Chapter 458: You’re Skipping Too Many Steps

A week had passed since the end of the war. It was only a week, but a lot had changed in that time. First of all, civilian exchange had begun between Rosenheim and Basel, whose relations had been frozen until now. To put it simply, trade caravans were now traveling between them.

The regional lords, who had been economically exploited by the Swiss Confederation, drove out the Swiss merchants en masse and brought in Rosenheim merchants instead. Wenzenberg’s business in particular took off, centered on Hissen.

It was a good thing, since there were now more places besides Breisburg buying Rosenheim goods, but at the same time, it sparked an odd tension between Rosenheim and the Swiss Confederation.

Rosenheim and Zurich were now competing over Basel. In sheer size, Rosenheim was no match for Zurich, but the anti-Zurich faction was keeping Zurich in check.

Meanwhile, the reconnaissance unit was combing every inch of Basel. I really hoped one of the two remaining map pieces was somewhere there. I didn’t know just how incredible the Strategy Map was, but it sure was hard to get my hands on.

I needed five map pieces in total, and I only had three.

And with every region except the Count of Basel’s own domain and Birsfelden joining hands with Rosenheim, Basel was facing a serious split of its own. At the center of it was the Grossent family of Landschaft, the second most powerful family in Basel.

After purging his uncle’s faction and taking full control of Landschaft, the Grossent baron maintained nothing more than a formal contractual relationship with the Count of Basel after the war, while teaming up with Wischelbach, Hagenhausen, and the others to stand against the count.

Handendorf, Lord of Birsfelden and the Lightning Knight, had been released after paying a hefty ransom. He was now the last force backing the Count of Basel, but even so, he rarely clashed with the regional powers.

Because of this delicate balance of power, the Brist family gradually began losing its influence in Basel. With regional splits on the inside and major powers competing on the outside, it must have felt like torture for the Count of Basel.

That’s what he gets for picking a fight with me when I was minding my own business.

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such is the fate of a man blinded by greed.

"If there were going to be peace negotiations, you should have called me."

"If the royal family had gotten involved, things would have gotten complicated. The Count of Basel wouldn’t have wanted that either."

"I see. It’s a shame. I could have chalked it up as an accomplishment."

Crown Prince Franz Ludwig von Altringen sipped his wine and lamented the accomplishment he’d missed out on. Having learned only belatedly that war had broken out between Rosenheim and Basel, the crown prince had rushed to Rosenheim.

Why did he find out so late? Because the war lasted only a week. Mediating disputes between princes was the royal family’s duty, but he never got the chance to step into this one. And thank God for that.

Anyway, I treated my distinguished guest to a meal.

Incidentally, the crown prince’s attendant was my younger brother-in-law, Ulrich, who had become commander of the Grand Duke’s Guard and was building up experience. Hilda was taking care of Ulrich while he was here. She was thrilled to see her younger brother.

"Hmm? What’s this? It’s not meat, is it?"

"Of course not. It’s Lent right now."

The crown prince was intrigued by how much it resembled meat.

What dish did I serve? Grilled eel from the Main River.

Ever since the court priest Francisco had given me a thorough scolding, I hadn’t touched meat during Lent. The same went for the crown prince, so he consoled himself with fish to ease the pain of going without meat.

"You can grill eel over an open flame? I thought it only came in stew."

"It’s a waste to eat such a precious fish in a stew, Your Highness."

Surprisingly, the idea of grilling fish directly over a fire didn’t exist in Beren. Most people stewed it, but I seasoned the eel with salt and pepper as I would meat and grilled it over an open flame. Sabine nearly fainted from shock.

Dipped in a sauce I’d mixed together from this and that, it had a flavor close to, if not quite the same as, the eel I used to enjoy in modern times. Hilda couldn’t stand eel because it looked like a snake, but the crown prince had no such qualms.

"Oh, this is a whole new flavor! Has eel always tasted this rich and meaty?"

"Not only that, but eel is very good for men. It’s great for energy and stamina."

"...Eel is good for stamina? Is that true?"

The look in the crown prince’s eyes changed.

In every era, men have loved anything that promised to boost their vigor.

"Mm, I can definitely feel my energy rising."

"By the way, when will His Highness the grand duke return?"

"Oh, didn’t you know? He’s in Dellingen right now."

I’d been busy fighting Basel, so I didn’t know he was on his way back.

Dellingen was only two days’ journey from Breisburg. But was it okay for the crown prince to be here? Shouldn’t he be heading back to prepare for the homecoming ceremony? Reading my expression, the crown prince spoke up.

"The Administrative Minister and the court priest are taking care of the preparations."

"Still, aren’t you the one in charge, Your Highness? I think you’d better head back soon."

"That’s true, but, ahem, couldn’t I see Lily before I go?"

Aha, so our girl in white was the real reason for his visit?

The crown prince hemmed and hawed, watching my face.

"I thought it’d be nice to welcome Father together with Lily."

"That’s a nice idea, but you’re skipping way too many steps."

"Sigh. Why can’t we just get married? Why are there so many steps to go through?"

The step in question was the proxy marriage.

Proxy marriage was a common marriage custom among the nobility of Beren. Hilda and I had gone through one, too. Apparently, in Vienna, they even had something called a glove marriage.

And since the marriage between the crown prince and Lily was a political one, meant to secure the crown prince’s bloodline and forge a political union with Offenburg regardless of what the two of them wanted, the proxy marriage was a very important matter.

That was because Christianity forbade divorce altogether. Getting a divorce was so incredibly difficult that a French king once fought the Pope with every means at his disposal just to divorce his queen.

That’s why mysterious deaths sprang up like mushrooms after the rain.

During the proxy marriage period, however, the marriage could be annulled at any time.

Since transportation and communication weren’t well developed, there was always the risk that relations between houses could change at any moment. The tradition of proxy marriage was created to hedge against that political risk.

"So who’s Lily’s proxy marriage partner? Someone from Offenburg?"

"Me."

"Huh? Who?"

"Me."

The crown prince just blinked. I had become the proxy partner because, when the crown prince’s marriage was finalized ahead of the grand duke’s return, Lily had strongly insisted on me during the discussions.

The proxy partner was usually a family member or close relative, so my being chosen instead of Lily’s own elder brother was bound to be controversial. Honestly, if this were an ordinary noble marriage, it wouldn’t be a problem.

It was a problem because I’d been chosen as the proxy partner for none other than the future crown princess. That was a huge honor even for a noble, and it could easily start a fight between me and Offenburg.

So I turned it down at first for that reason, but Lily looked so crestfallen that I ended up accepting. What the heck, I’d already crushed the Count of Basel. There was no reason to be afraid of Marquis Offenburg.

If Offenburg used this as an excuse to provoke me, I wouldn’t just sit back and take it. I’d sweep through all three of Offenburg’s territories and leave them in complete ruins. Württemberg would love that.

"Are you sure about this? A fight might break out between you and Offenburg, Baron."

"It’s fine. His Highness the grand duke will definitely accept it."

"Father? Hmm...."

The crown prince fell into thought. After everything he’d been through, he had picked up the habit of thinking before acting. A very good sign. There were far too many idiots among the nobility who charged in without thinking things through.

"We could use you to keep Offenburg in check, Baron."

"If it’s about keeping the queen’s relatives in check, wouldn’t I be perfect for the job?"

"Definitely. You’re a war hero and the Gale Knight."

In every time and place, the queen’s relatives have challenged the royal family. Altringen blood had come to flow in Offenburg because the Offenburg faction had grown too powerful, and the royal family had wanted to win them over as supporters.