When Ronin had brought up Wubei Territoryâs population shortage to Wiggin, the latter promised to gather ten to twenty thousand people. He also asked Kabil to transfer some people from Splendid City, but he didnât give a specific number at the time.
Ronin had thought that five or six thousand would be excellent, but he never expected Kabil to actually gather ten thousand people for himâand to do it before Wiggin, no less.
It was clear that Kabil was taking his brother-in-lawâs affairs to heart. His attitude toward Ronin hadnât always been this way.
The reason for this was the monumental shift in Roninâs current identity, status, and power compared to before.
Before Ronin was stripped of his inheritance rights, Kabil had been in a rather awkward position.
After all, if Bretton were to inherit the Marquis title in the future, Kabil, as the Leader of the Wushan Castle Knight Order, would have had to pledge his loyalty to him.
This wouldnât have been an issue in itself. The crux of the matter was that Kabil was married to McKinney, making him Roninâs brother-in-law.
If the Hyde Clan held any reservations about him, he would be put in a difficult position, much like Viscount Marvin of Pasture City.
And that was indeed the case. His relationship with Barrington was poor, and following the recent dispute over command authority, their mutual disdain had only intensified.
Now, with Roninâs meteoric rise and the high regard of Lurans, Kabilâs concerns about the Hyde Clan naturally diminished.
That was precisely why he placed such importance on Roninâs affairs and was even more eager for Ronin to marry into the Oduin Clan. It was also why McKinney had deliberately sent Erin away to admonish Ronin.
Ronin felt a little resentful about others interfering in his personal life. âAfter all, itâs an infringement on my freedom.â
However, he also knew McKinneyâs warning had merit.
His predecessorâs past may have been unsavory, but at the time, there were no plans for a marriage alliance with the Royal Family, so a bit of philandering was excusable.
Now, outsiders could guess at the marriage alliance. And while there was truly nothing going on between him and Erin, if someone with malicious intent used their relationship to spread rumors and slander him, it would be incredibly difficult to defend his reputation.
The night passed without incident.
Early the next morning, Ronin made a point to go and express his gratitude to Kabil, strengthening their bond.
Afterward, he visited Wiggin and finalized a rough timeline for receiving the new population.
Ronin planned to transport all twenty-five thousand people back to Wubei Territory.
With these people, the development of Wubei Territoryâincluding land reclamation and the expansion of the Mulberry Fieldsâwould be significantly accelerated.
As for the Chishan Iron Mine, he was confident that supplementing the workforce with people from Giant Stone Territory would be sufficient.
After handling these matters, Ronin bid farewell to Lurans and left Wushan Castle, carrying a personal letter from Lurans addressed to His Majesty Bruno.
On the mountain behind the castle, Carlos was already waiting. As a draconic mount, he was the very picture of diligence.
"Come on."
Ronin extended a hand, ready to pull Erin up.
She had been silent the entire way, a stark contrast to her usually cheerful personality.
Erin hesitated for a moment, but considering she couldnât get up on her own, she took his hand and let him pull her onto the dragonâs back.
Her heart had been pounding with excitement on the way here, but on the way back, it was heavy with gloom.
Once she was on the dragonâs back, she tried to put some distance between them. âItâs not that his embrace isnât warm,â she thought, âitâs just... this isnât appropriate.â
"If you keep squirming, youâll upset Carlos," Ronin teased with a smile, pulling her firmly into his arms.
Erin struggled for a moment but couldnât break free, so she had no choice but to let him hold her.
"My Lord, this isnât right. If someone sees us, it will damage your reputation. His Majesty the King will be displeased."
Ronin couldnât help but chuckle. "Even your form of address has changed. Did my sister, McKinney, tell you to do that, too?"
"No. When I was leaving the banquet hall yesterday, I happened to overhear some nobles discussing it."
âGoes to show, no matter where you are, thereâs always someone gossiping.â
He smiled and deliberately hugged the girl tighter. "Youâve looked so listless this whole trip. Didnât you sleep well last night?"
Erin hummed in agreement. It wasnât just that she hadnât slept well; she had barely slept at all.
"Overthinking things will only bring you more worries. Itâs better to cherish the present. Just get some sleep here in my arms."
Erin turned her head to look at Ronin, and as if she had mustered all her courage, she asked, "Will you... leave me, my Lord?"
Ronin looked at her cherry lips, so close to his, and at her expectant eyes. He couldnât resist reaching up and gently tapping her nose. "I wonât."
The intimate gesture made Erin blush scarlet all the way to the tips of her ears. She squeezed her eyes shut, not daring to open them.
Ronin let out a hearty laugh. "Now, get some sleep."
How could she dare say another word? She could only turn to the side, burrowing into Roninâs chest and pretending to be asleep.
âI donât really know what this feeling called âloveâ is,â Ronin thought. He only knew that he enjoyed his time with Erin. It was like the snowball fight at Mountain Forest Castle last winter; with her, he even felt like he was back on Earth.
âAs for all this talk of political marriages and lovers... just as I told her, overthinking only leads to more trouble. Iâve already been reincarnated into this world; I should at least try to live a little more freely.â
Carlos spread his wings and glided steadily through the sky. Before long, they had returned to Swamp Castle.
Nearly twenty days had passed since the armyâs withdrawal. Aside from Ridder, Joffrey, and the others who had been left behind in Chishan Town, Macken, Rogner, and the rest had already returned to Wubei Territory.
In the great hall of Swamp Castleâs fortress, Ronin summoned Wilson, Chahar, Macken, and his other retainers. He informed them of his promotion to Count of Wubei and his acquisition of two new exclaves: Giant Stone Territory and Chishan Town.
This news naturally drew cheers and celebration from his followers. From Baron to Countâthe greater their Lordâs achievements, the greater the benefits for their own futures.
Rogner and Krami exchanged a look, each seeing the amazement in the otherâs eyes.
Although Wubei Territory had yet to see its first Baron knighted, they could sense that Viscount Marvin had made a wise decision in sending them to follow Ronin.
In addition to this announcement, Ronin also needed to issue rewards to the Knights and soldiers who had followed him on the expedition.
His rewards, of course, would not be titles of nobility.
Setting aside whether he was even willing to grant titles and lands, the military achievements from this one battle were not enough to warrant a barony, not even for someone like Ridder.
Therefore, Roninâs rewards came in the form of money: every man would receive three times his monthly salary as payment for the campaign.
A bonus of three monthsâ salary might not sound like much, but the total sum came to nearly Six Hundred Gold Coins, which was by no means a small amount.
Combined with the spoils of war that the men had collected on the battlefield, no one came away empty-handed.
"Next, Iâll be making a trip to the Royal Capital. Aside from David and Tom, who will accompany me, I have tasks for the rest of you."
David and Tom froze for a second, then broke into excited grins.
âThe Royal Capital! It was a place they had never even dreamed of visiting, and now they actually had the chance to go!â
The others couldnât help but look on with envy, partly because of the opportunity itself, and partly because it showed how much the Lord valued these two men.
Sometimes, status isnât determined by oneâs official position, but by oneâs proximity to the center of power.
As long as David and Tom didnât make any major mistakes and continued to improve their strength, they were set for a promising future.
Next, Ronin laid out the primary responsibilities for everyone present.
Macken was to take two Knights and a squad of Infantry to assume control of Giant Stone Territory. Its civil affairs would be managed by Civil Servant Sailin, along with a few newly trained assistants.
All civil affairs in Wubei Territory would be managed by Wilson and Chahar, with Elron, Jenny, and others holding down the fort.
Rognerâs next task was to safely transport all twenty-five thousand people provided by Wiggin and Kabil back to Wubei Territory.
In addition to civil matters, Ronin also put military expansion on the agenda.
Although Ridder would soon be taking command of Wushan Castleâs Fifth Knight Order, Wubei Territory needed a Knight Squad of its own.
Typically, a Count should command at least one full Knight Order. Ronin currently had only a single Knight Squad, which was far from sufficient.
Therefore, both Wubei Territory and Giant Stone City would need to recruit and train a sufficient number of soldiers.
However, compared to training regular Infantry, the lack of Professional Knights was the critical problem.
Roninâs only option was to have Rogner travel to different regions, publicizing Wubei Territoryâs favorable policies to recruit suitable Knights.
This was destined to be a long and arduous process.