MTLNOVEL Chapter 165.1
Chapter 165.1. Recruitment And Oath
“…You’re kidding.”
The former Count appeared at an unexpected time. The soldiers’ reaction to his words, “I’ve come to rescue you,” was—naturally, rejection.
“Do you think we’ll trust you just because you extend your hand now?”
“Ha. How many of us do you think have been toyed with by your selfishness?!”
This wasn’t even an issue of trust—it was a matter of betrayal. After all, it was them who betrayed first. The soldiers, sharing that sentiment, glared at the Count, who—
“—Hmm. Well, fine.”
Unperturbed, he simply nodded grandly.
“To be honest, I don’t care about you at all. But this is the Archbishop’s command. Whether you accept it or not is up to you… Not that I care.”
“……”
One of the captains voiced a troubled response. Because—this man was the kind of person who wore greed and narrow-mindedness like clothing, someone who wouldn’t take opposition without retaliating… He didn’t have loyalty to the Count, but as a former superior, he understood his personality.
From that impression, the Count’s attitude now felt eerily unsettling. His words and behavior seemed as though… he was being forced to do this.
“That said, at least hear me out. Or, do you plan to force me out? …If you can, that is.”
“Ugh…”
Perhaps unnerved by the Count’s unsettling nature, or perhaps realizing they couldn’t capture him with the two clcounty skilled magical bodyguards at his sides, the soldiers reluctantly chose to listen. The Count observed them with a satisfied, superior expression before speaking again.
“Good. Then let’s first confirm the premise… I propose that you join the Northern Alliance. Why? Because… that man Hermes, and the Third Princess Liliana have betrayed you.”
“….Where’s your proof of that?”
“I have it.”
The soldiers hadn’t fully trusted Hermes and his group. However, they had no intention of listening to the Count’s words either. One of the captains responded with defiance, but the Count calmly retorted.
“Let’s first talk about what happened after that arrogant Hermes dragged me down. —He showed up after that, and told you all… ‘You don’t have to trust me now, but I’ll prove it by defending this place’. Didn’t he?”
“What…?”
How did he know that? Well, even without knowing that much, the soldiers quickly dismissed it as far from proof. But before they could gather their thoughts, the Count delivered his next point.
“And right after he said that, didn’t the Northern Alliance soldiers show up here on a reconnaissance mission? You were all too exhausted to move, and they were the only ones able to act… Right after he said he would prove his trust through results, at the perfect time to earn favor.”
“──!”
He spoke with a grin, as though injecting poison into the situation.
“Isn’t it a bit too perfect, don’t you think?”
The implication was crystal clear.
“Are you saying it was all a setup? A staged performance?”
“Yes. The Church ordered it. You can understand now why I know what I know, can’t you?”
The Count laughed, wickedly, like a demon enticing someone.
“Wh-Why would they go so far?!”
“To take this territory efficiently. The truth is, it wouldn’t have been easy to take this fort from the outside if you’d barricaded yourselves in. We couldn’t afford to waste time, so I devised a plan. It’s thanks to your brave defense. You should be proud.”
“Then why did you have a falling out with us?!”
“It was to make it less suspicious for you. If I had simply handed over the command, you would have questioned it, wouldn’t you?”
“When, and how did you connect with the Church?! There was never an opportunity—”
“There’s always an opportunity. Besides… Lucius’s younger sister, Nina von Frodite, and Hermes are familiar from their time at the academy. There was plenty of opportunity for ‘recruitment,’ don’t you think?”
The Count continued weaving his explanations, giving answers that seemed to validate his warped version of the facts.
“Then… why are we safe now? If you were already one of the Church’s people, shouldn’t you have acted the moment you entered this fort?”
As one of the captains raised the next question, the Count nodded as if he had been waiting for it.
“Because they betrayed the Church too.”
He twisted yet another fact.
“The original plan was for you to fend off a staged attack under the Church’s orders, then after you fell asleep that night, soldiers would infiltrate and take the fort. That’s why I know the whole plan. But, what’s worse… They betrayed the Church as soon as they gained the fine soldiers and the righteous cause of the Third Princess! This is how they’re trying to earn your trust now.”
It was as if he were perfectly reversing the situation, straightening it out with two twists.
At a glance, it might seem like nothing had changed, but something county had. The soldiers’ impression of Hermes and his group had been subtly altered by the Count’s convincing reasoning.
“Now, I’ll ask you: Can you trust them?”
He had planted the seed of doubt.
“Sure, right now Hermes is favorable to you. You’re indispensable in the fight against the Church. But think about it… He once betrayed the Church, didn’t he? So, if the situation changes, what guarantees do you have that he won’t betray you too?”
So skillfully, he stirred up suspicion, using rhetoric that seemed beyond the Count’s previous capabilities. Then, with a final blow:
“Tell me… What did you think of Hermes?”
“What do you mean?”
“Weren’t you afraid? He handles that Bloodline Magic from God so carelessly, sometimes even mixing it—what an abominable act. And yet, his strength is unparalleled, a monster who fears no God!”
He amplified the fear one of the captains had just expressed.
“He’s drowning in power. He wields it freely, awakening his lust for authority, using the Third Princess as a puppet, gathering pawns to take over this country! What if his plan succeeds? This country would become a hell for everyone except him! There’s nothing good about following him. The Archbishop’s words convinced me.”
Finally, the Count dropped the final temptation.
“Therefore, I’ll convey the Archbishop’s words to you all. —’If you join the Northern Alliance, the lives of you and your people will be guaranteed.'”
Such sweet, tempting words.
“Eh…”
“The Archbishop seems to greatly appreciate your efforts. After all, you were able to fight under me, even if awkwardly.”
Ignoring the Count’s usual boastful tone, his words about the Archbishop were undeniably a dream come true for the soldiers. While they whispered among themselves, the Count regained his usual demeanor.
“Well, like I said, whether you accept it or not is up to you. I really don’t care anymore. After all… The Archbishop told me all I need to do is recruit, no need to convince. With that, I’m an executive now, and finally, someone who truly appreciates me, hahahaha!”
Laughing loudly, the Count turned his back, as though losing interest in the soldiers. He then spoke to his two bodyguards.
“Come on, lead me out of here. Let’s leave this dusty place—”
“—I can’t let you do that.”
He froze.
“—”
It was a look he hadn’t expected at all. Standing before him, with eyes full of hostility, was The Third Princess Liliana.
Despite being in enemy territory, her presence exuded unwavering determination.
The Count prepared to eliminate her at once… but before he could act:
“…Thanks to Lily.”
From behind her, Hermes appeared.
“Perfect timing, former Count. Just when we had all the sentries in place… I thought we’d sealed off every hidden passage, but who would have thought there’d be a route like that? If Lily hadn’t detected it, things might’ve been dangerous.”
In his hand was the jade-colored dial. Hermes stared at the Count quietly.
“But, thanks to you, we’ve got a firm grip on you. I owe you a debt of gratitude, former Count. Letting you go was very helpful—things have become clearer.”
With that, the atmosphere turned tense, and the Count found himself cornered. Hermes had already activated his magic.
—It was checkmate. The escape was impossible; it was just a matter of time now.
“…No, this can’t be!”
Realization dawned on the Count, and he broke into a cold sweat.
“The plan… the plan was supposed to be safe! Didn’t the Archbishop say that if I followed his instructions, I’d be ‘absolutely undetectable’?!”
“…I don’t know what you were told, but”
Hermes spoke calmly, watching the Count’s flustered reaction.
“I didn’t think anyone would fall for such an absurd story. Was it the Archbishop’s skillful words, or your foolishness? …Maybe both. But honestly, it seems you just messed up.”
“Ugh…! Don’t joke, not now! Hey, you two, take care of Hermes! What are you guarding me for—?!”
But as he turned to give orders to his bodyguards, he was met with shock. They were already down. Before Hermes had even arrived, his ambush magic had already taken them out, leaving them unconscious on the ground.
Deprived of his unfounded confidence, isolated in enemy territory, the Count was stripped of every last bit of his arrogance.
“Please… stop, don’t come any closer—!”
In a final desperate attempt, he tried to use his Bloodline Magic to resist, but of course, it did not affect him.
He was swiftly captured and taken away by Katia and the others, who had arrived late.
(…Well, he’s definitely just a pawn.)
A few minutes later, after securely imprisoning the Count, Hermes silently analyzed the situation.
What was whispered to him… I can pretty much guess. But in that case, I muttered to myself that I couldn’t afford to reveal any information carelessly.
The analysis of the ‘mysterious technology’ is currently underway. I had a strong intuition that it was on the verge of being uncovered with the recent incident involving the Count.
All that’s left is to tighten the details and build trust with the soldiers. Once those two things are in place, I can finally strike back──
──Or so I thought.
“…What happened to the Count?”
Back at the original spot, Hermes faced the commanders of the soldiers along with Liliana.
The very first question thrown at him made Hermes tilt his head slightly.
“I locked him back in a place that’s difficult to infiltrate. What of it──”
He tried to answer honestly, without lying, but…
“──Did you kill him to silence him?”
A suspicious remark, far too extreme.
It was brought up by another commander.
“…Huh?”
Hermes widened his eyes slightly and looked at the commanders.
There, he saw something far stronger than before.
Fear towards him, instilled through the words of the Archbishop, spoken through the Count’s mouth.
Another commander spoke up.
“Say, Hermes-dono.”
“What is it?”
“Are you… a traitor to the Church?”
“…I don’t know what you were told, but no, I’m not.”
“Then why, why are you helping us? What’s your intention?”
“I believe I explained this before… As Lily-sama’s vassal, I must suppress the Northern Rebellion.”
“Th-That’s not possible!”
Hermes spoke with no deceit in his words.
But──to them,
To those who had been shown the depths of the aristocracy’s corruption, this reasoning felt like too weak of a justification.
“No way! A person with such strong magic, acting like a ‘simple good person’──!”
“Calm down!”
Fortunately, the conversation was cut short before it could become fatal.
Another commander sensed the potential for a disastrous rift and intervened, but…
“…”
The gazes of the soldiers, directed at Hermes, were filled with fear and dread.
Hermes’ method of ‘letting the Count roam to see what would happen’ had, in the end, been a success. It had provided a major hint to expose the enemy’s cards and brought him much closer to preparing for a counterattack.
…But the risks he took for that, the uncertainties brought about by the Count’s movements… Archbishop Johann had made sure to fully exploit those.
Fear and distrust toward Hermes had been planted in the worst possible form.
In the end, that night, Hermes realized that saying anything more would only be counterproductive.
He held back the words that Liliana seemed about to say and left the scene.
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