Chapter 111: Chapter 111

From ancient times, the royal family had always kept in check any single noble possessing an excessively large territory.

It was only natural for the number one to prevent the emergence of a number two who could threaten them.

Cheryn, who had newly ascended the throne as queen, had also consistently maintained such a stance since her days as a princess.

She had done so by stripping away almost all rights except honor from the nobles of the west, south, and central regions who had defied her.

In contrast, the newly created title of ‘Duke of Velakar’ was going against all of this.

The eastern region, whose main boast was its vast territorial size despite the land being barren.

If one added all the direct vassals of the king situated nearby to the domain of Count of Shedil, the original leader of that region, its scale was close to nearly a quarter of all Pendia.

Even the Eastern Holy See, which had emerged as a new religious focal point, was included within it.

Moreover, to grant such a vast land without imposing a single obligation?

At this rate, had another small kingdom not essentially been born within Pendia!

“Thus, I grant Shan Barendil-Kurt the title of Duke of Velakar.”

At Cheryn’s declaration, many people looked at one another with confused expressions.

Because it was difficult to understand why the queen, who had pursued extreme centralization, tolerated a giant domain that was virtually close to an independent state.

Furthermore, the lord of that domain was the Lord Protector, the Commander of the Royal Guard, and even the strongest knight in the Arman Alliance.

Considering that power was something not shared even between full siblings, the flow of events was moving strangely.

‘Is the conflict last time really because of this issue?’

‘It seems the queen decided to yield after all.’

The fact that Shan, who had acted as if he did not even want to look at the queen after the Beshalia campaign, was somehow getting along with her also lent weight to this hypothesis.

Because, with only the gender reversed, it was an exact match for the behavior of nobles handing over various gifts to win back favor and soothe a sulking mistress.

Of course, if one asked whether Shan’s achievements so far were unworthy of such a reward, that was not the case either; however, not all effort was meant to be rewarded in kind.

Just as not everyone could become a knight simply by training to death.

Even after that, rewards continued to be granted.

Some of the knights who had performed meritorious service received several titles from the ownerless west and south, which, naturally, were close to honorary titles with almost no real authority.

Of course, if that were all, dissatisfaction would have exploded, so tangible rewards such as powerful magic tools, historic treasures, manors, and mansions also followed.

Roden also received the title of Baron of the region called Boldran, along with the status of a royal knight and a mansion in the capital, which, having originally been used by a noble, was far larger and grander than the former Weavers family mansion.

Because there were so many people involved, the evaluation of merits that began in the afternoon ended only near dusk.

Naturally, not everyone could be satisfied, but since Cheryn balanced things while considering internal and external circumstances as much as possible, no one directly appealed that ‘this is unfair.’

After the queen’s first grand council came to an end, Shan turned his head at a nudge to his side.

Roden smirked and spoke.

“Congratulations, Your Grace Duke of Velakar.”

“What do you mean, ‘Your Grace’.”

Shan shook his head while struggling to hold back a laugh that burst out involuntarily at Roden’s banter.

‘Your Grace’, was that not a far too generous title for an Altoan orphan who used to pick up food waste to survive?

Compared to the time when he thought even the baron who ruled the village he lived in was something akin to the Goddess residing in the heavens above…

“If you keep that up, I’ll start calling you His Excellency Baron Boldran.”

“Calling a baron ‘His Excellency’ is a bit much.”

“Is that so?”

Shan felt that Roden deserved a higher title considering his contributions in the war, but commanders who did not directly wield weapons were bound to receive harsh evaluations.

In truth, granting a baron title to a knight who had not killed a single person with his own hands was already a reflection of his achievements as a commander.

“It is nice to see young people getting along so well.”

The two, who were giggling and chatting, turned their heads upon sensing a presence approaching from the side.

Count of Shedil, whose face showed obvious signs of exhaustion, walked over to them.

“Father.”

The health of his adoptive father, Count of Shedil, had been worsening further over the past few months.

Traveling all the way from distant Shedil City to Hasra under such conditions seemed to have taken an ill toll on his body.

“Indeed, you are my son. Though now, you have become my lord at the same time.”

The count said with a hearty chuckle.

Since Cheryn had transferred Count of Shedil, originally her own vassal, to become a vassal of the Duke of Velakar, Shan now held his own adoptive father under his command.

Though comical, such occurrences were common under a feudal system.

“If there is anything you have communicated with Her Majesty the Queen regarding these rewards, I would like to share in it to some degree. After all, it is hardly someone else’s affair.”

At that moment, the count stopped laughing and spoke in a low whisper.

What he worried about was Shan rising as a new power figure and standing in opposition to Cheryn.

As someone who had already invited suspicion and vigilance from the capital nobles due to his vast domain and immense Mana Stone revenue, his worries ran even deeper in that regard.

If Shan and Cheryn collided, the east would lose the queen’s favor that it had gained through the civil war.

Even if they fought and won, terrible chaos alone was bound to await after pushing out the legitimate monarch and placing an Altoan ruler on the throne.

That was not what the count desired.

After briefly looking around to see if anyone nearby was eavesdropping, Shan revealed to his adoptive father what he had previously discussed with Cheryn.

“Not immediately, but in the long run, the eastern region will also be administratively integrated with the royal family just like the west or south.”

Shan possessed neither the ability nor the will to run a massive domain reaching one-third of all Pendia as he pleased.

All he had ever desired was merely creating a domain where Altoans could live comfortably without discrimination.

As long as such an outcome was achieved, there was no reason for him, who had neither an aptitude nor an interest in internal administration, to shut himself indoors all day staring at documents.

Because he lacked the ability to judge whether it was right or wrong for the Shedil region in the future to unify weights and measures with the capital, standardize currency minting, and abolish road tolls for each fief.

Rather than struggling to try something on his own only to be pushed aside and fall behind other advanced regions, it was better to leave it to experts.

“I see, so that was it…”

Having grasped the inside story, the count nodded with a grave expression.

In truth, Cheryn had been reluctant to inform Count of Shedil of this fact.

Reasoning that the count, a descendant of a prestigious noble family, would likely not take it positively that his successor was giving up most of a lord’s rights.

However, Shan’s opinion, having spent more time with Count of Shedil and gotten to know him, was different.

In his view, what the count held affection for was not merely the honor of his own house, but the eastern region itself, including Shedil.

He believed that if this land could be made to prosper, the count would not care about such things.

As expected, instead of being heartbroken or disappointed, the count showed an air of relief.

Because if their bond was tight enough for such an agreement to be reached, there was almost no chance that Shan and Cheryn would collide.

“Ah, you must keep this a secret. You can do that for me, right, Father?”

At Shan’s words, the count slightly raised his eyes before nodding his head.

Because he had roughly guessed why this had to be a secret.

There were bound to be no small number of people who found the new king (a woman, a mage, and someone pursuing absolute authority) disgusting.

To them, a feudal lord possessing a domain of immense size and a powerful knight would seem more than suitable as someone to represent their own interests.

It was the best possible bait for drawing in flies.

*

Duke of Velakar, Commander of the Royal Guard, and Lord Protector Shan Barendil obtained a massive mansion worthy of that status.

This building, originally a villa owned by Duke of Ranpel, had been used by his retainers and kinsmen staying in the capital, and was evaluated in Hasra as a building second only to the royal palace.

With outer walls made of sturdy, expensive granite and a main gate forged of metal, entering inside revealed two giant gryphons sculpted by a famous artist welcoming visitors.

Passing through a garden featuring a fountain equipped with a magic device that generated water led to the main mansion building, where the floor was made of silver marble and the walls were decorated with several famous paintings fitting the classic taste of a duke.

‘At this point, it’s practically a palace…’

Looking around the newly received mansion, Shan felt bewildered rather than joyful at having become the owner of such a giant, grand building.

Since he could not leave behind the people Duke of Ranpel had employed, he had fired all the servants, but where to bring in a butler and servants to replace them was also a dilemma.

Fortunately, this was resolved before long with Roden’s help.

Through connections of the former Weavers family, he found retainers, butlers, or servants of nobles ruined by the civil war who possessed decent reputations.

Among them, since those who had fought against Cheryn’s army might view Shan as an enemy, he mainly hired those who had lost their jobs in the process of the conflict between Conrad and Elvin.

“I am Butler Enselo, Your Grace. It is an honor to serve you.”

Enselo was a young butler in his late thirties who had originally served as the deputy butler to a certain viscount.

However, after his master, who fought under Conrad, lost his life in battle against Elvin’s army, he had been unable to find a new job until he was hired by Shan this time.

Among the butlers who had lost their jobs due to this civil war, the reason he seized the opportunity was that he had long been evaluated as diligent and competent at his work.

Since the position of butler to the young duke favored by the queen was not something that came to just anyone, his face as he greeted Shan was filled with firm determination.

“I look forward to working with you.”

Anselo took on the role of managing not only the capital mansion but also all revenues coming from the various manors and farms Cheryn had promised to Shan.

So to speak, he served as the chief steward.

Just in case he might embezzle Shan’s wealth, Roden agreed to check the account books from time to time.

With Anselo’s assistance, Shan filled the empty mansion with servants.

Valets, head chef, maids, stable hands, gardeners, guards, odd-jobbers…

Befitting the mansion of a grand noble, keeping it maintained alone required over forty servants.

Even this was a reduced number because Shan was in a situation where he had no family other than his adoptive father, Count of Shedil.

If he had a wife, children, and relatives who all resided there, he would have had to keep nearly a hundred servants.

Shan instructed the butler to decorate the mansion frugally, unlike that of the former Duke of Ranpel.

His other identity was none other than a holy knight of the Eastern Holy See.

While the vow of poverty was something that could be interpreted loosely depending on the situation, actively decorating luxuriously and indulging in extravagance was at least against propriety.

In truth, Shan, who did not enjoy showy luxury, was rather glad to use this as an excuse to reduce expenditure.

Even while sprucing up his newly obtained house like this, he could not neglect his duties as duke and Commander of the Royal Guard.

Together with Roden, Lug, Ravana, and others who had become royal knights, Shan commuted to the royal palace every day to inspect the palace guard system and train the newly assigned guardsmen.

As he remembered how helplessly they had flustered during the previous vampire attack, it was necessary to cultivate guarding ability just as much as loyalty.

“Hmm.”

“What is it?”

When Shan let out a soft noise while watching the guardsmen training hard and sweating, Roden beside him asked.

“No, I just like that there are quite a lot of Altoans.”

“Ah.”

Originally, royal palace guardsmen were a position equivalent to royal knights among knights.

It was a status that mere Altoans would never dare to dream of.

However, this time, Cheryn selected as the new royal guardsmen the elites possessing the most outstanding abilities among the soldiers who had followed her from Palles.

They were the three hundred members of the ‘Black Army’ who were granted magic armor made of hydra leather.

Thanks to that, two-thirds of the royal guard became Altoans.

If such a story had come up a few years ago, it would not have even been worthy of a laugh.

Clad in pitch-black armor over their entire bodies and wearing face guards, the guardsmen displayed terrifying intimidation through their appearance alone.

Considering that ordinary spears and swords would not pierce them, their equipment alone could be said to be not inferior even compared to knights.

While devoted to training like that, Shan heard unexpected news.

It was the news that a significant number of the two hundred semi-horse archers, including Ranta, were returning to their homeland.

“Returning to Horais?”

“Yes, that is how it has turned out, Your Grace. We are endlessly grateful for the grace you have shown us all this time, but we also have families of our own to take care of…”

When Shan came and asked, Ranta bowed with an apologetic expression.

Originally calling Shan ‘Master,’ he had continued to treat Shan with great honor even after liquidating their existing subordinate relationship as a reward for hunting Conrad.

Was it called respect for a great warrior?

Of course, now that Shan had become a duke (a status equivalent to the chief of a great tribe by their standards) it was right to address him honorifically even without that.

“Even so, not all of us are leaving; about fifty of us will stay behind to be employed by Her Majesty the Queen.”

The semi-horse archers of Horais were not only outstanding horse archers, but also the fastest messengers and experts in horse training.

Cheryn assigned them the mission to rebuild the royal stables that had been devastated by the civil war.

“What we have gained in this land is by no means small, so even after returning to the tribe, we will be able to raise our voices quite a bit. We hope to meet again in the future under good fortune.”

Though they had met as enemies, after surrendering they had served as reliable forces.

Wondering if they would ever meet again someday, Shan bid them farewell with a bittersweet feeling.

*

Not long after sending off Ranta and the semi-horse archers, Shan welcomed an unexpected guest.

It was none other than Sir Darkal, who had returned to his hometown only to be summoned back out of nowhere.

“Master!”

“You damned brat! Is it true that you recommended me!”

Darkal unleashed shouted without hesitation even at his disciple, who had become the second most powerful figure in the kingdom.

Shan smiled sheepishly and nodded.

“Yes. A Royal Knight Academy is being established this time, and no matter how much I thought about it, there was no one like Master…”

“Knights who teach as well as I do are dime a dozen! There is a limit to working an old retired man to the bone!”

Even while scolding like that, Darkal twitched the corners of his mouth upward as if he was inwardly not in a bad mood.

At that moment, Shan realized that a middle-aged man was standing behind Darkal.

“And the person behind you is…?”

“Nice to meet you, Your Grace Duke of Velakar. I am Samel of the Cordo family, Sir Darkal’s nephew.”

“Ah.”

He seemed to be the nephew he had heard so much about, who had been hated by Conrad simply because Darkal had taught Shan, forcing him to stay stuck in his own domain.

According to what he had heard, he was surely an Old Faith believer, yet he showed no animosity toward Shan, an Altoan, whether because he had none or was controlling his emotions well.

“What I taught you before, this fellow has also learned to some degree! I intend to lay down a basic foundation and hand things over to him, so use him if you want, or don’t!”

It was an extraordinarily insincere attitude for recommending his own nephew.

It was not just Shan who was bewildered; Samel was also looking at his uncle with a flustered expression.

“Uncle… no matter how much he is your disciple, using such speech to His Grace the Duke…”

“I told you before. Once a disciple, always a disciple! If the fellow dislikes it, that’s that, but since he hasn’t said he dislikes it, isn’t it fine!”

“That is true.”

Far from sternly reprimanding him, Shan agreed while grinning, causing Samel to wear an expression as if he could not tell what was what.

After exchanging greetings like that, Darkal met his former disciple Roden for the first time in a while and checked his condition.

As expected, all sorts of scoldings poured out.

“You foolish fool! Your posture has completely warped while I wasn’t looking! How many times did I tell you not to twist your wrist and swing with brute force!”

“Ugh.”

As the price for focusing his attention on administrative work during that time, Roden sank miserably after having several of his somewhat rusted combat skills pointed out.

Afterwards, Darkal showed interest in Lug and Ravana as well.

“Hmm, for a woman to have such a physique and strength. Magnificent! It seems she must have put in bloody effort!”

“Pardon? Uh, this physique is half natural, though.”

“Then that means there is room for even further growth!”

Although they, as royal knights and barons, had no need to use honorifics to Darkal, a mere knight, since Duke Shan himself treated him as a master, it was difficult for them to point it out.

Thanks to that, Darkal made Ravana and Lug assume various postures while diagnosing their conditions to his heart’s content.

The person he particularly took a liking to was Lug.

“This is truly my first time seeing such a lanky body move so naturally and swiftly! If it were up to me, I’d want to tear it apart and examine it whole!”

“Pardon? Uh, so… that’s a compliment, right?”

At Darkal’s gaze, which looked as if he truly wanted to dissect him right away, Lug replied like that with an awkward laugh.

Saying that training methods and combat techniques suitable for someone with overwhelming height and arm length were needed separately, Darkal threw himself eagerly into drafting customized education for him.

Since it would take several more months anyway for the Royal Knight Academy to be properly built and gather applicants, it seemed fine to focus on this side in the meantime.

And while at it, he could also ask him to train the guardsmen.

After spending about a month in such busy yet peaceful days.

A messenger announcing urgent news arrived from the northwest.

It was news that remnants of the Ajun Kingdom, who had collapsed along with Conrad’s army during the Battle of Mount Aman, were gathering.