The Count’s face twitched as soon as he heard Zich’s name.
“Did you say you came here at the request of Zich?”
“Yes. Some time ago, Zich wrote a letter to the Rouge family saying that the Steelwall family had zero connections with the Bellids and if we had the luxury to do so, he asked for us to offer you our help.”
The Count was aware that Zich had done a great favor for the Rouge family since he personally witnessed Zich free Evelyn Rouge from her ex-fiancé’s crime. Thus, the Count understood why the Rouge family would come to their aid at Zich’s request. He also knew that he couldn’t refuse their help in his current situation, and with the masking skills he had long honed as a noble, he concealed any sign of dismay on his face. Even though the Count had a rough personality, a noble needed to know how to converse while hiding their true feelings. So, no matter how much the name ‘Zich’ upset him, the Count didn’t make his displeasure obvious.
He simply replied, “…Is that so?”
In his heart, he wished for the official to quickly change the topic, but the man had no intentions of doing so.
“Yes! Sir Zich is the one who saved our lady and recovered the Rouge family’s honor. How could we stand by when such a person asks for our help? If we don’t answer his call, it would only make the Rouge family the subject of insults and humiliation.”
“I see.” The Count could only give a simple answer. He couldn’t tell someone who had come all this way to help that he didn’t want to listen to what the official had to say. Fortunately, the official’s praise for Zich came to an end there.
“For now, we brought supplies that can be used for the war right away. I heard that your resources are running pretty low right now.”
“Unfortunately, yes.” The nobles weren’t the only ones trying to distance themselves from the Steelwall family. The merchants and vendors also acted similarly. Although they didn’t outrightly refuse to trade with the Count because of the difference in classes, they made all sorts of excuses to avoid meeting him. This was a critical hit to the Steelwalls as they were currently preparing for war. Although they were trying to gather resources with all the money and authority they could muster, they had far fewer supplies than what they needed.
“We’ve piled up the first batch of supplies outside. I've written down the exact quantity of goods here, so please check it later.” The official from the Rouge family pulled out a scroll from his belongings and gave it to the Count. There was a considerable amount of things written on it.
“Thank you very much. We’ll have some breathing room with this.”
“This is the amount we amassed hastily. We will send much more later.”
“I didn’t expect the Rouge family to help us this much.” To think that they would send more even when the amount written on this scroll was considerable—the Count thought it was excessive even if the Rouge family was indebted to Zich.
“Ah, I didn’t explain everything. The amount gifted to you right now isn’t only from the Rouge family.”
“It’s not only from them?”
“I’m sure you know that our lady is engaged to Count Dracul from a neighboring country.”
The Count nodded. The break-up of the engagement between Evelyn Rouge and her fiancé Albus Windpool was a very famous story involving the Crown Prince’s attempted assassination, an intense battle inside the palace, and so on. It was the perfect gossip story. This was why the kingdom’s nobles also paid great attention to Evelyn’s new engagement, and news of it also reached the Count’s ears.
“Count Dracul also sent a hefty number of supplies to help Sir Zich.”
“Why does that sir…?” The Count had never seen Count Dracul—he had only heard the name in passing.
“Did the Rouge family request Count Dracul to act?” The Count naturally thought this since Count Dracul was their son-in-law and couldn’t think of any other reason.
Thus, he was shocked when the official answered, “I heard that Count Dracul also received a lot of help from Sir Zich. I was told that Count Dracul was able to reach his current position and our lady was able to meet him largely thanks to Sir Zich. Thus, Count Dracul passionately offered his aid.”
The Count’s head went blank. He didn’t expect Zich’s name to pop out like this again. Unaware of the Count’s current emotions, the official continued, “The Count also wanted to send troops, but it was too difficult with his current situation. However, he says that he has more than enough supplies to give, so you can look forward to the next batches.”
“…I must send my gratitude to Count Dracul,” the Count babbled.
“I also think there will be aid coming in from the Windpool family.” The official’s voice was lower than before. It was only natural considering what the Windpool family’s son, Albus Windpool, had tried to do against Evelyn and the Rouge family. Yet, since Albus Windpool was the sole person responsible for the past, the Windpool family thoroughly compensated the Rouge family, and the two families currently maintained an awkward relationship with one another.
“The Windpool family also feels indebted to Sir Zich since they might have been completely played by that bastard, Albus Windpool, if it wasn’t for him—especially if you consider their fallen honor and their current successor’s position.”
“This is great news for us, but does the Windpool family have the luxury to help us?” The Windpool family had been wiped of their potential heirs besides Albus by the robed figures. They had barely managed to fill in the position by using one of their far-distant relatives, but the heir’s position obviously wasn’t stable.
“That’s exactly why they are trying to show their support now. Sir Zich is the Windpool family’s savior. He stopped their problematic child who joined hands with the guys who made the Marquess fall ill and caused all sorts of other troubles. If you consider that, helping Zich for this favor can help bring a sense of legitimacy they need.”
“I got it.” Count Steelwall nodded and carefully asked, “Then, would it be possible for them to deploy troops to our side?”
Even though providing supplies would be helpful, there was nothing more helpful than receiving more troops since numbers greatly mattered in war. Moreover, the Steelwalls certainly had fewer troops than their enemies.
“We are planning to do so on our side. The Marquess is currently deciding the appropriate number of troops to be sent to Steelwall. I’m not sure about Marquess Windpool, but I think there is a high possibility that they will also do the same.”
Count Steelwall’s face brightened up. “Thank you! I, Count Steelwall, will never forget Marquess Rogue’s help!” The Count praised the generosity of Marquess Rogue a few more times and sent the envoy out. He also checked to make sure that the envoy’s stay for one night before he returned to the Rogue estate will be comfortable. Like this, the Count’s meeting with the envoy ended, and he sat back in his chair.
“Sir, have you finished your meeting?” Trell came back into the room. He had a steaming cup of tea in his hand.
“Thanks, Trell.” The Count had been thirsty, so he took the tea and satiated his parched throat. As expected of Trell who had been serving Count Steelwall for a long time, the tea was brewed exactly how the Count liked it.
Trell sat in front of the Count. “Sir, you must have received good news.”
“It was good news. I heard that Marquess Rogue and Marquess Windpool will be aiding us. Ah, and our neighbor, Count Dracul.”
“Count Dracul? Why would a count from a neighboring country help us out?” Even though it was good to offer the most amount of support, Trell was still curious why Count Dracul would help them out.
The Count said nothing for a bit. Then, he closed and opened his mouth a few times as if it was hard for him to speak. After a sigh, he finally said, “It seems as if he received great help from Zich.”
“From the young master?”
“That’s not the only thing.” The Count had an easier time talking after he began and he continued without stopping. “It seems like Marquess Rogue is also helping us after receiving a letter from Zich.”
“Marquess Rogue? Is that also true for Marquess Windpool?”
“Yeah.” The Count lowered his gaze toward the inside of his teacup. His complicated expression reflected on the surface of the tea. The connections that the Count made over the years made it blatantly clear that they didn’t want to associate with him anymore, but the connections that Zich made were trying to help him out instead. It was even more ironic that he had kicked out Zich with the intention of never seeing him again.
Trell also understood the Count’s feelings and quietly waited for the Count to sort out his feelings.
Then, the Count said, “Anyway, our disadvantageous situation has improved significantly. If more people come out to take our side like this, those who are idly watching might change their minds.”
Of course, there was no certainty that more people would come out to support them. No, the Count thought that this was probably all the support he was going to get from outside forces. However, neither the Count nor Trell said this out loud.
“Since we have some leeway for supplies, if we have a few more troops, we might have a solid chance at winning this war. How is it going with the process of hiring mercenaries?” As expected, hiring mercenaries was the best way to make it up for the lack of soldiers. However, even this was not easy for the Steelwall Estate.
“Sir, it’s not easy. As you know, those who do mercenary work have a strong tendency to believe in superstitions.”
Since mercenaries always stood between life and death, they had a strong tendency to believe in superstitions, and the Steelwalls’ ties with the Bellids made the mercenaries extremely reluctant to take up their hiring offer.
“Even so, try your best to hire them. Since we have a bit of leeway with the funds because of the additional supplies, you can increase their pay a bit more.”
“Yes, I got it. I’ll try contacting them again.” However, there was a low chance that they could hire mercenaries, and they couldn’t just stand by without doing anything. Trell got up to follow the Count’s order. He thought, ‘I wish that an unexpected ally would suddenly appear and come help us out.’
Trell couldn’t help but think these thoughts, but he knew they were merely wishful thoughts. He thought about the work he had to do in real life and left the room.
* * *
The rain was still fiercely beating down upon the Steelwall Estate. The harsh winds blowing intermittently made the raindrops even more ferocious and rough, so there were very few people on the road. However, there was still a group of people moving despite the harsh rain.
“Sir, I’ve been preparing myself since I heard it was the rainy season, but it’s much more intense than I expected.” The person, wearing a robe to avoid the rain and standing in front of a horse, looked back.
“We’re almost here. If we keep going a little bit more, we’ll be at Violsa. So we will soon be able to avoid the rain and warm ourselves up.”
“Yes, that’s my only hope.” The man complained, but he soon burst out in boisterous laughter. “Since I know that I’ll see Zich soon, I don’t feel too bad.” Then, he turned around and said to the person behind him, “Isn’t that right, Captain Til?”