CH 265

“Haah…”

I let out a sigh while riding a carriage. I’m exhausted today…….

More than a week has already passed since the emergency meeting was held at the royal castle, and next week there will be the school closing ceremony. I will soon be a sophomore. But I don’t have time to think about such things.

There was a troublesome ceremony today. My promotion to a viscount and the formal declaration of the founding of the “Caan Knights Nation”. Unlike the previous emergency meeting, today’s ceremony is a complete formal ceremony and announcement, so it’s everything has been decided. With this, I will become Viscount Caan from today.

Shortly after the last emergency meeting, Dietrich and Mother returned to the royal capital of Berne. Father remained on the ground due to the administration of the returned territories. It seems that Mother had been exhausted from the war and came back as Dietrich’s escort as part of her vacation. Rather, from Mother’s point of view, it seems that the fighting wasn’t enough to satisfy her… but it was a series of battles after a series of battles.

That Dietrich came back was, of course, because the peace conference was formally concluded and the countries had ratified the treaty. With that, all the territories returned to the Kingdom of Ploiss were officially confirmed, and it also determined the scope of the Caan Knights Nation.

Since Dietrich had officially signed a treaty, a conference was held again, and this time it was neither temporary nor urgent, and the conference officially decided on my promotion and the establishment of the Caan Knights Nation. Some of the nobles radiated a disturbing atmosphere and took the attitude that they were not convinced of this action, but most of the nobles chose acquiescence as it was unavoidable by now.

Thanks to the emergency meeting held in advance, opinions were quickly gathered within the country, and today I became a viscount and became the ruler of the Caan Knights Nation.

What is a little confusing here is the nature of the Caan Knights Nation and its leader. Roughly speaking, all the territories within the Kingdom of Ploiss are the territory of the Ploiss. And, of course, the feudal lords there will be vassals who serve the King of Ploiss.

However, territories ruled by marquises and dukes are called marquisates and duchies or principalities, and they have a system that can be said to be an independent small country with the marquis or duke as the head of state. In other words, Duke Kreff, Duke Greif, Duke Nassam, and Duke Bayen are vassals of King Wilhelm in the Kingdom of Ploiss, but they become the highest rulers of their duchies when they return to their borders.

However, normally, if you are the ruler of a country, you would think of him as a “King” or “Emperor”, but he cannot call himself a monarch without permission. After all, you’re still within the Kingdom of Ploiss. If he still calls himself a monarch without permission, he can’t complain even if he is put to death for treason against the royal family of Ploiss.

That’s why it might be convenient to call him a “Prince,” instead. Of course, there is no such thing as a “Prince” like that here. It’s a kind of coined word, or a convenience that expresses the idea in an easy-to-understand manner.

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Then, if we were to ask whether the rulers of the Principalities of Moscove and Aust were not kings but dukes, it would be infinitely close to that type of “prince.” A country ruled by a duke rather than a king, one who in practice is backed by some other kind of authority. And the Caan Knights Nation is not a country ruled by a king or a prince, but a country ruled by the “Caan Knights.”

Of course, the Caan Knights are under my command, and I am their leader. So the nation ruled by my Caan Knights will eventually become synonymous with the country I rule. However, even so, the ruler of the Caan Knights Nation is not me, personally, but the organization as a whole.

This measure is unavoidable, but it is also dangerous. A king is a king, and if someone takes the throne from him, it is usurpation. But the leader of the Caan Knights can change for many reasons. Maybe I’ll step down as Caan Knight Commander and put someone else in the position. Maybe it’s because I’m separated from my duties as a field commander, or maybe it’s because I’m getting old and can’t stand on the battlefield anymore.

If that happens, in the case of the Caan Knights Nation, when the Knight Commander changes, the supreme power may also change. Of course, if it’s normal when you change the guard, you’ll choose someone who listens to you as your successor. However, there is no guarantee that they will listen to what I say, and even if that is the case, the system for changing the ruling power of the Caan Knights Nation will not change.

In the Kingdom of Ploiss, the status and authority of the King of Ploiss will not change even if the Knight Commander or Generals are replaced. But in the Caan Knights, changing the leader of the knights could lead to a change in status and authority comparable to a change in the king.

Then why did they make such a troublesome governance system? It’s because of my status. In the case of a marquisate or a duchy, the change of ruler does not occur unless the marquis or duke is replaced. It’s the same as a king. But I am only a viscount and there is no such thing as a small country I can rule over.

Perhaps Wilhelm thinks that I will rise to the rank of margrave, marquis, or duke in the future. Or rather, that I’m going to take it in that direction. Until then, the Caan Knights Nation will be established first as a bridge, and if I raise my rank in the future, it will be a margraviate or a marquisate, or a principality.

It’s certainly fine if it goes according to plan, but if I die or lose my position in the middle of the process, or if I become hostile to the king or Dietrich, it could become very troublesome. I’m the ruler of the Caan Knights Nation right now, but I need to be careful because I’m easier to replace than a king or a prince.

With all that said, after all, it’s just more troublesome things! If Margrave Carruthers protects the western and northwestern borders, then as Margrave Caan, who protects the eastern and northeastern borders, aren’t you essentially letting my family protect the east and west? And didn’t I say I wanted to go west!? No, I didn’t say that, did I?

“Miss Flora, I’m sorry to interrupt this dance of yours, but we’ll be arriving shortly,” Katharina said.

“Ah, right…” I said.

Apparently, I was dancing. Come to think of it, I feel like I was doing various things like holding my head and covering my face with my hands. After listening to Katharina’s warning, I straightened my posture and waited until I arrived at the Carruthers Residence.

The school’s closing ceremony is over, and it’s finally time to enter the long vacation. There is also a graduation ceremony in the 2nd semester, so it seems that the boys finished the practical exam a little earlier than the last minute and had a graduation ceremony. It doesn’t matter to us as 1st-year students because we don’t attend the graduation ceremony other than the class officers. Only alumni, current sophomores, and freshman officers attend the ceremony.

Well, even if 1st-year students had to participate, I didn’t have time to attend the graduation ceremony… I didn’t really have time to do that. I go to the royal castle many times, hold meetings repeatedly, and sometimes negotiate with other nobles… and I am in great demand for ceremonies and other events. I didn’t have time to worry about school.

Again, my grades were 600 points and they were a huge deal, but I didn’t care much this time because I wasn’t even close to caring about the score. Everyone else was a little less successful. After all, it seems that their being unable to attend class had consequences. Still, I wonder if it was within the margin of error that they fell a little.

Anyway, everything related to school is over, and from the next semester, we will be in the 2nd year. I’m finally on my long vacation, so I’m about to return to my territory. Of course, my territory is not the Caan Knights Nation… it’s the Caan Knighthood territory. It’s confusing…

Currently, the territories are not organized, so the territories I own are the Caan Knighthood divided from Carruthers Territory, the Caan Barony was given near the capital, and the Caan Knights Nation in the northeast. I’m the ruler of all of them, but they’re all separate territories, so there’s nothing more troublesome than that.

As originally planned, we plan to return to the Caan Knighthood using the long vacation. I have to bring Helmut and Christa back to that territory, and this time I need to ferry Viscount Royce Heinrich III and his wife, too. Christa’s parents, Karl and Marianne, have also been invited to Caan territory to check on Helmut’s life with her.

Of course, if a parent wants to marry off a cute daughter well, it is natural to want to confirm where this daughter will marry. Besides, Christa is the daughter of a marquis. They must be full of anxiety about marrying her off to Helmut, who is only the 3rd son of a viscount. At the very least, I have to do my best to support their marriage so that it can be properly recognized.

This time, it will be me, my mother, and my wives, as well as Helmut, Viscount Royce, and House Reingen, including Christa.

By the way, Viscount Royce was sent out on an expedition to Polsky from the start due to the bad luck he had in coming to the royal capital right now. Well, he’s a member of the Carruthers Vassals, so I can’t help it. If Margrave Carruthers goes to war, it is the job of the Carruthers Vassals to rush after their Lord. I’m glad he made it home safely.

It seems that those vassals who remain in the Caan Knights Nation are taking turns returning to their territory, but this time my father is staying to rule. You might think that I’m leaving it to my father even though it’s my territory or country, but that’s unavoidable.

Even I am not going home to play, I have to keep the Caan Knighthood firmly in my grasp in order to rule over the Caan Knights Nation. We are currently carrying a large number of supplies from the Caan Knighthood. Until the ruling system of the Caan Knights Nation is established, resources will only be taken out of the Caan Knighthood, and if the territories under supporting my feet are not properly managed, everything will collapse.

I’ve also visited the construction sites in Charlottenburg in the Caan Barony several times, but things were going well thanks to the support from the Knighthood and the arrival of craftsmen. All the schedules are decided and communicated, so even if you leave the rest to me, they will probably do it on-site to some extent. I don’t have to be there all the time.

This time, when I returned to the Caan Knighthood, I was able to return by boat instead of the usual carriage. Normally, I’d take a horse-drawn carriage and travel overland for about a week, but this time I’m planning to board my ship anchored at Steltin’s port and return to Cien.

Steltin is a free city within the territory of Duke Greif, and up until now, although we could trade, we couldn’t use it as we pleased. But now, due to the war with the Kingdom of Polsky, our ships are free to travel within the territorial waters of the kingdom. The war is over, but there are still things to do after the war.

That’s why, since our ships are currently sailing freely in the Hulk Sea, I’m going to ask Steltin to board me on this anchored ship and take me home.

Heading from the royal capital to Steltin, staying overnight in Steltin, boarding a boat, and heading to Cien… but I’m going to take a little detour. Actually, I could go from Steltin to Cien in one day, but this time I’m not going straight to Cien, but I’m going to go to Cobenhaven, the main city of the Kingdom of Del, the city on the northwestern opposite bank of the Hulk Sea.

To put it bluntly, we have the worst compatibility with the Kingdom of Del. The Caanza Alliance and the Kamaal Alliance are in a state of instant strife, so to speak, as we make natural enemies. A ship from the Caanza Alliance entering Cobenhaven, the main port of the Kamaal Alliance, could lead to a fight on the spot if not done well.

But this time, I decided to stop by Cobenhaven once for Mikoto. Mikoto said she would guarantee the safety of this ship, so it should be fine… probably?

Well, even in the worst case, my mother is still there… I want to avoid a fight because I’m carrying House Reingen, who are guests, but that’s not something I can decide on my own.

So I will be staying one night in Steltin, one night in Cobenhaven, and then heading back to Cien. Arrival is three days after departure. Compared to traveling on land in a carriage, it’s still too fast so we could take a daughter. The ship we’re boarding is, of course, my mother’s favorite ship, the Santa Maria, with Schwartz as her captain. I can’t help but wonder if I could take an admiral right into the middle of the enemy’s sphere of influence…

This ship wasn’t requisitioned for our convenience, it was originally a ship that traveled between Cien and the Caan Knights Nation and was on transport and escort missions. Just a little unexpected thing to stop by Cobenhaven…

To be honest, I’m worried about entering the port of the Kamaal Alliance, but I’m also looking forward to it. It’s kind of like traveling to a foreign country. You probably won’t be able to do sightseeing freely, but I think you’ll learn a lot just by going to foreign countries, eating the food of that country, and just visiting ports and buildings.

Well, it’s a country on the opposite shore of the narrow Hulk Sea, so I don’t think it’s that different from the Kingdom of Ploiss… since we’re fishing in the same sea, the fish must be the same…

It was fun to go to the site, and finally, the port of Steltin came into view. We’ve visited Steltin several times during this war, but it’s the first time for Christa. It may be the first time for the Marquis and Marquess of Reingen, and since we are staying overnight in Steltin today, it might be a good idea to take Christa and the others sightseeing. We didn’t go sightseeing before because we just passed through the war.

Margarete came to mind as we arrived in Steltin, which is surrounded by the Greif Duchy. Speaking of which, how is Margarete doing? I was so busy this time that I didn’t even have time to see her. I hope she’s making some progress on her relationship with Ludwig…