Chapter 102 : Chapter 102
Chapter 102. About One Pillar
“What in the world is happening all of a sudden?”
“A-a bomb?”
Piontek and Odekerkh, who were staying at the residence, came running.
“It's not a bomb.”
“M-Maxim?”
“What happened?”
Brushing the dirt and dust off my body, I walked over to where Odekerkh and Piontek were.
“Why are your clothes in that state?”
“W-were you a-attacked?”
When I unleashed my mana to burn away all the scattering poison, my clothes turned to rags.
“It happened while I was cleaning up some trash. Give me something to wear.”
Odekerkh took off his coat and gave it to me.
Meanwhile, Piontek looked around the scene of the accident.
“Wow… This is literally smashed to pieces. What are we going to do? The owner of the house is going to flip out when he sees this.”
“……Indeed, he will.”
At the sudden appearance of Rosenberg's voice, not only I but also Piontek and Odekerkh were startled.
But the expected worried reprimand did not come.
Rosenberg looked me over from head to toe, his gaze filled with concern.
“Are you hurt anywhere? What on earth happened so suddenly? Don't tell me there was another spy from Uresra?”
“No. It’s nothing like that, so you don't have to worry. This is because of Isaac…”
“Isaac? Don't tell me there's another bastard targeting my son?”
“No, listen to the end…”
“Which bastard is it? I will catch that bastard right now and…”
“No! It’s nothing like that. This was just an accident that happened while I was burning the poison that came out of Isaac's body. It's not dangerous at all, so you don't need to worry.”
After hearing the full explanation, Rosenberg let out a sigh of relief and looked at Isaac.
“Thank goodness. There won't be any more of those bastards. If any suspicious fellow appears, I will surely catch them, so you don't need to worry.”
“It's alright, Father. I will be on high alert myself. So that no one can do that to me again.”
It's nice that they were showing off their affectionate father-son relationship. But did they really have to do it right in front of me?
“Ahem! Well, it's all good now. As for the room exploding… I'm a bit sorry about that.”
“It's alright. A room like this can be fixed.”
Well, that's a relief.
“What happened? Are you really okay?”
Adellian asked, pressing here and there on my face and body.
“I'm fine.”
I was more than fine.
Complete immunity to all poisons.
It seemed I had achieved it.
And perhaps because I had swallowed poison, faced death, and experienced my limits, my Mana Heart had grown by a stage.
‘Finally, 4th Star.’
I could feel that my Mana Heart had become bigger and stronger than before.
From now on, it wouldn't easily collapse even if I used a heavy and grand Saga.
“Your Highness. Isaac von Rosenberg offers his greetings.”
Isaac knelt on one knee as if taking a knight's oath and bowed his head.
“How's your condition?”
“Excellent. I feel refreshed.”
“If you feel anything accumulating in your Mana Circle, tell her to clean it out for you right away.”
Crystal also came forward, knelt like Isaac, and bowed her head.
“Why are you suddenly doing things you don't usually do?”
“Because I might have died if it weren't for Your Highness.”
“You're alive because you had to live.”
The two shouted loudly, “Thank you!”
“I thank you as well. This would not have happened if it weren't for Your Highness.”
Rosenberg also knelt and bowed his head like them.
Adellian did the same.
Piontek and Odekerkh glanced around and tried to act like them.
I shook my head, telling them to stay still.
“Everyone, please rise. It was the natural thing to do. Let's go eat. Is it because I did something difficult? My stomach is going crazy.”
I needed to fill my empty stomach to be able to do anything else.
I also had to remind Rosenberg of his promise to do anything.
Mhuhuhu.
***
After the meal, I had some private time with Rosenberg.
“What did he say?”
I needed to confirm what came out of the head butler's mouth.
If Uresra was really on the move, I had to inform Chris as soon as possible.
“It seemed the plan was to send a signal when I initiated the attack. Then the Uresra vanguard would attack. They could easily break through if they hit from the front and back.”
“It’s just as we pictured.”
“Yes.”
Rosenberg bit his lip as if frustrated.
If what the head butler said was true, they weren't moving on a set date.
But they were preparing. And very close by.
“What did he say about the scale of the enemy forces?”
“He didn't confess until the end… I apologize. I should have prevented his suicide, but I failed.”
It couldn't be helped.
It's harder to save a person who wants to die than to kill a person who wants to live.
“What is the scale of the enemy forces that the Duke has grasped?”
“Uresra's total military strength is approximately 120,000. However, we haven't been able to determine the number of troops to be deployed this time.”
“That would be the case. They must be moving in utmost secrecy.”
The vanguard was probably already on the move.
The head butler acted as soon as the false rumor that Crystal had treated Isaac spread.
Without even confirming the truth of the rumor.
It also meant that the operation's start date was not far off.
“How many troops do you have?”
“Ah… troops, you say?”
A hint of caution appeared in Rosenberg's eyes.
I only asked because of the situation, but something else must have crossed Rosenberg's mind.
‘Since the 3rd Queen has been meddling here and there.’
Since she had been scheming in various ways to make her son king, it was understandable that Rosenberg couldn't answer easily. So, I should speak a little more kindly.
“The northern forces are a little over 10,000. If 40,000 of Uresra's 120,000 troops come this way, it will be difficult to defend.”
“……One 3rd Circle knight, four 2nd Circle knights. We have about 3,000 regular soldiers.
But we can only spare 2,000 at most.”
That was a small number.
At this rate, we could only hope the enemy's numbers weren't large.
Or we had to find the enemy's garrison and reduce their forces by defeating them one by one.
If they rushed in all at once, the barrier could collapse.
That aside.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Ah, I must have smiled without realizing it.
“No, it's about time to collect the fee. No, no. Settle the accounts, no. Now that the young lord is awake, I thought it was time to have a conversation befitting the situation.”
“I think you said… collect the fee.”
“You misheard. Misheard. Not collect the fee, but the young lord. The young lord is awake.”
“Settle the accounts…”
“He's back to normal, is what I meant.”
Good grief.
Why so suspicious? It would be good for both of us if he just accepted it.
“Thank you once again. It is thanks to Your Highness that Isaac was able to stand up.”
“Ahem. That's right. I haven't forgotten. Yes.”
Rosenberg watched my expression.
Judging by his face, it seemed he remembered what I was talking about. Then, slowly…
“What is it that Your Highness needs?”
“My, my. To ask so directly. Well, let's see.”
“……As for troops, more than 2,000 is a bit.”
“Hey, it's not me who needs troops, it's the frontier. I'm the one who healed the young lord, so why would I ask for something good for the Margrave?”
“Then what is it?”
I wondered if the man had any tact, but he was completely clueless. Go ask anyone in the world. What do they say is good?
“Money?”
That's right.
Who in the world dislikes money?
“How much…?”
“Heeheehee. An amount that won't leave either of us feeling shortchanged. Enough for us to live harmoniously while thinking of the future.”
Rosenberg swallowed dryly.
I didn't know how much he was thinking, but I was just going to look at his sincerity.
But should I start thinking about forming a mercenary group? To move on a large scale, I think I'll need about 200 or 300 men.
I wonder how much their food expenses would be?
“If you could be a little more specific.”
“It's here.”
As a prepared person, I had written down a suitable amount in advance.
“Such an amount… how do you intend to carry it…”
“Of course, I can't carry it. If I carried all that, it would be too heavy to go anywhere.”
“Then how?”
“Everyone uses banks these days. They say the continental bank is good. The world has gotten better, hasn't it? No need to carry heavy money around, jingling, and counting it one by one. A branch? That's right, a branch. They're all connected no matter where you go in the province. You can get the money you need right away. I couldn't even imagine such a thing in my time. You really live and learn. Don't you think?”
“……You don't seem to have lived that long.”
“Ah! Is that so? You never know. What a person sees isn't everything, right? It could be. It could be.”
Man. I've lived several times longer than you. Not in this body, though.
“Hmm.”
Rosenberg drank his tea in gulps with a heavy face.
Anyone would think it was liquor, not tea.
‘He might as well drink liquor. Tsk, tsk.’
Goodness. It's not like I'm asking him to pull out the pillar of his house.
I'm just asking to take about one pillar of the Rosenberg family, why is he acting so heavy about it?
“Very well. You saved the future of the Rosenberg family, so that much is more than enough.
Ahem. An investment. Ahem.”
I thought he was foolish for being swayed by baseless rumors, but maybe he wasn't entirely so.
He knew that investing now would bring great returns later.
“Your Highness.”
Rosenberg showed a serious atmosphere.
I nodded, signaling him to say whatever he wanted.
“The Rosenberg family will support Your Highness. Therefore, if anything happens to Isaac, you must help him.”
“Let's support the 1st Prince, not me. And even if you don't support me, I will help the Rosenberg family if something happens. They say even a brush of sleeves is fate, right?
And we've done more than just brush sleeves.”
Rosenberg forced himself to swallow and nodded.
But it felt like he reacted unfavorably to the word ‘fate’. Was I just imagining things?
“Your… Your Highness.”
Rosenberg's expression changed. There was a bitterness, but it didn't seem to be because of the money. Nor did he seem dissatisfied. There was a sense of wistfulness and a little bit of dissatisfaction. What on earth was it?
Could it be because I asked for too much money? I saved Isaac, can't he give that much?
I'm not asking for his entire fortune, just about one pillar?
“Please take good care of Adellian.”
What was this all of a sudden?
I thought I had misheard and cleaned my ears again and again.
Looking at Rosenberg's expression, it didn't seem like I had misheard…
“Isn't Adellian staying here?”
“I thought so too.”
“Ah? What do you mean you thought so?”
Rosenberg let out a long, deep sigh. It was so long that I wondered when he was going to breathe.
“She says she will go to the north with Your Highness. She says she will go and confirm that she is a member of the Rosenberg family.”
“Why does she have to go to a battlefield to confirm that? Tell her to do it here while protecting her brother. She could die if she goes to the north.”
“I have already told her so.”
I blinked, unable to believe it.
“I can't stop her. It would be nice if Your Highness could stop her, but she won't listen even if you do. Who does she take after to be so stubborn… sigh.”
I think I know very well who she takes after without even asking.
“Please make sure she doesn't get hurt. She is my only daughter. Even if I put her in my eyes…”
Seeing him grimace, it seemed putting her in his eyes was a bit much. Well, they had been fighting like that the entire way to the mansion.
“Please make sure she doesn't get hurt.”
Rosenberg knelt on the floor and held my hand tightly.
I just repeated, “No, that's…”
I can't handle Adellian myself, and he's asking me to take care of her…
“My request is not about anything else. It's about her safety. Safety.”
I know that very well without you having to say it.
If you're so anxious, then don't send her. Or keep her with you.
I thought I was leaving with one less burden, but I have a strong feeling I'll be leaving with one more.
Isn't this just him pawning off his disobedient daughter because he doesn't want to give me the money?