I Became the illegitimate son of a duke

67 – The King (2)

“I will imprint the glory of the Kingdom of Rotharing on that empire!”

“Sir Simon, you must not spend in vain.”

“I understand, Your Majesty!”

You don’t seem to understand at all. You are smiling with a smile

Simon, as well as the 10,000 mercenaries, the Burgon Army, no, the Rotaring Army, are excited about the idea of raising their military records in the Empire.

We have to save them as much as possible because they are veterans who are armed with various advanced weapons and have gone through countless battles… But right now, the captain who leads them is like this, so it seems like vain hopes.

Shall we change the captain right now…? However, since Simon is the general whom Arras designated as his successor, it is difficult to replace him now.

“…Please keep that word.”

I can’t help it. Simon, who will take the place of Arras, needs to gain more experience.

It wouldn’t be that serious if you could use it as a lesson even if it was a lot of wear and tear.

…………

“Ah… Holy Son, I’ve completed all the missions I’ve entrusted to you…”

When the kingdom of Rota Ling was restored and all the territories Jeanne was active in were ceded to Rota Ling, Jeanne immediately walked to Dijon alone and returned without any orders from me.

“…Yes, well done.”

It’s a tough opponent to face, so I took the time to put it there as much as possible, but how did you walk all the way here alone with a thin body?

As much as she has walked a long way, her clothes look dirty, but her skin is very beautiful, as if it had been tenaciously maintained with modern beauty products.

“hehehe, thanks to the kind people, I was able to solve the meal.”

“…”

…What, I’m scared.

Jeanne, who had not looked at me since she entered the drawing room, knelt down on her knees, bowed her head slightly, closed her eyes in prayer, and she spoke as if she were answering my thoughts.

She’s not enough to make people followers as if she’s brainwashing her… I don’t know why, but she’s lucky that a woman like this has favors with me.

“…If she had enough food, she could have gotten lodgings or a carriage.”

“Yes, there were many good-hearted people who asked me to go to bed or get on the carriage to Dijon, but I refused them all. It is an ordeal bestowed on me by the Holy Son, and even if it is essential food to sustain my life, I can walk on my own two feet and feel no pain. How could I borrow someone else’s feet?”

How come there are thorns in the horse?

The trials I gave to Jeanne… I don’t mean my order to stir up people.

Perhaps he is indirectly expressing his dissatisfaction with not sending someone to greet him after all the work has been done.

…No, what prisoner in the world complains that he wasn’t sent back to prison?

“Jane, if I had made up my mind, I could have found a new life.”

“How can I do that when the saint who is my light and my life is here.”

Jane’s words are extremely heavy and extremely reverent. She is Jeanne, she is not a flattery, but she is saying that from the bottom of her heart.

Oh really, don’t be scared.

I just saw it for the first time, but I don’t understand at all how he has such a crush on me. Of course, psychopaths have their own way of thinking, but isn’t this a bit too much?

“…Well, yes, I roughly understood it. First of all, go back to the prison. However, the prison won’t be as harsh as the previous one, as this time you’ve worked hard.”

“Thank you for the grace of the Holy Son.”

First of all, I’ve come a long way, so I need to let him rest. We’ll have to hear what happened there later.

…………

“The revival of Rotaring…”

The revival of Rotaring has attracted the world’s attention, and of course, the Carolingian Kingdom has been the most interested.

Unlike the Holy Empire, which has been suffering from a long civil war, the Carolingian Kingdom is politically stable, so it is easy to turn your gaze to the outside world, and it is a neighboring country to Burgon, no, Rotaring Kingdom, and it has contributed to their destruction in the past. Because there was a bar.

“It’s very funny that Caroling’s greatest foe is covered in the shell of an already dead foe.”

“Yes indeed.”

Caroling is surrounded by all kinds of countries, but the most dangerous of them is, of course, the Kingdom of Rotaling.

No country has done so much damage to Carolingian. It was not enough that the entire fertile Dijon region became independent, and Flemish, a coastal region, and Bar, a strategic point, were all eaten up by one country.

For such a mighty nation to be covered in the shell of a dead enemy? No matter how coveted the throne is, this is pretty ridiculous.

“Of course, if you don’t respond just because it’s funny, it won’t work. I have to show the Duke of Burgon, no, the King of Rotharing, the treaty from 300 years ago again.”

The treaty 300 years ago is the event that caused the kingdom of Rotaring to fall into ruin, and it means that the kingdom of Caroling and the Holy Empire divided the territory of the kingdom of Rotaring.

With the treaty at that time, the Carolingian kingdom took away several territories under the control of the kingdom of Rotaring, representatively the Burgundy duchy of Dijon and Bar, and the coastal province of Flemish.

The parchment on which the treaty was written 300 years ago is still well kept in the vault of the Caroling Kingdom, and on the parchment it is written that the Rothaling Kingdom will permanently cede the following territories to Caroling.

If you claim sovereignty to Rotaling through that parchment… There is a good reason.

“They are no longer Burgons, they are Rotarings.”

If they simply demanded the return of the territory taken away when it was a duchy of Burgon, Caroling had already recognized the independence of Burgon and handed over the territory as a result of defeat. Would have seen it

But if they become Rotaring, the story will be very different.

The Rotaring and the Empire say that they are a different country with the same name as the Rotaring of the past. They proclaimed the restoration of the Rotaring based on the crown and ring of the past Rotaring, but who in the world would believe that? Even the territories they control are similar.

In terms of justification, custom, and perception, the current Rotaring is clearly a successor to the Rotaring of the past. Even if you ask for a refund, there is not much risk.

“However… I wonder if they will be willing to cede them.”

“Well, it’s a natural question. But it doesn’t matter if they don’t cede them.”

If you cede, it’s just a good thing, and even if you don’t cede, the other side will negotiate in its own way.

Having gone through frequent wars and sending half of his army as mercenaries to the Holy Empire, Lotha Ling can’t be too quick to react to a treaty from 300 years ago.

It is clear that he would like to make the treaty of 300 years ago a thing of the past with money or other interests.

If that’s the case, the damage from the Burgon Succession War and the damage from the Crusade will be enough to make up for.

“I have to congratulate my illegitimate son.”

…………

“…What else are these bastards?”

There are not one or two things to be concerned about, such as protocol after becoming a king, but during this busy time, letters were sent from Seonghwangcheong and Caroling at the same time.

Seonghwangcheong’s dissatisfaction is understandable. As soon as he rejected Seonghwang’s offer, he readily accepted a similar offer from the emperor, and he gave the emperor mercenaries and funds to fight the crusade, so of course he would feel bad.

However, it is certain that the holy war will fail unconditionally if they completely get along with me. I complained point by point so that I could fully understand it, and even though it wasn’t my intention, I was very sorry.

It bothered me a little to write me as Claude de Bourgon instead of the King of Lotharing, but it happened before, so it can be.

But… Why is Caroling doing this again?

[We demand the fulfillment of the Laurel Treaty signed 300 years ago in Laurel.]

“Haaa…”

As expected, no matter how much I denied that it was a different country from Rotaring in the past, it seems that others did not think so.

I was dumbfounded when I saw the letter that said something nonsensical, but Ines and Chloe frowned and said in a low voice that it was not for no reason at all.

“If you just ignore it or continue to deny your connection to the kingdom of Rotharing in the past… Your prestige and authority will be greatly damaged, right?”

“Yes, I will.”

The territories newly incorporated by the Empire are suppressing rebellion in the name of the Kingdom of Rotharing, but if they continue to deny the succession of the Kingdom of Rotaring, they will become quite unstable.

Not only that, but all the nobles in the country must have felt their own emotions even if they weren’t happy about the restoration of the kingdom of Rotaring, which was the ruling kingdom in the past, and the king’s master became king. If you do, you’re very likely to feel ugly.

Tsk… I can’t help it. First of all, I’ll have to be content with getting a confirmation from the Empire.

“Ines, does Caroling really want the territory?”

“There is no country that doesn’t want territory. But… They seem to be looking for something other than territory. The Carolingians have done so much military action that they can no longer afford to project their military power outward.”

“That’s what I think. So… Is it a little bit of extreme diplomatic rhetoric?”

“It seems so to me.”

Above all, it should be noted that they called us Rotaring, not Burgon. Judging from what is said in the letter, Caroling does not deny that this is a kingdom.

That’s why Caroling is asking for a piece of cake in exchange for acknowledging me as the King of Rotaling.

Perhaps if you put in some money, he’ll be satisfied and go back.

It’s not just one or two things to worry about, but it’s a little annoying that something else has happened, but it’s welcome enough that more forces are recognizing Rotaring as a kingdom following the Holy Empire.

Even though it’s a crown I got unwanted by the emperor’s scheme, since the crown is already on my head, if others don’t recognize me as king, I’ll be very picky, right?

“Okay, I’ll have to send a letter to the Carolingian Kingdom to send representatives to Dijon for negotiations.”

Caroling received funds, Lotharing was recognized as a kingdom, and the two kingdoms could benefit from each other.

However, the future where all of them won was gone in an instant.

Because some of Caroling’s negotiators suddenly insisted on ceding the territory to Claude’s face in front of everyone else’s eyes.