After leaving the party, the Northeast Alliance members gathered at Viscount Conrad’s mansion and burst into anger.
“That arrogant bastard!”
“That guy of Dmitry who just got recognition in the capital is wagging his tail at us!”
“Right. Do you remember what he said in the end? He is so cheeky and arrogant, he doesn’t know his limit. Everyone, this cannot be overlooked. If we keep our head down like this, then people will think the Northeast Nobles’ Alliance is nothing.”
Everyone had the same thoughts. They wanted revenge, but that wasn’t so easy.
“… so is there a special way?”
It was Viscount Conrad. The shame and anger he felt caused his face to flush red.
“Dmitry, with Lawrence’s support. This is a fight we cannot win. So, even though I bowed my head, not many helped me, right? To be honest, I am skeptical of this nobles’ alliance thing here. To put it bluntly, the Dmitry has truly overwhelming forces, and Roman Dmitry took down Butler. Normal methods won’t work to take them down.”
This time, in contrast to his initial confident demeanor, he appeared rather skeptical.
Even now, the scene of him bowing his head in front of so many people made his heart pound in shame.
The nobles of the alliance were speechless.
Despite venting his anger, there had to be a way out of this.
‘Since the fall of Barco, there was no way to stop Dmitry.’
The presence Dmitry had was overwhelming. Recently, with the war preparations they did against the Castro family, Dmitry showed their power moved beyond the north. Conflict with them was not an easy thing.
They all wanted to hit them back, but it wasn’t an easy matter, making them turn silent.
And it was then, a noble spoke with a cautious voice.
“… how about contacting the Central Government?”
“You want to pressure Dmitry using them?”
“Yes. After the fall of Barco, we did everything we could to get in touch with the Central Government. Now is the time to actually put it to use. We cannot ask much since our relationship with the Central Government isn’t so strong, but it is possible to say that this is a matter of Dmitry and the Northeast Nobles’ Alliance. If the pro-Dmitry troops like Lawrence are cut off from the cause and cannot participate, even if Dmitry is strong, they are bound to be defeated in the battle of numbers.”
It wasn’t about going to war. Obviously, the alliance would have a huge advantage, and they would get an apology from Dmitry. At least, this was the best way since they had no intention of leaving the issue.
And as this was something he had to do, Viscount Conrad showed his will.
“I will contact them right now.”
The communication went through. Beyond the screen, Viscount Conrad spoke of the call’s purpose as the representative of the alliance.
“Count Fabius, I have one request.’
[Do speak, if it is a request of Viscount Conrad, then I will have to do it.]
“Thank you for saying that. It isn’t something odd, but there has been a dispute with the Dmitry family recently. The problem is that Roman Dmitry has blatantly humiliated me. Count Fabius, could you use the power of the Central Government and put pressure on the Dmitry family just…”
Cut.
The line got cut.
As the screen suddenly cut off, Viscount Conrad urged the shocked soldier.
“Can you not even connect the call properly? Count Fabius might be offended now!”
“Yes.”
The soldier moved hastily and attempted to connect it.
When Count Fabius’s face came up, Viscount Conrad tried to apologize for the unstable connection, but…
[Huh. You are seriously ignorant.]
He was speechless. Count Fabius had warm eyes before, but now he appeared to be staring down at a bug.
[If you live on the edge of the border, are your ears blocked with something? You want to pressure Roman Dmitry? Yeah, you bastard. Roman Dmitry is a talent that Marquis Benedict cherishes. Now he is making every effort to turn the man into his son-in-law, and you are talking bullshit about moving the Central Government to pressure him. No, I was thinking you could make us a useful link to the Dmitry family but do those in the northeast only have shit in their brains?]
His mind went blank. He wondered if what he was hearing was indeed right.
[Listen carefully from now. Do you know of Castro and Dmitry’s recent clash? Do you know the decision that the Central Government made? Castro, who couldn’t understand the news despite hearing it, requested help. Only for the Central Government to tell him that he had no right to ask for anything, Marquis Benedict ruined the family, and Castro is a close friend of his. Now you know, right? Do not get angry and think about living a good life by looking good in Roman’s eyes.]
That was it.
Tuk.
The communication was cut off, and the alliance went silent. All this time, they spent so much money trying to get to know Count Fabius, and in an instant, their hopes were toppled.
Not just that. Count Fabius spoke of an arranged marriage plot between Dmitry and Benedict.
The Northeast Nobles’ Alliance, which had been skeptical about Barco’s loss with the help of the Central Government, now found it impossible to hide their disastrous emotions at the word of ‘marriage.’
“This…”
“It looks like we made a huge blunder.”
But what could they do?
They already crossed the line.
A noble who had been claiming revenge said,
“…how about Viscount Conrad apologizing first? Don’t look at me with such eyes. For us to live, this is smarter than to go into a fight for the sake of our pride.”
These bats of the northeast. They now began to look for ways to live.
The dispute with the Conrad family was solved. The Conrad family apologized directly to the farmer families and promised not to touch them until the contract was over.
“Young Master Roman. Thank you very much!”
“I heard that the Young Master had worked hard for us. I do not know how to express my gratitude. From now on, if there is anything the Young Master wants, I will do it even with this weak body.”
The farmers of Dmitry came out and expressed their thanks to Roman. News of what happened at the party spread quickly. There were many eyes as the servants carrying the food and drinks listened to what Roman had said.
“Viscount Conrad. The farmers you touch are people of Dmitry. My people who live and pay taxes, as well as their devotion to Dmitry. Yet, you touched them without even giving prior notice.”
My people—that was a moving word. It was a time when Roman’s reputation grew, and the people’s loyalty to Dmitry grew stronger.
‘As expected, the Northeast Alliance lost their tails. They would have thought of bringing the Central Government into the fight with Dmitry, but with the current stand of the Central Government, they have no other choice but to do this.’
The balance.
From the moment the Central Government turned its back on Castro, Roman found out the temporary ‘background’ he could depend on.
So, from the start, he was certain that the conflict with the Conrad family would not lead to war.
‘The Northeast Nobles’ Alliance are like bats. In an argument with me, they didn’t hesitate to express their anger, and they didn’t hesitate to give up their pride when the situation turned unfavorable, either. When Viscount Lawrence took Dmitry’s side, Viscount Conrad apologized right away, and when he realized that he couldn’t ask the Central Government for support. They gave up huge profits and made contracts with our merchants. If things end up like this, then Dmitry might be able to exert a stronger dominance in the northeast than the alliance ever had, and the Central Government cannot touch it later.’
It was a dangerous variable. But nothing had changed. From the very start, Roman wanted this conflict and had no intention of working sloppily.
This plan was divided into three stages. The first was a provocation, the second was to face reality, and now….
Lucas, who was in charge of the information guild, must be spreading out news in the northeast.
The first news—that was interesting too.
“The Dmitry family is holding a swordsmanship tournament? The prize money for winning isn’t one or two pennies but a hundred gold??!”
“Eh. A hundred gold is a lot of money, but can one win over Roman Dmitry? This is Dmitry’s plan to raise Roman’s status. A monster who defeated Butler, who is ranked second in the Hector Kingdom, then who in here can take down Roman?”
“Listen to what people are saying. Of course, if Roman participated, the tournament would be meaningless, but Roman Dmitry, and Jonathan are not participating. Not only that, the tournament is divided into 6 groups. And 6 groups have 6 winners. Do you understand what I am saying? Whichever group it is, the winner gets 100 golds.”
“Huh! For real?!”
This caused a riot. The conditions for this tournament were so attractive. The competition was deemed to be fierce, and if there were just one winner, it would be impossible, but now there were 6 groups with 6 winners.
A competition only for the swordsmen in the northeast. Because the participants were all from the area, they all thought they had a good chance of winning.
And, if they were lucky enough to be matched against an underdog group, wouldn’t they be able to win?
Rumors went around, with people wanting to know the truth.
Finally, Roman made an official announcement.
“As rumors have it, the Dmitry family is officially preparing for the competition. The purpose of the tournament is clear. As you all know, I went to war with the Hector Kingdom on the Southern Front. People only remember that I won, but I realized that the world is big. As a result, we will take our time proving ourselves in this tournament. We experienced the wide world, and that experience made us stronger. 6 groups. Each group has one of my subordinates. If a person defeats my subordinate and wins, I will grant them not just 100 gold but also fulfill one request they may have.”
This was even more shocking to those who were listening.
Someone asked if a noble family person could participate.
“Sure. As long as they prove that they are swordsmen of the northeast, we do not care about the other conditions. The tournament starts in a month from now, and I hope that you have enough time to prepare and challenge us.”
That was the end, and Roman said nothing more. However, the fact that he had already said so much was something that upset the northeast.
Especially the Northeast Nobles’ Alliance, who were struggling to suppress their anger. This was a perfect chance to get their revenge.
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