Became a Medieval Fantasy Wizard

Chapter 192

TL/Editor: raei

Status: 5/week mon-fri

Illustrations: none

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'Did they really gather like this?'

Ian thought, watching Baron Yurdo being dragged away.

Ian had arrived in Talian after the black dragon's attack.

He didn't know the state of the nobles who'd been attacked by the black dragon.

Until now, he'd been busy running around providing food for refugees...

'I'll have to tighten Lucy's security.'

Had he underestimated the medieval people's reckless behavior?

Ian thought he should strengthen Lucy's protection while also controlling the other nobles to prevent them from causing trouble.

Currently, nobles who had abandoned their territories and fled were staying in Talian.

Following noble custom, Lucy had treated them as guests.

But Baron Yurdo not only kicked Lucy's goodwill to the curb, he'd stomped it into the gutter.

"Wizard Ian."

Damon, the knight in charge of Talian's security, approached and spoke.

"You saw clearly the mess that noble scum caused?"

"Of course."

Damon, who never liked nobles much to begin with, was seething at Baron Yurdo's betrayal.

"All nobles are like that. Greedy as hell, and not a shred of loyalty!"

Any other time, Ian might have defended the nobles, but right now he didn't feel like it at all.

No matter how bad the mood in Talian was, to attempt rebellion so soon?

He'd jokingly thought this era was post-apocalyptic, but now it felt half-serious.

In a real post-apocalypse, human bastards were always the biggest problem.

"Ian. I want to send a strong warning to the other nobles."

Damon had come seeking Ian's wisdom.

Ian readily supported Damon's stance.

"Do it."

It was advice for Lucy's sake, but Ian also disliked nobles.

"Given how things have turned out, sitting idle would make us look like pushovers. Let's firmly remind them who owns this land."

Lucy was a young noble, and a woman to boot.

She had all the right conditions for other nobles to look down on her.

But now that Baron Yurdo had royally f*cked up, Lucy had the right to express righteous anger.

They needed to capitalize on this opportunity.

"Baron Damon. Gather the nobles in Talian Hall."

"I'll do that right away!"

Ian headed to Talian Hall with Lucy.

---

---

"What in blazes...!"

The nobles summoned to Talian Hall were all trembling.

They tried not to show it outwardly, but inwardly they were more frightened than anyone.

"I never imagined Baron Yurdo would hatch such a vile scheme!"

Baron Lantro growled through gritted teeth.

Baron Yurdo's domain had fallen relatively recently, and had preserved a fair amount of its strength.

Their desire for revenge against the black dragon and concern for their people was understandable.

But... an assassination attempt!

And cowardly ambushing with archers at that!

Let's say, for argument's sake, that Baron Yurdo had grievances with Baron Talian over the food situation.

If he'd at least drawn his sword and honorably challenged her to a duel, they wouldn't feel this sense of betrayal.

The food situation in Talian was indeed dire, and the nobles were starting to feel the pressure.

Truth be told, the nobles didn't much like Lucy Talian.

She'd inherited her title through an accident, and was a young female noble.

In peaceful times it might not matter, but in a crisis like this, Lucy Talian wasn't exactly an inspiring leader.

But since they'd sought refuge in Talian, they had to follow Lucy's orders.

The nobles could roughly guess what Baron Yurdo was thinking.

'The black dragon's bearing down on us, and you can't even feed people or prepare properly! What the hell are you doing as a baron?'

'I'm doing my best...'

'Ugh, it's so frustrating! I'll do it myself!'

'??? You?'

Secretly, some nobles thought Baron Yurdo might be better than Lucy.

So even if they saw Baron Yurdo plotting something, they turned a blind eye.

But at the critical moment, a miracle occurred.

Baron Yurdo, who'd finished his scheming, had no choice but to charge in recklessly.

The result was, of course, a complete disaster.

Not only did the assassination fail, but it also jeopardized the other nobles' position.

"... Who could have known things would turn out like this."

Baron Bahen muttered.

Baron Lantro found those words extremely irritating.

"Hah! Are you defending Baron Yurdo now?"

"No, that's not what I meant..."

Actually, it was.

Baron Bahen supported Baron Yurdo more than Lucy.

But the moment he admitted that honestly, Baron Bahen would lose his head.

No matter how naive and innocent a maiden Baron Talian was, she must be on edge after an assassination attempt.

"Anyway, I know nothing about this!"

Baron Lantro boldly declared his innocence.

He secretly thought that if he just disavowed involvement, the situation would fizzle out.

From what he'd observed of Baron Talian so far, Lucy Talian didn't have a particularly vicious personality.

She had a feminine weakness, you could say.

Baron Lantro had also prepared a suitable excuse.

If he said, 'With the black dragon threat looming, how can nobles fight amongst themselves!', the faint-hearted Baron Talian would likely bury this incident.

Baron Lantro's analysis was surprisingly sharp.

If Lucy had been alone, the situation would have indeed played out that way.

Lucy didn't have the ruthless personality to crack down on other nobles.

But now, Ian had returned from his journey and was by Lucy's side.

Ian intended to use this incident to tighten the noose around the nobles' necks.

"Everyone's gathered, I see."

The doors opened, and Ian, Damon, and Lucy entered.

The nobles hurriedly stood and shouted.

"Baron Talian! Are you alright?"

"Are you injured anywhere, Baron!"

As the nobles raised their voices, Lucy frowned slightly and took a step back.

Ian didn't miss this.

He could see Lucy feeling pressured.

He couldn't let the nobles seize the initiative.

Ian slammed his staff on the table and shouted.

"Everyone lower your voices!"

Dark shadows like mist scattered from the tip of his staff.

The nobles gulped as they watched.

'A wizard...!'

'Baron Talian... where the hell did she find such high-level talent?'

The nobles' voices naturally quieted.

A wizard had just demonstrated magic – only a madman would keep mouthing off.

"Ahem..."

"We were a bit loud, weren't we? Baron?"

Ian smiled with satisfaction at the nobles who quickly became docile.

Good. Now they're in the right mindset to talk!

"Baron. Regarding this incident..."

"I think there must have been some misunderstanding..."

The nobles spewed excuses as soon as Lucy took her seat.

Damon looked at the nobles with disgust.

How can they have so much to say when they're all in cahoots!

Lucy silently watched the nobles prattle on.

She had received prior instructions from Ian.

'Can I really just stay quiet?'

'Yeah. You look pretty impressive when you keep your mouth shut.'

'Hehe. I do look pretty impressive, don't I!'

Lucy did as Ian had told her beforehand, keeping her mouth shut and 'pretending to look impressive.'

Gradually, the nobles' voices began to die down.

'... This might be more serious than we thought?'

'She seems really pissed off...!'

Baron Lantro realized it might be difficult to gloss over this situation with an apology.

And that thought was correct.

Ian had no intention of letting the nobles off so easily.

"You all sure have a lot to say, don't you?"

"...!"

"W-What do you mean by that!"

When Ian spoke up, the nobles were greatly flustered.

Usually, nobles' conversations are full of flowery rhetoric and polite language.

If you don't show consideration for the other party, it could lead to bloodshed!

But wizards were different.

Wizards weren't beings that could be understood with normal people's thinking.

If you force them to be polite, they might disappear in a huff!

In the relationship between wizards and nobles, the nobles were always the ones at a disadvantage.

A wizard's abilities were in a realm that could never be replaced by knights or farmers.

So the nobles couldn't bring themselves to refute Ian's blunt words.

There was no point in arguing with a wizard anyway. They'd only end up embarrassing themselves.

"Do you really not know? Or are you pretending not to know?"

"..."

The nobles awkwardly glanced at each other.

Ian nodded.

So you're going to keep playing dumb, huh?

Alright then, time for the next move.

"Fine. Since you show no will to talk, let's end the conversation here."

"I'm sorry, but we really don't know anything..."

"Pack your bags and get out. All of you."

"???"

The nobles' jaws dropped at Ian's words.

What the hell is this crazy wizard babbling about...?

Unlike the stunned nobles, Ian continued without changing expression.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and pack. Oh, would you prefer to leave empty-handed?"

"W-Wait a minute! What do you mean, get out! Where are we supposed to go!"

Ian pointed outside with his staff and said.

"Out of Baron Talian's domain, of course."

"..."

Ian stated it plainly.

This was an expulsion order.

Only then did the nobles grasp the situation, their faces turning deathly pale.

Baron Talian...

She's not just a little angry!

"Y-You can't do this!"

Baron Lantro protested desperately.

"How can you so ruthlessly drive out fellow subjects of the Empire, of the same Emperor?"

Ian couldn't help but snicker.

"Oh? So it's fine to shoot arrows at a fellow Imperial subject?"

"...!"

The nobles were left speechless.

Clearly that bastard Yurdo caused the trouble, but...

The other nobles were taking the hit!

"Bring it."

Ian snapped his fingers, and Maria, who had volunteered as a daily helper, appeared with a document.

"This is..."

The nobles let out low groans as soon as they saw the document.

The document Ian had prepared was none other than an [Oath of Loyalty].

"Sign it."

The Oath of Loyalty was, as the name implied, a document in which [B] swears loyalty to [A] as a vassal.

B fulfills the duties of a vassal to A, and in return, A fulfills the duties of a lord to B.

Simply put, it could be seen as a feudal contract agreement.

[Lantro, Bahen, Yurdo, and Damon shall serve the lord of Talian as their liege and fulfill their duties as vassals until they reclaim their estates after defeating the black dragon.]

"..."

Baron Lantro let out a bitter laugh.

The nobles here couldn't refuse Ian's proposal.

"Do you really have to go this far?"

"Of course."

Ian opened his eyes coldly and spoke.

"Look at the result of letting you all run wild without any contract. Baron Talian even took an arrow. And you expect us to just sit back?"

"That was Baron Yurdo acting alone..."

"Was it really 'alone'? Is there not a single person among you who noticed Baron Yurdo's suspicious behavior? Well. Clearly none of you thought to warn Baron Talian."

"..."

There was nothing they could say.

If they pushed back any further, they'd be told to spout their bullsh*t outside the domain.

"I'll sign."

"... I'll sign too."

The nobles accepted their fate.

They'd already lost their domains and were on the run.

If they could defeat the black dragon with Talian's help... they could put up with being vassals.

"Ah! Baron Talian! Can I sign too?"

"Huh? Sure, if you want to?"

The 'self-proclaimed' Baron Damon also quickly signed the loyalty oath.

Damon was the only one smiling as he signed.

Of course he was.

Until now he'd been a 'self-proclaimed' baron, but...

By sneaking 'Baron Damon's domain' into an official loyalty oath, he'd become the real owner of a backwoods estate!

"Excellent."

Ian grinned as he looked at the document signed by the nobles.

Lantro, Bahen, Yurdo, Damon.

And Talian.

Five baronies had become a community serving one sovereign.

If you write this as a title...

"Now you'd be 'Countess Talian', I suppose."

"Huh?"

While Lucy tilted her head in confusion.

The nobles rose from their seats and kissed Lucy's hand.

"So be it... We shall fulfill our duties as vassals until the contract ends, Countess Talian."

"May you spill as much of the black dragon's blood as the loyalty we offer, Countess."

The nobles treated Lucy as their lord without hesitation.

They'd nearly lost their heads, but if they only had to swear loyalty to keep going, there was no reason to refuse.

"Huuuh? Ian, am I a countess now?"

"For God's sake, shut your mouth Lucy."

Though temporary, Lucy Talian had become a countess.