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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Bobto
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Three days after the former Duke Nantes had summoned us, Duke Nantes passed away in the afternoon.
Perhaps because he was worried about his own son until his death, he had asked all the marquises to “serve and cherish my son, Schwein von Nantes, as you have served me, and when it’s time to cherish him, cherish him as you would your own children” until he closed his eyes.
His appearance looked so pitiful.
Perhaps because he begged so desperately, I even had a momentary thought of ‘Should I give Schwein one more chance?’
When Duke Nantes died, my father, Marquis Kreutel, cried as if his own parents had passed away.
The fact that the other marquises wailed loudly, although a bit weakly, allowed me to glimpse Duke Nantes’ character.
Why did such a crazy bastard come from under such an excellent Duke…?
Come to think of it, even the famous sage king Seongjong of the Joseon Dynasty had a son like Yeonsangun.
**
After Duke Nantes passed away, a grand three-day funeral was held, and now only the final procedure of executing Duke Nantes’ will remained.
Once it was confirmed that all the vassals with the title of knight or higher wearing surcoats had gathered in the audience hall of the Duke’s mansion, the herald coughed three times and then opened his mouth.
“Vassals of Duke Nantes, I will now read the will.
Before that, do you swear to the holy God and His Majesty the Emperor to follow the will?”
Everyone inside solemnly declared in a loud voice.
“We swear.”
“I will begin the recitation.
First, it is decreed that all property and rights of the duchy of Nantes shall be held by the legitimate successor, Duke Schwein von Nantes.
However, as Duke Nantes is still young and inexperienced, it is decreed that my friend and excellent vassal, Paul von Kreutel, shall serve as his guardian.”
At the word “guardian,” the audience briefly stirred, but the herald reciting the will paid no attention and continued.
“Accordingly, Marquis Kreutel shall be granted the title of ‘Duke’ and temporarily referred to as Duke Kreutel while serving as guardian, and his territory and title shall be inherited by his son, Ciel von Kreutel.
And…”
At the word “Duke,” the heirs of other marquis families beside me looked at my father right in front of me with shocked eyes.
It makes sense, because in a duchy, the title of “Duke” usually refers to the de facto second-in-command of the organization, which is also referred to as “Vice-Duke”.
Although he passed on all his territory and position to me, becoming a Duke means he can virtually hold all the political power.
From the perspective of the lords who were trying to gain the upper hand in the power struggle within the duchy by taking advantage of this opportunity, their intestines must be twisted.
“And to the other marquises, as a token of gratitude for their loyalty thus far, each shall inherit one of the weapons I used…
The knights shall be granted 10 to 50 gold coins each according to their respective positions… Accordingly, regarding the war…”
Like that, the herald recited the proclamation tediously for over an hour without drinking a single drop of water.
And as soon as the recitation ended, all the nobles began to gather in groups of three or five and divide into their respective factions.
They divided into roughly four factions, and among them, the largest was of course the faction of Marquis Kreutel, no, Duke Kreutel.
Two marquises and over 40 knights tried to surround and talk to the marquis who had now become a Duke, but before that, Duke Kreutel approached me and said,
“Ciel.”
“Yes, Father.”
“I have now become the guardian of this duchy, the highest position a vassal can rise to…
But rather than being happy, my heart aches.
Because my lord has passed away.”
“My heart aches too.”
Hearing those words, the Duke looked at me and spoke in an even more lonely voice.
“Yes, that’s right. Thank you for understanding my feelings.
By the way, now that I have to assist Duke Schwein, I can no longer guard the marquisate.
Ciel, may I ask a favor of you.”
For a moment, I wanted to tell the story of when I first met Schwein and make the Duke in front of me come to his senses, but I gave up.
Because now that the Duke had already become the guardian of the Schwein in the form of the “Duke’s will,” there was no justification to refuse, and the person in front of my eyes would try to help the Duke no matter what.
Even if I tried to dissuade him now, I would only be scolded.
So I answered those words in a determined voice.
“I will repay you with results exceeding what I showed in Windheim.”
“I look forward to it.”
“And don’t worry about money. I can give you about 200 gold coins a month.”
Hearing those words, the Duke suddenly laughed and said,
“Haha, 200 coins… Yes, if anyone else had said such a thing, I would have dismissed it as nonsense…
But if it’s you, it should be possible. Yes, I believe in you.”
“I’ll be going now.”
With those words, I left the Duke.
As soon as I left, countless people flocked beside the Duke…
I hope the Duke treats them well.
**
Normally, after solemnly holding the knight appointment ceremony in front of the marquises and knights, I would have gone through the ceremony of bestowing the “territory” and expressed gratitude for allowing me to inherit the title by hosting a two-day “banquet,” which would have been proper etiquette…
But because Duke Nantes’ funeral was held, the ceremony for inheriting the title was also roughly carried out.
It ended with Schwein von Nantes, who had become Duke Nantes, placing his sword on my shoulder, having me swear an oath to become a knight, and then handing me soil and branches symbolizing the territory.
A three-day ceremony ending in just 10 minutes, it was so fast that I even doubted if this was an ultra-fast marquis training process.
And when returning, it was customary to spend a lot of money to buy “gifts” for the nobles in the marquisate to give from the duchy…
But because Duke Nantes’ funeral was held, I couldn’t buy anything separately in Nantes, which belonged to Duke Nantes.
Therefore, I instructed my subordinates to purchase various luxury goods and such in Hamburg, and then slowly returned to my territory.
And the day after returning to my territory, I summoned the lords of our Kreutel Marquisate.
**
My territory of Kreutel is truly beautiful.
Because there are wide fields where rye, wheat, turnips, and beans are planted in rotation, walls surrounded by small but solid fortifications, knights wearing somewhat rough armor, and peasants with oily faces gathered, my territory of Kreutel is beautiful.
Although there are still many poor people even within this territory due to the lack of redistribution of wealth, it is much better than having people starve due to a lack of “total amount of food.”
In this situation, unlike other territories, the peasants in the territory I govern live with the hope of “I will eat meat tomorrow” instead of “not starving tomorrow.”
While I was lost in such sentiments, Ella approached me and said,
“Master, the other nobles have come to the audience hall.”
“Yes, I’ll go.”
As I walked to the audience hall, Ella followed exactly one step behind me.
And when I entered the audience hall, there were numerous nobles standing with slightly dissatisfied expressions.
No matter how much I proved my abilities to them through my achievements, now that the lord who had become Duke Kreutel was still alive and I was only 17 years old.
So, pretending not to see those things, I walked confidently to the lord’s chair at the very end of the audience hall.
With each step I took, one step, two steps, three steps, I finally felt the realization that I had become the master of this territory.
Before I knew it, the lord’s chair was right in front of me, so I turned around, fluttering the long cloak of the outfit I was wearing, and said,
“I am your lord, Ciel von Kreutel! If you have any complaints, come out and talk to me now! If not, listen to my ambitions!”
After a brief silence, I continued speaking.
“First, I fully understand the complaints and concerns you have about me.
Even though my father, who was Marquis Kreutel, is still alive, it must be absurd for me, who is only 17 years old, to be the ‘lord.’ Then let me ask, am I not qualified?”
No one would be able to answer that.
I had already received and governed Windheim since I was 15, and there, I improved the four-field crop rotation and various farming tools to increase the harvest by nearly 8 times.
As a result, the peasants they govern shout “Long live the young master!” every day, and the nobles’ income has also increased accordingly.
Moreover, with the feat of even defeating bandits, it would be difficult to dare to look down on me just because I’m 17 years old.
No, if they look down on me here, it would be nothing more than hateful nonsense filled with jealousy.
“You won’t be able to say there isn’t.
Because your income and the lives of the farmers in your territory have improved overwhelmingly since I started working.
Isn’t that right?”
At those words, the nobles nodded their heads.
“Thank you for agreeing.
Then let me promise one more thing.
Now that I have inherited the marquis title, your lives will become even more prosperous.
Just as I have bestowed abundance upon the wise men who follow me, I will bestow even greater wealth and honor upon you.
Will you follow me?”
The nobles, who had been hesitating slightly until just now, seemed to have thought that they could also share the achievements I had made, and they began to smile without stopping.
And they answered in a loud voice.
“We will follow you, Lord Marquis!”
“We will devote our lives!”
“We will show loyalty for generations!”
At those words, I drew the sword I was wearing, raised it to the sky, and said,
“Good, then from today, I will take responsibility for you.
As long as you are my vassals, your granaries will not run dry, and your families will enjoy wealth beyond their status.
And no one will wander around without a job.
You may now go.”
**
And after finishing my inauguration ceremony, Varso and Helmut approached me and asked,
“Um, but…”
“What is it, Varso? Tell me.”
“Even if there aren’t many children of the nobles, you’re not going to give them all noble-worthy jobs, are you?”
I smiled and answered,
“No, I’m going to entrust them with the most knightly job.”
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