Ch.11The Burgundian War of Succession (1)

“Good morning, Your Grace.”

“Ah, um…”

Despite what happened last night, Chloe came to wake me up as usual.

I was hesitating, unsure how to treat Chloe, but she was acting as if nothing had happened, as if it was no big deal.

The tear stains around Chloe’s eyes told me that last night wasn’t a dream, but her bright smile turned even those tear marks into a charming feature.

“Ugh…”

*Creeeeak*

The only thing that had changed was that Chloe now called me “Your Grace,” everything else remained the same.

As usual, I could only leave my room after washing up and having Chloe help me tidy my clothes.

And naturally, Chloe followed along, walking beside me.

……….

“You’ve already sent someone?”

“Yes.”

Having been so busy that I’d only managed a quick breakfast of bread before entering my office, I was about to send someone to the Duchy of Laurel, but my retainers informed me they had already done so.

‘…This isn’t good.’

It’s fine that they handled something their lord forgot. But doing so without my permission is problematic.

Some might say, “Isn’t it good that they made up for what would have been a day’s delay?” But taking action without reporting or getting permission is unacceptable.

“Who did it?”

“Jean, my lord.”

“Put him under disciplinary confinement.”

“Yes.”

The head steward, Count Le Clerc, bowed his head upon hearing my order, as if he had expected it.

He failed to control his subordinate but apparently didn’t think for a moment that he would be punished himself.

…I don’t like this.

“Well, inform me immediately if anything unusual comes up.”

“Of course, my lord.”

But since I’m the one at a disadvantage… I have no choice but to tolerate it.

If I were to discipline the head steward Le Clerc here, governing would become difficult.

…This bastard, did he deliberately not stop Jean to test me? To see the tendencies of his new lord?

‘Sigh… forget it.’

I’d better stop thinking about this matter.

I couldn’t remove Le Clerc anyway, so I’ll just leave this as a suspicion for now. Let’s see, these documents… ugh.

‘It’s still appalling, truly appalling.’

Is this what they call the feudal system? The more I look at the reporting and administrative structures, I can only marvel at them.

Instead of simply reporting directly upward, there are too many people inserted in between, and all of them need to be paid. Sometimes reports even circle back to the person who sent them, like a hamster wheel.

Others don’t seem to find this strange, but as someone descended from Joseon, which burned itself for centralized authority, and as a former citizen of Korea with its insane administrative efficiency, I simply can’t stand it.

But… if an illegitimate son who hasn’t even had his coronation starts pushing for reforms, it would cause big trouble, wouldn’t it?

For now, I should just make plans.

……….

After that, I spent busy days conducting funeral services and handling various duties.

Just as I was getting used to my duties as a duke, a letter arrived today that made me doubt my eyes and ears.

“…Count Le Clerc.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“There hasn’t been… some mistake, has there?”

“We’ve completed the handwriting analysis.”

“So it’s authentic… I see.”

Right.

I knew things wouldn’t go smoothly, but facing it directly is quite draining.

“…”

My uncles, my father’s two younger brothers, refuse to swear allegiance to me.

Instead, they’ve sent letters simultaneously, refusing to recognize the succession of an illegitimate son, treating me as a traitor, and demanding I relinquish the duke’s position.

The most outrageous part is…

“Ha, haha…”

“Your Grace…”

They’re spreading malicious rumors about the mother who adopted Chloe.

Saying I’m not my father’s biological child, and that Chloe is proof of this.

Chloe places her hand on my shoulder with concern, trying to comfort me, but unfortunately, it’s not working.

For her comfort to fail to calm my anger… that’s a first.

“Shall we prepare the troops?”

“…We must.”

Count Le Clerc asked for my opinion with an eerily calm expression, and I agreed.

I feel somewhat burdened about killing my father’s brothers, but… there’s no choice. They started this mess.

“Prepare the mercenaries from Dolroi and Ausonne—”

“Your Grace! YOUR GRAAAACE!!!”

Just as Count Le Clerc, having received my consent, was about to order a servant to prepare the mercenaries, a messenger burst through the door, shouting.

The messenger was breathing heavily, and judging by his pale, rigid face, I could tell something serious had happened without even hearing the report.

“Speak to me; you’re not fit to address the Duke directly.”

‘…’

Count Le Clerc stopped giving orders to the servant and approached the exhausted messenger, saying this.

With his tall, thin frame, white hair, and beard, Le Clerc apparently didn’t want to bend down to someone like a messenger, so he stood straight in front of the collapsed, panting messenger, waiting for him to stand up.

…He says such things openly? How embarrassing.

What’s more chilling is that Le Clerc isn’t flattering me; he genuinely thinks this way. Something about a duke deserving a duke’s treatment? Ugh…

“Chloe, please bring him some water.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Hearing my request, Chloe lightly bowed her head and brought a cup of water to the messenger.

The messenger snatched it as if he’d been waiting for it, gulped it down, and was about to shout something to me when he swallowed his words upon seeing Le Clerc blocking his way.

“W-well…”

“Hmm…”

Only then did the messenger recall what he’d just heard and quietly reported to Le Clerc.

…Is there any point to this? The room is small enough that I can hear everything anyway.

Unlike my slightly incredulous attitude, the content the messenger delivered was extremely shocking.

“Your Grace, the Kingdom of Caroling has questioned the legitimacy of your succession.”

“Haaa…”

Le Clerc is packaging the messenger’s “vulgar words” elegantly for me. To summarize it simply:

[The Kingdom of Caroling has decided that since Duke Burgundy died without a legitimate heir, the ownerless Duchy of Burgundy will be returned to their lord, Charles VIII. They do not recognize the usurper Claude’s succession and will immediately raise an army to subjugate him.]

Ah…

‘We’re fucked.’

So to summarize the current situation, I need to simultaneously withstand attacks from my two uncles who inherited vast territories from my grandfather, as well as from the Kingdom of Caroling.

Moreover, I can’t assume that only my uncles have refused to swear allegiance to me. There are many who bear the Burgundy name in the country, and most of them are landed nobles.

Even though I was adopted into the family and designated as the heir by the duke, in public perception, an uncle or family member has several times more legitimacy than an illegitimate son to sit in the duke’s seat.

‘…I didn’t want to use this.’

I’m already an illegitimate son.

Unlike vassals from other families, those using the Burgundy name will hate me even more.

But… even if relations worsen, nothing much will change.

The fact that I’m sitting in the Duke of Burgundy’s seat already means I’m completely at odds with them, doesn’t it?

When I first met them as a child, none of them recognized me as a family member. It’s highly likely those feelings have persisted until now.

“Count Le Clerc.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“…Send someone to the Emperor of the Holy Empire. Tell him I will swear allegiance if he protects me from the usurpers.”

Even Count Le Clerc, who always responded promptly to my words, couldn’t give an immediate answer this time.

“Are you certain, my lord?”

After a moment of silence, Le Clerc exhaled briefly and said this.

He is not a member of the Burgundy family, but he is a loyal retainer who has sworn allegiance to the Burgundy house since my grandfather’s time. It’s easy to imagine what he might be thinking.

“Do we have any other choice?”

“…No.”

Le Clerc bowed his head at my repeated question.

He obeyed my order as the Duke of Burgundy, and he too judged that this choice was the only way to save the Duchy of Burgundy.

The Duchy of Burgundy has become unable to stand on its own due to rebellions erupting from all sides, weak finances, and territory split in two.

“For now… let’s assess the situation. Chloe, please get the map from over there.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“…?”

Chloe’s expression seems to have changed slightly. She looks somewhat happy… or am I imagining it?

I felt a strange sense of discomfort before receiving the map Chloe handed me and spreading it out on the desk.

“Hmm…”

Though the map is roughly measured and not very accurate, I can still read the general situation.

“My elder uncle’s territory is in the northern coastal region, cut off by the territories of the Kingdom of Caroling and the Holy Empire, while my younger uncle’s territory is in Nevers, west of the capital Dijon.”

And the Duchy of Burgundy is surrounded by the Kingdom of Caroling to the west and the Holy Empire to the east.

…Wait a minute.

“Count Le Clerc, what are the chances that my uncles have also received word of the Kingdom of Caroling’s decision?”

“Since the Kingdom of Caroling has declared everywhere that they reject the succession of an illegitimate son and will return the territory to their king, everyone will know soon enough.”

“What’s the possibility that the Kingdom of Caroling knows about my two uncles’ rebellion?”

“Well… they probably anticipated it, but haven’t seen it directly yet. At least after they dispatched troops a few days ago— Oh!”

“You’ve noticed it too, haven’t you?”

The expression of Count Le Clerc, who always maintained a calm demeanor, suddenly changed to surprise. People really do look better with varied expressions.

From the Kingdom of Caroling’s perspective, my two uncles are just garbage that will interfere with swallowing the Duchy of Burgundy whole, and from my uncles’ perspective, the Kingdom of Caroling is a damned foreign enemy trying to snatch away their rightful dukedom.

“Le Clerc, let’s hold off on sending someone to the Empire for now. Let’s keep that as our last resort.”

“Yes.”

You understand what I mean, right? From now on, let them kill each other.