Wilfred de Riberton, Marquis of Riberton.
No matter what anyone says, the king and sovereign of the Riberton Domain.
He despises chrysanthemums. Especially the pure white chrysanthemums that bloom in autumn—they make him feel suffocated every time he sees them. His body reacts with allergies to their scent.
In truth, very few know this within the estate. They had already eradicated every chrysanthemum plant long ago. Because of this, only the elderly servants and nobles are aware of this fact.
“Ugh, ugh….”
The Marquis woke up feeling dizzy and weak.
He wasn’t in a good mood.
Because he had seen chrysanthemums in his dream. More precisely, he had seen his second wife, Eleanor, who resembled white chrysanthemums. Though her expression was unreadable, her distinct snowy hair was unmistakable in his memory.
Dreaming of a deceased wife—how terribly unlucky.
“Marquis! Marquis, are you all right—?”
The familiar Head Steward hurried over, trembling nervously.
His voice was louder than usual, piercing the Marquis’ ears.
“Quiet… How long have I been unconscious?”
“Three days, Your Grace. Are you feeling well?”
Three days unconscious.
Damn it, had he really been out that long?
Briefly frowning at his bitter feelings, the Marquis was suddenly gripped by one urgent thought.
“The two of them? Those two are out in the city right now, aren’t they?”
He was asking about his sons.
The sharp Head Steward immediately caught the Marquis’s intent.
“The two young masters are gathered in the city square at this moment.”
“What on earth are they doing there? Surely not…”
A sudden ominous suspicion crept into his mind.
“They, they’re delivering speeches for the heir meeting ceremony….”
“A ceremony without my permission? Who on earth authorized such nonsense?”
The Marquis’s angry outburst caused the Head Steward to flinch instinctively. Although he had served the Marquis for a long time, this was something he was still unaccustomed to.
“The two young masters persuaded the elder nobles and other houses. There are even figures from the Empire, Arian, and Lepent who support them…”
Persuaded? Damn it, it was obvious.
They must be using the excuse that I’m not in a normal state. Perhaps they even thought that my collapse was an opportunity.
“Idiots! I will deal with them right now…!”
The Marquis, enraged, tried to rise from the bed but swayed unsteadily.
“Y-Your Grace!”
“Enough. Don’t make such a fuss.”
He irritably brushed away the Head Steward, who had rushed in anxiously.
Then, he slowly lowered his hand to examine his palm.
His pale, shriveled skin was dry and tight.
The dark reddish spots scattered across his palm seemed to betray his age.
He set down his faintly trembling hand in frustration.
“Head Steward, have I really been unconscious that long?”
“N-no, Your Grace! You’re still in a state of convalescence!”
Convalescent, my foot.
His gaze rested on the Head Steward, who was bent low before him—a servant who had been with him since he ascended as Marquis.
“Tell me, Head Steward. How old are you this year?”
“… Thirty-one, Your Grace.”
“At that age… I’ve really gotten old too, haven’t I?”
“Your Grace…”
The Head Steward involuntarily raised his gaze to the Marquis. In his watery eyes was a single clear emotion.
Sympathy.
“W-What do you mean by that look? Do you dare pity me?”
The Marquis’s eyes flickered sharply.
This lowly servant dares to pity the King of Riberton?
Yes, I am a king. Even if I am an old man now!
“N-never! Please forgive me!”
Anger welled up inside him. No matter what, he was still the king and master here.
But now?
His two sons and these young nobles all treated him like a decrepit old man.
“Damn it…”
His foolish eldest son was utterly clueless. He was arrogant and irritable—no way was he fit to be the next Marquis, but there was no alternative.
The younger son, Kyle, was somewhat better, at least in terms of capability. That was why he had paid Kyle a lot of attention when he was young.
But since Eleanor left, Kyle no longer treated him as a father.
Naturally, this caused a rift with the conservative nobles loyal to the Marquis. If Kyle becomes the next Marquis, Riberton Domain would be doomed.
Whether the two sons knew this or not, they acted as they pleased and even brought in mercenaries from outside the estate.
What the hell was this?
I was a king. Yes, the master.
But what was this pathetic state I was in!
“How dare those brats disrespect the King of Riberton—cough, cough!”
As he spat out his anger, a breeze carried the scent of flowers into the room.
“Your Grace!”
“Cough! Damn it, close the window! Who the hell planted chrysanthemums at this estate?”
Damn chrysanthemums.
Now even the servants ignored me?
“Impossible, Your Grace! There isn’t a single chrysanthemum around the estate….”
“Then where the hell is this damn smell coming from? Go check immediately. And uproot every last one—cough, cough!”
The scent of chrysanthemums wafted again.
Even though the window was closed.
Damn it.
“Cough, cough!”
***
Despite the Marquis’s lack of clarity, the heir meeting ceremony proceeded smoothly. Or rather, it went smoothly because the Marquis was absent.
Kyle and Godric actively persuaded the major houses and elder nobles of the domain. Each confident in their own victory.
Thus began the meeting in the city square.
Godric’s speech was far from flattering, even if it sounded grand.
He emphasized his close ties to the Empire, stressing that the Emperor was bestowing 100 gold coins on him.
“…I, Godric Riberton, am the rightful heir of the house! The Emperor himself has recognized this and granted me 100 gold coins as proof! Since His Majesty personally acknowledges me, there is no one more fit for this position than I am!”
His voice was loud and clear, but the content left much to be desired. It was best to just dismiss it as empty noise.
“And I maintain a close relationship with Elrian Rochfort, the Empire’s ambassador. Who else could be a more suitable next Marquis?”
Imperial connections, his own prestige, and his status as the eldest son.
He boasted of nothing but his own merits.
“Elrian, are you really that close to him?”
Cecilia, who was watching the square from the same terrace as last time, asked with a smirk. Elrian, responding, also smiled wryly.
“Hmm? We only talked for about ten minutes.”
Though they had spoken briefly in relation to the heir meeting, all real conversation was under Godric’s watchful gaze. Elrian might have been uncomfortable but did not make a fuss.
Simply put, she had little interest in Godric himself.
“Next, we will hear from Kyle di Riberton, the second son of the Marquis of Riberton.”
Godric descended the podium with a proud expression as Kyle stepped up. Kyle scanned the crowd gathered in the square with a slightly stiff expression.
City citizens and hidden refugees alike, and behind them, nobles from various houses.
“I must persuade them.”
Kyle took a deep breath and began to lay out his thoughts. He had already discussed and verified this several times with Tessa, so he had no hesitation.
“Dear citizens of Riberton, and noble members of the great houses, please hear my words…”
Kyle’s proposals were threefold.
First, a reform of the shares related to the Lems River waterway.
“The Lems River should not be monopolized solely by the Riberton family. Instead, shares should be openly bid upon and partially shared with other houses. Of course, the largest share will always be held by the Marquis of Riberton by right.”
The eyes of the listening nobles naturally narrowed.
Kyle was proposing a tremendous matter from the start. It was no exaggeration to say that all of Riberton’s power and authority came from control of the Lems River. Yet Kyle was suggesting giving up a portion of that power.
This caused some nobles’ brows to furrow, especially the conservative faction supporting Godric, who directly benefited from the Marquis’s power.
Kyle’s proposal was unwelcome to them.
“If we cling to the current method, we will only be isolated. We must not forget that the Riberton Domain is surrounded by the Empire, Lepent, and Arian. If we become isolated here due to hatred, I guarantee the Riberton Domain will be torn apart! Therefore, reforming the share structure is not a choice but a necessity. For our survival!”
Clap, clap—
Glenn and Murca applauded enthusiastically. Naturally, both Lepent and Arian would welcome this with open arms. Yet, cleverly, the largest share still remained with the Marquis family.
While earning the animosity of neighboring countries, they would still retain effective core interests.
Meanwhile, Elrian clicked her tongue and wore a complicated expression.
Let’s consider Kyle’s proposal from the Empire’s standpoint.
It was good that the Empire could now hold some shares in the Lems River waterway. This created a means to curb the Riberton Marquis’s repeated monopolization.
But looking closer, Riberton was legally Empire territory. Yet the Empire’s shares and the Marquis’s shares were being measured separately?
This indirectly acknowledged Riberton’s independence from the Empire.
“My brain hurts…”
Cecilia, frustrated by Elrian’s reaction, frowned. She too sensed this was a sharp proposal.
“…Is this really Kyle’s idea?”
“The reform itself is his. But to have it so finely crafted… it’s probably Murca…”
Elrian’s cold, pale blue eyes shifted toward a woman at the side of the square.
A gentle beauty with soft brown hair.
“It must have been a lady of House Lindelway who polished this plan.”
“Lindelway… I think I’ve read about her in reports. Tessa Lindelway, right? But didn’t she visit here just because of the marriage proposal with Lord Kyle?”
“Hm, on the surface, yes. Cecilia, you know the ‘Black Serpent’ of Arian, right? That’s Princess Isabelle.”
“Of course. I’ve heard she made great contributions during the Niran Civil War.”
Isabelle’s reputation as the flower of the Arian Kingdom was occasionally heard even within the Empire. However, through the recent civil war, some focused more on her other nickname, the ‘Black Serpent,’ believing she orchestrated almost every major move behind the scenes.
In other words, she was a person of interest.
“The right hand of the Black Serpent is Tessa Lindelway. Seeing that she is now here in Riberton confirms it.”
Amid Elrian and Cecilia’s brief chat, Kyle’s passionate speech continued.
“…My second proposal is the ‘Tax Reform’.”
Once again, Kyle dropped a bombshell.
Several nobles who had been quietly listening couldn’t hide their surprise.
“Huh—”
“Are you talking about changing the taxes?”
Taxation in the domain was an extremely sensitive matter.
Taxes collected from domain residents were the exclusive right of the lord, a means of asserting authority and prestige.
No lord in the world could take tax reform lightly.
Yet Kyle was advocating for it now.
“Yes. This too is absolutely necessary. For all of us, for the Riberton Domain!”
His blue eyes, resembling those of his mother, shone fiercely.
His words and actions were unwavering.
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