Chapter 188
There was a suffocating in the conference room of the Pontier Family. The vassals’ lips were shut tightly, but their stupefied expressions and wide eyes while looking at one individual made their feelings clear to everyone.
They were staring at the individual whom they thought was the most loyal subject of the Pontier Family and Lady Charles—Count Cox ron Bagen.
Cox slowly got up from his seat with a smile as he swept his gaze across the vassals.
“I wanted to be good until the end for the sake of the Young Lady, but it seems I won’t be able to do that any longer.”
“Cox…” Charles choked on a lump in her throat. She found it hard to speak, but she still tried her best. “Why…?”
Cox sounded poetic after admitting that he was a rat, and Charles found it hard to believe—no, she didn’t want to believe it.
‘Is this how it feels to be betrayed by the person you trust the most?’?Cox had always been with Charles before she had her own awareness. Twenty years. They had spent twenty years together, but now, it had gone down the drain.?
Charles had been grateful that he stuck with her through all the years of hard times. But someone like that had betrayed her.
Cox had also been the one who took care of Duke Pontier until the end.
‘My mouth tastes bitter…’
Charles thought that the family’s tight-knit bonds would prevent this kind of situation, but it seemed that he had been too naive.
“Why would you… betray—” Charles abruptly stopped speaking because she finally realized it. When her father briefly woke up, he stared at her with quivering eyes.
Charles couldn’t quite grasp the meaning behind her father’s quivering eyes, but now, she finally realized that her father hadn’t been looking at her. Duke Pontier was staring at Cox standing behind her at the door.
“You know… everything. Ha…” Charles shook her head.
Icarus glanced at Charles before speaking the words Charles was too distraught to say.
“Why did you betray your liege?”
“Before I answer that, I have a question for you…” Cox seemed genuinely confused as he asked, “How did you find out that Marquis Crombell would use the Dennis River?”
“...” Icarus revealed a strange look and said, “Knowing the enemy is the basics of strategy. Have you already forgotten where the Crombell Family fought before they targeted the Pontier Family?”
“Ah!” Cox exclaimed and nodded in understanding.
“The southern provinces have wide, fertile plains; the eastern and northern regions of the empire, on the other hand, are rough and uninhabited. The Cursed Lands of the Black Monster Forest begin at the Loch Territory in the central region, and it stretches all the way to Tripia, the former territory of Count Rebrecca. ”
There wasn’t much food in the northern and eastern regions, and it was the reason Iceline was so desperate for supplies.
It would get even worse every winter when some of the arable lands would be frozen solid. The people of Tripia would squirrel away food before the cold set in, but they would never have enough. Their families would always be hungry in the winter.
In fact, Tripia was more vulnerable to famine than any other territory of Avalon.
When Count Reberecca acquired the land, his meticulous and wise management alleviated the issue of food, but the new lord who took over the land after Count Rebrecca’s demise was a corrupt member of Marquis Crombell’s faction.
He immediately raised taxes to fund the Crombell Family’s war efforts, which made it impossible for the citizens to save food.
The people of Tripia were helpless. Their lord was heavily taxing them while monsters from the Black Monster Forest ravaged their farmland, leading to widespread famine.
“The Pontier Family made the same move as the Rebrecca Family. At first, they fled because of the huge difference in power, but they eventually rallied together around their patriarch, Count Rebrecca…”
“Contrary to what is happening here at the Pontier family, the vassals assembled a strong defense against the Crombell Family’s siege.”
“...” The vassals were astonished to hear that the Rebrecca Family managed to rally together despite their differences, while the Pontier Family was busy fighting each other rather than working to survive this siege.
“Tripia is a barren land where anyone could easily fall victim to starvation. However, its geography is the best when it comes to defending. Tripia shares the eastern border with Hubalt, so it would be impossible to move a huge army throughout Tripia without raising international concerns…”
“The steep cliffs in the north are impossible to climb, and the Black Monster Forest is located in the west. Therefore, Tripia is a natural fortress. As such, Count Rebrecca had no trouble rallying his forces to defend.”
“Unfortunately, Marquis Crombell’s army didn’t come from the south. The Crombell Family’s army emerged from the west and through the Black Monster Forest. I think everyone here must have already heard of the stories about that place, am I right?”
“The Dark Clan will curse those who dare to trespass their territory,” muttered a vassal.
The other vassals nodded grimly.
Icarus nodded as well before continuing.
“The Black Monster Forest of the Tripia Region had long become a forbidden region of Avalon. Marquis Crombell had sent some forces to attack from the South to divert the Rebrecca Family’s attention. Now, he has simply pulled a similar trick by tricking us into thinking they’re coming from the west when they’re actually attacking from a different direction…”
“The question is where? The Pontier Family’s final stronghold is covered with steep cliffs, so the only way to reach the heart of the Pontier Family’s final stronghold is through the Dennis River. After all, the troops of the Crombell Family can’t fly.”
“So it was just like putting together a puzzle for you. I’m surprised.” Cox shook his head and raised both hands, seemingly in surrender, before saying, “My master had a habit of saying ‘Never say never.’”
“...”
“Now that I’m done speaking, can you tell us now? Why did you betray the Pontier Family and Lady Charles?”
At Icarus’ question, Cox revealed a huge smile and said, “Have you forgotten my moniker?”
“The gold-devouring monster?”
“I’m a monster that devours gold with no pause. What other reason could there be?”
“I don’t think that’s all,” Icarus refuted.
“...?” Cox tilted his head before he heard Icarus’s words, “You speak of Marquis Crombell as though you’re not from his league, but figures, just because you’re a spy doesn’t mean you work for him specifically, right?”
Cox revealed a hardened look, “After Count Rebrecca, comes the Dukes. I’m really curious. Count Cox, how high-ranking are the people behind you?”
After saying that, Cox revealed a polite smile and said, “I devoted my entire youth to the Pontier Family, so the family is very important to me as well.”
“Is this who you really are?” The furious Baron Ashbal couldn’t take it anymore and yelled, “What are you doing?! Capture him!”
In response, the knights surrounded Cox.
However, Cox seemed like he didn’t care about the knights as he looked out the window and muttered, “I guess it’s almost time…”
Cox looked at Icarus and said, “I hope you didn’t think I was saying those things because I gave up, did you? I said those things because there was no longer any need for me to pretend.”
Once Cox's words fell, a strong, burning smell assaulted everyone’s noses.
Baron Ashbal reacted first and exclaimed, “What is that smell?”
“There’s a fire!” someone exclaimed as well.
The crackling of flames could be heard just outside the conference room.
A fire had broken out in the final stronghold of the Pontier Family, Ether Castle, and the fire was still getting stronger. The shocked vassals quickly got up from their chairs.
Cox remained unperturbed. He gazed out of the window, and his eyes reflected the growing blaze as he said, “Today, the Pontier Family will cease to exist.”
***
Joshua ambled down a trail while fiddling with a hexagonal object in his hand.
“Why did he give this to me?”
The Lion King casually gave it to Joshua, but the hexagonal plate wasn’t an ordinary item at all. The emblem it bore—a lion’s head with a sword in its mouth—was the emblem of free knights if Joshua’s memories were serving him correctly.
“It definitely doesn’t have anything to do with Reinhardt,” Joshua muttered into the air.
All of a sudden, Joshua came to a halt. A rusty smell assaulted his nose, and it made him stop in his tracks.
“The smell of blood?” Joshua frowned.
The trail he was on was the so-called ‘King’s Road.’ It was a road less traveled in honor of the road’s significance to the people of Reinhardt.
“...!” Joshua felt a strong burst of energy.
He could feel it—someone was waiting for him up ahead.
‘They’re calling me.’
Joshua thought about it for a moment before continuing down the trail. He only took a few steps before he stopped to scan the area.
“Ugh…!”
A middle-aged man was writhing in pain as a man with snake-like features raised him high up in the air by the neck. There were two other men sprawled out on the ground, desperately searching for salvation.
The three men were bleeding profusely.
“Joshua Sanders…” The snake-eyed man drenched in blood turned to look at Joshua, and he acted like he wasn’t holding a dying man by the neck as he stood there with a gleeful smile.
Joshua recognized him immediately. The snake-like man’s name held more weight than even His Highness Ulabis.
“Count Arie bron Sten…”
“The fruit is ripe. Ah! It is time to harvest!” Count Arie licked his lips. His face glowed with excitement as he exclaimed, “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this, Joshua Sanders. Aaaahhh!”
‘Ah…’
Joshua felt like a thousand snakes were crawling all over him. Joshua felt the urge to scrub the disgusting feeling off of his skin, but he didn’t have the luxury to do anything else because Count Arie’s murderous intent against him was only getting stronger.
Count Arie tossed away the middle-aged man he was holding by the neck.
“I hope you won’t disappoint me.”
Count Arie’s malevolent voice echoed throughout the trail.
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