The Count's Gun-Shooting Scoundrel-Chapter 49

Nivon Estate.
A single letter was delivered to Count Yarve.
It was from Jakal, whom he had sent to Hazan.
He had been curious about news from him, so he quickly read the letter.
The contents were as follows.
Among the men Hazan had with him were some special-grade prisoners, and they wanted to come along as well.
Special-grade prisoners were highly likely to have violated imperial law.
Moreover, for Hazan to have them, they must be connected to high-ranking nobles.
And for a noble to be of concern to him, they would have to be the Emperor's closest aides.
Seeing as there had been no recent information related to them, it seemed the incident had been buried in absolute secrecy.
‘A poisoned chalice.’
But he had lost the territorial war, and his Knight Order had been annihilated.
He was in a situation where he had to reinforce his forces somehow and prepare for their attack.
Special-grade prisoners would be, at a minimum, equivalent to Sword Experts.
They were a very useful card to have.
For now, reinforcing his troops was the priority, so he decided to use them to the fullest and eliminate them later.
After all, getting rid of them would be no trouble at all if he just paid Hazan.
Yarve instructed in his reply to bring them all and summoned Waraman, who was in charge of imperial intelligence.
A short while later.
Waraman, dressed in a blue robe, entered the office.
“You summoned me.”
“Isn't the Empire too quiet these days? For a place where incidents used to break out every other day.”
“I find it strange as well. It's a place that can never be quiet.”
“Tell them to dig a little deeper.”
“Understood.”
As Waraman bowed his head, Yarve rose from his chair and walked towards the window.
He looked out the window and asked.
“What is their situation?”
“They have begun to reorganize the estate. And they have posted recruitment notices for a Knight Order and a militia.”
“It seems they plan to expand their forces.”
“They will probably fill the Knight Order's quota.”
“Anything else? Have they tried to contact any mercenary groups?”
“No.”
“You're not missing anything, are you?”
Yarve's voice turned cold.
Waraman's face stiffened as he answered firmly.
“We are checking on the mercenary groups every hour, so that is absolutely impossible.”
“It will be a headache if they hire mercenaries. That must never happen.”
“Yes, sir!”
It was just as Waraman bowed his head deeply.
Knock, knock.
“...?”
Yarve tilted his head.
They couldn't be unaware that he was currently speaking with Waraman.
He grew curious about what was happening.
A royal guard entered and bowed respectfully from the waist.
“The Emperor has sent an envoy.”
“What?”
Yarve's eyes widened.
An envoy, all of a sudden?
Fear crept in that it might be related to his defeat in the war.
He decided to meet the envoy first and hear what it was about.
“Let him in.”
“Yes, sir.”
The guard went out, and a short time later, a middle-aged man with arrogant eyes entered.
Yarve frowned and then smoothed his expression.
‘That bastard is here...’
It was Count Hoiron, one of Emperor Ruan's closest aides, and the man he was most wary of.
Count Hoiron approached with a sly smile.
“It's been a while.”
Since he had come as the Emperor's envoy, Yarve knelt on one knee and bowed his head.
“You have suffered much, traveling such a long way.”
“Suffered? I was furious at the fact that I had to come to a valley like this.”
Hoiron sat down mockingly in the chair Yarve had been using.
Then he propped both his feet up on the desk, almost lying down, and looked at Yarve.
“But it's fine, since I heard some news that was quite refreshing.”
‘That son of a bitch...’
Yarve swallowed his boiling anger and asked in a calm voice.
“What message did His Majesty the Emperor have?”
“First, I will deliver His Majesty's words.”
Hoiron stood up from the chair, stood straight, and looked at Yarve with cold eyes.
“It is an order from His Majesty the Emperor. Kill every last one of those with black hair.”
“...!”
In an instant, Yarve's eyes widened as if they would tear.
Hoiron said, his playful expression completely gone.
“The Empire is currently searching out and executing all those who follow the devil. In the process, evidence has emerged that those with black hair are followers of the devil.”
“Since when...”
“You look like you had no idea. Well, it was a very secretive operation, so your informants wouldn't have known.”
“Understood. Starting today, I will round up all those with black hair.”
“That includes nobles.”
“...!”
Yarve's face hardened.
At the same time, a representative noble family with black hair came to mind.
The House of Count Julius!
He thought he knew why the Emperor had sent Hoiron to him.
It was to lend him strength in his fight against the House of Count Julius.
If this was the case, he could ask for help from the estates surrounding Grada Estate.
He could reinforce his forces in one fell swoop.
In a few days, Hazan would arrive at Nivon Estate with his beasts, and while waiting, if he requested support from other estates, he could attack before they even had a chance to invade.
A sly smile appeared on Yarve's lips.
“Please relay this to His Majesty the Emperor. I will burn away every last sprout of those black-haired bastards.”
“Remember, if you lose to them again this time...”
Hoiron's eyes flashed coldly.
“You will not be forgiven.”
***
“What's the total number?”
At Arthur's question, Skevin answered with a smile.
“There are 700 applicants for the Knight Order, and 1,500 for the militia. And that's only because we cut it off here; if we had kept accepting them, the number would have easily doubled.”
“You said the maximum capacity for the Knight Order is 300, right?”
“That's correct. For a Count's family, it's 300. With 700 applicants, we can easily meet the quota.”
“Five hundred.”
“...?”
“Set the capacity to five hundred.”
“Young Master!”
Skevin's eyes widened.
The Knight Order capacity for a Marquis was 500.
If he violated imperial law, he would be summoned by the Emperor and held accountable for his crime.
In a severe case, he could even lose his title.
“May I ask for the reason?”
“I plan to expand our power.”
“...!”
Skevin's eyes shot open.
Arthur accepted his reaction calmly and continued.
“I spoke to Millerf a few days ago and got his consent. What do you think?”
“Our forces are too weak to start a war.”
“Millerf said that, in terms of the Knight Order's strength alone, we rank within the top five in the empire.”
“That's true, but if we start a war, we'll be branded as rebels and attacked by every estate. No matter how strong we are, we can't overcome a numerical disadvantage.”
“I have no intention of starting a war.”
“Then how...”
“I will make them bow their heads and come to me voluntarily.”
“The Emperor will not stand by and watch.”
“I can go to the imperial capital and persuade him. I have more than enough reason to.”
“Could you not tell me the reason in advance?”
“Not now. You'll find out naturally when the time comes, so trust me and follow me.”
“But the matter is too...”
Skevin's face was full of worry.
He couldn't make a simple decision about something that the fate of Grada Estate hinged on.
“I need time to think.”
“Decide by the end of this week.”
Arthur turned his head and looked towards the training grounds.
The applicants for the Knight Order and the militia were engaged in training with grim expressions.
“How are the new recruits?”
“Their attitude towards training is different from before. The training should progress quickly, and I expect it to be highly effective.”
“Of course, it will be. They are people who have stepped forward to protect.”
Just as Skevin was nodding in agreement.
A soldier came running.
“Commander!”
He approached Skevin and handed him something.
It was an envelope with a gold band.
It was from the informant in Nivon Estate.
Skevin quickly opened the envelope and read the contents of the paper.
“Hmm...”
A low groan escaped his lips.
Arthur glanced at the paper.
Seeing the code written on it, it seemed to have been sent by an informant.
He waited until Skevin finished reading.
A moment later.
Skevin looked at Arthur with a serious face.
“It says that Emperor Ruan has sent an envoy to the House of Count Yarve.”
“An envoy?”
“It's Count Hoiron.”
“Who is he?”
“One of Emperor Ruan's closest aides, and the person Count Yarve is most wary of.”
“He sent someone Yarve is wary of as an envoy?”
“The fact that we dealt them a major defeat was likely ed to the Emperor, so it's possible.”
“I don't understand.”
Arthur tilted his head and asked.
“Is the Emperor perhaps wary of us?”
“There is something you don't know, Young Master. The Emperor and the House of Count Julius are not on good terms.”
“Why?”
“It's because of Lord Teheran Julius. He gained more influence than the Emperor, which earned him resentment, and you could say that has continued to this day.”
“I didn't know our relationship with the Emperor was like that.”
This was something he hadn't even considered.
Indeed, from the Emperor's perspective, the House of Count Julius would be a thorn in his side.
Unlike in its golden age, it was barely maintaining its lineage, but the blood of Teheran still flowed in the family.
In his eyes, they were no different from a sleeping dragon.
He wouldn't know when it might awaken, shake the world, and threaten his position.
When Count Yarve requested the territorial war, various thoughts must have crossed his mind.
He could use the opportunity to gauge the strength of the House of Count Julius, and perhaps he even hoped they would lose.
But Count Yarve was the one who was defeated.
And upon receiving the that they were completely annihilated, his wariness must have deepened.
For him to send an envoy to Count Yarve meant...
Arthur's eyes glinted sharply.
“Was there any mention of troop support?”
“No.”
“Why would he send an envoy?”
“Hmm.”
Just as Skevin stroked his chin, his gaze deepening.
“Young Master!”
Andrew came running in a hurry.
“What's wrong?”
“*Pant! Pant! Pant!*”
Andrew gasped for breath and handed what was in his hand to Arthur.
“They say this was posted in Aslan Estate.”
“What is it?”
Arthur unfolded the paper.
[As a result of long research, the great mage Altaros has discovered a way to identify the followers of the devil.
Therefore, for some time now...
...Omitted...
I hereby command that all those with black hair within the Empire shall be executed.
-Emperor Ruan Barotas.]
“...!”
Skevin's face, which had been looking over the contents with Arthur, contorted.
“Young Master, what do we do? The people of the estate are trembling in fear after seeing this!”
Arthur looked at Skevin with a hardened expression.
“What do you think?”
“With this, Count Yarve now has a pretext to request help from other estates.”
“Are there any others with black hair besides us?”
“There is Count Kanlana and Baron Hexa.”
“Inform them of this. I will formulate a countermeasure with Millerf.”
Just as Arthur was about to enter the castle.
“Arthur!”
Madeline appeared with Millerf.
Arthur glanced at Andrew and asked.
“Did you tell Mother as well?”
“W-Well...”
“From now on, do not any news that might startle Mother without my permission.”
Arthur approached Madeline.
“I was just on my way to see you, Mother.”
“We are followers of the devil? What is this bolt from the blue?”
Madeline wore a look of utter shock.
“First, to the office... no, let's get some fresh air. I will guide you to a good place.”
Arthur took Madeline's hand firmly and walked somewhere.
“Oh, uh, alright...”
Taken aback by his unexpected action, Madeline followed him, slightly surprised.
The place the two arrived at was the castle wall Arthur always climbed.
“How is it?”
“The wind is strong.”
Madeline shrank from the blowing wind.
Arthur moved closer and hugged her tightly.
“...!”
Madeline looked puzzled at his behavior, which was so different from usual.
Arthur pointed with his hand at the children running around in the distance and asked.
“The children look happy, don't they?”
“They do.”
“I will fight against all the forces that threaten us. And I will protect this estate.”
“Arthur...”
Arthur continued, his eyes fixed on the children.
“From now on, all the estates of the Oscar Empire will attack us.”
“Someone has framed us! It's absurd to say we are followers of the devil.”
“The water is already spilt. There is no other way but to fight. Anyone who messes with the House of Count Julius, with me...”
And he added a word inwardly.
‘I will never forgive them, even if it's the Emperor.’
As Arthur's eyes intensified with resolve, the disposition of a Supreme Ruler began to boil up within him.
As a powerful aura flowed from him, Madeline instinctively realized it.
The disposition of a Supreme Ruler was stirring.
‘Is this also his destiny...’
Just as her expression turned bleak and her eyes grew moist.
A cloud of dust rose hazily in the distance.
“...?”
Arthur's eyes flashed.
At the same time, the sound of an emergency horn echoed.
Bwoooong—!