Chapter 54 – The Luxurious Woes of an Elegant Grand Lord

‘I knew it, Lord Vilgard is really something, isn’t he…!’

Lord Godrick Clostova, a grand lord, challenged Vilgard by saying, 『If you want my cooperation, lend me your wife for a month』 and ordered his son, Theodolf, to confirm the response.

However, Theodolf gathered like-minded sons of neighbouring lords and headed to Vilgard. He bowed and apologised for his father’s rudeness.

While Vilgard did not forgive Godric, he welcomed Theodolf and his supporters as allies.

At that moment, Vilgard was convinced after just a brief conversation. Yes, this man would surely do it.

No matter who he faced, he spoke confidently and always controlled the conversation with his own words. Facing him, even an amateur could sense his strength.

His arms bore countless scars, and his well-built physique was evident. One would think twice before launching a surprise attack, knowing he would surely counter with force.

He had surely been through many battles before the uprising. Indeed, Theodolf thought, this is what they mean by a remarkable figure, a hero. And just now, he recalled the scene unfolding before his eyes.

The late arrival of the grand lord, Wolk. He too had led his own army in battle and was a martial lord who knew the battlefield well. He commanded a formidable army in his domain and was also Vilgard’s grandfather.

When he arrived, Theodolf felt reassured. Despite the delay, Wolk seemed to have no intention of opposing Vilgard. Vilgard, who wanted to secure the cooperation of the grand lord, would surely welcome him without concern for the one-day delay.

But with his first words, Vilgard strongly rebuked Wolk, right in front of all the numerous lords.

However, Vilgard upheld the position of the lords who had arrived within the deadline and maintained a fair attitude, even towards a blood-related grand lord.

Even if Vilgard had welcomed Wolk with a smile, no one would have complained. But by not doing so, it became clear that he was someone who acted regardless of social status.

‘Compared to my father…Godric’s calibre as a leader is vastly different…!’

Now, as if forgetting the attitude he had just shown, Vilgard was talking amicably with Wolk. With this, all the lords connected to us and the Linzent family would surely unite under Vilgard.

“Kuh…! I will also prove my worth to Prince Vilgard on the battlefield…!”

“Me too…!”

The ones who had come this far together, like Theodolf, showed expressions heated with determination.

Undoubtedly, from here on, a heroic tale that would be passed down through the ages would begin. And it would be not as rebels but as legitimate imperial forces.

The party continued thereafter. And before the night grew completely dark, it came to an end.

■

One week later, having roughly brought the eastern and northern regions of the territory controlled by the Lords Alliance under his control, Vilgard advanced his army to the Linzent territory. From there, he continued southward and sent a message to one of the grand lords, the Katzbarie territory, demanding their submission to him.

He hadn’t yet made his intentions clear. If there was no response…or if they began to prepare their defences, he would immediately commence invasion.

On the other hand, the Katzbarie territory bordered imperial territory to the south. And going west after passing through several small fiefs, there was the Clostova territory.

Fortresses were constructed along the southern roads to deter the imperial forces, with troops stationed there for that purpose. Apart from that, there were already 30,000 troops stationed in the Rylag territory.

“Lord Shred! W-What is the meaning of this!?”

Shred Katzbarie. He had recently become the lord of Katsubarye territory following the death of the previous lord.

He turned a seemingly indifferent expression towards his loyal retainer, Maikent, who was visibly shaken.

“What’s the matter, old man? What do you mean…?”

Maikent himself was of a similar age to Shred’s late father, the former lord. But he wasn’t so old as to be called 『old man』 yet.

“It’s about the response to Prince Vilgard…! I-It’s just…!”

“Oh, that thing. Heh… You wouldn’t understand, old man. This is highly political manoeuvring.”

Vilgard was pushing the lords along the invasion route to declare their allegiance and show their colours. But when it came to the grand territory like Linzent adjacent, he halted the advance once to gauge the response.

Now, his army was to the north of Katzbarie and he had received a similar message demanding submission. They were probably taking a cautious approach, avoiding confrontation with him, unlike other lords.

“S-So…! In exchange for cooperation, he demands a position as a military general for himself and further recognition of the southern imperial territory as Katzbarie territory…!? The prince must be aware of how he would act towards any lord who dared to bring up negotiations, right!?”

Originally, the Lords Alliance had thought Vilgard was willing to negotiate with them to incorporate them. But now, they have come to revise that perception.

The Lords Alliance fundamentally opposed the empire and did not negotiate. They had made their stance clear.

While bringing various territories under their control, they finally brought the Linzent territory under their grasp. This momentum continued unabated, and everyone thought they would continue to lead and unify the Lords Alliance.

In the midst of this, Shred initiated negotiations in response to the directive issued by Vilgard.

“Calm down, old man. Vilgard is currently pondering how to proceed with negotiations with me.”

“…Are you sure he’s not preparing for an invasion?”

“Hahaha. That’s an amusing joke, isn’t it? None of the lords he has brought under his control have significant military strength. The Linzent territory is a grand territory, but isn’t it of imperial lineage in the first place? The one benefiting from Vilgard’s unification of the empire is Linzent. It’s natural to cooperate.”

In essence, none of the lords who had followed him so far could negotiate with Vilgard…they simply didn’t have the leverage.

But Shred was different. Not being of imperial lineage, blindly cooperating wouldn’t yield much benefit.

From the perspective of the Lords Alliance, the merit of obtaining a banner was more significant for smaller lords. As someone with abundant funds and military strength, Shred wouldn’t receive as much benefit from pledging loyalty to Vilgard as smaller lords would.

So, what to do? It’s simple. Provide suitable compensation worthy of a grand lord’s loyalty.

Having spent his childhood in the imperial capital and then more than ten years on the grasslands, negotiating as a noble would be challenging. Thinking along those lines, Shred prepared an answer with a sense of goodwill, saying, 『If you do this, I will follow you』.

“Shred-sama, please reconsider. First, invite Prince Vilgard into our territory, and then pledge loyalty. He won’t come to the negotiation table.”

“I don’t mind pledging loyalty, of course. But if you want a grand lord to follow you, wouldn’t it require proper etiquette?”

“………..”

Shred had initially planned to align his actions with those of the other grand lords if their policy was to unconditionally follow Vilgard. However, he knew that wasn’t the case.

Gordrick, the lord of the Clostova territory, had provocatively demanded that Vilgard allow him to sleep with his wife. Vilgard stood up to this challenge.

He named Gordrick as a traitor and declared that he and the lords who followed him were his enemies.

The conflict between the two sides was already inevitable. And Diltak, the westernmost grand territory, was still holding off on giving a response due to geographical concerns. It was being threatened with division by the imperial knights’ invasion, so this delay was somewhat understandable.

Thus, out of the four grand lords at present, one clearly aligned himself with Vilgard while one opposed him. Two remained undecided, so the balance hadn’t entirely tipped in Vilgard’s favour yet.

Regardless of how many lords Vilgard brought under his control, ultimately, the military strength would be determined by the grand lords. If Shred and Diltak were to side with the Clostova faction, they would undoubtedly surpass Vilgard in terms of military might.

Considering Diltak’s preparations against the empire and western bandits, it was somewhat inevitable.

Therefore, for both Clostova and Vilgard. Shred, the lord of the Katzbarie territory, had become an indispensable figure.

‘Though I haven’t told the old man, I’ve received a secret offer from Lord Gordrick…’

Where Shred’s vote goes will determine the dominance of the two factions. It’s the best time for him to sell himself high.

Now that Linzent had completely surrendered to Vilgard, Gordrick desperately wanted Shred on his side. That’s why he approached Shred for negotiations.

‘These sophisticated manoeuvres are beyond the old man…Well, this is the hardship of being a grand noble…’

From Gordrick, there were offers of armour preparations and financial arrangements if he sided with him. At the negotiation stage, these were substantial, and starting negotiations in earnest could bring corresponding rewards.

But Shred had intended to side with Vilgard in a ratio of about seven to three.

Naturally, if he had a strong clash with Vilgard before the empire was unified, he wouldn’t be able to advance under his rule. Ultimately, he understood that siding with Vilgard would be more advantageous.

On the other hand, depending on the negotiations here, his position in the future empire would be determined. That’s why he couldn’t afford to slack off.

“…Shred-sama, perhaps it would be wise to prepare the army just in case.”

“Hmm? Ah, I see. We’re just sending a message to Vilgard that, no matter how aggressive he is, invasion won’t be easy, right?”

“…Well, yes.”

Currently, Vilgard’s army facing them numbered about 25,000. As Linzent’s main army was guarding the north, it wasn’t included in Vilgard’s forces.

In contrast, Katzbarie had 20,000 troops in the southern fort and around 30,000 soldiers who had returned from the Rylag territory. With conscription, they could increase their forces to 40,000.

In other words, even if they couldn’t mobilise the southern army against the empire, their surplus strength alone surpassed Vilgard’s forces.

“Haha… I wonder what seat the prince will offer me, am I right?”

And the next day, Shred received a report that Vilgard’s army had invaded Katzbarie territory in a combat-ready state.