Medieval Knight System: Building the Strongest Empire Ever!

Chapter 318: Lake Boden

I wanted to race back to Feuzen and share a deep kiss with Hilda, but this occupational disease of mine just wouldn’t let me rest easy. You know the one—the kind where you can’t walk past an injustice once you’ve spotted it.

So I’d ordered my subordinate nobles to investigate, and we ended up hooking a far bigger fish than anyone expected. If a duchy knight or lower noble had discovered this, they’d have feared retaliation, but unfortunately for the culprits, I’m a prince.

That meant a mere count palatine couldn’t lay a finger on me. By now, he must be in agony over the mysterious force digging through an old embezzlement case. And if the one behind that force turned out to be a prince?

The weight of a prince is never light.

On top of that, I could mobilize armed force at a moment’s notice if needed.

The presence of the Gale Knights, plus the duchy army responsible for Radensdorf’s defense, made for a suffocating situation for the schemers. If Count Heinlein were a bold man, there was even a chance he’d come to see me in person.

Setting aside the commotion of the Gale Knights’ second recruitment, he would surely approach within days to figure out what my intentions were. And my prediction hit the mark.

"I am Heinlein, a noble of Schafen. Belated though it is, congratulations on your elevation to baron."

"Thank you, Count. Schafen—that’s the port city south of Radensdorf, isn’t it?"

"Thanks to the goodwill of the lord of Schafen, I have been living out my quiet days enjoying the charms of Lake Boden."

Count Heinlein’s disposition was ambition (neutral). A similar disposition to Margareta’s. As if a noble with an ambitious disposition would ever be living quietly. This crafty old man was skilled at hiding his true intentions.

Lake Boden was known as a vital headwater of the long upper Main River and the terminus of the riverside trade. And thanks to its mild climate, the region was better known for growing grapes than for fishing.

It was a lake so vast that it was called one of the three seas of the Alps. If I ever had the time, it was a place I’d like to visit. Count Heinlein observed me as we traded pleasantries back and forth.

I served him fine Rosenheim wine, and Count Heinlein presented me with Boden wine as a gift. Hm? An excellent wine, every bit the equal of Rosenheim’s. I had no choice but to admit it.

Since Rosenheim had become my domain, the wine business naturally fell to me as well, so a competitive streak over wine flared up on its own. The count’s pride in Boden wine was something else.

"How is it? The finest wine, beloved by the Habsburg imperial house."

"Indeed, I can see why. A truly excellent flavor."

This won’t do. I’d have to request an audience with the imperial crown prince and promote Rosenheim wine. Geography favored Boden wine, but I believed Rosenheim wine was more than competitive.

"I doubt you came all this way to talk about wine. Do you have business with me?"

"Ho ho, as expected of a young hero forged on the battlefield, you cut straight to the heart of things."

He’d probably planned to probe me while leisurely talking in circles, but I could sense a trace of unease in Count Heinlein. Most likely because my moves had strayed completely outside his predictions.

He was the one who’d used Ivan to send Viola to Louis, but with the Rijeka family now under my protection, Count Heinlein could no longer approach them freely as he once had.

And even at this very moment, my subordinate nobles were hard at work investigating.

For all I knew, a fierce shadow war was already raging beneath the surface. With Anton and a full squad attached to the Rijeka family, a count palatine was no match for us in terms of armed strength, at least.

Even if one of the eastern princes were involved, in the current situation he would balk at clashing with me. With 2,000 duchy soldiers still stationed in Radensdorf, they’d have to be insane to attack.

"Boden wine was Prince Louis’s favorite, you know. Even if it was the Lord’s will, his early death is a great sorrow. May he be saved and safely greet Resurrection Day, amen."

"Amen. You’re a devout Christian, Count."

"The older I get, the more keenly I feel the weight of my sins."

Mentioning Prince Louis instead of Ivan, was he? Could this crafty old man’s target be Viola? Ivan had said he couldn’t refuse Count Heinlein’s urging and had sent Viola to serve as Louis’s handmaid.

"I once recommended a maiden named Viola to serve among Prince Louis’s handmaids, and to my surprise, that child has become a handmaid to the Baron of Rosenheim. Has she caught your fancy, perhaps?"

"After the prince passed, the poor girl had nowhere to go, so I took her in."

"Ho ho, you truly are as benevolent as the rumors say. To ease your burden, Baron, allow this old man to take charge of the girl. I did make a promise to her father, and she surely wouldn’t want to leave her home behind."

"My apologies, but I intend to take the Rijeka family to Rosenheim."

Count Heinlein’s expression stiffened ever so slightly.

But he quickly put on a kindly smile and asked, "It seems the Rijeka family has won your favor, Baron."

"Prince Louis entrusted Viola to me. Naturally, taking responsibility for her is my duty as a prince who defends Altringen, is it not? I appreciate your kindness, Count, but there’s no need to concern yourself."

"I see. Truly worthy of the duchy’s fourteenth prince. Ho ho ho."

His mouth was smiling, but his eyes weren’t smiling at all. I was now certain this crafty old man’s target was Viola. But why would his target be Viola? Some old man’s base desires?

"Allow me just one question. Is there anything, well, unusual about the girl’s body?"

Was he simply asking after her health, or asking about a pregnancy? With this, my suspicion hardened into certainty. Seeing my expression, Count Heinlein hastily explained himself, as if the very idea were absurd.

"Ah, please don’t misunderstand. The child has been very frail since she was young. I’ve always worried about her, as I think of her like a granddaughter."

"How kind of you, Count. Viola is doing very well and is in excellent health."

Worried about her health? An obvious lie.

Since when do high nobles fret over a lower noble’s daughter?

"Ho ho ho, I shall pray to the Lord that those words are true."

Count Heinlein’s attitude hardened into suspicion. After the count left, I mulled over what his game was. To begin with, Viola wasn’t a simple handmaid. She had been a royal’s bedchamber handmaid.

To put it plainly, a royal mistress. Under the influence of Christianity, Europe upheld monogamy, but royals often kept mistresses in this wink-and-nod fashion anyway.

If a mistress bore a child, the common practice was to marry her off to a suitable noble and pass the child off as that family’s own. That’s why married mistresses were commonly styled Madame So-and-so.

Like France’s famous mistresses, Madame de Pompadour or Madame du Barry. And from this, I could see that Count Heinlein’s goal was yet another illegitimate child.

Because if Viola gave birth to an illegitimate child, he could make use of that child one way or another, even without inheritance rights. They say nobles throw themselves at power like moths to a flame, but I was truly sick of it.

If my guess was right, these moths had learned nothing from the recent Altringen civil war. If anything, they’d caught a deranged second wind from the idea that even a bastard could inherit the throne.

I clapped my hands, and a knight waiting outside entered.

"I’m going to see His Highness the grand duke."

"I’ll make the preparations!"

I headed straight for the Radensdorf palace. With the new year fast approaching, the palace staff bustled about preparing the ceremonial rites. The grand duke had decided to hold the ceremonies in Radensdorf.