70 – Great Leap (3)

When my order was given, the soldiers next to the door moved left and right, and the door began to open accordingly.

The door to the castle, 8 meters wide and 10 meters long, was opening very slowly.

And when I saw the door open, the soldiers were watching the gate with eager eyes to see if they were tempted by ‘looting’.

Of course, even in Europe, plundering food, military supplies, and women was so natural that there was nothing wrong with it until international law had ‘practical effects’.

In general, if the ‘massacre’ was not caused with the commander’s connivance or permission, it was just like riding a thrilling ride.

In the Thirty Years’ War, which was unnecessarily generous to such a side, a cavalry commander named Pappenheim wrote this in his autobiography after receiving reports that 25,000 citizens were massacred and all women raped in Magdeburg.

[The soldiers plundered today and took their share, so morale has increased. It feels very good.]

However, if you plunder this place, you will completely lose the public opinion of the entire ‘County of Nantes’, and you will be giving up all the numerous benefits to be gained from the city of Nantes in the future.

And personally, I want to refrain from ‘looting’, and especially I don’t want to receive a report of a cute girl of the same age as Ella being raped for no reason by a rambunctious soldier.

When I first established the Standing Army, there was a story about a girl raped by a private.

That bastard I ordered another executioner to crush from hand to toe in front of his family, and then finally killed ‘that place’ with a hammer.

Normally, that girl should have seen this too, but that girl… committed suicide at the point the report came up because of the mental shock of being raped and the social stigma of losing her virginity to a soldier.

So I gave one last request to the soldiers while the door was open, so that it wouldn’t happen again.

“Anyone who plunders even a penny of copper or a grain of wheat from the inhabitants of towns and villages, regardless of rank, will surely be killed. No, go further and execute children and wives as long as there is no record of serving for me. Instead, I will reward you more than ever, so please don’t do stupid things blinded by immediate profits.”

As the gates opened, a panoramic view of Nantes came into my eyes.

Houses with white and yellow walls and tall windows, a bit old but brick-paved main street, in front of the houses are rows of kiosks selling fruit, fish, meat, and alcohol.

It’s not as much as Elaine, the ecliptic where the emperor lives, but wouldn’t a city of this size have a population of between 30,000 and 50,000, including those living in the vicinity?

However, it was quiet as if there were no people living in the castle despite the sun rising in the middle of the sky, perhaps because looting was scary.

As expected, people here also have a reputation for ‘Baron Creutel’ as a man of honor, but they probably think that is relative compared to other lords.

Relatively less robbing, less coveting, and less killing honor.

While I was lost in thought, I was riding a horse and marching majestically, when merchants dressed in ‘clothes made of silk’ appeared.

Even if they all accumulate wealth as merchants, it is because of the restriction that they cannot wear ‘silk’ except for ‘black’ clothes unless they are nobles…

All of them were dressed in black, and for a moment I even thought that they were a group of death gods.

The merchants stopped in front of me, got down on both knees, and bowed their heads to pay respect, but I raised one hand to stop them and said:

“Why are you here?”

Then the merchant in front of me waved his hand and signaled to the person behind me.

“I have come to express my sincerity in a small way. Please accept it.”

And after some time, a small carriage appeared in front of me.

Inside was a large sack of gold coins, and two girls in frilly dresses that were being sold to new owners.

Both of them had different charms than Ella, and even girls that fit my taste…

I’ve never been close to any other woman besides Ella, so how did they know what I like?

The merchant put his hands together and said to me.

“We brought 1,000 gold coins carefully collected by the saints of Nantes, as well as girls who seemed to suit Your Excellency’s taste. In addition to these, the finest armor, sword, and shield made by Master Schmitz of Hamburg to be presented to His Excellency at the bottom of the carriage. I have brought you, please accept it.”

Two girls of that beauty for 1,000 pieces, furthermore, the armor and sword of Master Schmitz, who is said to be difficult to buy even with money…

And since these guys didn’t discuss ‘sincereness to others’, they must have prepared a little less sincerity for their father.

Perhaps all captains and above will receive ample amounts of gold coins, weapons, and women…

Even if you only get this much and finish it, you will be called an ‘adult’, but from now on I want to rule Nantes well the way I want, so…

“Thank you for showing this level of sincerity for me. Therefore I will not plunder you. Again, I don’t need this penny. So you tell me there will be no looting after I leave this place. Go back immediately and reassure the citizens.”

Hearing this, the representative of the merchant stood still with his eyes wide open as if he were going to faint, and asked, unable to hide his bewilderment.

“Your Excellency, what nonsense are you talking about? Even if you only accept what we showed sincerity, the citizens will praise the grace of not ‘plundering’. But you don’t need a penny.”

“Literally. No, and I am Ciel von Kreuttel. Only the profits from our estate this year… Chris?”

After hearing that, Chris came up to me and replied.

“The income from His Excellency’s direct jurisdiction alone is 100,000 gold coins. In the case of purchasing other people’s food, the profit obtained will reach 200,000.”

The man standing in front of me muttered with his mouth wide open.

“That makes sense…”

“You don’t know about the majesty of my Merchant Merchant?”

“…whether or not? Ever since His Excellency was the lord of Windheim, half-jokingly and half-seriously, we thought that His Excellency might be buying the neighboring barony of Santoburg with money, and we’ve come up with a business plan accordingly…”

That bastard is overdoing that again, at best, saving money and buying a territory with a population of about 2,000 people ruled by Bayleaf would have been the limit at the time.

“So you don’t need anything. Just go back.”

After hearing that, the merchant looked at me and the other merchants alternately and began to think about whether he was uneasy even though he kept saying that.

If you’re doing this in front of me, I think you’ll only be left with ‘anxiety’ rather than ‘thank you’…

So I had no choice but to accept only a small part of what they gave and asked.

“Where did those maids come from?”

At that, the merchant said with a very bright smile, as if he thought that I was trying to guarantee my safety by receiving something from them.

“These are the girls who were sold with debts from our guild. Normally, I would have sold it to a slave trader for about 200 to 300 gold coins, but how can I get money from you?”

They’re the kids who came with debt… For some reason, it reminds me of Ella.

Come to think of it, if Ella becomes the ‘count’s concubine’ now, it will be more difficult for her to get along with girls her age than before… It would be helpful to assign a ‘lady-in-waiting’ who does not have a family line to alleviate her loneliness.

It’s much better than wasting my head by accepting another knight or baron’s daughter just because of this.

“Okay, I’ll take two of those girls.”

“thank you. dismissal.”

Then I reached out to Chris and received a blank check, ‘I guarantee the payment of 1299 gold coins in the name of Count Kreuttel.’ I wrote it down and handed it over.

“One gold coin is enough for me to receive from everyone in Nantes. I will reward the others, so you really don’t have to give them even a single fairy tale. The rest of the gold coins include the meat for the banquet, beer and wine, and the price of the women’s labor.”

“all right.”

Then I put my hand on the shoulder of the man in front of me and said firmly.

“If I investigate and hear that even one low-level worker has not been paid properly… I will go find it myself.”

At that, the man in front of me trembled and replied.

“Is there any…”

“If you don’t have enough money, contact the castle. I’ll give you more, so it’ll be hard to survive if you take away even a single fairy tale instead.”

And I headed to the count’s mansion.

**

Adding a little exaggeration, it was incredibly splendid as it was the place where Schwein, who did not budge even when the people were starving to death in front of him, lived.

The floors were all laid out in marble, and the walls were plastered with white wallpaper or ebony.

In the middle of the long hallway, there was a vase made of ceramics that was said to have been made in the ‘Orient’.

If you add a little bit of exaggeration, that vase would be worth the war horses that knights ride…

Well, honestly, if you were the Count of Nantes, you could do that, but…

But to think that Schwein was like that makes me feel dirty just looking at that.

Leaving those feelings behind, I headed to the audience room, the most important space in the mansion.

When I entered the audience room, my father, Balt, and Kreutel’s knights stood up all at once, then got down on one knee and bowed their heads.

The fact that even my father showed me this kind of appearance is proof that I have that much control over them, and it is a declaration that ‘no matter what I do, I will not deviate from [Viscount]’s scope’.

I’ll have to visit my father later and give him a suitable gift and thanks…

“you’ve worked hard. Everyone stand up.”

At those words, all the knights, including my father, stood up in unison.

Then, I bowed my head to them and said.

“With the help and sacrifices of my lords, I was able to overthrow the evil count of Nantes who gave up his honor and defend my rights and honor. And in order to repay your dedication, as of now, I have become Count Ciel von Creutel, the legitimate lord who rules Nantes and Hellsman, rather than ‘Baron Creutel’. Even though I haven’t received formal approval from the imperial family, I’ll be able to officially become a count soon.”

At that, the knights let out cheers.

“Long live the count!!”

“With His Excellency the Count, neither the battlefield nor hell is scary!!”

And I kept talking.

“Okay, then I will stand on the battlefield with you and passionately repay your dedication. I’ll show you the proof first. Send in the brave warriors who resisted the knights, relying only on a long spear.”

Then, about 30 knights and captains slowly walked forward from the end of the audience room, and when they got to me, they got down on one knee.

I clapped once and then laughed.

“I already hit you on the cheek, so I won’t hit you here. Isn’t once enough? In return, I will give you the title and position as a ‘knight’ and a bounty that symbolizes nobility. Don’t worry, it’s separate from the territory or wealth that comes out of non-gong peddlers.”

Then, the maids, including Chris, who wore a dress, gave each of them a ‘famous sword with gold inlaid up to the sheath’.

Those who received it began to cry, and I tapped one of them on the shoulder and said,

“Is it okay for those who have a bright future to cry in the audience room? Even the maids are watching.”

When those words were finished, small laughter flowed from the knights.

Then I borrowed the sword of the knight in front of me for a moment and pulled it out, then put it on each side of my shoulder and said.

“You all now appoint majors, not ‘captains’. You will command an infantry force of approximately 300 to 500 men. Of course, you can receive a salary or a territory to maintain your dignity as a knight during the working period, so it would be good to choose wisely. If possible, you should be promoted to colonel and rise to the position of commanding over 2,000 troops.”

At those words, those appointed as knights in the audience room could not hide their tears and began to cry.

Some of the bastards wept bitterly while on their knees.

I ignored them and continued talking.

“And Chris Belladora.”

Hearing my words, this time Chris stood in front of me, wearing a light blue dress and walking gracefully like a ‘social lady’.

Her light blue hair and golden eyes matched the dress so well that I just stared at her in awe.

In order not to get caught, I quickly said ‘pretending to be calm’.

“Chris Belladora helped plan the operation with Balt from the ecliptic, and minimized the sacrifice of the allies by scattering various armor, money, and food in front of 18,000 infantrymen. Also, during the war, they efficiently promoted supplies… and made great achievements. According to this, even if I am a woman, I think that I can work on the same line as you. How about that?”

Hearing that, all the knights muttered to each other ‘as if they didn’t understand’.

However, as if he didn’t have the courage to resist an absolute power with thousands of standing soldiers and more money, he just muttered…

After a while, one of the knights standing at the end said angrily.

“But she did not stand on the battlefield! No, how could a woman work with us in the first place? What honor, what price? Even if there is blood on his hands…”

I just glared at the article and said.

“If we had fought 18,000 infantry in a weary state, we could have been defeated. It’s honorable enough to have prevented that, and even though she’s a ‘woman’, she came out with a blunt axe and bled as she slashed the throats of bastards who threatened your safety. Although she is a woman, Chris Belladora has already shown activity and courage comparable to that of a decent knight.”

Even with that statement, the article refuted to the end.

“As you said, it is hard to understand putting them on the same line as us. We fought with lances on the battlefield anyway, but she doesn’t?”

“That makes sense, good. chris.”

Chris, who was called out to me, seemed embarrassed and straightened his back like a tree in an instant and answered.

“Yes, Your Excellency!”

“Your achievements are not enough to be appointed as a ‘knight’, but I can’t recognize someone who has not yet stood on the battlefield as a ‘knight’. So, Chris Belladora, I’m giving you the opportunity to be commissioned as a second lieutenant or a managerial position that’s equivalent to a ‘second lieutenant’, choose wisely.”

With that, I handed her the ‘cheap dagger’ I was wearing around my waist and said.

“Go ahead. Even though she is a woman, isn’t she the head of a semi-noble family?”

Chris, who received the dagger, carefully stroked it and blushed.

“Gam, thank you… Your Excellency.”

And I looked at the other articles, cried out loud, and said:

“The territory has not been properly leveled yet, so there is a lot to do. And I have to go see His Highness, the Duke of Brussels soon. Therefore, it will take some time to complete the nongong practice, but I will allow you to have a ‘banquet’ today. It’s worth 500 gold coins. If it’s not enough, tell the treasurer and take my money. Try to get rid of everything.”

Having said that, I was ready to move to Brussels even a second faster.

Then I took Major Frost, his platoon, and Chris out of the mansion.

From now on, time is life.