Chapter 151 - The Five Grand Lords

"The Quardenze Confederacy. ...... Isn't this what father truly wanted?"

I wanted to see my father's reaction, so I started with the conclusion.

But my father didn't say it was right or wrong, he just looked at me and accepted the answer.

"Go on."

His arm moves slowly, and his outstretched hand is lowered.

If you just give the answer but leave out the process, you get a fail. It was like an arithmetic test.

Thinking about the order in which I should speak, I decided to continue.

"The birth of Grand Duke Myrendorva was the deciding factor, considering the time of year. ......"

As my mother had told me when I returned from the capital, the hottest topic among the kingdom's nobles was the Myrendorva family, who had been upgraded from dukes to grand dukes.

It was after the Battle of Nambonan that I heard about it from my mother, but the actual promotion of the dukedom must have taken place before that.

My father, who frequently exchanged letters with my mother in the capital, undoubtedly knew about it earlier than I did.

"A knighthood in the kingdom doesn't mean much, does it?"

My father said this, but it felt more like a gesture to make it easier for me to talk to him than a rebuttal.

The title is meaningless. But promotion has meaning.

As my father said, in the Kingdom of Levios, which unlike the Zinkhaen Empire is more independent and self-reliant, the elevation of titles is not very meaningful.

In a sense, the Levios Kingdom is similar to the United Nations in the previous Earth. Both large and small countries are respected as independent nations, that kind of image.

Of course, there are powerful and powerless noble families, so although they are equal, it is by no means the same.

The House of Levios has gone to the trouble of preparing a title beyond the existing five titles, the Grand Dukedom. What thought went into that?"

I hadn't thought about how I would answer my father, so I spoke in a relaxed tone to buy time.

The words are full of questions, and depending on how you listen to them, you might think they are pompous.

The House of Levios has been unexpectedly counterattacked by the House of Myrendorva, which they thought they could easily crush in a pinch.

If they took their time, they might be able to push back with the power of their land, but then the civil war would continue.

The continent was being shaken by a strange disease caused by the magical beast Yersinia, and they couldn't afford to keep fighting among themselves.

In spite of the urgency of the situation, the nobles of the kingdom would give up on the Levios family if they gave priority to the civil war with the Myrendorva family.

As for House Levios, they needed to reach a ceasefire at all costs.

If they couldn't take leadership here, the kingdom itself would sink into the torrent of history.

This is tantamount to a declaration of defeat.

Even though the first Duke of Myrendorva had bad-mouthed him, the civil war had started because the Levios royal family had a problem with it.

And yet, the result of the civil war was the elevation of the Myrendorva family to the rank of knight. It was like advertising the defeat of the House of Levios at home and abroad.

The Levios made peace terms that would have destroyed their own reputation.

...... No, maybe the Myrendorva family asked for it, but either way, the Levios family swallowed it.

Despite the unbearable humiliation, House Levios chose to support the truce and the shaky kingdom.

I don't have a lot of respect for the royal family, but I wanted to learn from their actions in trying to protect their interests beyond their predicament.

And the Levios understood that they could certainly make peace with this content.

Until the arrival of Princess Orcian, the Myrendorva family had been losing.

There was no way that the Myrendorva family, an upstart power in the eastern-most part of the continent with many unexplored areas, could defeat the Levios family. There was too much of a difference in geographical strength.

Luckily, Princess Orcian was able to turn the war situation upside down in one fell swoop, but there was no telling how long that would last.

Even if they were to embrace the eastern nobility and establish the Kingdom of Myrendorva, the eastern-most part of the continent would be a cul-de-sac, and sooner or later they would come into conflict with the Kingdom of Levios.

And the longer it took, the more disadvantageous it would be for House Myrendorva. The longer it took, the more disadvantageous it would be for House Myrendorva. If House Levios were to put an end to the fiasco, the country that House Myrendorva had established would be easily crushed.

In the first place, the territory of Myrendorva is adjacent to that of Levios. It would be a fool's errand to rebel under these circumstances.

It was only natural that he would want to remain in the kingdom as the Grand Duke of Myrendorva and exert his power there.

Of course, he would have to negotiate not only for the title but also for compensation, but he could not have been so forceful in his assertions before remaining in the kingdom.

Thus, in a sense, the peace was concluded as the Levios family had hoped.

"You seem to understand the situation well. Continue."

In response to my explanation, my father did not deny anything.

I was worried that he might have a strange understanding based on his former Japanese common sense, so I was glad to be able to answer his questions.

I took a deep breath and opened my mouth again

"House Levios is finding it difficult to defy the wishes of House Myrendorva.

Even though they had made peace, House Levios could not afford to despise House Myrendorva. Considering the maintenance of the kingdom, they would like to avoid a recurrence of civil war at all costs.

Moreover, the Myrendorva family had not yet abandoned the city in Levios' territory that they had captured in a counterattack. They are currently occupying it.

The existence of Princess Orcian, who had crossed the defense line of the great river and attacked, was nothing but a threat to House Levios.

The Levios family would probably like to take back their territory eventually.

We need to keep a close eye on those cities to make sure they are not confirmed as Myrendorva territory, and try to keep the atmosphere from turning sour.

As the Myrendorva family becomes more powerful, the eastern nobility will naturally gain momentum.

The Grand Duke of Myrendorva is the leader of the eastern aristocracy, and he is like their boss.

The law that when the boss is strong, even the henchmen get carried away is the same in every world.

The problem is the Quardenze family. There is nothing good about the eastern nobles getting carried away.

The Quardenze family does not get along well with the eastern nobility of the kingdom.

It is inconvenient for the Quardenze family to have the power of the eastern nobility.

In addition to that, there are some great noblemen who have sent reinforcements to stop the invasion by Princess Orcian.

For the Levios family, it was a trump card against the Myrendorva family, so they would not be able to ignore it either.

In other words, in relative terms, the power of the Quardenze family has declined.

So, what should the Quardenze do?

If the power of speech has decreased, it must be increased.

They need to nail House Levios, and more importantly, the Kingdom's nobility, so that they are not taken lightly.

And that's the answer to my homework.

"The nail in the coffin is the Battle of Nambonan....... A coalition of noblemen with that many troops is a bit excessive when you're attacking a city with only commoners. Even if it is the child's first battle."

The aristocratic allied army had somehow been named the Quardenze allied army.

I don't care if this is the Confederation of the Kingdom's Western Aristocracy or something, the fact that it has the name of Quardenze in it just smells of politics.

If the name spread in the busy city of Nambonan, it would resonate throughout the kingdom through the voices of people.

"I heard that father sent out an invitation to the neighboring noble families to join the first battle, but the real purpose was to flush out the noble families that follow the Quardenze family, wasn't it?

My father had sent out an invitation to the neighboring noble families, saying that there was a reasonable war partner called Nambonan City and that your son was welcome to join the first battle.

When I asked him why he had bothered to make such an invitation, I still remember the strange scowl on his face.

I thought there was some kind of aristocratic scheme going on, but I didn't understand the reason at the time.

But now I know the reason.

I think they wanted to cut off the noble families who refused or gave vague replies to their invitations, and accept the noble families who gave good replies, in order to appeal to people inside and outside the country as the Quardenze faction.

Of course, there would be noble families that only have children who have already had their first battle.

For those families, I think my father used other means to force them to make a decision. More work for them.

"The Quardenze family can unite the western noble families. ....... It's a good check."

You know what happens when you despise the West, don't you?The western aristocracy is ready to boss the Quardenze family around.

...... This was the message that was put into the Battle of Nambonan City, to the royal capital, to the kingdom's nobles.

The spread of a strange disease, the pacification of a civil war, the birth of a grand duke, and a social gathering scheduled for next spring.

The Battle of Nambonan City was the perfect time to check the kingdom's imbalance of power.

In addition, the Levios family is also doing something similar.

Immediately after the peace, House Levios called together the noble families with whom they had close ties and sent the Royal Army to the Misty Lands in the northern part of the continent.

This great expedition to the north, which triggered the downfall of Eve and Rave, was in essence a political performance to show that the power of House Levios was still alive and well.

The land of mist is basically inhabited only by the barbarians of the slave ancestors, so there's not much worry about being beaten back.

Even if they encountered them, they would only be half-mature magical beasts born in small to medium-sized fields. There is no chance of encountering a mature magical beast that was born in a large field, so this is a safe and secure expedition.

This was necessary in order to maintain the kingdom, wasn't it?The collapse of the Levios Kingdom is something that the Quardenze family must avoid. ......, at least for now."

The existence of the Kingdom of Levios is very important to the Quardenze family, who have an enemy in the west, the old Voistra.

This allows me to focus my attention on the west with little concern for the east's defenses.

If the Kingdom of Levios collapsed, they would have to increase their vigilance in the east, which would have a major impact on the invasion of the former Voistra.

In the worst case scenario, the former nobles of the kingdom may turn against them due to the machinations of the former Voistra, and there is no guarantee that they will not have enemies in the east and west.

The Kingdom of Levios is an essential element in the war plans of the Quardenze family.

This matter is like a seesaw.

As the great nobles other than the Quardenze gained weight, we also added a heavy stone called the "Quardenze Allied Forces" to maintain the level.

Even if the Levios family, which was the board of the seesaw, had a hard time because of it, they shouldn't have cared.

If I'm not careful, the foundation of the seesaw itself may collapse under the weight, but it will take some time before it breaks, so I want to level the old Voistra as soon as possible.

When I finished, my father suddenly relaxed and let out a relieved breath.

"It looks like we won't have to worry about socializing in ...... King's Landing."

Apparently, he had received a flower circle.

"If you know so much, you know how to behave in the springtime in King's Landing, don't you?"

"You are expected to act not only as a member of the Quardenze family, but also as the leader of the western nobility. ......"

That's right.

This means that I need to socialize with dignity so that the West is not taken for granted.

I've never been out of the Quardenze territory much before.

My father must have wanted to know in advance that I had the social skills and political judgment not to be pushed around in the scheming royal capital.

That's why he's testing me right now.

"It's great that we were able to show them so much action at ....... Thanks to that, we were able to suppress the noble families that the Quardenze family needed. ...... hehehe."

My father spills out the words as if talking to himself and smiles. It seems that the overwork has paid off in spades.

He takes another gulp of alcohol and lets out a breath that smells of alcohol.

"The factions that have been hiding in the shadows of the big tree that is the House of Levios are finally coming out into the open. The weaker nobles will be forced to choose which faction they want to join. ...... One wrong move could easily split the country."

I picked up a tumbler and quenched my thirst with the amber liquor.

My father looked at us to make sure we were drinking, and then opened his mouth again.

The kingdom is now divided into five parts: the royal family, the eastern part, the western part, the southern part, and the northern part.

As the Kingdom of Levios is vast, there are many noble families.

However, as we all know, it is the shade of a big tree, and it is human nature to fall in love with those in power.

Even though the Kingdom of Levios is a country, it is not a monolithic state with a strong central authority as the Japanese of the previous generation might have imagined. It is more like a collection of noble families, and even though they are nobles of the kingdom, they cannot rely on the Levios royal family. Therefore, each noble family is forced to pay attention to the most powerful noble family in the region.

As my father said, there are five noble families with strong power in the current Kingdom of Levios.

The east, west, north, south, and southwest are the approximate locations as seen from the royal capital.

Aside from the western noble house of Quardenze, the northern and southern noble houses seem to be located in the northwest or southwest, but for the sake of clarity, they were simply shown as east, west, north, and south.

"The first problem that will arise when the kingdom splits is the relationship between these two families, the northern and southern."

"The Northern ...... House Aterahan?"

The Aterahan family is the head of the northern nobility.

It is a noble family with a domain in the rugged mountains and bases in scattered basins.

The Aterahan family is a noble family based in basins scattered throughout the rugged mountains.

The quality of stone extracted from the Aterahan region is so good that the name "Aterahan" is known throughout the continent.

Stone from the Aterahan region is said to have been used for the Corpa Cathedral in the Holy City of Maguaose, which was built about 500 years ago.

Considering the distance between the Aterahan region and St. Navenpos, it would have been a big project to transport the stones, but the fact that they were able to do so shows the power of the Holy High Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Aterahan family, a royal noble family, has a history of only about 100 years.

Originally, it was a different family name, but after the unification of the Aterahan region, the family name was changed to Aterahan.

As an aristocratic family, the Aterahans are characterized by the strength of their army.

Aterahan territory is full of mountains, but there are many fields. The northern part of the territory is adjacent to the Land of Mists, and on rare occasions, mature demonic beasts may come across the great river to attack.

The Aterahan army, which is forced to be constantly aware of battle, is extremely skilled, and because they are required to act quickly, the armies in various parts of the territory often move independently, and their mobility is unparalleled.

They ......, or perhaps it would be better to say they, since the head of the Aterahan family is a woman.

They were proud to be the guardians of the land, stopping the mature demon beasts from invading the kingdom at the water's edge.

Based on their track record of defeating them, the Aterahan army is said to be the best force in the Kingdom of Levios.

In fact, it was the Aterahan army that responded to the request of House Levios and came as reinforcements to stop the Myrendorva army and Princess Orcian from crossing the great river and approaching the royal capital.

Princess Orcian made several single-armed assaults to open up the battle line, but she was forced to stop her advance due to the skillful tactics of the Aterahan army.

The Aterahans are also a force to be reckoned with as a Quardenze family.

Their relationship with the Quardenze family is not bad, but it's not great either.

They are gaining more and more say in the matter by sending reinforcements, so we have to make sure that we don't turn them to the enemy side.

After all, the kingdom now tends to be biased towards the east and the north.

And even though we have a friendly relationship, we don't know how the Zeldmitra family will react.

The Zeldmitra family is the boss of the kingdom's southern nobility.

It is said that the Zeldmitra family opened the way for the rise of the nobility after the era of the absolute power of the Society of the Holy High Priestesses came to an end.

In the past, the center of the continent was the holy city of Maguaose, home to the headquarters of the Holy High Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The closer you got to the Holy City, the more developed the city was, and the more populated it was. At that time, the Levios territory was nothing more than a countryside.

However, the situation changed drastically with the Navenpos Papal War that started about 200 years ago. The cities closer to the Holy City were adversely affected by this war.

Cities that used to be peaceful and urban fell as if the cards had been flipped.

Looking at the current kingdom, the noble families with territories far from the holy city, such as the Levios, Myrendorva, Aterahan, and Quardenze, are the most powerful, and the noble families with territories in the north are the most powerful.

In such a situation, the Zeldmitra family, which is located in the southernmost part of the kingdom, is so powerful that it is called the five great noble families of the kingdom.

This is because the head of the Zeldmitra family at the time of the war was an exceptional hero.

At that time, the head of the Zeldmitra family decided to distance himself from the Holy High Society after seeing the prolonged turbulent times.

When I learned about it in my history studies, I thought it was too ordinary an idea, but in that era, running a territory without the involvement of priests was quite a novel and innovative idea.

It is said that the eldest son of the House of Levios, who would later become the first king of the Kingdom of Levios, was deeply impressed by this idea and decided the path the House of Levios should take.

In a sense, the Zeldmitra family was the catalyst for the birth of the Kingdom of Levios.

After the founding of the kingdom, when the Zeldmitra family showed their willingness to join the kingdom, the first king welcomed them with open arms.

While protecting their backs with the shield of the kingdom, the Zeldmitra family attacked and annexed the war-torn southern territories.

Although often overshadowed by expansionism, the Zeldmitra family was a good ruler of the common people.

Without the people, there is no land to protect," said the head of the Zeldmitra family at the time, and it became a family motto.

At that time, the priests and the nobility were very coercive towards the commoners, so their policies were enough to win the hearts of the people.

Perhaps, though, there is an element of calculation in this. It was a strategy to build up his reputation and strengthen his territory by accepting refugees from the raging Holy City and surrounding areas.

Even now, the Zeldmitra territory seems to be continuing its people-friendly policy, and it is highly supported by the people.

If they are going to be kind to the people, it would be better if they stopped their expansionism, but there is a reason why they cannot do that.

There is a lot of land in Zeldmitra that has been left untouched by the warfare of the Holy High Society.

Because of the pollution caused by mature magical beasts, there is a large amount of land that cannot be touched until it is naturally cleansed.

In years when the weather is not favorable, it is not uncommon for famine to occur.

In addition, it was not blessed with mineral resources like the Myrendorva and Aterahan families, and I had never heard of any specialties.

There was always the possibility that if the people left, the territory would fall in a flash.

In the Kingdom of Levios, the two territories that produce the most food are Levios and our own Quardenze, but this one is closer.

Therefore, when a famine occurs in Zeldmitra, we sometimes provide them with food, and we have a friendly relationship.

Eastern nobility, Grand Dukes of Myrendorva.

Western nobility, the Marquesses of Quardenze.

Southern nobility, the Marquesses of Zeldmitra.

Northern nobility, the Marquesses of Aterahan.

And in the center, the Royal House of Levios.

These five are the five most influential noble families in the Kingdom of Levios.

"According to Earthworm, the Zeldmitra family has yet to unite the factions."

Worm.

This is the secret language of the intelligence agency that exists in the Quardenze family. It's the so-called covert, NINJA.

Perhaps it's the culture of the Luo continent, but earthworms are thought to be immature snakes.

The coat of arms of the Quardenze family is based on the motif of a snake entangled in a crossed spear and the spray of a great river.

The snake is the symbol of the House of Quardenze.

An earthworm serving a snake. It is said to be a companion of the snake that hides in the earth and gathers information.

Originally, only the head of the family knew about its existence, but I happened to know about it.

When I tried to create a NINJA-like agent in the pioneer society, the earthworm approached me.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but we already have something like that."

"I see.:

What do you think, Wilk, about how the Quardenze family should act?"

My father, who had just finished collecting his homework, must have been in the mood for a chat, but since the topic was political, he couldn't reply carelessly.

My head spun frantically as I wondered if I should take advantage of the confusion of the Zeldmitra family, which was still in disarray, to increase the number of the Quardenze faction in the south.

"...... I think we should casually help the Zeldmitra family consolidate their faction."

"Ho?"

My father had just told me that he had the nobility that the Quardenze family needed.

My father, who is good at politics and diplomacy, is like that, which means that the current situation is the best. There is no point in unnecessarily expanding the number of factions.

If the number of factions increased too much, the western aristocracy would become nothing more than a bunch of crows.

Besides, it would be better not to worsen relations with the Zeldmitra family by trying to reach out to them.

I also had one more thought in mind.

"Now that the Quardenze have consolidated the western part of the city, if the Zeldmitra want to increase their faction, they will inevitably look towards the north. If the Aterahans and the Zeldmitras were to fall out in the process of forming a faction, the Quardenze would be able to act as a mediator between the two houses."

If this goes well, even if the kingdom splits in the worst case scenario, we will be able to reduce the danger in the east by having House Aterahan and House Zeldmitra engage in a standoff.

I'm sorry to the two families that will be in conflict, but as a Quardenze Wilk, I have to think of the Quardenze family first.

"The most desirable thing for the current Quardenze family is for the kingdom to be maintained."

While the eastern, northern, and western parts of the country are gaining influence one after another, it is not good that the southern part is lagging behind in factional adjustments.

It is necessary for the five major noble houses to maintain a sense of tension in the kingdom.

My father nodded his head in satisfaction and pointed a bottle of wine at me.

That seemed to be the end of the serious talk, and my father's next words were, "Lately, Fanny has been showing her feminine side and becoming more feminine.

It was such a big drop that I almost fell over myself.

I didn't understand what he was saying, though.