Chapter 97 : The Heir of Riberton

Shocking news shook the Riberton Domain.

The Riberton Marquis, Wilfred de Riberton—the lord who seemed as if he would live forever—had passed away.

But the surprising news didn’t end there.

“The Marquis has named Kyle de Riberton as his successor?”

“What? Is that true? Wasn’t he supporting Godric de Riberton until just recently?”

After much deliberation, the Riberton Marquis had chosen Kyle as his heir. However, his health, already deteriorating from old age, worsened suddenly, leading to his death.

Although these were the common stories circulating, not everyone accepted them without question.

There were those who doubted the red spots found on his corpse.

But…

“Lately, the Marquis was troubled by the scent of chrysanthemums, even though there were no flowers nearby. He kept coughing up phlegm with that scent, sometimes even vomiting blood.”

This was the testimony of the head steward himself. On top of that, some servants had their throats slashed—there was no reason to believe it was a lie. As the situation unfolded this way, his death was quickly dismissed as simply caused by ‘old age.’

After all, no one truly knows an elderly man’s health before he dies.

“Well, the Marquis had been frail for a long time, wasn’t he?”

“Right. There were rumors that the old man was senile.”

The citizens of Riberton City reacted surprisingly calmly. In fact, there were even more who welcomed Kyle.

This was thanks to Tessa, who had built a good impression of Kyle through her family’s merchant business.

She continuously delivered relief supplies to refugees and citizens alike.

And while doing so, she subtly spoke of Kyle.

“These are relief supplies from the Lindelway family. Please take whatever you need.”

“Oh, thank you! Thank you, miss. Thanks to you, we can keep living.”

“Indeed, all thanks to Kyle de Riberton.”

Most of the hungry and destitute received help from the Lindelway family. And when they spoke of notable people, it was always Kyle.

“As expected of Kyle.”

“It’d be great if he becomes the next Marquis.”

“Yeah, I hope that damn eldest son dies soon. Damn.”

They also listened to Kyle’s passionate speeches. Moreover, the Lindelway family continuously supported their own while trying to collect extra taxes from Godric.

In this situation, who could possibly reject Kyle?

At least within Riberton City, the citizens supported him.

Surprisingly, even some nobles welcomed Kyle.

“So the Marquis has chosen Kyle de Riberton? Hmph, not bad.”

“It was about time Riberton changed. If things continued like this, it would rot from within.”

Progressive rising nobles who had never been close to the Marquis, neutral nobles uninterested or conflicted between Godric and Kyle, and young nobles who were moved by Kyle’s public speeches—all had long anticipated this outcome.

Why?

Because Murca had acted behind the scenes.

Through the ‘Faceless Ones’ she brought, she very quietly contacted nobles and established a base of support for Kyle.

However, naturally, there were those who did not support Kyle.

“This is an outrageous fraud! That Kyle is deceiving us all!”

Godric, of course, reacted sharply.

A father has no reason to suddenly change his mind overnight. Yet the contract Kyle presented—the document bearing the Marquis’s seal—appeared genuine. It really seemed as if his father had accepted that wretched man as heir.

A crafty scam.

Kyle must have used some trick to obtain it.

“Kyle assassinated his father! He killed him to become heir!”

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

The rumor, close to the truth, surfaced but few believed it. The words were too shocking, and there was no concrete evidence.

Moreover, those who witnessed the situation firsthand sided with Kyle.

“After the Marquis passed, Kyle de Riberton mourned for a long time.”

“I’d never seen Kyle cry like that before. No matter how tough he is, a father is still a father.”

“How could such a person assassinate the Marquis? That’s ridiculous…”

The tears Kyle shed recalling his mother helped his case.

“Idiots!”

As supporters of Kyle grew and opponents diminished, the tension thickened by the day.

Feeling the threat, Godric finally resorted to desperate measures.

He sent assassins after Kyle. But they were discovered by Murca’s Faceless Ones.

“Gah!”

Late at night, Glenn apprehended the intruder who sneaked into Kyle’s room. He had been waiting after switching rooms upon receiving a secret order from Murca.

Glenn looked at Murca with a rather incredulous expression.

“You actually sent them.”

“Of course. What else would Godric be thinking?”

“What will you do now?”

“We have to spread the rumor. That Godric sent assassins after Kyle.”

Since this was true, it would cause even greater upheaval. Truth alone can have massive impact.

“… That bastard will be furious. Right?”

“Highly likely. Now it’s your turn to act.”

“Prepare the Lion Knights.”

As Murca said, this was carried out. Rumors spread that Godric was behind the assassination attempt, and he felt intense pressure.

With some of his followers, he attempted to escape his mansion, thinking he would lose to Kyle if he stayed.

But this too was swiftly stopped.

As soon as he left the city, the Lion Knights tracked him down and captured him shortly after.

“Meeting again, Lord Godric.”

“Ugh! Glenn, you damn mutt! What the hell do you have against me—ugh!”

Glenn didn’t hesitate to punch Godric, who exploded in rage. After all, this man was now just a puppet.

“Your mouth’s rough. And like I said before, it’d be better if you just shut up.”

Godric was captured again and sent back to his mansion. But his location had changed—from his luxurious chambers to a cold underground prison.

Thus, Riberton faced a tremendous upheaval.

***

On the terrace of the usual place, Elrian closed her eyes and swirled her wine glass.

“Hmm, this one stung.”

Though she said so, there was no sign of anxiety on her face. Not the slightest tension—just a calm demeanor, which made Cecilia purse her lips.

“… Elrian, are you just going to stay like this? If things continue, Riberton will fall to Kyle.”

“I looked over that contract once. It was real. The Marquis himself stamped the seal. It wasn’t forged.”

“I checked that too. But… don’t we have to use every means possible?”

At Cecilia’s question, Elrian smiled wryly.

“Then should we try a military action? All the knights who followed us are fresh academy graduates. The important people rushed to the front lines. And you want to fight the Lion Knights with these kids? Against the Red Legion?”

“… That’s…”

No matter how talented Cecilia was, she couldn’t compare to Glenn. Though in her late twenties and a sword expert, this man wasn’t even twenty years old when he defeated ‘Sir Clemens.’

For reference, Cecilia had never beaten Clemens. Not even the Deputy Commander who followed Glenn was confident.

After meeting him, she felt it instinctively.

“Even trying covert operations is problematic. Our opponent is the royal noble Arian. He commands the Faceless Ones.”

Watching the situation, Elrian painfully realized how monstrous Murca’s tactics were.

In fact, the nobles’ response to the sudden heir change was surprisingly muted.

Nobles usually reveal their fangs without hesitation when there’s a chance to gain advantage.

But support for Kyle naturally increased.

From Elrian’s political perspective, this made no sense.

“Our immediate military moves will be blocked by the Lion Knights, and covert operations by Murca. The only option left is to request reinforcement from the Northern Army.”

“Then the Second Prince will make a move.”

“Right. This is probably all part of Contrat’s grand design. Since sending the emissaries to Riberton, he must have been preparing for this.”

“… Is he a monster?”

“You’ll know when you meet him. He’s like a man raising hundreds of snakes inside his body.”

Elrian stood up.

At that moment, her wine glass was just empty.

“Alright, let’s withdraw.”

“… That’s probably best.”

When Cecilia looked downcast, Elrian smiled.

“What’s wrong? Feeling disappointed?”

“… It feels like we failed our mission.”

“What are you talking about? We succeeded in the mission. Look at this.”

Elrian handed over a letter from inside her robes.

The paper was made of very expensive material, hinting at the sender’s identity.

“This… is this from Marquis Mephisto?”

“Yes. It arrived this morning by magical special delivery.”

The letter was written by transcribing words received through a magic communication orb—called a magical special delivery.

Naturally, it was extremely expensive.

Cecilia’s eyes widened as she read the letter.

“You’ve already delayed too much time. There’s no need to stay in Riberton any longer. Please return home… Truly.”

“Yes, since the Marquis said that directly, we can return with good spirits.”

He even refused personal requests.

Elrian had observed Glenn enough to make a precise judgment.

His formidable strength, keen political sense, barely concealed hatred for the Empire, and cunning enough to wage psychological warfare.

To the Empire, he was an extremely dangerous man.

This was Elrian’s conclusion.

“… Then what on earth is the Marquis’s plan?”

Elrian smiled again.

“That’s a difficult question. Does anyone in this world really understand Marquis Mephisto’s thoughts?”

“True.”

This was not just Elrian and Cecilia’s thought, but common knowledge among the Empire’s high ranks. Marquis Mephisto sometimes showed insight beyond human limits.

Thanks to that, he had obtained the marquisate at an unusually young age—early thirties.

“Hmm, I’m not sure, but I have one guess.”

From the moment Kyle was announced as the next heir and the matter passed without major resistance, Elrian gave up on Riberton.

She saw it as already lost.

And upon hearing the ridiculous assassination attempt by Godric, she lost all interest. There was no chance left.

So for the past few days, she had been thinking about a bigger scheme—trying to deduce Marquis Mephisto’s true intent in sending them here.

Interestingly, the hints were in the emissaries sent from Arian and Lepent. Their motives provided a clue. Contrat was practically the only one who could rival Marquis Mephisto politically.

In short, after considering all this, one natural hypothesis came to mind.

“Eh?”

“I think the Empire’s western peninsula—the Abarus Peninsula—is the real target.”

“The target? What do you mean?”

At Cecilia’s question, Elrian’s eyes sparkled.

“The Emperor—or rather, Marquis Mephisto—likely intends to bring the Abarus Peninsula under his control.”

She looked like someone gazing at an exciting new frontier.

Yes, a new chessboard was moving.

A massive game so vast even now it was hard to imagine.

***

“Sir Kyle.”

“Oh, Your Highness Prince Glenn.”

As Glenn entered Kyle’s room, he saw a man surrounded by piles of documents.

“Already busy. Is it because you’re going to be the Marquis?”

“Not a Marquis yet. But suddenly many people are contacting me.”

“Now everyone can see you’re the next Marquis.”

“All thanks to you.”

“Ha, you sound like a seasoned politician.”

“Are you calling me an old man? I don’t want to hear that from you, Your Highness.”

They exchanged light teasing and inquired after each other. From the start, their relationship had this feel.

Like two mischievous friends with no malice.

“So, what’s the business? You didn’t come here just to trade jokes, did you?”

“Well… I do have something.”

Glenn’s hesitant attitude immediately gave Kyle a hint. Glenn rarely makes a fuss without reason.

“It’s about Lady Diana, right?”

Almost certain.

Glenn nodded nervously.

Right after Kyle was named heir, and soon after meeting Diana,

Glenn naturally recalled that moment.