chapter 12
12 – My lord, went to an audience with the Count of Nantes (2)
After hearing the baron’s words, the count spoke in a thin, hoarse voice.
“Raise your head.”
In line with those words, I got down on one knee and the baron in front of me raised his head and looked at the count’s face.
At first glance, the count’s face, which seemed to be in his 60s or older, had deep wrinkles, his eyes were a bit blurry, and powder was flying little by little, as if he had been powdered, or indeed powdered.
It must have been that he did such a ridiculous makeup on purpose to hide his poor health.
Seeing the Count like that, the Baron spoke in a slightly tearful voice, worried.
“Your Excellency, you should get well soon. After that, shouldn’t you hold your lance and go to the battlefield like before?”
The Count heard that and answered with a chuckle in a voice full of phlegm.
“I miss that time. Yeah, then you hit the enemy’s helmet with your mace and you missed and almost died, right? Didn’t I save you?”
“Yes, so why didn’t you visit me that night with my favorite drink? I brought that wine, so I hope you get well soon so we can drink together. Your Excellency Count.”
“Huh, the day will come when that kid will say such extraordinary things. You’ve lived a long time, so you’ve experienced all these things.”
Hearing that, the baron lowered his head again and spoke quietly.
“It is an honour.”
And the Count said, hitting me on the shoulder behind the Baron.
“Are you Paul’s son?”
“Yes, it is. Ciel von Kreuttel, son and successor of Paul von Kreuttel.”
“Be polite, as a young man should be. Even when your father came with your grandfather, he said, ‘Yes, I am the son of that Helmut von Kreuttel!’ and shouted out loud It wasn’t too bad either.”
“Is that so? Your Excellency Count.”
“It was. Anyway, like your father, do your best as a vassal of the House of Nantes. My son is the same age as you, so get along. Now you step back.”
Following the count’s banquet order, I cautiously stood up, left the throne room, and went to the quarters allotted to me.
**
The Count of Nantes and the Baron of Creutel were very close.
I saw it when I had an audience just now, but it was to the extent that we fought side by side on the same battlefield.
Even on that battlefield, if Count Nantes had saved Baron Creutel, who was in danger of dying, he would have said it all.
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Maybe that’s why, in the event of an audience by an official summons, the two of them were talking privately, despite talking only as publicly as possible.
And if you look at the things that the Count indirectly told me a little while ago, ‘The Count’s son is the same age as me’…
Even so, there is actually a difference of more than 10 years, but… Well, anyway, the Count will now remove his makeup, hold the Baron’s hand, and then say this.
‘I’m weak like this, and I have only one late child left. Take good care of you, and since your son and I are about the same age, can’t we get along just like we do? Not anyone else, but the heir to the Baron Creutel family who served me faithfully for hundreds of years, no, your child, I can trust and rely on more than anyone else. please.’
Then the baron will now cry and answer.
‘Is it possible? My son is superior to me, so if I join forces with Yeongshik, I’m sure the count will show a great figure while he’s alive. Don’t worry, live a long life.’
After these touching stories, we will talk and drink all night over the baron’s wine.
Under normal circumstances, both the Count who asked for this request and the Baron who accepted this request must have made good choices…
Along with a knock on the door, someone’s voice came from outside.
“Sir Ciel von Kreuttel.”
“Yes, who are you?”
“I am a night fence striker. Yeongshik wants to see you in person, can you come out?”
After all, this strange friend who remains well in my memory is doing strange things again.
Usually, unless I’m a commoner or a humble person, if I’m meeting someone for the first time, if I’m an aristocrat with a fair amount of common sense and concepts, I’ll call them during the day.
For in this day and age traveling by carriage is a tremendous strain and requires rest, and here it is usually done when the sun goes down.
Even modern people who never sleep before 10:00 p.m. don’t even send KakaoTalk after 10:00 p.m.
But no matter how strange Yeongshik-nim who called me was, I couldn’t refuse as a vassal.
“I’ll go. Instead, I’m wearing pajamas right now, so could you wait a bit?”
“I see.”
**
I changed my clothes and headed to another mansion where the count’s son was waiting.
It’s about a 30-minute walk from here, so on the way to the place, I asked Pence, who guided me about the count’s son, and he told me almost the same information as I knew.
He values manly duels and bravery as a knight, and respects honor, so he is said to be quite absorbed in chivalry literature.
He had the full volume of the ‘The Story of the Knight Quiresire’, which is now popular in the Elline Empire, and made his own armor exactly the same design as the one worn by the Curesier.
Even in knightly literature, since knights don’t see anything wrong with revealing women, this nobleman is quite revealing as well.
Other than that, I can’t afford delicious food such as meat, wine, various snacks, cakes, and bread…
Really, it’s the worst.
To be precise, if you enjoy that kind of thing and keep the minimum line, I wouldn’t despise it that much, but the problem is…
Night Pence, who had been talking to me like that, suddenly stopped at a grand mansion and said,
“Here in the parlor, Mr. Youngsik Schwein is waiting for you. Enter through the front door and receive guidance from the maid. Thank you for responding to my call at such a late hour. kyung.”
“Thank you, Pence.”
With that, the front door opened and a maid came out to guide me.
After walking for a while following the maid, I soon came to a drawing room where Schwein was waiting for me.
The maid knocked on the door and waited for a while.
“Youngshik, Sir Ciel von Kreuttel has arrived.”
At that, the door opened, and I went inside and got down on one knee in front of the man in front of me, bowed my head, and said:
“Meet Youngsik Schwein von Nantes.”
As it was originally, it would be against the law to show such respect to someone who has no title yet, even if he is the son of my lord, the Count of Nantes, but…
Schwein in front of me smiled and said.
“You are very polite. Yes, I am Schwein von Nantes, who will become your master in the future.”
“It is an honor to meet you like this.”
“Raise your head.”
I raised my head in line with those words.
The way he looked up was truly spectacle.
There was not even a trace of muscle on his body, perhaps because he was so focused on catching the scarlet, and he had gained so much weight that he wondered if his neck and face were actually connected.
Do you wonder if your eyes are buried in the flesh of your cheeks?
Even my hands looked round because they had gained weight, just like the mouse in Patzwiemon.
The buttons on the clothes you are wearing are ‘save me. I think I’m going to die,’ he seemed to be screaming.
I almost laughed at the moment, but I held it in as best I could.
Then Schwein laughed and offered me a glass of wine.
“Other barons and children of influential knight families didn’t show me such politeness when they first saw me, which made me feel a little upset, but you are very polite. I feel good. How about this? 15 years old.”
“It is an honour.”
I drank from the glass Schwein handed me.
In the mouth, the rich aroma of grapes, sour taste, and a slight bitter taste tickled my mouth.
It tastes much better than I expected and the scent is deep, so I spit out my impressions without realizing it.
“Delicious. This is the first time I have ever tasted such a rich and fragrant wine.”
Hearing that, Schwein smiled and said.
“Looking at the reaction, it seems that you haven’t had much wine of this level. It will cost a lot.”
“thank you.”
After drinking and chatting for an hour, Schwein’s face turned red as if he was completely drunk before I knew it.
I get drunk and burp from time to time, and the way I burp is like a pig in a clock game.
While burping like that, Schwein said with a serious expression.
“So, by the way, do you have a girl you like?”
I almost fainted for a moment, but I tried to keep my spirits together and answered.
“hahahaha, Yeongji has a child he cares for.”
“Right. It’s a pity… Guess… I brought a nice kid from Changgwan… I was going to give it to you if you like…”
If it weren’t for my future lord, I wanted to ask this nobleman to put a concept on his face, but I held back.
I still didn’t have the strength to go against this nobleman in front of me, and the time hadn’t come yet.
“Anyway, if you are an aristocrat, wouldn’t it be annoying if you had a relationship like that before the wedding? Even if it’s Youngsik’s introduction.”
As I said, ordinary nobles do not have a relationship until ‘after the first marriage, before having a child or before marriage’.
Because in this world where birth control technology is not developed, if something goes wrong and a woman becomes pregnant, the succession of the heir will be entangled.
Hearing that, Schwein nodded and said, as if he thought my words made sense.
“Hmm… well, that’s not wrong. Okay, now go in and rest. If you need anything, think about it slowly and tell me.”
“Yes, Youngsik.”
The moment I said that and was about to leave, Schwein looked at my back and said to himself as if muttering.
“Because there must be something exchanged, so you can trust it.”
How can you trust such a nobleman as your lord?
**
And in the county I stayed a week.
During my one week stay, I often met the barons under the Count of Nantes and their successors.
Sometimes they drank and enjoyed food at the banquet hall, and sometimes they asked each other about their plans while drinking tea at the accommodations assigned to each other.
The majority said, ‘I will do my best as a vassal and knight of the Count of Nantes.’ I replied with the same words to match the mood.
And finally, the day came when the Count’s vassals were released from the convocation and returned to the territory.
At the last banquet the day before returning to the manor, the count called all the family’s servants as the banquet drew to a close.
“I, Count Rippenheim von Nantes, declare that, as of the present time, I will hand over the title to my son and legitimate heir, Schwein von Nantes. Although he has not yet received his Majesty’s approval, from now on all my vassals order him to be the rightful count of the Countess of Nantes. Also, if anyone has a complaint, come out fairly.”
Of course, no one came forward to complain about this.
And from that day on, the lord of this land and my lord changed from Rippenheim von Nantes to Schwein von Nantes.
According to my memories of my reincarnation, from this point on, this land began to sink into the bog.