Chapter 259: Unstable Ruler

–Aegir POV–

「It’s been a while. How was that woman from that-……mgh.」

In the capital, I call out to Erich while he was waiting outside for an audience with the King, but he covers my mouth before I could finish.

「Don’t say anything unnecessary! ……especially now, I don’t know what effect your words will have.」

He’s making such a big deal over having fun with a woman.

I don’t think he has that pure of an image to keep up though.

No, that’s not it.

The girl Erich is targeting might be right here.

In that case, I can understand not wanting to bring up something like that.

When I look around, I see a maid, who stares back at me blankly.

She still looks young but her breasts and ass are wonderfully juicy.

The unbalanced feeling created by her childlike face probably arouses him.

I turn back to Erich and grin.

「I get it now. Hah, hah, hah, I can understand wanting a body like that.」

「Surely you and I are thinking of something different. Don’t say anything strange during the audience with the King.」

Fufufu, Erich’s surprisingly pure-hearted if he’s hiding his embarrassment like this.

I call over the maid for something trivial, trying to get her near Erich, but then the King summons us.

「Long time no see, Hardlett. Good work Military Commissioner, glad of you to make it while you’re so busy.」

「Happy to see you, Your Majesty.」「There is no duty greater than serving you, Your Majesty.」

The King is seated on his throne as usual.

There doesn’t seem to be any particular changes, but I have this inexplicably unsettling feeling.

It feels like he’s in a hurry or he’s afraid of something.

It seems similar to when Celia is trying to endure going to the toilet.

The anguished face she makes is really cute when I purposely drag the conversation, but if it ends up leaking, she ends up sulking for a week so I try to control myself.

「Umu, by the way I believe you were a little late coming to the capital.」

Oh really?

I thought I made it here with plenty of time to spare since I rushed to make it in time for Dorothea to give birth.

Besides, I don’t remember the exact timing this happened last year.

Oh well, guess I’ll apologize.

「I am terribly sorry. I would have come sooner if I could……」

The King looks at my eyes as he speaks.

「The night before last, it seems you ran into the city in quite the hurry, what was that about?」

He’s well informed.

It wasn’t a secret so I boldly declared myself to the guards before entering the city, but I didn’t think the King would pay attention specifically to that.

There’s no reason to lie here then.

「The fact is, I rushed over to my mansion in the capital because one of the women I got pregnant was giving birth.」

「Is it a noble’s child? Which house is she from?」

Normally, he would say something like, “what a lustful man, please do such things in moderation”.

「She is someone who runs an orphanage in the city so I am not familiar with which house she belongs to, though she is cute.」

The King immediately looks behind him.

Waiting there is Rebecca.

I want to wave at her, but now doesn’t seem like the right time.

The King speaks with Rebecca about something before finally showing a smile.

「Umu, is that so? You’re as lascivious as ever, if you indulge too much, you’ll get stabbed by a woman sooner or later.」

The King laughs, followed by his advisers and then Erich.

I can see the smiles on the advisers’ faces are somewhat strained.

The atmosphere feels different than before for some reason.

「I’ll be careful, Your Majesty.」

「Hahaha, I don’t believe you can control yourself when it comes to women though.」

The King changes the subject.

「I hear that the mountain erupted while you were fighting with Vandolea. I know it also caused you much trouble, but Vandolea and Altair have been rendered powerless for the time being.」

The King’s voice, which should be directed at me, is slowly getting softer.

It is almost as if he’s trying to reassure himself.

「We will now focus on domestic affairs, it is time to build up our national power. If they attack us, no mercy will be shown, but there is no need to be proactive. The most important enemies are traitors, we will find them and eradicate……」

「Your Majesty? I apologize, but I find it somewhat hard to hear.」

The King lifts his head and forces a smile on his face.

「Don’t mind me, it’s nothing important.」

The King once again peeks at my eyes as he composes himself.

「Anyways, I hear you have an iron mine in your territory, is that right? I have been told operations have been growing in size every year.」

So he asked about it.

Adolph also told me this would happen so I’m not surprised.

The unexpected thing was the King asking me about it personally.

「Yes, the mine has been contributing to the replenishment of lost equipment from the last campaign.」

I’m not the best when it comes to deceiving people, however I’ve been told countless times to mention this information when talking about the mine.

This should be a flawless explanation.

「……umu, and that mine you have is indeed an iron mine?」

「Sire, what do you mean by that?」

What else but iron will come out from the mine?

Don’t tell me there is a mine which produces living women.

The King seems to get flustered when he sees me confused.

「That was a foolish question. A feudal lord in the north pretended to have a copper mine when in fact he was mining gold. On top of that, he would secretly transport it to other countries.」

“Of course his entire family was killed”, the King concludes peevishly.

「I don’t want to assume the worst, I just wanted to ask all feudal lords with mines in their possession as a precaution. Forgive me.」

「I understand. I have not been told of what else was taken from the mine besides iron. If you require it, shall I report back anything I find?」

If he’s really interested, I could ask Claire.

It’s not an area I am particularly involved in.

「No, it’s fine! That was foolish of me…… forget it.」

The King seems agitated as he drinks his cup of tea, then proceeds to the next question.

This feels more like an interrogation than an audience.

When I look over at Erich, he doesn’t seem surprised.

He’s only nodding with his eyes closed after every response.

Is he telling me to continue obediently answering the King?

「The amount of soldiers you brought with you is small. I know your personal army is close to ten thousand strong, what of the other soldiers?」

「The soldiers are exhausted from the fight with Vandolea, so I allowed the soldiers who wanted to go home to leave. In addition, many soldiers lost their weapons and armor from the unexpected mountain incident. I would imagine bringing unarmed soldiers to the capital would not be a pleasant sight, so I held back everyone except my retinue.」

The real reason is that moving soldiers around unnecessarily costs too much money and it has no benefit so I don’t want to do it.

I didn’t tell a lie.

Most of the bow cavalry went back to their home and I haven’t finished distributing equipment to all the soldiers yet.

「Despite the chaos, I also have to station border security to guard against Vandolea. I will eventually assign national guards from the royal army, but for the time being I have asked Lord Hardlett to supply soldiers.」

Erich is backing me up.

The King forces another smile on his face and moves onto the next thing like nothing happened.

「Right. Of course. There was actually a certain feudal lord plotting to rebel so I’ve become too sensitive to the gathering of personal soldiers. Do not mind me.」

「Yes, sire.」

A shady mine and a rebellion.

Even without enemies, Goldonia has become quite dangerous.

「In any case, that is all I have to say. Tomorrow night, a banquet will be scheduled for all feudal lords to gather. Delicacies from all over the nation will be prepared so enjoy it to the fullest. I would probably need to prepare a beautiful dancer to entertain you though.」

「Of course, Your Majesty.」

That felt like the first time the King smiled for real.

With the audience finished, Erich and I walk alongside each other to his office located within the royal palace.

We are heading there under the pretense of confirming the situation in Vandolea and adjusting border security, but we are in fact just going to have a celebratory drink for our reunion.

「……」

On the way to the room, Erich only talked about border related issues supposedly meant as a cover up.

I wouldn’t understand any of that unless I asked Leopolt.

Celia tries her best to answer when she could, though it doesn’t stop Erich from babbling on.

It was like he didn’t expect a reply and he wanted simply to talk non-stop.

When we finally enter the office, Erich tells his secretary about an important meeting he will be having, then locks his now double-layered door.

He also walks to the window side, confirming the window isn’t open before letting out a sigh.

「Now, what were we talking about?」

「Aah…… something about the border?」

I glance at Celia, who makes a blank face.

「Nevermind about that.」

Erich drops himself on a chair.

So that was meaningless talk after all?

That irks me a little, so I circle my hand around Celia and rub her butt.

「gk-!?」

She can’t make any strange movements while in front of Erich, so she tries to remain standing straight while blushing, then glares back at me.

This feels nice.

I get this strange sensation of dominance.

I take a gulp of the alcohol Erich serves me and sit down facing him.

「That girl following you all the time, she can be trusted, right?」

「Of course.」

If I can’t trust Celia, there is nobody in this world I can trust.

「It’s a precaution, don’t think badly of me. If it leaks to His Majesty, you and I are finished.」

Erich makes a motion across his throat with his finger.

His eyes tell me he isn’t joking.

「Celia can absolutely be trusted. More so than myself.」

「H-hau!」

Celia turns red in delight from the compliment.

Alright, it’s decided. I’m taking Celia to bed with me today.

Feeling somewhat reassured, Erich starts talking.

「The way His Majesty was acting just now…… what do you think?」

It was way different than when I saw him the last time.

He seemed more doubtful of me, and I also felt like he was trying to curry favor.

His last smile was normal, though I felt a sense of relief as well.

There are a bunch of other things, but those were what I felt the most.

「His Majesty seemed scared, frightened of something.」

Celia makes a startled expression.

Erich on the other hand only nods.

「Scared, huh……you are not entirely incorrect.」

Don’t tell me he’s scared of me, I don’t even know what I have he could be afraid of.

「His Majesty is scared of you.」

「Huh? No way.」

I don’t remember doing anything to scare him.

I search my memories, however I don’t recall showing him my dick and threatening him or trying to fuck him in the ass either.

「His Majesty is afraid of me. He’s afraid of Kenneth, his ministers and even the maid serving him is a target of his fear.」

It doesn’t make sense to me.

I can see Erich and Kenneth because they have power, but the King can literally say one word and get the maid executed.

In fact, he should be the one who is feared, not the other way around.

Erich continues with a grim expression.

「The King has been running around all this time. He’s always trying to find the next opponent to fight and defeat.」

It’s true the King started war after war ever since becoming King of Goldonia.

I’m sure there have not been many times in the past where so many wars occured in such a short period.

The historians will certainly speak fervently of this age after many decades.

I won’t be alive then, so it won’t matter to me.

「But once he stopped moving, his fanaticism died down and he was able to take a look around him. His Majesty, after becoming the King of the grand nation of Goldonia, is no longer on the offense, but on defense.」

Erich looks off into the distance.

I want to touch Celia’s ass but I reconsider when I see her listening quietly.

「His Majesty freely used conspiracies and schemes to make Goldonia come out on top. There are no longer any enemies within the Central Plains who can face Goldonia head-to-head. The Southern nations are in chaos, Stura is struggling to recover, former Magrado is fighting amongst themselves, it’s also impossible for any of them to team up and fight us.」

Erich checks the window and door once again.

「Traitors will be defeated by betrayal. The King is excessively afraid of being betrayed.」

When the King became Goldonia’s King, he killed the legitimate successor in his brother and took his spot.

The throne he inherited was one built on top of betrayal.

「So that’s why he’s afraid.」

The King has defeated so many enemies up until now.

This time, his enemies are on the inside.

He can’t tell who his allies are.

「Are there any enemies in the first place? He did say someone plotted against him though.」

「If anybody breaks the rules, His Majesty believes the King’s authority is being disrespected, in other words, he thinks they’re opposing him. But I don’t think someone is trying to take down the kingdom when I hear them gathering soldiers.」

If something isn’t white, it doesn’t mean it’s black.

That feudal lord trying to fool the King about the mine is probably due to personal greed rather than a form of betrayal.

I doubt he was thinking about targeting the throne at all.

「To be honest, I don’t think there are any threatening individuals wandering within the country. The one who has changed is-……」

「Only His Majesty.」

Nobody might be watching, but Erich is still hesitant to directly criticize the King, and so he replies silently.

Celia has become nervous from the direction of the conversation.

「You should be careful what you do and say so you don’t draw the King’s suspicions. There are information officers everywhere in the capital, collecting secret information and rumors. ……you saw that woman behind the King just now, right? She’s the leader of all the information officers.」

He’s talking about Rebecca, I know her well.

We’re close, I’ve kissed her lips countless times, rubbed her tight little ass and caused her pants to be soaked as well.

She hasn’t written many letters to me recently, but it looks like she’s climbed up in ranks quite a bit.

「Her actual status is not particularly high, but even high ranking nobles won’t escape scot-free if she sets her eyes on them.」

“She reports directly to the King”, he mutters in an annoyed tone.

So Rebecca seems to be hated by many nobles.

Even though she makes such cute moans when I rub her ass.

「In any case, you stand out for better or worse. Be careful you don’t do anything that attracts her attention.」

「Understood.」

I gave such an answer to placate him, but there really is no reason for me to be wary around Rebecca.

I’ve already pushed my dick up against her and rubbed her ass many times before, why do I need to be careful at this point.

「Why don’t we stop the depressing talks here and have a drink. I got some excellent alcohol.」

「Yes, please..」

Erich takes out three glasses, which means he’s including Celia.

「Would you like some milk instead?」

「Wha-!?」

「Hahaha, I’m joking. Two guys drinking together is just unpleasant. Things brighten up with the presence of beautiful women.」

I completely agree.

The two of us laugh as Celia looks troubled, then enjoy drinks together.

The things we talked about range from a commander who made a blunder to the comical appearance of a noble, from the disparagement of the nasty Kenneth to raping of women, and even everyday topics, until finally returning to talking about politics and military.

「It looks like the war between the Federation and Empire will continue.」

My source of information on the Federation was Clara, and she has already moved over here, so I’m sure she doesn’t have much knowledge about what’s going on in that part of the world.

「If I recall, White City seems to be getting attacked and the Federation is getting cornered.」

The last I saw of them was during the Magrado war where their navy handedly wiped out Magrado with overwhelming power.

Telling me such a nation with such powerful forces stacking up consecutive defeats is hard to believe all of a sudden, however the truth is the truth.

「Yeah, I thought the war would be settled by now but it looks like the situation has changed again.」

「The castle walls of White City cannot be destroyed so easily after all.」

The walls I once saw in White City looked more like a mountain than a castle to me.

A castle will eventually fall if surrounded and no reinforcements arrive.

Yet even with that common sense, I still don’t believe that city would fall so easily.

「Apparently, the Empire has failed to finish the Federation off completely and is running out of steam.」

「The cold, huh?」

You wouldn’t understand the Federation’s cold until you’ve experienced it firsthand.

Coming from the south, I doubt the Empire can withstand the frigid temperatures.

「You’re probably right, though there are more changes than that.」

Erich refills the already tipsy Celia’s glass with more alcohol.

Stop that, Celia’s a lightweight and drinks anyways after overestimating her ability.

「Goldonia is allies with the Federation. An ambassador was sent to ask if they require backup as soon as the war started. ……I actually don’t want to send any, it doesn’t make any difference if I do anyways.」

I guess not.

The Federation and Empire are fighting with troops in the millions.

Goldonia can squeeze out 100,000 at most and that is hardly enough to turn the tides.

On top of that, it will be a rough expedition.

「This was their reply.」

Erich smiles as he places a splendid letter with a gold leaf attached to it in front of me.

Celia tries to read it out loud but her speech is already slurred.

Just go to sleep.

「The main points are “we appreciate your allegiance but it is unnecessary”, “we can manage it by ourselves:, “who do you think I am”.」

Erich and I laugh.

「If I remember correctly, this was around the time the Federation started to retreat. Even at a time when every single soldier is precious, their pride won’t allow them to take any form of help.」

Looking from the perspective of the Olga Federation, they must think Goldonia is just a territory off in remote lands.

Begging for help from such a nation is something they could never bring themselves to do.

「That’s how it is. So, what changed?」

「This.」

Eriich presents a different document.

「In this one, they say “reinforcements are much appreciated”, “it will be a long distance so we don’t want any if it will take half a year for you to travel”, “we will gladly accept the help from a skilled commander”. It is written so politely that you wouldn’t think this letter came from the same country that sent the other one.」

「Perhaps they can’t afford to be stubborn any longer?」

「That may be so. But I see it as their leader changed. Their Supreme Commander changed to someone with flexible way of thinking. This one is willing to use anybody who is capable.」

I agree and take another swig of alcohol.

「It still isn’t too late. Pretty soon, the King and I will decide the personnel to send.」

「Send to White City, where two superpowers are clashing? That’s going to be rough.」

That should have nothing to do with me.

Right, I’m totally unrelated.

「In comparison, our nation will likely experience peace for the next while.」

「Not necessarily.」

Erich and I stand up, then look out the window facing west.

As if pulled down by a string, the standing Celia fumbles over to a chair and sits down.

「You know about the frequent conflicts of varying sizes going on within former Magrado, right?」

「Only from rumors.」

Former Magrado has assigned a general governorate on Kenneth’s recommendation and their governing structure is making a complete reversal, in other words the nobles being made light of by Magrado are being assigned important positions and governing over the country.

Not only with the nobles, the same thing is happening among the citizens of the territory, and depending on the place you live, the tax and system can differ greatly.

「The privileged citizens will pay a lower tax than they did during the Magrado age, they can freely do business and travel.」

That’s wonderful.

「On the other hand, the non-privileged citizens will have to pay a much heavier tax, plus the peasants will also have the duty of doing cultivation and physical labor. They will require the permission from the general governorate to do business…… and that is only granted on rare occasions.」

That sounds harsh.

「It is obviously a place filled with disgruntled citizens, so being treated poorly will quickly cause them to revolt.」

「Yeah.」

Erich makes a grim face.

I don’t know if he just can’t accept that particular way of doing things or whether he doesn’t like it because Kenneth is the one who is responsible.

「But the brunt of his attack is focused more on the general governorate than Goldonia. That general governorate would not use Goldonia soldiers if possible, instead have the new ruling class send out soldiers.」

In the eyes of the new ruling class nobles and the citizens, their livelihoods are much better than before and they are given special privileges.

More importantly, they get a sense of superiority from standing above others.

They will not spare any effort to prevent that right from being taken away.

「Things are simple after you let them fight once. Goldonia will disappear from the eyes of those who kill their companions, then they will hate and see their fellow countrymen as their greatest enemy. It’s revolting how well he thought this through.」

「So most of the soldiers from our nation would not be lost, instead the privileged class will be left to deal with the rebellion.」

Erich nods and continues.

「If Goldonia took direct control, soldiers would be lost from the frequently occurring rebellions, and since all the citizens would be their enemies, it would be hard to collect much tax. But now, the ruling class will assertively collect tax. It is their land, they should be the ones who know their own situation the best after all.」

Listening to all that so far, I think it may be a bit harsh but that’s also a fine way of ruling.

I wonder what the problem is.

「Well, things are going relatively well except the rebellions are getting a little out of hand. The general governorate is having a hard time handling it himself.」

「So are you going to bring in the royal army?」

「That’s right. I may have to deploy them.」

Backup is backup, though I don’t think they’ll be very happy about it.

It doesn’t concern me though.

Right, I’m completely unrelated.

Our talks go back to trivial topics and after having a heated debate whether it is better in a threesome to fuck a woman from the back and front in the mouth and pussy, or lifting her up and doing her ass and vagina, we end the meeting.

「Then I will take my leave.」

「We’ll be off!」

I don’t know where you’ll be off to, but come into my arms.

「Yeah, we’ll see each other again in the banquet.」

After the red-faced Celia performs a perfect salute, I pick her up and exit the room.

There are not many people left in the palace at this time, only the patrolling guards who salute me.

Celia is not even aware of her actions now, so I should hurry back and throw her in bed.

Of course I’ll be crawling in there and slipping my dick inside her.

Hm, her expression is weird…… I can’t delay.

「You’ve been working hard, staying here until so late.」

I turn around when the voice calls out to me.

Standing there is Kenneth and one other person I don’t recognize.

I really want to go home right now.

「Were you having an important meeting with the Military Commissioner?」

「Yes, somewhat.」

I cover the flushed Celia under my mantle.

「Fumu fumu, the Military Commissioner and Lord Hardlett are the cornerstones of our kingdom’s army, being so tight knit is a necessity.」

If you think so, let me go home.

Celia needs to use the toilet soon after drinking.

From experience, I know she’s close to her limit.

「With that said, I’ve only been assigned the lowly position of Government Affairs Commissioner, I’d really like the chance to understand Lord Hardlett better.」

I got it, can we make it some other time?

Not good, Celia’s starting to shake.

「Accompanying me is my close friend. I would like all of us to discuss policies in the future……」

The man beside Kenneth who continues to remain silent extends his hand.

He looks to be in his late forties.

As we shake hands, he looks at me with unsmiling eyes.

I don’t remember threatening this old man.

He’s smiling while firmly shaking my hand, so I return the favor by squeezing back, making him let out a soft groan.

「Alright, then the three of us will hold a discussion in my residence at a later date, how does that sound?」

「Sure, I don’t mind Commissioner.」

A little meeting won’t hurt.

Celia looks like she’ll leak at any moment now.

「I’m looking forward to it, Lord Hardlett, Lord Beltz.」

「……as am I, I need to have a proper talk with the Margrave.」

「Understood. Well, I’ll take my leave now.」

I am finally able to make my way home with Celia on my shoulder.

Who was that old man openly displaying such hostile intent at me?

I may have incurred his wrath without realizing.

I better be more careful.

「Uuu, can’t hold it. It’s going to leak……」

「Hold it in a bit longer. We’ll be back in five minutes.」

「Don’t rock me so much or I’ll- aauuu」

In the end, Celia didn’t make it, and her pants, underwear and my mantle were taken to wash by the grumbling Alma who was woken up in the middle of the night.

Protagonist: Aegir Hardlett. 24 years old. Winter.

Status: Goldonia Kingdom Margrave. Great Feudal Lord of Eastern Area. Mountain Legend. Friend of the Dwarves. Friend of the King of Aless. Dragon Slayer Hero.

Elf Mediator.

Citizens: 175,000. Refugees: 550

Major Cities – Rafen: 26,000. Lintbloom: 5000. Vandolea Special Town: 9000.

Army: 7000 men

Infantry: 2850, Cavalry: 850, Archers: 500, Bow Cavalry: 900, Light Infantry (Inadequately Equipped): 1900

Reserve Army: 3000 (Incompletely Armed)

Cannons: 15, Large Cannons: 5, Dwarven Cannons: 16

(Dwarven cannons were made from special materials, newly manufactured cannons were made into large cannons)

Family:

Alma (enraged), Natia (sightseeing)

Subordinates:

Celia (wet herself)

Assets: 19,600 gold (Expense during stay -40)

Sexual Partners: 402, children who have been born: 55 + 555 fish