NOVEL NEXT chapter 5
5 – Westburn
The Westburn Viscount’s family has been gaining significant attention recently.
The reason for this is Olivia, the daughter of the Westburn Viscount, who became the queen of the Kingdom of Urmarnia as the wife of King Richard III.
Let me briefly explain about the Kingdom of Urmarnia. It is a country located slightly northwest in the central part of the Tyrrea continent.
The King of Yurmania has numerous vassals, notably Duke Lurein, Duke Estilhorne, and Duke Levenhart.
Typically, dukes exist as the vassals of such earls (for example, Silverwood is under Duke Lurein), but unusually, Westberein is a vassal directly under the King of Yurmania, despite being an earl.
The reason for this is that Westberein is well-off and has long been doing favors for the king, leading to an ancestral relationship between them.
Basking in the radiance of the king, Westberein wielded a large influence as an earl, and with their blood relations with the king, they were tied to the monarch. It was obvious how arrogantly they would behave.
So, the recent indiscriminate aggression of Westberein in the surrounding territories is worrying. In a feudal society, it is rare for a war of conquest to occur. Firstly, kings and nobles don’t just allow such wars of conquest to happen. Indiscriminate war of conquest not only disrupts the existing order but also creates new challengers to their power.
So, even if some families quarrel with each other, they do not fight until one of them is defeated. Before that, the powers that be, the kings or the upper noble families intervene when appropriate.
In order to carry out a war of conquest, you need a “reason,” such as “The land we are targeting originally belonged to our ancestors!” Obtaining such a “reason” can be quite difficult.
Even after going through countless preparations, conquest is not as easy as taking a few territories. It is difficult to completely destroy the opposing family, as there are many people who are ready to defend.
However, Westberein has been showing explosive expansionist behavior, breaking such “norms.”
“Your Majesty, if I may ask, could you handle this matter for us?”
“hahahaha, of course I will, if requested. In return, my dear, tonight…”
“That beast♡”
…Well, trained daughter and 10 sons. Westberein was exactly that case.
The king who should have restrained him was smitten with his daughter and was actually helping, and since the king protected Westberein, other dukes and nobles dared not touch him.
Westberein was truly unstoppable and self-reliant. No one could stop him!
**
“…But it had to be stopped.”
The 54-year-old Earl Westberein spoke, solitarily, in the cold atmosphere of his study.
These days, Gates felt that the world was made for him.
Thanks to his beautiful daughter marrying the King of Yurmania, he held an indisputable power within the kingdom.
Even as he carried out indiscriminate wars of conquest, the thought of reining him in never crossed Duke Estilhorne and Duke Levenhart.
At this rate, the day that his daughter’s child would become the King of Yurmania. Westberein could shed the title of earl and finally become a duke within the kingdom.
Perhaps one day, the royal family of the Yurmania kingdom would change to Westberein.
But such dreams began to warp when some mad earl came barging in, claiming that he had taken a mere pasture.
“These lunatics…”
Having been fighting many wars recently, Westberein could not muster any fresh conscripts. Conscription from the conquered territories would affect the public opinion, so it was not feasible.
In the end, Westberein hired ruthless foreign mercenaries from a barbaric country to the east of Yurmania.
And that’s where the problem arose.
These lunatics killed Leon Silverwood, the son-in-law of Duke Lurain and his two sons.
“The Duke of Lurain is not to be trifled with!!!”
The Duke of Lurain is certainly the first family of Urmannia. He is the right-hand man of the king himself. Until Olivia’s son becomes king of Urmannia, Lurain is a family that should not be touched in Westburn.
Those who just married the precious daughter of the Duke, not even relatives, killed the son-in-law who the Duke cherished dearly and even killed his children, it is not necessary to even mention how Lurain will react.
The attack was initiated by Silverwood, but unless it was an accidental killing, noble warriors are usually captured as prisoners in battle, and those who capture prisoners have the obligation to ensure safety and provide appropriate treatment as nobles.
However, it was a first shock to strip Leon Silverwood and his men naked rather than treat them with respect, and a second shock to not even manage the prisoners properly. And then a third grand slam shock to find Leon Silverwood and his men, who were sent to be found by any means necessary, were just cold corpses in a town they looted.
In fact, Westburn had not ruled out using Urmannian mercenaries. But the behavior of the mercenaries from Urmannia was not to the liking of Lord Gates of Westburn.
He had employed them at great expense, but they were fighting with each other and sharing information about good restaurants. Attributing to the lack of proper men, he had employed mercenaries from the East, known for fighting well and cruelty.
“Changseong, why is this happening to me?”
Is this the retribution of sin for employing heretical mercenaries in the holy and sacred land. If he had known this, he would not have employed these savages.
“We do not have time for this. We must send a messenger to the current Baron Silverwood as soon as possible.”
Fortunately, the first and second sons had left with their father, but they heard that the third son remained as the Baron Silverwood. Then it would be natural for him to be the current Baron Silverwood.
“We must persuade this man well to convince Duke Lurain and avoid a big problem…!”
Leon Silverwood and his two sons cannot be treated as if nothing happened. At the very least, they must alleviate Duke Lurain’s anger to some extent.
Honestly, if Edric or whatever who is now the Baron Silverwood had not been in Westburn, he would not have even inherited land, let alone the title of a Baron. If he had a conscience, he would be grateful and at least cooperate.
“What did the Baron of Westburn say?”
“The Silverwood is instructing the Westburn Baron’s direct troops to go there directly and persuade them as peacefully as possible, so when you arrive at Silverwood, you must be prepared to pressurize them from behind while Silverwood’s men are being persuaded. Of course, looting Silverwood is absolutely prohibited.”
“That’s right. I understand. Where are you going from now on?”
“I must relay this order to another unit and gather forces in Silverwood. Do you have any idea how much suffering my lord has endured due to the measles caused by you Karmuus people?! How annoying. I brought you here because you fought well… but I knew you would mess things up from the moment you started plundering innocent villages in the name of the heretic Ameinyan.”
“Why is this guy so angry?”
“If you don’t follow the orders properly this time, it would be better to see what happens… cough..!”
The Westborne messenger was stabbed with a sword before he could finish his words.
“Why… why?”
“You Yurmanian fools are all good, but you talk too much. You don’t even know how to respect the other party. If this were my homeland, anyone who spoke like that would have their head split with an axe.”
Karoi, the captain of the Karmuus mercenary corps, drew his sword from the messenger’s body. The messenger fell to the ground.
“Guh… goodbye… I… thought… I would… survive…”
“Thank you for your concern.”
Karoi laughed bitterly as he held the sword in a reverse grip and drove it into the messenger’s throat, then left the camp.
“Captain, what should we do now?”
One of the mercenaries who had been with Karoi for a long time approached and asked.
“We will attack Silverwood and plunder everything. The Viscount’s forces must have a lot to take. We’ll make a big impact before the Westborne people come to catch us and return to our homeland.”
Karoi smirked as he spoke.
“Let’s send a messenger to Silverwood too. However, unlike the Westborne people, we are waiting for the same result whether they surrender or not.”
**
“What did you say?”
“If you surrender, I will spare your life. Otherwise, it’s only death. Is that difficult?”
Are these bastards crazy?