Tales of the Reincarnated Lord - Chapter 116

Baron Camorra dengan cepat memperhatikan bahwa dia baru saja membuat kesalahan besar. Dia tidak seharusnya memperlakukan keluarga Roaring Raging Bear of the Northlands sebagai keluarga bangsawan biasa yang telah dia tangani. Dalam hal sejarah dan warisan, Keluarga Norton jauh melebihi bahkan dari Keluarga Loggins duke. Keluarga-keluarga yang memiliki sejarah 200 hingga 300 tahun seperti itu memiliki kebanggaan dan kekeraskepalaan mereka sendiri tidak seperti kebanyakan penguasa kerajaan lain yang akan dengan mudah menurunkan kepala mereka dan meningkatkan duta duke dengan memberinya hadiah mahal dan wanita dalam ketakutan bahwa mereka akan menyinggung dia. untuk beberapa alasan.

Berpikir bahwa Keluarga Norton benar-benar berbeda dari apa yang dia dengar sebelumnya, Baron Camorra berpikir bahwa ada kemungkinan besar dia tidak akan dapat memenuhi misinya kali ini. Bukankah Viscount Kenmays memberi tahu saya bahwa Norton sudah menjadi lemah dan tidak kompeten? Saya mendengar bahwa dia telah membawa ratusan tentara petani untuk menyerang Norton Family bastide dan bahkan mengepung mereka selama tiga bulan penuh dan hanya harus berhenti karena mereka kehabisan makanan … Saya percaya bahwa jika itu mungkin, dia pasti sudah suka melanjutkan pengepungan lebih lama …

Meskipun Viscount Kenmays kedengarannya biasa saja ketika dia mengatakan bahwa pada waktu itu, dalam waktu enam bulan, Keluarga Norton berhasil menjarah Lembah Redriver Bastide tiba-tiba dan membiarkannya terbakar menjadi abu setelah semuanya diambil. Baron Camorra masih mengingat adegan itu ketika Viscount Kenmays pergi menemui adipati tentang masalah itu: wajah viscount yang biasanya anggun dan halus itu berwarna ungu karena marah dan dia bahkan pingsan setelah memuntahkan seteguk darah saat dia bergumam, “Koin emasku … koin emasku … ”

Kebanyakan orang berpikir bahwa viscount menderita karena koin emas yang dia gunakan untuk membeli semua barang yang diambil di bastide. Banyaknya pengiriman yang dibawa viscount ke Northland beberapa waktu lalu telah menyebabkan begitu banyak orang bermata hijau dengan iri hati. Saat itulah orang-orang di Northland bertanya-tanya apakah kekayaan Keluarga Kenmays dapat benar-benar menyaingi kerajaan, karena mereka dapat berhasil membawa begitu banyak sumber daya sekaligus.

Tepat setelah insiden bastide terbakar, sementara yang lain diam-diam senang kehilangan viscount, Baron Camorra telah menghabiskan uang untuk menyuap salah satu petugas pribadi Viscount Kenmays dan mengetahui bahwa viscount pingsan pada hari itu karena kehilangan simpanan rahasianya yang disimpannya di bastide. Itu sudah menjadi jarahan Norton.

Menurut petugas itu, ada tepat 100.000 emas Ford yang tersimpan di bastide dan dia yakin akan angka itu karena dia telah mengisi peti itu sendiri di dalam ruang rahasia di bastide. Dia ingat dengan jelas bahwa ada 5 peti yang masing-masing disimpan 20.000 emas Ford ditumpuk rapi.

Jumlah uang itu sebenarnya adalah hasil dari upaya dan metode yang digunakan oleh Viscount dengan cermat selama bertahun-tahun sejak ia pertama kali bergabung dengan kelompok perdagangan keluarga pada usia 16 tahun. Selain dari tiga pelayan pribadinya, tidak ada orang lain termasuk miliknya. Ayah tahu tentang uang itu. Sekarang setelah diambil oleh Keluarga Norton, viscount hanya bisa putus asa: bahkan jika dia dapat membasmi Keluarga Norton pada saat 2000 prajuritnya tiba, keberadaan uang itu telah terungkap dan itu tidak lagi menjadi miliknya pribadi. uang tunai karena harus diserahkan kepada keluarga itu sendiri. Itu tidak akan pernah kembali ke tangan viscount.

Baron Camorra kaget mendengar angka tabungan pribadi viscount: jumlah itu dengan mudah enam kali lipat pendapatan tahunan kekuasaan sang duke. Dia benar-benar akrab dengan pendapatan dan pengeluaran sang duke dan pembentukan Angkatan Darat Duke utara setidaknya 20.000 orang akan menambah 40000 koin emas kekaisaran untuk pemeliharaan duke. Penghasilan tahunan sang duke hanya sekitar 60000 koin emas kekaisaran yang kira-kira setara dengan sekitar 16.000 Ford emas. Itu adalah faktor utama yang membatasi kemampuan adipati untuk memperluas pasukan itu.

Bagi kebanyakan orang, Baron Camorra hanyalah seseorang yang beruntung mendapatkan posisinya hari ini. Tampak seperti badut berwajah monyet, kebanyakan orang merasa bahwa dia telah berhasil mendapatkan bantuan duke hanya dengan kebetulan. Yang tidak mereka perhitungkan adalah bahwa sementara adipati memiliki banyak kelemahan dan kekurangan, dia bukan penguasa yang bisa dengan mudah diombang-ambingkan seperti itu. Alasan dia mempercayai Camorra dan bahkan memberinya gelar baron adalah karena prestasi yang dia peroleh dengan kemampuannya sendiri.

Baron Camorra was originally a commoner born in Gildusk City and he had spent most of his life in the slums among the lowest dredges of society. He did everything he could to survive including being a liar, a thief and a gangster. However, he was finally caught for stealing at the age of 16 and just as he was about to have his hand amputated as punishment, the local dominion lord intervened out of nowhere and forgave Camorra of his crimes and even gave him a small fortune and some clothes.

That benevolent dominion lord said to him, “I can’t have a young boy like you dying from having your hands cut off on the day my son is born. That will forever taint this auspicious day of mine. That’s why I forgave you and even graced you with this little gift. You don’t have to thank me, this is the fortune that my little angel has brought to you. I can only advise you to change your way of life and find a proper job so that you can secure your own happiness and livelihood with your own efforts. If you don’t listen to what I have to say, you will definitely be captured again and die a dog’s death from having your hands amputated. However, at that moment, your death will no longer have anything to do with my precious son.”

As if he had gained a sudden revelation, Camorra went to the Shrine of Singwa and carried out all sorts of chores there during the day to earn his share of two pieces of black bread. During his free time, he also spent his time learning as much as he could from the priests of the shrine and after three years, he had gained the trust and admiration of the priests of the shrine and one of the senior priests promoted him to become a warden. From a position at the jail, Camorra spent 10 short years to be promoted to the level of a security captain and spent another 10 years to become the chief tax officer of Gildusk City and caught Duke Loggins’s eye.

If one were to pick the poorest duke out within those of the Krissen Empire, the Duke of the Northlands would definitely fit the bill. One of the duke’s ancestors had once took the post as the prime minister during the time of Krissen III and had a reputation in the history books as the virtuous prime minister. Back then, the Krissen Empire was fraught with natural disasters as well as internal and external conflict and it was the leader of the Loggins family at that time that had used every method at his disposal to unify the empire and grant it peace and stability. In the end, he died from overwork at his work desk and that prompted the emperor of that time to elevate the title of the Loggins Family from a viscount to a duke and grant the southern part of the Northlands to their family as a hereditary dominion.

However, the Loggins Family could not have hated Krissen III more. Even though their dukedom was 10 times larger than their previous viscounty, the profit the family made had decreased more than 10 times. Krissen III had actually claimed the profitable viscounty for himself and ceded the desolate northern lands to their family as their dominion instead. To the Loggins Family, that was a stab in the back that they didn’t deserve considering the contributions the family had made to the empire. Perhaps it was the emperor’s way of punishing the family for hogging so much power within the empire for so long and making the emperor feel like he’s nothing more than a figurehead.

During the reign of the former Krissen Empire, the revenue of the Duke of the Northlands was merely around 100000 imperial gold coins. That amount was akin to the profit that a common baron earned in the most prosperous areas of the empire. The previous leaders of the Loggins Family had tried to develop their lands before, but none of the leaders were as talented as the former viscount and they were mostly plagued by their limited funds and the natural hazards of the Northlands. Surprisingly, the Loggins Family had produced a number of family leaders that excelled in the military, causing them to be known by some as the family that had relinquished their scholarly brilliance to become military brutes.

Jika dibandingkan dengan banyak pendahulunya, Duke Loggins saat ini tidak berhasil dalam kecakapan akademis dan bela diri dan hanya rata-rata pada apa pun yang dia lakukan. Dia juga memiliki banyak kekurangan seperti nafsu, keserakahan, keraguan dan keinginan untuk menghabiskan kemewahan yang tidak perlu. Namun, satu faktor penebus yang dia miliki adalah kemampuannya untuk menilai orang. Dia telah memilih Camorra untuk mengelola pajak pangkat seorang duke dan mengatur pembentukan Angkatan Darat Northland serta mengelola logistik dan pasokan pasukan.

Camorra, not letting the duke’s expectations down, had spent three whole years revamping the taxation system of the dukedom and helped the chaotic dominion recover its revenue by up to six times like it used to be in the old days, thus allowing the duke to no longer have to save up just to make ends meet as well as allowing for the original 3000-strong garrison of the dukedom to be expanded into a staggering 20000-strong Northland Army. The income of the dukedom also ensured that the army would be able to sustain itself in terms of equipment and supplies.

After merely three years, the duke was extremely satisfied with Camorra’s performance and fulfilled his promise to make him a baron. Naturally, it was merely an honorary title that didn’t come with a dominion. That meant that Baron Camorra was only an honorary noble.

The night he was given the title, Camorra locked himself in his room and cried himself to sleep. He knew that most of the people around him treated him like a joke and didn’t know how much effort he had put in to get to where he was. Even though he wasn’t even 45 years old, he had lost half of the original volume of his hair over the years of stressful toiling. He was extremely thankful for the duke’s favor towards him and he continued to believe that as long as he served the duke well, he would one day gain a dominion for himself and become a proper landed noble.

Setelah menerima laporan dari petugas Viscount Kenmays, Baron Camorra diam-diam memberi tahu sang duke tentang hal itu. Duke benar-benar terhuyung-huyung dengan jumlah 100.000 Ford emas dan bahkan mempertimbangkan mengirimkan seluruh Angkatan Darat Northland untuk mendapatkan seluruh jumlah untuk dirinya sendiri. Namun, Baron Camorra mengatakan bahwa dia seharusnya tidak membuat gerakan besar seperti itu agar dia tidak menarik perhatian orang lain. Duke Loggins mengerti bahwa Camorra merujuk pada Pangeran Kedua dan pria itu bahkan lebih rakus daripada duke yang terkenal itu.

On the other hand, it would be easy to come out with an excuse to pester the Norton Family: ever since the Second Prince’s Iblia Kingdom had decreed for all landed nobles of the Northlands to be under the jurisdiction of the Duke of the Northlands, the Norton Family had not made a visit to the duke himself for a single time even though they paid their taxes regularly. They could also argue that the Norton Family’s lack of notification to the duke when they selected a new family leader was a disrespectful act to the duke as he was their senior noble and not reporting the fact meant that they were treating him as if he didn’t exist. It could also be said that among the old noble families of the Northlands, the Norton Family had become a rogue family that did not have any associations to a senior noble.

After deciding on the excuse with his trusted subordinate, the duke decided to send none other than Baron Camorra himself to the Norton Family as his ambassador. To pressure the Nortons to submit, the duke had also sent one of the five Gold ranked knights he had to accompany the baron on his journey as well as an escort of 20 Silver ranked knights and two small squads of elite soldiers of the Northland Army.

The duke also instructed Baron Camorra that if the Norton Family knew what was good for them, not only did they have to hand over the 100000 gold Fordes, they also had to give two thirds of the resources they had plundered to the duke to gain his forgiveness for the Norton Family leader’s disregard. And if the Norton Family refuses to abide to those conditions, the escort that the baron brought with him would be more than enough to wipe the family out.

Ever since the First Young Master and the previous family leader of the Norton Family died, the Nortons no longer had any Gold ranked fighters. One Gold ranked knight, twenty Silver ranked knights and another two squads of Iron ranked elite troops should be more than enough to frighten the wits out of the Nortons already. What other choice did they have but to obey the will of the duke? At the time, that was what Duke Loggins and Baron Camorra believed. The duke even joked that the real reason the escort of that might was sent was to ensure that the 100000 gold Fordes would be transferred back to the duke’s dominion safely.

Not knowing the true situation of the Norton Family, the duke and the baron even laughed about the conflict between the Kenmays Family and the Nortons because there wasn’t even much of a point to fight for lands as desolate as their dominions’ as most of the more developed places of the Northlands was at the south where the duke’s dominion was located.

If the duke knew about the decimation of the Feathersoar Mercenary Crew, then he definitely wouldn’t have underestimated the might of the Nortons. Had he known that Lorist managed to single-handedly defeat the twin Gold ranked shield-bearers, the duke might have considered sending all five of his Gold ranked knights along with the baron as well as another 6000 of his troops. However, if he truly did that, then everyone would know that he was going to rob the Nortons of their gold.

Selama masa pelayanannya untuk Duke Loggins, Baron Camorra telah melihat banyak bangsawan yang akan menanggung setiap dan setiap jenis penghinaan yang dilontarkannya pada mereka dan mencoba yang terbaik untuk menyenangkannya. Sebagai duta adipati, Baron Camorra telah pergi ke banyak dominasi keluarga bangsawan lainnya untuk memprovokasi, menengahi, mengancam, memeras, dan paling sering mengumpulkan pajak. Bahkan sebelum dia diberi gelar sebagai baron kehormatan, para bangsawan darat sudah sangat menghormatinya. Camorra bahkan telah bertemu dengan beberapa bangsawan yang bersedia mengirim istri dan anak perempuan mereka untuk menemaninya di tempat tidur untuk beberapa tunjangan tambahan seperti pemotongan pajak kecil.

Before he arrived at the Maplewoods Bastide, Baron Camorra had assumed that the Nortons were just like the usual noble families he dealt with. But nobody would’ve expected for him to run into trouble the moment he arrived at Firmrock Castle. At the foot of the newly-constructed defensive wall, the Gold ranked Knight Tabik who had accompanied him shouted for everyone within the Norton Family to show up and receive them. But a young knight merely peeked over the wall and bluntly asked the arrogant Tabik to shut up.

The Nortons’ construction of a castle at Morgan Hills was news to the baron and he didn’t expect that they would have a Gold ranked marksman among their ranks as well. When he was making his way through Firmrock Castle, the baron had also noticed the ballistas which were set up on the wall as well as the metal-armored soldiers who were manning them and felt that he had neglected to investigate the true military prowess of the Norton Family and started to worry whether he would be able to successfully complete his mission,

By the time he arrived at Maplewoods Bastide, he noticed something different about the place when compared to Firmrock Castle. The people of Firmrock Castle, no matter whether they were soldiers or workers, weren’t remotely bothered by the presence of the men sent by the duke: apart from a few curious looks, most of the people didn’t even show the slightest interest in the duke’s men. However, at Maplewoods Bastide, the moment the duke’s name was uttered, everyone there either panicked or showed their deepest respects. Even though the entry of the 200 or so soldiers into the bastide’s castle was denied, Baron Camorra noticed that they were being served the best food the bastide had during the reception feast.

The one who was present at the feast was the old and cunning Butler Gleis, whom Baron Camorra didn’t manage to glean the slightest information about the family from despite his incessant questioning. The baron decided to test them out by secretly asking Knight Tabik to flirt with the female knight of the family and noticed that even though the other members of the Norton Family were mad at that act, they did not dare to take any action. At least, that was the case until the Gold ranked marksman who escorted them humphed in annoyance, causing Tabik to cease whatever he was doing.

The baron was also keenly observing the situation when the Norton Family’s new leader entered the hall and he saw that the Gold ranked marksman and the Silver ranked knight that was beside him were extremely respectful to that young family leader from the very bottom of their hearts. Thus, Baron Camorra decided to test the young leader’s reaction with his usual arrogant and rude act: most other nobles usually attended to him more respectfully after the commotion he caused and the baron expected the family leader of the Nortons to react the same as well.

But he was extremely taken aback by the huge reaction the young man exhibited which involved his questioning of the baron’s legitimacy as a noble. The baron could also feel the seething killing intent which radiated from the eyes of the young man when he turned his gaze to him. What deep, black eyes… They seem like an unending abyss of darkness… After he was gazed at, the baron felt like he was being eyed by a high-ranked magical beast as if he were its prey and found himself frozen and unable to move before his train of thought got disrupted entirely as he awaited his impending doom.

That kind of desolation and helplessness had caused the baron to lose his usual cool and rationality to the point that he even hurriedly took out his nobility certificates when Lorist demanded him to prove his legitimacy. Having one’s legitimacy as a noble questioned was the paramount insult one could experience no matter whether one was a landed or honorary noble.

By the time Tabik was calmly attesting to the baron’s identity, Baron Camorra only felt a pang of humiliation. He understood that he would definitely become a laughing-stock among the noble circles and that would only serve to reinforce his reputation as the clown who merely got lucky.

Baron Camorra silently kept the certificates and documents he had placed on the table and readjusted his robes and removed the light blonde wig from his head to reveal his bald, shiny scalp. With a pale face, he performed a standard noble greeting towards Lorist and said with a serious tone, “With utmost respect, Lord Norton, I represent my liege, Duke Loggins, to ask the Norton Family a question and to discuss two other matters…”

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