Chapter 188

A heavy, suffocating silence weighed down the Pontier conference room. The vassals stared in shocked silence at Count Cox von Wagen, the last person they would have suspected of being a traitor.

The man himself slowly stood up from his seat, looked the others in the eye, and smiled. “I wanted to be good until the end for the sake of the Young Lady, but it seems I won’t be able to do that any longer.”

“Cox—” Charles choked. There was a lump in her throat, but she forced herself to keep speaking. “Why—?”

Cox sounded poetic… after admitting he was the rat. It was hard for her to believe. She didn’t want to believe it.

Is this how it feels to be betrayed by the person you trust the most? He’d cared for her since childhood, even before she could remember. Twenty years… all gone. I was so grateful that you stuck with me through all the years of hard times.

…And he was the one who took care of the Patriarch until the very end.

My mouth tastes bitter.

Charles thought that the family’s tight-knit bonds would prevent this kind of situation… but the truth had been buried deep until now.

“Why… That… Betray—”

She finally understood what the weary, worried gaze her father sent her meant. He knew. He’d known for a long time. He wasn’t looking at Charles; he was looking at Cox.

“Everything… You knew… Ugh…”

Icarus looked at Charles and spoke the words that the Young Lady was too distraught to say.

“Why did you betray your family?”

“Before I answer that, I have a question for you. How did you find out that Marquis Crombell would use the Dennis River?”

Icarus’s expression pinched for a moment. “Knowing your enemy is the essence of strategy. Marquis Crombell fought somewhere else before he came for the Pontiers, yes?1”

“Ahah…” Cox nodded wisely.

“The southern provinces have wide, fertile plains; the eastern and northern regions of the empire, on the other hand, are rough and uninhabited. The cursed lands begin at the Loch estate in the central region and stretch in a straight line all the way to Tripia, the former holdings of Count Rebrecca. “

There wasn’t much food in the north and east. That was why Iceline was so desperate for supplies. It got even worse in the winter when some of the arable land was frozen solid. The people of Tripia squirreled away food before the cold set in, but they never had enough. Their families were always hungry in the winter. Tripia was more prone to starvation than anywhere else in the Empire.

When Count Rebrecca acquired the land, his careful management alleviated the issue—but the new lord that took over after Count Rebrecca was killed was affiliated with Marquis Crombell. He immediately raised taxes to fund their war, making it impossible for the citizens to save food.

The people of Tripia were assaulted from without and within. Their lord taxed everything they gathered, and the monsters from the Black Forest ravaged their farmland.

“The same thing happened to the Rebrecca family. We fled, at first, given the power difference, but they eventually rallied to the Patriarch. On the other hand, the Rebreccas quickly assembled a strong defense.”

The vassals found the difference concerning. After the family had collapsed, they only spent 60% of their time working, and the remaining 40% was spent trying to claw each other out.

“Tripia is a barren land, but its geography is extremely easy to defend. You can’t move a large army in Tripia because Hubalt shares the eastern border. Steep cliffs bracket the north, and the forest looms in the west. It’s a natural fortress. Count Rebrecca had no trouble organizing his defense—But Marquis Crombell’s army didn’t come from the south. It emerged from the west, through the demon’s forest. I think you’ve all heard the stories.”

“…The Black Clan will curse anyone who enters that realm,” someone muttered The vassals nodded grimly.

Icarus nodded. “The Black Forest in the Tripia region has been forbidden territory for a long time, unlike in the central regions. To add insult to injury, Marquis Crombell had troops moving in from the south as well.

“But we have cliffs on all sides. The Marquis can’t fly his troops over the hills, so the Dennis River was the only way in.”

“And for you, it was like putting together a puzzle. My word.” Cox shook his head resignedly. “My master had a habit of saying ‘Never say never.’”

“Are you going to tell us now? Why did you betray the Pontier family and the Young Lady?”

“Did you forget my nickname?” Cox smiled widely.

“The gold-eating monster?”

“A monster that devours gold like a starving animal. What other reason could there be?”

“I don’t think that’s all,” Icarus refuted.

Cox cocked his head. “You speak of Marquis Crombell as though you know him well. Since I’m a traitor… doesn’t that make me family as well?” His expression hardened. “The future Ducal house came after Count Rebrecca… and that got me curious. How high can Count Cox go?” Cox’s polite smile returned. “The Pontier family is the result of my hard work as a young man. It is very important to me.”

“Is this who you really are?” Baron Ashval raged. “What are you doing?” he yelled at the knights. “This man should already be in chains!”

The knights quickly pushed their way from Icarus to Cox. The Count, however, stared out the window.

“I guess it’s almost time… I hope you didn’t think I was saying those things because I gave up, did you? I just don’t need to pretend anymore.”

A strong, acrid smell tickled their noses.

Baron Ashval’s eyes widened. “What is that smell?”

“Fire!” The crackling of flames could be heard outside.

The last stronghold of the Pontier family, Ether Castle, was swallowed by the blaze.

While the shocked vassals leaped out of their chairs, Cox remained undisturbed. He continued to gaze out the window, his eyes reflecting the growing fire.

“Today, the Pontier name disappears from the map.”

Joshua ambled down a trail, fiddling with a hexagonal object.

“Why did he give this to me?”

The Lion King had handed it to him rather casually, but the hexagonal tile was anything but ordinary. The symbol it bore, a lion biting a sword, was the insignia of free knights if he remembered correctly.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with Reinhardt…”

Joshua stopped and sniffed the air.

“…Blood?”

This was the “King’s Road.” As befitting its name, it was a path few people traveled.

Joshua felt a burst of energy. It could only mean one thing.

He’s calling me.

Joshua thought about it for a while, then resumed walking. He only took a few steps before he stopped to scan the area.

“Ugh…” A middle-aged man writhed in pain, gripped around the neck by a snake-like man. Two other men were laid out across the ground, desperately searching for salvation. All three of them bled profusely.

“Joshua Sanders.” The thin-eyed, blood-covered man turned to Joshua with a smile, ignoring the dying man he held.

Joshua recognized him immediately. His name held more weight than even the Prince’s.

“Count Arie bron Sten…”

“The fruit is ripe. Ahh, the harvest has come.” Arie licked his lips. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this, Joshua Sanders. AHHHHHH!” The Count’s face glowed with excitement.

Ah… Sten’s energy crawled over Joshua’s body like a thousand writhing snakes. Joshua had the urge to scrub it off his skin, but the Count’s murder lust kept pouring out stronger and stronger.

Arie tossed away the man he was holding.

“Please don’t disappoint me.”

EDN: Just shop talk with the man who murdered Charles’s father while she’s right there. Sure. ↩️