Ch.17Countermeasures Against Rebellion

Amazing.

I can’t say anything other than amazing.

Honestly, at the beginning of the war, I had hoped the Duke would just give up. Without his dukedom, he would no longer be an attractive marriage prospect to the nobility. We could have lived happily together without something like a dukedom.

But… the Duke was victorious. And in such a spectacular, historic fashion.

“Sigh…”

I should clearly be happy, but… I don’t feel happy at all.

Now the Duke’s position is unlikely to be in danger. For someone who defeated such a large army, dealing with the trash coming down from the north will be as easy as taking out the garbage.

“…Fine.”

Then… there’s only one thing I need to do from now on.

As a maid, I’ll clean up the trash that bothers the Duke.

It’s a bit unfortunate about that Ines from Laurel getting involved, but it’s okay. The Duke won’t be distracted by that woman when I’m right in front of him.

Above all, when I directly asked the Duke about that woman, his answer wasn’t “good” but “not bad.”

He’s always told me I’m pretty, cute, and reliable, so beating a woman like that should be very easy.

Yes, there’s no way the Duke could like any woman other than me.

‘First… Count Nevers.’

Not only did he start a rebellion, but he also spread false rumors that we’re siblings.

……….

The negotiations ended very smoothly.

The nobles of the Kingdom of Carolin who participated in the war had learned from the wars 20-30 years ago and most had thoroughly prepared their succession.

If we executed all of them, it was obvious that the nobles’ relatives back in their homeland would cause an uproar, claiming the king had failed in his duty to protect his vassals, so they readily agreed to our demand to hand over Var. Of course, we reduced their ransom a bit because of that.

And to think we even received war reparations on top of the ransom—the amount is a bit less after negotiating with Var, but this will be a huge help to our finances, which have been strained due to the closed borders.

We also agreed to send back the bodies of the fallen soldiers currently abandoned in the swamp, covered in mud, if we could properly identify them.

That means everything else—the nobles’ jewelry, armor, weapons—is ours to do with as we please. Ah, so sweet.

“Count Nevers, how was the battlefield?”

“I was the one who fought directly with the enemy as bait, yet they all chanted only your name, which is quite uncomfortable.”

“Tsk, tsk.”

His manner of speech is extremely disrespectful, and he still avoids calling me Duke, but his face doesn’t reflect that at all. He must have enjoyed it very much.

“Well… I’ll be going now. It’s been a while since I’ve been on a battlefield, and I’m quite tired.”

“Yes, go in and rest. Heh, asking permission in your own castle.”

“That’s exactly right… why should I need permission…”

“…”

This old man, right until the end.

I was just trying to lighten the mood with a joke, but he takes it seriously?

I blankly watched as my younger uncle rose from his seat with an exhausted sigh and went to his room. Only after he had completely left the headquarters did I begin the discussion on the final matter.

“…Anyway, although we’ve won, it’s not completely over yet. We still have to deal with the rebels currently passing through the Var region. So I ask everyone.”

“Yes.”

“How many days do you think it will take for the rebels to completely pass through the Var region?”

“Hmm… even at the shortest estimate, it would be about two days.”

“The rebels who departed quite some time ago should have almost passed through the Var region by now. I think it would be about two days as well.”

Everyone here refers to my elder uncle as a rebel. It seems they’ve all implicitly agreed on how to deal with him.

I was a bit concerned that some of the generals who fought with my grandfather might sympathize with my elder uncle, but it seems that was unfounded.

I’ve gained authority by proving my ability through victory, and from the perspective of these rigid generals, my elder uncle appears to be defying the former Duke’s decision.

“Then we’ll feed the soldiers well today and let them rest, and tomorrow afternoon, we’ll lead those who are lightly wounded and uninjured to the Var region to stop the rebels.”

“It seems a bit rushed, but… we have no choice.”

Normally, we should let the soldiers rest more, but the rebels who departed from the north a few days ago have already come down as far as they can.

If we delay any longer, the rebels will be knocking on the empty walls of Dijon, which would be slightly troublesome. So before that happens, we need to either enter Dijon and prepare for defense or defeat the rebels in the field.

My elder uncle has somehow squeezed everything out of the wealthy coastal regions and hired mercenaries recklessly, leading an army of about 10,000 men.

In contrast, our soldiers are tired from consecutive battles and have lost much of their fighting strength due to serious injuries and deaths.

Tsk… it’s a bit painful to use the reparations for this.

“General Aras, I entrust you with the command of the punitive force against the rebels. I’ll provide you with mercenaries hired with the reparation money, so use them wisely. And send a messenger to Leclerc in Dijon with the amount of funds and instructions to hire mercenaries.”

“I receive your command.”

But it’s a necessary expense, so it can’t be helped. Count Leclerc, who’s currently managing the finances in Dijon, will understand.

Anyway, there are many iron-clad oysters with pearls scattered in that mudflat, so this level of expenditure is bearable. I’ll just have to dig up a lot of oysters.

“Well, the sun has set, and we’ve discussed everything we needed to, so let’s adjourn here. Everyone did well today.”

“Yes.”

As I finished speaking, the generals bowed to me and moved to their assigned rooms, while I sat at the head seat and watched them leave.

After the last person left the room, I finally relaxed my formal posture and was able to move freely.

“Aaah… Finally over… Chloe, you worked hard too— Huh?”

She’s not here?

Chloe, who was by my side until just now, is gone.

Where did she go?

Hmm… Chloe isn’t a child who does unnecessary things, so she must have gone to do something important.

……….

“Ahhh…”

This is good.

A bath after sweating profusely is truly the best thing I can say.

The doctor told me not to bathe because of the many small wounds on my body, but… how can I bear this sticky feeling?

“…Tsk.”

Now that my head is clear, I’m starting to worry about the future.

I didn’t expect to win this thoroughly, but that guy has become too popular among the generals and the people.

Judging by his personality, he’ll be thorough with assassination prevention too, so assassination won’t be easy either.

“…Should I at least protect what I have in hand?”

If I make a mistake, everything I have to give to my son might disappear. I never thought I would submit to a bastard.

If the younger me who roamed battlefields saw me now, he would say I’ve become weak.

“Even now… I should improve my relationship with my nephew.”

He seems to cherish his adopted sister dearly… since I insulted both his parents and his sister, I probably won’t be completely forgiven.

Still, considering my contribution in today’s battle, perhaps he’ll reduce the severity somewhat?

Really, I’ve truly become weak.

*Swish*

“…?”

At that moment, there was a presence outside the door.

They’re moving very carefully, but they can’t fool my ears.

“Who is it?”

“I’ve brought clothes for you to change into.”

A young woman’s voice comes from outside the door.

She brought clothes?

“I already have clothes to wear, don’t I?”

“There seems to have been a mix-up, and your clothes were switched with the young master’s.”

“Is that so? Leave them there.”

“Yes.”

Tsk… bringing the wrong clothes, I should right now… no, I’m tired, so I’ll let it go today. Tomorrow morning, I’ll tell the head maid to train them better.

After that, I pondered deeply about what to do next, and only after my entire body was completely soaked by the water did I leave the bath, put on the prepared clothes, return to my bedroom, and lie down on the bed.

‘Yes, tomorrow. Tomorrow I must properly apologize. If my nephew is okay with me losing a bit of face…’

This is the right answer. My nephew will depart tomorrow afternoon, so there’s plenty of time left.

Yes… tomorrow morning… I’ll properly… apologize…

……….

“What, Count Nevers isn’t coming to see us off?”

“Well… because of yesterday’s battle and the late-night bath, it seems he’s still sleeping. Besides, he’s someone who dislikes having his sleep disturbed, so he always closes his door when sleeping, and we couldn’t wake him…”

…He’s not a child, how old is he to lock his door so he won’t be woken up?

But well… I understand it’s not intentional. Certainly, he must be very tired from yesterday’s battle, so it’s not unreasonable for him to still be sleeping.

“Anyway, since he agreed to the military deployment yesterday, I’ll take the army of Count Nevers’ territory to suppress the rebellion.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Fortunately, I got his agreement in advance yesterday. How absurd would it be if our march was delayed because of this?

“…Hee!”

“What, are you that happy to return to Dijon?”

“Yes, because I can help you, Your Grace.”

“I see…?”

Well, there wasn’t much Chloe could do here in Nevers.

In Dijon, she could at least help with paperwork, but here, until yesterday, we were in battle, so Chloe was literally just a maid.

“Alright, let’s go back, Chloe.”

“Yes!”

Aras should be able to easily handle the rebels coming down from the north.

Yes, now it’s time for domestic affairs.