Circumstances of a Fallen Lord - Chapter 133

Chapter 133

Though Luisen was filled with good humor throughout the day, tremendous amounts of work was waiting for him. In preparation for an all-out war against the demon worshippers, he needed to prepare a banquet, as he had declared yesterday.

He was stuck in his office, with only a sandwich for a meal, handling various tasks given by his vice-chancellor. There was no break as messengers constantly had reports to give and sought approvals and signatures.

Carlton had gone to the practice grounds to try and coordinate with the knights. Therefore, Luisen’s mood–which was on cloud nine in the morning–had considerably settled throughout the day.

‘Count Doubless, demon worshippers. I’ll be done after I handle those guys.’

Now that he had received acknowledgement from his vassals and ended his search for the one-armed pilgrim, Luisen would now be able to enjoy the peaceful life of a feudal lord that he had longed for from the moment he regressed.

However, that was a matter for the future, and Luisen felt that it was a bit unfair that he had no time to be with Carlton. Luisen slumped onto his desk, tired and exhausted. “Why did I even say I’d hold a banquet?”

Although he grumbled, the young lord had made this decision after careful calculation.

Count Doubless didn’t intend to leave the palace; he seemed content to hide until the ritual was held.

‘Then, in that case, if we’re trying to disrupt that ritual, then we need to open the doors to the palace somehow.’

At this point, Luisen paid close attention to the count’s public appearances before regression. With the information from a timeline where everything ‘went to plan’ for that noble, Luisen could guess what the count truly wanted. 

Even before regression, demon worshippers’ presence was not pronounced. The cult operated while maintaining secrecy. Count Doubless was no different; he played the role of an ordinary noble, gradually expanding his territory, and ultimately devouring everything the fallen duchy possessed. He seemed satisfied with that.

Looking at that, it was clear the count’s main goal was to bring down the Anies duchy and take over the duke’s position. Moreover, he went out of his way to keep Luisen alive to observe him.

This revealed the count’s obsession and inferiority complex with the duchy, the predecessor, and Luisen.

However, after Luisen’s return, the count’s plans had failed one after another, and he abandoned his long-held secrecy and chose to seize the palace.

In this situation, what would happen if Luisen held a banquet as the Southern Great Lord to bring together the southern aristocrats and show off his prosperity? As someone who wishes for the demise of the duchy and Luisen himself, the count would surely react.

‘And, if Luisen said anything that showcased his disregard for the count… Count Doubless would definitely be quite angry.’

Knowing the count wouldn’t take being slighted lightly, Luisen predicted that the count would plot to bring Luisen to the palace to destroy him. The man was definitely looking for any chance to prove his superiority and have Luisen acknowledge that superiority.

Luisen intended to use those tumultuous emotions against the man to open the gates of the royal palace and punish the demon worshippers.

Marching into enemy territory was an extremely risky plan, but there was no other choice.

As the Pope had said, it was crucial to minimize chaos after the count’s elimination, so there needed to be special considerations for handling the situation after dealing with the count. It would be best for Luisen to take the risk.

Of course, when he looked back on the previous timeline and the cCount’s motive, Luisen was convinced the count wouldn’t just easily kill him.

“As soon as the demon worshippers are dealt with, I–truly, honestly–won’t leave my bed for a week,” Luisen murmured gloomily as he signed the invitations. 

At that moment, a playful voice echoed in the room, “That plan sounds good–do you want to invite me?” Carlton was standing by the door.

“Ahaha,” Luisen laughed bashfully. “Are you done with training?”

“I’m taking a brief break.”

“Are you really going to boldly talk about slacking off in front of someone working so busily?”

“I thought the diligent Luisen might need something.”

Luisen didn’t want to be called by his formal title in bed, so he asked the other to call him by his name. In response, Carlton kept sneakily calling out to Luisen by using his name. Such brazenness–it was very Carlton. So cute.

Luisen held back his laughter, “What is it?”

Carlton opened his arms at Luisen’s question.

Luisen couldn’t hold back anymore–his laughter erupted, “You have some nerve.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Carlton urged, flapping his hands.

“Well…” Luisen thought that it didn’t make sense for Carlton to be bashful. The young lord stood up and approached Carlton, pretending to be reluctant. Carlton embraced Luisen tightly with both arms; Luisen also hugged his lover, leaning his head against Carlton’s chest. The air carried the scent of the cool winter’s breeze. Holding Carlton–even for a moment–had relieved all his fatigue.

‘Should I go and lock the door to the office?’ Luisen was sorely tempted. Wouldn’t it be okay…just for a little while? Just for one hour?

Unfortunately, though, a visitor arrived before Luisen could put his plan into action. A group of knights had come looking for Carlton, and the mercenary was taken away.

Luisen waved until he couldn’t see Carlton any more before returning to his desk. Carlton had whispered in his ear, before he left the office, to keep the window in his bedroom open at midnight.

‘I’ll definitely finish all of this work by then.’ 

Luisen enthusiastically buried himself in documents.

***

The days passed smoothly. During the day, Luisen prepared for the banquet and their attack on the demon worshippers. Though they at first were reluctant and wary, the vassals changed their minds and cooperated after seeing the young lord immerse himself in his work.

And, at night, Luisen took brief moments for himself to meet with Carlton. The times they spent were tantalizing—they couldn’t spend too much time together, but that was also nice in its own ticklish, salacious way.

Luisen’s confidence rose to the very top of his head as his work progressed smoothly without any complications.

‘At this rate, I can do anything!’

Maintaining this momentum, Luisen also successfully held his banquet.

As he had originally planned, all the Southern nobles were invited to this banquet. After receiving a personally signed invitation from Luisen, the aristocrats engaged in a very intense game of social politics. 

With Count Doubless receiving favor from the first prince, they must have believed it was only a matter of time before the Southern Great Lord’s seat changed. So, even though Luisen had arrived at the castle, they pretended to be ignorant of the young lord’s presence.

However, Luisen had held up well under the first prince’s scrutiny, and the much-observed religious trials seemed to be turning in Luisen’s favor. The southern lords who had shown signs of dissent, subtly began indicating support for the House Anies, discreetly suggesting that they would be willing to strengthen their friendly ties with the young lord.

Even if Count Doubless was aware of this, the Southern nobles could no longer afford to ignore Luisen.

Aside from various political motives, they were also just curious about the young lord.

‘Did that trash really change?’

Despite the abruptness of the banquet, the majority of the nobles who received the invitation attended.

Luisen greeted them skillfully, answering a number of questions sincerely and clarifying the truth behind the rumors. Luisen’s attitude showed that he was full of confidence and was comfortable in this social environment. Plus, his fetching looks–something he had always had in his arsenal–quickly won the nobility’s favor.

The nobles who attended the banquet seemed to accept that Luisen wasn’t the same rascal from before and acknowledged that the Anies duchy was likely to regain its past prestige.

As Luisen had hoped, his undiminished splendor as the Southern Great Lord was imprinted onto their minds.

That fact must have reached Count Doubless as well. The count received an invitation, but he had refused–most likely, he was wary of vacating the palace when the first prince’s brainwashing could be undone. Furthermore, he didn’t want to bow to Luisen.

Instead he sent his henchman to the banquet: a loyal noble from the count’s territory. They ran to the count soon as the banquet finished and told him the details.

“So, the banquet went well.” The count’s face contorted. The lack of loyalty among the nobles wasn’t exactly a recent development–it wasn’t so surprising to hear that they clung to the young lord like a bat. However, to think that the majority of those who received the invitation would attend… And to learn that the atmosphere within the banquet was so nice and friendly…

This makes his refusal to attend, even after receiving an invitation, amusingly ridiculous. Didn’t it seem like the count was the only one left out of a feast everyone else had enjoyed? No, it was worse than that. In a way, perhaps people would see this as the count’s failed power struggle.

Grind–!

The count gritted his teeth and held back the rage that flowed through him. It was alright. He could recover from this disgrace. “Did the Duke talk about me at all?”

“He did, but there was nothing good said…”

“As expected, he talked about me.”

The aristocrat turned messenger looked startled by the count’s grim expression. Frightened, he hesitated.

“Tell me exactly what was said,” the count urged.

Under that pressure, the noble confessed what he had heard, “No matter how hard my count tries, the Duke said he’s merely a count. The Duke said that my count isn’t even worth paying attention to–there’s no way you could dare compete with a duchy.”

“How dare that immature boy….” Count Doubless recalled the last time he had faced Luisen, in the palace. That idle bum who had lived his whole life as a playboy rascal looked at Count Doubless as if he were some vaunted, pious individual.

Those eyes were exactly the same as his predecessor. The previous duke’s eyes had always passed by the count without any fanfare. That man had never really looked at the count properly–not even once.

Even decades later, the count could not forget the former Duke.

His indifferent gaze.

And how the young count felt so small and insignificant in front of him.

That traumatic memory lingered vividly.

The count hit his desk in anger.

Crash–! Boom Crash–!

Then, unable to release his anger, he stood up and swept away the items on his desk. The count screamed angrily amidst the sounds of thudding and various objects breaking. “That damned House Anies! Like father, like son! He’s looking down on me? A single word from me, and he’ll be killed! How dare he!”

He needed to summon and order the Death Knight to take the duke’s life.

‘No, death is too easy for him.’

Death would be too simple. If the count were just trying to kill Luisen, he would have done it earlier.

No–his grudge couldn’t be resolved so easily. He wanted Luisen to witness the fall of his duchy and the count’s subsequent takeover. Count Doubless wanted to give Luisen a painful life over death.

After evicting the lesser noble from his office, the count called inside the Death Knight and the demon worshippers.