Chapter 330
Chapter 330: I Have So Many Questions (2)
Raoul is from a kingdom other than Ruthania.
Even the people from the Duke’s faction don’t know where he came from. At some point, he gained the Duke’s trust and took charge of the Duke’s various affairs.
At first, the retainers who had served the Duke for a long time strongly opposed this, but those kinds of people disappeared without a trace.
– Ever since that devilish guy came to the Duke’s house, His Highness has changed.
People murmured, but they could not stop him, who held all the power. Instead, the Duke entrusted everything to Raoul, saying to do as he pleased.
Raoul knew a little about the secrets related to the Forest of Monsters thanks to the folklore and various documents collected by the organization he belonged to.
‘The Forest of Monsters is a very dangerous place. Even pouring all the kingdom’s forces into it, it is uncertain whether the attack will succeed. And afterward… when ‘that day’ comes, a lot of troops will be needed.’
Therefore, Raoul saved troops almost obsessively.
Of course, the staff did not know the exact reason. They just followed because it was the direction presented by the Duke’s house, even if they didn’t understand it.
Anyway, Raoul spent a lot of time persuading the nobles and strengthened the Duke faction while weakening the Crown Prince faction’s influence.
The Duke’s house originally held the greatest power in the kingdom. With that power backing him, everything went smoothly.
Until Giselle appeared.
‘I can’t believe that guy is this great.’
Raoul had met Giselle directly at Marquis Branford’s banquet.
Even at that time, he thought Giselle was quite something. He won wars, created new products, and earned a tremendous amount of money.
Especially impressive was the courage he showed, not being intimidated even while facing Raoul. He even displayed a gaze filled with resentment, which was puzzling.
Still, he thought Harold would be able to handle it. The gap between Giselle and Harold back then was quite significant.
‘Who would have thought that guy, now called the strongest in the North, would defeat Harold?’
To call it a mistake on his part would be too simplistic; what that guy did was extraordinary.
Just based on the information that had come to light, it wasn’t merely something that could be described as genius.
It was as if… he knew everything about them and acted accordingly.
‘This is absurd.’
Raoul shook his head and brushed the thought away.
‘Anyway, since that guy has touched the Forest of Monsters, there’s no turning back now.’
When Raoul heard that Giselle had developed the Forest of Monsters and obtained a Runestone, he immediately ordered Harold to destroy Perdium.
The Forest of Monsters was that important to Raoul.
‘I thought nobody would touch it… but that brat had the gall to pull such a stunt. And to think he actually succeeded.’
Though it was just the entrance, Giselle’s pioneering the Forest of Monsters was quite bothersome to Raoul.
Ultimately, Harold, following orders, incited a war using Digald but failed.
It was probably from that moment that things began to unravel one by one, leading to the current situation.
“There’s no choice. I will personally tear that brat from Penris apart in the future. It’s time to prepare for a big task.”
“What do you mean…?”
Raoul continued in a chilly voice.
“Right, I’ve decided. Prepare to win the civil war with as little damage as possible. And while preparing, recruit anyone who can be swayed as quickly as possible.”
“Understood.”
The staff left with serious expressions.
A civil war is different from a simple territorial war. All the lords and nobles of the kingdom would split into two factions and fight.
The Duke didn’t seem to care whether they suffered because of the civil war, but others did.
Even in war, victory with minimal damage is necessary. That way, they can carry out the next steps.
A lot of preparation would be needed for that. They had to be meticulous to avoid even a single mistake.
Once the staff left, Raoul was left alone and fell into thought again.
“I still can’t understand him.”
Not Giselle. He was referring to Erlhardt, whom he served.
It was clearly himself and the organization he belonged to that helped the Duke realize his mission and guided him on a new path.
Yet, he couldn’t fathom what he was thinking.
He had handed everything over to Raoul, allowing him to lead as he desired. But the chilling gaze he sometimes showed lingered in Raoul’s mind.
When they first met, after revealing the secrets of the Duke’s house and awakening his mission, Erlhardt smiled and said,
– I truly was a special person. My long-held questions have been partially answered.
The Duke calmly accepted his mission. But afterward, his actions were quite shocking to Raoul.
Erlhardt personally killed his wife. He annihilated her entire family as well.
– There are rumors that the Duke’s wife committed adultery. So he must have acted out of rage.
People said that, siding with the Duke.
It was hard to believe that the kind-hearted Duke, known for his amiability, would act without reason.
After that, the Duke killed his children.
– They tried to usurp their father’s seat. That is absolutely unforgivable.
Even then, people supported the Duke.
Subsequently, the Duke killed all his siblings and every relative from the collateral branches. Not a single drop of blood related to the Duke was left.
Anyone who had married out was brought back and killed, and if there were any ties, even they were exterminated. Those who resisted found their families destroyed.
At this point, no one could defend the Duke anymore.
Killing even the powerless collateral branches and families with no connection was indefensible, regardless of the excuses brought forth.
Thus, the Duke waged a massacre, erasing all his relatives from existence.
On the day he killed the last remaining relative, the Duke, now all alone in the world, smiled with a face covered in blood. He left just one line.
– Only now do I achieve a small freedom. I have broken one of the heavy chains binding me.
From then on, rumors spread that the Duke had gone mad. Even those who still supported him were just coming up with conspiracy theories, insisting that Raoul instructed them to do all of it.
But Raoul never demanded such a thing. He had not anticipated that the Duke would commit such acts. It was an action that was no help whatsoever to their grand ambition.
Yet the Duke mercilessly executed the massacre, and then entrusted everything to Raoul, isolating himself.
Raoul still did not know why the Duke had done such things.
“Perhaps he’s truly lost it…”
Raoul clicked his tongue and shifted his thoughts. Whether the Duke was mad or not was irrelevant to him. His mission was to conquer the Ruthania Kingdom and the Forest of Monsters.
Raoul’s gaze turned to the gigantic map before him.
The map contained not only the Ruthania Kingdom. It displayed all the countries and independent factions on this continent.
In some regions, a searing black sun was depicted.
“There’s not much time left.”
Soon enough, the same picture would appear over the Ruthania Kingdom as well. That was Raoul’s goal.
*
“That guy went to the Forest of Monsters again?”
Amelia frowned upon hearing Bernap’s report.
Giselle had already succeeded in developing the Forest of Monsters with the money he extorted from her and earned a massive fortune.
Honestly, it’s not an exaggeration to say that Giselle’s success is mainly due to her efforts. Therefore, whenever she hears about the Forest of Monsters, irritation rises within her.
At Amelia’s sharp question, Bernap cautiously replied.
“Yes, according to reports sent by spies, he recently led troops to the Forest of Monsters.”
Raybold, being in the same North, could gather information about Penris faster than the Duke’s house. Since Giselle had also lifted the territorial blockade, spies crowded the Penris territory.
Of course, truly important facilities or information were still thoroughly concealed, so they couldn’t easily determine them. But they could now grasp the general situation of the territory to some extent.
“Hm, will he succeed again this time?”
“Probably, right? He has succeeded before, hasn’t he? Ah, if we had known there was such a valuable resource there, we should have consumed it first.”
Bernap thought simply.
Giselle is good at fighting. The Penris army is strong. So, he believed they could obtain precious spoils again in the Forest of Monsters, where they had succeeded before.
But Amelia was different from Bernap. She didn’t doubt the possibility of success; instead, she questioned the method.
‘If it were that easy, the Forest of Monsters would have been developed a long time ago.’
Being from the North, Amelia knew well. The Forest of Monsters was long considered taboo in the North. The rumors were notorious, and in reality, it wasn’t profitable.
There had been several attempts to develop the Forest of Monsters since ancient times. The ancients of Perdium, as well as lords from different territories, had tried banding together.
It was because all those efforts failed that the Forest of Monsters became taboo. It was recorded, so no one was unaware.
Yet, Giselle, who had once been a mere brat, developed that place on his own. Although it was only at the entrance, the lords from the North couldn’t achieve even that much until now.
So, it was only natural for Amelia to be puzzled.
‘What on earth did he do? At that time, Giselle’s power wasn’t overwhelmingly strong.’
No matter how impoverished Perdium might be, it was a territory with elite warriors who had gained considerable experience from the North.
In such a place, Giselle accomplished what they couldn’t. It was nonsensical.
She felt increasingly frustrated as she couldn’t figure out how he managed to do it.
Then Bernap unexpectedly chimed in.
“There’s a crazy guy claiming he visited the Forest of Monsters with Count Penris. He says such things only when he’s drunk, but the rumors that spread are quite amusing. They say there are nonsensical monsters there.”
“What?”
Amelia tilted her head.
It was already a well-known story that Giselle had mercenaries who had joined him in developing the Forest of Monsters.
Afterward, it was said that not a single one had deserted him, and they all became knights of Penris. Thus, there shouldn’t be anyone who had returned from the Forest of Monsters.
“Didn’t the mercenaries who first entered the Forest of Monsters all follow Giselle?”
“So no one really believes it. Aren’t the Penris knights quite famous now? So they just think it’s someone telling a fun story. I caught a glimpse of that guy once; he didn’t seem like one who could survive in the Forest of Monsters.”
“What is he saying?”
“He talks about how he followed along and fought various monsters. He curses Count Penris a lot too. Just nonsense, pure nonsense. I just remembered to mention it since it came up.”
Upon hearing this, Amelia thought for a moment before asking again.
“What absurd monsters?”
“Ah… what was it? They say there are monsters that can only be attacked when there’s light. Hundreds of them. So it’s said that if you don’t use mana, you can’t kill them.”
“How did they manage to catch them? Those mercenaries shouldn’t have been able to use mana at the time.”
“Count Penris must have known those kinds of monsters would appear, so he prepared light scrolls. He lured them and caught them at once. Ah, does that even make sense? Such monsters don’t exist in reality. Even if they did, how could one know to prepare in advance about the Forest of Monsters? No, even if it’s just a fabricated story, the plausibility is way off. Hahaha.”
Bernap waved his hand and laughed. But Amelia didn’t laugh.
As the atmosphere turned chilly, Bastet mewed in dismay.
Meow!
That made Bernap stop laughing and scratch his head.
Amelia, still wearing a cold expression, thought deeply for a moment and then said,
“Bring that guy here.”
“W-Why would you want such a braggart?”
“Right now.”
“Yes! Understood!”
Who would dare defy such orders? The soldiers moved and captured the man of the rumor.
The man looked quite ragged. Perhaps he hadn’t properly bathed, as a putrid smell wafted from him.
“L-Lord, I greet you.”
The rat-like man prostrated on the conference room floor, presenting his respects to Amelia, who sat at the head seat.
He maintained the formalities not simply because she was a lord. There was some degree of sincerity behind it.
Living in Raybold, Amelia was a generous lord. She often distributed food to cities and villages, ensuring no one went hungry.
Thus, the man had remained in this place since coming to Raybold, without leaving.
Upon seeing the man, Amelia furrowed her brow slightly. No matter how she looked at it, he appeared to be just a drunken idiot spouting nonsense.
Nevertheless, she did not dismiss him outright but asked,
“So, are you the mercenary who went to the Forest of Monsters with Count Penris?”
At this, the man’s expression showed a hint of tension.
That was something that had to be a secret. Yet, every time he got drunk, he had carelessly bragged and let small details slip.
It seemed that had led to the rumors spreading.
He hesitated slightly before letting out a sigh and said,
“Yes, I have experience from my trip to the Forest of Monsters.”
He spoke quite calmly, but Amelia’s interest was piqued, and she asked again, her expression curious.
“What is your name?”
“My name is… Manus.”
The man was Manus, who had once fled when encountering the Blood Python alongside Giselle in the Forest of Monsters.
Remarkably, he had survived and was now hiding in Raybold.
“What’s your occupation?”
“Right now… I’m resting a bit, but I was originally a mercenary.”
After asking various questions about Manus’s background, Amelia got to the main point.
“I have some curiosity about the Forest of Monsters, and I want to hear the details of that time.”
At those words, Manus’s eyes gleamed with malice.
‘So the lord wants to hear my story, huh?’
Although he had initially planned to keep it a secret, he had already drunkenly let slip a few times. Since it was out in the open now, he had to seize this chance.
He was accustomed to stirring up discontent and liked to incite others, so he figured he could squeeze something out of Amelia and escape from this place.
Adopting a serious tone, he replied,
“It’s not hard for me to share, but I have a small favor to ask of you, my lord.”
“What is it?”
“It’s information I gained with my life on the line. I would like a small fee for the information.”
“A fee for information?”
Is he daring to bargain for information with her?
A chilly smile appeared on Amelia’s face.
