CH 264

Wilhelm said that he and I would be convincing our opposition during the meeting, but in the end, I didn’t say anything and the resistance ended on its own. Thanks to the bizarre support of a general and Lord Sormus, we were able to put everything together.

I didn’t really need that kind of territory, but…

I want to go to the ocean and trade with the open sea. That’s why I should be heading west, but for some reason, I’m being pulled east, eastward, to the eastern edge of the Hulk Sea. Of course, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to secure the safety of the east and then proceed to the west so that it wouldn’t be a two-front operation. But I didn’t want to have a territory on this eastern border.

To put it bluntly, I have to say that the location of the “Caan Knights Nation” that I have been given is extremely unpleasant real estate. In the south is the Polsky Kingdom, which I have won over this time and it has even become a territorial dispute. Further south is the Principality of Aust, which has interfered in this peace treaty.

To the east is the Principality of Moscove, which has also interfered unnecessarily. Furthermore, the rest of the Hulk Sea is surrounded by the Kamaal Alliance.

Even if we are united with the Caan Knights, the Caanza Alliance, and Goslant Island, the enemy will be all other coastal areas. No matter what, it’s still not an opponent I can fight head-on and win.

It’s a situation where the surroundings are becoming very murky and it’s not surprising that war can develop at any time. I can only think that even if such a vast territory was given at such a location, troublesome things were forced on me.

By the way, the Caan in the “Knights Nation.” has nothing to do with my knighthood. Normally, a land of this size would be a duchy, a marquisate, or a margraviate. But even if I’m promoted next time, I’ll still only be a viscount. As expected, there is no country ruled by a viscount. In order to make me a margrave or a marquis, I have to skip two ranks to have the necessary title. But that is unreasonable.

That’s why it will be established as a knighthood so that even a viscount can have a small country. If I ever get promoted to a higher rank, it may soon become a margraviate, a marquisate, or a duchy.

This time it was an emergency meeting, so it’s not an official decision yet. It is a place where the nobles were notified and agreed in advance. In the first place, the discussions to end the war with Polsky Kingdom is still being held, but it’s not over yet. It’s possible that the terms of surrender may still change, so we can’t decide on our own domestically.

This time, just as Wilhelm had said, it was done in order to collect the opinions of the people in the country first after receiving the preliminary news, the first report.

The meeting ended safely and the nobles went home. But there were a few nobles left including me. In addition to the king, Wilhelm, there was General Alfred, the one who was arguing fiercely with Duke Nassam, and Lord Sormus, whom I have met before in relation to Charlottenburg and the waterways and canals.

“Hmm… Alfred, Sormus, do you have any business for us?” Wilhelm asked.

“Yes,” Alfred said. “I wanted to ensure I could speak with Baron Caan.”

Normally, the king should have left the room quickly, but Wilhelm came back after the nobles left. Perhaps the nobles could not leave if the king was still there, so he probably left once. And after the nobles disappeared, he came back.

“I didn’t think you would support Lord Caan in such a confrontation with Duke Nassam, but…” Wilhelm said.

Eh!? Wasn’t that Wilhelm’s plan? I also thought he was just letting Alfred speak his opinion speak for him.

If the king directly argues with a high-ranking noble like Duke Nassam, there will be a lot of trouble. That’s why I thought he was letting the vassal speak for him, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

“I am truly grateful,” Alfred said. “When those at the meeting decided not to send out reinforcements, let alone provide food or a special budget, I regretted my powerlessness. The military should be the first to protect its country, yet it was not even allowed to move, abandoning its people in the process. Words cannot properly express the depths of my regret…”

At that, Alfred suddenly stopped, clenched his fists, and bit his lip. It seems it was coming straight from the heart.

The royal edict I received from Wilhelm said that they would not send reinforcements, they would not send support supplies, and they would not pay for the war, but we should fight on our own to take back the territory. I was angry about that, but apparently, it wasn’t Wilhelm or Dietrich’s decision.

From what Alfred told me, it seems that an emergency meeting was held with almost the same members as this time. No one there believed that Koenigsvelg had been defended and Mikalojus’s troops had been defeated, and they even said that if the relief force could do that, then they should fight with the local troops alone.

As a result, even though it was an emergency meeting, even though it was a formal assembly, the proposal did not go through, so there was no dispatch of troops, no provision of supplies, and no special budget was compiled. I was told to fight on my resources…

It seems that Alfred was a general and felt extremely frustrated that the army could not move at that time. Soldiers who are supposed to protect the people are not even allowed to go to the site of a war. How hard would that have been on him? How deeply does he regret the inaction?

I’m not a genuine soldier like Alfred, but I’m going to understand that frustration to some extent. Even I would be very frustrated if I wasn’t allowed to go to fight back even though my territory was being attacked. His fury must have been boiling over.

At that time, General Alfred heard that we fought on behalf of the army and defeated the enemy, and it seems that he has become quite favorable to us. He said that the clash with Duke Nassam earlier was because he was prepared to support us. There is nothing more reassuring than having Alfred, a general of the national army, on our side.

“Thank you, Baron Caan,” Alfred said. “Thanks to you, I was prepared. The arrogance of some of these nobles is just too much. We will have a difficult road ahead of us but together we will work for the Kingdom of Ploiss!”

“Eh, yes…” I said.

How should I put it… so fiery… this general is hot-blooded… I don’t think it’s a bad thing. But he’s so passionate it’s burning.

“Hmm!? Your voice is quite high, isn’t it? Are you a boy still?” Alfred asked.

Ah……. did he not understand because I had been silent all this time with the mask on? The cloak also hides my body shape, so if I don’t move, you won’t be able to see my lower half. As expected, I can’t hide that my body under the cloak has swollen considerably if I stood up and moved. If I sat still in my seat and hid my body with my cloak, people would have thought I was a bit fat or rather round.

But recently my breasts have grown bigger and bigger, and I can no longer hide them with just a cloak. If I want to hide my breasts, you’ll need to stuff my belly so that it protrudes more than my chest. That would make me look extremely fat.

“Don’t you know already, General Alfred? About Baron Caan… I have already met him before,” Sormus cut in.

Lord Sormus… certainly, I have met him as Baron Caan. I discussed the construction of Charlottenburg and the Havel aqueduct and canal with him.

For the time being, I usually try not to show my face as much as possible as Sir Caan or Baron Caan. There are various reasons, but it’s because if I publicize my face, it will be difficult for me, and there will be more trouble. That doesn’t mean I never show my face.

For example, in the early days when I was knighted, I showed up and went around to give my greetings. I usually don’t force myself to introduce myself to others, but sometimes I have to do so while showing off my face. When I talked with Lord Sormus about Charlottenburg and the Havel River Canal, I usually showed up and had a meeting with him without any concealment.

I don’t often show my face to other aristocrats or hostile aristocrats who I rarely meet and don’t have a relationship with, but it’s not like I’ve decided that I’ll never show up regularly. It’s just that I had the opportunity to meet Lord Sormus because of a business relationship.

Despite that, Lord Sormus was quite smug at General Alfred. I don’t think it’s a big secret that he’s acquainted with me or knows my true identity.

“What do you mean by that, Lord Sormus? The way you say it implies there’s more to it than its face,” Alfred said.

“Kuh-kuh…” Sormus said. “I can just imagine the look of shock on your face when Lord Caan takes off the mask.”

What was so funny that Sormus seems to be trying to provoke General Alfred with that strange chuckle? I guess it’s not that big of a deal…

Well, even if I keep doing this all the time, I don’t know what to do. When I sent my gaze to Wilhelm, he nodded, so I took off my mask. As expected, it would be rude to wear a mask while talking to people.

“Thank you for your help earlier, General Alfred,” I said.

“Oh………………?” Alfred gasped, a strange look on his face as he saw mine.

Is this what Sormus was imagining and laughing at? Could it be that Alfred often makes this kind of face when he’s surprised? So it makes sense that Sormus knew that and was laughing at him now. After all, it’s a funny face that makes me burst out laughing.

“Well, let’s leave General Alfred alone now,” Sormus said. “But still, Your Majesty Wilhelm… I never thought that the previous meeting was all in your and His Grace Dietrich’s hands… even I couldn’t have read that much from it.”

Hmm? Sormus said something different this time. Judging from what Alfred said, it felt like he was overwhelmed by the opposition of the other nobles and couldn’t provide reinforcements, supplies, or war expenses anyway, but what Sormus said implied that Dietrich and Wilhelm were planning exactly that to happen.

“I don’t know what he’s talking about…” Wilhelm said, glancing at me and clearing his throat.

Apparently, it would be inconvenient if I asked what Sormus was trying to say. That’s why even though I’m paying attention to Sormus, Sormus doesn’t notice that. More and more he was leaking things that were inconvenient to Wilhelm.

“Did you know that the nobles would reject the budget and reinforcements at the previous meeting?” Sormus said. “Normally, they should have taken action to overturn it, but His Majesty and His Grace did not take any action. People around them must have thought them incompetent, but that’s not the case.”

Having already gone this far, Sormus took a break and then burst out with more still.

“His Majesty, foreseeing that Baron Caan would win on his own, dared to force the nobles to vote against it in the council! As a result, you, Baron Caan, were credited with all the victories in the war against the Kingdom of Polsky! If it’s you, Baron Khan, you don’t even need any support from me! Everything was calculated so that some foolish nobles wouldn’t steal the reclaimed territory and reparations! My eyes cannot be deceived!”

Do-dohn! Sormus puffs up his chest. Wilhelm covers his face with his hand and shakes his head. Apparently, that’s really true… in other words, the fact that I had such a hard time was exactly what this conniving old man wanted…

No reinforcements, no supplies, no compensation for war expenses. In the midst of all that was going on, even though the academy exams were approaching, running around the battlefield and thinking that the capture was over, there were still a lot of things that had to be done, such as speeches and a government system… it was all exactly what this sneaky raccoon of a king was aiming for…

“Ho-Hold a moment, Flora! Just let me talk and you’ll understand! Yes?” Wilhelm said.

“What do mean by that?” I asked. “Do you mean I’ll understand that all my many hardships were exactly as His Majesty Wilhelm intended?”

My anger boils and boils over. In the end, should I have returned to the royal capital and attacked while it was defenseless?

“Kuh… wahaha!” Alfred roared. “If you can say that much to His Majesty, you must be a huge deal!”

Now the frozen Alfred revived and started laughing. I have no idea what is funny about this. From my point of view, I can’t laugh at all. I feel like punching both Wilhelm and Dietrich in their faces.

“You shouldn’t be so angry,” Alfred said. “You may have had a hard time with Polsky, Baron Caan. However, thanks to that, there were no stupid aristocrats to stretch the war even further. Perhaps it was even necessary to keep the other nobles at bay. Thanks to that, it will be easier to do things domestically. That’s the price we have to pay, isn’t it?”

“Uuu… well, that’s…”

I know what Alfred is saying. As I understood from listening to today’s meeting, Duke Nassam thought it was only natural for House Nassam to receive compensation. I can’t let such an idiot gain any more power. In order to unite the Kingdom of Ploiss, such an idiot needs to be docile.

This time certainly made the gap and conflict between some nobles and the Crown clearer, but it also became an opportunity for the nobles to keep their heads down. Not only the nobles who are close to Nassam but also the other nobles should have understood that if they don’t cooperate with the kingdom in this matter, they won’t be able to just silently watch and get a small share.

If this was a strategy for domestic policy and centralization of authority, surely the skill of Wilhelm and Dietrich should be recognized, not criticized.

“Haa… it’s unavoidable… wasn’t it?” I said.

“That’s right. And we’re not all your enemies,” Sormus said. “Some of us have gotten to know each other better. It wasn’t all bad, was it?”

“Kusu,” I hissed. “I suppose.”

Certainly… at first, I thought Lord Sormus had negative thoughts about me, but I found out that’s not the case. It was a stroke of luck that I got acquainted with General Alfred, a heavyweight in the military. I guess he has no choice but to give up thinking that it wasn’t all bad things.