The Strongest Dull Prince’s Secret Battle for the Throne

Chapter 329: Marquis Zweig’s Will

Chapter 329: Marquis Zweig’s Will

Sebas.

Right here, sir.

The next morning.

I summoned Sebas.

It would be suspicious for a leader of a mercenary corp to have a butler so I ordered him to collect information.

Well, among other things.

Still, what we need right now is information.

So who exactly is Charlotte?

She is the daughter of Duke Lowensteins second son, sir. The Duke has three children including two sons and a daughter. It is already decided that the eldest son will inherit the headship but since he is sickly and seems unreliable, some say that Lady Charlotte will be the next Duchess of Lowenstein, sir.

What about the eldest sons children?

Only one daughter, sir. And she is still quite young as well.

..and Charlottes parents?

They already passed away, sir. Until three years ago, Lady Charlotte was raised as Marquis Zweigs daughter but she was returned to the Lowensteins as per the Marquiss will.

Certainly, Marquis Zweig only had one daughter.

The Lowenstein house originally had a spare so they allowed Charlotte to be raised by Marquis Zweig. Otherwise, Marquis Zweig wouldnt marry off his daughter.

After all, his line will be cut off.

However, he returned his precious heir to Duke Lowenstein.

He must have done it out of consideration for Charlotte.

So he wanted to keep Charlotte away because of the slander huh..

It would seem so, sir. Lady Charlotte came over to take care of the Marquis because his conditions were worsening. Since she was originally his step-daughter, Lady Charlotte is currently in charge of his house.

What of her ability?

It is said that she has inherited the talent that earned Duke Lowenstein his second name as the [Thunder God], sir. According to her reputation, she seems to be quite a talented thunder mage. She probably is one of the best modern mages in the Empire.

One of the best of the Empire.

I frowned when I heard that.

Right. After all, the best high-class modern mage of the Empire has just recently passed away.

Noticing my expression, Sebas lowered his head.

Please forgive me. I was being inconsiderate.

I dont mind. I was just being sentimental. It was my fault for being affected by it.

What would I do if it hurt my heart every time I remember it?

Will the person who died come back?

Neither Zandra-aneue nor Marquis Zweig will return.

What the living should do is not obsess over the dead.

Something like that should be left out until we can obtain peace.

Since Marquis Zweig is already gone, we have no choice but to have Charlotte take his place.

Are you sure, sir? It would mean that you will be using Marquis Zweigs granddaughter though?

Its too late to say that now. Besides, Marquis Zweig probably intended Charlotte to finish his work from the start too.

What do you mean by that?

He must have known that he didnt have long to live. Even so, he didnt write the most important letter, the one intended for Duke Lowenstein. That should be what he wrote first but he put it off. He probably intended to leave the rest to Charlotte.

It will not be easy for Charlotte to persuade Duke Lowenstein.

However, it is not entirely impossible either.

As the granddaughter as well as the step-daughter of Marquis Zweig who was entrusted to Duke Lowenstein, she might be able to move his heart.

Thats why Marquis Zweig wrote the letters to all other nobles. As long as Duke Lowenstein is willing to move, we should be able to unite all the northern nobles.

The question is whether Charlotte is willing to do that or not.

I am against leaving such a huge responsibility to a young lady who just lost her family, sir. We dont know when she will collapse.

Well, thats right too. But, she is the granddaughter of Marquis Zweig. That alone should be worth placing expectations on her.

With that said, Sebas didnt object any further.

What will Schwartz do after this?

When I was invited to join her at breakfast, Charlotte raised such a question.

What should I do?

The one who should answer that is not me but Charlotte.

Heading out to the frontline is an option but this is a civil war. If we are on the losing side, it will affect our subsequent work.

Mercenaries also have it hard huh. How about being hired by the Zweig house? We are shorthanded after all.

I dont mind that but I would hate to be hired without knowing my employers future prospects. What are you planning to do from now on?

.keeping the territory safe, I think.

Then what will you do if Prince Leonard loses? Will you lower your knees to the rebels?

If it comes to that then we will fight.

If you are going to fight anyway, why dont you join the winning side. Cooperating with Prince Leonard would provide you a higher chance of winning you know?

If Leo loses, Gordon will set his sight on the northern nobles who refused his rule.

It is doubtful whether they can beat Gordon who gains momentum from his victory.

Even if Gordon was to exhaust himself defeating Leo, there will be reinforcements from the Dominion and the United Kingdom.

The northern border is still there because of Leo. if he loses, it will collapse.

After all, the northern nobles couldnt care less which side they are on.

I dont want to join hands with the Imperial Family even if it increases our chance of winning. I think most northern nobles share the same opinion.

It seems to me that some of them already went out to support Prince Leonard though?

They are those who have lost their territory or royalists. Those people.they are pretty smart.

I can understand from her words.

Charlotte has a firm grasp of the benefits of joining Leo.

However, her feelings are still in the way.

If Prince Leonards beats Gordon, he will become the only candidate for the throne beside Eric. if you gain the favor of the next emperor then the north will no longer receive a cold shoulder. That is what they are probably thinking huh.

I know. Thats why they are smart. Ive heard Prince Leonards reputation before. The hero who saved the south. He seems to be a good person.

But his current situation is still inferior. No matter how good a reputation he has, it wont amount to anything if he loses.

Thats a mercenary-like opinion. For reference, let me ask you a question. What would you do if you were in my place?

Charlotte asked.

Her green and reddish-brown eyes are looking at me as if she is trying to test me.

This answer is important. My intuition tells me so.

If I give her a bad answer then I can not get Charlottes trust.

On the contrary, if I can give her a good answer, she might come to trust me.

..if it was me, I would finish Marquis Zweigs work.

..you mean to assemble the northern nobles?

No. Marquis Zweig wouldnt want to immediately assemble them. He tried to set up a meeting to form a discussion. Thats the will of Marquis Zweig.

..but I cant do it. They will never attend a meeting that Duke Lowenstein does not attend.

Then you only have to make him participate.

Dont be crazy. He is not an ordinary old man you know?

It seems that Marquis Zweigh thought you could do it though? The reason why he didnt write that letter was that he intended to leave it to you. He probably intended to have you persuade Duke Lowenstein yourself.

Or perhaps he thought that even with his letter, Duke Lowenstein wouldnt move.

If he is that stubborn a person then that is certainly possible.

Ojii-sama was?

If you can move Duke Lowenstein then most northern nobles will also move. With that line of thinking, the first letter he should have written would be a letter to the Duke himself. The fact that such a letter does not exist means that he wanted to leave it to you.

.you are pretty smart too huh. I cant think that far at all.

Even like this, I am still the leader of my men after all. Its up to you whether you want to believe my earlier guess or not. But if you want to try to finish his work then I will cooperate with you.

After I said that, I stood up.

The conversation so far is not bad at all. The rest is up to Charlotte to decide.

When I thought so, I was called from behind.

Schwartz-san.

You dont have to add an honorific. You are the granddaughter of my benefactor after all. Besides, you are an aristocrat.

Then, Schwartz. Do you..think that I can finish Ojii-samas work?

I have never met Duke Lowenstein so I dont know if it will be successful or not but..the fact that you inherited the blood of Marquis Zweig and that you were raised as his stepdaughter will never change. I envy you. Even I wanted to learn a lot of things from that person as well.

That is my true feeling.

There were many things I could learn from him.

This person must have learned a lot from Marquis Zweig.

You are..really strange. When I hear you say it, it makes me feel like I can really do it.

Its a leaders job to motivate their subordinates after all.

Right.let me think it over for a few days. Will you stay with us until then?

Fine by me.

Also.you can just call me Char as well. We are not that different in age after all.

With the conversation concluded, Char quickly returned to her room.