chapter_0078

78 – Trickery X Trickery

78 – Trickery X Trickery

The northern estate of the Duke of the East, known as “Lenas”

This territory, which provides substantial food support to the North, was one of the estates that the Duke of the North paid special attention to.

Following the Duke’s policy of favoring the strong and the nobility, this place ruthlessly exploited the commoners.

The farmers here had to pay 80% of their crops as tax, and even free men faced the harsh policy of having one family member executed as an example if any runaway occurred.

Such actions would typically draw a word of reprimand from the Platinum Council, but due to the Duke of the North’s sponsorship and the geographical advantage that made external invasions difficult, the estate was left unchecked.

The commoners groaned in pain, waiting for someone to rescue them.

To them, the southern paradise “Cron,” as sung by the bards, was truly heaven and hope.

The commoners living in Lenas prayed to the gods several times a day.

They prayed repeatedly for their ruling family to become Cron.

Did their prayers reach the gods?

One day, secret support began to arrive for the commoners from outside.

Those who called themselves “descendants of Cron” started to secretly assist the commoners of Lenas.

They distributed books on Cronism and provided supplies and magical tools necessary for rebellion.

Moreover, within the Lenas estate, they arranged secret meetings for like-minded knights and commoners.

Thanks to their support, the commoners of Lenas were able to prepare for rebellion without being discovered.

They were curious.

“Why are you doing this for us?”

“Our lord could not bear to see suffering people like you.”

They did not mention that their lord was Calix, the lord of the estate.

However, it was only natural for people to think that Lord Calix was the one helping them.

“Ah… Lord Cron…”

“He has indeed been watching over us.”

Lord Calix was a hero to the people of the Empire.

He provided generous rewards to the commoners, personally fought off enemies, and even took the initiative to raid dungeons for the sake of commoners from other estates.

Recently, he was said to be caring for the commoners of other families who had allied against him.

If Lord Calix was such a virtuous lord, the people of Lenas believed he would surely support them.

And that day came.

“Let us punish the wicked lord of Lenas!!”

“We are human! We are not slaves!!!”

Thus, the commoners of Lenas united and revolted.

The rebellion, supported by the descendants of Cron, quickly turned Lenas upside down.

Many soldiers lost their families to the Lenas family.

They turned their swords against the Lenas family and, in just one morning, the Lenas estate fell.

Having succeeded in the rebellion, they immediately sent a letter to the Crones Family.

“Thanks to Lord Cron’s support, we have succeeded in our rebellion.”

“Please accept us.”

Having succeeded in the rebellion with Cron’s support, they conveyed their desire to be with Cron.

Upon hearing this, Calix was bewildered.

“What is this? Support? Noah, have we ever provided any support to Lenas?”

“No, not at all.”

Everyone was perplexed by the situation.

It was understandable.

No matter how much Calix loved the people, providing support for a rebellion in another estate was a serious crime under imperial law.

Thus, Calix had helped those around him in other ways, albeit regretfully.

But suddenly, the Lenas estate had revolted and officially announced that they had received support from Cron.

While everyone in the office was bewildered, only Leo remained unfazed.

He continued to play his instrument as he spoke.

“Ding ding—

“It has indeed begun.”

At that moment, in the Duke of the North’s stronghold, “Northland”

The rebellion of “Lenas” also provoked the Duke of the North’s faction.

This was a matter of a different dimension than simply losing land due to defeat in war.

Losing land due to a war trial was somewhat understandable.

However, the thought that commoners would dare to revolt and offer their estate to another family was something they could not even imagine or forgive.

“We must march on Lenas immediately!”

“That’s right! We must execute all the commoners!!!”

Listening quietly while smoking a cigarette, Duke Ark extinguished his cigarette.

It was a signal from the Duke of the North.

A signal that he would speak.

The conference room fell silent in an instant, and he opened his mouth.

“The Sword has begun to play tricks.”

“Sword” was the nickname the Duke used to refer to the Crown Prince.

In this Empire, only the Emperor and the Duke of the North could call the Crown Prince in such a manner.

“Duke, we can retake the Lenas estate right now. Please give the order.”

Pelagon, the captain of the Northern Defense and the Duke’s right-hand man, spoke on behalf of the other nobles.

To his words, the Duke replied sharply.

“Stop it; otherwise, you will be playing into Sword’s tricks.”

The Duke missed this situation.

In the past, during the Game of Thrones, his brother, the current Emperor “Belhart von Novarens,” had often put him in such situations.

The Emperor was the best at making it impossible to fight against other factions while reaping the benefits for himself, and as a result, he fought more than anyone else but ultimately lost.

“Sword wants us and those Cron bastards and Lily to fight. When the fighting intensifies, he will intervene to reap the benefits.”

“To think you can read even that, you are truly remarkable, Duke.”

The Duke was accurately grasping the current situation.

As they sought power but were not intoxicated by it, the nobles who had just moments ago been ready to fight like wild boars realized their foolishness and fell silent.

“Then what actions should we take? Please give the order, Duke.”

“We must respond to trickery with trickery. Contact Boros and prepare to move the Platinum Council.”

Boros was a member of the Duke of the North’s faction in the Platinum Council.

Understanding the Duke’s intentions, Pelagon replied.

“Yes! Understood.”

That day, Boros received the Duke’s message and immediately began to act.

The next day, a hearing regarding the Crones Family was brought up in the Platinum Council.

The charge was “Treason.”

It was claimed that they incited the citizens to revolt against another family’s estate, causing chaos in the Empire.

The stakes were rising.

“So that’s why I was summoned to the hearing.”

Naturally, the news reached me.

Leo explained well how the Crown Prince’s tricks and schemes had escalated the situation, leading to my summons to the hearing.

“Yes, there is a 99% chance that is the case.”

Although Leo explained the situation in an easy-to-understand manner, it was still quite complicated.

So much so that Lana and Azel said the following.

“Did you understand, Lana?”

“I’m not sure either, Azel.”

“Politics really seems to be a headache…”

“Yes, it truly does.”

I was well aware that the political arena was dirty, but experiencing it like this made me feel unpleasant for the first time in a long while.

Even though the Duke of the North had always been trash, I also didn’t look favorably upon the Crown Prince, who was trying to gain an advantage by using the conflict between me and the Duke.

“Leo, why is Duke Ark pressuring our lord by holding a hearing like this?”

“He is not pressuring our lord. He is pressuring the Crown Prince.”

“The Crown Prince?”

While playing, Leo began to explain.

The instrument, silenced by Sharen’s magic, no longer produced distracting noises, allowing us to focus on Leo’s words.

“Yes, the Crown Prince is implementing policies for the commoners while also enacting policies for the nobility. As a result, he has the support of both sides and possesses the greatest power.”

Indeed, that was the power structure of the lord I had seen while playing.

“However, with this hearing, the Crown Prince will ultimately have to make a choice. If he supports our lord, it would mean he favors the commoners, but the great nobles under the Crown Prince, like the Duke, would dislike it.”

The Crown Prince’s faction had three families, as I understood.

If even one of them switched to the Duke of the North’s faction, it would be a significant headache.

“But conversely, if he does not support our lord, he would be disliked by the commoners but liked by the nobles. However, in that case, the commoner support base would align with our lord and Lady Lily, ultimately weakening the Crown Prince’s power.”

Although it had not been publicly announced yet, those who knew would already be aware that we would side with the Princess Faction.

Thus, if he attacked me, he would think that Lily’s faction would weaken as well, and the Crown Prince would have used the name of Cron to provoke the Duke of the North.

Having roughly grasped the situation, I spoke to Leo.

“Leo, I understand the situation. But… I don’t want to just be on the receiving end. Is there any way?”

Yes, I did not want to be played by the tricks of both factions.

If I was attacked, I would retaliate.

That was my unchanging, immortal principle, both in my past life and now.

Upon hearing my words, Leo smiled and said.

“I was waiting for you to say that, my lord.”

Under Leo’s grand strategy, we sought a way to shatter this trickery.

And the next day, I set out towards the institution.

A word from the author (Author’s note)

Thank you very much to PopcornCheckone for your generous support!!

I will always repay you with good works!

Thank you so, so, so much!!

I just returned from a two-night, three-day trip.

Thank you for waiting!