Ch.48Bar (4)

What have I… What have I just discovered?

Have I learned too much?

Ines’s servant moves forward, gripped by fear.

With each step, the servant feels a strong urge to turn around and flee, but suppresses it with superhuman patience. After discovering this information, completely severing ties by running away would be impossible.

Above all, fleeing would mean losing Lady Ines’s protection, which would certainly lead to death. Whether living or dying, they must remain firmly planted in this world.

Besides, this information was obtained by carrying out Lady Ines’s instructions. This means there’s a high possibility that Lady Ines already knows about this to some extent or has vaguely suspected it.

Damn it…!

Knock knock—

“Haaah… come in.”

The servant grits their teeth while knocking on the basement door where Ines is, and Ines answers after exhaling a breathless sigh.

“Excuse m—!”

Upon entering the room, the servant is so shocked that they can’t finish speaking, nearly stopping their breath.

The room, drenched in fresh blood, has lost its original color, and at its center, their master is smiling beautifully while thoroughly enjoying herself.

The pungent, nauseating smell mercilessly stimulates the servant’s survival instinct, urging them to flee immediately, while their eyes, savoring the master’s beauty, mercilessly stimulate their male instinct to see more of that beauty.

“—me, my lady…”

The servant decides to fulfill their duty as a servant while suppressing these instincts with all their might.

After finishing their words with a slight twist of the neck, the servant bows their head to Ines.

“Hmm…”

For Ines, who has closely observed the instincts of many people, it’s very easy to discern what the servant just thought.

Especially since they even stopped breathing for a whole second—how obvious it must have been.

“Yes, I understand. What is it?”

But Ines brushes off the incident.

The servant’s knock just now was the specific pattern used only when bringing important information. Otherwise, Ines, who had been thoroughly enjoying herself, would have ignored the knock.

Connecting the servant’s knock with the order she had given him recently, Ines is more interested in the information he has brought than in the thoughts he had while looking at her.

“According to my investigation as you ordered, Lady Ines… the day before the fairy disease spread in Dijon Castle, Lady Chloe visited that orphanage as usual. And Lady Chloe was resting in her room that day because she was unwell.”

“Ohhh… as I expected.”

The information the servant brought implies that Chloe is connected to the mysterious deaths of the ducal family, but far from being shocked, Ines exclaims in admiration and smiles coldly.

Seeing this, the servant realizes that for Lady Ines, Lady Chloe’s actions are not shocking but admirable enough to elicit praise.

The servant desperately suppresses their trembling body by tensing every muscle.

“I suppose the assailants who slaughtered the nobles of Bar also came from that orphanage?”

“…They left nothing to trace their origins, and the orphanage operates so secretively that I couldn’t obtain definitive evidence.”

“That’s fine, that’s fine. If you know this much, it would have been exposed to the world long ago with plenty to spare.”

“…”

Ines unhesitatingly makes statements that could be seen as dismissive of the servant, but the servant simply bows their head deeply and remains quiet.

“…Tsk.”

Seeing the servant’s attitude of desperately suppressing their emotions, Ines loses interest like someone looking at a broken toy.

If they had shown even a little anger, she might have thought them manly and viewed them favorably… tsk.

Why are all servants these days so docile?

“Well, never mind. Keep monitoring that orphanage.”

“…Yes.”

Ines fails to realize that her own attitude and actions have made her servants this way.

Having received Ines’s order, the servant flees from the blood-covered room, and watching their back, Ines shakes her head before returning to her hobby.

……….

“An ultimatum?!”

“Don’t be ridiculous! You bloodthirsty murderer!”

The nobles of Bar roar in anger at the letter sent by Claude.

Not only did he kill fellow nobles with swords in broad daylight, but he also frames it as their own plot while demanding their submission even now—his wickedness exceeds even the word “shameless.”

Most of the conciliatory nobles died after being listed in the orphanage’s death book, but some survived.

However, even they have resolved to resist Claude at this point. Not only would advocating for reconciliation now make them look like traitors, but Claude’s attitude has crossed the line by far.

“Though our forces are clearly insignificant compared to Dijon’s murderer, we will never back down! Bar will remain Bar alone!”

Thud—!

“Gah…ahhh…!”

The nobles of Bar demonstrate their resolve by killing Claude’s messenger.

Killing a messenger signifies refusing any kind of dialogue with them, including surrender or other peace agreements.

Most would avoid harming messengers considering unfavorable war prospects, but these already radical nobles could no longer contain themselves after their comrades were killed and they were falsely accused.

“Sigh… it can’t be helped.”

Even nobles who weren’t as radical have nothing to say about their actions.

As repeatedly stated, the Duke crossed the line first in this matter.

With nothing but death awaiting them if they remain passive, their only option is to resist with all their might.

“Bar must unite as one! This is not rebellion but a noble crusade against a tyrant!”

“That’s right!”

“Long live Bar!”

The baron who killed the Duke’s messenger climbs onto the podium, raises his sword above his head and shouts, while other young nobles praise him enthusiastically for his honorable action.

By the flow of events, that young baron will become the center of this faction.

The young baron had consistently advocated resistance against the Duke from the beginning, fought against the intruders who stormed the meeting hall, and proved his resolve by executing the messenger who spoke nonsense.

The seasoned nobles, while judging the young baron as inexperienced and radical, find his will righteous and have no objections to him taking the lead.

Not only does one need to be that radical to become a rebellion leader, but if things go wrong, offering the young baron’s head as a price might save their lives even if they lose everything else.

“Everyone must gather soldiers! Only then can we resist Dijon’s bastard!”

“…That’s right.”

Among all the nobles present, none would have objected to someone sitting above them.

They had been holding back from calling him a bastard as it would completely sever ties with the Duke, but now that they’ve completely broken those ties, there’s nothing to hold back.

“How many troops can we gather?”

“Uh… I… well… I can hire one mercenary band.”

“What mercenary band?”

“It’s called the Bar Boy Axe Band—”

“That’s… a mercenary band of only 50 men, as I recall.”

“…”

But the wall of reality was too high.

The Bar Alliance, mostly composed of minor nobles who each own just one village, cannot muster many troops no matter how hard they try.

“…Because those lowborns dared to bare their teeth, extensive conscription is impossible.”

Even the stronger nobles were in the same situation.

Having strong influence means having vast territories, which leads to difficulties in exercising administrative power.

Farmers suffering from war aftereffects without any support have driven away the nobles’ officials and are enjoying village autonomy in a state of independence, and the nobles have been unable to respond to this in any way.

It would be good to provide the support they had withheld even now, but spending money on such support when facing war is futile. Above all, doing so would fulfill what the Duke demanded, greatly damaging their honor and prestige.

“Hahaha! But we have numbers on our side! Even if our individual forces are weak, if we unite and move as one, we can certainly stand against the tyrant.”

Sensing the atmosphere turning ominous, the baron tries hard to boost morale by laughing loudly.

“There are about 50 noble persons gathered here. This means that even if each person recruits just 50 soldiers, we’ll have a formidable army of 2,500 men!”

“Waaaa!!”

The young nobles’ faces brighten somewhat at the baron’s words.

While 50 men seems very few, if everyone recruits 50 men each, it creates an army of 2,500 soldiers.

Moreover, 50 is the minimum number of mercenaries a noble with just one village can hire.

Stronger nobles can naturally hire more mercenaries, and if they add the resources previously received from the Duke to hire more mercenaries, they can recruit even more troops.

Roughly estimated, they could exceed 4,000 men at minimum.

If an army of 4,000 gathers, they can respond to the Duke of Ability’s forces! There’s hope!

The young nobles, making optimistic projections, regain their morale.

“…”

However, unlike the young nobles whose spirits have returned, the faces of the seasoned nobles still show no signs of brightening.

The Duchy of Burgundy possesses an army strong enough to slaughter the armies of the Carolingian Kingdom and the Holy Empire even with small numbers. Didn’t they recently defeat a Carolingian army of 40,000 with just 20,000 troops?

Although half of those 20,000 troops were mercenaries, this means the Burgundian ducal army is tactically proficient enough to effectively use mercenaries, foreign troops, as if they were their own.

The old nobles realize that only a bleak future lies ahead.