The Founding Monarch Became the Mastermind

Chapter 122

As I mentioned before, even the aristocrats, the ruling class of this world, were remarkably simple-minded.

Thus, the nobles of the Kingdom of Obla firmly believed that Si-on was part of a collateral branch of the royal family, without exception.

Of course, part of that belief came from what Si-on had done as ‘Lord Salen’ up until now, and it was largely due to the tacit endorsement given by the Duke of Lloyd, the pinnacle of royalty and the capital’s most renowned celebrity.

To put it bluntly, if in Korea, the president’s or a chaebol chairman’s legitimate child posted a photo with their arm around someone on Ins**gram saying, ‘Let’s stay together for a long time^^,’ who would doubt that person?

But.

If it was six months before a presidential election or during a turbulent time of a chaebol’s succession, one should have taken a moment to be suspicious.

Moreover, uncovering the true identity of ‘Lord Salen’ was far easier than understanding the dynamics of a national election or a chaebol’s complex shareholding structure.

Like any noble family, the royal family had a genealogy.

Yes, a family tree.

The Obla royal family’s genealogy was vast and complex, but digging into the Salen family’s lineage was only a matter of time, not difficulty.

However, no one did it.

One of the reasons Si-on had roped in the Duke of Lloyd to publicly recognize him as ‘Lord Salen’ was in preparation for such a situation. But all that effort was in vain, as no one ever doubted Si-on.

No, ‘no one’ is inaccurate.

There were actually a few.

And they had even discovered that there was no one in the Salen family tree who matched the current, famous ‘Lord Salen.’

So why did they remain silent?

Because the king kept quiet.

Even though ‘Lord Salen’ had committed murder against a fellow noble in the August Estate, the king showed no reaction. On the contrary, he crushed the Veratti and Bettisect families who had been present.

In other words.

There was no one in the Salen family tree that matched ‘Lord Salen’? So what? It’s not just anyone, but the king who remains silent!

Those who were smart and sharp enough to dig into the family tree and question Lord Salen’s identity understood the will of the king, the living embodiment of supreme power in the Kingdom of Obla, and chose to stay silent.

One of them was none other than the former Minister of the Interior, Earl Rundel.

* * *

“Uncle, are they messing with us right now?”

“……”

Although Earl Rundel did not respond, his thoughts were the same as Crown Prince Philon’s.

It had already been three days since they arrived in Burgos.

Before they came, Earl Rundel had been in a good mood, imagining how Lord Salen, the interim governor, would treat him and the Crown Prince.

The letter announcing their visit had been timed perfectly, arriving just a day before their arrival.

The Crown Prince and the former Minister of the Interior were traveling together, and they only gave one day’s notice to prepare?

That was bound to cause chaos.

There wouldn’t even be enough time to prepare a formal banquet, let alone proper diplomatic protocol.

It would undoubtedly lead to a disaster, and Earl Rundel had planned to use that as leverage to subtly pressure Lord Salen and establish their superiority before starting a proper conversation.

This was the negotiation tactic Earl Rundel had used throughout his life.

But.

Unfortunately, Lord Salen did not receive the notice.

From two days before the Crown Prince and Earl Rundel’s arrival, he had been absent, dealing with ‘important matters.’

Thus, Earl Rundel had no choice but to take a waiting number, just like any other visitor.

After all, they had come to see a very busy interim governor without an appointment. It was only natural.

In the end, not only did they receive waiting number 18, but they had yet to meet Lord Salen, the interim governor of Burgos.

Of course, the waiting number was gradually moving down.

The interim governor, who had been out handling important business, returned to Burgos at noon yesterday and immediately began meeting with the waiting visitors in the afternoon.

Yesterday afternoon, he met with numbers 1 to 6, and this morning, he had seen numbers 7 to 12, so number 18 would likely be next.

Phew, if they had come a bit later and gotten number 19, it would have been a disaster.

‘Like hell it would!’

This wasn’t just anyone; it was the Crown Prince and the former Minister of the Interior.

If you asked about the power rankings in the Kingdom of Obla, both would easily be in the top five. And despite the fact that the two of them had come together, they were given a waiting number?

On top of that, following the queue precisely had led to them wasting a full day.

They were being mocked outright.

Someone they had never even met was messing with them.

Snap!

It was enough to make something in Earl Rundel’s mind, which had operated in the realm of power his entire life, snap.

* * *

“Please! We beg you!”

“We, too, sincerely beg you!”

The visitors with waiting numbers 7 to 12 cried out desperately, bowing their heads.

They were envoys sent by the lords of the northeastern territories.

After passing through Lagos and waiting for days in Burgos, they finally met Si-on. Without a moment’s hesitation, they pleaded for help, bowing their heads.

Their hands and feet trembled just thinking about what might have become of their territories in the past few days, or worse, if they hadn’t been utterly destroyed in the meantime.

More than anything, they had seen it.

While they waited, the envoys didn’t just eat, sleep, and idle away their time.

They had spread their knights and soldiers throughout the streets and pubs of Burgos, gathering rumors and eyewitness accounts to understand how things had changed since the interim governor’s arrival and how things were operating.

The results were shocking.

Lord Salen and the forces he had brought with him had killed an astonishing number of monsters.

The corpses of the monsters slain in the Lagos Territory were piled high in the warehouse of the administrator’s mansion, and near the administrative residence, a Dwarf craftsman’s workshop had been established.

But what shocked the envoys most was this.

“The first night, it was too dark to see properly, but the quilted armor worn by the guards here is better than mine. I heard it was made by Dwarf craftsmen from the Si-on Duchy.”

This was the exasperated testimony of the knights.

Of course, wearing slightly better quilted armor doesn’t instantly enhance one’s skills.

However, the fact that nearly a hundred guards were equipped with gear comparable to that of an ordinary knight was a completely different story.

Moreover.

“I heard they’re selling armor made from monster byproducts to the mercenaries they’ll soon recruit, charging them just the cost price.”

Armor made from monster byproducts, whether a breastplate or spear, is incredibly expensive. It’s so costly because craftsmen skilled enough to work with such materials are extremely rare.

While not quite a name-your-own-price market, it was generally accepted that a decent piece of equipment could cost ten times as much as standard gear.

And they were stockpiling it in the warehouse, intending to sell it at cost to their hired forces.

No wonder the knights were envious and the envoys were in shock.

But that wasn’t all.

When the interim governor returned to Burgos yesterday, he didn’t come back alone.

In just a few days, he had brought along over 50 mercenaries—highly skilled ones, from the looks of them—despite the fact that mercenaries had become almost impossible to find lately.

With about 30 monster hunters from the Si-on Duchy’s hunting division, nearly 100 Burgos guards, and even these new mercenaries, nearly 200 well-armed, battle-hardened troops had gathered in Burgos in the blink of an eye.

Naturally, when the envoys finally met the governor, they couldn’t help but bow their heads in desperate plea.

“I understand your situation.”

“Ah! Then…”

At Si-on’s cold words, the envoys, who had been hopeful, froze.

“But why did you do that?”

“…Excuse me?”

“I’m asking why you did that when our administrator asked for help.”

“……”

“Do you know where I was until yesterday?”

The envoys, who had only heard that he was away on some important business, had no idea where he had been or what he had been doing. They swallowed nervously and said nothing.

“86 Wild Goblins, 47 Wild Gnolls, 4 Red Scorpions, 2 Horned Vipers, and 3 Horned Lizards.”

“…!?”

“Yes, those were the monsters we killed over the past few days in the Dragon’s Wasteland.”

“Gasp.”

Sounds of shock came from all around.

“These were creatures that had been driven out from the heart of the wasteland. If I had arrived even ten days later, you’d have seen them right outside Burgos. Sure, Burgos has a decent population and a good number of guards, so they probably wouldn’t have attacked outright. But, now tell me…”

The envoys were no fools, so they quickly closed their eyes or avoided Si-on’s gaze, knowing what he was about to say next.

“Where do you think those monsters would have gone after passing by Burgos?”

“……”

“And did you and your lords really not think of that?”

“……”

Si-on swept his cold gaze over the envoys, who kept their eyes on the floor. Then, in a deliberate tone, he spoke the words

he had once found irritating to hear but had always wanted to say himself.

“The governor is disappointed in you.”

While it had annoyed him when a battalion commander said it to him for no reason in the past, it was an entirely different matter when Si-on directed it at the envoys sent by the lords who had genuinely disappointed him. They couldn’t even lift their heads.

“But this governor is merciful.”

“……!”

Like startled meerkats, the envoys all raised their heads simultaneously, to which Si-on responded indifferently.

“If you accept the exclusive rights and the 9-to-1 split, I’ll help you.”

“Exclusive rights… you mean?”

“What do you mean by 9-to-1?”

“If you agree to transfer all rights to the monster corpses hunted in your respective territories to Burgos and hand over 90% of the profits, then I’ll help you.”

“T-That’s…”

When a lord hires mercenaries for a monster hunt, the rights to the monster corpses naturally belong to the lord.

However, if they request assistance from nearby national forces or the royal army, the split is usually 40-60 or 30-70.

Naturally, the lord gets the smaller portion, while the royal army takes the larger share. This is because hiring mercenaries is far more expensive, and requesting the royal army requires showing sincerity to the king, who is effectively the ‘leader’ of the lords.

Given that the standard was set, a 9-to-1 split was outrageous.

The envoys, not being the lords themselves, hesitated to make a rash promise here, knowing it could lead to their destruction at the hands of their lords later.

But.

“Just so you know, it’s first come, first served.”

“Pardon?”

“You’ll have to take another waiting number. I can’t be everywhere at once, can I?”

“……!”

In that instant, six pairs of eyes widened simultaneously.

Among the envoys gathered in the office, only one had previously dealt with Si-on—the envoy from the Volphart Estate, who immediately raised his hand like a bolt of lightning.

“One!”

“…!?”

“The Volphart Estate. I could tell from before, your judgment is sharp and decisive. That’s why you won against the Jetman Estate.”

“Thank you. It was all thanks to you, Governor.”

At Si-on’s compliment(?) the nobleman from the Volphart Estate, who had been present when Si-on handed over the prisoners from the dispute with the Jetman Estate, bowed his head.

Then.

“Two!”

“Th-Three!”

The remaining waiting numbers were decided in an instant.

(To be continued in the next chapter)