I Became the illegitimate son of a duke

11 – War of the Burgon Succession (1)

“Good morning, Duke.”

“Uh, uh uh…”

Even though that happened last night, Chloe came to wake me up as usual.

I was hesitant because I didn’t know how to treat Chloe, but Chloe acted as if nothing had happened.

The tear marks on Chloe’s eyes tell us that last night wasn’t a dream, but Chloe’s bright smile makes even those tear marks an attractive point.

“Ugh…”

The only thing that changed was Chloe calling me duke, nothing else.

I was able to get out of the room only after washing and getting my clothes sorted by Chloe as usual.

And, of course, Chloe follows me and walks beside me.

…………

“Has it already been sent?”

“Yes.”

I was so busy with work that I entered the office with simple bread to eat, and immediately tried to send someone to the Duchy of Laurel, but the vassals replied that they had already sent.

‘…Not good.’

It’s good that the lord took care of what he forgot. However, sending it without the master’s permission is a problem.

Someone might say, “I was going to send it anyway, but I made up for the fact that I was almost a day late, so isn’t it good?”

“Who did it?”

“This is Jean.”

“Put probation.”

“Yes.”

As soon as Count Leclerc, the butler, heard my disposition, he lowered his head as if he knew how to do it.

He couldn’t control his subordinates well, but he didn’t even think that he would be punished.

…I don’t like it.

“Yes, if there is anything unusual in the future, let me know right away.”

“Is it possible?”

But the regret is on my side… I guess I have no choice but to be patient.

If a disciplinary measure is given to Leclerc, the head of the butler, the state affairs will become difficult.

…You bastard, didn’t you know that and didn’t stop Jean? To take a look at my disposition, the new master?

‘Ehh… That’s it.’

You’d better stop thinking about this.

If you think about it further, you won’t be able to get rid of Leclerc, so this should be left as a suspicion for now. Let’s see the paperwork… Write.

‘Looking at it again, it’s terrible. It’s terrible.’

Should we say feudalism? The more I look at the reporting system and administrative system, the more I am amazed.

There are too many guys caught in the middle of something that can just be raised straight up, and we have to pay them all. There are even cases where you receive a report that you posted like a treadmill again.

Others don’t seem to find this strange, but as a Korean citizen whose ancestors were Joseon, which burned itself under centralization, and boasted insane administrative power, I can’t stand it.

But… If an illegitimate child who has not been crowned already announces that he will reform, it will be a big deal, right?

First of all, I’ll just have to come up with a plan.

…………

After that, I held a funeral and had a busy day with various duties.

I’m slowly getting used to my job as a duke, but today a letter arrived that made me doubt my eyes and ears.

“…Count Leclerc.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Something… Is not a mistake, right?”

“The handwriting appraisal is over.”

“It means handwritten…”

Yes.

I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but it’s exhausting to face it.

“…”

My uncles, my father’s two younger brothers, refuse to swear allegiance to me.

On the contrary, they treated me as a traitor saying that they would not recognize the illegitimate son’s accession to the throne, and at the same time, letters arrived from both of them asking me to give up the duke’s position.

The most important of these is…

“Ha ha ha…”

“Duke…”

It is said that he was spreading malicious rumors about Chloe’s adopted mother.

I am not my father’s biological son, and Chloe is the proof.

Chloe is worried and puts her hand on my shoulder to comfort me, but unfortunately it doesn’t work.

It’s the first time that even with Chloe’s consolation, my anger doesn’t subside.

“Shall we prepare the military?”

“…That’s how it should be.”

Count Leclerc looked down at me with a very calm expression and asked me for his opinion, and I agreed.

I do feel a little pressure about killing my father’s brother, but… I can’t help it. Those guys did this sh*t first.

“Gived Dolle and Orsonne’s mercenaries—”

“Your Highness! Your Highness Haaa!!!”

As Count Leclerc, who had obtained my consent, was about to give an order to the attendant by his side to prepare a mercenary army, a messenger came through the door screaming.

The messenger was breathing heavily and his face was pale and stiff, so it was clear even without a report that something unusual had happened.

“Talk to me, it’s not dignified to talk to the Duke.”

‘…’

Count Leclerc stopped trying to give orders to the attendant and approached the weary messenger.

Long and skinny, with white hair and a beard, Leclerc seems to not want to lean towards the messenger, standing up straight in front of the messenger who is panting, and waiting for him to stand up.

…You say that outright? I’m very embarrassed.

What’s even creepier is that Leclerc isn’t flattering me to please me, but he really thinks like that. Do you think the duke should be treated like a duke? Woo-wook…

“Chloe, bring me some water.”

“Yes, Duke.”

Hearing my request, Chloe lightly bowed her head and brought the cup of water to the messenger.

The messenger snatched the water as if he had been waiting for it, gulped it down, and tried to speak to me with a scream, but when he saw that Leclerc had covered himself, he swallowed his breath.

“That, that’s…”

“Hmm…”

Remembering what he just heard, the messenger quietly reports to Leclerc.

…Is this meaningful? The room is small anyway, so I can hear everything.

Contrary to my slightly bewildered attitude, what the messenger delivered was extremely shocking.

“Your Highness, the Carolingian Kingdom has questioned the rightful succession.”

“Haaa…”

Leclerc is delivering the messenger’s [Vulgar words] To me in luxurious packaging. To briefly summarize it:

[The Carolingian Kingdom has decided to return the duchy of Burgon to their master, Charles VIII, as the Duke of Burgon died without a legitimate successor. Since we do not recognize Claude, the usurper, ascension to the throne, we will immediately raise an army to subdue him.”

Ah…

‘It’s f*cked up.’

So, to sum up the current situation, you have to withstand the attack of the Carolingian kingdom at the same time as your two uncles who inherited a huge estate from your grandfather.

Besides, I can’t believe my uncle is the only one who refused to swear allegiance to me. There are a lot of people with the name of Burgon in the country, and most of them are nobles with fiefdoms.

No matter how much he is registered in the family and designated as the successor by the duke, according to public perception, an uncle, a member of the same family, is several times more legitimate than an illegitimate son to sit in the duke’s seat.

‘…I didn’t want to write this.’

I am an illegitimate child.

I don’t know if it’s a vassal of another family, but the vassal who uses the name of Burgon will hate me even more.

But… It doesn’t seem like anything will change even if things get bad.

Since I sat in the Duke of Burgon’s seat, doesn’t that mean I’m completely out of touch with them?

When I first met them as a child, none of them recognized me as a member of the family. There is a very high possibility that the feelings at that time have continued to this day.

“Count Leclerc.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“…Send someone to the Emperor of the Holy Empire. I swear allegiance, so protect him from the usurper.”

Even Count Leclerc, who always answered my words point-blank, couldn’t immediately give an answer this time.

“Are you all right?”

After a moment of silence, Leclerc let out a short breath and said so.

He is not a member of the Burgon family, but he has been loyal to the Burgon family since his grandfather. It is easy to imagine what he might be thinking.

“Isn’t there no other way than this?”

“…Yes.”

Leclerc bowed his head at my repeated reply.

In addition to obeying my orders, Duke of Burgon, he also judged that this choice was the only way to save the Duchy of Burgon.

The Duchy of Burgon could never fully stand on its own due to revolts erupting from all sides, poor finances, and a divided territory.

“For now… Let’s get a sense of the situation. Chloe, get me a map from there.”

“Yes, Duke.”

“…?”

Chloe’s expression seems to have changed slightly. It looks happy somewhere… It must be an illusion, right?

I felt a strange sense of incongruity, then handed over the map Chloe gave me and spread it out on the desk.

“Hmm…”

The accuracy of the map is very low because it was measured in a fist-to-toe manner, but it is still possible to read the board.

“My eldest uncle’s territory is the northern coastal region, which is cut off by the territory of the Carolingian Kingdom and the Holy Empire, and my uncle’s territory is Nevers, west of Dijon, the capital.”

And the Duchy of Burgon is surrounded by the Carolingian Kingdom to the west and the Holy Empire to the east.

…Wait a minute.

“Count Leclerc, how likely is it that the decision of the Carolingian Kingdom has been passed on to your uncles?”

“Since the Carolingian kingdom has declared everywhere that they will reject the throne of an illegitimate child and return the land to the king, it will not be long before everyone knows.”

“Is it possible that the Carolingian kingdom is aware of the two uncles’ rebellion?”

“Hmm… I guess I expected it, but I haven’t seen it in person yet. At least after the military dispatched a few days ago—- oops…!”

“You noticed that too?”

The expression of Count Leclerc, who always maintained a calm attitude, was instantly colored with surprise. After all, it’s nice to see people with different facial expressions.

From the point of view of the Carolingian Kingdom, the two uncles are scum that stand in the way of taking over the Duchy of Burgon entirely, and from the point of view of the two uncles, the Carolingian Kingdom is a f*cking foreign enemy who is trying to devour its legitimate dukedom.

“Leclerc, put off sending people to the Empire for now. Let’s leave that as a last resort.”

“Yes.”

Are you sure you understand? Kill each other from now on.