The Mad Dog of the Duke's Estate

Chapter 79. The Uplifting Rebellion (1)

chapter 79. the uplifting rebellion (1)

in the office of the head of the household, at azureocean castle...

halo sat at his desk, reviewing documents that required his approval, when there suddenly came a knock at the door.

"come in," he called.

a moment later, the door opened; fayle, halo's third son, entered the office. the dark circles under fayle's eyes showed just how overwhelming his workload had been.

seeing that, halo sighed and said, "i should have them fetch you an elixir. you look terrible. i'll tell heinrich to get it for you. don't argue and just take it."

"...thank you for your consideration," fayle responded quietly.

elixirs served as potent tonics for those who hadn't yet awakened their mana, providing a form of energy and revitalization.

bowing slightly in appreciation, fayle then asked in a low voice, "did you receive the report?"

halo placed the document he had been reading aside and nodded, then said, "yes. i heard you mobilized the forces of the zion kingdom at caron's request?"

"yes, father," fayle replied.

"i'm sure you're aware of the significant risks involved. but i won't hold you accountable unless we see a disastrous outcome," halo said.

moving zion's forces toward the borders of the empire was a risky political maneuver for anyone, even for the leston household. and yet, halo felt no desire to chastise fayle. his third son didn't bear any fault. it was caron, that troublesome boy, who had put fayle in this position.

"a rebellion in reben to liberate the slaves... this doesn't sound like the sort of plan a seventeen-year-old would come up with," halo mused, tapping his fingers lightly against his temple. "the first thing he does after leaving azureocean castle for the first time in four years is start a rebellion. fayle, what do you think about that?"

"...i have no words, father," fayle admitted.

"i thought he might've improved after spending those four years relatively quietly, but apparently not," halo said.

the mission caron had been sent on involved hunting down a monster that had been terrorizing the border between the keath kingdom and the holy kingdom. and at the same time, he was supposed to track down kerra acht, a former knight of the fallen emperor's guard. both tasks alone were enough to keep anyone busy, and yet caron had somehow found time to instigate a rebellion. halo simply couldn't fathom what was going through his grandson's head.

"head of the household," fayle said cautiously, "may i ask you something?"

halo nodded and replied, "go ahead."

"...caron's actions could bring significant harm to the family. i'm curious as to why you haven't stopped him," fayle said.

no one valued the household more than halo. the decision to move zion's forces had obviously been made with his approval, but fayle couldn't understand his father's reasoning. the senior members, upon hearing this news, would undoubtedly demand that caron be severely punished, as this was no small matter. yet halo's response was calm and untroubled.

"caron has never once brought harm to this household. not four years ago, not even once. despite the disasters he's been caught up in, every one of them has, in the end, benefited the family," halo answered.

his youngest grandson's mind was clearly unhinged, bordering on madness, and yet halo didn't see caron as a threat to the family. in fact, every move caron had made thus far only brought countless benefits to their house. this time, however, the situation held deeper significance for halo.

"and i also can't just stand by and watch while slaves are openly traded," halo said quietly. it was after reading the report on reben provided by the caligo side that he'd made the decision to help caron.

until recently, slaves had also been traded in the black market of thebe. back then, the leston household had adhered to its strict policy of non-intervention.

but now, things are different, halo thought. with the family's strength now committed to being projected outward, he had no intention of letting such injustices continue unchallenged.

"...is this because of sir cain?" fayle asked, quickly understanding his father's reasoning. after all, halo's dearest friend, cain, had been a former slave.

halo nodded with a bitter smile and said, "that man wished for a world where the institution of slavery didn't exist."

"so, the law you proposed to abolish slavery... was it also because of him?" fayle asked.

"it's a coward's atonement. after staining my sword with my friend's blood, all i could do was try to ease his spirit," halo said.

this rebellion was just another step in that ongoing act of redemption. so for that reason, halo couldn't refuse caron's request.

looking steadily at fayle, halo added, "caron seems to be testing my will again. it seems that he, too, can't stand to simply watch slaves suffer. he's quite the odd one, always testing my will in the strangest ways..."

trailing off, halo then shifted topics and continued, "we'll need to strengthen our information network. it's absurd that caligo knew about the reben slave market while we didn't. after holding those responsible to account, ensure our intelligence capabilities are enhanced."

the core of the plan hadn't changed much. it was still about toppling marquis leandro and his cronies, the ones profiting from the slave trade. the only difference was that now, it was dressed up as a noble mission of liberation. either way, those who dealt in slaves were going to meet a miserable end.

caron cast a sidelong glance at revelio and asked, "so, if we arrest marquis leandro for slave trading, what kind of sentence would he be looking at?"

revelio paused for a moment, then shrugged before answering. "honestly, we won't be able to hit him with too harsh a sentence. marquis leandro is backed by house salmon, right? and they've got their claws deep in the judiciary. they'll protect their own."

"then here's what we'll do," caron said with a glint in his eye.

"go on," revelio said.

"we'll frame him for treason," caron declared.

"you're insane," revelio responded.

"that way, we can strip him of his title and execute him. i want him gone, wiped off the map."

revelio caught the fierce malice in caron's expression. the sheer intensity of it, mixed with something deadly, sent a chill down his spine. his body instinctively tensed as though he was staring into the face of a wild predator.

"...you really hate the slave trade, don't you? i mean, legally, it's not a crime worthy of death," revelio said.

"to me, it is. if he's sent countless lives to live a hellish life, he'd better go to hell himself," caron replied.

"and you plan to keep this attitude going?" revelio asked.

"of course," caron answered.

"when i get back to the capital, i'd better inform father, his majesty. we wouldn't want this blowing back on the royal palace," revelio said, realizing that opposing caron was pointless.

"so, how do you plan to establish treason? got any ideas?" he asked.

"we don't find evidence, brother," caron replied.

"then what do we do?" revelio asked again.

"we create it," caron answered confidently.

"wow..." revelio was speechless for a moment, utterly floored by caron's audacity.

"massive funds generated from the slave trade, strict control over the citizens, a military presence far stronger than what's typical for a border town... add a whistleblower from his inner circle, and we've got enough to charge him with treason," caron explained.

"the inner circle?" revelio asked.

"yes, there's a puppet who's been handling the slave trades on leandro's behalf," caron answered.

he thought of noor, the man who ran the slave auctions, and a sinister smirk spread across his face.

"we don't need to find cracks in their system. we can just make them ourselves," caron said.

" what incredible creativity, little brother," revelio said, shaking his head. "i swear, you've got the makings of a traitor."

caron responded, as if waiting for this very moment, "did you forget who my grandfather was? he was a successful rebel."

"...what?" revelio asked.

"my grandfather dethroned yours. treason and rebellion run in our family. it's practically a tradition," caron replied.

success made one a hero, while failure branded one a traitor. caron's quick and sharp words left revelio with no further retorts. satisfied, caron allowed himself a smile as he gazed out the window.

in the distance, a sign came into view:

reben was just ahead. the time to flip the border city on its head was fast approaching.