Chapter 100: An Heiress’s Hope
This was the second banquet I’d attended since the grand feast hosted by the Mainhof Court Count’s family. Unlike the lavish banquet in Breisburg, the victory feast held at Euz Castle was smaller than I’d expected. Since it was a fortress city rather than a massive capital, the limited interior facilities were unavoidable.
It had been a while since the last banquet, and the hall was packed with nobles savoring the delicacies laid out to celebrate the victory. Even in the cramped banquet hall, the factions divided left and right, mingling only among their own people. Around me were Michael, Fiel, August, and the cavalry commander.
The Crown Prince sat beside Count Euz, receiving treatment befitting royalty.
My father-in-law was also present, aggressively tearing into meat.
Besides them, there were Count Euz’s wife, his daughter, and Fried’s wife as well.
The person I observed most carefully was Fried’s wife.
Because she was the central figure in that love triangle mess.
She was certainly beautiful, but not so much that a provincial lord and his heir would fight over her.
I was curious, but I suppressed that curiosity. There’s a limit to how nosy one should be.
Unlike the Court Count’s banquet, there were hardly any nobles trying to ingratiate themselves with the Crown Prince. Just formal introductions and greetings, nothing more. The Euz nobles had sworn vassalage to the rulers of Euz, the Euznirk family, not the royal family, so they had no need to curry favor with royalty.
That’s why Fried, as the Euznirk heir, was the busiest person here.
When he’d confronted Baron Valent, only a few nobles had been friendly toward Fried. But as soon as he was appointed mediator, they swarmed around him like this. Fried seemed to be taking all the hassle in good spirits, though. It was probably because this was his path to establishing his authority and power base.
On the other side, Baron Valent and his supporting nobles had gathered, with the Baron’s gaze fixed on the back of Fried’s head. Well, this was entertaining to watch. I’d thought the room was just divided into two camps, but it was actually a three-way contest. We’d be withdrawing soon, but that place was going to be noisy for a while.
"An unfair negotiation proceeding smoothly—honestly, I thought there’d be a huge fight. Because Father’s here, you know. If it were Father, he would’ve thrown those Euz nobles around."
"He held back out of consideration for my position. That was fortunate."
"That’s strange. Our father isn’t the type to do that."
Just from how he’d raised his voice at the ministers or nearly clashed with Count Euz, my father-in-law’s fiery temper was well known. Combined with that terrifying pressure he exudes, honestly speaking, I’d rather be tangled up fighting enemy knights than deal with my father-in-law.
But even that father-in-law cherishes and loves his family deeply.
That was an unexpected side of him. He especially has a soft spot for Hilda. He even gave her plate armor from his collection as her dowry. Thanks to that, I could fight battles safely.
"Looks like he’s fully accepted you as his son-in-law now."
"It seems so. I’m happy to be acknowledged, even if only now."
"Given my brother-in-law’s achievements, it’s only natural. Once word spreads that the Gale Knight captured the enemy’s supreme commander and ended the war, the whole capital will be buzzing, won’t it?"
That’s what I’m most worried about.
I already dealt with fame when I became the Gale Knight.
Won’t the street minstrels spread songs with my name in them again?
Sigh, I’m already bracing myself for it.
"But there won’t be another victory banquet, right?"
"Of course there will. There’ll be a victory banquet hosted by His Grand Ducal Highness. This banquet is the Count’s affair."
Nothing’s as exhausting as dealing with people.
A banquet like today’s, where the star is predetermined, is fine, but I’d obviously be the star of that banquet. It’s not bragging—the feat I accomplished was said to be unprecedented in the history of war between Burgundy and Beren. Though it was just a local conflict, it was the first time in history that an enemy supreme commander had been captured.
Michael said with a smile that my name must have reached Duke the Bold’s ears.
If my name had come to the attention of the ruler governing Burgundy?
Wasn’t I now squarely in the sights of Burgundy, which commands forces greater than Beren and Roden combined? But I had no intention of backing down just because those bastards threatened me. With the Commander Scouter, which boasts top performance on the battlefield, I was confident I could win any battle.
"Were my men helpful?"
"Thanks to your support, they were a huge help."
"I got to hear about some interesting command work thanks to you, too."
I met the cavalry commander, whom I hadn’t seen at all since assigning him a lieutenant, at the banquet hall. According to Michael, the commander had been courting every widow in the area. I knew rough cavalrymen were particularly keen on women, but the cavalry commander was extreme about it—he was actually proud of being called a womanizer.
A mindset I simply can’t understand.
Not all mercenary-born men are like that, right?
"So, did you visit enough widows?"
"Found a fine widow. Full breasts and a big ass. And most importantly, she had lots of money. So I beat half to death the men who were harassing her."
"Playing at being a righteous knight? So another widow fell into your trap."
"Hey, Beren country bumpkin. Don’t you know the saying that hot love burns in a Saxony man’s passion?"
"Bullshit."
To think such crude conversation was being had by the eldest son of the War Minister’s family and the Beren Lance Cavalry commander. The Beren Lance Cavalry had proven in this battle that they were a more powerful cavalry force than Burgundy’s heavy cavalry by breaking the enemy’s formation first. Granted, the enemies weren’t exactly elite troops, but that didn’t matter.
What mattered was breaking Burgundy’s battle line first, and that was the Beren Lance Cavalry’s achievement. Of the 100 lancers, 10 had died and 5 were wounded. Among the casualties were cavalrymen who’d volunteered when the Crown Prince deployed. They had tried to impress the Crown Prince and were the first to die.
Michael and the cavalry commander showed no signs of steering their conversation away from widows. Deciding I couldn’t listen anymore, I left them to Fiel and August and went out to the garden. Oh, the garden was quite nice. It was said to be a garden that Count Euz’s wife tended as a hobby, and it appeared to be lovingly maintained.
It reminded me of the rose garden at my place.
To think nobody was out here appreciating such a fine garden.
Drinking tea and spacing out is its own form of healing.
"Are you Sir Streit?"
I turned to see who had spoken, and a girl around my age addressed me. She had plain features but wore a very fancy dress. She was Count Euz’s daughter. She must have been with Count Euz in the banquet hall, but it seemed she had come out for some air and spotted me.
"That’s right, Fräulein Euznirk."
"Nice to meet you. I heard about Sir Streit’s reputation from my brother."
"I’m honored. Repelling enemies who invaded Beren is a duchy knight’s duty."
Since the host was Count Euz, it was natural for his family to attend, but I didn’t expect to run into her so suddenly. The Euz nobles didn’t want me becoming the star of the banquet, since I’d accomplished such outstanding feats. So they propped up Fried as the star and deliberately minimized my presence.
Since I had no intention of being the star anyway, I welcomed the nobles’ decision. Not only had I exhausted myself capturing Count Épinay, but I was worn out from dealing with all of them. Instead, Fried became the star and was getting hassled by the nobles.
"You’re modest. Thanks to Sir Streit’s valiant fighting, peace has come to Euz. I sincerely thank you for restoring tranquility. Also, the daughter of the merchant you saved is my friend. She’s not here, but I wanted to convey her thanks on her behalf."
"Ah, you mean the merchant company that came over from Strasbourg? What a coincidence."
There’d been an incident where I saved a merchant company that had been ambushed by a Burgundian raiding party. It seemed her friend’s family had been riding in that fancy carriage. When I asked if the friend was all right, Angela said that unfortunately the shock from the incident was so severe that she’d shut herself in her room. Oh dear, the poor girl must have been badly shaken.
"She kept her life, so that’s fortunate. It’s not as though she lost her virtue."
"You’re more direct than I expected."
"I’m a woman of the Euznirk family. I’ve witnessed too many people being devoured when they aren’t strong."
"I think that’s an excellent mindset for a border family’s daughter."
When I affirmed this, Angela brightened up.
"Right? But because of my temperament, even though I’m of marriageable age, I haven’t received many marriage proposals."
"You’ll meet your soulmate someday."
"...It seems Sir Streit doesn’t much care for me either."