Siblings – Marquis Benard Tatian
[ Achievement Unlocked: Noble Slaying - All nobles feel a slight fear towards you. ]
[ Achievement Unlocked: Long Live the Rauno Family - Gained slight favor with thugs belonging to the Rauno Family. Received slight hostility from families opposing the Rauno Family. ]
The Marquis’s son, Torton Tatian, was slain at Leo’s hand. And by successfully completing this hefty contract, Leo ascended to the rank of executive within the Rauno Family.
This was all thanks to Torton Tatian ignoring the final warning issued by his father, the Marquis.
The moment his body recovered, he had immediately set off for the Royal Palace in search of the princess.
“I love her, Father. I truly do.”
Exasperated, Marquis Benard Tatian had summoned his son to ask his intentions, but the only response he received was a repeated declaration of love for the princess.
Love? The Marquis was certain his son had ulterior motives. He must be scheming something with the princess. And with whoever was behind her.
The Marquis gave his son a thin smile and agreed, but he never called for him again.
Despite this, Torton Tatian continued to frequent the Royal Palace, and the Swordmaster Faction began to eye Marquis Tatian coldly.
Their leader, Earl Hermann Forte, had already sent his own troublesome son away to the Holy Cross Church. Therefore, unless the Marquis wanted a full-blown confrontation, he needed to make another move that would appease them.
Even within the Royalist Faction, there was growing anxiety over the behavior of their leader, Marquis Tatian. It seemed the Marquis was caught in a politically precarious position.
However, Marquis Benard Tatian leisurely sipped his drink in his office as if nothing was amiss.
The targets of his concern were not the haughty nobles of the Royalist or Swordmaster factions. He didn’t even care about his son’s actions.
The only two beings the Marquis paid attention to were the King and the Swordmaster. The scattered documents on his massive desk were all related to those two.
Earl Hermann Forte was a man of extremely right-wing tendencies. He was passionate about strengthening military power and often displayed an adoration for force.
With such a man in power, kingdoms lacking a Swordmaster had no choice but to take a diplomatic step back from the Kingdom of Bellita. The citizens and nobles of Bellita cheered and supported the Earl for this.
Of course, Marquis Tatian wasn’t one to judge a person solely on their outward appearance. He saw the Earl as merely occupying a position where he could easily display his strengths.
However, the Earl's recent movements were completely different from what the Marquis had anticipated.
For some reason, the Swordmaster had not dispatched the 1st and 2nd Knight Orders despite the outbreak of war. He himself had not gone to the front lines and remained quietly in the capital.
The Marquis gathered the scattered documents, straightened them with a sharp tap, and tossed them aside. Picking up his drink again, he fell into deep thought.
‘The Swordmaster's actions are difficult to understand.’
War was the perfect opportunity for the Earl to showcase the achievements of his “prosperity through strength” policy, and at the same time, a golden opportunity to gain military merit and further expand his political influence.
“He must have a bigger goal in mind…”
He was convinced that Earl Hermann Forte was plotting something.
He had known it from the moment Princess Chloe and Gilbert Forte shared their kiss. The Earl had used his own son to instigate the war.
However, the subsequent actions of his own son and the princess were completely unexpected.
Just how did the Earl manage to manipulate the princess? Could His Majesty be involved as well? What kind of reward did my son promise the Earl?
And why, amidst the conflict with the Royalists, did the Earl keep the Knight Orders stationed in the capital instead of sending them to war?
The Marquis scoffed at the obvious ploy, then tilted his head in thought.
‘It’s too obvious. If the Swordmaster were to rashly mobilize the Knight Orders now, he would die by my hand.’
If the Swordmaster himself stormed into this mansion and beheaded me before mobilizing the Knight Orders, then perhaps…
But of course, that would never happen.
“I still lack information, so I should observe for now…”
The Marquis banished thoughts of the Swordmaster from his mind and turned his attention elsewhere. He tapped his large desk and briefly considered the silent King before dismissing him as well. Finally, he thought of his foolish son.
‘That useless fool.’
“As expected, having only one son was a mistake. To think he would try to inherit this position so easily.”
The Marquis rose from his seat and approached a large portrait hanging on one of the office walls. It was a portrait of his late wife.
He spoke softly before it.
“I apologize, but it seems I won't be able to keep my promise. I've found a more suitable son.”
Her dying wish had been for him to raise their only son well. Out of respect for their bond, he had wanted to grant her wish, but now it was all for naught.
He was planning to eliminate his son and erase any justification the Swordmaster might have for attacking the Royalists.
The Marquis turned away, thinking, “Yes, it's time to take that portrait down as well.”
As he leaned against the window and gazed down, a young man came to mind.
Did this young man deserve to inherit the throne?
‘For now, he passes.’
He had entrusted the contract on his son to this young man, and this substitute had carried out the task diligently.