Chapter 7 (Part 9)

The atmosphere at the engagement banquet was ripening.

“Today is truly a happy day. I thank everyone who has celebrated the meaningful union of the Rockbellion and Loengrin families and our engagement. Please enjoy the remaining time, and when you leave, there is a modest gift prepared for you to take.”

People congratulated Yuliana and Anthus on their engagement.

And the day after the engagement ceremony, people were shocked by the ‘something’ announced by the Rockbellion family.

[The Rockbellion family declares a territorial war against the Fedeurus Marquisate.]

People recalled the recent incident where Anthus had destroyed Ophelia’s glasshouse. They thought he would be reprimanded by Cloud for destroying the glasshouse in the Imperial Palace, but instead, Ophelia was confined to the palace.

And suddenly, the engagement ceremony of Yuliana and Anthus was held. Thanks to this, the dirty rumors between Beonar and Yuliana were silenced at once. And with the declaration of a territorial war by the Rockbellion family, the Fedeurus Marquisate was in chaos.

“Father! The territorial war is…”

Hoden handed the crumpled letter he had to Maxwell. Maxwell read the letter and sighed.

“There must be a reason for the declaration!”

Butler Forten handed over a letter with the Rockbellion family’s seal from his bosom. Hoden snatched the letter from the butler and began to read it.

[To protect the honor of the Rockbellion family, we declare a territorial war against the Fedeurus family.]

Seeing the seal of Cloud clearly stamped at the bottom of the letter, Hoden’s face turned pale.

“To protect honor…”

“It seems to be due to the glasshouse incident.”

“Glasshouse?”

“It is said that Princess Ophelia ordered Brother to seduce Lady Yuliana. She used him to drive a wedge between the Duke and Lady Yuliana… Brother only believed the words of Princess Ophelia, a member of the imperial family… He approached Lady Yuliana… and now this mess has happened.”

“Oh! That crazy Princess Ophelia!”

Everyone in the social circles knew that Ophelia was obsessed with Anthus. She must have tried to use Beonar to separate Yuliana from Anthus.

“What should we do about this, Maxwell?”

“The key to a territorial war is how many soldiers we can gather, but with just our marquisate’s knights, we can’t restrain Duke Anthus. And I hear the Rockbellion family has hired Mercenary King Erzen, Alchemist Anton, and even the Mage Tower’s wizards.”

Hoden collapsed into his seat, trembling. Just as Maxwell was about to speak to him, the door opened, and Beonar’s sister, Charlotte, entered.

“Dad! What is this about a territorial war?”

“Charlotte, don’t act rashly.”

Charlotte glared at Maxwell.

“Dad, why are you with this filthy bastard?”

“Watch your mouth! He’s your brother!”

“I would never tolerate a bastard like him if I got married. I’d kill him and throw him to the pigs.”

Charlotte scowled at Maxwell with all the disdain she could muster, while Maxwell remained calm and focused on soothing Marquis Fedeurus.

“If only Brother Beonar hadn’t broken off the engagement with the Loengrin family, this wouldn’t have happened!”

“No, Charlotte… If you had successfully seduced Duke Anthus Rockbellion, none of this would have happened.”

Maxwell smiled sweetly at Charlotte.

“That pretty face, the dress, everything from head to toe is supported by the Fedeurus marquisate. But have you ever done anything more helpful to the family than a bastard like me?”

“Don’t talk, bastard! It makes me feel disgusted.”

Charlotte stamped her foot in frustration, her face turning red. Maxwell sighed and said, 

“It would be best if you left. Women shouldn’t intrude on meetings about territorial wars.”

“What! You bast—”

“Charlotte Fedeurus!”

At Marquis Fedeurus’s loud voice, Charlotte flinched in surprise.

“Dad, why are you suddenly shouting?”

“Maxwell is formally recognized by me as the second son of the Fedeurus family. And everything Maxwell said is correct, so please leave.”

“Filthy bastard… Just because you’re a little favored by Father… Just wait and see.”

Maxwell merely smiled with his eyes.

“You heard Father, right? Please leave, Charlotte.”

Charlotte, her face flushed with anger, slammed the door and left. She then quickly headed to Beonar’s room.

When she opened the door, she saw the servants struggling to wake Beonar.

“Brother!”

But Beonar showed no signs of waking up, drunk as he was.

* * *

The retainers of the Fedeurus family began to gather at the marquisate, and under Maxwell’s lead, they started discussing how to respond to the Rockbellion family’s declaration of a territorial war.

As the meeting was in full swing, chaos erupted.

“Take whatever belongs to the marquisate!”

The knights of the marquisate wanted to restrain Iudi and his gang, but they couldn’t stop them as they entered the marquisate with official documents for debt enforcement and even brought knights from the Imperial Palace.

“See? Even if we’re commoners, we can enforce the bonds authorized by the Empire!”

Hoden collapsed, clutching his neck, as he watched Iudi and his gang sweep up the marquisate’s belongings.

The Fedeurus marquisate descended into utter chaos, and all the clean-up fell to Maxwell.

“Forten, escort Father to his room and check if Brother is still not awake.”

Upon receiving Forten’s report that Beonar was still passed out from drinking, Maxwell approached Iudi and his gang, who were gathering the marquisate’s belongings, and spoke to them. Iudi nodded at Maxwell’s words and withdrew with the knights from the Imperial Palace.

“What on earth is going on? How could there be bonds against the Fedeurus family from such thugs!”

“Brother Beonar borrowed money, and it seems it was from them… I clearly told him not to associate with them…”

Maxwell sighed deeply. The retainers quietly observed Maxwell. Hoden had collapsed, and the eldest son, Beonar, was drunk and asleep. The only reliable person was Maxwell.

“Let’s resume the meeting.”

Hoden, who had collapsed, soon got up and went to the meeting room, where he continued to pound the table in anger.

“Marquis, reports say that Duke Rockbellion has already arrived in the Ludmilans territory. It seems they’re preparing to advance from there.”

“The army led by Sword Master Duke Rockbellion is a group of war-crazed individuals!”

“It’s no wonder even the Zentas Empire shudders and avoids them at the mention of Rockbellion!”

“With the current forces of the marquisate, winning is difficult.”

“That’s not all. They’ve reportedly hired the Mercenary King, Alchemist Anton, and a large number of mages from the Mage Tower.”

“Ha… With nothing but money, they’ve bought all available manpower.”

The whispers, surprise, and lamentation of the retainers echoed through the meeting room.

“Is it true that the reason for the territorial war is Young Lord Beonar? Marquis, is that true?”

Everyone in the meeting room was speaking up. However, no clear solution emerged.

Hoden, holding his head in his hands, sighed deeply. Just yesterday, he had been happily lounging in bed with his favored mistress… How did it all turn into hell in just one day? He could only sigh.

“The fact that they’re down in the Ludmilans territory means they intend to seize the diamond mine owned by the Fedeurus family, right?”

The diamond mine owned by the Fedeurus family is the largest in the Empire. If it were seized in a territorial war, it would effectively cut off the marquisate’s financial lifeline.

“We’ll have no choice but to lose it.”

“Baron Koloden, keep quiet…”

Koloden turned his head sharply to glare at Maxwell. Most of the retainers did not harbor goodwill towards Maxwell, a bastard, but they had no choice but to ask him, as he was the only one who could properly conduct the meeting. It was a blow to Koloden’s pride.

“Young Lord Maxwell, what do you think we should do about the territorial war?”

As soon as Maxwell entered the meeting room, he quickly became the center of attention.

“I think we need to find out what Duke Rockbellion wants.”

“He probably wants the diamond mine.”

Maxwell shook his head and responded with regret.

“Does it make sense for a duke, who already has wealth, to covet a diamond mine?”

“When you have something, you always want more.”

“Duke Rockbellion is not such a simple person. He has won many wars with his strategies. It doesn’t make sense that he would simply want more money and therefore seize the diamond mine.”

Maxwell explained that the territorial war was not simply about money, and naturally, the topic of Yuliana came up.

“Everyone knows that Duke Anthus Rockbellion likes Lady Yuliana. Brother just didn’t acknowledge it. The notice of the territorial war stated that it was declared to protect Yuliana’s honor.”

The meeting room, which had been buzzing with chatter, fell silent at Maxwell’s words.

“Do you really think Duke Rockbellion is doing this because of the diamond mine? I don’t think so. If we find out what he wants and give it to him, the territorial dispute could be resolved amicably.”

“What do you think Duke Rockbellion wants, Young Lord Maxwell?”

Koloden asked Maxwell sharply.

“I believe Duke Rockbellion wants Brother Beonar.”

The room began to buzz with conversation.

“Please explain in detail.”

“Everyone knows about the incident where Duke Rockbellion destroyed Princess Ophelia’s glasshouse. It was probably because of that.”

The retainers listened quietly to Maxwell’s explanation.

“After being rejected by Lady Sophia, Brother Beonar claimed that Lady Yuliana was his true love. He provoked Duke Rockbellion to try and win back Lady Yuliana. I should have stopped him more…”

Maxwell bit his lip.

“Princess Ophelia spread false rumors as if her marriage to Duke Rockbellion was a foregone conclusion. Brother Beonar, deceived by the princess’s lies, ended up alone with Lady Yuliana in the greenhouse… and when Duke Rockbellion found out, he destroyed the greenhouse.”

“Ha… Is the princess delusional or something?”

“Who would have thought blind loyalty would result in such a backstab?”

“So, Maxwell, what are you trying to say?”

“What Duke Rockbellion wants is Brother.”