Published: January 15, 2026
Yard and Sesto stayed in the village, making various sarcastic remarks. Well, I wanted them to return to the marquisate quickly, but it seemed they intended to wait until His Majesty returned.
There was no helping it, so I provided the minimum hospitality as guests.
“Lord Van! Lord Yard is asking you to explain how to boil water!”
“Tell him a fire magician has been boiling the water all along—that’s a lie, of course.”
“Lord Van! Lord Sesto is requesting some precious ore!”
“Try selling it at five times the price that the Bell Rango Trading Company offers.”
I politely handled their unreasonable demands. What a kind brother I am. I was probably too good for those two.
Despite the kind and brilliant boy Van-kun, Yard and Sesto continued to act arrogantly and selfishly. Their behavior would normally warrant the harshest punishment in the Seato Village court, but since they are Van-kun’s brothers, some leniency was shown this time.
Those two, though, suddenly became quiet when they heard that His Majesty had arrived in Seato Village.
“Oh, Baron Van! It’s been a long time!”
“Welcome, Your Majesty. I didn’t expect the matter to be settled so quickly.”
I exchanged cordial greetings with the triumphant His Majesty. Behind me stood Yard and Sesto, standing rigidly like subordinates, but I just ignored them.
“Hahaha! I heard about it, Baron Van! Yelinetta tried to secretly manipulate Shelvia from behind the scenes, but together with Viscount Panamera, you repelled them! To defeat such a large force that even Marquis Fertio was wounded—this might even be a greater achievement than ours! Truly, an infuriating foe!”
His Majesty praised me, and I couldn’t help but smile sheepishly. Then His Majesty stroked my head firmly.
“What’s frustrating is hearing this right after Yelinetta Kingdom’s surrender and its conditional vassalage. That Yelinetta! They cleverly hid this since it was unfavorable information! Had I known about the march into the Fertio Marquisate and the spectacular repulsion, I would have imposed stricter terms...”
His Majesty spoke with regret. But considering the outcome of the war, we had achieved more than enough battle achievements.
Thinking so, I honestly asked a question.
“Your Majesty? Yelinetta Kingdom became a vassal state, and the Shelvia Confederation became an allied country under similar conditional vassalage. Isn’t that a sufficient result?”
His Majesty blinked several times.
“...What? The Shelvia Confederation? I was only told that Shelvia withdrew—those cunning foxes...!”
Upon hearing the additional information, His Majesty got angry again. Well, it’s understandable that unfavorable news wouldn’t be readily shared, but if they had accepted vassalage, it would be better not to lie about it.
So, why did King Yelinetta not report the information honestly?
Curious, I asked His Majesty.
“Your Majesty, what conditions were imposed on Yelinetta Kingdom when it became a vassal?”
His Majesty raised one eyebrow and looked at me.
“Hmm? First and foremost, they must not refuse any request for military cooperation from our country. That’s the primary clause. Next is the monthly tax collection. That part was regrettable—they set the tax rate at 10% of income. Had I known about Baron Van’s intel, it would have been 20%... Well, since royal and noble private assets will pay 30%, I suppose we’ll endure it.”
Hearing such harsh terms, I gave a wry smile and refrained from replying.
Indeed, losing a tenth of one’s income would be a heavy blow. Taking 30% of the royal and noble wealth would amount to a huge value, but if the nobles managing the various territories weren’t kept in check, the people of Yelinetta might become destitute. Or perhaps it’s 10% of net profit? If it ignores expenditures, Yelinetta could rapidly fall into poverty.
While pondering these things, I decided to confirm something else that concerned me.
“How will the administration of Yelinetta Kingdom be handled?”