Chapter 37
The day after speaking with Rikain, I made my decision.
I still hated the thought of someone dying because of me.
But I had also realized that many people were expecting just as much from me.
As a beloved lord, I could not ignore their expectations.
I would live up to their expectations, become an ally they loved, and somehow survive.
That was the path I had chosen.
To begin, I decided to strike at Hadem, the Mad Lion of the neighboring domain.
After gathering everyone, I made an official announcement.
“I will strike at Hadem of the Ryan domain.”
Everyone present except Rikain was startled by my words.
They seemed surprised because I had issued only defensive orders until now, and this was my first offensive one.
“The people of the same Empire in the Ryan domain are suffering and dying.”
And until the very end, I had tried to remain on good terms with him.
But the one who had cast all that aside and turned even his own subjects' lives into hell was none other than Hadem himself.
“If we continue to stand by and watch, we will stain the name of the ancestor who devoted himself to building the Empire.”
From the perspective of a lord and a domain, the people of the Ryan domain were outsiders.
But we were all human beings and citizens of the same Empire.
Therefore, I had more than enough reason to save them.
“Therefore, as the head of House Kron and a noble responsible for the happiness of the Empire's people, I will punish Hadem, the murderer who massacred free citizens.”
With that, my speech was over.
Azel's eyes shone with excitement.
“At last, we can carry out a righteous mission!”
“Yes, Azel. It is time to carry out a righteous mission.”
For Azel, who said every day that they wanted to take part in a righteous mission, this must have been the news they had most wanted to hear.
Noah, on the other hand, calmly approached me and spoke.
“You have finally made up your mind, my lord.”
Noah seemed to have noticed my true feelings some time ago.
But Noah had said nothing, simply waiting patiently until I spoke.
This was only my speculation, but Noah was probably the one who had sent Rikain to me as well.
“I'm sorry it took so long, Noah.”
“There is no need to apologize. It was such a difficult problem.”
Noah and Hart seemed to be the only ones who understood how politically tangled this matter was.
And as if to affirm my choice, Noah gazed gently into my eyes and spoke.
“What I can tell you for certain is that no matter what choice you make, my lord, I will follow it.”
At Noah's words, Sharen and Rana, who were standing beside me, nodded as well.
Thus, having received my orders, we began the 『The Lion Hunt』 plan.
* * *
There were several problems we had to solve in order to punish Hadem.
The first was the issue of justification.
Hadem was certainly in the wrong, but he had not yet done anything worthy of a neighboring lord cracking his skull.
It had to be so obvious that Hadem was at fault that my dealing with him seemed only natural.
The second was the matter of tactics.
Hadem was not a fool.
Knowing that he would have little chance of winning if Sharen used large-scale magic in earnest or if Zarha, who had fought him evenly, were present, he would do anything to avoid a fight.
But if we fought without either of them, we could suffer heavy losses even with Azel, our secret weapon, on our side.
We needed a tactic that could subdue Hadem with minimal losses if he chose to fight.
The last was the diplomatic issue.
If I dealt with Hadem simply in the name of justice, I would turn the most powerful faction in the Empire—the Imperial Prince's faction—into an enemy in one stroke.
In the worst-case scenario, I could become the top target for elimination by the Imperial Prince's faction without even receiving support from another faction, such as the Imperial Princess's faction.
We needed a way to deal with Hadem without antagonizing the Imperial Prince.
Solving those three problems while punishing Hadem was my most important goal, and Hart, Noah, and Rikain, the greatest minds in our domain, worked hard to achieve it.
What did I do?
Rana, Azel, and I cheered them on from behind and supported them so they could focus entirely on solving the problems.
It was not easy, but after finding a solution through everyone's efforts, I sent messengers in every direction and began preparing for the decisive day.
Two weeks later, all the preparations were complete, and the day of the decisive battle arrived.
For Hadem, that day was the first pleasant one he had experienced in a long time.
The number of fugitives had fallen to ten percent of what it had been, and agricultural production had returned to its previous level.
Pleased that his methods of discipline had worked, he was enjoying the clear sky with a drink when the door burst open and terrible news arrived.
“My lord! We have a serious problem.”
“What is it!?”
Hadem had been enjoying the blue sky for the first time in a long while, so the noisy report alone was enough to cause him considerable stress.
“T-The free citizens and slaves—one thousand of them fled all at once!!”
“What! A thousand escaped!?”
Hadem was dumbfounded at the report that more than a thousand people had escaped at once.
A thousand people weren't some household dog's name—how could that many escape all at once?
Hadem could not understand it at all.
“Are all the soldiers blind!? How did you let a thousand people escape at once!?”
“It's... Young Master Vara personally led them out. Some of the soldiers even joined them.
“What! Vara!?”
Hadem felt his blood pressure rising when he heard that his son Vara had led the free citizens and slaves in their escape.
His son had been so timid that Hadem had wanted him to take the initiative and do something.
But his very first action had been to escape... Hadem's rage surged past the point of high blood pressure.
“Those damned bastards... Summon the knights! We will pursue them at once!”
Yes!!”
Even though Vara was his son, this was not something Hadem could simply let pass.
Hadem immediately summoned the knights and began pursuing the group of escapees.
Meanwhile, the group of fugitives led by Vara was desperately running toward the Kron domain.
“Run! The Kron domain is just a little farther! Keep running without stopping!!”
The more than one thousand fugitives Vara had secretly gathered for this day were able-bodied young men in their twenties and thirties.
Thanks to that, they were able to flee toward the Kron domain at an astonishing speed, but even so, they could not outrun mounted knights.
“It's Hadem!!! Hadem is chasing us!!!”
“Already!?”
Vara looked back.
An enormous cloud of dust was rising from the horizon.
The dust came from the more than one thousand mounted Ryan knights and the enraged Hadem.
“Chase them!! Don't let those vermin reach Kron!!”
Hadem was riding at the very front, gripping an axe and galloping at full speed.
Seeing the pursuers closing in at tremendous speed, Vara, who was leading the fugitives, shouted.
“Run! Run with all your strength! Kron is almost within reach!! Everyone, run!!”
The fugitives had been running since morning, and their stamina had already reached its limit.
The image that flashed through their minds as they felt they were about to die was that of Boro, the farm overseer Hadem had killed.
If dying here from an exploding heart and being caught and killed amounted to the same thing, they chose to run until their hearts burst.
[ “Aaaaaaaah!!!!!” ]
Just when Hadem thought he had almost caught them, the group of fugitives began running with every last ounce of their strength, leaving him flustered.
At this rate, they would barely make it to the Kron domain.
In the end, Hadem gave the order.
“Fire! Shoot the arrows!!”
Thinking that, if he could not catch them, he would at least keep them from reaching the Kron domain, Hadem ordered everyone to fire at once.
Hundreds of arrows were loosed at the fugitives, and just as they were about to rain down on them, a blade of salvation flew to their rescue.
“Where are you aiming!!”
Shraaaak-!
A green, moonlit blade flew toward the rain of arrows and exploded, blowing them all away.
Hadem's last resort was rendered utterly futile, and the fugitives safely reached the Kron domain.
Calix and the Kron Knights, all mounted, were waiting for them at the border, and Vara shouted to Calix.
“I am Vara Ryan of House Ryan! The 1,021 of us request asylum in the Kron domain!”
“I accept! Welcome to the Kron domain, Vara Ryan and brave fugitives!!”
[ “Hurrayyyyyyyyy!!!!” ]
Hadem could hear the exchange and the fugitives' joyful cheers from a distance, and he felt the greatest rage of his life.
He hefted his axe and crossed the border of the Kron domain as though nothing were amiss, heading toward Calix.
“Calix... Vara... you rotten bastards...”
Hadem wanted to swing his axe and strike down those two brats right then and there.
He approached Calix without concealing his murderous intent.
Ignoring etiquette entirely, Hadem shouted at Calix with nothing but rage in his voice.
“Don't meddle in another family's affairs! Calix!!”
“This is not another family's affair, Lord Hadem.”
Hadem could advance no farther. Azel and Rikain had stepped between him and Calix.
Clenching his axe so tightly that it warped, Hadem suppressed his anger and spoke.
“I will be blunt. Hand over Vara and those who escaped with him. Then I will let this matter go.”
“And if I don't?”
Calix needled Hadem in a tone more insolent than any he had used before.
Hadem's anger flared even more at the sight of Calix, who had always treated him politely until now, suddenly speaking so arrogantly.
“You've grown conceited after a few successes, you brat who couldn't block my axe for even one exchange!”
“Anyone hit by an axe dies. That is not what matters to a lord.”
Like a mirror image of Hadem, Calix needled him without appealing to old laws or propriety.
Calix's manner was a reflection of his own, which irritated Hadem all the more.
But an even greater blow remained.
“I will be blunt as well. Stop tormenting your subjects and start managing your domain properly, even now.”
“What?”
Hadem thought he must have misheard Calix.
Had this bastard really crossed the line this far?
But Calix did not stop.
“Are your ears failing you? I will say it again. Stop bullying the weak and govern properly, you damn ‘bald lion’ bastard.”
“You!! You bastard!!!!”
At that moment, Hadem's anger crossed the breaking point.