Chapter 30: War, I’m Telling You, Is Coming (2)
Reports came in that the consumption of food had increased thanks to the mercenaries.
Because of this, the retainers could not hide their shock and each let out a word.
“I-it doubled?”
“How much are they eating exactly? Weren’t there barely ten of them?”
“It’s exactly thirteen…”
Everyone’s gaze naturally turned.
Then, I saw Hardin with an awkward smile on his face.
…They sure ate a lot.
When did they eat that much?
At that moment, Viscount Cobalt asked with a serious expression.
“Hardin, is that true?”
“Probably… I guess? Geez, those bastards really stuffed their faces. Haha!”
As Hardin averted his gaze and replied awkwardly,
“Haaaaa…”
Viscount Cobalt let out a deep sigh and pressed his hand against his forehead.
Another problem like this…
The atmosphere in the meeting room turned subtly cold again.
At this moment, Third Young Master Malion pushed up his glasses and asked with a faintly curved lip.
“Brother, you must have a plan, right?”
“A plan? For what?”
“Aren’t those mercenaries the ones you brought in? Regarding the food issue… You must have a way to resolve it, isn’t that so?”
“Hmm…”
I crossed my arms and pretended to think.
…I didn’t have anything like that.
No, from the start… wasn’t it stranger that the food situation was getting out of hand just because a dozen more people were added?
Just how poor was this house?
I waved my hand dismissively and spoke.
“Come on, why make a fuss over that? We’ve got 200,000 gold anyway.”
“Pardon?”
“You know, the 200,000 gold I got. If we spend a bit of that… it shouldn’t be much of a problem, right?”
“…Haaaaa.”
Malion let out a long sigh and shook his head.
“Brother, the household budget has already been fully planned and… is being executed accordingly.”
“So what?”
“When an unexpected variable arises like this, it disrupts everything overall.”
“That much, well, if you just adjust a little…”
“The money you were given was all reward money, wasn’t it?”
“What?”
“Exactly that. The 100,000 gold you were given has already been spent, and now you’re causing disruption to the household plans because of your own issues.”
…He always made it so I had nothing to say.
I tried to keep up a façade of confidence, forcing strength into my eyes as I spoke.
“To prepare for the Territorial War… there are some unavoidable parts.”
“Why do you keep bringing up a Territorial War that isn’t even happening?”
“Hey, I’m telling you, it’s coming.”
“Stop with the delusions. Calpion isn’t making any moves, so why are you using that as an excuse to keep playing soldier?”
Malion furrowed his brow in disbelief, and though the retainers didn’t say anything aloud, their eyes clearly agreed.
If it was going to be like this, maybe we shouldn’t have brought in the mercenaries in the first place?
This was indeed the Young Master’s mistake.
Of course, my own thoughts were different.
Playing soldier… that was a bit harsh.
With a forced smile, I tried to steel my face somehow.
“…I’m telling you, the war is really going to break out. Those bastards are bound to come.”
But Malion didn’t look like he intended to let it slide.
“So, when exactly is this happening?”
“Huh? What is?”
“The Territorial War you keep talking about… when exactly is it supposed to happen?”
“Uh, that… if we’re being generous, sometime next week…”
“You said that in last week’s meeting too, didn’t you?”
Thud.
My gaze wavered slightly.
“Ah, did I?”
“I remember it clearly. You were so confident, saying that within four or five days, Calpion would surely declare the Territorial War. And as of today… it has been exactly ten days.”
“Ah, I don’t really recall that… haha.”
It was true that I’d said something like that in the family meeting last week.
[I’m telling you, it’s soon! At most five days! They’ll definitely declare war within that time!]
[Yes… all right, just sit down, Hardin.]
No, this was strange. By my calculations, this should have been precisely when they declared war.
Why were those Calpion bastards dragging things out like this…
At that moment, a thought suddenly popped into my head.
…Those bastards, they’re not thinking of just letting it slide, are they?
If they got through this period without starting a Territorial War, that would be fine in its own way…
But in that case, I felt like I’d be in a bit—no, quite a bit of trouble.
The secret weapon, the mercenary training.
All the money I had on hand was spent in preparation for war, not to mention over a month of time.
And during all that chaos, the perception of me in the family had improved, however slightly.
But if the Territorial War didn’t actually break out?
The public opinion would nosedive straight back into the ground…
I’d become the boy who cried wolf.
‘What the hell are you doing, Calpion bastards?’
‘You lot aren’t usually this lazy, are you? Weren’t you desperate to take our land somehow? So why were you dragging your feet like this?’
As I was inwardly letting out a frustrated scream, Malion spoke again.
“So, this time, how much longer do you think it’ll take?”
“…Maybe three or four days? No, if we’re generous, let’s wait ten more days…”
“How about you just delay it for a year?”
“What?”
“At that rate, thanks to the mercenaries, we might all starve to death.”
As Malion let out a blatant sneer, I gave a hollow laugh.
“…Ha, haha. That’s a funny joke.”
It was outright sarcasm.
Honestly, I felt like punching him in the face…
But no matter what I said, there was nothing I could argue here.
Damn it…
At a loss for words, I closed my mouth.
Troublesome…
Why is he acting like this?
The retainers’ faces were all filled with resentment.
Let’s just get through this for now. If I could somehow drag this meeting out, I might buy some time…
Anyway, those Calpion bastards are coming. They’ll definitely come!
I rolled my eyes around restlessly.
“Brother, say something, anything. Are you just going to keep letting them consume all our food?”
“Ah, no, it’s just that…”
“I’ve held back as much as I could. Really, this is beyond excessive.”
“…I’m sorry, but the thing is…”
I couldn’t even offer a proper rebuttal, enduring the Third Young Master’s nagging with my whole body when—
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Lord! It’s Gadolph!”
From beyond the door, the attendant’s urgent voice rang out.
At this, Viscount Cobalt’s brow twitched as he asked:
“…What is it?”
“S-sir, there’s something I must urgently deliver!”
“Huuh… Fine, come in first.”
Clatter!
At that, Gadolph hurriedly ran inside and, without any further explanation, thrust an envelope toward Cobalt.
Sealing the envelope was wax imprinted with the serpent insignia of the Calpion Viscounty.
“What is this?”
“A messenger from Calpion came in haste to deliver it. He insisted over and over that it must be opened immediately…”
“A messenger from Calpion…?”
“Yes!”
Cobalt’s face took on a puzzled expression. The retainers, too, tilted their heads and muttered.
“Does Calpion have any reason to send us a messenger?”
“Lately, not really… Since that incident, all contact has been completely severed.”
Everyone’s faces were filled with doubt.
Snap!
Viscount Cobalt broke the seal and pulled out the letter within.
As he began to read its contents slowly—
…
It felt as if time itself had stopped.
Cobalt’s face froze, trembling faintly, then his brow creased deeply.
Malion approached with a confused look and asked,
“What is it, Father?”
Tap.
Cobalt set the letter down on the desk and pressed his fingers against the corner of his eye as he spoke.
“They have declared war.”
“…Pardon?”
“What do you mean, Father?”
“Exactly what I said. They have declared war on us. Calpion has.”
Had I… heard that right just now?
Everyone blinked, their confusion plainly written across their faces.
“Oh dear, what a shame. This… this… looks like I was right.”
Thud!
See? I told you lot—I was right.
I sprang to my feet, boldly looking around the room.
But then—
“What exactly do you think you’re doing, Hardin?”
Cobalt frowned as he stared at me.
I flinched and hurried to make an excuse.
“I was just… happy—no, surprised by the news. Haha.”
I waved my hands dismissively and quickly sat back down.
A beat later, the Daphne retainers began rolling their eyes around, slowly grasping the situation.
“A declaration of war…?”
“What is this situation…?”
Just hearing the words “declaration of war” sent chills down everyone’s spines.
No one could even guess what to say. They just blinked in stunned silence.
Malion adjusted his glasses and reached out toward the Lord.
“F-Father, let me read it as well.”
“…Go ahead.”
Malion picked up the letter, and the retainers crowded behind him to read over his shoulder.
Soon, everyone’s faces darkened.
“This is…”
“It… it’s real.”
[To the vile Daphne humans. Until now, we of Calpion have endured your countless atrocities without end. Even when the merchant you dealt with irresponsibly fled, even when you used that as an excuse to demand an unreasonable duel, we as nobles…]
Malion bit down hard on his lower lip.
It was an utterly preposterous, shameless account.
The letter was filled with line after line of twisted, self-serving fabrications about everything they themselves had done.
But the contents didn’t matter anymore.
What mattered was the single sentence written at the very end.
[For these reasons, we hereby declare war on the Daphne Viscounty. Feel our wrath, and tremble in fear.]
– Ruder Calpion, Viscount
I could tell by instinct alone.
This sentence, at least, was nothing but sincerity—and the plain truth.
They were really… declaring a Territorial War?
And the justification they offered was so absurd it was almost laughable.
Because of the Daphne family’s wickedness and depravity, they said…
Who would ever have imagined hearing such words not from anyone else, but from Calpion?
At that moment, I spoke.
“These bastards are shameless, aren’t they?”
…
A completely unruffled remark, showing not the slightest hint of tension.
Malion’s eyebrow twitched violently.
…Was this really happening just as that man said?
It couldn’t be.
There had to be some mistake.
Unless Calpion had made some grievous error, the very idea of them waging a Territorial War was nonsensical.
Why? What did they think they’d gain by attacking our house?
It was something that simply couldn’t happen within any bounds of reason.
Yet it was happening before our eyes.
Perhaps because of how sudden it all was, everyone’s breathing began to grow ragged.
Was this really a Territorial War?
Damn it…
Was it really happening just as the Young Master claimed?
It was the same for the retainers, even for Mulgybson.
No one here had ever taken Hardin’s words seriously until now.
Because they’d all thought Calpion had absolutely no reason to start a war.
“What… what are we supposed to do about this?”
“A declaration of war—war itself!”
“Heuuuh… Why? Why in the world?”
Especially the younger retainers were visibly panicked.
Of course, the reason was obvious.
They were certain war could never happen.
A bitter expression surfaced on my face.
Our house was an impoverished land with nothing left worth taking.
A quiet, unnoticed territory no longer even worth conquering.
I couldn’t begin to guess what Calpion was thinking.
…What in the world is this…
Viscount Cobalt’s face grew steadily darker.
“What… what should we do?”
“Could this be a lie? They have no reason to declare war!”
The voices of the retainers were thick with mounting anxiety.
Chaos was spreading uncontrollably.
At that moment—
Bang bang!
Viscount Cobalt slammed his palm hard against the table and spoke.
“Everyone, compose yourselves.”
When he released the force in his gaze, it seemed to fill the entire meeting chamber in an instant.
‘…I can’t breathe.’
‘…What is this…’
The retainers fell silent, regaining a measure of calm.
“Let us discuss this matter now. All of us, right here.”
With his piercing stare subsiding, Cobalt spoke in a voice heavy with gravity.