Chapter 252 - Episode 245: A Farce
"Ah, geez! That old man! He's so annoying!"
Having finished the military council at the Duke of Halusberg's mansion, Noein returned to his private room at the inn and spoke as he flopped down into a chair.
The "old man" Noein was referring to was none other than Oscar Roadberg III, his revered sovereign.
"You seem quite enraged. Was there some kind of problem?"
The one who asked this, raising an eyebrow slightly, was Yuri.
The Duke of Halusberg's mansion was luxurious in design but not particularly spacious; when over fifty high-ranking nobles rushed in with their carriages as they pleased, it became incredibly crowded. For that reason, the nobles had been told to share carriages as much as possible when coming to the military council.
Since Noein had been allowed to ride in Marquis Bechtolsheim's carriage along with Arnold, Yuri and the other close aides had stayed behind at the inn this time. Therefore, immediately upon returning to the inn, he decided to call Yuri and Pence to his and Matilda's room for a reporting session.
The place Noein was staying was not a high-class inn for nobles, but a slightly cheaper one intended for commoners. Because the nobles had gathered all at once in a ducal territory with a population of about 5,000 and not many inns, the rooms at the luxury inns were prioritized for the great nobles, leaving only rooms like this one.
"Nah, not at all. It was a huge success, even more so than the prior planning. It was the absolute best farce."
Sipping the tea Matilda had brewed for him while spilling such irony, Noein recounted the flow of today's military council to Yuri, Pence, and Matilda.
Just as Noein said, today's military council was a farce. Oscar had spoken in a way that made it seem as if he were asking for Noein's opinion for the first time right there on the spot, but everything had been communicated in advance.
Having arrived in the ducal territory a few days before the military council, Noein had been given an opportunity for an audience with Oscar through the arrangements of Marquis Bechtolsheim, and he had proposed the specific opinion that the nobles would later describe as "the thinking of a demon." At first, both Oscar and the attending Count Burkhard seemed shocked, but they recognized its effectiveness and, seeing no other choice, eventually decided to adopt it.
Furthermore, Baron Minelien, who had come from the territory of Count Senevoa—the headquarters of the Milleon Holy Church Mission—was also in on it. Noein had previously extracted the production volume of the undiluted "Angel's Honey" from the Baron, and they had discussed whether Noein's plan was feasible.
After these preparations, Noein had received instructions from Oscar: "I will throw the conversation to you at an appropriate time on the day, so explain the plan to the nobles."
What Noein had been told was simply, "The nobles will likely show resistance at first, but since the King himself will take the form of approving Noein's plan, he will shut down any opposing opinions, so there will be no problem." However, the result was that disaster.
"Isn't it amazing? I was called a demon, a scoundrel, and a pervert by everyone, yet His Majesty the King, who decided to execute my plan, was revered and pledged loyalty by everyone. He's like a tragic hero. It was truly a masterclass performance. I wanted everyone to see it."
As a result, all the nobles' hatred was pushed onto Noein, while Oscar gained their support by skillfully tickling the nobles' pride even as he adopted Noein's proposal.
Despite providing the desperate plan to save the kingdom, Noein ended up merely being loathed and shunned by the nobles; he was like a clown. He hadn't heard that the script was this one-sided.
"That is..."
"How should I put it... it's impressive."
"He is a despicable man, Oscar Roadberg III. This means only Noein-sama was made to suffer a loss. I cannot forgive this."
Unlike Yuri and Pence, who struggled with their choice of words since the subject of the conversation was the King, Matilda criticized Oscar—who had conveniently used her beloved master—with merciless words. Yuri and the others looked at her with startled expressions.
"Thanks, Matilda. Well, I guess His Majesty couldn't help it given the situation... and I'm also partly to blame for losing my temper and getting into a fight with Count Nordlingen halfway through. But I'm sure creating that flow was also His Majesty's aim."
Normally, the moment Count Nordlingen and the others started shouting, Count Burkhard should have silenced them with a shout of "You are in the presence of the King!"
However, both the Count and Oscar had remained silent, letting the nobles say whatever they wanted to vent their frustrations on the spot. Having that directed entirely at him, and being called a "pervert" regarding his relationship with Matilda on top of it, Noein had inevitably shouted back, but it felt as if even that development had been intended by Oscar and the others.
He understood Oscar's convenience in not wanting the nobles' dissatisfaction directed at the royal family in a situation where the kingdom might perish, but as the one forced to take the fall, it was unbearable for Noein.
"But King Oscar is basically a benevolent monarch, right? If he used his subject during an emergency, won't he properly give a fitting reward and repay the debt once the war is over?"
"Well, probably... actually, I'll make him repay it no matter what. I'll have him pay me back double—no, ten times over. Since the kingdom will be saved by my plan if things go well."
Yuri and Pence gave wry smiles at Noein, who spoke with huffing breaths.
"...Well, pointing the sword at himself and saying 'Slay me here' was quite something. In honor of that resolve, I suppose I can play the villain for now."
Regarding that action of Oscar's, not only the territorial nobles including Marquis Bechtolsheim, but even Count Burkhard seemed genuinely surprised. That must have been Oscar's ad-lib, an expression of his sincere resolve.
It was likely to shake the nobles' emotions and solidify their support for the King, but Noein could admit to that level of guts.
"Since the general policy was settled in today's military council, does that mean from tomorrow we'll enter discussions on specific organization and such?"
"Yeah—well, the script for that is mostly decided in advance too, so it'll probably be another wonderful farce. I think it'll be finished in a day. We nobles can't spend too much time here either."
Today, the first day, ended with everyone unanimously deciding on the main point of "adopting the plan proposed by Viscount Noein Arqvist," and discussions on unit organization and specific strategies were scheduled to be held again tomorrow.
However, the general outline of that should have already been thought out and summarized by Count Burkhard over the last few days.
If it was a strategy devised by Count Burkhard, who was the current Minister of Military Affairs and possessed the brilliant record of being the former First Army Corps Commander of the Royal Army, there likely wouldn't be much opposition. Tomorrow's military council would surely be an easy one.
.....
Just as Noein predicted, the subsequent military councils ended without major incident.
Count Burkhard presented the general framework of the strategy, and the nobles who formed the core of the Northwestern and Northeastern factions discussed unit organization based on that.
Furthermore, with other nobles joining in, the number of troops to be provided by each house and the approximate date and time of assembly were decided, and the discussions were settled smoothly, as if the uproar of the first day had been a lie.
The nobles became high-spirited, believing that God had destined the kingdom for victory, and they flattered Count Burkhard, saying, "To be able to conceive such a well-organized plan overnight after hearing Viscount Arqvist's proposal, as expected of the Minister of Military Affairs." Hearing this, Noein wore a bored expression, hidden from the view of others.
The nobles, having finished the military council, immediately returned to their respective territories to prepare for war.
While preparations for a counterattack proceeded in the north of the kingdom—the nobles of the south and the soldiers of the royal capital were risking their lives to stand against the Republic of Betumia and buy time.