As Philip expected, the declaration of war should have been sent by Bjorn. And that, along with a lengthy excuse to justify what they had done.
However, what came was completely absurd, and the sender was someone other than Bjorn.
“What the hell does the Bernstein family lineage have to do with this land!”
Philippe threw down the declaration of war with the flagship. Norman and Lyria? It’s a name I’ve never heard of.
But these two people’s hometown is this land.
“Investigate who Norman and Lyria are right now!”
“Yes, old!”
To the anger of the lord, the magistrate scrambled through the papers. After going through piles of papers for nearly a full day, I was able to find the names of the two people.
The magistrate reported to Philip with a pale complexion.
“Tea, I found it, sir. Your name remains in the directory.”
“Okay, let’s hear it. What were you doing? article? A relative of the former lord?”
“That is… … .”
At Philip’s question, the magistrate mumbled for a long time. Just before the enraged Philip let out his roar, a whispering voice leaked out.
“Hey, I’m Young Ji-min.”
“what?”
“I am not an aristocrat, I am a territorial citizen. The record says that the person who worked as a hunter 17 years ago is Norman, and that his daughter is Lilia… … .”
“Are you kidding me right now!”
Philip’s angry voice made the magistrate shrink. Because it was a story that made no sense even if you thought about it.
He’s a descendant of the Bernstein family, but his lineage is hunters?
“Ha, but this is the only case where the father is Norman and the daughter is named Lyria. There is nothing else.”
“This guy… Whoa!”
Philippe, who was about to say something, tried to calm himself down. Still, he is an administrative officer who makes no excuses to hide his mistakes.
There must have been some misunderstanding. Investigation will soon reveal.
“If you don’t know, ask the local people.”
The barony is a small fief. All the residents know each other’s faces, and it goes without saying if it’s a unique job like a hunter.
If you ask, it will soon reveal whether it is true or not. And the results were unexpected.
“You mean Norman? yes i know He was a good hunting friend.”
“what? The one who really existed?”
“Yes. My daughter’s name is Lilia, and she was a true wife. Even the knight who saw a lot of noble ladies was shocked.”
“What did you say the knight’s name was?”
“I don’t know your name. I just remember that you were wearing armor with a red dragon engraved on it.”
Upon hearing the report, Philippe’s complexion turned pale. The red dragon is the symbol of the Bernstein family.
To hear it, that was already 17 years ago. At that time, it was before Philip took possession of this land.
‘If, for some reason, the current head of Bernstein visited this land at that time.’
And now, if the self-restraint claiming that not even funny cause is a bastard. All circumstances matched.
As soon as I grasped the situation, it was embarrassing that rushed in.
“What crazy! That’s why you came up with this kind of justification!?”
An aristocrat who does not have legitimate rights cannot make such a cause from the beginning. Yeongji-min, who had even a little bit of rights, could not resist because they were the ruling class.
But this bastard has fused the two. The minor rights of ancestors who were territories were mixed with the status of nobility and inflated several times.
‘The crazier thing is that the logic works.’
It doesn’t matter if it actually makes sense or not. Once it meets the requirements to function as a justification, it is enough.
And Luke’s claim crossed that threshold with a pull-up.
“Damn it, that’s a headache.”
“father! father!”
At the same time Philip wrapped his throbbing forehead, Larius jumped in. I was annoyed at the unreliable appearance of my son.
“What else?”
“Burr, Bernstein’s refrain is here!”
“what?”
What else does this mean? Larius explained to Philip, who was bewildered.
“The son of the Bernstein family requested a meeting! Now in front of our city gates!”
* * *
Philip’s first impression of Luke was simple.
‘You’re young.’
A young face that had just undergone an adult ceremony. It was hard to believe that he had made such a bold declaration of war with that face.
Luke, who had come to the drawing room, raised his chin and looked down at Philip.
“Are you Baron Philippe?”
“What?”
Philip’s face contorted at the violent and arrogant tone. A man younger than his son is Haoche!
Even Luke is an ordinary nobleman without a single title. No matter how much a son of a great family, respect is basic for a lord.
“Such insolence! Don’t you even know the etiquette!?”
“I know. But is it necessary to observe etiquette even for those who do not deserve it?”
Aha, I’m going to fight for justification, this is it. Certainly, Luke’s idea was fresh. To use one’s own lineage for a novel justification?
‘But he’s still a kid.’
No matter how smart you are, the lack of experience can’t be helped. Exposing a bigger weakness to gain justification?
Philip twisted his lips and glared at Luke.
“I would rather ask. Are you the one who dares to ask my qualifications?”
“What do you mean?”
“Aren’t you a proper noble? On the subject of a bastard.”
Inferiority to pedigree. It is a yoke from which a bastard can never escape. More than anything, the family itself doesn’t allow it to escape.
It would be a headache if the bastard had ambitions for the position of head of household. Discrimination against the deficit is common sense because it is not natural.
“I wonder if the count family knows about this. It seems like the bastard is running wild, wanting to get the territory.”
A normal family would disapprove of the bastard going wild. If done well, the presence of the deficit will fade, and if not, the prestige of the family will fall.
But what if Philippe sends a letter and informs the family?
‘Your position in the family will also be narrowed.’
stupid guy I didn’t even know how great of a weakness being a bastard was. Now I’m in charge!
“If you don’t want to be known to the family, first of all, be polite… … .”
“Funny.”
“What?”
“I was already on the family tree and learned the arcane arts. But what do you mean you’re a bastard?”
“… … !”
The unexpected sound made Philippe stand tall. what? Put your name on the family tree? You even learned arcane swordsmanship?
Then it is said that there is not much difference between the deficit and the treatment. Doesn’t it even hold the right of succession!
‘Could it be that he was a favored bastard?’
A cold sweat broke out on Philip’s back. The position of the bastard runs the board according to the favor of the head of each family.
Usually, it’s a cold meal, but some of them are as much favored bastards as deficits. If that’s the case with Luke.
‘ruined.’
“Why? You have a bad complexion.”
Despite Luke’s sarcasm, Philip couldn’t find the words to answer. It’s a different story if it’s a child loved by the family.
The difficulty of dealing with Luke increased several times more than I had expected.
“Kuhm, kuhm! No big deal.”
“is it? Then let’s continue talking.”
Goddamn it, you young bastard! Philip gritted his teeth internally, but Luke didn’t care and opened his mouth.
“The reason I came here is simple. As it is written in the Declaration of War, you are ruining the land, and it is an insult to my mother’s homeland.”
“That doesn’t even sound funny!”
“You decide what I say is funny.”
Luke, who had suppressed Philip’s protest, continued.
“If you agree to the following conditions, I will guarantee your safety.”
“condition?”
“First of all… … .”
* * *
Luke’s condition was simple.
First, Baron Greve passes ownership of the estate to Luke.
Second, while leaving the territory, the food is not touched at all.
Third, it is an agreement made by agreement of both sides, so do not protest later.
Leaving the distraught Philip behind, Luke stood up. The words he left behind still linger in my ears.
‘I’ll be in trouble, so I’ll stay and wait for you for three days. I hope to get an answer by then.’
“Worries are a piece of cake!”
At the echo that sounded like an auditory hallucination, Philippe crumpled the agreement. Did you put this in as a condition now?
In a word, it was said to give up the territory and go away, but there was no way to accept it without going crazy.
“Your kid looks at me funny for quite a while!”
Perhaps it was because he had lived in the family of a count, but the attitude that he didn’t pay attention to the family of a baron really bothered him.
“What is he doing now?”
“I am looking around town. He said he wanted to see his maternal grandfather and mother’s hometown… … .”
“It varies.”
Philip clicked his tongue. It was astounding to see her openly spitting.
“What should I do?”
“Leave it as it pleases! I’ll be back in three days!”
“Shouldn’t you stop?”
Before the war, it meant that it would be okay to let them go around the inside. Philip shook his head at those words.
“There is nothing to see anyway.”
It is a manor on the level of a large village. Even if you climb up the mountain and look down, you can clearly see how many soldiers there are and how they are deployed.
Even more so, Falun is right next door. What about collecting information in a yard where you know the number of bricks on the wall?
“There is no need to scrape it and make it a boil. Just feed them for three days and send them out.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
Let’s postpone the fight for three days and let the enemy’s food be consumed. Thinking so, Philip turned his nerves off.
You don’t know what the consequences of your decisions will be.
* * *
“I am Norman’s grandson and Lyria’s son! No one knows the two of you!”
Inside the Grebbe estate, Luke ran around shouting here and there. Some soldiers, surprised by the action, tried to stop it, but Luke protested each time.
“I was just trying to find acquaintances of my maternal grandfather and mother. What’s wrong with that?”
“Yeah, but it’s difficult if you do this.”
“What are you having trouble with? Did I poison the well? Or did you set fire to the armory?”
Luke’s tough attitude eventually forced the soldiers to fall back. Surveillance continued from a distance, but it did not stop anyone from meeting.
Then, the young people who had been standing back until now crawled out. Among them, an older-looking man approached Luke.
“Me, Nari.”
“What’s going on?”
“Are you really the grandson of that, Uncle Norman?”
“Yes. I heard that this is the hometown of my maternal grandfather.”
“Has Uncle Norman said anything about me? My name is Anders, and I got along a little bit with him.”
never said But Anders knows very well. Before returning, I visited and talked for a long time.
Luke pretended to be worried and closed his eyes.
“Um, I remember. Surely your grandfather taught you some hunting skills? He gave me a dagger before leaving.”
“No, that’s right.”
“How is your daughter? I heard that it was a lump of blood before my grandfather left.”
“… … !”
Surprised Anders opened his eyes wide. It was information that would never be known to non-residents. Convinced, Anders turned around and shouted.
“Come out everyone! What he said is true! Uncle Norman’s grandson!”
At the sound, shadows suddenly jumped out from all sides.