I Reincarnated As the Third Son of a Count’s Family, Only To Find a Series of Funerals

13 – Silvewood Fortress Battle (3) (The previous part has been revised!)

Lord Gates, who once boasted great power in the kingdom, fell from grace in an instant and eventually lost everything, ending up on the execution platform.

Before the execution, a man stood before Lord Gates. He was none other than Luke Raine, Duke Hayden. He led the vanguard in the recent Westburn invasion by the King.

“I told you to be careful, didn’t I?”

“…Duke Hayden?”

“Why are you being so greedy? It’s because you’re rushing things that they turned out this way. You were one of the biggest families in this country, what was the hurry?”

“… “

Lord Gates did not respond to Duke Hayden’s taunts.

Looking down, waiting only for death, Lord Gates, the former lord, beckoned Duke Hayden.

“Duke Hayden. Do you want to make a deal with me? I’ll tell you some very important information.”

“I don’t have a hobby of making deals with rebels.”

“Important information about your daughter, Laila, and her safety.”

As Lord Gates’s words were ignored by Duke Lurein Hayden, he paused when he heard the story about his daughter, Laila.

“What did you say?”

“First, let me state my conditions. Protect my children. Take care of them well enough so they can at least survive.”

“I could immediately go to His Majesty and demand that you be changed from capital punishment to penal servitude. How dare you negotiate with me as a traitor in regards to my daughter?”

In response to Duke Hayden’s rage-filled threat, Gates chuckled loudly.

“hehehe! hahahaha!!!”

“Was he scared and overwhelmed by the thought that this madman would soon perish?”

“Listen here, Duke. Me, I am already a dead man and whatever suffering I endure during that process is insignificant unless it involves the person who suffers, which is me. However, if your daughter listens to my information, she could potentially save herself from danger. Yet you won’t even fulfill my simple request, abandoning your beloved daughter to die?”

“Profit..!”

Duke Lurein Hayden, filled with anger, grabbed Gates roughly by the collar.

But Gates had nothing to fear anymore since his life was already forfeit. Without flinching at the duke’s threat, he spoke.

“So, will you accept my deal or not? The executioner is waiting.”

“You…!”

Eventually, Duke Lurein Hayden released Gates’s collar, as if he would tear him apart right away.

“I will accept your deal. But it is better for you to abandon any thoughts of an easy death unless the content is worthwhile!”

“hehehehe… Thank you.”

Gates cleared his throat, muttering to himself for a moment.

“Your son-in-law, Leon Silverwood, preemptively invaded our Westvern. You must already be well aware of this fact.”

“I am aware to some extent. That damned bastard and his two grandchildren gained fame among the savages you hired. My own daughter, Laila, sent me a letter about ten days ago saying that the wretched Leon died and the territory is in danger. I hope you didn’t dare to come to me with such a trivial piece of information for negotiation.”

“Just wait a moment and see. Why are you suddenly in such a hurry, contrary to your usual demeanor? My story hasn’t finished yet. Anyway, after that incident, I planned to settle things peacefully by pushing back the savages and sending my troops to Silverwood to make peace and end the war. I also didn’t want to further escalate matters since I feared you.”

“Yes, if you were not mentally impaired, you would have stopped there.”

Duke Hayden received a letter from his daughter about ten days ago. At first, he was extremely pleased with it.

Because lately, Laila had been disliking him naturally because he kept showing hatred towards Leon, that damn child, ever since Laila married him. When anyone insults what a person likes, even family relationships tend to sour.

So, except for rare occasions (perhaps, news of her grandchildren’s birth), Hayden always unilaterally sent letters to Laila. Suddenly, Laila sending him a letter first made him very happy.

But when he read the content of the letter, guess what? It turned out that damn thorn-in-his-eye fool attacked Westvern without even seeking his approval and perished along with both his grandchildren!

Hayden didn’t feel any regret for Leon’s demise. It was unfortunate for his daughter, but as the duke himself, he was actually quite pleased. And even if Leon had survived, he would have torn him apart for completely disregarding the authority of the lord of the domain. (Well, he couldn’t go that far because of his daughter.)

However, the fact that his beloved grandchildren died because of that damn Leon was a very sad incident, even for the cold-hearted duke. He was frozen, unable to take his eyes off the part where his grandchildren died due to the shock.

On the other hand, he felt resentful towards Laila as well. She never once replied to the letters he sent (although she eagerly accepted the enclosed allowance every time) and didn’t interfere with her husband’s reckless behavior or even inform him, the lord, about the incident. As a result, such a tragic event happened, where her husband and grandchildren died together.

Furthermore, the fact that she only sent a letter asking for help to the duke, in the midst of the crisis in their territory, was even more exasperating.

And so, he intentionally did not respond to the letter. He didn’t send any reinforcements either. It was because he believed that if the Westberuns were in their right minds, they would no longer pressure Silverwood. It was a message for him to try handling the situation himself without his father’s help. Besides, he had to negotiate with Westberun to secure favorable conditions for Silverwood in exchange for the sacrifice of his grandchildren. Although the Westberuns suddenly started behaving recklessly, changing the course of their plans, which involved punishment through negotiation…

Anyway, now that they had successfully subdued Westberun, Hayden planned to leisurely head towards Silverwood after finishing his business there. He also had to go visit Edric, his only surviving grandson who became the new Count of Silverwood, and give his daughter a stern reprimand.

“But, Camusin, my crazy savages killed my messenger who was trying to deliver the order for them to exercise restraint and went into the jurisdiction of the Count of Silverwood alone.”

“What…?”

However, those mad Westberuns couldn’t control their hunting dogs.

“They must have caught the scent of the bounty in the Silverwood territory. After all, they have already eliminated the Count of Silverwood and his two sons, as well as the knights and conscripted soldiers under their command. So it wouldn’t be easy for them to plunder the County of Silverwood.”

“But if I have built a strong fortress, we should be able to withstand them, right?”

The Duke thought that as long as the savages attacked Silverwood, they could endure it within the castle walls for a long time. But he couldn’t easily refute Gates’ words.

“Listen, Duke. I don’t particularly want to frighten you, but from what I know, Edric, Leon’s surviving child, has far less martial and administrative skills compared to his two brothers. He is also much younger. Yet, he is leading the County of Silverwood at the moment. Do you really think that he can withstand over a thousand heavily armed Camusins with his handful of remaining troops after his father obliterated them?”

“Well…”

Count Hayden had heard several times that Edric enjoyed idling around and was not good at studying or training, so he always worried. Thus, he couldn’t argue against Gates’ words. The Count himself doubted if Edric could handle such a dangerous situation.

“If those guys abandon their own county people to the Camusins and endure within the castle walls, depending on the food situation, it might last for about six months. However, as you know, your daughter is not that kind of person, right? You, Duke, never complained to me once when your daughter was young about how you were worried that she was too close and friendly with commoners. I can’t imagine her abandoning her own county people.”

“Hmm…”

“And commoners are very fragile beings. If they witness their homeland being ravaged by the Camusins, they will feel fear and become enraged by their incompetent lord. The Camusins are well aware of this and take advantage of it. If they can’t conquer the castle directly, they will certainly incite the commoners inside to surrender. If thousands of people trapped inside the castle start rioting, no one can withstand that. Do you believe that Edric has the leadership skills to manage the commoners’ discontent?”

“…Have you ever thought that I would refuse your request after obtaining this information?”

It was a surrender declaration from the Duke. He understood the gravity of the situation, and he acknowledged the importance of Gates’ information.

“You won’t.”

“What do you trust in? Even if I forget about promises made with rebels, not a single person will dare to say anything to me.”

“I never break a promise once made. That’s the difference between you and me.”

Gates had made countless promises while living as the Count of Westberun, and he had also broken them in pursuit of his own interests. Such actions had contributed to his downfall. He realized this when he was captured without even being able to resist.

The noble family with his personal guard, vassals, and connections—none of them had made an effort to save themselves. Just like Gates, they had broken their promises by not protecting Gates and Westberun and offering help.

But Duke Lurain Hayden was different. He had always kept the promises he made. That’s why he and his people trusted each other. So whenever Hayden encountered difficulties, there were people who tried to help him no matter where he went. According to Gates, this was the difference between the Duke and himself.

“…Do not hesitate and go save your daughter and the only remaining child of your daughter. The situation in Silverwood will become more precarious with each passing day.”

“…I’ll make sure to take care of your daughter Olivia and her children. They may not live as extravagantly as

It was a week since the Camusians had attacked Silverwood.

**

It had been five days since the food storage burned down.

All the food had been consumed.

I tried my best to save food by reducing my share of food and selecting able-bodied people to skip meals and endure hunger. Despite all my attempts to conserve food, we managed to barely scrape by for just one more day.

“What’s the atmosphere like inside the castle?”

“…It’s surprisingly quiet. Maybe it’s because they’re all too hungry and weak.”

It was the unintended effect of starvation. When you have three meals a day, you have an abundance of energy to complain and grumble. But when your stomach is empty, you don’t even have the strength to express your dissatisfaction.

However, this was not a good situation. It was like a swollen balloon on the verge of bursting. And even a slight touch of a needle could make the balloon pop.

And finally, the people who had the needle to burst the balloon appeared.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Listen, people of Silverwood! I will say it again. Listen, people of Silverwood!”

A soldier dressed in Camusian attire and his soldiers pounded on the drums and shouted loudly toward the castle.

“Who’s that guy?”

“He speaks our language well, is he also from Yurmania? But why is he wearing Camusian clothes?”

“Fall from the castle wall! Don’t listen to their nonsense!”

Soldiers of the Silverwood Viscount and members of the Red Rose mercenaries tried to prevent the outside noise from being heard, but too many people moved to hear the shouting outside, so it was physically impossible to stop them. And because the soldiers could still hear the outside noise despite trying to block it out, they finally gave up.

“People of Silverwood, listen to me! Whose fault is all this war?”

“What? That’s…”

“It’s…”

“Don’t listen to their nonsense!”

“Isn’t the one to blame for all this war the Viscount Leon Silverwood himself? Didn’t he start the war against West Berun on his own, dragging your brothers, husbands, and children along to their death?”

“Don’t talk nonsense! Hey, don’t you think so too…?”

“…”

“Isn’t it also all because of Leon and his son, Edric, that you’re starving and waiting hopelessly for help inside the castle walls?”

No one argued with the man’s words anymore. They all realized that the atmosphere was explosive.

A moment of silence. Then the man opened his mouth again and shouted loudly.

“We understand your pain! So we will make you an offer! Surrender the current Viscount Edric of Silverwood to us! And open the castle gates! We promise not to harm any of you or leave a scratch on your bodies! We will punish Silverwood, which has caused so much suffering and misery for the people, according to the orders of the West Berun Viscount, and then leave!”

The bomb went off inside Silverwood Castle.

It was a bomb of division.