After finishing his prayers in the main hall of the temple,
"My child, it seems you've run into some trouble!"
Tabris's opening words were remarkably direct.
"Yes, Your Excellency. I urgently need the teachings and guidance of the God of Knowledge..."
Just seeing the other party's attitude put Leylin considerably at ease. Tabris was exactly as he had previously surmised — merely using this incident to pressure his family, with no real intention of replacing the Faolan family outright.
If that was the case, sacrificing some profits in exchange for the other party's assistance was nothing to be ashamed of.
Seeing Leylin's reaction, Bishop Tabris nodded inwardly with approval.
As the heir to the Faolan family, his promises were binding even upon Baron Jonas, let alone when made as a vow to the temple with a deity as witness.
"It seems Baron Jonas has a truly exceptional heir!"
Tabris mused to himself, then turned his gaze back to Leylin. "Dear young Leylin, have you heard of Viscount Dim?"
"Viscount Dim?" There was a note of puzzlement in Leylin's voice. After
"Oh, look at me! Viscount Dim's investiture was only held last month, so it's perfectly natural that you haven't heard of him. But you've certainly heard of his father — Marquis Louis!"
Tabris watched Leylin's expression with a trace of anticipation.
"Marquis Louis? The king's own brother!" Leylin drew in a sharp breath. He had known this matter wouldn't be simple, but he hadn't expected it to be directly connected to the royal nobility.
The nobility had never been a monolithic block. The power struggle between regional and central aristocrats had never ceased for even a moment. When facing the authority of the divine, they might momentarily present a united front — but the moment that outside pressure eased, fighting over interests became instinct once more.
And between the Kingdom's centralist nobility and the regionalist nobility, that rivalry was the fiercest of all factions.
"Yes. Viscount Dim has come of age. Though he is only a second son, Marquis Louis dotes on him greatly and even hopes to secure a fief for him..."
Tabris stopped there, leaving Leylin to draw his own conclusions.
"So that's what this is about." Leylin nodded gravely.
Although the royal lineage was the supreme ruler of the entire Danbres Kingdom, it was impossible for them to own all the land. Over generations of enfeoffment and the rise of other noble houses, the territory directly controlled by the king had dwindled considerably.
By the present day, virtually all the land in the kingdom had been parceled out. Even princes and princesses, if they were not in favor, might fail to secure hereditary titles — left with nothing more than a court count or marquisate and perhaps a few large manors to their name.
As a brother of the current king, Marquis Louis had still managed to secure a great deal for himself. His fief was the Bodi Archipelago, a chain of overseas islands whose combined area far surpassed that of the Faoalan territory. It even boasted several excellent deepwater harbors.
To put it bluntly, even the Faoalan family merely depended on the vast trade flowing through the Bodi Archipelago, earning a pittance by doing the grunt work for them.
But Marquis Louis also had a legitimate heir. Dividing his fief was out of the question — that would be an act of supreme foolishness — so he had to look elsewhere for something to grant.
Perhaps this time, his gaze had fallen upon the Faoalan territory.
Stripping a hereditary noble of his lands without cause would certainly cause an uproar among the aristocracy. However, if the family in question happened to die out first, and Marquis Louis then ordered Dim to inherit the family name, matters became far simpler. With the marquis's influence, the fallout from such a move could be minimized.
"Thank you for your candid words, Your Eminence. From this point forward, the Faoalan territory will be fully opened to the Temple of Knowledge. Moreover, afterward, we will designate a new tract of land on the eastern side of the island as an offering to the Church…"
Leylin rose to express his gratitude.
Although these were merely the other party's intelligence, he felt the possibility was very high.
One factor was that the Faoalan territory was, in truth, cutting into their profits — even if only by a small margin, it was enough to displease Marquis Louis.
The second was that the Faoalan family was a newly elevated noble house, without the tangled web of connections that older families possessed. The repercussions of moving against them would be minimal.
"Could it be… this is also part of the struggle between the regional faction and the central faction?"
Having experienced more of the game of power, Leylin saw even deeper: "The Faoalan family rose through military merit. At the start, they were the king's personal guards, so they could be classified as the central faction. But ever since receiving their fief and coming to the provinces, the family had in fact drifted toward the regional faction — my baron father did the same. The awkward truth is that Faoalan Island sits isolated overseas with few ties to the mainland, so the local noble factions have never fully accepted them either. The family is currently in the uncomfortable position of being embraced by neither side…"
Once he understood this, Leylin immediately grasped the full picture: "No wonder. Seeing this situation, even I wouldn't be able to resist raising a blade. The profit is great, and the risk is small… And perhaps Viscount Dim has been pleading his case relentlessly…"
In truth, this was quite close to his earlier speculation, though with some differences.
Although his opponent was merely a viscount — seemingly of limited power — behind him stood a marquis, and one who was the king's nephew to boot. A moment's carelessness could trigger a major upheaval.
Fortunately, the marquis's favor was directed at a mere second son. Even Marquis Louis would not commit much force to help him, much less involve the king. As long as no one killed him, there would likely be little backlash.
After all, this sort of maneuvering to seize a minor noble's territory was something many great lords had done in secret — it fell into the category of things everyone understood but no one spoke of openly. It could never be stated plainly.
"There are also rumors that a band of pirates has been drifting into the area recently. I hope you will be extra careful! May the God of Knowledge watch over you…"
Tabris personally escorted Raelin out of the temple. Just as Raelin was about to step into the carriage, the bishop leaned in and whispered a single sentence in his ear.
"I understand!" A sharp gleam flickered in Raelin's eyes. He gave Tabris a long, meaningful look before climbing aboard.
The wheels rumbled, jostling the carriage as it rolled along. Raelin sat inside with his eyes closed, his thoughts drifting restlessly.
"Cunning Bishop Tabris — is he trying to place bets on both sides?"
In truth, Raelin had genuinely hoped to secure the temple's assistance. With the full weight of the Sanctuary of Knowledge behind them, if the temple had pressured the marquis directly, the man would likely have backed down. But that was obviously impossible. Even Bishop Tabris held no authority to mobilize the headquarters for something like this.
As for sending temple warriors or priests, that would be seen as an open declaration of support for the Folan family — and Tabris had clearly refused to go that far either.
Looking at it now, the bishop had offered a scrap of intelligence and immediately reaped a windfall of favors in return.
Even if Baron Jonas were standing right here, he wouldn't dare renege on his obligations down the road. And if Viscount Dim succeeded, he wouldn't forget to come courting the bishop's favor either.
Why wouldn't one hedge both sides and guarantee a profit?
Of course, there was a way to gain the church's full support — but it would require surrendering every inch of one's territory as sacred land, dedicating it all to the church. That, however, was a scorched-earth strategy that would leave both parties in ruins. It would invite the united opposition of every noble on the continent and brand one as a 'traitor' among their own kind.
Raelin asked himself whether things had deteriorated that far, and whether he possessed the courage to betray his own class. The answer was no, so that was out of the question.
"Pirates, huh?"
Raelin's gaze deepened. Since his adversary also controlled overseas trade and commanded numerous ports, it stood to reason that they possessed formidable naval power.
Some of the pirates operating in the surrounding waters might even be under the viscount's covert control. Dispatching a few to harass Folan Island and build pressure — or even launching a direct assault on the manor to wipe out the Folan family entirely — were all very real possibilities. They had done it once before, after all.
"Relying on just a hundred patrol guards to eliminate an entire band of pirates is going to be difficult..."
Raelin stroked his chin. He never underestimated an opponent's strength. Backed by a marquis, the viscount could easily deploy a dozen or so professionals.
"A powerhouse above the fifteenth level is completely out of the question, but there might be one who has broken past the tenth. And several elite professionals above the fifth level at least... This won't be easy..."
Raelin quickly estimated the enemy's forces — and those were the bare minimum.
Of course, the Folan family's strength extended beyond the port patrol alone. But the real powerhouses and experts would undoubtedly be at Baron Jonas's side. The only notable figure left behind was
The enemy's main force would obviously be focused on the baron. What was being sent here now had to be only a fraction of their strength. It wouldn't be impossible to put up a fight.
Raelin's eyes were dark and unfathomable.
In truth, he had also considered simply retreating — hiding away in some forgotten corner of the continent like a cowardly tortoise, and slowly accumulating power until he became an archmage or even a legendary powerhouse!
Unfortunately, this thought was dismissed by him the moment it arose.
Setting aside the kindness Baron Jonas and his wife had shown him — even if he could steel himself to abandon all of that, he still couldn't bring himself to discard the interests of the entire Folan family.
Advancement for a mage required vast resources. Whether it was expensive spellcasting materials or all manner of grimoires, everything demanded enormous sums of gold to acquire. Without a power base working to collect them on his behalf, Raelin alone could never hope to meet his own needs.