Ch.215215. Marquis of Bordeaux (9)

The Duchy of Aquitaine. As I recall, it was a nation that once existed near this Bordeaux Marquisate.

Its distinctive rolling hills were so well-suited for livestock that it became famous for its wool industry. With the wealth generated from this, it developed quite a solid military force and reigned as a relatively powerful nation in the western part of the Western Continent during turbulent times.

Well, then suddenly a monster named Charlemagne appeared from a place called Francia, conquered it while beating down all the western nations, and now it remains merely as a sort of region called “Aquitaine Province.”

Considering Earth’s past when nationalism swept through, I wonder if there might be sentiment for independence, but thinking about it carefully, I don’t really believe there would be.

In fact, the Aquitaine region shared hundreds of years as part of the same country (the ancient empire) with the small nations of the western part of the Western Continent, and as a result, they share almost the same culture, so it’s not like they go on about being some distinct ethnic group.

It’s just a region with somewhat strong local characteristics and considerable local pride, nothing more.

They genuinely recognize themselves as citizens of the Frankish Kingdom, while simultaneously identifying as “Aquitainians”….

That’s a bit ambiguous, but anyway, it’s a region that has long since been assimilated.

Therefore, from my perspective, the Marquis of Bordeaux’s claim about rebuilding the Duchy of Aquitaine seems about as reasonable as someone in the 21st century calling for the revival of the Kingdom of Usan.

“Wow, what an impressive person we have here. What? Rebuilding the Duchy of Aquitaine?”

“Guh, guhhh….”

To be honest, this Marquis of Bordeaux is the type of person I could never view favorably.

It may be called a former nation, but in reality, he’s just trying to realize a delusion that no one else dreams of for his own power, and in the process, he doesn’t care about the countless lives that could be sacrificed.

What I’m trying to say isn’t about right or wrong, or which side represents justice.

I just… dislike people like him.

Those who try to disguise their disgusting intentions as some petty ideology or belief, while not giving a damn about others.

I think there would hardly be anyone who would support him, but let’s consider hypothetically—what would happen if the Marquis of Bordeaux tried to rebuild the Duchy of Aquitaine.

The current feudal system of the Frankish Kingdom is quite firmly established, with each territory essentially functioning like a small kingdom.

Of course, the individual territories don’t have their own diplomatic rights and the central government collects taxes, but ultimately, each territory operates independently, even waging civil wars under the pretext of territorial disputes.

But even these independently operating lords cannot tolerate certain things, and among them, the most representative is independence.

The tradition of “ganging up”—which was popular after “civil war,” that traditional game that flourished in Europe on Earth where people who can’t stand seeing others succeed lynch those who are doing well—is not easily broken.

To put it bluntly, if you’re dutifully paying your taxes and fulfilling your obligations as a vassal, how would you react if the neighboring territory suddenly declared they wouldn’t pay taxes anymore?

Being publicly ostracized or marked for destruction would be almost inevitable, and if you declare independence without a stable foundation, you’d likely lose even your existing base.

In this process, innocent lives being swept up in the violence of war is also inevitable.

Honestly, I don’t dislike people who strive for their dreams. No, I even respect those who persistently work toward their dreams.

Perhaps it’s because I’ve lived without any particular purpose until now, but someone who dedicates their life to their dream is usually worthy of sincere admiration.

However, the dream this guy is pursuing is ultimately anachronistic hegemonism.

Somewhat unrealistic dreams could at least be called romantic, but how could anyone empathize with someone who sets out to rebuild the Duchy of Aquitaine by himself when it collapsed at least hundreds of years ago?

“…Idiot.”

There isn’t even some vision or greater cause at stake here.

The serfs, who make up most of the population, would frankly live similar lives regardless of who’s in charge, and other nobles would have to surrender their vested interests to support the Marquis—who would follow that?

“…”

Considering how even large companies are frequently ruined by unprepared successors, the fact that the Bordeaux Marquisate has been managed without major disruptions until now suggests that the Marquis isn’t completely incompetent.

While the Bordeaux Marquisate was originally a very wealthy city due to its overwhelming agricultural production, the fact that he hasn’t squandered this wealth could be considered a sign of some ability.

But the biggest problem is that he has now destroyed this governing ability with his own hands.

This isn’t simply a matter of personal belief, but rather he seemed like someone who had fallen for some pseudo-ideology or something like the Hwandan Gogi….

Truly, it seemed fair to say this was an example of how governing ability and personal character can exist in completely different realms.

“Heuuuu… Heuuu, euuu….”

Anyway, after watching him whimper in fear for a moment, I released the magical power I had concentrated at the tip of my staff in the form of an electric current.

-CRACKLE!!!

Perhaps because he was wearing magical accessories with defensive functions all over his body, despite being only intermediate-grade, the pain striking him lasted quite a long time…. But after all, this was magic from a high-grade magic caster.

-CLANG! CLANG! CRACK!

Starting with the gems in his rings shattering, his accessories were destroyed, and to top it all off, his magic sword was broken, and his body was crisply fried by the electric shock….

The Marquis ended his life as a blackened corpse with steam rising from it.

※ ※ ※

And so, after I disposed of the Marquis with my own hands.

“It’s done, Lord Rinaldo.”

“…Good work. Please leave the rest to me.”

“Very well. I’ll withdraw appropriately from here.”

After carbonizing the body of the Marquis who dared to insult Aleinos’s name, I mounted it on a pole like a flag and displayed it outside the window, then contacted the person in charge, Lord Rinaldo the Fifth.

You might wonder why I’m contacting him separately, but not communicating would actually be more problematic in this situation.

The reason is that my invasion of the Marquisate itself is deeply connected to a kind of political agreement.

King Louis VII wanted to cover up this massive scandal that had even involved his crown prince’s tutor, while I wanted the Marquis to pay an appropriate price for daring to unilaterally use Sofia and me.

Combined with my feeling that I needed to establish an image of “mess with me and you’re screwed,” I promised to fully cooperate with this plan, resulting in the current situation.

By the way, there’s actually a reason why I’m not taking any measures against the king, who is the head of the palace, despite the chamberlain being essentially a cultist and the cult organization having infiltrated deep into the palace.

King Louis VII is a holy knight who uses divine power (mysteries), and if he were to dabble in any evil power, he would immediately lose his power and receive divine punishment.

Especially in matters like this, Jeftal, the god of light and justice, is particularly strict and cold, so there is absolutely no possibility that the king could be a cultist.

Anyway, after I’ve caused this commotion and made a mess, I’ll naturally withdraw, and Lord Rinaldo the Fifth, who has taken over, will make his move.

Currently serving as King Louis VII’s loyal subject and accompanying the military, he has brought troops to the nearby royal direct territory under the pretext of training.

And if fake bandits who have infiltrated the castle during the confusion cause a disturbance, he will use that as justification to “coincidentally” intervene and swallow up the Bordeaux Marquisate—that is their plan.

Of course, they won’t blatantly incorporate it as direct territory, but rather put up a figurehead like the Marquis’s illegitimate son or distant relative.

In addition, I would ensure that no bad rumors or strange stories spread despite the incident I caused, while the royal family would tacitly accept the aftermath of me eliminating the leader of the kingdom’s noble faction.

This was the conclusion we reached after our negotiations.

Well, in fact, Louis VII’s side isn’t entirely free from the feeling of trying to use me….

If the Marquis tried to use me as a chess piece, Louis VII gives a stronger impression of wanting us to cooperate for mutual benefit.

It was undeniably the kind of approach that makes you think this is how politics should be done.