Why would he give me a silk pouch containing gold coins? Was the Count trying to compensate for the losses I’d suffered at the hands of the Euz nobles? If that was true, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the Count’s political acumen. He was trying to ease my ill feelings toward Euz and forge a friendly relationship.

"Are you trying to compensate me for my losses for the reason I’m thinking?"

"Your guess is correct. The Euznirk family is not so shameless as to send a benefactor away empty-handed."

Count Euz sat down in his chair and drank a glass of wine.

Then he offered me a seat. I had a feeling this conversation was going to be long.

"How much do you know about the circumstances involving Valent and Fried?"

"From what I heard from the lady, Baron Valent had been after the Glesia family’s wealth, but Ingrid chose Sir Fried instead, and the relationship between the two spiraled into disaster—that’s about all I know."

"Hmm, broadly speaking, yes. But that’s far too simplified."

I thought so too. Baron Valent turning hostile toward the Euznirk heir just because Ingrid chose another man seemed like an overreaction. The omitted details were far more complex than I’d imagined.

"The Glesia family is wealthy. The problem was that they had only one daughter as an heir. So numerous Euz nobles proposed to Ingrid, and eventually disputes arose, escalating into honor duels. If you’d seen it, it would have been quite the spectacle."

"Was Baron Valent among the duelists?"

"He was the final victor."

There are two types of duels recognized by the courts: trial by combat and honor duels. Trial by combat is specified in Germanic law as a way to resolve a case through a duel between two parties when a trial reaches no verdict. It stems from the belief that God grants victory to the righteous.

Honor duels, on the other hand, are duels between nobles who value their honor—when personal disputes arise between nobles, they fight under the supervision of witnesses to resolve the conflict. Some say they derive from trial by combat, but to me it seems like an excuse for idle nobles to fight legally.

Anyway, Baron Valent had become the legitimate victor entitled to claim Ingrid’s hand through an honor duel, but when Ingrid chose Fried instead, everything fell apart. From Valent’s perspective, it must have felt like being robbed. He’d defeated all his rivals in duels only to have the bride slip through his fingers.

I’m not defending the bastard, but even I’d be furious in that situation.

"The problem is that Fried owed the Glesia family a massive debt. It seems he’d been planning to launch a business connected to Strasbourg in the Duchy of Roden, but if the Glesia family fell under Valent’s control, what do you think would have happened?"

The heir of the lord’s family becoming a debtor to a vassal family. What kind of business venture had Fried undertaken to incur such massive debt? Ultimately, that debt became a noose around his neck. However, Fried had no justification to invalidate the marriage between Ingrid and Valent.

"Valent had a violent temperament and was only after Ingrid’s wealth, so the frightened girl sent a letter to Fried. Fried then used that as justification to intercept the bride on her way to the groom’s house after the proxy marriage ceremony. Hmm, it was essentially kidnapping."

"...You must have had quite a hard time, Count."

"Oh, you understand? I had to concede many things to my vassals to clean up that mess."

That’s why Valent’s attacks on Fried had only ended with moderate mediation. The vassals also walked a tightrope while pressuring the heir. So Ingrid felt grateful that Valent’s influence had diminished and gave me a gift. But at the same time, I had questions.

That’s all well and good, Count.

But why are you telling me this?

Sensing my questioning gaze, Count Euz said with a smile:

"A capable cavalry commander with the added backing of being the War Minister’s son-in-law, and I’ve observed your character closely. My conclusion is that you’re not a man destined to remain a lower noble."

An unexpectedly high evaluation.

As befitting a ruler governing the border, he seemed to assess people from a different perspective.

"Simply being a capable commander doesn’t mean you can rise to the top. You scattered the united nobles, skillfully led negotiations, and rallied support around Fried."

The result of thoroughly leveraging the Diplomat Scouter’s help.

From Count Euz’s perspective, that seemed to have been the most impressive part.

"Even in a situation where anyone would be furious at being forced to hand over what was rightfully theirs, you conceded something small and gained something far greater—the trust of the Euznirk family. I don’t trust any central nobles, but someone like you seems worth placing a bet on."

To think I’d hear such praise to my face.

But it was somewhat different from my intent.

"I think you’re overestimating me—I was so annoyed by the nobles’ behavior that I used Sir Fried to make them fight amongst themselves by playing opposing forces against each other."

"That’s precisely what political acumen is. Just as you used Fried, I used you, so you could call it a political transaction. Baron Valent’s actions were crossing the line, and I’d even considered removing him, but doing so would have put the other vassals on guard, so I was looking for a reasonable pretext to keep him in check."

In the midst of all that, I accomplished the feat of capturing Count Épinay, and when the nobles latched onto this, Count Euz exploited the confrontational dynamic between central and provincial nobles. But when I skillfully achieved what the Count had wanted, he upgraded his assessment of me.

That’s what compensating for my losses was really about.

"Are those gold coins in that silk pouch truly meant to compensate for my losses?"

"I prepared a small token of sincerity to ease your regrettable feelings toward Euz."

"I’ll accept the Count’s sincerity. May I check the amount?"

When Count Euz gave permission with a smile, I opened the silk pouch and pulled out all the gold coins. Let’s see. One, two, three, four... twenty? If Count Épinay’s ransom was 20 gold coins, my loss was about 10 coins. But there were 20 gold coins in this silk pouch.

"It seems you’ve included more than my losses."

"The remaining gold coins are a reward for the hero who saved Euz."

He’d added 10 gold coins as a reward. Not just the amount, but the fact that Euz’s ruler hadn’t forgotten my achievements and taken care of me proved how highly he valued me. Honestly, I hadn’t expected Count Euz to show me this much goodwill.

"Good. I’ll accept. You must want something in return?"

"If the Euznirk family requests help from the capital, please lend us your full support."

"If Burgundy invades, you’ll naturally have duchy forces dispatched, right?"

"I’m talking about if something happens internally."

Internal matters. Perhaps a civil war between Valent and Fried. The ruler of Euz was thinking of securing insurance in advance, and that insurance was me. But dragging the War Minister’s family into a border civil war wasn’t a wise approach. Then he must mean me personally, but what power did I have?

"It’ll be difficult to borrow the War Minister family’s power."

"What I want isn’t the War Minister’s family but you."

"I have few personal troops, and as a duchy knight, I can’t move without central orders."

"That may be true now. Just promise me."

Making promises carelessly is dangerous, but my intuition told me this wasn’t a losing deal. After careful consideration, I finally accepted.

"I’d honestly rather not get involved in someone else’s family feud, but I’ll come help when the Euznirk family is in danger. Even as an individual. If you provide cavalry, I’ll happily tear through the enemy lines."

"That alone is sufficient. Ah, what a shame. If you weren’t the War Minister’s son-in-law, I would have made you a Euznirk son-in-law. Quite regrettable."

Count Euz found that the most regrettable. However, becoming a border lord’s son-in-law wasn’t a particularly attractive prospect. For someone like me, who was aiming higher, being bound by blood ties to one region would be a hindrance. Moreover, if it were the border, I’d be fated to fight on battlefields for the rest of my life.

"Count Épinay gave up Mont Blanc."

"Really? That’s unexpected."

"It’s the horse that got him captured—he must consider it unlucky."

I’d thought he would demand Mont Blanc back, but the Count seemed to have given it up without regret. Since he’d been captured thanks to Mont Blanc’s swift legs, Count Épinay probably considered the horse cursed. It was a shame, given that it was a Hungarian thoroughbred, but from the ruler of Épinay’s perspective, it probably wasn’t worth the attachment.

Not unless it were a famous horse, anyway.