With a small chuckle, John replied, his tone sly, "I'm just here on a little trip, nothing too grand. But I believe Sir Nicholas here has something to talk to you about." By the time he finished speaking, John had already turned his head towards Nicholas.
Nicholas nodded at John's words, though his smile seemed strained as he tried to control his anger. "On that note, you seem to be taking very good care of my people, Baron Gervais."
"Hahaha, it's nothing, my lord," the fat baron replied, huffing for air and shaking his head. "I am simply doing my job."
As he laughed with the baron, John's expression turned ice-cold. "Hahaha, is that so? And what exactly is your job here, I wonder?"
"Huh?" the baron exclaimed, stopping his laughter as a frown formed on his plump face.
Leaning forward, oozing with killing intent, John spoke, "Is it to make sure the people of all the villages around here are starved to death?"
The baron's entire body broke out in a sweat, and he stuttered, "P-pardon your majesty?"
"Funny story, isn't it?" John said, leaning back with narrowed eyes. "You claim you've just been doing your job, but everyone outside the barony seems to be struggling to live."
"What are you trying to imply, your highness?" the baron spoke, trying to sit up straight and wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Slowly standing up and walking towards the baron, John continued, "I wonder what job you've been doing that has led all these people to beg for food." As John approached closer and closer, the baron tried to get off the couch, but it flipped backward, causing him to start crawling away slowly.
With a small nod, John addressed Sir Friedrich, the knight standing nearby. "Sir Friedrich, your sword please," he said, holding out his hand. The knight readily threw the weapon to John, who caught it with a confident grip.
As John unsheathed the sword, the baron's eyes widened in fear, and he started to crawl away faster, tears streaming down his face. "This...you cannot do this to me," he stammered. "I am a noble and I demand a fair trial."
John let out a sigh and crouched down to the baron's level, grabbing his balding head by what remained of his hair. "That would have worked if you had left even a little bit for your people," John said, his voice dripping with contempt. "But you did not. On the grounds that you starved the people of the north, who could have served as manpower for the empire, I hereby, with my authority as the heir of the Grand Duke of Valoria and the third prince of the empire, call for your immediate execution, along with three generations of your family, on the grounds of treason." With a swift motion, John stood up and swung the sword towards the baron's neck, decapitating him in one clean strike. The knights standing nearby remained frozen in fear, knowing better than to move an inch, for fear of what Nicholas might do.
"No!" the baron managed to blurt out before his head rolled away from his body, leaving nothing but a fat, bloody corpse on the expensive rug.
After wiping the blood from the sword and sheathing it, John sat back down on the couch and looked at one of the knights. "Whew, I feel much better now," he said, letting out a relaxed sigh. "You there," he continued, pointing to one of the knights. "Bring me the rest of the baron's family, and set up a video communication crystal with the Grand Duke."
The knight muttered a frightened "Yes, sir" and quickly left the room, nearly trembling in fear at John's cold, red eyes.
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After the knight brought the communication crystal and the rest of the baron's family, John gestured for them to leave the room and wait for his call to finish. He let out a tired sigh as he looked at Dante's figure floating above the gigantic white mana crystal.
"Huuuuuuffff, we need to talk right now," John said, wiping a few blood spots off his shirt collar.
Dante's keen eyes immediately caught the stains. "Is that blood on your shirt?" he asked, pointing at the spots.
John glanced down and shook his head. "Huh, I thought I wiped it all off. That's not the point though. I have thought of something better...more efficient."
"Before that, tell me what happened. Is Nicholas there with you?" Dante inquired, rubbing his forehead with his eyes closed in apparent stress.
Nicholas, who had appeared behind John, nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, it's better if you listen directly from the kid though."
John nodded in agreement and began recounting the situation in the village, starting from the beginning.
Once John was done speaking, Dante spoke, rubbing his temples in frustration. "To think something like this had been happening right under my nose. Haaah, well anyway, good job out there. However, I would not have executed him immediately. Making him into a public example would have been the best choice."
John furrowed his brow, considering Dante's words. "Hmmm, not with the plan I have in mind to replace the old one."
Dante snapped his fingers, remembering something. "Right, before you start explaining, there is one piece of news that you should know about."
John raised an eyebrow, indicating that he was listening intently. Dante continued with a frown on his face, "The pope of the Church of the Old Gods arrived at the estate last night."
Dante's words hit John like a bolt of lightning. "The Pentarchy is planning a crusade, using whatever bullshit reasoning they pulled out of their asses," Dante added grimly.
A triumphant smile spread across John's face as he slammed his right and on the couch and leaned back into the couch. "That's perfect, this works perfectly in our favor," he declared with confidence.
Dante frowned, puzzled. "Hm?"
John proceeded to explain, "When they do declare a crusade, let the nobles keep the zealots in check. If they do that for long enough, they will lose a lot of manpower."
Dante's frown deepened, and an angry expression crossed his face as he asked, "Are you aware of what you are saying right now?"
With a solemn nod, John replied, "There was bound to be a price. This is just the smallest price we have to pay."
Noting that John still looked angry but hadn't started speaking, Dante continued, "If we had gone with the original plan I had offered, we would have lost far more people. Fighting two consecutive wars would be far more harmful for the people than fighting only one, in which the nobles are weakened to the degree where they don't have enough strength to launch an open rebellion."
Dante raised his hands to stop John from continuing any further and let out a deep sigh. "...in such a state, no matter how many privileges we take away, they would stay shut. And if someone tried to act out, it would be way easier to deal with them."
John nodded in agreement. "Precisely. So until I arrive with the dwarves, focus on consolidating your army. If this plan is to work, we will have to swoop in and defeat the crusader army in one fell swoop."
Dante sighed, realizing the kind of person John was becoming, and questioned, "Hhaaaaaaahh, kid...how did you think of all this?"
John stared blankly at Dante with a surprised expression, then put on a sad smile. "...I just lost all my empathy for these northern nobles after seeing what I saw here. After meeting you, I thought the people here would be better than the center, and my delusion was shattered, far more cruelly than I would have liked."
Dante tried to shift topics, saying, "I see. Well, I'm sure there's more. Go on."
John nodded in response and began, "Before I arrive, I want you to send a scouting team to the western edge of the eternal forest. From what I heard from the villagers around here, there's a rumor going around about suspicious activity in that area. It could be nothing, but in our situation, it's best to make sure our flanks are secured."
Dante nodded in agreement and replied, "Got it. Well, then keep in touch with me in case something comes up, and tell Nicholas to call me in private later."
"Talk to you later then," John said as he ended the call and called in the remnants of the Baron's family.
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As Dante leaned back into his chair with a sigh, he heard a knock on the door.
Knock knock
"Come in," Dante spoke, and the door opened to reveal Sir Beaumont.
"How was the talk?" Beaumont questioned with an inquisitive tone.
After pausing for a moment, Dante spoke solemnly, "Things are bad... far worse than either of us imagined."