"W-what do you mean by that?"
"It seems you're hearing of the North's independence for the first time. The agreement with the imperial house has already been concluded — it should have taken effect by now."
The murmuring among the nobles grew steadily louder.
The North had declared independence as a Grand Duchy.
The Grand Duke of the North would not lie in a gathering such as this —
so the fact that it had become a Grand Duchy was as good as immutable truth.
But this was not a welcome development.
Especially not at a time when factions were fracturing like this.
"A contract of this nature is a treaty concluded between sovereign states. It is not something to be debated at this assembly."
"Even so, the Barth estate lies within the Empire's borders."
"The agreement has already been reached with the imperial house. Surely the matter should be put to them, not argued among yourselves."
No representative of the imperial house had yet arrived.
The Crown Prince. By now his position had been fixed firmly below mine —
but apparently too ashamed to show his face, he had not taken his seat.
There was no one to explain, and more to the point, it seemed no proper explanation had been given to the nobles at all.
The most flustered of all was the Marquis of Callum.
"The deployment of Northern soldiers to the Barth estate was plainly done on my orders."
"B-but was that not something forbidden under imperial law — under any framework whatsoever?"
"Old traditions are bound to be broken at least once."
I smiled — a slow, deliberate grin — and needled the Marquis of Callum.
The other marquises reacted much the same way.
But even those who wished to argue back further had reason enough to hold their tongues.
Becoming a Grand Duchy meant holding sovereignty — it was synonymous with sitting upon a throne.
In short:
even those who wanted to make trouble had precious little to pick at.
"Of course, I understand why you're worried."
What if the North went mad and marched south at the head of a great army?
Or what if the North failed to hold back the nomadic tribes?
Anyone with little knowledge of the North's true state would be seized by these fears first.
In a sense, I held two options before them.
Paradoxically — because anything was possible.
"But the soldiers stationed at the Barth estate will be commanded by a commander acting on my behalf, so there is no need to worry on that account."
"And if their intentions were to go awry — or if some problem were to arise with the Grand Duke's intentions, however unlikely —"
"Such a thing will not happen. But if it did, the Marquis of Barth would handle it himself."
Of course, the Marquis of Barth had been granted only limited military authority —
but words like these, I thought, would be enough to sound reassuring.
Still, unease was not something that dissolved easily.
"Besides, I cannot simply stand by and watch while some band of strange brigands tries to insert themselves into the dealings between the North and House Barth."
"In a word — would it be correct to understand this as an escort force for the road connecting the North and House Barth?"
"Well. It could be that. Or it might not."
I let the answer drift, deliberately vague.
If the Northern army had agreed to be stationed there, they would remain there to the end.
At least until an order from me said otherwise.
"And since an agreement has already been reached, Northern coin will be flowing to and from House Barth. Will you lot be the ones to guard it, then?"
"That's..."
"Even if you said you would, I wouldn't trust you. Just as you don't trust the Northern army."
It was the plain truth.
How many people in this room could honestly say they trusted the Grand Duke of the North's army?
They might well harbor hostility — and that would be understandable.
But there was a need to ease the pressure somewhat.
That, naturally, meant money.
"The scale of the dealings with House Barth is simply too large. I hope you'll understand it couldn't be helped."
"There are still many here who do not know the precise nature of the arrangement."
Marquis Roland's support.
Well-timed.
To be precise, I had wanted to share an enormous amount of information — but had decided against it.
Everything. Brief and to the point.
"We've agreed to receive exactly half of House Barth's income from the gold veins."
"Is that not an extraordinary sum? That seems excessive."
"But you mustn't overlook what the North is giving in return."
The final conclusion I had reached.
In exchange for receiving just under half of House Barth's annual gold production —
the North's vast resources and manpower would be put to work for House Barth.
More precisely, they would be serving me — the one who had struck the deal with House Barth.
"With that gold, House Barth will receive mastone, iron, horses, and a great many workers dispatched from the North."
On top of that, construction costs and lodging expenses — those too had been agreed, temporarily, to be covered by the North.
Of course, it amounted to spending the wealth flowing from House Barth's gold veins.
It was closer to reinvesting that wealth directly back into House Barth.
So what did the North gain from this?
"Going forward, even if the infrastructure expands or production from House Barth's gold veins increases, the same structure will apply."
"Is this not a one-sided loss for the North?"
"For now, yes."
But measured against the future, it would yield enormous gains.
The North's output would continue to grow —
and money is finite.
But having a constant stream of places to earn money and places to spend it —
that could become a structure resistant to economic collapse.
If the North was currently vulnerable to internal problems and external shocks —
the answer was to bind House Barth into a single economic community and resolve it that way.
"I'm not sure whether this will be understood."
"That is..."
"You may not know it, but since the North became a Grand Duchy, we've gained a great deal of freedom."
Had we not been granted something close to full autonomy?
That was the meaning of a Grand Duchy.
It meant importing and exporting without needing to watch the Empire or the imperial house for approval.
"House Barth will continue to develop its domain and grow powerful. And the North gains a foothold of self-sufficiency in the south. How splendid is that?"
The marquises said nothing.
Unable to gauge the true scale of the North's output, they seemed unable to commit to any firm answer.
Hexon had worked hard — but now I was certain.
The more I read the room in this assembly —
these people knew nothing about the North.
"Well, we welcome trade at any time."
"A-as for that, we haven't yet —"
"High-quality mastone. High-quality iron. Soldiers who do not flinch even against the nomadic tribes. And..."
An enormous wealth of technology. A vast number of craftsmen.
And people. All of it was welcome. There was already so much it was nearly overflowing — we were on the verge of problems from sheer abundance.
"Of course, pricing will need to be negotiated — but come to us quickly, and I'll make it cheap."
Ha ha —!
I laughed. The marquises from the other houses began exchanging glances.
Mastone in the south was always in short supply, and when it came to horses fit for military use, more was always better.
And horses hardy enough to hold the line against nomadic tribes — all the more so.
"His Highness the Crown Prince arrives!"
The man who threw cold water over the entire mood.
His face was intact — but below the neck, there was nothing that looked unscathed.
Whether he had not forgotten the humiliation of the duel earlier,
I could feel him subtly avoiding my eyes.
"Please, take your seat."
Behind him, Baron Remi was entering alongside him.
It was excessive ceremony.
Pulling out the chair for him, making a show of announcing the Crown Prince's arrival to the room.
But the gazes of the other marquises were far from gentle.
Under ordinary circumstances, this would have been the moment to leap to their feet and pledge their loyalty.
No one was standing.
"Ahem. A-ahem."
The Crown Prince cleared his throat awkwardly —
but the other marquises offered no greeting.
After several seconds of silent maneuvering, the first to rise from his seat was, predictably, the Marquis of Callum.
"You have arrived, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Only then did the other marquises begin to rise from their seats and offer their greetings.
As every marquis bowed their head in turn —
I alone remained seated.
The reason was perfectly obvious.
Well, naturally.
Who was it that had been on the receiving end of blows in that room of the detached palace just moments ago?
"Are you all right where you were hit?"
"Tch!"
He clicked his tongue once and gave no answer.
Rude — but I'd let it go this once.
Baron Remi watched the Crown Prince in silence.
He appeared to be waiting for his moment.
"It seems the assembly has already begun, but how could a gathering of this importance proceed without one of such distinction present?"
The Crown Prince launched into self-congratulation once more.
He spoke of the palace lent specially by the imperial house, and offered words of praise for Baron Remi's efforts in arranging all of this.
I sat quietly and listened to the Crown Prince speak.
He would certainly make his move at some point.
"I hear that House Barth and the North have reached an agreement."
"Didn't you already know?"
"Ahem. A-ahem. It seems there is a need to revisit that agreement."
I had known the imperial house would react this way.
The reactions of the other marquises were beside the point.
Either outcome was acceptable to them, after all.
If the Crown Prince prevailed and the Northern army withdrew from the south — that was fine.
If not, it meant the North had grown that much more powerful, and forging ties with the North was equally fine.
But the one I was most wary of —
was the Crown Prince.
"Your reason?"
"W-well, that's..."
"State a proper reason."
"Because the gold mines are something House Barth holds by the grace of the imperial house! It is not a matter for House Barth to divide as they please!"
What exactly are you trying to say.
I had a sense of it. He likely meant that since the imperial house had permitted House Barth to hold the gold veins, why was House Barth entering into contracts on its own authority.
Behind that, no doubt, was House de Bosch.
"Are you proposing to debate sovereignty with me?"
"W-that's..."
"Or is it that you wish to make a threat against House Barth?"
"Neither! It is a violation of proper order!"
I stroked my chin.
With this, what Remi de Bosch wanted had become perfectly clear.
"Are you saying you intend to change the ownership of the gold veins that have been entrusted to House Barth until now?"
"N-not yet."
Foolish.
"Even if that were the case — it is House Barth that controls the production, and what is being divided is the profit beyond what flows to the imperial house. Why is the imperial house inserting itself?"
There was no reason anywhere for the imperial house to intervene.
Except for one thing —
that girl from House de Bosch.
"So it's because of that girl. Ha ha ha!"
I laughed to my heart's content.