Chapter 76 : Lui Trombon
Chapter 76. Lui Trombon
Ballonrûque is a secluded land located in the southeastern part of the Kingdom of Frangia.
Lui Trombon, now in his thirties, was holed up in his room at the estate. Consequently, Yul had a difficult time tracking him down.
“Finding you was no small ordeal. Is now really the time to be holed up in your room?”
“Y-you, who are you?”
“We’ve met before.”
"A-an assassin? I won't go down without a fight!"
Seeing him point a longsword with trembling hands, Yul shook his head. The son was clearly inferior to his father in ability.
"If it were your father, he would have welcomed me before reaching for a sword. There are several reasons for that. First, if I’ve managed to enter your bedchamber, taking you down would be effortless. Seeing how the tip of your blade is shaking, you must have dozed off during swordsmanship class."
“……!”
“And second. I’m not your enemy. In fact, we’re acquainted.”
“I-I’ve never seen you before.”
“What are you talking about? We met in the coastal cave on the island.”
“The coastal cave……? The island?”
“You don’t remember from ten years ago?”
“Ah! But that was an orca.”
Yul lightly tapped the gem embedded in his forehead.
“D-did you become a Seaborn too? How did you turn human?”
“It’s a long story, but do you understand who I am now?”
“……Yes.”
With trembling hands, he lowered his sword. Then he grabbed a wine bottle, tore out the cork, and drank straight from it.
Gulp gulp.
“Damn it. Weren’t we just a fleeting encounter anyway? Why show up before me now? To mock me? Fine. I couldn’t do anything! I…….”
Looking closely, Lui seemed mentally worn down, his eyes bloodshot.
Without a word, Yul reached to the display shelf beside Lui, took out a bottle of wine, and pulled the cork out using nothing but his grip strength.
Then he drank straight from the bottle alongside him.
"This is delicious."
"Wh-what kind of grip strength is that……? Are you a knight or something?"
"Don't worry about it. So? Keep going."
Lui spoke listlessly.
“I’m…… a failure. I can’t even come close to my father’s greatness. Just like you said, I never focused during swordsmanship training. I thought there’d always be plenty of knights to protect me. Marksmanship, tactics, everything Father told me to learn—I listened half-heartedly to all of it…….”
“…….”
“All I ever did was drink and waste money having fun. Everyone around me just praised and flattered me. So I never saw the people who grew disappointed in me and left. The steward betraying me was probably for the same reason.”
As he spoke, he kept drinking. Yul crossed his arms. He had no intention of listening to complaints forever. If there was no hope, he planned to leave.
“The reason I came here is because of a promise with the Sun King. Other than that, I’ve got no reason to see your face. He treated me well.”
“…….”
“You’ve got two choices left. Either keep sniveling here while guzzling alcohol, or get up right now and start gathering people.”
“I-I can’t. I’m not my father…….”
“Who told you to follow the Sun King’s way? You’ve got your own way.”
“…….”
“Are you going to disappoint again the people who still believe in you, too?”
“Again……? No, I can’t do that. Hey, do me a favor—hit me just once.”
“Huh? For real?”
"Yes."
Yul slapped his cheek with his hand. Lui spun around once and collapsed onto the floor. A tooth even fell out onto the ground.
Blood flowed from his mouth.
“Khhmm. I have a favor to ask. Help me, if only for the sake of the connection with my predecessor."
“Hm. Fine. Do you have a plan?”
“No. I don’t. You make one for me.”
“……?”
What is with this guy? While blood was gushing from his mouth, he was looking at Yul with desperate, teary eyes.
"I have no brilliant strategy, nor am I skilled in combat. I can't devise grand schemes like my father, and I have no charisma at all. Until now, I've only had fakes whispering sweet words next to me; there was no one to give me harsh advice."
"Is that so? Will you follow whatever I demand?"
"Yes."
"Why trust me, a Seaborn?"
"My father trusted you. And just now, you woke me up with a stinging fist."
Technically, it was a palm. Yul rested his chin on his hand. Setting aside whether this guy was reliable, it was clear he had started to trust Yul.
"Fine. My goal is for you to support me, just as the Sun King once did. In exchange, I will make you king."
"……Understood!"
"Then pull yourself together first. Sleep today, and we begin tomorrow morning."
* * *
‘Hm. This is more dangerous than I thought.’
Lui’s faction had around ten thousand troops, but that was nowhere near enough to march into the capital.
Even those ten thousand had been gathered only precariously.
Public trust was an essential quality for a ruler. But Lui had lived like a hooligan and failed to build any of that.
"Stop lazing around and get up. It's morning."
"Ugh... my tooth hurts."
"You're the one who asked me to hit you. Call someone who knows healing magic or something."
"……Right."
Lui seemed to have regained his senses as he opened his eyes.
"Don't you have a strategist or anyone to advise you?"
"I did, but not anymore."
"Why?"
“They were close with the steward, so I couldn’t trust any of them. I kicked them all out.”
“Good heavens.”
Yul pressed a hand to his forehead. Not even a single advisor. Putting this guy on the throne was going to be problematic in many ways.
"Who is leading the army?"
“Count Pasek. He was the steward’s sworn enemy.”
Yul decided he needed to meet this Count Pasek as well.
“You—no more seclusion. There are a truckload of people here to see you right now. Some of them have been waiting for weeks. You know that, right?”
"You are forbidden from staying in seclusion starting now. There are a truckload of people here to see you. Some of them have been waiting for weeks. Do you realize that?"
No matter how lacking Lui was in popular support, the kingdom's legitimacy rested with him. Legitimacy is a powerful weapon.
Many would try to jump on his bandwagon to take advantage of this chaotic situation. By absorbing them, he could secure a significant talent pool.
"I know."
"But you didn't see them and spent a month just drinking."
As soon as Yul cracked his knuckles, Lui flinched.
"Wh-what should I do?"
"Select useful advisors and form a staff. Gather talent and assign them to different positions. At the same time, request help from influential nobles—many of them were fond of your father."
“……Right.”
Yul had no idea what to do with this loser. He wasn’t an authoritarian or a tyrant—just incompetent.
From Yul’s perspective, having lived alongside Lucian, putting Lucian in this seat would make things far easier.
"Anyway, this morning, write letters immediately to gather those who will respond. In the afternoon, speak with those who came to see you. Even if commoners come, meet them. Use the promise of noble titles as bait."
“Is it really okay to give noble titles to commoners……?”
“It is.”
When Yul glared at him, Lui shrank back and nodded. At least he followed orders well.
“I’ll go meet this Count Pasek. Do you have any plan to explain my status?”
“……No, not really. Come to think of it, what’s your name?”
This bastard, seriously……!
"Should I give you a Count title too?"
"A Count of where?"
* * *
Yul received a title in an instant. Just like that, he transformed into the Count of Provence.
Count Yul de Provence.
For now, it was a title in name only—especially since there was already a current Count of Provence—but that man belonged to the rebel faction of the Duke of Dawn.
Regardless, having secured an official status, Yul went straight to meet the military commander, Count Pasek.
“Hm. So you’re the new advisor Prince Lui has taken in?”
He had a protruding belly, reeked strongly of alcohol as if he had drunk heavily the night before, and his eyes were bloodshot.
No. Don’t judge by appearances alone.
“What? How do I manage the army? That’s none of your concern.”
“Supplies until we march on the capital? Can't we just requisition them from the locals?"
“The number of knights? That’s something His Highness the Dauphin oversees.”
(T/N): Dauphin: French title for the heir apparent to the throne of France, the crown prince.
“Strategy? Tactics? This is why desk scholars are useless. Why would we need such things? On the path the Dauphin walks, there is only victory.”
This fucking incompetent pig bastard needs to be cut out.
So enraged that he could barely contain himself, Yul kicked open the door to the room where Lui was interviewing advisors.
“Lui!”
“Uh…… w-why? What is it now?”
“Count Pasek is an incompetent pig bastard! He’s the kind of man who should be unemployed or running a tavern! Give him command of the army, and we’re finished!”
“I agree. You can tell his competence just by looking at Count Pasek’s belly.”
There was one outsider who agreed with Yul. It was an advisor who had been consulting with Lui. A man in his thirties, with a distinctive beard growing only on his chin.
“Pleased to meet you. I am Martin Ferrand. A commoner.”
Yul nodded to him as he spoke. That alone helped him calm down.
“Sorry for barging in during a meeting, but Pasek needs to be dismissed immediately.”
"Is that so? Then I'll do it."
“Gather the people under Count Pasek. I want to interview them.”
“Alright.”
As Yul walked straight out, Martin Ferrand, who had been watching the scene, widened his eyes.
For some reason, there was a man who had the Dauphin of Frangia completely under his thumb.
The Dauphin—a title used specifically for the heir of Frangia.
“Dauphin, who was that man just now?”
“Count Yul de Provence. He has decided to help me this time."
Since there had already been a Count of Provence, the title had clearly just been bestowed.
The consultation continued.
“Hm. So, Martin Ferrand, from what you’re saying, what I need to do isn’t all that difficult?”
"Yes. Though they are loudly proclaiming the Lothar Royal Family and gathering forces in Lotharingia, they are merely a faction you need not worry about."
“Why is that?”
“Because of the pride of the capital’s nobles. Even now, there are voices coming from the capital. ‘The rightful king was stabbed in the back and fled, and now a dirt-digging shepherd king who used to live on soil is stuffing his belly.’ Such jokes are circulating. Public sentiment is with the Dauphin. Reclaiming the capital will be easier than you think.”
“I-is that so? Hearing you talk, it sounds very easy. Would you be interested in handling it yourself?"
“I lack the ability to command armies. However, I can offer advice to Your Highness.”
“Yul told me to gather plenty of advisors. Good. Understood. You’re hired.”
Martin Ferrand left the room, wondering what the true identity of this Count of Provence could be.
* * *
If Yul’s main body were to descend and act directly, he could wipe out the opposing forces outright.
Even at his current level as a split body, he could roughly eliminate an entire regiment.
But Yul had no intention of stepping in personally.
[Current Karma : 10,000,101]
The moment he began involving himself in the kingdom’s fate, his karma had already started to skyrocket.
He was brushing up against the threshold and needed to reduce his karma, yet simply helping was causing it to rise—if he intervened directly, it would surge even more dramatically.
Therefore, he had no intention of intervening in human wars. However, he would intervene in personnel selection.
Soon, soldiers entered Yul’s meeting room.