Chapter 56 - Fifty-Six ... The Feudal Council

Chapter 56: Chapter Fifty-Six ... The Feudal Council

Chapter Fifty-Six ... The Feudal Council

"What should we do? Shall I refuse the tax, my lord?"

Treasurer Kohl asked carefully.

"No. It’s fine. If he wants to pay taxes, that’s a good thing too. Take it and put it to good use for our lands."

So this was what it felt like to stumble on a windfall while out for a walk. Jan laughed softly and told him it was fine. It wasn’t something he needed to think hard about right now anyway. It would soon be time to lead the feudal vassals into council.

Bordin was in a foul mood.

Strictly speaking, he too came from a branch of the family with a claim to inherit the domain. And yet the people of this damned domain were insolent beyond words.

This was nothing short of looking down on him.

They had lined up pikemen as if to threaten him, and the administrators were deliberately throwing money around to cow him.

And that wasn’t all.

Last night, Avigne’s unexpected move had cracked the pact the vassals had secretly made. The plan to intimidate the lord, wring enormous concessions out of him, and then, as a branch-family claimant, make a bid for the lordship of House Lupton himself had completely collapsed.

’Let’s see if this council goes smoothly for you. I’ll ruin it thoroughly. Damn you, Jan Lupton.’

But it didn’t take Bordin long to realize he had made a grave mistake.

"Would you care to say that again?"

"I, Bordin, reject your proposal, Lord Jan. You’ll have to offer better terms."

"Ha. So you’re telling me you can’t accept it?"

Jan had expected there to be one troublemaker. But he hadn’t expected him to push this hard. He had already conceded more than enough. And the man still dared to climb this high? Unless one were a saint out of an old tale, there was no way not to be angry.

"Do the rest of you feel the same way?"

Jan glared around the council hall at the feudal vassals as he asked.

The feudal vassals flinched and avoided his gaze. They had already been cowed once by the review of the pikemen. On top of that, Avigne’s unexpected move had left them unable to decide what to do. So the judgment they settled on was silence.

The only one to speak up at Jan’s words was Avigne.

"How could anyone oppose your generous treatment, my lord?"

"Hmph! Shut your mouth, Avigne. What has he ever done for us, that you’d side with a proposal that ties new chains on us when he ought to be setting us free?"

Well, that much was true. In the late lord’s time, House Lupton hadn’t been much help to them in disputes large or small. But that didn’t mean the man could dare behave so insolently. He was a feudal vassal, and Jan was his rightful ruler.

"If that’s what you think, then you know perfectly well there’s only one answer, don’t you?"

At Jan’s threat, Bordin faltered for a moment. Jan didn’t miss it and pressed him harder.

"By the right granted me by faith and crown, I can strip you of your title. You’d do well to be careful I don’t have to make that final choice, Bordin."

"Why, you...! Could you really do that? The rest of us won’t just stand by!"

Gritting his teeth as he shouted, Bordin looked around at the other feudal vassals pleadingly. Unable to look away, they cleared their throats.

"Ahem, ahem."

"Hem, hem."

"Stripping a title is a bit..."

Since the forfeiture of titles was something that could happen to any of them at any time, they apparently found it hard to ignore. Jan had already expected this from the feudal vassals. They were jackals who cared only for their own rights, after all.

"What? Are you thinking of going to war if you oppose me?"

Jan said it provocatively on purpose. Sparks flew in the feudal vassals’ eyes. Emboldened by their attitude, Bordin shouted loudly.

"War? You think we wouldn’t dare? If we raise our soldiers, even you won’t be able to ignore us!"

"Me?"

"That’s right!"

Bordin shouted it triumphantly. The feudal vassals backed his words with defiant looks.

"But I have no intention of fighting any of you."

Jan could only snort.

"Why would I bother fighting you? I’d simply strip you of your title and announce that I was appointing a noble loyal to the king or the Ruler of the Stone Lands in your place. Then they’d lead their soldiers in and trample you all on their own."

"A-are you mad? You’d hand over whole domains just like that?"

Bordin wasn’t the only one horrified. The faces of the other feudal vassals were twisted with shock as well.

The feudal vassals all came from branches of the family. Bound by blood, each of them held a claim to inherit the domain, which meant they could make a bid for the lordship of House Lupton at any time. But once domains began falling into the hands of the king and the Ruler of the Stone Lands, making such a bid would become all but impossible.

"What? Mad? I don’t think that’s a word that should be coming out of your mouths."

"Ngh."

"Better vassals bound to me by mutual profit than close kin who never listen and are always ready to stab me in the back. If I divided your lands evenly between the king’s men and the Ruler’s men, would they ever dare come at me? Or would they fall into line?"

The feudal vassals’ mouths clamped shut as if they’d been struck dumb.

"Well, of course, I have no intention of doing that. I have a better way."

"And what would that be?"

"I’ll take back your lands and issue a call to arms."

"Hah! And you think we’d answer your summons? When you’re out for our heads? How foolish of you, Lord Jan!"

Bordin screamed it at the top of his lungs.

"You won’t come? What makes you think they won’t come?"

Jan could only pity him.

"I intend to divide your lands among the others according to their merit in the campaign. And of course, I’ll grant today’s matter, the dissolution of the feudal contracts, as promised. So, what do you think will happen? Will the vassals around you really stand by you to the end?"

"Hk!"

No noble would ever turn down more land. Only then did every one of them look shocked. At the same time, greed flickered in the feudal vassals’ eyes.

And so...

Bordin could only sink into deep despair.

Every preparation for leaving his lands was complete.

He had dealt with the sources of trouble at home in advance, and he had given orders for everything that needed doing while he traveled to the Papal See and back.

All that remained was to set out for the Papal See. But he couldn’t head straight there as he’d hoped.

’Hm... What a maddening world this is.’

Traveling in these times was no easy thing.

For one thing, the roads connecting the domains were poorly kept, and with the lords all waging wars for reasons of their own, the land was crawling with bandits.

Mercenaries in particular would plunder villages and raid merchant caravans at the drop of a hat, simply because they hadn’t been paid.

’And since we’re carrying all sorts of valuables and trade goods as gifts for the Papal See, it’ll be even more dangerous.’

There was no telling when or how some jackal who caught the scent of money might try to sink its teeth into them. One might think no one would dare attack a party flying a noble’s banner, but outlaws like that never thought about the consequences.

’And that’s not the only problem, of course.’

In truth, there was an even bigger one.

This world he lived in...

It was a world where the mysteries of magic were real and the monsters of legend ran wild.

’A world threatened by great beasts and mysteries no one understands...’

The one saving grace, for humankind at least, was that the great beasts didn’t live in packs. They preferred to live alone.

As long as people traveled in large enough numbers, they were more or less safe.

So even a noble had to prepare thoroughly before setting out on a journey, especially a long one.

That was why Jan first had Captain Lampard call back the Black Rock Company.

With experienced dwarves armed to the teeth with halberds, they would be safe even on a long march like this.

On top of that, two hundred of the newly trained pikemen and thirty attendants, knights among them, would be coming along as well.

He had truly prepared thoroughly.

Thanks to that, Jan was able to leave his lands with a much easier mind.

Tramp, tramp, tramp.

Soldiers marched along the road, pikes more than ten feet long resting against their shoulders. Captain Lampard was busy riding back and forth on horseback, keeping the soldiers in order.

Unlike other infantry, pikemen had a hard time changing direction because of how long their weapons were. That was why they needed signals agreed on in advance, and why the role of the sergeants, who had to catch those signals and relay the orders, was so important.

The pike unit hadn’t existed for long, so there were still plenty of problems of this kind. If this hadn’t been a road maintained since the days of the old empire, countless problems would have cropped up.

’Still, it seems to be running smoothly enough.’

Jan murmured to himself from horseback as he watched the soldiers march.

There still seemed to be a lot of rough edges, but these men weren’t knights who had honed their fighting skills since childhood, or mercenaries who had been through every hardship there was. Considering that they had been serfs until not long ago, it was tremendous progress.

No, in terms of discipline, they actually surpassed knights and mercenaries alike. Because he had deliberately recruited them village by village, the bond among the soldiers was unusually strong. And then there was the serf’s natural habit of obeying those above him.

And Captain Lampard, the dwarf, had turned out to be far more skilled than expected at training soldiers like these into fine elite troops.

’I was a little worried, but there was no need.’

Seeing things change more or less the way he’d envisioned put his mind at ease. He had put the right people in the right places and given them authority, so now his lands would grow on their own.

Just like the pike unit Captain Lampard was leading right now.

"Heh heh heh. I’m the one who brought him in, but isn’t Captain Lampard just wonderful? You mustn’t forget Graham’s contribution!"

Beside him, that bishop came over with his chin jutting proudly.

It was Bishop Graham who had first recommended Captain Lampard. Seeing how pleased Jan looked, he was putting on airs.

"Yes, yes. Thank you very much."

By now, even that sort of behavior struck Jan as rather endearing.

In a way, he was a very easy sort to understand.

Bishop Graham was greedy, but at least he wasn’t the type to scheme sinister plots behind people’s backs, which was something of a relief.