Ch.8585. Clear Skies

The weather was exceptionally clear today.

Though the air felt a bit cool against my skin since it was before spring, it seemed to fill me with a sense of refreshment.

Actually, during my time in the Imperial Capital, good weather made me more anxious. Disasters struck whenever the skies cleared there.

The day of the second market crash had brilliantly clear skies without a single cloud, and the day of Gwon Heejin’s execution was cold but clear.

‘That’s why the Goddess was mocked even more.’

In the Empire, there was a saying to be careful with your behavior when the weather was clear. It was believed that the Goddess observed her creations’ behavior more carefully on such days. People were told to refrain from lewd acts and harsh words to avoid disappointing the Goddess.

If that were true, then the Goddess had watched with clear eyes whenever humanity was swept up in unprecedented disasters. She must have vividly observed me breaking Gwon Heejin’s remains too.

But today I could enjoy the refreshing weather without worrying about disaster. That was thanks to leaving the Imperial Capital behind.

Inside the moving carriage, Ember Hyde, sitting beside me, was even humming a tune. She seemed unaware that she was humming.

I didn’t find it annoying. A beauty who would stand out in any social gathering in the Empire was just humming a little…

“Huh.”

I turned my gaze away from Ember and let out a sigh, realizing I had been staring at her face for a moment.

Of course, by any standard, Ember’s beauty was exceptional. If she had been born as a daughter of a high-ranking court noble, she might have become a celebrity in social circles. Then again, she wouldn’t have ended up engaged to me.

At that moment, Ember turned to look at me.

“What is it, Erick?”

This would be the moment to pretend to be startled for that fresh, innocent feeling, but unfortunately, I was already too jaded for that. I simply met her gaze naturally and changed the subject with a nod.

“This is Lord Rozenia’s territory from here, right?”

Ember let out a soft sigh at my words.

“Ah, yes.”

Her expression showed regret for her momentary cheerfulness. That meant Lord Rozenia’s situation was quite complicated.

“Erick. I won’t ask you for any favors. Actually, I was planning to talk to my dad… I mean, my father soon. If we leave things as they are, the outcome is obvious.”

“And?”

“He doesn’t seem like a bad person by nature. Actually, he once considered escaping when he was a hundred million in debt, but our uncle dissuaded him. Even so, he never asked anyone else to take responsibility.”

“……”

Just from hearing this, I could tell what kind of person he was.

The type of adult who can’t say unpleasant things to others and takes all responsibility upon himself. That’s why he was hesitating to reorganize his retainers despite his financial struggles.

However, I couldn’t blindly show kindness just because he was a decent person.

‘It’s better to be honest.’

I carefully explained how I would deal with Lord Rozenia and how I would manage his already undead-like domain.

“I’ll try to persuade him with kind words if possible.”

But compassion isn’t always the answer.

I didn’t say the latter part out loud. Ember seemed to have guessed what attitude I would take.

‘Perhaps she’s thinking the same thing as me.’

As if reading my thoughts, Ember quietly reached out and placed her hand on the back of mine. I didn’t refuse and held her hand in return.

We never even walked around holding hands during our engagement period. I thought it was a strange relationship, but perhaps because of these crazy times, I didn’t feel any awkwardness.

“Erick, by the way, how long will you stay in the territory…”

Just as Ember was about to speak, we heard the sound of hooves.

A warhorse with a massive build weighing at least 600 kilograms. In a peaceful territory, the number of people who would ride such a horse was limited.

“Lord Garland?”

It was Garland, who had recently joined my retinue, coming after me.

He had taken over all military-related duties in the Wellesley County. Having been in charge of territorial defense in the much larger Tomen Duchy, this wouldn’t be a burden for him. Thanks to him, Lord Hyde’s workload would be significantly reduced.

What brought him all the way here when he should be busy adapting to the new territory? His expression was serious too.

“Count Wellesley.”

“Speak.”

“Something has happened in the Allied Nations. The Court Department just informed us via communication magic.”

I thought it had been too quiet. I nodded with a bitter smile. I could guess what this was about without having to hear it.

“The Demon Lord’s army has left, I presume?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

It seemed that the Demon Lord’s army, which had turned the entire Allied Nations into a wasteland with just three members (excluding one low-level Mongma non-combatant), had finally returned to the Demonic Land.

The state of the Allied Nations was miserable.

Some countries had their military power completely evaporated, and there were kings who had agreed to maintain a certain number of Cordana as a condition for exemption from invasion.

With the Demon Lord’s army gone, the situation that would unfold was obvious.

‘It can’t be helped. There are too many nobles desperate to exploit them.’

Especially the Cordana investors who were looking at the Allied Nations, licking their lips greedily. Small lords (those who had made futures contracts with me) couldn’t exploit the Allied Nations even if they wanted to due to lack of ability, but this time it was the larger counties and marquisates that had stepped forward.

They seemed intent on picking the Allied Nations to the bone to compensate for their losses from Cordana. Several rumors had reached me just before I left the Imperial Capital.

Invasion disguised as trade. I had no intention of stopping it.

“Lord Garland. I can’t stop the nobles determined to extort gold from the Allied Nations. Would they listen if I advised them to take only a moderate amount?”

“That’s certainly a problem, but…”

Garland started to mutter something, then looked at the distant mountains with a frustrated expression, as if the words wouldn’t come out.

Unless he had relatives in the Allied Nations, there was no reason to be so concerned. It seemed he had some other business.

Garland finally spoke after a long pause.

“…There is one piece of intelligence that hasn’t been confirmed yet.”

The words that came out of Garland’s mouth moments later were so catastrophic that I wished they were lies.

***

First, he said that the dragon hunters had been annihilated.

“Only a few who were either too inexperienced or too old survived.”

It was reminiscent of the damage suffered by the Papal State’s Holy Knights.

Though I couldn’t even remember the names of the nine countries that made up the Allied Nations, I knew what role the dragon hunters played. Although they were mercenaries by status, they were essentially a military group that played a role similar to the Empire’s two knightly orders.

What chaos would unfold if the two knightly orders suddenly vanished from the Empire? A single territory could be destroyed by just one or two ogres. Regular soldiers or low-level knights couldn’t possibly face certain opponents.

This alone was a catastrophe.

But there was more to the main point.

“A hunter who was hiding after being severely wounded while confronting the Tetrad was reportedly betrayed by a noble from the Allied Nations. Apparently, he’s a noble who rules over an island.”

The resource who died because of that betrayal happened to be a Master.

‘Is this… really true?’

Seeing my incredulous look, Garland started making excuses as if it wasn’t even his business.

There’s no guarantee it’s true, if the Allied Nations had any sense they would know the tactical value of a single Master and wouldn’t have betrayed him, if they had they would have hidden it from us.

He seemed to be denying it not to defend the Allied Nations, but because as a swordsman, it was a tragedy he couldn’t bear to believe.

He probably couldn’t accept the fact that someone with the title of Master had died miserably due to betrayal by allies while hiding and trying to survive. If only he had died on the battlefield.

While I understood his feelings, I couldn’t agree with my middle-aged retainer.

“…Lord Garland. No, Senior Garland.”

“Yes.”

“The rumor itself was obviously spread by the Demon Lord’s army. More precisely, by humans who follow them. However, there’s no possibility that the incident itself is false.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because if it were false, the Allied Nations would have a good excuse. They would try to deny all their previous mistakes. Why would the Demon Lord’s army, which wants us to devour each other, give them such a pretext?”

I stopped there.

Though we would need to verify it later, I didn’t think this assumption was wrong. The Mongma who was reportedly in charge of schemes in the Demon Lord’s army didn’t seem stupid enough to spread obvious lies. In a way, we were similar in targeting weaknesses.

Honestly, I could ignore the Allied Nations’ downfall. I couldn’t save all of humanity with my power alone.

But the Empire was also involved in this matter.

It was because of nobles who had already made large investments to sell goods to the Allied Nations. Three families had been confirmed.

They had already reached agreements with individual countries of the Allied Nations and had gathered everything they could, including their souls, to purchase or produce magical tools, weapons, and potions. All to sell them at high prices to countries terrified by the Demon Lord’s army’s invasion.

But with this incident, the Allied Nations boom had disappeared before it even began. After all, they couldn’t sell military supplies to countries that would soon be branded as enemies of humanity.

A moment when I realized that the brief peace was coming to an end.

“…Will you be summoned again soon?”

“Probably.”

To Ember’s timidly asked question, I just smiled and nodded.

A little later, when I visited Lord Rozenia’s mansion, I handed down a relatively generous judgment.

“From now on, you’ll be under the financial supervision of the county.”

This meant that most expenditures would require prior approval.

In exchange, I agreed to take in some of Lord Rozenia’s retainers. Most were elderly people who had been with the baron for many years.

He probably couldn’t bring himself to dismiss them, so I essentially took on their wages. Since there was a ranch, I made a futures contract and provided urgent funds as well.

Some might ask what’s generous about taking in a few people and making him a puppet, but in the current situation, it was a sufficiently generous measure.

To be honest, it was generosity I showed because I didn’t want to end my brief rest on an unpleasant note. After all, once I returned to the Imperial Capital, I would be living a life far removed from generosity.