Chapter 6: Civil War Era- Christine Aquitaine (1)
The battle ended when the soldiers of Mirbo, having seen the regent taken prisoner, lost their will to fight and began to flee or surrender.
The face of Mirbo’s second son, showing the world’s most unjust expression right before he fainted, was quite memorable.
Honestly, I feel unjust too.
Before I returned, I thought I was a fool.
As the sole heir of the ‘Blue Knight’, reputed as the strongest in the kingdom, I received immense expectations from a young age. However, my first opportunity to showcase my skills at the knight’s festival ended in disgrace as I lost to a commoner, becoming a laughingstock among the nobility.
Enraged, the Duke made Gaston, the winner, a knight but kept him in the estate with me under the guise of being my guard knight.
Thinking back on how I timidly wasted my time, believing I was useless until the Duke’s death forced me to the front lines...
Shaking my head, I watched the soldiers gathering the casualties and prisoners, and then I spotted the commander who had just been leading the Aquitaine army.
He didn’t seem like a knight.
I did ask them not to send anyone important, but this seemed a bit too much, even considering our alliance.
“I'm Pierre de Lafayette, the acting Duke. Are you in charge here?”
“Greetings, the Young Duke of Lafayette. My apologies, but no, I am not. Please wait a moment.”
“Hmm?”
The commander bowed to me and then approached a carriage that looked more suitable for nobility, spoke to someone inside, and then opened the door.
Was this some kind of decoy?
While I was pondering this, a woman in a light dress stepped down from the carriage, and I froze.
“Uh…”
Ignoring the outstretched hand of the commander, the woman, holding a pistol with both hands that did not match her dress, looked around cautiously, then frowned and covered her mouth with her hand.
Why was she here?
The stunned moment was brief.
Soon, accustomed to the stench of blood, the woman lowered her hand, and as our eyes met, she handed her pistol to the commander and turned towards me.
The woman with black hair and dark eyes lightly lifted her dress and bowed slightly in greeting.
“I am Christine Aquitaine, daughter of the Count of Aquitaine. It’s been a while, Young Duke.”
My fiancée, who had died before my return, was standing before me.
“Pierre de Lafayette, son of the Duke of Lafayette, greets you. It’s been a long time, Milady…”
“Ugh!”
My words were cut off by the sound of vomiting from a woman, seemingly a maid, who had followed Christine out of the carriage.
What in the world was happening?
Christine briefly glanced at her maid with an awkward expression, then composed herself and smiled gracefully.
“If I may, could you explain what’s going on here?”
...I’d like to know that myself.
***
As always, I publicly requested the procurement of supplies from the Count of Aquitaine, but sent a separate messenger to warn of an expected attack and to strengthen defenses, explicitly asking not to send any important figures.
I couldn’t wait for the messenger’s return to time it right, but I did confirm the dispatch of the message to the Count's house before we set out.
Despite my request, the vulnerability of the escort procession could be interpreted as the Count of Aquitaine acting cautiously to avoid losses in his forces.
If the supplies were successfully transported to the Duke’s territory, any subsequent failure to protect them could be blamed on the Duke’s house.
However, it was exceedingly strange that Christine was the person in charge of this dangerous convoy.
Had I been delayed or defeated in battle, she could have been captured or, in the worst case, killed or injured.
Even if she had panicked or jumped out of the carriage during the attack, we would have been unable to fight properly while protecting her.
If something had gone wrong with the convoy led by the fiancée of an allied family, especially after an attack in the Duke’s territory...
The mere thought sent shivers down my spine.
After hearing my explanation, Christine, with a serious look on her face, pondered for a while before uttering just one sentence.
“I hope the messenger has safely returned to the Duke’s residence.”
After escorting her convoy back to the Duke’s house, I received a report that the messenger had not returned.
***
In the reception room of the Duke’s residence.
Damien de Mirbo was trembling, his face flushed with anger.
“Transfer the tax rights of three villages for 10 years?”
Christine nodded calmly in response.
“Yes. If you agree, we will cover the ransom and compensation that the Count Mirbo house owes to the Lafayette Duke’s house, as well as the military expenses that were supposed to be sent to Count Mirbo at the front lines. We’ll pay it all in one lump sum.”
I watched Damien tremble, leisurely savoring my coffee.
Ah, this coffee brought in through the Aquitaine house has a great aroma.
“Don’t be absurd! The tax rights for ten years are worth several times that amount!”
At Damien’s outburst, Christine took a leisurely sip of her coffee, mimicking me, then slammed it down on the table with a bang.
“Mirbo-gong*. Count Mirbo has not yet been informed of this matter. Not yet, that is.”
Christine paused deliberately before adding, with an effortlessly elegant smile.
“But what if he learns that you, entrusted with his land, took knights and soldiers to do an unsanctioned deed, got captured, and had to retreat from the front lines to pay the ransom? What would happen then?”
“That, that would be…”
Christine watched Damien’s pupils shake uncontrollably as she continued.
“The honorable Count would never bear the stigma of kinslaying, so he would pay the ransom. However, the wrath of the Second Prince and the waste of all resources in the civil war... I am genuinely worried that you might later face ‘unfortunate’ circumstances, Count. ...Sincerely.”
...Her face looks genuinely concerned.
Christine drove the final nail in, looking at Damien, now pale and speechless.
“I understand your position well, not being an heir myself. Tax rights are important, of course, but they aren’t really yours, are they? Not right now. But by accepting my proposal as the regent, you can send military expenses to the Count, buying time and a chance to redeem this situation.”
Ultimately, Damien responded with a decaying face.
“Just, give me a moment. I need to think.”
“Of course, Mirbo-gong. But remember, time is of the essence. The tax rights will return to you in 10 years, and depending on your decision, you may be the one to reclaim them.”
Damien, looking like a soul had left his body, left the reception room under the guidance of a servant who was also a guard.
“As you can see, this is the situation, Duke. If Mirbo-gong agrees, the Count of Aquitaine will send the ransom and compensation.”
...He probably has no choice but to accept.
I inwardly shook my head and replied to Christine.
“Understood. Initially, I promised a share of the ransom and compensation we would receive for the risk taken by the Count of Aquitaine’s house...”
Christine responded with a self-deprecating smile.
“I wasn’t informed of that part. Since we’ve become entangled in this affair and stand to gain, let’s consider it null and void.”
With that, she silently sipped her coffee and then looked at me.
After a long silence, filled with looks that seemed to explore each other, Christine bowed her head to me.
“I’m sorry, Young Duke. It seems our engagement will be annulled.”
I sighed.
Her words during our carriage ride back.
-“I hope the messenger has safely returned to the Duke’s residence.”
After much thought about that statement, I had come to the same conclusion.
The messenger had certainly delivered my secret letter to the Count's house. Then, a message was sent afterward.
However, the Count of Aquitaine sent only a few escorts for the convoy, and even made Christine the leader.
“...So the Count's house never received my secret letter, and they are using the Duke’s territory’s endangerment of the convoy and you as a pretext?”
Christine, observing my reaction, showed a glint of surprise in her eyes.
“...I didn’t expect you to understand so quickly.”
Doubtful at first, her reaction made me realize I had been wrong.
Before my return. A few months from now, Christine was supposed to die.
I thought her death naturally severed our marriage alliance with the Aquitaine family.
But the Christine sitting before me now is incredibly astute and healthy.
She doesn’t look like someone who would suddenly pass away.
Perhaps she wasn’t ill-fated; she might have been murdered.
This time, the scheme I orchestrated served as a pretext for her removal without dirtying their hands, or at least as a justification to break off the engagement with the Duke’s house.
“Lady, I always thought our two houses had aligned interests...”
The Lafayette Duke’s house rose from a mere knight to the overwhelming might of the ‘Blue Knight’ lineage. The Count Aquitaine house, originating from city-born merchants, amassed great wealth and purchased nobility titles from declining aristocrats.
Both houses were outsiders to the central political mainstream, often marginalized by the so-called pure-blooded high nobility.
The Lafayette house, with its military might, and the Aquitaine house, with its financial power, have complemented each other in an alliance, and that’s why my engagement to Christine was decided when we were both very young.
“In the past, that was true. We operated many trading posts, always accompanied by substantial escorts due to our lack of knights, so the alliance with the Duke’s house was a solid support.”
Christine said this with a small sigh, then added:
“But what about now? Since the civil war broke out three years ago, we’ve been fulfilling our alliance duties, consistently supporting your noble house with military funds and supplies. However, the Duke’s house, proud of its army, has been preoccupied with the civil war in the north. Our lands and we ourselves have been neglected.”
Indeed. Had I been too optimistic, relying solely on the longstanding blood alliance?
After a brief silence, Christine slowly spoke.
“...I thought my engagement with the Duke’s house might be annulled. But I never imagined I’d be used as a pawn to break it.”
Christine’s tone was even, but her face betrayed the sadness and anger she couldn’t fully hide.
I pondered how to comfort her, then decided against it.
How could I, raised as the sole heir, truly understand her feelings?
And I, too, was deeply disheartened.
For three years of civil war, the lords pillaged each other’s lands to sustain the war, depleting each other’s strength. Meanwhile, wealthy city merchants lent money to the cash-strapped lords or bought their autonomous rights, gradually becoming independent.
Now, even high nobility couldn’t exert undue influence over the cities.
Eventually, as the civil war neared its end and the nation’s strength was completely exhausted, the impoverished royals and nobles eyed the wealthy cities, leading to a revolution. The key figures of the revolution were from the city’s wealthy class.
The origins of the revolution’s commander-in-chief, Raphael Ballian, were unclear, but considering his proficiency in warfare using gunpowder weapons, unlike knights or magicians, he likely originated from a city background.
The Aquitaine family, which became nobility from city merchants, naturally had deep connections with several cities, and their extensive trade network also meant a vast information network. They could serve as a bridge to the city powers.
Therefore, in the plan I devised, the Aquitaine house played a crucial role.
“...This leaves a rather foul taste.”
After a long silence, her unaristocratic words perfectly echoed my feelings.
“Even if the heir of the house wasn’t my mother’s child but another woman’s, I intended to be a good sister to them. I even tried to treat the Countess, that woman, kindly.”
Christine, having said this much, let out a self-deprecating smile.
“I never had issues with a political marriage. I never aspired for the County. Managing the family’s trade and assisting my father were duties I performed for the family’s sake until my marriage.”
She is the daughter of the previous Countess, who passed away, and the current heir is her stepmother’s son. Naturally, there’s a significant age difference between them.
Even I, in my reclusive days, sensed her competence in our few meetings. She held enough influence to manage the family’s trade operations.
It wasn’t unreasonable for her stepmother, and her followers to see her as a threat.
“Before leaving, I promised the boy I’d bring him a gift from the Duke’s territory, smiling. ...I never imagined I’d be blindsided like this.”
Hearing this, I made up my mind.
Why did I come back?
I possess information that would otherwise be unknown.
Can’t use Aquitaine? Then, I’ll make it so that Aquitaine can be used!
“Lady Aquitaine.”
I caught Christine’s gaze, heavy with self-reproach, and made a proposal.
“Let’s form an alliance.”
“...But the engagement alliance between the Duke’s and Count's houses will be annulled, won’t it?”
“That’s why we form a new one. Not as the Duke’s and Count's houses, but us. I will be your ally.”
In just a moment, the self-reproach washed away from Christine’s face.
“The engagement will be annulled, and I’m not even the heir of my house. What do you need from me?”
She said she had no intention of pursuing the Count's title.
But regardless of her wishes, they considered her an enemy.
“A Countess of Aquitaine with the influence to assist me.”
As I spoke, a myriad of emotions flickered in Christine’s eyes.
But in the end.
The smile that settled on her lips was as radiant as a painting, yet laced with venom.
“Oh dear, the gift I intended for my cute younger sibling was not supposed to be this.”
[TN: Gong (공): It's a suffix used to mean honorable. ]
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