I Inherited a Beautiful Wife and a Territory - Chapter 102
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Inheriting a Beautiful Wife and Estate Episode 102
102. The Moment to Completely Subjugate Serpal
Cliff recalled the last moment he had met with the Duke.
Swoosh, handing over a portrait was what he looked like then.
“…It’s been a while.”
Even then, the Duke had spoken down to Cliff. But when they met again, the Duke did not speak down to Cliff.
Perhaps he acknowledged their past acquaintance, but still wouldn’t treat him as a child.
‘And this was more than simple coldness…’
It also meant that he had grown to the point where even the Duke could no longer treat him carelessly.
Cliff was immersed in strange emotions. However, regardless of this, his body and lips were moving.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve met.”
They exchanged greetings with each other.
They didn’t talk much. They just realized how different the situation was from before.
Previously, he had only inwardly chanted ‘gold coin pouch’.
‘Back then, I thought I’d be satisfied with gold coins. But now that won’t be enough.’
This wasn’t simply about becoming an adult and gaining independence.
He could give the Duke a discount because of the favors he had received, but he too was now the head of one family… no, two families.
He also had alliances like the Renheim Family and Berkheim Family.
There was no need for emotions to interfere with politics.
“I was waiting because I thought Your Grace would come this far.”
Bewilderment flashed across the Duke’s expression upon hearing his words.
“Usually one would say they didn’t know you’d come this far, wouldn’t they?”
“We know each other well. Why would I say something you wouldn’t believe anyway?”
The Duke chuckled at Cliff’s retort.
“…Your personality has changed quite a bit. No, should I consider this your original personality?”
“Personality isn’t what’s important.”
That’s right.
This was his original personality. In the Duke’s house, he had survived by knowing his place and keeping his words to himself.
So this would probably be the Duke’s first time encountering his real way of speaking.
‘Actually, I’ve always been careful about this depending on the situation…’
A seemingly light tone of speech.
Cliff usually used this deliberately. Even now, the Duke seemed to roughly understand his intention.
“Good. Let’s skip the formalities.”
It was indeed comfortable to converse with someone who understood.
“First, the homeland will recognize your succession to the Count title without delay.”
The succession of noble titles in the Yusta Peninsula tended to be handled internally. But still, they formally received approval from the homeland.
That’s why Cliff wasn’t yet Count Platice.
‘But this was something I had to receive anyway…’
This was just a simple situation.
The Duke opened his mouth.
“Also, since you’ve rendered meritorious service, it would be right for the homeland to provide appropriate compensation.”
This was it.
Reward according to merit.
Originally, this should be done after the war was completely over.
Winning the war and dividing the spoils among everyone. That was the basic principle of rewarding according to merit.
But this time the situation was different.
‘Because I’m a Yusta Peninsula noble.’
Yusta Peninsula nobles had little sense of belonging to the kingdom.
That wasn’t all. Right now, as if targeting this, the Kingdom of Alpeo was infiltrating and proposing deals to him.
To prevent him from being won over, it was right for the homeland to show favor as well.
“Also, the kingdom will give the Platice Family ten thousand gold coins as consolation money.”
First, 10,000 gold.
It was a meaningful number.
‘On the day I left the family, this would have been an amount I really wanted to receive…’
Back then, the words in his heart were ‘gold coin pouch’.
But he hadn’t received it. So the amount he had earned in other ways was exactly 10,000 gold coins.
The Duke had just mentioned that exact amount.
“This is unrelated to the cost and transportation fees of the supplies you brought.”
Just pure consolation money.
The Duke mentioned an amount that had been meaningful to him like this.
“I gratefully accept.”
“I think very regrettably of Count Platice’s matter.”
The Duke’s reaction truly seemed regretful as he spoke.
And indeed it was. One of the reasons he had kept Count Platice close.
His chess opponent had disappeared.
‘Today, before I return… I might be able to play a game with this boy.’
He had no choice but to set aside such wistful feelings for now.
The Duke continued speaking.
“Also, the merit of this matter would be difficult to replace with any reward. Therefore, His Majesty said he would grant you the title of ‘Grand Duke’ and permit the founding of a duchy.”
The right to found a nation.
Cliff’s eyes gleamed with interest.
It was indeed quite a radical proposal.
‘Oh?’
His eyes showed interest.
If he became a Grand Duke of the Kingdom of Alesia while becoming the monarch of a duchy, he would superficially be in a superior position to the Duke before him.
He could certainly guess why the Duke wasn’t treating him casually.
‘So this was it.’
The reason the Duke hadn’t spoken informally to him.
He had thought there was something. But he hadn’t expected it to be to this extent.
‘Well… thinking about it again, it might not be such a great condition.’
The territories belonging to the Yusta Peninsula had been no different from independent nations from the beginning.
So there was a part that interested Cliff.
“…If it’s a duchy, from where to where?”
Precisely the duchy’s territory.
“Hehehe. I thought you had no ambition in such matters, but it seems I was mistaken.”
The Duke deflected.
Indeed, the Duke’s face showed surprise at Cliff’s reaction. But it was natural for Cliff to be interested in this aspect.
‘If it’s all confirmed as my territory… it means the range of my skills will also expand.’
This was Cliff’s interest.
The Duke opened his lips.
“The entire Yusta Peninsula will become territory of the Elimis Duchy.”
Even saying this, there was actually no great loss for the homeland. And although he said the entire region, there was a high probability that he realistically couldn’t extend influence to the most important southern region.
Cliff’s expression changed.
He understood what he would have to do from now on.
“…Good.”
At least superficially, the Yusta Peninsula was territory belonging to the Kingdom of Alesia.
And if the Kingdom of Alesia recognized this as his territory…
‘The probability of my skills reaching the entire Yusta Peninsula increases!’
This didn’t seem to be simply his delusion.
[Due to explosive territorial expansion, your territory status window level increases by 3]
[Your lord status window level increases by 5 due to explosive title advancement]
It hadn’t been long since he had leveled up explosively once, and now his level had risen again.
[Name: Cliff Elimis]
[Level: 24]
[Dignity: 15]
[Elegance: 15]
[Virtue: 15]
The status window that appeared before him.
Now all his stats had reached 15. Through this, his Elegance and Virtue skills had also grown by one level each.
[Leadership]
-Follow me
-Uses mana to emit an aura that makes others follow you.
-Insight (Elegance 10 or higher): Confirm others’ potential and aptitude
-Learning (Elegance 15 or higher): Can quickly master anything you learn
[Wise Ruler]
-Loved by the people, receives loyalty from subjects, and praised by history.
-Uses mana to gain recognition from surrounding people.
-Identification (Virtue 10 or higher): Distinguish hostility or goodwill from specific targets
-Rhetoric (Virtue 15 or higher): More easily persuade others
Leadership and Wise Ruler had many similar aspects.
Their effects overlapped accordingly.
The effect of rapid learning had definitely grown stronger.
‘With this… I’ve also mastered 4th Circle magic.’
There was still a long way to go.
However, even as a 4th Circle mage, Cliff was clearly distinguished from other 4th Circle mages.
First, his magic casting speed.
And even multi-casting.
His level of mana recovery was also exceptional.
Mellie, who taught Cliff magic, was also amazed.
“At this level, you could definitely match any mage of the same rank, and perhaps… even among 5th Circle mages, there might be none who could oppose you, my lord.”
Honestly, he thought the same.
After all, besides magic, he also had skills.
‘Before, I was a half-baked mage who didn’t know any magic to use…’
Compared to when he first became a mage, he had grown incredibly.
It wasn’t just Cliff who had grown.
The entire estate had grown overall. First, there was Leon, whom Teobaldt had been teaching.
Finally, he had grown enough to receive knighthood. To be precise, his talent was considerable.
More precisely,
‘I’m not sure if Leon’s qualities are excellent, or if it’s thanks to the assistance of skills.’
Leon had always lived in the estate and received the effects of skills.
Thanks to that, his abilities improved rapidly. It wasn’t just Leon – later, more such people would increase.
‘In that sense, I should also raise my skill levels…’
[Elimis Estate (Lv. 21)]
[Economy (Lv. 4)] [Military (Lv. 10)]
[Culture (Lv. 3)] [Environment (Lv. 2)]
[Diplomacy (Lv. 3)] [Education (Lv. 3)]
[Mana (Lv. 10)] [Special (Lv. 3)]
[Remaining Points: 6]
Honestly, he still hadn’t decided what to raise.
“Leaving it like this and raising it next time is also a method…”
Still, what was important was clear.
‘I must definitely become the lord of the Yusta Peninsula.’
Incidentally, the war had ended.
The Kingdom of Alpeo, which had failed to win over Cliff, couldn’t hold out any longer and surrendered.
They gave up the territory they had lost to the Kingdom of Alesia, and on top of that, paid numerous war reparations.
War is merciless.
What he had felt in the territorial war applied equally to national wars.
‘Of course, in wars between nations, it’s quite difficult to squeeze the opponent as if to completely eliminate them.’
This was because the Kingdom of Alpeo still had strength left to fight.
If they continued fighting, the Kingdom of Alesia didn’t know how much damage they might suffer even if they won. So they extracted what they could at a level that the Kingdom of Alpeo could reasonably accept.
Still, since the basic scale was different, the amount was tremendously different from ordinary territorial wars.
The Platice Family and Elimis Family would receive portions of this.
First, 10,000 gold as consolation money for Count Platice.
And 6,000 gold as payment for the treasures he had delivered.
This wasn’t everything.
The wealth Cliff had seized from Serdoin Citadel.
And Count Rokaruten’s ships and their crews.
All became Cliff’s spoils of war. In this war, not a single one of Cliff’s soldiers was injured, yet he gained an absurd amount.
Of course, there were problems arising from this.
‘Food production is needed.’
Right now, he could procure food through trade with the enormous funds he had earned.
But ultimately, food was important. He was thinking about whether to raise Economy to develop agriculture, but,
“…The war ended, but we’re starting again?”
“This time feels different from the previous war though. And probably… they won’t say they’ll fight us either?”
Priscilla looked at him with a worried face.
After hearing his words, she nodded slowly.
What to do before fully declaring a duchy.
‘First, I’ll make Serpal submit completely.’
He had become the lord of the Yusta Peninsula. But the southern Yusta Peninsula wouldn’t acknowledge this yet, and the Serpal Family had always been in opposition.
Serpal, which had fought with him and ultimately been driven into chaos.
The moment to completely subjugate that Serpal had come.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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