Radiant Dragon’s Otherworldly Reincarnation

Chapter 256. I Will Become Independent (3)

“Well, I went and did as you said, but do you really think His Majesty the King will accept it?”

“He has no choice. What will you do if he doesn’t accept?”

“What do you mean, what….”

“If he does not recognize the founding of the duchy, the royal family will have to continue a fruitless fight with the young master over the ownership of the occupied territories.”

“Didn’t you say it would be better to just give it up since it’s hard to manage?”

“That is from the perspective of the Schneider fiefdom, which has limited administrative power. From the perspective of the Atronia Kingdom, it is different.”

“Hmm….”

“In the end, the king will accept. The pretext is sufficient for public appearance, and more importantly, he will realize it once he comes to his senses. That the picture completed by accepting the proposal is not bad.”

“A picture…. What kind of picture?”

“If he accepts the terms, at that point, the Atronia Kingdom will have the appearance of a powerful nation, commanding both the Harbor… Duchy and the Schneider Duchy at the same time.”

“Huh? Like an empire?”

“In practical terms, it would be a position similar to the leading nation of a federation. It would only be an external pretext, but it is by no means a bad picture.”

Not long ago, it was the Atronia Kingdom, one of the weakest nations on the continent.

If such a country suddenly takes on the form of having two duchies under its command….

“It’s certainly not bad.”

“That’s right. And the timing is good too. If he approves the independence of the duchy to coincide with the wedding of the young master and Princess Isabella….”

“It will look like he is bestowing a reward.”

“Exactly.”

Alexander Krupa smiled faintly.

He felt it wasn’t bad to see Patrick understanding his words and thinking for himself.

It was a side he had never seen in the former King Derius.

“It’s certainly not bad. For my father-in-law the King, and for you too, Mister Alexander.”

“……”

“Two duchies under the Atronia Kingdom…. Well, if the two duchies join forces and start a rebellion, taking down the Atronia Kingdom’s flag would be no big deal.”

“Ahem….”

“Then naturally, it would be a bit difficult for the Atronia Kingdom to make unreasonable demands or act recklessly towards the newly occupied Harbor Duchy.”

At Patrick’s words, Alexander Krupa couldn’t meet his gaze and bowed his head.

To him, Patrick spoke.

“Is it loyalty? Or lingering attachment?”

Alexander Krupa let out a sigh.

He thought it was good that he was more thoughtful and quicker on the uptake than King Derius, but it seemed it wasn’t all good points.

After some deliberation, he sighed.

He briefly thought about what to say, but in times like these, it seemed best to just be honest.

“I’m not sure myself.”

And this was his honest true feeling.

Patrick stared at Alexander Krupa for a moment before speaking.

“Well, I’ll let it slide this time. I’ll let it slide, but….”

“……”

“Before we discuss my position, let’s make your position clear too. You know what I mean, right?”

“I will keep that in mind.”

At the chilling warning, Alexander Krupa bowed his head.

***

Alexander Krupa’s prediction was not wrong.

The king was initially furious and enraged, but after his head cooled down and he thought about it calmly, he realized.

‘Is there any way to refuse?’

There isn’t.

Antagonizing Patrick now would bring King Fiesto no benefit whatsoever. And….

‘Come to think of it, isn’t the Schneider fiefdom already practically an independent state?’

That’s right.

The various rights Patrick had obtained through his tantrums in the past had already made the Schneider fiefdom close to an independent autonomous territory.

They were exempt from taxes, had independent diplomatic rights, and most importantly, the various races living in the Schneider fiefdom were not citizens of the Atronia Kingdom.

Although formally declaring independence was a bit unsettling, in reality, not much would change from the current situation.

Most importantly, if his own daughter marries Patrick and has children….

‘In the next generation, or even in the more distant future, I can bring it back into the fold.’

That was the meaning of being connected by the same royal bloodline.

Well, the opposite could also happen, but frankly, the future hundreds of years from now was not the current king’s responsibility.

Leaving room for possibilities was enough.

And so….

“I will accept my son-in-law’s terms.”

“Thank you. Father-in-law the King.”

King Fiesto stared at Patrick’s face for a long time before sighing and speaking.

“If I approve it as a duchy, who will be the Grand Duke? You? Or Count Schneider?”

“My father will take charge for the time being. That way, I can move around more freely.”

“I see. Still, I will recognize the independence after you and Isabella are married. That way….”

“I know. It looks better.”

Patrick let out a faint smile.

A poor young noble from the countryside achieves great merits, is recognized by the king, receives a beautiful princess and territory, and becomes royalty.

It’s a beautiful story that could come out of a fairy tale hero’s tale, but it’s something that rarely happens in reality. However….

“Appearances are important.”

“Yes. I think so too.”

The two men laughed at the same time, and thanks to that, the atmosphere became very amicable.

“By the way, how many wives did you say you were taking at once?”

“Three. The princess of the Elf tribe, and the other is a child who has watched over me for a long time.”

“Yes. I see. Three….”

The king slowly shook his head.

At that sight, Patrick felt a strange prick of conscience. Wasn’t this, in a way, announcing that he was taking concubines at the same time as he was taking someone’s precious daughter?

Well, there was no affection whatsoever between Princess Isabella and King Fiesto, but it still bothered him.

“Ahem, Senior, no, well… I will never neglect Isabella. I will love them all fairly and equally….”

“Pfft….”

Huh? What was that? That ‘pfft’ just now?

It was a ‘pfft’ that seemed to automatically convey the meaning of ‘what a clueless fool’?

Patrick looked at King Fiesto with a sour expression and spoke.

“Is there some kind of problem?”

“Tsk tsk tsk, look here, son-in-law.”

“What is it?”

“Many royals and high nobles in this world think like that when they take multiple wives. I must love them equally and fairly and rule the family strictly. Something like this ideal thought.”

“…What about it? Is it difficult?”

“The fact that you’re even asking that means you are already…. Tsk tsk tsk, you poor thing.”

The king looked at Patrick with genuine pity.

His gaze, full of sympathy and compassion, was filled with sincerity. And the king continued to speak….

“Well, just give it a try. It might be fun for a fleeting moment while you’re young and have the stamina?”

“……”

It was ominous.

Very ominous.

But now, there was no turning back.

Return to the Schneider fiefdom.

“Welcome back. Young Master!”

“You’ve worked hard. Sir Kainel!”

“Mister Knight A, please wave your hand!”

“Kaaak! I told you not to call me that!”

Although it might not have been as splendid a triumphal ceremony as in the capital, the citizens of the Schneider fiefdom also welcomed Patrick and his party.

There was no grand triumphal arch, no flower path, and no money being thrown on the streets, but the smiles on people’s faces were sincere.

The expressions of the returning fiefdom army were also much brighter.

Although they had been treated with high esteem as heroes of the nation at the capital’s triumphal ceremony, there is no place as comfortable as home anywhere in the world.

Patrick smiled faintly as he saw the knights laughing comfortably, surrounded by the fiefdom’s people.

And passing through the crowd, he arrived at his family.

Dismounting his horse, Patrick bowed his head lightly and spoke.

“I’m back. Father.”

“Yes. You’ve worked hard.”

Count Schneider, seeing his son return safely, let out a sigh of relief.

Although he had heard they had won, he couldn’t help but worry.

Now that he had seen with his own eyes that his son was safe, he was finally relieved.

As Patrick looked into his father’s eyes, a strange ache tugged at a corner of his heart.

It was because his father’s gaze reminded him of his Master’s gaze from his past life.

“Let’s go inside. I have much to tell you.”

“Don’t you need to rest a bit?”

“It’s alright. I have to report first and then rest.”

“Alright. Then let’s do that.”

And so, the father and son smiled warmly and went inside.

In the drawing room, Chandler brewed tea.

“I am glad you have returned safely. Young Master.”

“Tsk, it’s not like I did anything major…. By the way, is there no alcohol instead of tea?”

Chandler smiled bitterly.

Although he had become a great hero whose fame resounded throughout the continent, the Young Master had not changed at all.

He was just as he had been back then when he went to the Parmas fiefdom to sell the Saber Tiger hide.

“Drink alcohol later, and first, report what happened. I know the general situation, but I still want to hear it directly from you.”

“Well, alright. First, as planned, after infiltrating the Harbor Kingdom, I started making contact with the Dwarves. And then….”

Patrick continued his explanation calmly.

Count Schneider nodded as he listened to the explanation, sometimes sighing, and heard the entire explanation to the end.

“And so, we won the war and came back with territory and reparations as spoils. On top of that, we also turned the Harbor Kingdom into a duchy.”

“Yes. I see.”

Count Schneider nodded.

‘Come to think of it, King Derius is a bit pitiful.’

Just because he had failed in his child’s education, he had lost the war and his kingdom had been reduced to a duchy.

It wasn’t just that the nation’s status had been lowered.

Considering the migration of the Dwarves and the lost territory, the Harbor Kingdom now had to take down its sign as one of the three central nations, a mid-tier power on the continent.

And in its place, the name of the victor of this war, the Atronia Kingdom, would quietly rise.

It seemed too painful a price to pay for failing in one’s child’s education, but….

‘Thinking about what that bastard tried to do to my wife, I don’t feel sorry for him at all.’

Even the officially recognized pushover, Count Schneider, could not feel sympathy for the man who had abducted his beloved wife.

Just then, Patrick spoke as if it were nothing.

“Oh, and on the way back, I met with His Majesty the King and we talked about this and that.”

“You did. What did you talk about?”

Patrick spoke nonchalantly, as if it were truly nothing.

“I got a promise to recognize our fiefdom as an independent nation.”

“Yes. I see… What?”

But from the listener’s perspective, it was a statement that was absolutely not nothing.

Regardless, Patrick sipped the tea he rarely drank and spoke.

“It hasn’t been announced yet, but an official imperial messenger will be coming soon.”

“No, son. Just a moment….”

Count Schneider pressed his temples, focused his mind, and spoke.

“I think I misheard something just now, so please say it again. What did you say?”

“We’re becoming an independent nation.”

“……”

“Father will become the first Grand Duke of the Schneider Duchy.”

“……”

Yes. He hadn’t misheard.

Hahaha. He really did say that.

Yes. That’s right.

Having grasped the situation, Count Schneider shot up from his seat and shouted.

“You raaascal!”

“Ah, what is it nooow?”

The son, shouting back without losing.

To him, Count Schneider sputtered as he spoke.

“Our Schneider family is a family that has served the royal family with loyalty for generations.”

“Don’t you think we’ve done enough by now?”

“And you get to decide that on your own? Did you think I would like that?”

“Yes. I thought you would.”

“Patrick, you raaascal! If you truly want to be severely scolded today….”

Just as Count Schneider’s anger reached its peak.

Patrick threw out one more word, as if tossing it lightly.

“Oh, and I’m getting married.”

“You dare to get married…. Married?”

“Yes. Married. It’s about time for me too, isn’t it?”

“……”

“Father?”

After a few seconds of silence.

“Hahaha. Is that so? I see.”

Count Schneider’s face became extremely gentle.

The father who, until a moment ago, had been sternly rebuking his son, fully armed with loyalty to the kingdom, was nowhere to be seen.

Wow…. I expected it, but I didn’t think it would work this well.

‘Does my father have a split personality?’

To such a Patrick, Count Schneider spoke.

“Marriage, yes. You and the princess are both old enough now. Others would have already married and given me a second grandchild by this age, hahaha….”

“It sounds like you’re being sarcastic….”

“No. Not at all. This father was not envious at all.”

“……”

“Although there were times when I had to keep my mouth shut when others of my age boasted about their grandchildren, or when people suspected there might be something wrong with my son….”

Hooo…. So that happened?

I have to kill them.

In front of Patrick, who was thinking that, Count Schneider wiped his tears and spoke.

“Still, I thought a day like this would come eventually.”

Is this something to cry about?

“Yes. Hahaha. This is wonderful. I’ll finally see a grandchild. They’ll be cute, taking after their mother, right? They’ll be lovely, taking after their mother, right? They’ll be smart and pretty, taking after their mother. Right?”

“……”

Your son is being hurt right in front of you.

Why is it all about the daughter-in-law?

‘Sigh…. Let’s not even talk about it. He’s so happy.’

He hadn’t said anything, but it seemed he had been waiting for quite a long time.

Well, it was common for heirs of noble families to marry and start a family between the ages of 16 and 17.

The nobles of the east were especially faster.

In the east, where fierce struggles with monsters were repeated, even nobles didn’t know when something might happen.

Thinking about it that way, Patrick was quite late.

Count Schneider was so happy that his mouth was stretched from ear to ear, and it seemed he had completely forgotten about the matter of the Schneider fiefdom’s independence.