath of an extraordinary father.
“Or are you here to insult our family? Do you want to die where you stand?”
The Duke, who had been approaching, put his hand on the sword at his waist.
At that, the knights of House Sailharun stepped forward to shield Viscount Javico.
“Uhh…”
Just as one of the knights, face pale, was about to draw his sword—
“…That sword.”
A voice, edged with killing intent.
It was like a great beast growling.
“You’d better reconsider.”
The only Sword Master in the duchy.
Sir Dimit, who had been holding back, instantly leapt forward as the knight tried to draw his sword against his lord.
“N-no, I, that is…”
Under his gaze, the knight trembled violently and released his grip.
As the expressions of the Lion Knights around them grew more and more threatening, Viscount Javico quickly bowed his head.
“S-sorry! I must have lost my mind seeing my dear nephew like that, just for a moment.”
The Duke deliberated for a moment, then turned to Glenn.
“You should apologize to that child, not me.”
“I’m sorry, Young Lord Glenn! I misspoke.”
Viscount Javico—he hadn’t been likable even in Glenn’s previous life.
He’d always subtly disparaged others to make Glenn look bad.
Glenn smirked and replied.
“Well, it happens. I understand. Besides, Viscount, you’re not really a proper knight, are you?”
“…What?”
Viscount Javico had no talent for swordsmanship.
But as the Count’s younger brother, he’d been appointed a knight nonetheless.
Such cases were fairly common among noble families.
For the sake of noble authority, those like him were treated as knights in name only.
Such knights were often called ‘fake knights’ or ‘paper knights.’
Glenn was pointing this out.
And naturally, to the person in question, it was a grave insult.
“It’s laughable to try to show swordsmanship to someone who knows nothing of it and seek their recognition. It’s like getting mad at a passing dog for not understanding human speech, isn’t it?”
“Y-yes, I suppose so.”
Treated like a passing dog, he ground his teeth audibly.
But what could he do?
“So I’ll accept your apology. If your nephew comes to his senses later, please send him my regards.”
“Th-thank you.”
Glenn glanced at his father, who had been watching the scene, and shrugged with a smile.
“Impertinent brat.”
With that, the Duke spat out a single remark and turned away.
Thus, the incident—which had lasted longer than the duel itself—came to an end.
***
Just as he’d requested before the duel, he wanted to confirm the knights who’d bet on him.
“Sir Nedian.”
“Ah, Young Master. Congratulations on your victory.”
“Hmph, it was just a clown show. Did you look into what I asked?”
“Yes, here it is.”
Receiving a sheet of paper, he saw a list of names.
All belonged to the Lion Knights. Some were specially marked.
“What about the ones marked separately?”
“In my judgment, they’re the most capable among them. The rest are just so-so.”
“So, not even ten people?”
“Then you and I will just have to work harder, Young Master.”
“It’s fine for you, Deputy Commander, but what about me?”
“It means you haven’t earned enough trust yet.”
“…Tsk, you sure know how to leave me speechless.”
Counting Nedian, there were just about seven.
It seemed a bit lacking, but it didn’t really matter.
What mattered now wasn’t numbers, but having even a little trust from those around him.
Even in his previous life, Glenn’s standard for picking people had always been: ‘How trustworthy are they?’
“Good. I have a special task for these men. Select those skilled in stealth and have them track the viscount’s movements.”
“You mean Viscount Javico?”
“Yes. Report anything unusual about the places he visits or the people he meets in the city. Can you do it?”
“If it’s just tracking his movements, it’s not that difficult. But… is there a particular reason?”
“Who knows, just in case. Isn’t it odd that the Sailharun men are sneaking around here?”
“Hm, understood. How far should the surveillance extend?”
“Within the City of Lepent should suffice. I doubt he’ll do anything out in the open, especially at the mansion—it’d be too conspicuous.”
“But to mobilize knights, we’ll need the Duke’s permission…”
“I’ll speak to my father myself.”
***
“You want to mobilize knights?”
Glenn went straight to the Duke’s office and handed over the paper from Nedian.
“Yes, I don’t need many—just the ones marked here will do.”
“And these men are?”
“They’re the only decent knights who bet on me in today’s match.”
The Duke tapped his armrest for a moment after listening.
After a brief silence, he said something unexpected.
“Fine.”
He handed the paper back and returned to his original paperwork.
He looked completely calm.
“…Pardon?”
It was Glenn’s turn to be surprised.
“I approve.”
“…”
“What? Is there something else you want to say?”
“It’s just, I didn’t expect you to agree so easily. Aren’t you going to ask why?”
“You must have your reasons.”
“…If you think of it that way, thank you.”
With him saying that, Glenn had nothing else to add.
…What’s this? He’s reacting so differently from before.
“I just thought you’d finally graduated from doing foolish things like you used to.”
Had some of his father’s trust finally been restored?
He’d hoped for some effect after the duel, but this was better than expected.
Well, the Sailharun lot had always been annoying.
“There’s something else I’d like to discuss.”
“…What is it?”
The Duke turned his gaze back to Glenn.
Glenn looked at the waiting maid in the room.
Understanding the meaning, the Duke spoke.
“Step outside for a moment.”
The maid bowed and left the room.
Glenn took out two letters from his breast pocket.
“What are these?”
“It’s about today’s banquet.”
As the Duke read the letters, his eyes narrowed.
His reading sped up, and soon he set the letters down.
“This is your idea? You want to bring the Arian Kingdom and the Lebanov Principality to the negotiating table with the Empire?”
“Yes.”
“Explain in detail.”
At least he didn’t reject it outright.
That alone was a success.
His father was by no means a foolish man.
“First, we need to review what happened today. The war supplies the Empire is demanding are just a pretext. As always, their real goal is—”
“The annexation of the Principality.”
“Exactly.”
Glenn nodded and continued.
“And House Sailharun is nothing more than a pawn for the Empire. The funds they’re offering to lend us likely come from the Empire as well.”
“Your evidence?”
“It’s just my intuition, but honestly, evidence isn’t that important. Our relationship with Sailharun is already past the point of no return.”
That was absolutely true.
The Duke found himself nodding unconsciously.
“From their perspective, they have to get rid of us to earn the Empire’s favor. And for us to survive, we must drive out Sailharun.”
In truth, this wasn’t intuition but knowledge from his previous life.
Sailharun would receive funding from the Empire and become the creditor of House Lepent.
They’d tighten the purse strings and exert control.
It was also a convenient smokescreen for other schemes.
“Yes, there’s no point in separating the Empire and Sailharun.”
“Then it’s clear what it means for Sailharun to lend us money.”
“You’re saying the loan itself is the Empire’s will?”
“Exactly. With their left hand, they demand money from us; with their right, they offer to lend it. In other words, what they really want is—”
“To saddle our house with debt, not to give us funds. They’re aiming to pressure us financially?”
Glenn was impressed that his father understood so quickly, even without knowledge of the future.
“Did you learn mind-reading or something?”
“Don’t joke. Continue.”
“Ahem, anyway, that’s the situation. So our real concern isn’t whether to borrow money from Sailharun, but that we shouldn’t provide funds to the Empire at all. Even if we do, they’ll just find another excuse.”
“So you’re saying we should go to war with the Empire? …No, that’s not it. The answer is in these letters, isn’t it?”
The Duke looked at the letters Glenn had given him.
“Yes. Negotiations shouldn’t be conducted when we’re at a disadvantage. If we aren’t equals, there can be no fair negotiation.”
“So you want to bring in two other countries and side with the Second Prince?”
“Even just making contact with the Second Prince’s faction would suffice. In short, I’m proposing we act as the Balance of Scales.”
The Empire was in the midst of a civil war.
The previous emperor had died without clearly naming an Heir Apparent.
The war between the current emperor, the First Prince, and the opposing Second Prince had dragged on longer than expected.
But gradually, the First Prince’s side was gaining the upper hand.
At this rate, victory would surely go to the First Prince.
That’s why the emperor was pressuring the principalities like Lepent.
He wanted to secure more resources and strengthen his position, drained by the civil war.
Even as Crown Prince, he’d been a strong advocate for annexing the principalities.
If the civil war ended successfully, he’d likely lead his army straight for the principalities.
What Glenn was proposing was for Lepent to act as the Balance of Scales between the First and Second Princes.
Of course, the Principality of Lepent alone wouldn’t suffice.
But if they brought in the other two countries?
As a Balance of Scales, it would be more than enough.
If all three sided with the Second Prince, the civil war’s outcome would once again be unpredictable.
“The Balance of Scales, huh. Not a bad idea… but you’re overlooking something. The Lebanov Principality might go along, but the Arian Kingdom won’t side with us.”
The Arian Kingdom was a neighboring country just south of the principality, but relations had always been poor.
Located at the center of the continent, the Arian Kingdom was even smaller than Lepent.
And its military was much weaker.
That’s why its leaders had to excel in politics and diplomacy.
It was traditional for merchant families to ascend the throne for just that reason.
Their values were completely different from Lepent, which was ruled by old knightly families.
This was the root of their animosity.
They simply couldn’t understand each other.
To the kingdom, the principality was a land of ignorant, vain knights; to the principality, the kingdom was a country of lowly merchants with no sense of honor.
No wonder they couldn’t get along.
“The King of Arian is a brilliant politician. If the time and circumstances are right, wouldn’t he share a drink with yesterday’s enemy?”
“Hmph, don’t be so naïve. The Arians have been untrustworthy since our grandfathers’ days.”
“That’s why I’ll go and persuade them myself.”
“You’ll go?”
“It’s not like trust can be built through a few letters. As Grand Prince, I’m more than qualified as an envoy. That way, they won’t just shut their doors and refuse. Besides, I’m the one who proposed this plan. Of course I should go.”
“You’re saying you’ll visit a place that’s practically a potential enemy?”
“Isn’t it better than the Empire?”
The Duke furrowed his brow and fell silent for a moment.
Glenn’s argument was indeed sound.
It was a rational proposal and the best method.
…Then why did he feel uneasy?
Was it because he didn’t trust his son? If so, he wouldn’t have listened in the first place.
Was it simply worry?
He asked himself, but no clear answer came.
“…Hoo. I understand your position. But this matter—I’ll need to discuss it with the retainers again. I’ll give you my answer after that. Understood?”
Not a perfect score, but a passing grade.
Glenn thought so, watching his father’s reaction.
If there was a better way, he’d want to know.
In the end, this was the best solution.
His father was smart enough to see that.
“Yes, that’s enough. I’ll await your reply.”
With a satisfied expression, Glenn opened the office door.
“Glenn.”
A quiet voice called him back.
“Did you call me?”
“Today’s duel… well done.”
“…”
Heh, who’d have thought I’d live to see the day my father praised me.
Glenn grinned widely and bowed his head.
“Thank you.”
***
Two days later.
Nedian came to see Glenn.
“We’ve discovered suspicious movements from Viscount Javico.”