The Founding Monarch Became the Mastermind

Chapter 50

“Even now, it’s not too late. Please reconsider, just once.”

Boris Pamel, the eldest son of the Pamel Count’s family, pleaded desperately, even going so far as to kneel on one knee.

However, Count Pamel pressed his sunken eyelids and remained silent.

“Father, this isn’t right. In Paloma, Gede holds no stake above the Duke. If Blint Si-on doesn’t obtain the title, it’s only natural for his son to inherit it. Gede Si-on cannot challenge that. Why on earth….”

“The Dwarves of Cheolsan will support Gede.”

Though Gede was technically his son-in-law, as the Governor of Paloma and a potential Duke Si-on, Count Pamel referred to him dismissively, as if he were a mere subordinate.

Yet, what he said now was enough to make that seem trivial.

“The Dwarves of the Si-on Duchy? Father, don’t tell me… have you dragged the Dwarves into this too?”

“Half of the wealth of the Si-on Duchy comes from the Dwarves. If those little dwarves support Gede, even those high-and-mighty retainers of the Twin-headed Eagle Castle won’t be able to ignore it.

That’s the weakness of those with lower titles. Without guaranteed land for food and riches, relying solely on wages, they are bound to be swayed by the decisions of the Dwarves, who control a significant share of the Duchy’s finances.”

“…If that’s the case, isn’t that enough? There’s no reason to send troops. No matter what excuse we make, this is an invasion. If things go awry, we’re finished. Don’t you know the power of the Si-on Ducal Family?”

“Shut up! We are Pamel! A prestigious family that has endured on this land for 300 years! We can’t be compared to those lowly mercenaries who haven’t even been around for a century!”

“We were miserably defeated by that so-called lowly Duchy!”

At his father’s outburst, Boris raised his voice as well.

“You dare…!”

“We lost when our power was similar, so how do you think we’ll fare now, with the gap even wider? If things go wrong and Si-on turns his sword on us, what then?

No, without a doubt, they’ll come for us! To unite their long-turbulent internal affairs, they’ll attack us! Even if Gede gains the title, nothing changes—don’t you see that?”

“Gede is already in the same boat as us! If he betrays us, he’s finished too!”

“And how would that happen? Who’s going to end Gede if he seizes the title and pacifies the Duchy? Right now, you’re blinded by old vengeance and unable to see the state of our affairs!”

“You insolent brat!”

Bang!

The elderly man, nearly 60 years old, slammed the table with all his might.

Normally, Boris would have urged his father to calm down, worrying about his health, but this time he couldn’t back down.

“You must withdraw the mercenaries, Father. And revoke the order you gave the vassals to gather their troops.”

“You….”

“Even after just one month, we’ll run out of funds to maintain the troops. If it stretches to two months, the estate could go bankrupt.”

“Hah! Everything will be settled within a month, so what’s there to worry about? If there’s any shortfall, we can just take out loans.”

“Sigh….”

Boris felt like he was going mad.

Borrow and repay.

Many lords had gone to war with such thoughts, only to meet ruin.

They gambled away their family’s and territory’s future, only to fail miserably.

“Father, please….”

“Enough! I don’t want to hear it! Is anyone there? Escort the Internal Guard! Confine him in the Rose Thorn Tower!”

“Father!”

Guards entered and firmly grasped Boris by his arms, dragging him away.

Though they couldn’t treat the prospective family head roughly, the soldiers, following Count Pamel’s orders, showed no hesitation.

“Father! This is wrong! You’ll regret this! Father…!”

Boris’s voice faded as the door closed.

Count Pamel, with his face flushed from anger, sat down in his chair.

“If we win, it’s over. Once we help Gede subdue those scoundrels at the Twin-headed Eagle Castle, it’s done.”

Muttering to himself as if to reassure himself, Count Pamel placed a cigarette in his mouth.

Now that he thought about it, this cigarette was also a specialty of the Si-on Duchy.

They imported tobacco leaves from overseas and mass-produced them using Dwarf technology.

If Gede Si-on became the Duke, a portion of the wealth the Duchy had amassed from such incredible goods would flow to Pamel.

And that wasn’t all.

One day, Gede’s son, born to his daughter, would become the Duke of Si-on.

Whether he was the foolish eldest son who followed his father’s words, or the clever but impatient and immature Sirvan, his reliable grandsons would be easy to manipulate and control.

Eventually, even the Si-on Ducal Family itself might fall into Pamel’s grasp.

“Miss this chance? A fool who only knows how to juggle numbers. He’s too obsessed with figures to see the bigger picture.”

Count Pamel even considered bypassing Boris and handing the title directly to his eldest grandson as he blew out a puff of smoke.

“This time, it will be different. Different from back then….”

Count Pamel was just a child when the large forces sent by his father were disastrously defeated, forcing them to negotiate humiliating terms with the Si-on Ducal Family.

He still remembered the knights and soldiers who had marched out proudly, only to return like beggars, barely half of them making it back.

His sister and cousins were taken away as hostages under the guise of marriage, and the private army of the Pamel family was capped at 500—those memories were still vivid.

But.

“Ugh….”

The mere thought of the silver-masked man who decided and enforced all of that made Count Pamel shudder involuntarily.

Jang Si-on, Duke of Si-on, a hero of the Dark Dragon War and one of the six heroes.

After the peace negotiations, he suggested a sparring session with the Pamel knights for entertainment during the banquet.

Though they had lost the war, the knights who had stayed behind in the castle and not participated were inflamed with a sense of competitiveness, thinking they might defeat the Duke of the Ducal Family’s head.

Over ten knights signed up for the duel, further fueled by Duke Si-on’s remark that numbers didn’t matter.

Then came the sparring.

The first knight was knocked down in a single strike.

The second, the third—all were defeated in a single blow.

By the time the fifth knight fell, the knights, who had been so eager to prove themselves, fell silent.

After the seventh knight’s shoulder was shattered in one strike, the eighth knight surrendered.

The humiliation that followed was far greater than that of the peace negotiations, completely crushing the Pamel family’s morale.

“But he’s gone now.”

Snap.

Count Pamel snapped the half-smoked cigarette in half.

As the monstrous blood of Duke Jang Si-on thinned through three generations and into the fourth, the Si-on Ducal Family no longer had the lion’s offspring, only mongrels remained.

At least, that’s how Count Pamel, who had experienced Duke Jang Si-on firsthand, saw it.

“So this time will be different.”

Count Pamel’s gaze settled on the report that had arrived yesterday.

It stated that the additional mercenaries he had hired had just entered the Forest Without Echoes.

In the past, the expeditionary force sent by his father had to lose nearly half its troops in that demonic forest.

The Si-on Duchy’s Elves had inflicted those massive casualties.

Learning from the past, Count Pamel refrained from sending a large force.

One hundred ‘special’ mercenaries would enter the forest to establish a foothold.

And those special mercenaries were none other than.

“Elves must be dealt with by Elves. They’ll earn their pay for sure.”

* * *

Crackle! Crack!

Campfires blazed here and there throughout the encampment.

With the Janstrick Mercenaries led by Stelman, the cavalry brought by Yonas, and the delegation of three Elf tribes, the group had grown to over fifty.

Including the representatives of the Cheolsan Dwarves, who had joined after the hero Rangliff and Dwarf warriors, Si-on’s party was quite large.

Despite the mixture of humans, Elves, and Dwarves, the atmosphere wasn’t bad.

Normally, each would keep to themselves without even exchanging words, but here, they conversed, prepared dinner, pitched tents, and engaged in various tasks together.

And the sixty or so members were well aware of whom they owed this agreeable atmosphere to.

As if to prove it, key figures from each group were gathered around the campfire where Si-on sat.

“Then, consider that settled, and Dwarves, you may go rest.”

“Yes, Lord Salen.”

Sminov, who knew Si-on’s identity, responded without complaint and returned to the Cheolsan Dwarves’ tent.

Surveying the remaining people, Si-on began to speak.

“You’re all probably bewildered by the sudden change in plans.”

“….”

Though they were indeed confused, they hadn’t dared to ask, and they bowed their heads.

“Look at this.”

Si-on placed the letter he had received on the makeshift table.

It was part of the report sent by Jenna, who was still in August Estate.

Sensitive matters, like internal information of the Si-on Ducal Family, were written separately, so the report Si-on now revealed only contained information regarding areas near the Duchy.

Most of it was about the Pamel Estate.

“Gasp…!”

Yonas, who was the first to read the report, widened his eyes.

“I-is this true…?”

Though he wasn’t particularly fond of Jenna, Yonas couldn’t deny her capability, as she was the one Si-on had groomed from the beginning, so he couldn’t finish his sentence.

If it was a report delivered directly to Si-on by her, the head of an information guild branch, it was undoubtedly true, having undergone multiple verifications.

Following Yonas, Piotr and Stelman read the report in turn.

Stelman merely twitched his thick eyebrows a few times, but Piotr’s expression clearly darkened.

The only one who showed no reaction was Friel.

“As you can see, Count Pamel is serious about this.”

“For such a commitment, the troop numbers seem more like a vanguard force, don’t they?”

The seasoned mercenary captain Stelman cautiously pointed out, but Si-on shook his head.

“If it were just mercenaries or estate troops, you’d be right. But the problem is, Elves are part of the force.”

According to the report, the force assembled by the Pamel family numbered around 300.

A considerable number for a typical estate, but the Pamel family, with all their vassals combined, could mobilize troops in the thousands. So, 300 troops could easily be seen as just a vanguard.

But the involvement of Elves was the issue.

Though Stelman, who wasn’t deeply familiar with the Elves yet, found this puzzling, Si-on understood the implications of the report all too well.

“While the exact number isn’t known, the report suggests there are dozens. So let’s generously estimate fifty. In this case, such a number isn’t much of a concern.”

“Yes.”

“In a typical situation, that is.”

“Yes?”

As Stelman blinked in confusion, Si-on continued.

“Elf warriors. If they’ve survived long enough to enter the mercenary trade, they’ll have no trouble dealing with the monsters of the Forest Without Echoes.”

“…!”

“Friel.”

“Yes.”

“If you and your kin were to leave the Duchy right now to subjugate monsters in another region, what do you think would happen? Let’s say fifty of you go.”

“….”

After a moment of thought, Friel answered.

“The terrain might be an issue, but even if it’s just us kin, dealing with a few Trolls shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Casualties?”

“None at all.”

“Did you hear that?”

As Si-on’s gaze turned, Stelman nodded, impressed.

“And on top of that, over 200 seasoned mercenaries have joined them. If these guys make it through the forest and strike the Duke’s castle… No.”

Si-on paused briefly and then turned his gaze to Yonas, who was staring blankly.

“What if they coordinate with all of Paloma’s forces?”

“…!!!”

Yonas, who had widened his eyes momentarily, slowly closed them.

Though Si-on framed it as a hypothetical, both he and Yonas knew that this was exactly how the situation would unfold.