Grand Duke of the Heibern House

＜Episode 32＞

“My lord! I found the lair of Prince Bowen!”

Knight Sorod, who arrived at the house, handed over the map as a faithful manner.

Kazen silently accepts the guidance.

“hmm… … .”

Baron Bowen Darione.

He is the one who created tens of thousands of nomads and the culprit who threw the Heibern family’s territory into chaos.

According to Ruin’s advice, he organized a tracking party and found his hiding place, but his heart was getting more and more stuffy.

‘Paneom Mine… … .’

It’s because I didn’t know where to start and what to do with the mines and the development of the mines.

Not only herself, but most of her blood relatives have only learned the art of the battlefield throughout their lives.

Knights prepared to protect the kingdom in order to overcome the enemy by polishing their minds and bodies.

Even if you want to entrust the management of the mine, there is no one to entrust it to.

Soene and her cohorts are those who have even the slightest bit of talent for cultivating wealth.

They learned to be greedy.

They were the ones who already knew the pleasure of wealth and the thrill of power.

However, it seemed ridiculous to re-appoint them and entrust them with a serious responsibility after they had all been punished. In addition, the resistance of the pure-bloods would be enormous.

“Have you confirmed that he has the Darione family’s seal?”

Knight Sorod expressed disapproval at Kazen’s question.

“Lord Bowen’s hideout is outside the main family fief. Moreover, there has been no public announcement from the royal family yet. We cannot detain him or search him unless the royal law of Lemadel condemns him.”

Kazen couldn’t help but laugh.

Yukain nodded towards Sorod with a satisfied face as if he had done well.

Sorod, too, was blinded as if he had not read the meaning of his dejected laughter.

In the past, they would have praised Sorod for his disinterested work.

Because it is the duty of the Heibern family to protect the kingdom’s laws and justice.

Utilizing the prestige of the Hana duchy, the royal family is notified of the merger of the mines, and they are trying to seize the interests of the Darionega family by force.

Even in such a harsh situation, Sorod, who stood up for chivalry, was the stark reality of this family.

The definition of the Heibern family had to change now that they had decided to immerse themselves in the aristocratic world full of intrigue and scheming.

“Whoa… … .”

long sigh.

I had no choice.

Since all of this was a plan made by him, he had no choice but to call him to solve it.

“Call the Archduke.”

“insect!”

After a while, Ruin arrived at the room to go to.

Kazen explained to Ruin all the circumstances, including the current power vacuum in the family and the Prince Bowen issue.

Ruin calmly stared at his somewhat tired father.

It was his father who showed the aspect of an absolute loser in the kingdom when he overpowered the knights with his fighting spirit.

However, in front of the interests of the aristocratic society and the struggle, the father only became infinitely smaller.

Ruin, who was looking at Kazen with such regretful eyes, suddenly criticized the knight Sorod.

“Have a bar?”

Sorod looked at Ruin in bewilderment.

“… … What are you talking about?”

“How many people were there in the tracking party?”

“Three hundred.”

Firm pride, proudly shouting Sorod.

“Are there any problems?”

At his father’s naive question, Ruin touched his throbbing temple before opening his mouth again.

“father. Darionega has been dealing with the Merchant Alliance for over a hundred years without a proper knight corps. How could they have survived?”

The first head of Darionega is from the Merchant Union.

Growing up from the bottom of the street through all kinds of prenatal trials, he was a person called the god of merchants.

A positional family that eventually built up a huge fortune and even earned the title of nobility.

“The Hibern family doesn’t stop the nomads from entering the territory. The great purge of the knights. Three hundred chasers. A sudden visit from the first prince. What are they thinking with all this information?”

“What do you mean?”

“It means that they already know that the Hibernians are targeting them. Lord Bowen has no owner, so stop all tracking activities right now. It’s a waste of time.”

“It can’t be! This is the first time I’ve never played a Yeongjijeon before!”

As Kazen said, the Hibernians have never given up on their ambitions for a long time of a thousand years.

The Hibern family could not be moved by anything other than the royal order of Lemadel.

That was Hibern, the right way for knights.

“you’re right. I should have kept the nobles off guard like that. By the way, did you organize three hundred chasing parties?”

“that!”

“The knights in armor with the pattern that symbolizes the family must have been fluttering the lion flag of the family and proudly roaming the whole territory.”

“… … .”

In fact, when Ruin heard that he had already finished hunting Lord Bowen, his feelings were strong.

However, he never dreamed of mobilizing 300 ignorant knights.

“Not only the Darione family, but also the aristocratic families near the main fief must already be agitated. I can’t do anything like this.”

Ruin’s cruel eyes.

There was no superior information power or coalition in the Heibern family.

However, there was one thing that was so powerful that no aristocratic family could surpass it.

“Deploy at least half of your available troops. Iljin besieged Shehehelga, Ijin by Darione, and all the others besieged the Merchant Union. The place where we need to deploy the most troops is Shehehelga.”

“… … !”

Ruin’s daring plan made Kazen so stunned that he couldn’t open his mouth.

Half of Heibern’s forces?

A force equal to that of a fairly small country?

Besides, besides hitting Darionega, what is Shehehelga and Merchant Alliance?

“Why the hell is Shehehelga and the Merchant Union? Oh no! Fighting for territory for just one mine! That’s nonsense! Absolutely unacceptable!”

Ruin’s eyes shone even more calmly.

“It’s not because of the mine.”

“What are you talking about again!”

Are you saying that the guy who took an outrageous gamble against the first prince to win the Paneom Mine is now saying something else?

“The gains from running a mine are not that great. What this family should truly covet is people. This is the heart of those who lost their home and lost their job. The Paneom Mine is nothing more than a means to calm their minds and bring them home.”

The management of a mine is a risky and difficult business.

From Ruin’s point of view, the mine was not a coveted interest.

Ruin’s interest was innumerable nomads who lived in the mines.

They have worshiped and adored the manager of Paneom Mine for generations.

It was for this reason that the mine, which was like the hometown of the nomads, was returned to Berna entirely.

Taking care of and managing the mine will stabilize their emotions.

“In order to accept the nomads as complete territories, it is indispensable to deal with the Paneomm mines.”

“… … .”

Kazen’s heart sank heavily.

The reason why more than half of the family’s territory has turned into an unexplored land is because, as he said, the number of territories is absurdly insufficient.

Kazen knew it too.

The people of Yeongji, who were tired of their hard lives and lost hope, had left innumerable for a long time.

“… … Is there really no other way?”

Ruin coldly nodded.

“Once the nobles read the family’s intentions, what remains is speed. Also, Yeongjijeon is the best the original family can do.”

The Heibern family, which only maintains a large number of knights.

At least, it was possible to maintain a mighty military power because the fief inherited from the ancestors was wide enough to be compared to that of a tolerable small country.

Right now, Ruin was urging to repopulate that vast territory.

Luin’s glowing eyes.

She gradually assimilates to her son’s desire.

As for the blood relatives living with the Bernese surname, there was no one who couldn’t beat their heart at the glory of the Grand Duchy and its brilliant past.

Kazen wanted to hear more about Ruin’s plan.

“Try to convince me.”

“The part that my father is curious about is to strike up the Merchant Union with Shehehelga.”

“Yes.”

Ruin unfolded the map his father had given him and pointed to the Merchant Union’s stronghold.

“Obviously, the Merchant Union before the debt relationship with Prince Bowen was very friendly with the Darionega. The first head of the Darionega family was called the god of merchants, so maybe it’s only natural.”

“All good. Until now, Darionega has been the de facto head of the Merchant Union.”

Louin laughed.

“Isn’t that strange?”

“What do you mean?”

This time, Ruin points to the land of Darionega.

“Even if the rich perish, the three generations should live with a sense of pride. No matter how incompetent Prince Bowen may be, he is the eldest son of Prince Brunoa, god of merchants. But why did it collapse so easily?”

“That’s it… … .”

Lazy mining management.

An unimaginable luxury.

Prince Bowen, who sprinkled gold like a still spring, blew away all his vast fortune. There was no way that Ruin didn’t know that fact.

“Think about the size of the property that Prince Brunoa dedicated to the kingdom. This is a family that became aristocrats only through wealth. It is hard to find a precedent even in the Lemadel kingdom. You have to think about how many aristocratic families the family that has amassed such an enormous fortune forms close relationships with.”

“hmm.”

“The current situation is only possible when all such strong relationships fall apart.”

Kazen was deep in thought.

Come to think of it, there were many aristocratic families that maintained a close relationship with the Darione family.

Some of them were big enough families to exert their influence on merchant alliances.

Even if you were to mediate a debt relationship or select only those that had the capacity to support the management of a mine, three or four families would easily come to mind.

“Everybody would have turned their backs on Darionega. The debt relationship is also not normally formed. It is not as easy as one might think to turn a family that has built such a huge fortune into a beggar in an instant.”

Kazen’s pupils shook.

“If so, what kind of conspiracy are you saying this whole situation is?”

Luin’s face went cold.

He was pointing to the realm of Shehehelga and emitting intense eyes.

“Unlike the Darione family, who have lost their power, a family that has recently exerted a strong influence on the Merchant Union. The rapidly growing size of the territory and the growing number of troops. The family that drove the Darionega to a dead end is definitely the Shehehel family.”

“what?”

Having watched Ruin up until now, Kazen was well aware of how elaborate his reason and logic were.

But now he was recklessly judging a family’s honor with just a few phenomena.

There were too many holes in Ruin’s logic to conclude so easily.

“You don’t look like a grand duke. You can’t gossip about the honor of an aristocratic family with just such a fragmentary fact. That’s cheating.”

Luin smiles darkly.

“well.”

The Archduke’s eyes changed completely.

An infinitely cold pupil. Kazen felt a momentary coolness in his gaze, which could even look indifferent.

“Then how about this one? The marriage alliance between Darionega and Shehehelga twenty years ago. The last safe house that Darionega can trust, driven to a dead end.”

“… … .”

“If your father were Prince Bowen, what choice would you make? Who will you entrust to the family’s hope, the head of the family, and where will you send him?”

For an instant, Kazen’s mind came to mind of Prince Bowen’s son, who was running to Sehelga, where his aunt was, holding his father’s head in his arms.

sh*t.

“There is an old adage about the nobility. The most reliable… … .”

“There is an enemy.”

A shiver ran down Kazen’s spine.

It was because Ruin’s sober eyes were astonishing.

However, Kazen didn’t bother to express himself and continued to ask questions.

“not enough. That alone does not explain all of your proposals to send the most troops to Shehehelga.”

Ruin’s hand, which was pointing at Shehehelga, stretched out of the map’s area.

Ruin and Kazen, who knew the topography of Lemadel Kingdom, did not need a complete map.

It passes through the distant wilderness and extends out of the Daegureung region.

Where his touch finally arrived.

Unimaginably huge plains in the south. A fertile land that is said to be the blessing of the Lemadel Kingdom.

“The troublemaker of the kingdom who turned 20,000 young people into outcasts in an instant. The one who disrupted the market with huge debt. A noble who abandons his honor and runs away cowardly. Why does the royal family not define such a person as an enemy of the kingdom?”

Ruin’s pure white teeth shine evenly.

“Lord Bowen doesn’t want to be locked up in the dungeon of the royal castle. There are people who don’t want him to talk.”

Ruin’s hand pointed to the land of Rencia, a place full of fertility.

“A family that can bend the will of the royal family at will. A family that has been openly protecting Shehehelga.”

“Lencia… … .”

Hirencia family.

Luin nodded.

“Yes, father. The first thing we have to deal with is not Darione or Sehel.”