CH 270

Shortly before Flora and the others headed for Cien by ship, preparations were being made in a hurry at the Reingen Residence in the royal capital.

“I wonder what was prepared for us…” Marianne said.

“Perhaps we will be attending some kind of event or ceremony over there,” Karl said. “Formal wear will be necessary.”

“You’ve already retired from being the marquis, haven’t you?” Marianne replied.

“Ah… that’s right…” Karl muttered.

As Karl and Marianne prepared to leave, turning their luggage over this way and that. Normally, when they leave for anywhere, their personal attendants and house servants do all the preparations. Up until now, Marianne and Karl have been leaving it mostly to them.

However, after Karl was forced to retire from being the Marquis of Reingen, he has almost no servants anymore. After the incident with Duke Bayen’s Faction came to light, the number of employees had decreased sharply, and many of the people who remained left to assist the new House Head, Karl’s son. As a result, there is an overwhelming shortage of people who can take care of Karl and Marianne.

“However, I think we need to pack some kind of special clothes,” Karl said. “But we can’t afford new clothes in our situation. I haven’t been in retirement for that long, so I’ll bring the formal clothes of a marquis.”

“…… I agree,” Marianne said.

Marianne knows that Karl still seems to still have the lingering habits of a marquis. It’s not like he’s clinging to status or honor. Nor is it for financial reasons. However, Karl is worried about his territory management. Will his son, who hadn’t yet been seriously involved in management, be able to succeed and do well after being suddenly thrust into the role?

Besides, the problem is not limited to territory management. Karl’s son suddenly inherited the House while he was unable to create factions or connect with those around him. Many Houses in the Bayen Faction would be in the same situation. Can a young man without the protection of his parents and no connections with his peers suddenly enter the royal court where evil actors are rampant, and will he be able to do well, at that? He can’t help but worry about it.

Moreover, many of the reliable members of the Bayen Faction are also in the same situation and can’t be counted on. Taking advantage of this opportunity, other factions will come to suppress the Bayen Faction’s members at once. Therefore, in order to add even a little more hope, Karl sent all the remaining experienced officers and subordinates to his son.

As a result, Karl and Marianne were having trouble even in their normal lives. Moreover, long-distance trips would be a huge undertaking. At such a time, it would be extremely difficult to not have an expert with them.

“Pardon me,” someone said after knocking on the door. “Viscount Royce is here.”

“Understood,” Karl said. “Please let him go to the usual room.”

“At once.”

It’s still a little ways away to leave for Carruthers territory, but Viscount Royce promised to visit them today to confirm things before they left. Karl and Marianne threw their unpacked luggage aside and headed for the living room.

On top of having met him many times, their children are already engaged, so Viscount Royce is not in the reception room but in the family living room to talk. He will not be treated as a guest forever, but from now on he will have to be dealt with as an in-law.

The original purpose was to go to Helmut’s House to confirm whether it was really okay to get Helmut and Christa engaged. However, Karl and the others no longer have any objections or concerns about the union. Rather, with the current situation of House Reingen, it would be much better to marry Christa off to Helmut.

“Iyaah, please forgive me,” Viscount Royce said. “I should have visited earlier, but…”

“No, no,” Karl said.

Certainly, you can say it’s impossible to have a meeting several days before departing for a long-distance trip, one that could take months, no, in some cases years, even. If it had been Karl as he was before, he would have been furious that Viscount Royce was taking the Marquis of Reingen so lightly.

But the rough talks are already over. Viscount Royce is just visiting as a final confirmation, and the departure itself can be done without this final meeting.

“Oh, goodness…” Viscount Royce said. “I just never thought that at my age, I would be riding a horse on the front lines of battle.”

“Huh?” Karl asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“Hm?” Viscount Royce said, doing the same.

“Aah,” Viscount Royce gasped, “until just the other day, I was also sent to the front lines in the war against the Kingdom of Polsky. I couldn’t have dreamed they’d send these old bones of mine as part of a vanguard.”

“…… Huh?”

“…… Hmm?”

Karl tilts his head again and Viscount Royce tilts his head as well. The conversation is not meshing well.

“What were you saying just now?” Karl asked. “The Kingdom of Polsky? War?”

“Yes,” Viscount Royce said. “Of course, since you were the Marquis of Reingen, you probably already know this, but it’s been about a month and a half, or two months ago since the hostilities started.”

“…………”

Karl’s eyes became dots. He had never heard of such a thing. It is understandable that Karl, who has retired and is on trial, would be subject to various restrictions on information. However, he doesn’t understand why Viscount Royce was sent to such a place.

Viscount Royce is a retainer of House Carruthers. If so, why would Viscount Royce be dispatched if there was a war with the Kingdom of Polsky in the east since he was part of the cornerstone of the northwest defense? It makes no sense at all.

“Actually, the Kingdom of Polsky surrounded Koenigsvelg just when the royal capital’s forces were away and left the city vulnerable,” Viscount Royce explained. “For that reason, Houses Carruthers and Caan were ordered to defend Koenigsvelg as they could respond immediately.”

Realizing their misunderstanding and Karl’s lack of information, Viscount Rocye launched into an explanation unprompted. Karl’s eyes peeled back as he was told a brief history of what has been going on.

“Did you say that the Kingdom of Polsky had already put up the flag of surrender now?” Karl said.

“Yes. A peace treaty has already been signed,” Viscount Royce said.

“…………”

Karl can’t help but be at a loss for words. What kind of monsters are the Carruthers-Caan Allied Forces? Forcing a surrender from an entire country in just a month is not normal. Karl, who has been on the battlefield as the Marquis of Reingen, understands the severity of war. No matter how much you surprised your opponent, it would still not be easy.

It’s hard to believe that the Carruthers-Caan Allied Forces did this. And Viscount Royce explains that he and his son Helmut also went to the battlefield as part of the Carruthers Army. The two in front of Karl look like ordinary nobles, but perhaps they act like demons on the battlefield.

What kind of monsters is the Carruthers Vassals? Perhaps that’s why they can protect the border against the Kingdom of Frasia, their longtime enemy. Karl shuddered at the thought of going on a trip to such a place and wondering if it will end safely.

“That’s why I’m so late, because of the war with the Kingdom of Polsky. Please, forgive me,” Viscount Royce said, bowing his head.

“N-No, no, if that was the case, there was nothing we could have done about it,” Karl said, gesturing for Viscount Royce to raise his head back up.

Overwhelmed from the start, the subsequent meetings made Karl smaller and smaller.

After the group finally departed for Carruthers territory, they arrived at Steltin first. Karl was surprised at how comfortable the carriage he had ridden so far was. Marianne seems to have been shaken by the carriage and felt sick, but he thinks it was because it was too fast to keep up rather than terrible shaking.

The unfamiliar carriage was so luxuriously decorated that it couldn’t be compared to the high-class carriage that Karl usually rides, and it hardly swayed even though it ran at an impossible speed. He had never ridden in such a comfortable carriage.

After the carriage arrives at Steltin in no time, Karl marvels at the sights. House Reingen owned inland territory near the Principality of Aust, and so has no connection with such a splendid port town. He thoroughly enjoyed sightseeing in Steltin while observing the large ship and splendid port that he had never seen before.

And the next day after staying overnight in Steltin… Karl saw something he couldn’t believe.

He thought the boats lined up in the harbor yesterday were big and splendid. After only seeing smaller boats navigating rivers, the size of sea boats was a shock. And yet… what was with the huge size of the ship that they were going to board today? The sheer scale of it makes it look like a moving fortress.

“La-Lady Flora… y-you’re not telling me this is House Carruthers’s ship, is it?” Karl asked.

“This ship is owned by me personally, not by House Carruthers,” Flora said. “Schwartz, this is Karl von Reingen, the Former Head of the Reingen Marquisate and his wife Marianne.”

And even though Flora explained… it made no sense to him.

It is owned by Flora, not by House Carruthers. He knows what it means. He should understand. But is this impossibly huge ship privately owned by Flora? He can’t understand what that means. It should make sense, but it does not. His head in turmoil, Karl couldn’t get his thoughts straight.

“A pleasure to meet you, Lord Reingen,” Schwartz said. “My name is Schwartz, the captain of that ship.”

“Ah…, aah, a pleasure as well…” Karl muttered.

The captain is introduced, but after losing his train of thought, Karl carelessly responds. However, this is a captain who thinks calmly and operates such a huge ship. Normally, he wouldn’t be a good partner to treat so poorly. In the worst case, this huge ship and all the crew on board might become enemies.

The usual calm Karl wouldn’t have made such a blunder. However, the shock was so great that Karl couldn’t think that far ahead.

Even after going out to sea, it has been nothing but surprises. How fast for such a huge ship! It’s much faster and sways less than the small boats you see on the river, and it’s comfortable. After being motion sick in the carriage yesterday, Marianne seems fine, now.

“Darling…” Marianne asked anxiously.

“What’s wrong?” Karl asked. “Are you feeling sick?” he asked, guessing.

She was motion sick yesterday, so she may be seasick today. It would be natural to think so. But Marianne’s words made Karl think.

“No, I feel fine. More than that… I felt ill, but I know that yesterday’s carriage was amazing. And this ship. The Carruthers Margraviate is… isn’t it more outrageous than we imagined?”

“Hmm…” Karl murmured.

Both Karl and Marianne only thought of margraviates just as large counties on the borderlands. In fact, the margraviates they’ve met so far were all Houses that made you think that was to be expected. But what about House Carruthers?

It hasn’t been that long since they struck up a connection. They don’t know each other very well. But how many times have Karl and Marianne been surprised already?

The subordinate viscounty is given a salary that allows him to wear such finely tailored clothes and even gives his youngest son a much higher salary than the lower-class nobles. That alone is amazing, but that’s not all.

The carriage that ran to Steltin was unusual in performance and decoration. Karl, who had been serving the royal palace for a long time, could only be surprised to see so many luxurious carriages that could be ridden by royalty. Moreover, the structure of the carriage was unique and he was surprised at the design, but he was even more surprised when he rode it. He’d never heard of a carriage that feels like it doesn’t even shake.

And this sea voyage. This huge ship called the “Galleon” that he’s on right now… of course, just having something like this is nothing but a surprise. It’s not that the Reingens are surprised because they’re unfamiliar with the sea and ships. Even Steltin’s workers and sailors thought the galleon was magnificent and huge. It was claimed even by the peoples of the sea.

Moreover, the fact that this is privately owned by the daughter, Flora, may mean that House Carruthers owns several ships of this scale. Karl can’t even imagine how much this one ship will cost, but if there are several, how much financial power will you need to have to make them?

In addition, they said that they were going to the Port of the Kingdom of Del. Speaking of Del, it is recognized as a threat from the north to the Kingdom of Ploiss. They have fought many wars in the past with the Kamaal Alliance, including the Demon Country. He can’t believe that they can go to such a country so easily.

Even an official messenger from the Ploiss Kingdom can’t go to the mainland of Del so easily. Negotiations and destinations for envoys were decided, and it was difficult, even for diplomatic envoys, to suddenly go to Cobenhaven, the capital. He can’t believe that they’re going to go there from now on.

So many incredible things have happened before his eyes. Maybe the House Carruthers isn’t just a marquisate family with a large rural territory, as the Reingens think they are. If they don’t change that perception, it can become a serious problem. With that in mind, Karl and Marianne vowed never to underestimate House Carruthers.