A Famous Traitor and Treacherous Genius

231 – Post-War, Behind-the-Scenes Transactions (4)

Children are used as political tools.

Most of the Kingdom of Nostrum, as well as the empire’s leading corporations and merchants, would do so.

Marriages of convenience or unions between families for the purpose of rising social status become more established among those with higher social power.

Although there are occasional tragic situations where a man and a woman who fall in love between feuding families die, at least 90% of arranged marriages are concluded due to political interests rather than personal love.

The remaining 10%.

There are some in the family who believe that there is no need for an arranged marriage.

It is simply a sign of friendship and affection between families, and there are cases where children get along harmoniously and then, when they see eye to eye, form a real in-law relationship.

In fact, it is evidence of love that acknowledges the other party as ‘this man and his wife are worthy of being my in-laws.’

Usually, in cases like this, the children meet as good men and good women from a young age and form a real relationship, but this does not always happen.

20 years until adulthood.

Just because you’re a childhood friend you’ve met often since you were a baby, doesn’t mean you’ll end up together unconditionally.

Therefore.

“Astacia. There is no reason for your child and my child to marry Naria’s child. We just formed that kind of relationship and are only seeking political harmony.”

I used my unborn child as a political tool, but I have no intention of marrying Naria’s child.

“As soon as Naria returns to her palace and announces the outcome of her negotiations with the Gray Earl of Gibraltar, the whole continent will be at ease.”

“Even if Gray Gibraltar were to marry the princess of the empire, wouldn’t he be trying to get her children engaged instead of taking her concubine her?”

“At the time, no one thought about it because they were both princesses, but if they were born with different genders, wouldn’t everyone definitely think about that?”

Kingdom and Empire.

What if two countries start by crossing the border and eventually form a blood relationship?

“Some say that if Naria is crowned queen, she should consider marrying the emperor of the empire.”

“Who is it?”

“Loyal soldiers.”

“Ugh, I don’t like it. Even so, does it make sense to say things like that so carelessly?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

In fact, the continent is unified.

Although the ruling systems are different, over time, the border of the canyon will be broken down and the continent will be unified as one.

“It’s so absurd to have someone else’s child get married.” It’s really absurd.”

“It’s okay with other people’s kids, but it’s okay with my kids?”

“He is not my child, but our child. In that regard, I am sorry for not asking for your understanding in advance.”

“…Hmph.”

Astasia puffed out her cheeks for a moment and then lightly shrugged her shoulders.

“It’s okay. I heard about the situation from Naria.”

“What did Naria say?”

“It’s a child you won’t have, so even if you make a transaction using your child, it won’t be a problem because in the end, you’ll be making a transaction using an official check.”

“…”

The princess of a fallen country did not date or get married, at least in the name of reviving the country, but it doesn’t matter now, right…?

“You’re not married?”

“You say he doesn’t see a single man in his eyes who would allow himself to be with him yet?”

“Then, if you say you’re old enough… “

“Naria has her own life. Among the women of the empire, there are some who do not get married and live alone until they reach a certain age.”

“Gold Miss, what do you mean?”

“That’s right. Of course, Ria and I may change her mind over time. She’s only 18.”

She said she wouldn’t get married at 18-

Correction.

She said she wouldn’t have children, but she never said she wouldn’t get married.

“If Naria does not give birth to her child, she will be cut off from Nostrum’s bloodline.”

“Even the issue of engagement with you will be meaningless in the end. Whether there are 10 or 100 children born to Gray Gibraltar and Astasia von Tersian, if there are no children born to Naria, the engagement is invalid!”

“Are you going to have up to 100 children?”

“Shall we give birth to 1,000 children?”

“Well…Let me think about it then. I’m not throwing away my children’s engagement right now, but my engagement is more important.”

Astasia’s eyes are bent like a half moon.

Now, his eyes are a little satisfied.

“So please don’t misunderstand. I’m getting engaged to Naria…”

“Misunderstanding, didn’t you do it from the beginning?”

Astasia smiles.

“Do you really think I came running like this out of jealousy because I was afraid that you might have feelings for another woman?”

“Yes.”

“That’s right. That’s unlikely to happen, but I ran like this just in case. Good job, right?”

“Good job. If you hadn’t come, I would have gone to the academy to see you.”

“Hehe.”

He had that smile on his face from the beginning, but his eyes slowly began to show mischief.

“By the way, Asta Sia. Is it okay for her to pack her luggage like this even though she is in the academy semester?”

“Up to two absences are okay.”

Astasia patted the carrier she had brought with her hand.

“What about your grades?”

“If you can spend more meaningful time outside than learning at the academy, the professors at the academy will recognize it.”

Astasia took her absence and rushed to Barcelona.

No one could stop her, and without anyone having a chance to say anything, Astasia arrived in front of me in one fell swoop.

“What do international students say?”

“I left a note, so no one will care. They will also know that she came here on an automatic magic ship.”

“Without an attendant?”

“If an attendant comes along, they will stay in the room and clean the Gold Castle, but there is no need to call them.”

And that too by himself.

“Were you that worried about me and Naria meeting together?”

“I came here not because I was worried about Naria, but because I was worried about a count who was worried that I would misunderstand her!”

“You guessed it right.”

I opened her arms, and Astasia jumped into my arms.

Slurp.

I just fell down on the bed.

I lightly patted the back of Astasia, who was on top of me, and looked up at the ceiling.

“Luckily there are no blood stains on the ceiling here.”

“Why not just burn it down and build a new one?”

“The animosity of the residents here will be too great. Although it is inconvenient, calling a wizard to clean it will consume much less budget than building a new castle.”

Traces of battle still remain throughout Gold Castle.

In particular, blood stains left by the shadows of the empire were everywhere.

“There was an open rumor even among the imperial magazines. That the vampires that had disappeared from the empire appeared during the civil war in Nostrum. The Marquis de Barcel joined hands with the vampires of the empire and tried to destroy Nostrum.”

“Because so many people saw it that we couldn’t control the media.”

After the battle.

When recovering the bodies, about half of them turned into ashes and disappeared as soon as the morning sun rose.

The phenomenon was so strange that the people who came to collect the bodies were lost, and since civilians had seen it, there was no way to conceal the information.

So the Marquis de Barcel went extinct.

Simply insulting the royal family and provoking Gibraltar was a capital punishment, but the sentence was increased by adding the crime of attracting the empire’s corrupt princes and vampires for the war.

“Everyone is afraid. Those who were involved in the civilian world while fighting territory wars have died as vampires, so they are worried that there may be vampires around them and are afraid of the night.”

“We only need to check on those who are inactive during the day.”

“Worrying that you might be killed by a vampire at night is a problem in itself!”

“Vampires don’t just go around killing people carelessly.”

It is true that vampires survive by sucking human blood, but they also know that their lives can be lost as soon as they do so.

In Nostrum, vampires are beings who cannot act easily, and they operate in a weaker state than the Empire.

“I know from dealing with vampires, that even in the land of Nostrum, they can exert their strength at night. Instead, their eyes change color, their fangs become sharp, and they become like animals that have lost their senses.”

“People said that the reason Marquis Zeroth Barcel became like that and the reason all the Knights of Golden Dawn behaved strangely was because they all became vampires. And…”

“Do you think there is someone behind turning the Kingdom’s First Knights into vampires?”

“Yes. The empire says they are the fallen nobles of a kingdom that was annexed to the empire, but the people in the kingdom don’t think that way at all. Right now… Even here, in Barcelona.”

“…Even if there is an announcement from Naria, it will not be resolved easily.”

Anxiety about vampires will eventually sublimate into anxiety about the empire.

“Until now, the fear of vampires was something that was occasionally felt by those who hunted demonic beasts in the contaminated area next to Seville at best, but when it was said that it would affect the entire Nostrum – even the political world – everyone became “Afraid.”

“Actually, there is something else I’m most afraid of.”

“What is it?”

“Gray Gibraltar.”

Astasia grabbed my face, made me open my mouth and tickled my teeth with her fingers.

“In fact, isn’t he also a being turned into a vampire by the empire?”

“I can move around just fine in the sunlight.”

“He’s a vampire who overcame the sun. Or in some other way.”

“You turned Gray Gibraltar into a vampire. “Who said they turned me into a vampire?”

“Astasia von Tersian?”

“Ha. That’s absurd.”

I grabbed her Astasia her by her head her her her, and then brought my face her close to her.

Grandpa.

“The canines are just ordinary.”

“…I did it with my fingers.”

“If we’re going to lie around like this anyway, can’t we do it in advance?”

“If you do that, you should definitely align your lips. What does it mean to just lick your fangs with your tongue? Is that pervert?”

“It’s not a pervert, but I can’t stand dealing with it when she says she’s with Astasia.”

“Hmph, really…”

Astasia lightly brushed her flowing bangs.

“So, Count Barcelona. What are you going to do now?”

“Rolling around with Astasia?”

“That is natural, as the Count of Barcelona.”

Astasia pointed out her window.

“If you make that much noise, you can’t lie down comfortably even if you want to.”

Per-eok.

Glass window.

“Wow, is there a high-ranking knight hiding there? How can they throw tomatoes this high?”

“He must be a high-ranking knight. A former Golden Dawn knight whose courage was all it took to hide in the crowd and throw tomatoes. His place of work He disappeared in an instant.”

Outside the window, a large crowd is chatting noisily.

“Grey.”

Astasia asked, looking at the window with her serious face.

“What on earth are these people thinking, yelling at Gray like that?”

“The idea that they won’t kill them.”

Outside the window.

“Whether he died as a vampire or as a high-ranking knight, it was inevitable that many families of the Knights of Golden Dawn lived here in the Marquis Territory.”

Some crowds are shouting.

It can be called a crowd, but another name for it is ‘bereaved families’.

“It’s nothing. I lost the head of the family, so take responsibility.”

“…”

“The fault was the head of the family, and it is absurd that people who only looked out for the head of the family came forward like that, but wouldn’t they be able to show something like that carelessly?”

“To whom?”

“Of course…”

I lightly pressed Astasia’s head and held her in my arms.

“Empire.”

Terrorism is taking place all over Barcelona.

Not only is there a lack of troops to maintain security, but there are many people who think of themselves as people of the ‘Marquis de Barcel’.

“We need to get rid of them before someone in the imperial palace sees this and thinks of wiping them all out.”

“Wipe it away…?”

“Yes.”

If there is trash in front of you, it makes sense to pick it up and throw it away.

“What would the Habsburg emperor think when he sees a scene like that?”

However, if there is too much trash, all of it must be burned or buried in a landfill somewhere.

Or eliminate the factors that create waste.

“The answer to nostrum is to just kill everyone. Not the nation, but the race itself.”

“The method is… “

“If they don’t know they are a cancer, they should be kicked out of Barcelona.”

“Where?”

“I happened to go to an empty place nearby.”

Currently.

“We need a landfill somewhere in the kingdom. Yes, Camp Lembury.”

Some of the noble families connected to the Marquis de Barcel are being put on the execution platform, one after another.