I tamed my ex husbands mad dog

15

Alanquez was a pretty decent overlord to its fiefs. The territories entering the Imperial Territory were guaranteed moderate freedom with moderate taxes. The Alanquez Empire was founded more than 200 years ago. It was not a land with an incredibly long history, nor was it a newly formed country. The empire was maintained with moderate governance and moderate tax revenue.
But Michel Alanquez was greedy.
The reason he used Bill Colonna to conquer barbarians and expand his territory in his previous life was because he couldn't moderate himself. He had to have everything that wasn't his. It was the same with Princess Canary.
'I thought it would be easier for him to kick me off and take the Canary Princess than it was than to be petty like this.'
Reinhardt moaned and bit her nails.
In the winter, the Empire usually issued conscription orders to the lords of the territory. It was natural. This was because the barbarians from the north descended in the spring to seize imperial territory. Rather, it didn't matter during winter because the estates were well prepared before winter.
The problem was the transition to spring. In the harsh winter, the people of the north were starving and their stamina was low, so even the barbarians couldn't starve and attacked.
Thus, the Alanquez Empire conscripted soldiers and loaned them to the northern estates. The lords had two options. Send soldiers or send money. Most chose the latter. Because the latter was more convenient and less expensive than sending multiple people.
But.
"Our estate has no money."
"Yes."
Madam Sarah shook her head. Reinhardt then asked.
"How many conscripts were originally requested from Luden?"
"Considering the size of the estate, usually ten."
Ten people. So, the Empire issued an order to recruit three times the usual number of soldiers from the Luden Territory. Now, that was petty. Reinhardt chuckled again and bit her thumb.
"Dietrich, when you came here... ... ."
"Of course, it must have been known throughout the empire. It's because I fought with my family."
Dietrich Ernst appeared to lack wealth, but he was nonetheless a servant and knight of Marquis Linke. Rumors that he had gone to Luden quickly spread and must have reached Michel's ears.
Thirty soldiers and one knight. The latter would obviously be aimed at Dietrich, while the former would mean to fuck with her all winter long. The number of soldiers of each estate were reported in a fairly diligent manner to the crown in order to prevent excessive training of private soldiers.
"That fucking bastard. In the very spring, they want me destroyed by raids."
In spring, wild beasts gave birth. The wild beasts that birthed their young did not hesitate to come down to homes that they would not normally approach and attack people. So, of course, there were necessary precautions. However, if there were 30 guards left, it was necessary to hire 30 more to be left with the minimum number of guards.
When the attack of the wild beasts would happen was not unknown, so it meant that they were all going to die.
Reinhardt looked towards the old woman. Even so, Mdm. Sarah, who was terrified of the former feudal lord, was now blatantly looking at Reinhardt with displeasure. From the point of view of Mdm. Sarah, the safety of the estate itself was threatened by the lord who suddenly took over the title one day.
"Madam, who is in charge of the conscripts in this area?"
Usually there was a middle step where the territories send conscripts to meet up. Each of the small estates sent conscripts to a slightly larger estate, and conscripts from the larger estate were collected and sent to the central army.
Sometimes, if the number of conscripts did not match the demanded number of the territory, the lords of the territory in charge of the interim aggregation may make up the number on their own. Because the Alanquez Empire was so large, it was impossible to consider each of the estates one by one.
Reinhardt was thinking of asking the lord in charge of the merge to make up the difference. As if noticing her thoughts, Sarah bowed her head and answered.
"It is Baron Nathantine."
"... ... Nathantine?"
Reinhardt raised her eyebrows at the familiar name. Sarah nodded her head.
"It's right next door. But sending an official request for mediation will be of no use."
"Why?"
"Because of us, the surrounding estates were all implicated."
Dietrich crossed his arms and started swearing. Reinhardt's face turned white. Mdm. Sarah continued.
"Nathantine's guards are about a hundred men, but it is said that the conscripts of fifty men and two knights were raised from where they usually recruited sixteen men."
"This fucker... ... ."
"Uh-huh. Use the right words, kind words."
Dietrich pretended to cover her mouth. Reinhardt slapped him on the forehead and pushed him away and sighed.
"Michel, this dog-like bastard is determined to us from even breathing... ... ."
"I just told you."
"I can say more."
"I could, too."
Dietrich clicked his tongue. It was a difficult situation.
Michel issued an unreasonable conscription order only to other territories in the vicinity of the Luden Territory, as if blatantly antagonizing Reinhardt. So, it really meant was that his hate had spread even to other provinces and he would try and fuck with anybody would have tried to aid Reinhardt.
A wealthy manor such as Helka, which she ruled in her previous life, was a place where people could live well without the help of other estates, as well as a place where wealth always came in. But Luden was different. This poor and desolate manor would be destroyed in an instant if there was no exchange or trade with the surrounding territories. The villagers would run away and the lord wiould starve to death.
"Shall I kill him?"
Reinhardt muttered grimly. Mdm. Sarah opened her mouth.
"One more thing, Baron Nathantine will never reduce the men from here. There are only two knights in the estate, and one of them is the second son of Nathantine."
"I'm ruined... ... ."
"By the way, Nathantine's first son died of an illness a while ago."
Reinhardt looked at Mdm. Sarah, who spoke bluntly, in amazement.
"Can you say something like that so calmly?"
"I don't think there will be any great countermeasures if I have to panic again."
Mdm. Sarah sighed.
The first son died and the second son had to take over the estate.
But the second son was called up to serve as a knight. Reinhardt could even bet a million Alanche that Nathantine would never make up Luden's conscription. Of course, if she had 1 million Alanche, she wouldn't need it.
"He's trying to kill me."
"There is a way out."
It was Dietrich who intervened. Reinhardt tilted her head.
"How? Assassinate Michel?"
"Ah, that's very tempting. If you say you'll do it–I'm not good at assassination, so I'll just hand the Viscountess a sword... ... ."
Reinhardt and Dietrich chuckled at the same time. Madam Sarah rolled her eyes at their frivolity. Hmm, hmm, Dietrich opened his mouth.
"We could try sending a knight from our territory and reducing the conscription."
"What are you talking about?"
"If it is his second son who's going to be drafted, why don't we just send someone from here instead?"
"Dietrich. Are you going to go instead?"
Reinhardt frowned.
"No. Even if you go and Nathantine gets a knight from our estate, Michel won't be appeased. In the first place, the target was Luden."
"Absolutely. Not that."
Dietrich shrugged.
"That bastard, Michel, would never agree to reducing the manpower of our estate. Thirty soldiers, one knight. He'll never take any more less from here, and we'll can't borrow any."
"Then?"
It was at that moment that the man's friendly eyes turned strangely cold. He looked out the window. Reinhardt closed her eyes, then walked over to the window and looked down. Reinhardt's expression changed slightly when she saw the castle courtyard. There, a familiar black-haired boy was in the midst of training.
"No way."
"He's good. And he has grown quite tall."
"... ... No."
Reinhardt turned around and said vigorously.
"Not Wilhelm. He... ... "
"He's over 16. Again, when I was 16, I followed Marquis Linke to the battlefield."
Dietrich's eyebrows furrowed.
"I'll say that about the child again, but he's good."
"It's only been a few months since he's held a sword... ... "
"But a few days ago he broke the captain's guard and severed his sword."
Reinhardt looked at Dietrich with blurred eyes. Dietrich continued with his arms crossed.
"He is small compared to his age, but he is still growing. Do you know how numb and sore your limbs are when you are growing? But with such an arm, he defeated the captain of the guard. It's amazing."
"It's nice to say that Wilhelm is so talented, but Dietrich."
Reinhardt looked quickly at Mdm. Sarah. She meant to ask for some help. Mdm. Sarah, however, shook her head.
"No severe punishment is given to those who are conscripted in lieu of a knight in conscription. Do you know why?"
"I don't know, madam."
"It's because eight out of ten of them die in the first battle they go out wearing armor anyway."
Reinhardt groaned as soon as she heard those words. Mdm. Sarah continued.
"But it sounds like Sir Ernst meant that the child named Wilhelm will not die."
"Yes. Well, what I mean is... ... One person will do the job."
Dietrich said with a smirk.
"It came to mind when I heard that Nathantine had no other knights, but I don't seem to have any other thoughts than this. Appoint him as a knight in our estate and hire him out as Nathantine's knight. Use this to try to reduce the number of soldiers."
Lending men was very common. It was simply impossible because there were no knights in Luden. Reinhardt wanted to shake her head. However... ... .
Dietrich looked up at Reinhardt, who was stunned, then looked out the window again and smiled bitterly. Wilhelm was now wielding a heavy iron sword and practicing what Dietrich had told him step by step.
'It's one man's share.'
It was a funny phrase. He knew long ago that that little boy was doing more than one person's share. In terms of strength and strength, he was superior to his peers. However, he was just clumsy because he lacked skill. Furthermore... ... Dietrich said, trying to clear the thoughts from his mind.
"The Crown Prince was a fucking bastard, and I know you didn't have a clue in that palace. If you had had at least one dog, you wouldn't have been kicked out all lonely."
Reinhardt let out a dry laugh. Dietrich shook his head.
"I'm just concerned that you seem to be wavering."
"From what?"
"Isn't the Viscountess capable of forgetting all the sorrow that the crippled motherfucker has inflicted? That means you mustn't give him anything until you finish your revenge."
A hoarse sound escaped from somewhere in Reinhardt's throat. It was the sound of boiling sorrow that had been tightly clenched. She deliberately swallowed. This was to prevent unwanted words from coming out without knowing it.
"In this old-fashioned estate... ... Oh, excuse me, Madam. Don't mess things up because of one little child."
"... ... ."
The old lady frowned, but Dietrich didn't care. He spoke syllable to syllable to his liege in front of him.
"You have to use people like chess pieces. I'm saying that you shouldn't give each and every one of them love and try to raise them like a puppy in your arms."
Of course, that wasn't the only reason.