Chapter 136
Chapter 136 – A Difficult Request Is Not Such a Big Deal (4)
Marquis Branford squinted his eyes as if to assess the truth and scrutinized Ghislaine.
Ghislaine also boldly raised her head to meet the gaze of Marquis Branford.
‘Don’t fall for this harsh guy, and make sure you present everything you’ve prepared to me.’
After realizing that Duke Delphine was stretching his hands here and there, the Crown Prince faction hurriedly agonized over how to increase their influence in the northern region.
And the carefully chosen spot ended up being the Brivant Territory.
‘The issue is that it’s already playing in Duke Delphine’s hands.’
Even in the past life, the royal family and the Crown Prince faction invested massive resources into the Brivant Territory.
They even transferred the population of the royal family’s direct territory.
However, regrettably, the Duke of Delphine had long predicted that the Crown Prince faction would make such a decision.
His efforts to weaken the Tower of the Bloody Flame were primarily aimed at decreasing the Crown Prince faction’s power in the long run.
‘I managed to keep the Mage Tower alive by providing Runestones, but… what can one Mage Tower do when the entire territory is taken?’
Most of the vassals and retainers of the Brivant Territory were already lured by the Duke’s influence.
In this situation, no matter how much support was offered to the Brivant Territory, it would be like pouring water into a bottomless well.
But what if the Crown Prince faction decided to support Ghislaine?
All the time and money spent by the Duke Delphine would become meaningless. It would simply be for naught.
‘Don’t think about slowly nurturing with time; just give me everything you’ve been preparing. Fighting is my specialty.’
While observing Ghislaine’s confidence, Marquis Branford’s head was filled with complications.
The Count of Brivant was kind, but lazy and timid. To the Marquis, he was no different from a parasite relying on the taxes and techniques of the Mage Tower.
‘But this guy…’
He thought that he was merely asking to become a guardian to make things a bit easier with the help of power.
But now it seemed there was more to it. Considering that the Marquis was the head of the Crown Prince faction, he made his move.
There might be some noise about it, but changing the target of support to Ghislaine wouldn’t be too hard at this point.
There’s the justification of a leader supporting a talented individual.
In any case, the Crown Prince faction did not have any special love for the Brivant Territory; it was merely chosen out of necessity because other northern territories were in worse condition.
‘Ah, so there was a reason for risking our lives to jump in.’
He increasingly liked this guy. He was far better than the lazy Count of Brivant. If he was going to push someone, it was right to support someone like this.
However, despite his personal liking, he couldn’t just decide on a plan that would move the entire faction on his own.
Moreover, he couldn’t ignore the risk factor.
‘If this guy is a puppet of the Duke’s, it would be dangerous.’
If someone who grew all the power of the Crown Prince faction turned out to be a spy, it would only serve to strengthen Duke Delphine.
“I understand what you’re saying. But there are significant risks involved in trusting and supporting you.”
Ghislaine retorted sulkily, “Is Count Brivant trustworthy?”
“I’ve conducted sufficient investigations regarding the Count.”
“Don’t you know enough about me as well?”
“…I can tell that your known evaluations are quite different from who you really are.”
The real reason behind not trusting Ghislaine was exactly this. There was no way to understand why he had been hiding himself.
‘Ugh, should I just come out and say I’m from the future?’
Ghislaine suppressed her frustration and stated flatly, “If you can’t trust me, how about trusting my father? I am the heir of Perdium and a vassal.”
“Hmm.”
The Marquis stroked his chin, deep in thought.
Indeed, Count Perdium was trustworthy.
He had been silently guarding the border for many years, loyal to the royal family.
Some nobles of the Crown Prince faction even suggested it would be better to nurture a man with that level of responsibility rather than the Count of Brivant.
Though they had removed him from the candidate list due to the dire poverty of Perdium territory, thinking there was no significance in offering support.
‘Unbelievable. Am I really contemplating moving an entire faction for just one guy?’
Marquis Branford smirked inwardly.
It was absurd to be struggling over such a nonsense choice; what was more ridiculous was that he was intrigued by the bizarre options presented.
As he pondered, Ghislaine spoke again, “You’ve heard about the war between Perdium and Digald, haven’t you?”
“Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?”
“I sensed some anxiety. I think someone has been instigating Digald from behind in that war. I have no evidence to show, but… I believe Count Desmond supported the troops.”
While there was no evidence, Ghislaine had captured a knight of Desmond at that time, still firmly in her grip.
Yet, she couldn’t expose him publicly just yet. That would have to wait for a later purpose.
However, her intuition alone was enough to persuade the Marquis.
“…What you’re saying is…”
“Count Desmond is a suspicious figure. Perhaps we could have the same person as our enemy.”
Rumors that Ghislaine had allied with the Crown Prince faction would spread quickly. Therefore, there was no need to hide that she was at odds with Duke Delphine.
Marquis Branford gestured to his butler.
“Bring me the materials regarding the war in Perdium.”
He carefully scrutinized the documents the butler brought.
It was just another typical territory war happening in the north, nothing special.
The only suspicious point was.
‘The troop size sent from Digald was larger than we had anticipated…’
It was said they had recruited excessively and hired many mercenaries, but the report also included personal opinions that there had been strange movements in Desmond.
If Count Desmond had indeed aided Digald, the puzzle pieces would fall into place.
In any case, the Crown Prince faction already suspected that Count Desmond had sided with the Duke.
Marquis Branford closed his eyes again and sank into thought.
Everyone else also remained silent, full of tension.
Especially Claude couldn’t hide his nervousness, even biting his lips.
‘The biggest issue we couldn’t resolve was the population problem. If the Marquis helps, we could solve it quickly, something that should take decades. It’s a huge opportunity.’
Even bringing firewood farmers from the mountains still left them short of labor.
No matter how much money they made, the population issue was not something that could be easily resolved.
‘Since most are serfs, unless they escape, they wouldn’t be able to come to our territory.’
Even if the word spread that the Penris Territory was a good place to live, those who weren’t freedmen couldn’t move freely.
It wasn’t even easy to get back the territory residents who had fled previously; surrounding lords kept refusing under one excuse or another.
‘Wait, how on earth did someone who’s supposed to be only wandering within the territory gather such information?’
He looked at Ghislaine as if seeing something unfamiliar.
After a long contemplation, Marquis Branford opened his eyes and asked, “Do you have any other requests?”
“Yes. Perdium has just recently endured a war. No matter how much money we earn, it seems like it will take some time to stabilize the territory.”
“And?”
“I would like to request a three-year postponement for the tax payments of Perdium and its vassals.”
“……”
The retainers frowned, whispering among themselves.
To be hoarding money like a miser while asking for a tax deferment!
No matter how significant a lord is, they wouldn’t dare say they can’t pay taxes. If they fail to pay, they would be condemned by countless nobles and officials.
It was clear the royal family wouldn’t sit idly by, either, before their face was further marred.
In the pursuit of saving just a few coins, they would make powerful enemies.
‘This guy doesn’t seem to be someone who would act out of simple greed…’
The Marquis frowned inwardly, unable to grasp Ghislaine’s intent.
So far, Ghislaine hadn’t seemed that foolish, but the time spent together wasn’t enough to guess what he was aiming for.
However, Claude, who had dealt with Ghislaine multiple times, instinctively sensed that this would lead to more trouble and grimaced.
‘Not paying taxes?’
Ghislaine was not the type to save money in that manner.
This undoubtedly indicated that there was a plan requiring an enormous sum in place. Enough that he needed to conserve even the money meant for taxes!
‘Sigh, here we go again. Now that I just need to sell cosmetics, why does he keep stirring up more trouble?’
Why can’t I, Claude, ever be happy!
Marquis Branford smirked at Claude, whose complexion had turned a dark shade.
Seeing his subordinate so appalled made him realize that it probably wasn’t an impressive reason after all.
At this point, he was curious about how far Ghislaine would take this.
“Is there anything else you need?”
“For now, this should suffice. If you approve my previous request, the rest will resolve itself.”
If something were to be specified, it was about stopping the noble criticism.
Accepting direct territory residents and not paying taxes would both give other nobles a reason to make a fuss.
However, if Marquis Branford supported him, no one would dare speak out.
Therefore, there was no need for Ghislaine to specifically request that.
Understanding Ghislaine’s implication, Marquis Branford chuckled softly.
‘You had no choice but to come to me.’
He had to persuade the royal family and Crown Prince faction nobles to change the support target, postpone tax payments, and serve as a shield against attacks from other nobles.
It was no exaggeration to say that there was no one else who could do it.
From the looks of it, he seemed to have devised this ruse to gain additional support under the pretext of needing a guardian.
‘This guy’s audacity is truly exceptional.’
Whether it’s the position of a great lord or even greater powers, he was clearly aiming to leverage something through him.
If it weren’t for Rosalyn’s matter, he would have come up with some mind-blowing method to approach him.
In front of him, he would surely do so.
The Marquis stroked his chin while lost in thought. Given the current situation, it seemed wise to solidify their relationship even further.
“I hear you have a younger sister.”
“Yes.”
“What do you think about marrying into one of the prominent nobles of the Crown Prince faction? It wouldn’t be a bad idea to connect our families. If you find it agreeable, I’ll find a suitable person from the collateral branches.”
Those who heard this were taken aback.
The dignified and chilly Marquis Branford was voluntarily acting as a matchmaker!
For a small family like Perdium, it was a proposal far too honorable to refuse.
Everyone thought Ghislaine would instantly accept.
However, Ghislaine lowered her head without answering and rubbed her forehead.
Who would have thought such a proposal would come? This was essentially taking her sister hostage.
Laughing and shaking his shoulders, he lifted his head and said, “I appreciate the offer, but I will decline.”
