Chapter 409

「…And then, after the fierce battle, my Territory Army was wiped out .

I took those who survived the enemy until the end and rushed to the capital to ask for reinforcement to reclaim the territory!」(Baron Aleymen)

It was an emergency report during the audience visit to the royal palace .

The reporter is Baron Aleymen, the Lord of the land near the border with the Alban Empire .

Behind him is his younger brother who is a military officer .

According to the report, the baron and his vassals had tried their best to protect the territory .

It was supposed to have been a “big success (good show)” in all aspects .

And the expression of the King after hearing the report was vague .

No surprise, no anger, no admiration, no panic…

Baron Aleymen became restless with the reaction of the King, which is completely different from what he had expected .

「Your… Your Majesty, uhm…」(Baron Aleymen)

When the Baron was unable to endure the silent treatment from the King any longer, the King finally spoke .

「Then, does this mean “The territory was wiped out and The Baron had lost”?」(King)

The king asked with a cold expression .

「Yes!

I would like the Royal Army to immediately reclaim our territory,

Or at least, I would like your majesty to honored bestowing me other provinces as a reward for fighting with our lives to protect the country…」(Baron Aleymen)

It’s a big wish, but it’s not unreasonable if what the Baron said was true .

For those who have made great achievements even if they don’t have a high-rank like an Earl, It isn’t strange to bestow them with a better territory…, the so-called “territory change” .

However, there are some people who refused to leave their land that they had protected for generations and declined the reward “territory change” .

However, as a punishment, it’s not possible to decline the transfer to a territory with worse conditions .

And then, for those who lost their territory after fighting against the invading army of the enemy country with all their might, they would receive a territory directly controlled by the king or an empty territory managed by the government officials .

It wasn’t rare, but… it is limited to those who have shown too much struggle and bravery .

「Ho~uu…

So, Baron Aleymen’s Army has been defeated and his territory has also lost, you said…」(King)

Hearing the murmur of the King, repeated what he said, the Baron felt relieved thinking that his Majesty was frozen for so long because of a surprise .

However…

「Then, that territory that exists in our country now isn’t the baron’s territory .

And the soldiers who have protected it are also not the baron’s Lord Army .

I understand .

Then Baron Aleymen had lost the battle and disappeared from our country .

Along with that, he was dismissed as the Baron lord of Aleymen .

And instead of letting the enemies trample the territory, the young noble has led his own army to drive the invading army away and took the territory back to our country .

The new territory should be given to him .

…What was his name again, Kelvin?」(King)

「Yes . Kelvin von Barium, the fifth son of Baron Barium」(Prime Minister)

The Prime Minister, who stands next to the King, affirmed it .

「What! That is…」(Baron Aleymen)

Baron Aleymen was surprised with his eyes opened wide, he hurriedly tried to make an excuse, but when he thought about it, he couldn’t make one .

With his own mouth, he had clearly reported to the King, “He fought the enemy to the end until his Territory’s Army was wiped out”

And now that said Army has won, he couldn’t claim that he was the one who has repelled the enemy .

Everything showed that he tried to deceive by making a false report to the King and that he left the battlefield without seeing the results of the battle…

It’s not treason, but it’s a runaway before the enemy .

Failure to fulfill obligations as a lord and aristocrat, and false reporting .

Regarding important matters regarding military operations, it’s a felony, making false reports to the King .

This crime won’t be as light as just the house/family got crushed but everyone involved will be beheaded .

So, he could only listen even though the King was just pretending and intentionally distorted the story .

Because denying the King’s word was literally “suicide”

「U…, a…」(Baron Aleymen)

The King told the Baron Arraymen, who could only growl and groan, with a cold voice .

「Foolish .

The news has already arrived for a while . The novice officer Kelvin was forced to command the Lord Army to defend the territory .

You forced a minor cadet officer to be your sacrificial pawn and ran away before the battle started . Even when you were running away, you didn’t forget to bring your valuable on your carriage .

It was probably because of those heavy valuable goods that you arrived late . Oh, that’s right, not only personal property, you seem to have taken all the operating expenses of the territory as well .

Because it’s originally the operating expenses of the territory, it’s normal to return it…

And not only the operating expenses of the territory but also all private property will be confiscated and added to the budget for the reconstruction of the territory that was devastated by the battle .

And of course…」(King)

The King proclaimed Baron Alemen while staring at him .

「Baron Aleymen and your families are stripped of all aristocratic titles .

The head of the family and his descendants up to the third generation shall be exiled .

It is not necessary for our country to have aristocrats who abandon their territories and flee themselves .

Go to the empire or anywhere, I don’t care!

Normally, you all should have been beheaded,

Still, as a token of gratitude to your ancestors who have protected small border-bound territories so far, I spare you all with special consideration, I won’t hear any complaint .

If you disagree, I will give you the proper punishment .

…What do you want to say?」(King)

It’s the end of a noble if he was stripped of his aristocratic status and chased out of the country .

However, compared to the beheading, it was certainly great mercy compared to the goddess’ one . (T . N: raw has 女神)

So Baron Alemen was just silent and prostrating…

And after Baron Aleymen left .

「However, I never imaged that name would appear here…」(Prime Minister)

「Yes, I never expected that I would hear the name of “A . A”

As expected, the goddess will help the motherland of the girl she resides within…」(King)

The King nods to the words of the Prime Minister .

「Umu .

In the report, we were saved by Adel von Askham… code name “A . A“,

However, perhaps that is the work of the goddess who has taken over the consciousness of “A . A” and manipulated her body . 」(King)

「Rest assured, your Majesty .

I have the same thought…」(Prime Minister)

Hearing Prime Minister’s affirmation, The King seemed a little relieved .

「Umu, as expected! I wasn’t over-positive!

…However, is she still in our country…

Ah, no, it’s just near the border, is it possible that she was in another country but returned to help the home country of “A . A”?

But, either way…」(King)

「Yes, the girl, who the Goddess resides within, “A . A”, has returned to our country」(Prime Minister)

「Fu ha…」(King)

「Fu fu fu……」(Prime Minister)

「「Ha ha ha ha ha!」」(King+ Prime Minister)

When Mile left after helping Kelvin, she concentrated on thinking cool dialogues, Miles totally forgot to tell him not to report about her .

… It was a fatal mistake .

However, thanks to the misunderstandings of the King and the Prime Minister, Mile somehow broke the flag…

＊ ＊ ＊

Kelvin’s father, Baron Barium, was reading the letter handed by the messenger from the Royal palace with an expressionless face .

「…We understand, please wait…」(Baron Barium)

Yes, it is customary to give some souvenir to the messenger who brought that kind of good news, and of course, this messenger would expect it too .

However, since the baron is expressionless,

He thought that Baron Barium was in a bad mood because it was a child of the mistress instead of the main wife

The messenger’s man was discouraged .

Souvenirs are something too expensive to pay with cash . Like paintings, works of art that can be easily converted into cash, sterling silver tableware sets, and other items whose value is difficult to understand .

…In other words, it was depended on the mood of the owner .

When the messenger returned, the baron also returned to his room by himself,

…He opened his treasured wine .

And the baron’s happy laughter coming from the room made the family look suspicious .

As for the messenger, after he went to appraise the artwork that he got, he was greatly surprised that it cost nearly five times the price of the souvenir that nobles gave out in such a case .

And Kelvin, who was busy repairing the land after the battle, was stunned by the news from the royal palace .

『Kelvin von Baileum . You are hereby bestowed with the title Baron . Prepare for the ceremony~』(Royal Decree)

「…How did this happen…」(Kelvin)