Don’t Run Away My Lord

40 – The Territory Obtained by Chance (4)

To think that he mistakes me for his deceased son… It’s truly a pity.

“Anyway, that’s how it happened. Now this territory will disappear like this.”

“I see… It’s been forty years since I came here, and all I hear is bad news. It’s not a pleasant feeling.”

“What can we do? It’s not easy to become a lord in the Tarda Kingdom. It’s fortunate that it’s just worthless land and it ends like this. If there were any resources, we would have been invaded and the lord’s family would have been wiped out.”

“It’s truly a harsh place.”

“I told you. This is what the Tarda Kingdom is like. It’s a place where they set up a scarecrow king and the lords fight each other to the death.”

The man threw the burnt end of his cigarette on the ground, stomped on it, and sighed.

“We better leave now. We won’t even get the money. Let’s just go as a way to repay the Marquis for treating us well.”

“Where will you go?”

“Well… I only know how to use a sword, so I’ll go to a place where I can make a living by fighting.”

The humans prepared to leave, carrying their bags.

As they did, they looked back at the lord’s castle with a sense of regret.

“Damn it. It’s a shame to leave like this. It was a place where I lived like my own home.”

“What can we do? At least the lord endured for a long time.”

In the end, they reluctantly tore their feet away and left the lord’s castle.

Watching their fading figures for a long time, I also returned to the lord’s castle.

* * * * *

I was about to go to the reception room when Rianna gestured to me in the middle of the hallway.

“Come this way, Lord Erga.”

“Where did Count Kaita go?”

“After causing a ruckus to see his son, he suddenly felt tired and went to his bedroom. Kaita followed him.”

“I see… Rianna, let’s talk for a moment. Not here, it’s a bit…”

“Shall we go to the study?”

We entered the Count’s study and sat on the worn-out sofa.

The study was dimly lit, with nothing properly arranged.

“I never imagined it would be like this.”

“Yeah. And on top of that, I met some people outside earlier.”

“Who were they? What did they say?”

I told Rianna about the conversation from earlier.

“Hmm… I see…”

Rianna rolled her large eyes and tapped her chin with her finger.

“He lost his son and developed dementia ten years ago… Hmm…”

“He seems to mistake me for his son. He said we’re about the same age.”

“Is that so… Hmm…”

After saying that, Rianna fell into deep thought and remained silent for a while.

Feeling a bit bored, Rianna finally spoke up.

“Lord Erga, how about doing this?”

“What?”

“Lord Erga wants to become a feudal lord, right?”

“That’s right.”

“And now Lord Gorda, due to dementia, can’t do anything.”

I caught on to the intention behind Liana’s words.

In fact, anyone with common sense could have easily figured it out from the current situation.

“So you’re saying I should pretend to be Gorda’s deceased son?”

“More like… how should I put it? Play both sides?”

“Anyway, so what?”

“What do you mean ‘so what’? We just need to take over this lordship.”

As far as I know, human clergy are supposed to be free from greed, live in modesty, and practice the will of God.

Liana in front of me used to be a clergywoman in the past.

But now she’s suggesting that I pretend to be the son of a demented old man and claim his territory.

It was a highly inappropriate act, as humans would call it ‘unethical,’ but the truth was that it was an irresistible proposition.

I am a dragon who knows little about the human world, and Liana is an exiled saint.

Kaita… Of course, she hasn’t expressed her willingness to join us yet, but she lived in a human world five hundred years ago.

In the current situation, it is quite difficult for the two of us, or the three of us, to obtain a convincing territory.

In that sense, the lordship of Gorda is like a set table, ready to be devoured.

But…

“Liana. But it doesn’t seem as easy as it sounds.”

“Why not?”

“Why would the territory be abandoned when the lord has lost power?”

“Huh?”

Liana, who was rolling her eyes, snapped her fingers.

“Ah…? Is it because this is land that doesn’t need to be taken away?”

“Yes. That’s why they say other lords don’t come here. What can we do by sitting on the territory in such a situation?”

“Hmm… That’s true… It’s like a pig farm without any pigs…”

Liana, the little piglet, looked perfectly suited to complaining about a pig farm.

“But that doesn’t mean there’s no solution, Lord Erga.”

“Do you have a good idea?”

“If our farm doesn’t have pigs, we can get them from another farm. And if that’s not possible, we can turn another pig farm into ours.”

“Are you suggesting invading another territory?”

“Yes.”

Hm… It feels like all my common sense about human clerics is being completely denied.

Not only do they want to snatch away someone else’s territory, but they also want to fight among the territories right away…?

But… just like the earlier proposal, there’s a tug in my gut.

Even if it’s an army of humans, it’ll probably be the same as before… in a polymorphed state, maybe… ugh…

“Is it not okay?”

“Well… Hm. It’s not bad. No, it seems like that’s the fastest and most effective way.”

“Let’s do that, Lord Erga. I’m sorry for the Marquis, but he might even be happier thinking his son has returned.”

“But, Liana.”

“Why?”

“If that’s the case, instead of just taking over this territory, why don’t we go to a different one from the beginning and drive out the lord?”

In response to my suggestion, Liana immediately replied as if she had expected it.

“That would be difficult, Lord Erga.”

“Why is that?”

“If it’s a fight between lords, you can take over the opponent’s territory, but if you do such a thing without being a lord, it’s just robbery and banditry.”

“Ah, I see. It’s a matter of qualification. So, I have to go through the proper process of inheriting the territory as the son of Viscount Gorda and ascend to the position of lord first, right?”

“That’s correct.”

I looked at Liana who was smiling mischievously and bit my tongue.

“You… are you really a saint?”

“No, I’m not. I was chased away.”

“I see… Well then… Shall we go see the viscount for now?”

We left the office and headed towards the viscount’s bedroom.

* * * * *

The viscount was lying on the bed, weakly gazing out the window.

Kaita was wandering around the viscount’s bedroom, looking at various things.

“Oh, Mr. Erga, you’ve come?”

“What about the viscount?”

“He’s just lying there like that. Doesn’t seem like he’s trying to sleep.”

Liana and I exchanged a quiet glance and approached the viscount.

The Count remained as if he hadn’t sensed our presence, still gazing out the window.

He cleared his throat and cautiously opened his mouth.

“Your Grace, may I inherit this territory in the name of our late Lord?”

“What?!”

Kaita started in surprise, shaking his head from side to side.

“What’s going on? Eruga…? You’re the Count’s heir?”

Liana told me to deceive the Count, but it’s the opposite.

Of course, I agree with the idea of receiving this Countship and ascending to the position of Lord, fully qualified to move to another territory.

However, I have no intention of resorting to despicable means against a Lord who is not in his right mind.

The Count still kept his head turned towards the window, silent.

I was about to say something again.

“The youngest son is dead.”

The Count slowly turned his head, speaking in a calm tone.

“The youngest son died ten years ago.”

“Your Grace… Do you remember…?”

“Of course, I do. I know very well that my mind is sometimes unstable. But there are times when I am fully lucid like this.”

Liana didn’t know what to do and looked back and forth between me and the Count, sweating.

“Pretending to be my son and inheriting the territory. It’s quite a clever idea. But you’ll probably regret it sooner or later.”

The Count replied calmly, without surprise or anger.

“Our territory has been maintained through constant struggles with other territories. It’s a land that means nothing. But now that it’s fallen, it’s impossible to rise again.”

“The other humans waiting outside were saying the same thing.”

“Hmm… Have they left…? They promised to give me my final salary…”

“They have. They said it was their last courtesy to the master they served, and just left.”

“Ah… Is that so…”

The old count’s wrinkled eyes seemed to glisten with tears.

“They were truly loyal servants… It’s a shame they left empty-handed…”

The count sighed, looking up at the ceiling.

“Yes, you. Your name is Erga, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“This territory… You can just take it. If you want, I can even write a transfer document. Do as you please, whether you take it or not.”

There was no feeling of joy or anything of the sort.

It wasn’t because the territory was barren.

It was because it was bittersweet for the fallen lord of the territory to give up everything and declare that he would hand over his land to someone else.

“But… I have one question.”

“What is it?”

“Surely, forty years ago, you were a traveler who came to the lordship with that lady alone. But even now, meeting again, the situation doesn’t seem to have changed much.”

“Yes, that’s right. Nothing has changed.”

“But what do you intend to do with this territory? The people of the territory have almost all left, and there is no one left to call you Lord.”

There was no need to keep it a secret from the old count, who could barely move properly.

He was an old man who had already realized my intentions and said it would be fine to hand over the territory.

“Once I officially become the son of a viscount and a legitimate lord, I plan to seize one of the neighboring territories.”

“What…? You’re planning to engage in territorial disputes…? But I don’t have any remaining soldiers… Those who left earlier were the last.”

“I don’t need soldiers. I am enough for the first territorial battle.”

Viscount Gorda stared at me as if he couldn’t understand.