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Thus, along with the royal standard, flags symbolizing each noble house fluttered everywhere.

Everyone’s hearts swelled with pride at the grandeur.

“W-Wow. Are they really giving us all of this?”

Belinda felt happy, yet a bit wistful.

She thought about how difficult things had been for the Ferdium family. If they had received such support earlier, how much better would it have been?

She didn’t know much about the complex political relationships, but she could at least tell that the Ferdium family had risen to a more significant position than before.

And it was all thanks to Ghislain, so she felt immensely proud as the person who had taught him.

‘Oh, our young lord has really grown up well.’

Even Rosalyn, who was staying at the Crow Mansion, came out beyond the castle walls to see Ghislain off.

There was a hint of melancholy on her face.

“Take care, Baron. Please make sure to stay healthy.”

“Yes, you take care too, my lady. And please keep doing well with the cosmetics sales.”

“All right. When will you be coming back to the capital?”

“Someone will come to collect payments frequently, but I don’t know when I’ll be back myself. Well, I’ll be off then. Please make sure the accounts are settled properly.”

‘Is there nothing you can talk about with me other than money?’

Rosalyn pouted in disappointment.

However, Ghislain paid no attention to her reaction at all.

His mind was filled only with thoughts of returning as quickly as possible.

He looked around at the people and shouted loudly.

“Everyone’s got everything, right? We have a lot of cargo this time, so make sure to keep track of it.”

“Yes! Everything’s ready!”

“All right, then let’s get going!”

At Ghislain’s signal, the wagons began to move, one by one, slowly.

Caw! Caw!

The crows circled far above in the sky, reluctantly saying their farewells.

Still, none of them followed, as if they didn’t want to leave their home.

Rosalyn stood lost in thought as she watched Ghislain’s departing figure.

‘Is the Fenris Estate really that good? What kind of place could it be…’

She stayed there for a long time, not leaving until Ghislain disappeared into a mere dot on the horizon.

* * *

“Now that the weather is clearing, it’s time to prepare for the expedition to the Northern Fortress.”

At Zwalter’s words, Homerne, the Chief Overseer, nodded.

“Yes, it’s about time the barbarians start making their move.”

The two were drinking tea, discussing the future political landscape.

Their expressions were more relaxed than ever.

Suddenly, Zwalter let out a wistful laugh, as if reminded of his son.

“He said he was going to sell cosmetics, but he’s been in the capital for quite some time. I hope he’s building up a lot of connections while he’s there. That kid didn’t have many friends growing up, after all.”

“That’s because of his temper… Ahem, but the Young Lord has still grown a lot, hasn’t he? Even if it’s hard to meet high-ranking nobles, he must have made some friends among his peers.”

“Right? Even though it’s a poor estate, he became a lord at that age, so he should’ve managed to make a few friends.”

Homerne frowned slightly and shook his head.

“The problem is that he went around selling goods like a merchant. The young nobles in the capital have strong pride, so he might have ended up with less-than-ideal friends.”

“Ahem, I told him not to go, but he insisted.”

“Once you hear about the kind of friends he made, if they seem subpar, you should give him a good scolding. After all, who a noble associates with is important.”

Zwalter nodded with a stern expression.

“Don’t worry. Even though he’s been making money and getting a bit full of himself, he’s still lacking in experience, isn’t he? If he’s made bad friends, I’ll make sure to give him a proper scolding.”

“Hahaha, of course. Since the war, the Young Lord’s behavior has been overlooked, but this would be a good opportunity to give him some firm discipline.”

The two of them exchanged smiles.

With the estate running smoothly, their minds were at ease.

Though still poor, things had improved compared to before they received support from the Runestone.

And since they were also set to receive food supplies from Ghislain, those who had been living hard lives felt grateful even for this much.

“Hmm, but he didn’t cause any trouble in the capital, did he? I can’t shake off this uneasy feeling.”

“Come on now. You know the power and influence of the capital’s nobles. No matter how reckless the Young Lord might be, he wouldn’t have caused any trouble there.”

“But he has always been unpredictable.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it. It was his first time in the capital, so he was probably too intimidated to do anything.”

“Hmm, you think so…? Well, I suppose he has his own thoughts, so he must’ve been careful.”

Cardenia was a place that took one’s breath away with its sheer magnificence.

Even Zwalter, when he first visited the capital, couldn’t close his mouth in awe.

No matter how rough Ghislain’s temperament was, Zwalter thought he wouldn’t dare act out on his first visit to such a grand place.

“All right then, we’ll have the forces ready once Randolph returns.”

“Understood. It’s been nice and quiet with that noisy guy not around, but I suppose he’ll be back soon.”

Randolph, who had gone to train the mercenaries, couldn’t return because Ghislain hadn’t come back yet.

With only well-mannered and quiet people remaining in Ferdium, things had naturally been peaceful and calm.

The two sipped their tea elegantly, smiling.

They wished for this peace to last a long time.

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps approached, growing louder.

Bang!

“My lord! We have a big problem!”

The man who burst through the door was Albert, the estate’s treasurer.

For someone who was always calm and composed to be this flustered, it meant something truly serious had happened.

Zwalter shot up from his seat, grabbing the sword that was propped up beside him.

“Have the barbarians already started to move? If so, we need to quickly gather the troops and send reinforcements to the Northern Fortress…”

“No, it’s not that!”

Albert shook his head vehemently, cutting him off. Zwalter, confused, asked again.

“Then did monsters break out of the Forest of Beasts?”

Albert shook his head even more frantically.

“Elena didn’t bring home a boyfriend, did she?”

“If only it were something like that.”

“Then what is it? Hurry up and tell me!”

“It’s the Young Lord…”

“Ghislain? What about Ghislain, isn’t he in the capital?”

With a pale face, Albert exclaimed.

“He got into a dispute with the Marquis of Branford in the capital!”

Zwalter hesitated for a moment, thinking he might have misheard, and then let out a hollow laugh.

“Branfood? Was there a marquis by that name? It seems it’s been a while since I’ve been to the capital.”

“No, the Marquis of Branford.”

“Branpard?”

“Branford! The Minister of the Royal Household!”

Zwalter blinked silently, then awkwardly smiled.

“You’re telling me… that Marquis of Branford? This must be a joke, right?”

Albert pursed his lips and shook his head again.

Thud.

Zwalter’s face went ghostly pale as he collapsed back into his seat.

In place of the stunned Zwalter, Homerne urgently pressed for details.

“What are you talking about! Explain properly!”

“The Young Lord picked a fight with the Marquis of Branford and ended up being detained.”

“Wasn’t the Young Lord there to do business? How did he end up getting into a dispute with the Marquis of Branford? He’s not someone you can just meet if you want to!”

“I don’t know that either.”

Zwalter found it hard to believe what Albert was saying.

“Are… are you sure about this? It isn’t just some wild rumor, is it?”

“I heard it from a merchant who came to the estate. We don’t have any informants in the capital, do we?”

“So it’s just a rumor, then?”

“Merchants and travelers from other regions said the same thing. Even if the details are exaggerated, the fact that a dispute occurred seems to be true.”

Zwalter let out a deep sigh. Knowing Ghislain’s reckless nature, it seemed entirely plausible.

“Sigh…”

As the two continued to exchange sighs, Albert urged them with a sense of urgency.

“We need to find a solution. At this rate, the Young Lord’s head is at risk.”

Homerne jumped to his feet, shouting in frustration.

“A solution! If the rumors have spread this far, it’s probably already over! I knew this would happen; he’s always acted without a care!”

“Still, if they don’t intend to completely sever ties with the Northern Margrave, they might spare the Young Lord’s life,” said Albert.

Zwalter snapped back to his senses. If that was true, there was still a chance.

No matter how much of a troublemaker he was, Ghislain was the son of the lord and the heir to this place. They couldn’t just let him die.

With a tense expression, Zwalter spoke up.

“First, let’s prepare a grand gift and send an envoy to the capital. We have no choice but to beg for forgiveness for my son’s rudeness.”

Homerne nodded in agreement.

“Perhaps we could ask them to be lenient by saying he’s a bit… unbalanced. We could explain that he sometimes has these episodes. It wasn’t intentional.”

“Yes, we’ll have to do that. He is my son, but to be honest, he is a madman. I’m sure there are already rumors in the capital about his… peculiarities.”

The three of them began to move quickly.

They gathered the retainers to discuss countermeasures, drafted a letter of apology, and scraped together whatever resources they could find.

While the retainers were gathered in the hall, debating who should be sent as an envoy, a soldier who had been guarding the castle gate burst in, shouting urgently.

“An army is approaching the castle!”

“What? What army, all of a sudden?”

Zwalter and the retainers were stunned.

There had been no messenger from the checkpoints along the estate’s borders.

That meant the army had either overpowered them and pushed through, or they had taken a different route and bypassed the usual paths.

Zwalter jumped up from his seat and snapped at the soldier.

“Did you see the banners? Whose forces are they?”

“W-Well… there were so many banners…”

“So many banners…? Are you saying it’s a coalition force?”

“The size of the army was too small for that.”

Homerne, hands trembling, pressed further.

“Then, which noble house’s banners did you see?”

“At the front was the royal banner, followed by those of the Marquis of Branford, the Marquis of McQuarrie, Count Norton, Count Aylesbur, Count Boyer, Count Bromson…”

“…”

Every name he listed belonged to nobles with considerable power in the kingdom.

Zwalter’s legs gave out, and he slumped back into his chair.

“They’re all nobles from the pro-royal faction. If the royal banner is present, it means the Marquis of Branford has mobilized the troops. It looks like Ghislain has really stirred up a big mess.”

“W-What should we do?”

Homerne, pacing in agitation, asked, but Zwalter remained silent.

If they were here to make a show of force, demanding an apology and compensation for the damage to their honor, then the best course of action would be to comply.

‘But what if they intend to seize this place?’

It seemed unlikely they would go to such lengths over a quarrel with a troublesome son, but he had to consider the worst-case scenario.

It wasn’t common, but there were cases where people would find various pretexts to seize someone else’s estate and hand it over to a noble they supported.

‘For something like this to happen out of the blue… this is troublesome.’

This was a time when even stationing troops at the borders of an estate could be seen as a justification for war.

And yet, without any of those usual steps, the royal and high-ranking noble troops had suddenly appeared right outside the castle?

This was far from ordinary.

Hearing bad news followed by a situation like this brought an overwhelming sense of pressure.

After contemplating for a moment, Zwalter made a decision and spoke in a heavy tone.

“Gather the soldiers.”

“My lord, you’re not serious are you…?”

Homerne’s tone was full of concern, but Zwalter clenched his teeth as he gripped his sword.

“We may be poor, but we still have our pride, don’t we?”

‘We have neither,’ Homerne retorted inwardly, lowering his head.

“If the Young Lord is indeed captured, it could be dangerous. No matter how reckless he is, we must ensure his survival. He’s the heir to the family!”

“Let’s hear what they have to say first. If they’re holding him as a hostage and want an apology, then we’ll pay compensation. But if they try to use this as an excuse to push us around with force, we’ll fight.”

“Understood.”

The resolute look in Zwalter’s eyes made all the retainers bow their heads.

“Since negotiations might begin immediately, the retainers from the Chief Overseer’s office will accompany me.”

Hearing this, some of the retainers’ faces stiffened.

If a sudden battle broke out, they would struggle to even protect themselves.

But when the lord called for them, refusal wasn’t an option.

Reluctantly, they all followed, shuffling after him.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The bell to summon the soldiers rang out.

The soldiers residing inside the castle, though surprised by the sudden call, quickly prepared for combat.

Boom!

The castle gates opened, and Zwalter, now fully armored, mounted his horse.

Following behind him, the soldiers began to march slowly towards the forces approaching Ferdium.