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“Cuitch-at-choo…!”

“Sir Ron, are you all right? Perhaps you have a cold…?”

Vincent gave a strange sneeze, and Jody asked anxiously.

“No, I am fine. It just came out of nowhere.”

Thinking someone might be cursing at him1, Vincent wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and turned his attention towards the report once more.

“Hmm, so the army in the Great Territory of Alice has doubled. Most of them are mounted as well…”

“Yes. After the death of Morgan Louvre, they have been inviting famous mercenaries to become territorial knights. Some of my acquaintances have also gone to Alice and received land and compensation.”

“Hm…”

Vincent’s eyes narrowed as he stroked his chin.

The High Lord of the Great Territory of Alice could not live under the same sky as the Pendragon Duchy. Regardless of the circumstances, his heir was essentially killed by Duke Pendragon.

Moreover, the culprit responsible for Morgan Louvre’s death was now residing in the Pendragon Duchy. Even though he had not been assigned an official position, Argos was escorting Duchess Elena Pendragon, the mother of the current duke.

“Have there been any reports from group 3 yet?”

“Yes. There does not seem to be any significant movements from the imperial castle. Prince Ian is only seeing a few of his close aides, including Viscount Elven, the Governor-General of Edenfield.”

“Hmm, I see.”

‘He is planning to keep on the low while the lord takes care of the south. He truly is an insightful person…”

Vincent nodded in admiration.

The stories of Pendragon Duchy’s victory against the three major pirates, the island orcs, and Toleo Arangis must have already spread to the imperial castle. Moreover, Toleo Arangis had met his fate at the hands of Duke Pendragon.

Even though Ian’s status would definitely be elevated with the ongoing incidents, it was clear that trouble could arise if he hastily expressed his position. It was likely that the other duchies and the great territories would become anxious and wary.

Moreover, Alan Pendragon was acting as the Governor-General of Leus, and not as a duke.

The imperial castle could gain justification without taking action.

Even if Duke Pendragon had a head-on collision with the Arangis Duchy, the imperial castle could take action in due time.

‘If you give something, you get something. Distributing the Pendragon gold for a few months doesn’t seem to quite pay up to what we are owed.’

Vincent meant to laugh inwardly, but it must have slipped.

At the sight of Vincent’s smile, Jody and the other members of the intelligence unit trembled involuntarily.

Whenever the Raccoon of the Pendragon Duchy smiled like that, there were always unfortunate victims who were certainly about to lose their sleep.

Vincent took out a quill, then began to write for a long time.

After he finished writing, he put down the pen and checked the contents one more time. Then, he folded it and sealed it with the symbol of the Pendragon Duchy.

“Leo, go to Sisak and deliver this letter to Lord Bresia. On the way, stop by Lord Ramelda’s land and check up on our dispatched forces as well.”

“Yes, Sir Ron.”

Leo, an esquire of the Pendragon Duchy, gave a military salute.

“Hey, it’s not like you aren’t going to return for a long time, right? Surely you don’t have a girl that you have been hiding or anything?”

“What are you talking about!?”

Leo took on a serious expression at Jody’s mischievous joke.

“As if he would do that! His beloved is here, so how would he dare to cheat? Isn’t that right, Mr. Sisak’s son-in-law?”

“N, no, well, that’s…”

Scylla joined in as well, and Leo’s face turned red.

Everyone in Conrad Castle knew of the relationship between Leo Ramelda and Sophia Bresia. Sophia, the daughter of Sisak’s High Lord, had been staying in Conrad Castle for more than half a year. Her position was quite ambiguous, as she wasn’t an actual hostage, but she was not allowed to leave.

Sophia had been left alone when Lindsay and Irene left. The two Pendragon ladies were the ones she had felt most comfortable with.

With their absence, Leo Ramelda had been the only one she could lean on. After all, they were from the same hometown.

In addition, Leo could not simply ignore Sophia since she was the daughter of Sisak’s High Lord, whom his family originally served.

So whenever he had free time, he found himself with Sophia. Eventually, the daughter of Sisak’s High Lord and the son of Sisak’s lower-ranking knight entered into a ‘such-and-such’ relationship.

“Well, Lady Sophia will surely be quite upset since you will be away for several months.”

“Just ‘quite upset’, you say? There is only one road for a lonely lady in a foreign country to take. Haven’t you seen? Free knights and mercenaries always flirt with the lady who is far from her hometown. Hehe!”

Jody added on to Vincent’s words. A sly laughter escaped his mouth.

“First come, first serve. I did see that there were quite a few cavalry knights hanging around Lady Sophia.”

“N, no…!”

Even Gus chimed in on the mischief, and a dreadful expression appeared on Leo’s face. He hurriedly replied with a shaky voice.

“O, one month! I will be back in one month, Sir Ron. I will be leaving right away!”

“Do as you see fit.”

Leo rushed through the door.

But no one believed he would depart right away. The most urgent business for Leo would be to crack down on ‘her’ and make sure she did not lean on other men out of loneliness in his absence.

“Then we will be on our way as well.”

“Understood. Make sure to pay closer attention to the villages near Bellint Gate.”

“Yes, Sir Ron.”

Jody, Scylla, and Gus exited the office.

After being left alone, Vincent skimmed through the notes and messages brought in by the Pendragon Duchy’s intelligence unit. The duchy’s intelligence unit had already grown considerably and possessed around thirty members.

The documents contained numerous rumors, from tiny, small stories circulating in the Pendragon Duchy, to those from the central area of the empire. If anyone saw the value of the various notes and messages, they would not hesitate to get their hands on it, even if it would cost hundreds of gold coins.

But Vincent knew the information was not of great value in its present state. Information could only be considered a real power when they were classified and compounded accordingly, and such was a job befitting the genius of the Pendragon Duchy, Vincent Ron.

“Hmm?”

Vincent’s gaze stopped as he read a letter from Leus. A serious expression appeared on his face, and he finished reading before pulling a rope right next to his desk.

Soon, the door opened and a servant politely bowed.

“You called, Lord Ron.”

“Tell Sir Killian that I would like to see him immediately.”

“Yes sir.”

The servant bowed before walking out.

Vincent stood up from his seat and walked over to the window. He gazed outside without saying a word.

“We finally secured a bridgehead for the south.”

Vincent muttered in a quiet voice while recalling the contents of the letter he just read.

– Cleaned up three pirates of the sea. Secured seven manned islands. Killed Toleo Arangis. Occupation of two island orc tribes. Dragon is heading to El Pasa.

Even though everything fell according to the plan, Vincent was amazed. Vincent had been the mastermind behind the plan, but even he had never thought everything would work out this perfectly.

“As expected of the lord.”

Although the contingent countermeasures had been rendered useless, Vincent laughed. He made a plan, and his competent lord carried it out perfectly.

His heart skipped a beat when he saw the actualization of the dreams he held since his days in the Twilight Tower.

Jingle.

Then the bell rang and the door opened.

“I have brought Sir Killian.”

“Good work.”

The servant exited, and Killian walked in. He had been training with the heavy cavalry, so he was fully equipped in heavy armor.

“Sir Killian.”

Vincent lightly nodded, and Killian responded as he sat down on the sofa.

“I heard you had something to say. What is the matter?”

A wry smile appeared on Vincent’s face. Since the last few months, Killian’s complexion had improved vastly. After being liberated from endless battles with Karuta, Killian’s skills had improved massively. On top of that, he had been introducing the heavy cavalry to hell on earth, training them like a madman. He was like a fish in water.

“I have received a letter from Sir Isla.”

“Oh! Finally! So, how is the situation?”

“They have taken care of the big pirates of the inland sea and procured seven islands. All of them are inhabited by residents and have water available to drink. Therefore…”

“The Pendragon’s troops can be stationed there! Hahaha! Finally!”

Killian roared in delight, and Vincent nodded with a smile.

“That is right. It also means that ships departing from York Town no longer need to go through Leus. We have laid down the foundation for direct southward passage.”

“Well that’s a matter for you anyways, Sir Ron! Now! What do you think? This time, the heavy cavalry commanded by Mark Killian will…”

“No.”

Vincent abruptly interrupted Killian’s hopeful declaration.

“What? Why not?”

Killian’s dreams of leading his own troops to the south had been shattered. He responded with a desperate voice.

Vincent replied calmly while maintaining his smile.

“As I mentioned before, without Sir Isla, Sir Killian and the heavy cavalry are the most powerful forces of our duchy.”

“Hmph! That is true whether Sir Isla is here or not… No, wait, that’s not the problem here. Ah, we still have plenty of griffons here, right? The duchy has been stabilized already, and surely no one would attack us, so I will go and…”

“Then let me ask you one question. Is there anyone else besides Sir Killian that can command the heavy cavalry?”

“Hm…”

Killian fell silent with a frown. But soon, he shook his head with a bitter expression.

“None. They have the skills, but none of them have ever commanded a unit.”

“See? Even though we have the Ancona Orcs and the centaurs, the greatest deterrent force inside the Bellint Gate is Sir Killian’s heavy cavalry.”

“Phew… Tsk.”

Killian licked his lips helplessly after letting out a deep sigh.

He was a simple man, but as an expert in battle, Killian could not refute Vincent’s words.

‘Huhu…’

Vincent smiled insidiously when he saw Killian’s somber expression. It was true that Sir Killian and the heavy cavalry were currently the most important forces in the duchy. However, it was not like the duchy would fall into ruins without them.

Killian possessed a strong sense of responsibility, which was why he trusted no one else to competently lead the cavalry, but from Vincent’s point of view, the heavy cavalry would be able to operate without Killian.

Well, in part, it was due to Killian’s hardcore training of the cavalry as well.,

“Well, it’s not like there’s absolutely no way…”

It was also one of Vincent’s duties(?) to soothe and pacify the loyal knight as well, the knight who loved battles and was always ready to sacrifice his life for the lord.

“What? What do you mean?”

Killian abruptly raised his head. His eyes were glimmering with hope, and Vincent barely held back a laughter as he responded.

“Some troops from the 7th regiment and Sir Isla are cracking down on each island, but it is true that there is a shortage of troops. The sea is wide, and there are still many pirates left without the top three.”

“Right, of course.”

“But it will be hard to send the duchy’s soldiers outside of our territory. We are at an impasse right now, and recruiting more soldiers could disrupt the duchy’s industries, including farming.”

“Ah, so what do you want me to do then? You really have a thing for making people frustrated, Sir Ron…”

Killian grumbled with pouty lips, and Vincent hurriedly continued.

“There are still many pirates captured by the lord and men on each island. They can fill in for the shortages.”

“Hooh…!”

“But there are underlying issues that make it impossible for the 7th regiment to train the men. As you know, the 7th regiment is a part of the imperial army, and the pirates have a strong dislike for them. In the end, it means that someone else needs to train them to be able to fight.”

“Of course! So you are saying that someone from the duchy has to step forward and take them in? Which means I can go and train them.”

“Yes. The goal is to create a high-quality vigilante group rather than creating an official army. You can take around a dozen people you find useful.”

“Uwahahahahahaha! Thank you! No, I have no time to talk, I should go pack my things! We can discuss the details later!”

Killian was so overjoyed that he burst out of seat.

The burning sun of the south!

Thick, southern beauties with healthy copper skin!

Killian’s mouth opened wide as he imagined their beckoning towards him.

“Just wait! I’m coming!”

“Wait.”

Killian started running out the door while muttering questionable(?) words, but a single word from Vincent stopped him short.

“The lord has asked you to choose between two options. You can either bring along your fiancée, Miss Marilyn, or you can get married immediately. If not, he told you to stay at Conrad Castle forever… What will you do?”

“Huh?”

The face of Mark Killian, the most sensual man of the Pendragon Duchy, filled with despair.

1 – In east Asian countries, there is a superstition that if you sneeze, someone is talking about you.

NOTE: It’s Leo here, not Leon. Leo is the son of Derek Ramelda, and Leon is the guy training under Argos. I almost confused myself while translating.