After introducing Wither to Jake and Dorby and giving him a suitable room, he told him to help Dorby deal with small matters. Dorby is always the Emperor’s person, and he doesn’t know when he will return. It would be nice if I could stay and serve as an administrator, but that’s my wish. It seemed that Wither would be able to take that position. After all, that’s the plan.
I will have No. 1, who was sent to the Marquis of Illivad to collect the property stolen by the administrator and butler, investigate whether the daughter of the Marquis of Illivad is really sick.
If it was true, it would be easier than I thought to strike a balance between the Marquis of Illivad and the imperial family.
Wither was more competent than I thought and worked hard. In some areas, he seemed more competent than Dorby. Wither was used to using people. If Dorby is to make it move like a cogwheel with one-way commands, Wither adjusts it appropriately and increases efficiency.
In the course of a few days, No. 1 arrived at the Marquis of Illivad and immediately recovered the property of the Countess of Akasha. Also, the amount was less than expected. The subspace of No. 1 wasn’t that big yet, but there was a lot of space left, so I did a little work in the Marquis of Illivad to fill the remaining space. It’s so easy to make money.
Then, he went to the mansion of the Marquis of Illivad and started investigating. It was more like a small castle than a mansion. What I found out during the investigation was that the Queen, the original wife of Ether, had a daughter. I have memories of seeing it as a child. The place where the child got married seems to be the Marquis of Illivad. Of course, he has been dead for a long time. And I found the young lady lying in bed and being nursed. Details looked very bad. In any case, what Wither said was true. He immediately summoned the Wither.
“Didn’t I say that I had to heal the daughter of the Marquis of Illivad?”
“Yes that’s right.”
“Let’s go to the Marquis of Illivad.”
I thought about raising the ransom over time, but the young lady’s condition is not good. If you die suddenly, you will leave the easy path and go the hard path. I also think that if something has to be done anyway, it is better to do it quickly.
“yes? Suddenly?”
“About construction management, Dorby would do just fine on his own. It won’t take long, and Dorby is not my vassal in the first place. Let Jake and Argin go too.”
“All right.”
Surprisingly, Wither didn’t say anything. In this way, the number of people going to the Marquis of Illivad was hurriedly prepared. The mercenaries decided not to take them.
“I want to follow you too”
Dorby tried to follow him, but he refused on the grounds that he needed one person left to manage. It’s news that will go to the Imperial Intelligence Department anyway, but if you take Dorby, the information will be delivered faster.
I pretend not to, but Dorby is also a wizard. And he is a wizard specialized in transmission magic. I also saw the transmission a few times through No. 2. Since he was the person the emperor assigned to do so in the first place, he just pretended not to know.
The road to the Marquis of Illivad was quite enjoyable. Jake and Argin were in the driver’s seat and Weaver and I were in the wagon. It didn’t take long to cross the border of the territory, but since the Marquis’ Territory was quite wide, it took several days to move within the Marquis’ Territory.
Jake taught Argin whenever he had time on the road. It was still at the level of teaching the basics, but the growth was visible. Natural talent is a scary law.
After the first meeting, Wither made it even more difficult for me. How much does Wither know about me? I asked for it a few times, but it didn’t get caught.
That’s how I arrived at Hussen, the big city where the castle of the Marquis of Illivad was located. It wasn’t difficult to get through the entrance. After all, I am a count officially recognized by the Empire.
The answer was a frontal breakthrough. If you were in the position of the Marquis of Illivad, you would want to meet me at least once.
The prediction was right, and he succeeded until he entered the castle of the marquis. We waited quite a long time in the reception room we were guided to. It’s like a kind of slaughter.
Jake and Argin were furious, but Wither and I were relaxed. I knew when No. 1 would come because I was watching from the side of the Marquis.
“Wither, are you sure this will work?”
“Not so sure. But I do know that the odds are very high.”
“So what should I do after this?”
“Do what you want to do. Then, depending on the Count’s choice, I will tell you what would be a good choice.”
Actually I don’t have much to do. When the territory is properly rolling and it is stable, I will either travel the continent as before, or release the alter egos and retire at home.
“The time has come for the Marquis to come.”
Not long after my words. The Marquis of Illivad entered the drawing room with several of his vassals and many knights.
“Sorry to have kept you waiting. Count Akasha, you are younger than I heard.”
“This is Germain Akasha. Young rather than young. It is an honor to meet the Marquis of Illivad, who has a great reputation.”
I brought in a lot of people and tried to pressure them, but when I didn’t respond much, the marquis gave me a look of surprise, but that was all. Anyone can see that I was a half-penny aristocrat who received a poor estate at the age of 13, and the Marquis of Illivad is one of the most powerful people in the empire.
“So what brought you here?”
“First of all, I have the purpose of greeting you, and I would like to offer you another proposal.”
“Can I hear what your suggestion is?”
He said that, but his attitude was very arrogant. Something like you have something to offer me? It was a look.
“I love peace very much. I don’t want to fight with neighbors who don’t have to fight. So, I would like to propose a mutual non-aggression pact to the Marquis.”
“under!”
This is not the sound of the Marquis. It was a sound that one of the vassals standing behind spat out as if it were not the same.
“Earl Akasha is still young, so I don’t know, but it seems that it can be proposed when they are in a somewhat equal state.”
“Of course I know that much. It’s not equal. If you like the Marquis of Illivad, you can turn it into ashes, but can’t we see it as equal?”
“dare!”
Everyone on the side of the Marquis of Illivad immediately became enraged at my remarks, as if cutting my throat, and several knights drew their swords.
Correspondingly, Jake also pulled out his sword and kept the knights of the Marquis of Illivad in check. In an instant, the room became a state of immediacy.
“wait a minute. Can you calm down and take a look at this for a moment? I’m not sure if anyone recognizes you.”
I took out a small disk-like object from the subspace. At first, I was wary, what was that? While watching, the Marquis of Illivad suddenly remembered something and patted his knee and pointed his finger.
“That’s it!”
“Yes, it is a national treasure that disappeared from the Aether Empire quite a long time ago. That’s it.”
“What is it, Marquis?”
One of the vassals asked, watching the Marquis suddenly start a fight, and the Marquis of Illivad muttered in a low voice.
“Wrath of the Guardian Spirit”
“That is correct!”
It is the fury of the guardian spirit that Ether and I made a long time ago and used it only once. In the first place, only ether could be used. It was designed that way. Shortly before Ether died, he asked me to retrieve it, so I had it. I put the anger of the guardian spirit back into the subspace and congratulated them with applause.
“How did Count Akasha have it?”
“I don’t know if you’ve investigated, but I am also a child of the Guardian Spirit. It was given to me by the Guardian Spirit.”
“Ah, it can’t be used except for the Ether Great Emperor.”
“It does not require a special constitution. Could it be that the Guardian Spirit gave me something I couldn’t even use? I can use it.”
The figures on the side of the Marquis of Illivad let out a silent voice. Indeed, if that was the wrath of the guardian spirit, and according to the old records, its power was terrifying. It is a terrifying weapon that annihilated 200,000 troops at once. If you think it explodes in the middle of Hussen, the Illivad Marquis family could disappear overnight.
“Have you thought about the Mutual Non-Aggression Pact now?”
“Wait, let’s think for a moment.”
Leaning back on the chair, I sipped my now-cooled tea and spat coldly at the frozen knights.
“Should I put the sword in now?”
The Marquis of Illivad also winked in amazement, and the knights drew their swords at once. So was Jake. Looking to the side, Wither was rather enjoying the situation with a smile as if he was having fun. Did this guy know I was going to do this?
The Marquis of Illivad said he was thinking about it, but the answer was already decided. Taking the risk of being hit by the wrath of the guardian spirit to rob the remaining Akasha estate was not the right weight.
“Let’s ask Count Akasha one thing.”
The Marquis of Illivad finally opened his mouth with difficulty.
“Please speak.”
“Is Count Akasha the sword of the emperor?”
It was a natural question for the Marquis of Illivad. I don’t know exactly what the emperor’s sword means, but it must be some kind of organization directly under the emperor.
“no. Akasha Countess is neutral. At least it is now.”
“Right. Got it. The Marquis of Illivad will sign a mutual non-aggression pact with the Akasha Countess.”
“Good idea. What paperwork…you don’t need it, right?”
If it was officially notarized, it would be done by the imperial family, but in the current situation, there is no way the imperial family would recognize such a treaty.
“I guess so”
The Marquis of Illivad also nodded.
“In return, I will give you a gift as a token of your loyalty. Is one of the young ladies ill?”
“exactly.”
“I will treat you.”
“Thank you so much…what did you just say?”
“I’ll treat you.”
The Marquis of Illivad’s face turned red. Maybe they think I’m talking nonsense.
“Do you think I’m going to come all the way here and say something stupid? If I can’t heal the young lady, I’ll leave the guardian spirit’s anger here.”
When I spoke in a serious manner, the Marquis’ spirit softened.
“If Count Akasha cures my daughter’s illness, I will make sure to repay the favor.”
That’s how I went to visit the sick young lady with the Marquis and instantly healed her with the power of healing in front of everyone. Due to the influence of the disease, her physical condition was not good, but seeing her daughter open her eyes and speak clearly, the Marquis of Illivad shed tears and thanked her several times.
My work is over, but I can’t let it go like this, so I stayed in the marquis’s castle and was assigned a very luxurious room. He was an uninvited guest when he came in, but he was upgraded to an honored guest.
After being invited to dinner and being introduced to the main characters of the Marquis family, he was treated with utmost sincerity, then returned to his room and called for Wither.
“Wither”
“Yes, Count.”
“Did you know that I have the wrath of a guardian spirit?”
From noble mtl dot com.
“no. I didn’t know.”
Wither’s words seemed sincere.
“Then how far did you know?”
“I knew there would be a non-aggression pact. However, I knew that this would be achieved by curing the young lady, but I did not know that you possessed the wrath of the guardian spirit.”
Putting things together, it doesn’t seem like it’s the power of foreseeing the future. Or maybe it is a very limited foreknowledge.
“I can really do whatever I want next, right?”
“Yes, but could you give me some money?”
“What are you going to use it for?”
“I want to recruit talent.”
I wondered if the Akasha estate really needed talented people, but I thought there was nothing to lose.
“How much do you need?”
“The more you give, the better.”
Seeing Wither talking while rubbing his hands like a goddamn bastard made me laugh out loud. And the wealth in the sub-space of No. 1 was poured out. Wither’s eyes shone like gold coins at the tremendous wealth falling from the air.
Money, especially gold coins, is quite heavy compared to its volume. Wither took care of it, but the amount was not much. With his mouth shut as if regretful, Wither took as much as he could and left the Marquis’ Castle. Of course, number 2 followed behind him.