Ch.6666. For Sale

Day three of Cordana recovery.

I was spending quality time with my old colleagues.

Swoosh, with the sound of air being torn, the sword strike of my junior Katie aimed at me, drawing an incomprehensible trajectory.

A junior who looked like a teddy bear that young ladies play with, the only one among the Hero’s pursuit team who hadn’t tasted my skills, but her abilities weren’t completely terrible. The aura-coated tip of her sword was constantly targeting my vital points.

But the difference in skill was clear.

It was simple to deflect Katie’s sword with superior strength and deliver a punch to her solar plexus when her center of gravity wavered.

“Kuhk!”

Katie collapsed while looking at me with an expression of disbelief after taking just one hit.

I didn’t hit her hard enough to cause cardiac arrest out of respect for the Hero’s pursuit team, but even I couldn’t help her momentary breathing difficulties.

I formally pointed my sword at Katie’s neck and ended the sparring match.

“…Th-thank you for the match.”

Around the training ground, members who had taken a few hits were scattered, resting. Some were gargling with potions for what seemed like burst lips, flinching and spitting when they made eye contact with me.

I wasn’t doing this because I enjoyed beating up my colleagues; this was a serious sparring match that allowed aura use, so I was resolving things with fists and martial arts. If we fought with swords, eventually one side’s weapon would be destroyed.

And naturally, it would most likely be the members’ weapons that would be destroyed.

Of course, the Royal Order members could receive quality weapons and armor from the imperial budget, but there was no need to needlessly produce scrap metal.

‘It feels refreshing to work out after a while, but…’

There was a problem that couldn’t be solved just by sparring.

It was the matter of fief enfeoffment.

These days, I was in the process of selecting which fief to receive in consultation with the court.

It might look like I was advancing alone in these gloomy times, but I had no choice. The nobles weren’t looking at me with kind eyes.

Court nobles and families who hadn’t suffered major damage from Cordana were likely looking for opportunities.

Even at the banquet hosted by the Prince on the day of the burning ceremony, there were several nobles who were watching for a chance to approach me with soot on their faces. If this were a time when banquets were held regularly, I might have been busy dealing with marriage proposals by now.

On the other hand, families who had suffered irreversible damage had an atmosphere of resentment and jealousy toward me.

Not only did I escape alone with premium information just before the market collapsed, but I also continued to rise and reached a position where the imperial family sought my advice. It was understandable. Moreover, I was the one who completely closed the possibility of loss compensation.

“…Um, senior. Actually, on the first day of recovery, I went on a fief rescue mission. After killing a few trolls and receiving a meal, the lord said something strange.”

It was what Katie said while checking my reaction, having recovered from the solar plexus strike.

“A fief that suffered losses from Cordana?”

“Yes, and apparently there’s a fief among those they regularly trade with that has become undead. They grumbled that there was a large amount of unpaid money that they’ll never be able to collect because of you.”

“…Why would they complain about that in front of you all?”

“It’s not specifically in front of us, but they seem to be grumbling all day long? Of course, our seniors didn’t agree with them, so don’t misunderstand.”

That meant my name was practically stuck in their mouths.

If they were complaining even to knights who came to eliminate monsters, they would probably express their grievances to even their pet dogs, looking for Wellesley. It would be difficult to criticize the Emperor, an absolute being… no, that would be blasphemy in the first place.

Right. I was just the easiest target.

Logically thinking, it was strange behavior.

Until a new Hero was summoned, the three Masters were among the Empire’s greatest forces. It was foolish to badmouth someone who might protect their fief. Even if they felt resentful, hiding it would be normal.

‘But expecting common sense from Cordana is abnormal.’

I was no longer under threat to my safety. However, I was also someone who needed to counterattack the Demon Lord’s army that had dealt a blow to the Empire. If only military power was needed, there would be substitutes, but unfortunately, reality wasn’t so simple.

Enfeoffment and promotion were necessary for that purpose.

Originally, I had planned to look into it slowly after the Cordana situation was resolved, but now I had to admit it. This situation would never be perfectly resolved. If that was the case, it was better to raise my rank now.

Fortunately, there were two fiefs I could take at this point.

“…There are two properties available, Baron Wellesley.”

It was what the Deputy Minister of Finance said after personally visiting my garrison.

Judging by his eyes with dark circles, he wasn’t even aware that he was referring to fiefs as “properties” with his own mouth.

Fiefs weren’t meant to be bought and sold, but I decided not to point it out. It wasn’t the only language habit that had changed after Cordana.

The properties he presented were the County of Neize and the County of Dellirose.

Both were places I had shut down.

“The Count of Neize, or rather the former Count of Neize, has already arrived at the Barony of Enekia and is managing the fief, I hear.”

The Barony of Enekia, with a population of just over 20,000 including the main castle and surrounding villages. Millia Neize’s father, who had been appointed as its administrator, was slowly getting to grips with his duties. The fief residents, who were seeing pink hair for the first time in their lives, were apparently intrigued.

“In the case of Dellirose, the head of the family is in a labor camp, and the rest of the family is living together in a small village in the direct territory. Either way…”

“No one would complain if I became the lord, I suppose.”

“If you wish, one of the two will be called the County of Wellesley.”

Economically, both places were about the same.

The County of Dellirose was a typical self-sufficient fief, while the County of Neize was a fief that grew sugar beets in large quantities, processed them into sugar, and supplied them to the direct territories including the imperial capital. However, it had many mouths to feed in proportion to the money it earned.

As areas where accomplices in nominee transactions were located, they had suffered almost no damage from Cordana. Their assets remained in the fiefs.

However, those two fiefs had a fatal weakness.

The existence of vassals.

While vassals from collateral branches had fallen with their lords, there were still barons who ruled territories belonging to the counties.

And they were said to have been severely bitten by Cordana.

The barons serving the Count of Neize were found to have purchased Cordana after being deceived by the Viscount. No, to be precise, they had purchased Gwon Heejin’s Cordana, which was under the Viscount’s name.

“The damage isn’t fatal. Of course, by ‘not fatal’ I mean they’re not behind on the guards’ wages.”

On the other hand, the two barons serving the Count of Dellirose were properly ruined.

Moreover, it wasn’t because someone had encouraged them or dumped quantities on them. They had gone crazy seeing their count easily earning tens of billions (though it was later revealed that wasn’t the case) and rushed to the exchange.

‘If they went bankrupt from investing, that’s their fortune and can’t be helped.’

The problem was that their downfall was becoming a burden on the fief.

They were reducing guards, failing to supply necessary items to the fief on time, and even falling behind on servants’ wages. They were barely getting by with relief supplies sent from the imperial family, but that was also coming to an end.

Of course, there was a simple solution. To remove the lord and his clan.

If those who were somehow maintaining a noble life despite their assets being ruined would quietly step down, the burden could be reduced.

The problem was that investment failure was unlikely to be grounds for revoking titles. If that were the case, there would be more than a few lords who would lose ownership of their fiefs. If handled poorly, the entire noble society might feel a sense of crisis and band together.

“…Considering the merits you’ve accumulated, I’d like to give you a fief without any lumps attached, but.”

“It’s fine. Such fiefs don’t exist anyway.”

But I had no intention of becoming a count while carrying such burdens.

It was true that I needed a higher position and power, and I also had a desire for a fief that could be inherited. However, I had no desire to gain power by feeding complete strangers with my own money.

Fortunately, as I pondered, I could see one fief where a simpler cleanup was possible. If things went according to my plan, I could reduce the burden of governance somewhat.

“Have you decided?”

“Yes. I’ll take this one.”

***

Imperial Capital District 3, the residence of High Prosecutor Gregory Hyde.

“Did someone hold a knife to your throat and force you to buy Cordana?”

…As soon as she heard her father’s shout, Ember Hyde turned away.

On her way home after finishing a 10-hour shift, carrying strawberry wine to drink with her parents.

She was still in the adaptation period and wanted to rest because she was tired. But hearing the two adults arguing would only increase her fatigue, so she decided to retreat.

She briefly made eye contact with her uncle, who was standing in front of her father with an aggrieved expression, but she didn’t bother to greet him.

She shouldn’t ignore her uncle, who was also the head of the family, but she didn’t feel like paying respects now. She already knew why he had come anyway.

‘Is he going to say that no one is accepting the promissory notes issued by the family? …No, in today’s world, what merchant guild would accept promissory notes issued by individual families based on reputation?’

Her uncle was still wandering around the exchange like a ghost, neglecting his fief. There were rumors that he was visiting Academy classmates and saying strange things, and that he had been rejected when asking for relief supplies to be given in cash.

“Haah. How long is he going to be like this?”

Ember muttered as she sat in an open-air teahouse near her home.

How did a once fairly solid barony end up like this?

There was a time when she burned with jealousy toward her cousins whom she met only once or twice a year, but now all of that felt meaningless.

‘If I had known it would be like this, I should have…’

As she was ruminating, she suddenly felt a presence.

Usually, when she sat alone, junior officers of the guard or upper-class Academy students would approach her. Especially these days, she dressed more modestly than before, which seemed to make men feel less intimidated.

Ember mechanically raised her head, intending to decline. However,

Standing in front of her was, unexpectedly, her former fiancé.