Chapter 23 – Everyone's Interests (1)
“Tell me only the truth, and I’ll let you live.”
The assassins’ faces immediately brightened.
“Understood, sir. But I’m not sure whether the trial will be fair.”
Unlike the assassins, this time my expression immediately darkened.
“You know something, don’t you?”
“You already know that the merchant who hired us is Marco, right? That Marco has the Marquis of Catalonia backing him.”
“Backing him?”
“Meaning he’s greased his palms quite a bit.”
In other words, Marco had paid him plenty of bribes.
Normally, the lord of a territory acted as the judge in a trial.
Within his own territory, the lord was essentially the law.
But this case was different.
The plaintiff was the Lord of Marcel in the Kingdom of France, while the defendant was a merchant from the Catalonian territory of the Kingdom of Iberia.
When a case crossed national borders like this, it was customary to request a judge from the Papal Court of the God of Abundance.
That was because the Church of the God of Abundance was the dominant religion in both southern France and the Kingdom of Iberia.
However, if a high-ranking noble like the Marquis of Catalonia was backing the defendant, Marco, there was a possibility that he would personally act as Marco’s advocate and pressure the judge.
That would be troublesome.
It would be better to rig the result in advance from our side as well.
I immediately wrote letters to the Papal Court of the God of Abundance, the Marquis of Catalonia, and Countess Karin Ronalf.
If the enemy intended to play dirty, there was no reason for us to sit quietly and take it.
I would cut off the head of the merchant bastard who had sent assassins after me and confiscate every last bit of his wealth.
If you went after someone else’s neck, you had to be prepared to put your own neck on the line as well.
And this would serve as a warning not to mess with the Marcel territory.
At the same time, it was an opportunity to fill the territory’s severely lacking treasury.
On top of that, it was also a chance to make our presence known to the Papal Court and the people of Catalonia.
After all, most people didn’t even know where Marcel was.
I might as well use this opportunity to advertise the territory a little.
Without realizing it, a smile crept onto my face as anticipation rose within me.
To send the letters as quickly as possible, I headed toward the port where the blessed ship, the Benedicta, docked.
Just as I arrived, the captain came running down from the newly arrived Benedicta.
“My lord, what brings you all the way here?”
“Adrien Assel! Sorry to send you off again the moment you arrive, but you need to return to Catalonia. I have some important letters.”
Assel was the family name I had granted him during the previous lords’ meeting.
The captain had been so delighted by it that I now made sure to call him by his full name whenever possible.
“Oh, my lord. There’s no need to apologize. It’s not far, so we’ll be back before you know it.”
“Thanks. By the way, how is the blessed ship?”
“Hahaha! My lord, this thing is incredible! This old ship feels brand-new now. It’s unbelievably sturdy, and it’s fast too.”
“Isn’t the acceleration magic tool still the same?”
“The magic tool engineer said something about its durability and efficiency improving. We can reach Catalonia in seven hours now.”
That meant the ship had nearly doubled in speed.
It was probably now capable of sailing faster than any other sailing ship in this world.
Apparently, it also hardly suffered any damage, perhaps because it possessed some kind of self-repair function.
We couldn’t be certain yet, since it hadn’t actually been damaged since receiving the blessing.
Adrien looked as proud as a man showing off a golden calf kept in his own home.
“On top of that, it doesn’t leak a drop of water, and barnacles don’t even stick to the bottom. It’s truly an incredible ship.”
“Blessings really are the best.”
At the moment, the Benedicta might very well be the most expensive thing in the entire Marcel territory.
Anyone would probably be willing to pay a fortune for such an amazing ship.
Not that I have any intention of selling it.
Then I noticed a stream of people coming down from the Benedicta.
They were the second group of immigrants who had left Westfalen.
They had followed Mother and me all the way to the Marcel territory.
Dozens of people came off the ship, including servants from the manor, several soldiers, administrative officials, and ordinary residents.
“Young Master!”
The moment they spotted me, they came running.
They must have been so happy to see me that “Young Master” came out before “My Lord.”
I shook hands with them one by one and asked how they had been.
These were people who had followed us here simply because they trusted Mother and me.
The least I could do was treat them kindly.
First, I needed to secure somewhere for them to live.
There was no way they would already have homes in Marcel, a land where they had no previous connections.
“I’ll arrange somewhere for you to stay until you find homes of your own.”
The former administrator’s and tax officer’s houses were still empty.
I could let them stay there temporarily.
At that moment, one of the administrative officials among the immigrants approached and handed me a bundle and a letter.
“My lord, the herald asked me to deliver these items to you. The letter is from Head Maid Chloe.”
“Thank you. Good work.”
I accepted the bundle and opened it.
Inside were flags bearing my coat of arms, along with several seals.
Martin, the chief of my personal guards standing beside me, unfolded the largest flag and looked absolutely delighted.
“This looks really expensive.”
“It is. That thread is real gold.”
“Oooh!”
Martin wildly waved the flag around.
At this rate, he looked like he would carry it around all day.
I decided to leave him alone until he got tired.
Meanwhile, I took out Chloe’s letter and began reading.
[To my dear Lord of Marcel.]
[Catalonia and Liguria are out of the question. You might end up with a stepson. I am leaving for Veneto.
—Your loyal servant, Chloe.]
What the hell does that mean?
If I had to guess, both Catalonia and Liguria had daughters who had already given birth to illegitimate children.
The difference from Westfalen was that both lords had plenty of sons.
In the end, such a marriage could bring no real advantages while only planting the seeds of future conflict.
Apparently, Chloe had reached the same conclusion and moved on to another territory.
Haah. Marriage alliances between nobles really aren’t easy.
There were cases where a noble adopted a daughter and married her off, or where an alliance was formed through a sham marriage without an actual bride.
However, neither method was particularly preferred.
That made it extremely difficult to form a marriage alliance with a territory whose lord had no unmarried daughters.
I really hope we can form ties with Veneto.
I wonder what Chloe will choose.
I had trusted her with the matter, so all I could do now was wait.
Still, I couldn’t help feeling a little impatient.
Even if we produced goods worth exporting, there would be little profit if we received unfavorable treatment in trade.
Especially if we could form a marriage alliance with Veneto, which possessed a massive trading port.
There could hardly be a greater diplomatic advantage.
“My lord, preparations for departure are complete.”
As I was lost in thought, Axel and Diego approached with their attendants.
I had decided to send Knight Commander Axel as the envoy to the Papal Court of the God of Abundance, while Chief Economic Officer Diego would go to Catalonia.
Since Ronalf could be reached by land, I had already sent other knights there.
I handed the letters to the two men.
“Deliver them as quickly as possible. If we give Marco too much time, that bastard might find another way out.”
