Chapter 144: The Viscount

Viscount Tennes lingered in Victor’s domain for two days. After dealing with everything that needed attention and learning all that he wished to know, he finally set out on his return journey.

“Tennes, Viscount Victor is truly remarkable. Not only is he graceful and distinguished, but he is also considerate and proper. For someone his age, that is exceptionally rare.”

Winnie rode alongside Tennes’s carriage. During those two days, Victor had hosted them in his capacity as lord. Although they ate game and slept in crude shelters, he was neither reserved and arrogant nor obsequiously attentive. His calm and natural bearing had deeply impressed Tennes and the others. In particular, Victor had thoughtfully ordered his men to build a two-wheeled carriage for Viscount Tennes to use.

This had greatly improved Winnie’s impression of Victor.

The so-called carriage was nothing more than a seat mounted on a two-wheeled cart. Though the cart jolted along the road, it had the advantage of being light. Even when they encountered an obstruction, several strong soldiers could easily lift it over. It was highly suited to the conditions of the roads at present.

Such two-wheeled carts were originally used by farmers to transport grain, firewood, and even manure. In the past, Viscount Tennes would never have agreed to ride in one.

Yet the journey to the Centaur Hills had shown Tennes many things, and changed him in many ways. Because of the ant-men infestation, everywhere beyond Blackcastle Town had become virtually deserted. Farmland lay ruined, villages stood in shattered disrepair, and roads washed away by rain had gone unrepaired. The desolation had deeply moved Tennes. It was something no report read in the royal capital could ever make him understand.

Moreover, Tennes had never imagined that traveling on horseback could be so arduous. Nor had he expected a shelter lined with leaves to be so comfortable to sleep in, or roasted mole meat to be so delicious.

“Go to the Centaur Hills. When you return, you’ll find that everything is different.”

Those were the words the Minister of State Affairs had spoken to him before his departure. Only now did Tennes understand why the minister had insisted that he seek this mission—not for political gain, but for his own growth.

This diplomatic mission had broadened his horizons and revealed the tenacity within him. Tennes was very satisfied with what he had gained. Yet what astonished and puzzled him most was the change in Viscount Victor.

Victor did not know Tennes, but Tennes had seen Victor before. During his time in the royal capital, Tennes had attended a banquet hosted by Marchioness Sophia. At the time, Victor had only just been ennobled as a baron. Although he had tried hard to display the bearing of a noble lord, Tennes had been able to see how pale and frail he was.

There had been nothing strange about that. Victor’s birth and bloodline had destined him to become a prized possession of the great nobles, like an exquisite crystal vase.

After the queen’s break with Marchioness Sophia, a rumor had spread throughout the aristocratic circles of the royal capital: in order to secure the support of House York, Marchioness Sophia had given her most beloved pet to Lady Sylvia.

Sylvia had indeed doted on Victor. She had even placed the purple cane liquor, snow sugar, and coffee under his name. The rumor that Sylvia was fond of handsome youths had become a favorite topic of conversation among the nobles of the capital, and many people had begun to scheme along those lines.

Yet Moon Elf blood was exceedingly rare, and young men of that lineage were rarer still. Aside from Victor, there was only one other—the eldest son of Grand Duke Peter of the Kingdom of Bory, Raymond Peter. Duke Peter possessed immense power and was himself a formidable Golden Knight, so no one dared set his sights on Raymond.

In any case, very few people paid attention to Victor. Even Tennes had believed that Victor was still an exquisite vase, and a puppet of House York.

He no longer thought so.

During those two days together, Victor had left a profound impression on Tennes. He was physically robust and quick-witted. Even while living in a crude shelter and eating wild greens, he possessed a naturally noble bearing. That calm and magnanimous composure made Tennes realize that Viscount Victor was the true master of that territory.

He was no vase, and certainly no puppet.

“Viscount Victor is very strange. He is completely different from the rumors—as if he had become another person. How could he have changed so much?” Tennes said softly.

“He is powerful,” Knight Romon remarked from beside them.

Winnie was somewhat surprised. Ever since meeting Nelson, Romon had remained taciturn, rarely speaking without good reason. She had not expected him to offer such an assessment.

Raising her delicate brows, Winnie said, “You think that ferocious warrior is the source of Viscount Victor’s confidence? He’s only somewhat stronger than average. Even I could defeat him!”

Romon cast her a faint glance.

“I was referring to Viscount Victor.”

“What?!”

Tennes and Winnie cried out together in low voices.

“There is a certain quality about Viscount Victor,” Romon said after a moment of silence. “It is exactly the same as that possessed by grand knights who manipulate the elements of the void.”

Tennes was visibly shaken. Unlike Winnie, Romon served in the royal capital’s Imperial Guard and possessed abundant combat experience. He had fought in the wars between the Three Kingdoms and the Sasan Empire on numerous occasions. He was therefore extremely familiar with Silver Knights.

Tennes still found Romon’s judgment impossible to believe. Lowering his voice, he asked, “Viscount Victor is a Silver Grand Knight? How is that possible? He awakened Moon Elf blood!”

“Victor is certainly not a knight.” Romon shook his head. “But my senses cannot be wrong. When his gaze swept over me, I felt immense pressure, just like the pressure given off by a Silver Knight. Winnie, did you not feel it?”

“Uh…”

Winnie had been too busy admiring the exquisite beauty of the elf’s features.

“The Windwalking talent of the elven bloodline!” A glint flashed through Tennes’s eyes, and he laughed softly. “So that’s it. Viscount Victor’s transformation stems from confidence! I was wondering—how could the Rose Queen be so shallow?”

“What is the Windwalking talent? Can it rival a Silver Knight?” Winnie asked curiously.

Tennes explained, “Windwalking is an archer’s talent. In essence, it is much like the elemental manipulation of a Silver Knight. There are stronger and weaker varieties. But Windwalking has one fatal flaw: its duration is far shorter than the period for which battle aura can be circulated. It is comparable to the divine arts of a holy warrior and cannot last for more than half an hour. Still, since Viscount Victor was able to exert pressure on Romon, his talent must have awakened to a considerable degree.”

Romon and Winnie both breathed a sigh of relief. A knight could circulate battle aura for at least fifteen hours, and battle aura recovered quickly as well. With such an advantage, Windwalking was nothing to fear. Neither of them believed that, once wearing armor, they would be unable to withstand the shots of a bow.

“Neither of you is to spread word of Viscount Victor’s abilities,” Tennes instructed the two knights of his family in a low voice. “I believe he is now even more worthy of investment.”

Most nobles of the royal capital secretly cultivated friendly relations with certain local lords, as such ties served their family’s interests. Because of Victor’s relationship with Sylvia, Tennes had already intended to befriend him. Now that Victor had displayed both potential and confidence, Tennes felt that this was a rare investment opportunity. By investing when the other party was still weak, one could pay little and gain much.

Tennes decided not to report anything concerning Victor to his superiors.

——————————————

Victor toyed with the seal in his hand. It was not large, but it was made entirely of refined gold and had considerable weight.

Victor very much wanted to give the seal to Buso and have him forge a small knife capable of severing the tendons of an ant-man chieftain. But that could only remain a thought.

The seal represented the status of a viscount-lord in the Kingdom of Gambis.

Viscount Tennes’s visit was Victor’s first face-to-face contact with a noble from the kingdom’s central aristocracy. It was also the first time he had displayed his organized alchemical militia to another noble. With Victor’s current strength, there was no longer any need for him to hide his capabilities.

Accompanied by Victor, Viscount Tennes investigated the ant-men within the territory and redetermined the boundaries of the viscountcy. He also made a rough estimate of the territory’s output.

After formally conferring Victor with the title of viscount, Tennes tactfully informed him that this year he would need to pay the kingdom an annual levy of thirty thousand gold sols.

Victor was stunned. After making inquiries, he learned that a viscountcy was required to hand over twenty percent of its produce as well as fifteen thousand gold sols. If it failed to provide the required amount of goods, it would have to pay twice the annual levy instead. The levy itself was determined by the size of the territory and the holder’s rank.

Viscount Tennes hinted that Victor could seek assistance from House York.

Victor remained outwardly impassive, but inwardly he seethed with anger. He had been struck by another man’s misfortune. The kingdom clearly regarded him as House York’s puppet. A blow meant for House York had landed squarely on his own head.

In his helplessness, Victor could only console himself with his title of viscount. Titles were of little value to court nobles, but they held great significance for a territorial lord like Victor.

A baron could ennoble knights as lords, while a viscount could ennoble both barons and lords. Now that Victor was a viscount, he possessed land and could confer baronial titles. This held tremendous appeal for knights.

As long as Victor produced enough land and a baronial title, even a Silver Grand Knight might be willing to join his service and become a vassal lord under him. Thus, titles and land formed the foundation upon which a lord’s power was built.

A vassal lord might become stronger than his liege, but in status he could never surpass him. If a vassal lord wished to raise his own rank, he first had to raise the rank of his liege. This meant that the more prosperous a vassal became, the more resources he would return to his liege. Even if the master was weak and the servant strong, the stability of the relationship could not be altered.

The kingdom did not collect annual levies from vassal lords. But if a vassal dared betray his liege, and the liege lacked the power to punish the rebellion, the kingdom would crush the treacherous vassal lord. That was the power of the system.

Over thousands of years, this relationship had formed a deeply rooted moral order. Even enemy nations would not dare openly accept a traitor.

Everyone believed that Victor had obtained his viscountcy because of Sylvia’s favor. Only Victor and the upper echelons of House York knew that it was Sylvia’s compensation to him after obtaining the formula for rock bricks.

At the same time, it was Sylvia’s way of making clear to Victor that she had no intention of controlling him.

Had Victor remained a baron, his rank would have been too low to attract knights. Now that he was a viscount, that obstacle no longer existed. He could completely establish a power base of his own.

Though Sylvia was a woman, the breadth of her mind and the grandeur of her bearing inspired Victor’s admiration.

Unfortunately, Victor had no intention of recruiting knights.

Low-ranking knights were meaningless to him. High-ranking knights were difficult to recruit and even harder to control. Moreover, because of their bloodlines, knights were deeply interconnected with one another. Recruiting them would instead make it easier for the secrets of the Alchemical Tower to be exposed.

Of course, the main reason was that this method of expansion was simply too slow. It might take several generations to form a cohesive family. That did not suit Victor’s needs, and he had no interest in such a model of development.

“A title is practically useless! And I still have to pay such a huge protection fee. Come to think of it, I could recruit the adorable Nicole and grant her a baronial title. That would work rather well. Ha, that’s what I’ll do! But what am I supposed to do about that thirty-thousand-gold-sol protection fee? Do I really have to ask Sylvia for help? No, that would be too embarrassing!”

Victor weighed the viscount’s seal in his hand, his thoughts running wild.

“My lord! Something has happened.”

Nelson approached and spoke in a deep voice.

Victor sprang to his feet, his eyes shining with excitement.

“An ant-man chieftain retreating from the battlefield?”

“Yes. Two ant-man chieftains are pursuing a female knight. Judging from the emblem on her armor, she appears to belong to House Chapman,” Nelson replied.

“What a nuisance!”

Victor’s brows drew tightly together.

The secret of the ant-man chieftains was not yet ready to be revealed. Should he save her, or should he not?