Volume 9 Chapter 1 The Season Of Schemes – Part I
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
*Aldo’s Perspective
Ever since I took office as Chancellor and issued the decree banishing the nobles of the Gwain faction and the Western faction, the capital city has been in an uproar overnight.
However, since they were allowed to exchange their assets for portable wealth, the nobles facing exile all rushed to liquidate their art collections and other treasures.
Amidst that chaos, the Blackberry family, a noble house of the capital city, rapidly gained power and increased their wealth.
This noble family was originally a lineage of bureaucrats who managed the capital’s administration, and only three generations prior had they been elevated to nobility──a newly risen noble house.
The Blackberry family found themselves with a new head when their previous one fell in battle during the recent Gertroud uprising, and the sole daughter, Lucy, inherited the family name.
It hasn’t even been a few months since she took over, yet the Blackberry family’s assets have swelled dozens of times over.
Finding the whole affair rather suspicious, I had my retainers look into it, and it seems there’s a scheme behind their rapid growth.
Upon further inquiry, it appears they’ve been challenging nobles trying to exchange their assets to high-stakes poker games, sweeping up their wealth.
Using her own beauty and the family’s fortune as bait, Lucy primarily targets male heads of houses, winning their riches in these games, and when they can’t pay their debts, she takes their daughters, wives, and sisters as slaves for her own house.
The nobles who fell into Lucy’s trap ended up not only penniless but also had their daughters, wives, and sisters taken and thrown into the slums of the capital city.
Well, whether corrupt nobles go broke or not is none of my concern, but I can’t leave the head of the Blackberry family alone, or she might become a new source of internal strife for the kingdom… She might need to be dealt with…
In fact, the head of the Blackberry family has started to buy up territories near the capital city with her newfound wealth, and she’s also been deepening her ties with renowned noble houses, building a third power that doesn’t belong to either the conservative or the progressive faction.
Personally, I find it more comfortable to control the political landscape with Velis as the sole enemy, so the thought of Lucy gathering a third force is rather unsettling.
”Gramps, I’m really going to crush the Blackberry House after all. I’ll seize their assets and make her disappear from the public eye. Yes, that girl is beautiful; I’ll give her to Kent. He’s a snake, but Kent should be able to use her effectively.”
”Very well then, shall I send an invitation to King Blackdagger?”
”Yeah, something like, ‘We’re having a dinner party with a beautiful girl, why not come?’ He’ll show up, won’t he? He seems to be back on his feet lately, and the Dragonewt express should be no problem.”
”Understood. I’ll inform Lady Miriallia’s organization. They should arrive by tomorrow afternoon.”
With a poof, Gramps vanishes, leaving the room in silence.
* * *
*Kent’s Perspective
After receiving a warm welcome from Rosvita and Ludmila in Lindblum, re-signing my contract, and reclaiming my [Dragon Tamer] job, I returned to Estfort, where in the castle courtyard, a Dragonewt, my mother-in-law, and the maid apprentice Miriel were waiting.
”Mr. Kent! Get on this right away; we’re heading to the Capital City! Milly, you prepare yourself immediately!”
My mother-in-law seemed incredibly flustered.
It felt odd to see her in such a state, as she’s usually calm and composed no matter the crisis.
”Mother-in-law, what’s wrong? Why are you so flustered? Did something happen while I was away?”
”There are signs of a rebellion in the Capital City, according to the Dream Demon organization. With Lady Yuri declaring allegiance to the True Demon Dukedom, the intelligence networks everywhere are in disarray. But the Dorman family’s butler has reported the same information, so it’s quite reliable.”
Since Milly accompanied me on my hunt, my mother-in-law has been acting as the head of the intelligence agency.
Miriel, as a future clan leader candidate, has been assisting several young succubi and acting as an assistant.
”Elder Brother Kent, I will be coming along this time. I may not fight like Elder Sister Milly, but I’ll try to be of some help.”
Miriel has been training with the shadow guards, the succubi, while serving as a maid in my mansion.
Though still underage and her card color unknown, she’s a girl who can handle anything thrown at her.
”A rebellion, you say? And they’re taking Miriel with them? I can’t make heads or tails of this!”
”Mother, I’m just as much in the dark about this as you are. There wasn’t even a whisper of such things before I left for the hunt.”
”Apparently, some nobles in the military are none too pleased since Arbalest recklessly put a commoner Officer at the top of the army, and now a new power is rising, plotting a coup.”
I was taken aback by my mother-in-law’s words.
I was shocked to hear about my father-in-law’s actions in reforming the stagnant army and placing a commoner Officer at its head, but the notion of a new force emerging beyond the two factions vying for control of the Kingdom was utterly astonishing.
Given Aldo’s nature, I assumed he would easily manipulate the predictable Velis as his political foe.
I always thought his style was to scheme in the shadows, so I could sense his alarm at the unexpected rise of this third power.
”Could Aldo really make such a blunder… Isn’t this some kind of false information? Is he trying to get us to deal with his troublesome political enemies? What do Kondrad and Valid have to say about this?”
”Neither of them seems to have a grasp on the situation. Valid has been hearing rumors from court insiders, but he reports that the authenticity is uncertain. Kondrad is gathering information from his newly forged connections within the Kingdom’s military brass, but he can’t get a full picture either.”
”Mother, you can’t take Kent there! It’s not fair! He’s just gotten back his Combat Job and his abilities.”
I’m not keen on being drawn into sketchy information and trudging all the way to the Capital City.
I’d rather steer clear of getting entangled in such troubles.
Besides, Aldo and my father-in-law are no pushovers; they’re not the types to be taken down by the Capital City’s nobles.
It seems wiser to observe from here.
”Mother-in-law, there’s no need to panic. For now, I think it’s best to have the Black Wing and Cavalry units ready to respond at a moment’s notice, but waiting for concrete information seems the most prudent course.”
Just then, Ulrika arrived with a letter in hand.
”My lord, a letter of invitation from His Excellency Aldo, the Chancellor of the Capital City has arrived. A distinguished gentleman with white hair came to deliver it.”
Upon hearing Ulrika’s words, the image of Aldo’s butler immediately came to mind.
”So it was the butler who brought it… I wonder what Aldo intends to do with this invitation.”
I broke the seal of the letter, marked with the crest of the Dracul family.
Milly, Lila, and Miriel all held their breath, their gazes fixed on the letter.
’──To my dearest friend, Kent Blackdagger, Count. I have heard that your health has recently recovered, and I am truly delighted by the news. In celebration of your recovery, I wish to host a banquet at my residence. At this gathering, I intend for us to admire the newly blossomed flowers of Capital City’s social scene. If you happen to have any reason to visit Capital City in the near future, I would be honored if you could stop by my home—’
Aldo’s letter was an invitation to celebrate my recovery.
While it seemed as though he was genuinely celebrating my health as a friend, I knew Aldo well enough to be wary; if I took his words at face value, I risked being dragged into some troublesome affair.
But then again, Aldo had keenly seen through my nature and was cleverly enticing me.
The metaphor of “fresh blooms of lovely ladies from the Capital City” was his way of suggesting he’d found some beautiful girls and inviting me to check them out together.
No way, really!!
Aldo has a knack for finding stunning girls who are right on the money!!!
I want to see them so bad!!!
But if I say I’m going to the Capital City now, I’ll definitely get the cold shoulder from Milly and the others, right?
As I wrestled with my thoughts, Milly, my mother-in-law, Miriel, and Ulrika’s gazes focused intensely on me.
It felt as if they could see straight into my heart, making their stares pierce through my soul.
”I’m really sorry! I’m really sorry! It’s just to look, can I please go to the Capital City──!?”
Aldo had read me like a book, and I knew I was defeated.
Overcome by temptation, I ended up begging Milly and the others, and together, we boarded the Dragonewt Express to Aldo’s estate.
* * *
*Lucy’s Perspective
”Four cards~. Now your entire fortune belongs to me~, yes. Ah, yes, yes. As for the girl you put up as collateral, I shall take care of her.”
”Wait, hold on! One more match! Please!”
With a *snap* of her fingers, the bodyguards she’d hired dragged the defeated man out of the room.
And left in the room were only the n*ked girl and my slaves.
”Ophelia, put a collar on this girl.”
”…Yes, Lady Lucy.”
Ophelia, like this girl, was a slave owned by me.
Her original master was her brother.
She had once been the Lady of the Campbell family, a mid-tier Noble in the East.
After her husband was killed in Gertroud’s Rebellion, she sought refuge in her brother’s mansion in the Capital City.
But since her brother was part of the Gwain faction, he was caught by the recent expulsion order.
While he was hurrying to convert his assets into currency, I invited her to this game and stripped her of everything, leaving her penniless and cast out into the slums.
He’s probably already been found dead.
Since then, she, along with the other pledge-bound girl, has been living in my house as a n*ked slave.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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