249 - Margrave
—Margrave Lesnou.
The lord in charge of the border with Fanbayle, and one of the lords who had become busy as relations with Fanbayle deteriorated.
Though he was in charge of the border, he was not defending it alone. He protected the border in cooperation with surrounding lords, but currently, he was isolated.
It was a demand for hostages from Central.
The current head, Varius Lesnou, had his long gray hair tied back. He didn't usually tie it, but after reading letters from the surrounding lords and from his son, Balfelt Lesnou, whom he had sent to Central, he had a face as if he had chewed on a bitter bug.
"That little brat of the Walt family. She's bewitched my son."
Initially, for someone of a Margrave's status, it was not uncommon to maintain a residence in Central. A representative would be placed there, and naturally, Varius had sent Balfelt, his heir.
The gears began to slip when Celes of the Walt family became engaged to the Crown Prince. No, things had been strange even before that.
Balfelt had entered the Central residence himself, saying it would not be wise for Varius to leave his territory.
Regarding the matter of the hostages, Balfelt had volunteered to become one.
Up to this point, Varius felt there were parts that were unavoidable. However, he received a letter from that very Balfelt, asking him to send his daughter-in-law and grandson—Varius's own grandson—for Celes-sama's sake.
Letters had also arrived from the surrounding lords, telling him to send them.
"Does the Lesnou family, which has guarded the border with Fanbayle, lack that much trust!"
As he crushed the letter in his grip, a knight serving the Lesnou family, who had been waiting, spoke up.
"Lord Varius, at this rate, we will be surrounded by Fanbayle and the surrounding lords. I know it is painful, but we must take some action."
Varius also knew that something strange was happening in Central. However, many Baron and Viscount families, who did not possess the power of a Margrave, decided to ensure their safety by sending hostages to Central.
It was an action taken out of fear of the Central forces, but also the forces of the Walt family.
As Central fell into a strange state, the lords also took action. Many lords went to Central to admonish them, only to be charmed by Celes.
Varius currently had several options.
"...If I send my daughter-in-law and grandson to Central, they might become that little brat's toys. On the other hand, if I defect to Fanbayle—"
The knight continued Varius's words.
"We would simply become a battlefield for Banseime and Fanbayle. The most prudent course of action is to send the hostages and welcome an adopted child from our relatives. That way, we can keep pace with the surrounding lords and stand against Fanbayle as well."
Varius slammed his fist onto the desk. The letter he was holding was crumpled and tore from the impact.
"Relatives? If only there were anyone decent! Every single one of them is just aiming for the position of Margrave. Aside from those, they're just people coming to borrow money. If there were anyone decent, I wouldn't be worrying this much! I have no intention of handing this position to anyone other than my grandson!"
The knight narrowed his eyes.
"...I understand that you adore your grandson. However, we cannot afford to say such things right now. Though not a direct descendant, the Lesnou blood would remain."
Varius adored his grandson and had decided to leave the position only to him. However, it was also a fact that there were no relatives suitable for a Margrave around him. The knight seemed to think that if they were trained for a few years, they could at least be useful as a temporary filler.
"...Let me think about it for a while. Even my precious son has been taken. I'll put this matter on hold."
Varius sat back deeply in his chair and covered his face with both hands—.
"Heh, so the Margrave's sons, other than the eldest, were married off into other families."
On the way to Fanbayle, I was visiting a market with the other four while gathering information in a town we stopped at. Residents of the surrounding villages and towns were selling things at the market, and I spoke with a chatty middle-aged woman while buying food.
When I refused to take the change from the food I purchased, her tongue became quite loose.
The plump woman left the shop to her husband, perhaps? Once the man took over, he told us various things.
"We have dealings with the local lord here, too. You know, the Margrave's place is on the border, right? He's been busy since he sent back a princess a little while ago, but his sons are excellent. Before things got busy, he was friendly, so he married them off."
According to him, it seemed that when relations with Fanbayle were friendly, he had married off his second and third sons.
However, when the situation changed, the son who was the heir apparently entered Central.
"Our local lord sent his wife and children immediately. Well, he took a mistress soon after, so I guess that's all it was worth, but the Margrave apparently refused to send additional hostages. Thanks to that, the atmosphere within the country is tense. It's a pain, isn't it?"
Sending the son as a hostage first, and then demanding the son's wife and children as additional hostages—.
"That's tough. So, among the lords around here, did everyone except the Margrave send hostages?"
The woman looked up slightly.
"That's right. They sent them a few months ago. There's no reason not to, after all. I wish the Margrave would consider the feelings of those around him a bit more. If Central takes notice, they'll come all the way to the Walt family. I hope he sends them to Central himself before Central loses patience and sends a retrieval unit."
The Walt family—now they were not a prestigious name of Banseime, but an object of terror. From within the Orb, Mireia-san's voice could be heard.
"Well, for the common people, the feelings of the lord don't matter. For my part, I find the sight of him hesitating to send hostages quite likable."
The Third Head was laughing.
"It's likable because we are enemies of Banseime, and that's more convenient for us. However, if it were a smaller territory where there were more opportunities to meet the lord face-to-face, the people might be more sympathetic."
The Fifth Head spoke listlessly.
"That's only if he's a good lord to the people, right? Even if they sympathize, they'll eventually start telling him to send them. Everyone loves their own skin, after all."
The Seventh Head listened to the Fifth Head's opinion.
"A cold opinion. Well, it's probably a fact. Now, let's end the personal impressions here... Lyell, one job before we enter Fanbayle."
Gripping the Orb, I signaled my agreement and thanked the woman with a smile. I also handed her the small change I had.
"Thank you, I heard an interesting story. This is for your help."
Then, the woman said.
"Please come shop at my place again. I'll give you a discount."
She smiled and watched us as we departed.
Entering an inn in the town, we took baths to wash away the fatigue of the journey.
When we gathered in my room, Monica prepared herb tea and sweets for everyone.
As Shannon reached for the sweets, Monica said.
"If you eat those, I'll have you brush your teeth again."
Shannon puffed out her cheeks.
"I already did it after the bath, so it's fine!"
Monica laughed through her nose.
"Of course it's not fine. If you're okay with getting a cavity and being lectured by the older sister you love so much, then go ahead?"
Clara reached for the sweets.
"It's not a problem. We can just brush our teeth again."
As for Aria.
"I'm going to brush my teeth before bed anyway, so I'm fine. Oh, this is delicious."
Monica brushed up one side of her blonde twin-tails, with her other hand on her hip.
"These are sweets prepared by this Monica. There's no way they could be tasteless. The ultimate treat tailored to the tastes of a chicken coward—"
Since the explanation was long, I also took one and put it in my mouth. A crispy pastry with tart cream and jam. It was bite-sized and delicious. It paired well with the herb tea.
However—.
"I preferred the previous sweets."
When I said that, Monica tried to leave the room. I hurriedly called out to stop her.
"Hey, we're about to have a discussion?"
"Don't stop me! It is the duty of this Monica to prepare the sweets that the chicken coward desires! If you say the previous sweets were better, then this Monica will borrow the inn's kitchen and cook them!"
Shannon, who reached for a third sweet, lay prone on the sofa, lifting her legs and swinging them back and forth.
"Don't you have cooking utensils or something? Why not just do it here?"
Clara disagreed with Shannon's words.
"You should stop. It'll smell. It'll only make us hungrier."
Cooking in the same room would cause various problems, so Monica, understanding that, likely intended to head to the inn's kitchen.
Aria, while munching on a sweet.
"More importantly, let's talk quickly. This time, we're offering cooperation to the Margrave, right? Are we negotiating so he doesn't hand over the hostages?"
Aria's opinion was correct. To get him on our side, it was a fact that we wanted to do something about the hostages. However, I didn't know exactly what the opponent was thinking.
When I called Monica to my side, she approached happily. Standing diagonally behind the sofa I was sitting on, Monica put on a sharp, dignified expression.
"I intend to make contact. But if we make one wrong move, we'll be detained and sent to Central. Therefore, first, we'll spread rumors. Then, we begin our actions."
Clara looked at me with an expression that seemed to say "Again?"
"Lyell-san, do you intend to deceive the opponent again?"
Inside the Orb, the Third Head tried to clear up the misunderstanding even though they couldn't be heard. He probably hated the way his favorite, Clara, was looking at me with suspicion.
"No. That's not it, Clara-chan! Here, we'll make it widely known what's happening to the hostages who were sent! There's no way they're safe after being sent to Celes!"
Aria was the same. She looked at me.
"You always use those kinds of means."
The one hurt by those words was the Fifth Head. With a slightly trembling voice.
"...N-no. This is basic, manipulating information is important. It's not a bad method."
These guys are hopeless, they're weak when they get criticized by their favorites. If it were the First Head, he might have planned a strategy Aria would like, such as just storming in and negotiating without thinking. What would the Second Head have done? He likely would have moved cautiously.
The Fourth Head... and the Sixth Generation...
Mireia-san said.
"This is why children who don't understand are no good. Look at Shannon. She doesn't even understand the situation, let alone deny Lyell's strategy."
Was that something to be proud of? While I was thinking that, Shannon yawned.
"It's always kind of petty."
She said. Inside the Orb, the Seventh Head was laughing hysterically, but he went quiet when the sound of gunshots was heard several times.
"Sorry, but there's no change in policy. While gathering information, I'll decide on a detailed plan considering the person's character. If possible, it would be helpful if Central sends a unit to collect the hostages."
Apparently, there are cases where units are dispatched from Central to collect hostages. If possible, that would be more convenient when dealing with the opponent.
Aria looked at me, resting her elbow on the sofa's armrest and her cheek on her hand.
"What do you plan to do this time? There's no point in fighting and winning against the retrieval unit. On the contrary, they might dispatch a full-scale force. Or is it another strange tactic?"
Because I've done various things, it seems I'm thought to prefer strange tactics. But strictly speaking, that's not it. If I fight normally, I'll lose, so I have no choice but to resort to strange tactics.
It's not my fault. It's just that the difference in military power between us and Banseime is too wide.
"No, it's not that much of a strange tactic this time. Rather, it's a direct approach."
Clara showed interest.
"That's rare. So, what is this direct approach?"
I said with full confidence.
"Ah, actually, I'm thinking of kidnapping the Margrave's son's wife and children. Then, the negotiations begin!"
Except for the sleepy Shannon, Aria and Clara looked at me with dead eyes. Monica was saying things behind me like, "That's too villainous, chicken coward. But I will follow even such a chicken coward. That is my aesthetic!"
"...Eh? B-but! It'll be easier to negotiate with the Margrave that way! As it is, we can't meet properly, and it's questionable if he'll even listen to us... huh?"
The Third Head was also surprised by this reaction.
"Huh? I think it's actually pretty good?"
The Fifth Head agreed.
"I think it's pretty good, considering it was thought up by Lyell?"
The revived Seventh Head said.
"Maybe it's just the way you put it? We'll rescue the Margrave's relatives, who are being taken away, from the dogs of Central! See, now it sounds much more decent."
Mireia-san giggled.
"Whether it sounds decent or not, the action is the same. But Lyell has grown. Thinking of kidnapp... rescuing the Margrave's associates and using the gratitude for negotiations."
I stood up to explain, but the gaze of the two became even colder.
"What's wrong with it!"
Shannon looked at me.
"It's so wrong I don't know where to start with the warning. I mean, isn't this clearly a threat to the Margrave? How should I put it... cowardly?"
Being called cowardly, the words that came to mind were "Being called cowardly is a compliment!"
...It seems I've been dyed in the bad colors of the successive heads in various ways. Mainly the Third, Fifth, and Seventh... ah, it's a concentrated group, and only the relatively black-hearted ones are left.