The Main Family Is About to Die Out, so I, from a Branch Family, Am a Seed Provider (WN): Chapter 49

 

Episode 49: The King's Intention

"You want to call it off, is that what you're saying?"

"I know, it is a selfish offer, but the survival of my family is at stake. Please understand, Your Majesty."

 This is the story of the head of the Fregrance family's request that the engagement between his own daughter, Lady Ritia, and Prince Lim be canceled.

 In the most prestigious room in the castle, the head of the Fregrance family bows his head to the elderly man sitting in front of him, who reigns at the top of the country.

 He is the king of the kingdom, the top of all the kingdom's nobles, and his white beard gives him a somewhat regal appearance.

"I was sure that this marriage would bring my house and yours closer together, and thus bring prosperity to our country......"

 The head of the Fregrance family silently bowed his head and continued to listen to the words of disappointment that came out of the king's mouth.

"Although it is a gift, not a single man is born?......"

"I'm sorry."

 He expresses his gratitude for the king's muttering.

 The king had seen many families in the long history of nobility that was not blessed with sons, so they adopted males, or had a female head of the family.

 However, if the Fregrance family, one of the five great noble families...... which is also known as the sword of the kingdom, is in such a situation, it is a headache.

 The head of the Fregrance family understands that, and that's why he has no choice but to bow his head.

"Well, the priority is to keep your house alive. I accept it."

"Thank you very much."

 The king tells him with a sigh that the negotiations with the head of the Fregrance family have worked out.

"But if the matter comes to light, the others will not remain silent. Especially the Brigittes."

"Your concern, as I can guess, is valid."

 Originally, the royal family asked, "Will you give us your daughter as a bride for our son?" The engagement between Prince Lim and Ritia Fregrance was an attempt to stop a very powerful diplomatic card, the prince's fiancée, by entrusting it to the most neutral of the families, the Fregrances.

 The current balance of power in the kingdom consists of the Brigitte family, which has been increasing its power by lending money to other noble families with close ties to the Western Federation, and the Bamingham family, which is the source of the rootless noble families and has recently begun to increase their numbers. The king's concern about the emergence of a new power structure in the noble society of the kingdom due to the two families was the reason for his concern.

 For many years, the situation in which the five great nobles were in rivalry with each other was a necessary situation, mechanism, and balance that made it easier for the royal family to intervene in each of them and to maintain a proper balance of power between the royal family and the nobles.

"But in the previous generation's time, a crack appeared in that system."

"...Yes."

 In the situation where there was no choice but to continue the war with the empire, in the kingdom, a commoner who got an achievement was given the title of a knight, the knight was given land and raised to nobility, and the noble was given more land. In this way, rewards were given to each class.

 However, this system of rewards could only be established if the enemy lands were continuously stripped off. At this time, the war on the front lines was already stagnant, and the amount of land that the royal family could give out was limited, and it was gradually becoming more and more limited.

 Although stagnant, small-scale battles still occur. And if there were no rewards for getting achievements in such battles, they would get angry, and the kingdom gradually lose its ability to maintain its national identity.

 The previous generation, thinking of a way, decided to keep only the part that gave commoners the title of knights and gave existing knights and nobles a small salary in place of land as a substitute for the rewards they had achieved.

 Ironically, this system was an influx of ideas adopted from the hostile Eastern Empire in the early stages of its establishment, but surprisingly, it was readily accepted by the nobles, and the dissatisfaction that had begun to build up among the various classes was gradually dissolved.

"However, it is now difficult to pay their salary even using the national treasury. Even if taxes were raised, it would not even be possible to make up for it...... I am not a wise king, but I can assure you that my predecessors were foolish kings."

"......"

 As a nobleman in the service of his country, he cannot nod his head in agreement with the king who calls the previous kings foolish, so the head of the Fregrance family kept silent.

"Then, when the previous king was struggling to make ends meet, Brigitte came into the picture. They made sweet talks like taking over the handling of their salaries. Now, theoretically, it could be said that all the new nobles are getting their rewards from Brigitte. Therefore, it is not too much to say that all the new nobles are under their control."

"The royal family did not want to strengthen them. The late predecessor of the family noticed it in his later years and brought Bamingham together with the rootless nobles."

"Fuu... They were given the status of a Great Noble Family, and because of that, they have grown equally large, and now they don't even fulfill their role."

 He probably laughed at the negative legacy from two generations ago, struggling to cope with it with his own hands, and then, at the end of his suffering, he ridiculed the current situation, which is out of control, and his own misfortune for being entrusted with it.

"If I may, I would like to serve as a check on the rise of these two families by placing my daughter Ritia's half-sister at His Highness' side, and with her heir......"

 As the head of the Fregrance family was about to continue his words, the king stopped him by turning his hand up.

"I appreciate the offer, but it's not a good appearance to the other nobles if it's a child from a concubine. Especially, both Brigitte and Bamingham....... Besides, the fool will not be convinced."

"Even His Highness?"

"Yeah. He tries to be flashy and powerful, but he is small-minded and a coward. And yet he is clever. You should not be burdened with unnecessary guilt."

"Ha..."

 The head of the Fregrance family quietly thinks that this must be another source of trouble for the king, as he refers to his rightful heir as a fool and declares him to be a coward.

 As a side note, there was a younger brother, the second in line of succession to the throne, albeit from a different background than Prince Lim. However, his character is ambitious and difficult to control, as the king already judged him as such when he was a child, and he is now quietly doing his work at his villa with only a few retainers. Furthermore, the king's nephew, the third in line, is sickly and feeble by nature, so he has half given up his claim to the throne.

 The successors are all unworthy of recognition, and if things continue as they are, the country itself, which has been built up by successive kings, will be in jeopardy. The current king, thinking so, finally had no choice but to lift his heavy burden.

"The time has come for a little bit of rough treatment."

"......At your will."

 The reason why the king wanted to promote the marriage with the Fregrances was to check the other five great nobles, and the current king wanted to restore the disturbed balance of power, whether it was a makeshift or not.

"Fregrance. It is time to carry out and complete the operation."

 However, it is also true that he was forced to choose a plan that he had been planning to take to his grave without using it if possible.

 Furthermore, contrary to their initial intentions, neither the Kingdom nor the Empire had the ability to continue the war, and they were simply fighting with the tip of a sword pointed at them from behind. If they could end this war by showing some form, they would have no complaints, and in this respect, their intentions were in agreement.

"Send a messenger to the empire. If the war has stagnated, use war to make everything right. First, let us end this war. Put together in writing the selection of the nobles who will serve as the foundation."

"Ha."

 The worst plan in the kingdom's history, to weed out the kingdom's growing number of rootless nobles in a war that had been discussed behind the scenes with the empire in advance, was beginning to be realized.