Raising the Princess to Overcome Death-Chapter 226: Childhood Friend – Nenato

Raising the Princess to Overcome Death-Chapter 226: Childhood Friend – Nenato

225. Childhood Friend – Nenato
“Boss, we’ve arrived.”
Rev nodded. Standing atop the hill, he pointed toward the Guidan family’s territory and instructed his men.
“When we get there, mind your manners. We’re the ones who need to ask for a favor, so don’t cause any trouble. If anything goes wrong, to me first.”
“Yes, sir!”
The twenty young men answered in unison, their responses crisp and disciplined. They each carried a long sword at their hips and wore the polished uniforms of swordsmen.
Their hair was neatly trimmed, and no one would mistake them for barbarians.
This was the Sword Squad.
Rev arrived at the Bizaine tribe last year. As his father’s ancestral home, the Bizaine tribe was also Rev’s original family and, therefore, favored him greatly.
They welcomed him, who had come to perform his coming-of-age ceremony, and while waiting for the ceremony scheduled for the year’s end, Rev incited the chieftain and the tribespeople.
“We are not livestock.
“If we keep going like this, we’ll be captured by slave traders, the men dying in the mines and the women living out their days in the holds of some man’s ship!”
With impassioned speeches, Rev incited the Bizaine tribe to rebellion. Naturally, at the heart of this uprising was the great Swordmaster, Rev himself.
The Bizaine tribe, whose livelihood was hunting, had many warriors. As a tribe with an ancient tradition that once produced Barbatos, the god of hunting (though he is no longer worshipped), they quickly transformed into an army at the chieftain’s declaration of war.
Couriers were dispatched to fifteen satellite villages, and everyone, regardless of age or gender, took up arms if they were able.
Of course, facing the entire Orun Kingdom with just their numbers would be impossible. No way.
So, Rev calmed the excited warriors instead. He made them aware of the need for adequate preparation and requested a year’s time.
Without the assistance of a noble who had amassed wealth over the years, a rebellion was impossible. Rev left the training of warriors to the senior warriors and proceeded to the next step in the uprising.
He must win over Marquis Guidan.
Having done it once before, Rev was confident. He left the Bizaine tribe with a group of carefully selected warriors.
They were young men who had shown talent in swordsmanship. Rev distributed the swords that the chieftain had painstakingly acquired to them and taught them diligently.
Although it was only three months of instruction, the achievement of “Swordsmanship Master” was helpful. They weren’t exceptional yet, but by next year, they would likely become decent swordsmen. Thus, Rev formed the Sword Squad, binding them together.
They were the only ones who could call Rev “Captain” (the leader of a squad) and had sworn an oath of loyalty.
They were dependable.
With twenty young men and women, Rev ascended the hill, clip-clopping. In front of Marquis Guidan’s manor, he shouted, “Come forth!”
“Are you a mercenary band? What brings you here?”
“We’ve come to meet the Marquis. He should be here, I presume. Lead us to him.”
The twenty men and women on horseback startled the guards. The youthful leader before them exuded an unusual aura, prompting one of them to say, “P-please wait a moment,” as he went to fetch the chamberlain.
Chamberlain was an elderly man whom Rev had met once before. He approached without haste and asked,
“What business do you have here?”
“I’ve come to meet Marquis Harvey Guidan. I know the Marquis is here and that something has happened to his daughter. I’ve come to help, so please lead me to the Marquis.”
“...Isn’t it customary to introduce yourself first?”
“If you’d dismiss the onlookers, I will.”
The winter’s cold wind fluttered Rev’s cloak. The chamberlain gazed at the youth with his head arrogantly raised from atop his horse and permitted their entry, saying, “Come in.”
Soon they reached the reception room.
Concerned that they might cause trouble, the chamberlain summoned five knights. Their presence was intended as a warning: they’d teach these whelps with swords a lesson should they misbehave. In response, Rev drew his sword.
Ssssshhh— A radiant white light emanated from the sword, proving Rev’s status.
[Achievement: Beast Hunt - ‘1,’ Your body is faintly imbued with mana.]
“A swordmaster…”
“Don’t worry. I haven’t come to oppose Marquis Guidan. On the contrary, I’m here to ask for a favor. Will you lead me to him now?”
“No.”
The chamberlain replied calmly.
“I will fetch the Marquis.”
After a brief moment, the considerably gaunt Marquis Harvey Guidan entered the reception room. With hollow eyes, he looked at the orderly swordsmen and the young man sitting conspicuously.
“I am Harvey Guidan. I heard you have business with me…”
“Nice to meet you, Marquis. My name is Rev.”
“...A commoner?”
“Yes. I’m one of your citizens, born in Demos Village, near Bospo (a castle located in the eastern border area owned by Duke Guidan). But I haven’t come to meet you today as one of your citizens.”
“I suppose so, as you’re a swordmaster.”
Has this man come to announce that he has become a god-gifted swordmaster and demand that he, as a master of his subjects, be treated accordingly?
Of course, that would be welcome.
But the young man laughed jovially.
“Ha-ha-ha. I haven’t come here as a swordmaster either. I’m here as a leader of a group. Would you dismiss those around us?”
“....”
The Marquis was silent.
A knight, recognizing the reason, answered in the Marquis’s stead.
“Perhaps your guests should be the ones to leave first.”
“...Ah, my apologies. I’ve traveled alone for so long that I forgot. Vanne, take the others and wait outside.”
“Yes, sir! We’ll be outside.”
The elegant female swordsman responded briskly.
Once Rev’s Sword Squad exited en masse, the Marquis dismissed all but two knights before taking his seat. Rev stared blankly at the knights standing behind the Marquis before speaking.
“This winter is long.”
“...?”
“I’m not sure when spring will come. With no snow and this bitter cold continuing, the soldiers might grow complacent.”
“If discipline falters due to mere cold, it’s better to have no army at all.”
“Of course. But no matter how well-trained a soldier may be, they can’t avoid their fingertips going numb. At the very least, they’ll neglect to maintain their gear properly. If rust starts forming on their shields, ha-ha, that would be quite embarrassing, wouldn’t it? Or is my concern unwarranted?”
Rev fixed his gaze on Marquis Guidan. The Marquis shifted in his seat.
“Would you like some tea?”
“You must have Punita, I assume. Yes, I’d like some Punita.”
They waited in silence for a moment while the tea was prepared. In the meantime, the Marquis stroked his chin thoughtfully.
The young man before him did not appear to be a mere commoner.
How did he know I have Punita leaves? And why did he let me know he knows?
Punita
is a tea that comes only from the Holy Kingdom of Jerome. Marquis Evni Drazhin, the Marquis of the northern border of the Orun Kingdom, had imported a large supply and was controlling its distribution to keep the prices high, but he shared it freely with his friend, Marquis Guidan.
My friendship with Evni is well-known, so he could have made an educated guess, but the way this man conducts a "noble's conversation" has been unnerving me for a while.
Worried about rust on a shield?
He talks as if he knows my inner thoughts.
The maids brought the tea. Punita, with its invigorating aroma and refreshing flavor, was poured, and Rev and the Marquis engaged in a conversation so cryptic it confused the knights in the room.
Marquis Guidan decided to assess this suspicious Swordmaster more highly than before.
“As a commander, one must naturally worry about such things. Your earlier comment, about soldiers growing lazy, is a serious concern.”
“If you were in charge, how would you handle it?”
“...That’s a difficult question. Let’s see. What can be done about soldiers’ slackening spirit? We would just have to enforce military discipline more strictly to ensure they do their duty, wouldn’t we?”
“That is a reasonable answer. However, it’s not the response I was looking for.”
“Do you have a clever idea?”
“Rather than a clever idea...”
Slurp.
“What can one do about the biting cold? Humans can only accept natural phenomena. The slackening of spirits is probably inevitable. No matter how you try to control it, the cold will return the next day.”
“...Yet you must have a reason for asking.”
“Yes. How about replacing the tools to prevent rust? The iron in the shields is the issue. If they were made of wood instead, wouldn’t there be fewer reasons to blame people’s mindsets?”
“Wha-what did you say...!”
Marquis Guidan slammed his teacup down. The knights were perplexed, while the young Swordmaster continued to feign innocence, wondering why the Marquis was so shocked.
Marquis Harvey Guidan realized he needed to dismiss the knights. If this man harbored such intentions...
“All of you, leave us.”
“But, Marquis, this man...”
“I said, leave.”
The knights hesitated but reluctantly exited the reception room, concerned about leaving the Marquis unguarded. Yet, Marquis Guidan feared more that their conversation would become known.
Taking a leisurely sip of tea, the young man spoke again, and the Marquis said,
“You are part of the rebel faction.”
What if we change iron to wood?
Iron is the symbol of the Lognum royal family.
Since the days of the Arcaea Empire, the Orun Kingdom, with its many mountains and mines, was known as the empire’s forge. Naturally, the Lognum royal family, who ruled Orun, became the symbol of all minerals.
Suggesting replacing it with wood is an announcement of rebellion, a declaration that, as a commoner, he would take the throne.
It was an ambition that should never be revealed to a Marquis on the border, the shield of the kingdom. Any other general, no matter how high his rank, would be executed on the spot for such words. It was an impossibility.
Yet this man was a Swordmaster. In a broad sense, even a Swordmaster is just another knight wielding a sword barely four feet long, but the symbolic weight they carried was monumental.
Only three Swordmasters existed on the continent. Or perhaps, now there were four.
One of the four Swordmasters on the continent had declared his intent to become king. As a Marquis guarding the kingdom, he wavered on whether to kill this man immediately.
“So, what will you do? Will you kill me?”
The man’s words were true. The shield...was rusting.
The man with treasonous intent spoke with a cunning tongue.
“The Guidan Marquisate, which has gloriously shone through the generations, is in a pitiful state nowadays. Your heir was killed in a pony accident, and your wife is ill. The debauched princes are pressuring you to marry off your daughter... In trying to avoid this, the son of the Tertan Duke House has died. I understand that your daughter is also unwell. Like her mother, she suffers from a mental affliction.”
It was no longer surprising.
That he knew my inner thoughts and understood the hidden history and circumstances of my family in detail.
“Let me ask you again. What will you do now? Will you marry off your mentally unstable daughter to the debauched princes? The name Guidan would be wasted on you. It’s the name of the ancient holy knight and the great guardian saint of the Crusader Church.”
“...Are you suggesting I commit treason? That I end the royal bloodline?”
He had expected hesitation.
This was different from when Prince Lean de Yeriel had tried to persuade him. Back then, the Marquis had easily succumbed to Lean’s persuasion because he was royalty.
The Orun Kingdom and the Kingdom of Conrad were originally one. They split into Lognum and Yeriel, but the roots of the two houses were the same.
The last princes of the Arcaea Empire.
The Tatian royal family of Bellita followed the line of the first prince, while the Orun and Conrad kingdoms followed the line of the second prince.
So it was permissible.
Lean’s {Lineage} justified almost everything.
In contrast, I am a lowly commoner.
If I didn’t cunningly wag my tongue or probe the pitiful situation of Marquis Guidan, I would have no chance of gaining the support of the nobility.
The lowly commoner whispered to the great noble of the Orun Kingdom.
“I apologize for my rudeness. I didn’t mean for you to decide immediately. Please, take your time to think it over. You can give me your answer after seeing how those twin princes behave. I...can wait.”
Rev left the Marquis, who was steeped in anguish, and exited the reception room. Outside, he grinned at his followers, all of whom shared the surname Bizaine.
Rev Bizaine.
The Bizaine Dynasty would rise. In a couple of years, my name will be “Rev de Bizaine.”
To make that happen...
“Vanne. Hand me the Nenato.”
“Here it is.”
Vanne Bizaine handed Rev a small Nenato, a cylindrical percussion instrument resembling a djembe. Holding it, Rev headed for the marchioness’ chambers, where the troubled Marquis Guidan would receive earth-shattering news.
[Achievement: The Man Who Melted Sierra Guidan’s Heart - Gain a slight favor with Sierra Guidan.]
In the room of the Marquis’s son, Havny Guidan, who was killed by a pony, was a Nenato.
The enchanted Marquis had given me his son’s room... I learned to play the Nenato during the beggar siblings' return as royal guards of Bellita’s royal family. From the Archduchess of Tatian, Danijela.
I must bear some resemblance to Havny Guidan. At least, we were the same age.
Rev was allowed to let the marchioness, who woke with tears, thinking her son had returned to her.
While Marquis Guidan held his wife and couldn’t collect his thoughts, Rev turned his steps toward the chambers of Lady Harie Guidan.
[Achievement: The Man Who Melted Harie Guidan’s Heart - Gain a slight favor with Harie Guidan.]
To drive the final nail in.

Chapter 226: Childhood Friend – Nenato