Chapter 247: 131. Feudal Lord Jenald -2 (Part One)
Chapter 247: 131. Feudal Lord Jenald -2 (Part One)
Translated by: A Passing Wanderer
Edited by: RED
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“Charlotte.”
Charlotte needed only one word from Allen to yank out her sword and point it at the Count of Ronia, Jenald Ripang.
However, the Count didn’t falter as the sharp blade was pointed at him. He remained unwavering while facing her sword, instead.
Allen furrowed his brow while observing Count Jenald’s reaction.
‘What a gutsy attitude that is...’
After the accomplishment of defeating the undead in Ronia, Jenald must’ve overcome his natural tendency to be scared and had become something greater.
‘Well, this just became real troublesome.’
Allen did his absolute best to suppress the urge to massage his temples.
Who’d have imagined in their wildest dreams that an easily-scared Count was scheming a revolt of this magnitude?
‘Not only that, what else did he say? It’s all for my sake?’
Now that was a seriously dangerous declaration!
‘That makes it sound like I’m the boss of the rebels now!’
What would happen if this little tale reached the ears of Holy Emperor Kelt without any alteration?
‘I might end up in the gallows, just like my dear brother Ruppel.’
Allen swallowed, his throat dry, and spoke up while pretending to be remain cool. “Me as the Holy Emperor? What a funny notion that is. Why are you even dreaming of such nonsense?”
Count Jenald smiled wryly at that. He interlocked his fingers and leaned his forehead into them. “After the Vampire Count was successfully killed off, a celebratory banquet was held.”
Indeed, a Vampire Count had attacked Ronia, and they were able to defeat the undead creature and its army.
A celebratory banquet was held in the empire’s capital, Laurensis, and naturally, Jenald was invited to attend it as the Count.
“That’s when I witnessed it, Your Highness.” Jenald stared at Allen, his expression distorting. “...What I saw was everyone ignoring and looking down on you.”
Count was deeply stunned by what he had seen back then.
Here was a hero who personally stepped forward to defeat a Vampire Count and saved thousands, nay, tens of thousands of lives in the process. Yet...
The nobles only sent glares of rebuke and whispers of ridicule in such a hero’s way.
But, was that all? No, even the Holy Emperor himself roundly ignored his own grandson!
Even the boy’s oldest brother, the one sharing the same blood as his mother’s, had gone mad from the influence of a curse. Well, he did crazily rush in to kill the Seventh Imperial Prince and even requested a duel, didn’t he?
In the end, the Seventh Imperial Prince had to suffer the indignity of being locked up in prison.
A pitiful little Imperial Prince who had neither authority nor status! It wouldn’t have been strange to see the boy get banished again, or even lose his life to assassination after getting caught up in the struggle for political power.
Not one person had supported him. Not one wanted to become his backer.
He had to exist all alone in loneliness.
“And that was my reason, Your Highness.”
Count Jenald spoke of what he felt back then, and raised his head to meet Allen’s stare without looking away.
“That’s why I wished to become Your Highness’s backer.”
To achieve his aim, Count Jenald had worked tirelessly.
After getting his peerage upgraded to Count, he began getting sizable financial support from the imperial court. With the enormous budget and the annually-supplied goods, and even the convicts who had begun awakening their powers while getting gradually more and more training...
Everything was getting ready.
Every single enlisted soldier and convict that the Count had been training all single-mindedly supported the Seventh Imperial Prince!
In case the boy prince was cast aside during the struggle for power and his life was threatened, they wanted to become his shield. Even if such a thing was in danger of being seen as a rebellion, they didn’t care.
Who would be a better, more perfect fit as the new Holy Emperor than the Seventh Imperial Prince!
But now...
“...All those efforts were in vain.”
The Seventh Imperial Prince rejected it.
Count Jenald could only smile wryly at that and nod slowly.
In vain. That seemed about right.
The Seventh Imperial Prince wasn’t as weak as Jenald had imagined. Not only did the boy break out from the prison using his own strength, he had even saved his own cursed brother, who wanted nothing to do with him other than fight to the death. He then went on to hunt down the Vampires in hiding, as well.
He rescued a princess during the war in Aslan, achieved the glorious feat of felling the enemy nation’s tyrant king, then returned home to personally bring down the leader of the corrupt, rebellious Church of Caiolium, Cardinal Mikael!
Next up, he had stopped the bloody civil war taking place in the kingdom of Lome, and from what Jenald had heard, the boy prince seemed to have done something extraordinary in Aihrance, as well!
The more he piled up one accomplishment after another, the more the citizens’ support for the Seventh Imperial Prince grew. Now, even Holy Emperor Kelt had appointed him as his successor!
There was no more need for Jenald to step up anymore.
“Indeed, that’s what happened. It seems that I have been greatly underestimating you, Your Highness.”
Jenald was genuinely happy to see the Seventh Imperial Prince grow stronger and earn the acknowledgement of everyone using his own strength.
Even so, he did feel somewhat bitter knowing that all of his own efforts had been in vain. Not only that, he was getting crushed by the weight of his guilt at potentially harming the Seventh Imperial Prince’s cause by arousing suspicion of inciting an insurrection.
This would be a difficult charge to brush aside, indeed. The Imperial Family would certainly not let this slide without repercussions.
Not just Count Jenald, but even the convicts would be punished for the crime of insurrection!
He began clenching his fists tightly.
‘Instead of being a help to His Highness, we ended up being a hindrance to him.’
Jenald had raised a combat force without the Seventh Imperial Prince’s knowledge, and news of it had finally reached the ears of the Imperial Family.
Without a doubt, other nobles would ardently lodge a plea to the Holy Emperor to immediately subjugate such a faction.
As for the Seventh Imperial Prince, he might even get kicked out of the successor’s position, the one that he had reached with so much hard work.
Count Jenald could only lament deeply in his heart when such thoughts rolled around in his head.
‘I shouldn’t have...’
It was right at that moment that the Seventh Imperial Prince opened his mouth. “It’s true that the army you have raised can bring about great chaos in the Theocratic Empire. However....”
Count Jenald looked at Allen.
“It can also lend a great aid to the Imperial Family, as well.”
Jenald’s brows rose.
Allen smiled faintly and stood up from his spot on the sofa.
Without a doubt, this matter was a major event, yet he was now speaking in an unconcerned voice. “Compile a detailed report and have it immediately submitted to the Imperial Family. However!”
Allen placed his hand on Count Jenald’s shoulder, and strengthened his grip.
“Do not forget to add that what you have done was to secretly foster an army capable of defending the northern territory and deterring the vampire threat.”
Jenald nodded with a somewhat strange expression on his face.
Even he could tell that such an explanation wasn’t going to convince anyone. The cultivation of Priests had begun long before that, after all!
However, the Theocratic Empire was in a desperate need for more personnel at the moment, and it would certainly need some time to ponder its options.
“I... uh, I shall do so, Your Highness. However, won’t that put you in a tight spot, my lord?”
‘...Oh, and you are thinking about that only now?!’
Allen was shaking his head inwardly.
He was already in a tight spot, anyway. But that didn’t mean he’d abandon all the ‘seeds’ he had planted to their own devices.
“Nothing will improve for you by pleading your case with me. Only the Holy Emperor has the authority to decide your fate.”
“...”
“Also, Count Jenald Ripang... I shall speak on your behalf to His Majesty regarding your possible sentencing.”
This Count from the northern region was one of a handful of acquaintances of the Seventh Imperial Prince. Not only that, he had sworn his allegiance to Allen, making him an invaluable soldier in the upcoming battle against the vampires.
The army of awakened Priests that had begun taking proper shape only recently would be rendered meaningless if Count Jenald was discarded here.
However, he should be fine in the end; by bringing forward all of his accomplishments so far, the Imperial Family should be willing to show mercy and hold back on any heavy punishment.
Holy Emperor Kelt wouldn’t be too pissed if this army was handed over without any fuss.
Sure, the old man could be rather impulsive at times, but he was still the Holy Emperor, who placed the welfare of his nation first and foremost.
‘Of course, I’ll have to try hard to convince him first.’
The one who had requested an investigation in the first place was Allen. As such, the Imperial Family must’ve investigated the ongoings of the northern region and figured out what was going on here. They should have a pretty good idea of the cause by this point.
“If something similar to this event happens again in the future, I want you to consult me first. Otherwise, you’re going to put me in a bit of a spot.”
The shoulders of Count Jenald’s slumped forward as he replied, “I shall take that to heart, Your Highness!”
Allen shifted his gaze over to Charlotte next. “For now, have Count Jenald arrested. As he is currently under suspicion, he can’t be left alone for the time being.”
“Understood.” Charlotte bowed.
Allen got ready to leave, but before exiting the office, he turned to look at Jenald one more time and said something else. “You’ll have to ardently plead your case to His Majesty if you want to keep your life after this.”
“...”
“Do your best to convince him.”
Allen stepped outside the office and Charlotte sheathed her sword.
—
Count Jenald watched the sword return to its scabbard, and as the tension ruling his body seeped away, he sagged powerlessly against the back of the couch while beads of cold sweat coated his face.
‘Am I still alive?’
In all honesty, he couldn’t quite understand what made him act so confidently earlier.
The complicated emotions of happiness at being able to meet the Seventh Imperial Prince again, sadness at realising that he might have harmed the boy prince, and the resolve with a dash of relief that he didn’t mind dying at the boy’s hands, got messily entangled in his head.
Now that Allen was no longer here, the terror of almost dying belatedly jumped into the mix as well!
‘I ended up causing him harm again, instead.’
There wasn’t a whole lot that a Count hailing from some peaceful backwoods could do for an Imperial Prince.
Jenald sighed at length. One of two results would be decided after he wrote up that report.
Either banishment or disposal!
But there was a silver lining to it all. He might be a goner, but at least the convicts and the soldiers of Ronia wouldn’t be punished.
‘This too is the benevolence of Goddess Gaia and her Lord Saint.’
Count Jenald brought his hands together and prayed. As a devout believer in someone, he planned to follow the one he worshipped until the end.
That would be Gaia, as well as the current Seventh Imperial Prince, Allen Olfolse!