Chapter 40
After Hadem Ryan was ousted, things moved very quickly.
Usually, when a rebellion of this sort occurs, the lord's knights and retainers who worship him like a fanatic rise up in opposition.
Ironically, in House Ryan, the more fanatically a knight worshiped Hadem, the more quickly they died obeying his orders to charge.
It was like the stories of how, in North Korea, the people who most faithfully obeyed the Workers' Party of Korea's orders were the first to die during the Arduous March. House Ryan had almost no loyalists of Hadem left.
Many retainers and subjects instead welcomed Hadem's downfall and actively cooperated.
As a result, after the Lion Hunt ended, it did not take Vara long to seize control of House Ryan.
Within a single week, all the affairs of the Ryan domain had been sorted out, and Vara became the head of House Ryan and lord of the Ryan domain.
“They say everything we drink today is being paid for by Lord Vara!!!!”
“Everyone, drink up!!!”
After Vara's succession ceremony ended, I stood with him on the balcony of House Ryan's castle and looked out over the Ryan domain.
The gloomy atmosphere of the Ryan domain I had seen in the game had not completely disappeared yet, but smiles were blooming on the people's faces.
They said that a scene like this, so commonplace in our domain, had been seen here for the first time in nearly ten years. That alone told me how much the people had suffered.
“Big Brother, thank you.”
As I watched the scene, Vara, now lord, bowed his head and thanked me.
Wearing the formal robes of a lord, he was beginning to look quite like one.
“It's all right. I didn't do this just for you. I did it for myself—and for the people.”
As is true of everything in the world, not everything is done out of pure goodwill.
I had helped Vara and the people of the Ryan domain so that I could survive.
“The road ahead will be difficult, Vara.”
“Even if it is difficult, I will overcome it together with everyone, just as you do, Big Brother!”
They say that gaining a throne is easier than keeping it.
I thought Vara would be feeling that now.
At that moment, Vara spoke to me with an extremely serious expression.
“Big Brother…is that really all you want?”
After the battle with Hadem, I discussed the matter with Noah and Hart and demanded compensation from the Ryan domain for the damage we had suffered.
However, Noah tried to demand far too much, so I had to calm him down.
Compensation for the dead knights and their bereaved families, along with a modest profit, was enough.
“As I understand it, you should demand much more.”
“That is enough.”
According to Noah, when one took part in a battle on behalf of another lord, it was customary to demand compensation amounting to as much as half a year's operating expenses for the domain.
But I did not think that was necessary.
Our domain was extremely prosperous even without that money, and if I demanded excessive compensation, I could turn the people of the Ryan domain, who had only just returned from the brink of death, into enemies.
Just as Germany's enormous reparations after the First World War led to the Second World War, enormous compensation could end up doing more harm than good.
‘For him to ask for so little compensation…there's no way Big Brother would show me such favor for no reason.’
While Calix was thinking that, Vara was confused.
Vara had been prepared to make himself a slave of House Kron over this matter.
He had even been prepared to hand over the Ryan domain's entire annual operating budget or all of his family's hidden treasures if Calix demanded them.
Yet Calix had demanded only about ten percent of what Vara had been prepared to pay, including compensation for the dead soldiers.
Vara simply could not understand it.
As Vara racked his brain over it, Calix spoke.
“Vara, what do you think will happen to this Empire from now on?”
“The Empire?”
“Yes…”
At Calix's question, Vara thought about it.
The Empire was now a place where clashes among rampaging lords and forces such as the Imperial Prince, the Imperial Princess, and the Grand Duke of the North were growing increasingly fierce.
On top of that, he had recently heard that assassinations of members of the imperial bloodline had begun.
The answer was obvious.
“….I think it will descend into chaos.”
“Yes. If things continue like this, the Empire will fall into even greater chaos. And when His Majesty the Emperor passes away, a great upheaval will occur…”
Traditionally, after an emperor died, a tremendous civil war broke out during the process of choosing the next emperor.
Betrayals and battles ran rampant, and many people died in the process.
Yet at the same time, countless heroes were born.
With a mixture of admiration and hatred, people referred to that period as follows.
『Game of Thrones』.
“When that time comes, money will not be what matters. What will matter is the power to protect me, and the neighbors who stand with me.”
Calix believed that when that time came, allies would matter more than money.
He thought that having many allies would make it harder for anyone to attack him and allow everyone to live happily.
“I think now is the time for the South to unite and pool our strength.”
That was why he had built a good relationship with Jeras, ousted Hadem, and restored House Ryan.
That was what Calix had in mind.
However, Calix's words sounded somewhat different to Vara.
‘Big Brother…surely you intend to participate in the Game of Thrones!?’
To Vara, Calix was none other than the ‘Overlord of the South.’
In the short span of just two years, he had revived the Kron domain, suppressed the rebellion in Dreihart, organized slaves into his own military force through an unexpected method, and steadily expanded his influence without making an enemy of any faction.
Now, no one in the southern region could afford to ignore House Kron.
And now that very Calix had said he was preparing for the coming Game of Thrones.
What could this mean?
‘Let us cooperate so we can live in peace among ourselves.’
That was not something a lord who had seized control of the southern region in a time so short it would be recorded in history would say.
Rather, the other interpretation made far more sense.
‘I, too, intend to participate as a player in this Game of Thrones, just like the Grand Duke of the North. Little brother, when the time comes, lend me your strength.‘
Feeling a thrill as all the pieces fell into place, Vara was deeply moved.
He had thought of himself as nothing more than the powerless son of a mad lion.
He could not hide his emotion at being regarded as a comrade who would accomplish a great undertaking.
Vara vowed that when that day came, he would lend Calix his strength and repay his kindness, then knelt before Calix and said,
“Don't worry. Big Brother…I will serve you with all my might!!”
“Th…then, let's work hard together.”
Calix was flustered by Vara's reaction.
What was up with this guy?
Was he really so moved just because I said we should work hard together and help one another?
With their minds on entirely different things, the festival in the Ryan domain continued.
That day, the people of the Ryan domain gained freedom, and Vara gained a goal for the future.
And although Calix thought he had gained a good neighbor,
in reality, he had gained the power of House Ryan, reputed to possess the strongest charge in the South.
* * *
At that time, in the ‘capital of the Novarens Empire’—the imperial capital of Novaresia.
A battle report from the southern region arrived at the grandest office in the Imperial Prince's Palace.
Imperial Prince Kailos and Duran were discussing it.
When Duran heard that Calix had succeeded in bringing Hadem to justice on the Imperial Prince's orders, he said,
“With this, the southern region has come under Your Highness's hands.”
By order of the Imperial Prince, Hadem had been ousted, and the lord of the Ryan domain who succeeded him was Vara, Hadem's son and a member of the Imperial Prince's faction.
Although losing Hadem was regrettable, Duran thought that the balance of power in the southern region had shifted entirely to the Imperial Prince.
At that moment, the Imperial Prince spoke with a troubled expression.
“Do you really think so, Duran?”
”Am I mistaken, Your Highness?“
The Imperial Prince did not look pleased.
Sensing his lord's mood, Duran fell silent.
”Lord Kron wanted my order in order to expel Hadem. A commendable thought, wasn't it? If Hadem's actions had warranted it, he could have immediately demanded a war trial before the Imperial Court, but instead he sought my permission.“
Had Calix brought all of Hadem's crimes, including the bandit-impersonation incident, before the Imperial Court and then simply started a war, the Imperial Prince would have had nothing to say against it.
The fact that he had not done so, instead making Hadem the villain to the very end and establishing the justification that he had expelled him only because he had no other choice, was political skill even the Imperial Prince had to admire.
“In return for this, Lord Kron could have demanded much from me. He could have asked for compensation for the damage Hadem caused, a higher position, or something else, but he demanded nothing.”
The problem came next.
This incident gave Lord Kron grounds to demand something from the Imperial Prince.
He could have requested authorization to expand his territory, or asked for an exemption from the salt tax to reduce his taxes.
But he had demanded nothing from the Imperial Prince.
“Duran, among my supporters so far, has there been anyone who has not asked me for anything?”
“….No, Your Highness.”
“Then, conversely, does Lily ask me for anything?”
“Surely not…”
”Yes. That is exactly it.“
There were only two types of people who asked the Imperial Prince for nothing.
They either wanted something far too great, or they wanted nothing because they were enemies.
”Then does that mean Lord Kron is our enemy?”
“A person with enough of a sense of justice to win Azel's approval cannot be my enemy. But he is not a complete ally yet…”
Moreover, House Ryan had become indebted to House Kron because of this incident, meaning it could no longer ignore Kron's influence.
The three largest domains in the South had become concentrated under a single family.
In other words, securing House Kron would mean controlling the southern region, but losing it could be an excruciating blow.
“Duran, investigate Calix Kron thoroughly. Above all, we must find out exactly what he wants.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The Imperial Prince thought he had been too complacent.
Even though he was in the Imperial Palace, where information arrived only after everything was over, he could have acted sooner regarding Calix Kron.
The only reason he had not was that he had let his guard down.
At least Calix was not completely his enemy.
For the battles to come, the Imperial Prince absolutely wanted to make Calix Kron his ally.