Virgin Knight Who Is the Frontier Lord in the Gender Switched World - Chapter 230

“Who told you to seize the printing press and take hostages?!”

Lady Valiere’s furious shout reverberated through the room.

Of course, this happened right after Lord Rodari—no, Sir Rodari—was knighted for his efforts.

Afterward, Lady Valiere made sure to thank each of the perpetrators, raising their loyalty to its highest peak. But as soon as they left, she erupted in anger.

“Vali-sama, this was a necessary action!”

“What part of this could be considered necessary? Ah, let’s say, hypothetically, it was necessary!!”

Lady Valiere swung her right arm, behaving theatrically, almost as if she were giving a speech.

Granted, her anger was justified.

“If we continue to be mistaken for an attack by the Cologne Sect, then this deviates from our original objective!”

“That’s… indeed an unexpected development, but it’s due to the misunderstanding by the newspaper.”

Lady Valiere raised her voice.

Certainly, in that respect, we bore some responsibility. In particular, I, Berlichingen, shared part of the blame.

I do feel sorry about that… However, it wasn’t me who insisted on seizing the printing press and taking hostages. It was Lady Sabine.

I glanced over at her. She smirked and kept her mouth shut.

So she expects me to handle this entire predicament alone?

Getting scolded by Lady Valiere can sometimes be a reward, but in this case, I didn’t know the circumstances behind all of this.

I decided to nudge her.

“Lady Sabine, I ask you—what was the purpose of seizing the printing press and taking hostages?”

“Sabine was involved too?”

Lady Valiere’s anger shifted towards Lady Sabine.

Now then, how would she respond?

“It’s a problem that we were mistaken for raiders from the Cologne Sect, yes, but that’s something we can work around. As long as we have the printing press.”

“…And what do you intend to do with it?”

“We’ll expose the wrongdoing of the Citizen Council.”

With an audible snap, Lady Sabine snapped the fingers of her unbroken arm.

“…Wrongdoing? What exactly? Can’t you just use the Cologne Sect’s printing press?”

“There’s plenty. The Citizen Council isn’t exactly loved by the citizens. Unnecessary tax collection, wasted expenditures, monopolization and reselling of lands by the councilors, countless mistresses—they’re no different from anyone else. Corruption within such power structures is rampant if you just look for it.”

“Where did you learn all this?”

Lady Sabine pointed her finger directly at me.

I see, I was indeed the one who informed her about this.

“This is a common method for a robber-knight to blackmail their target. I could even do it myself if I wanted to.”

I explained to Lady Valiere.

“Blackmail isn’t just about kidnapping people with violence, threatening them, or destroying things. It’s about exploiting someone’s weaknesses, shaking them up to extort money. If that can be achieved, one might use relatively moderate means.”

For example, take our arch-enemy, the Elector of Mainz.

Although she was defeated by Lady Valiere, her tactics are likely still effective.

She targeted irreligious nobles and merchants, delivering letters with a bright smile stating, ‘If you won’t buy indulgences, I’ll expose the sins you’ve committed and ruin you.’

Of course, if they paid up, she’d hand over the indulgences with a cheerful grin.

What a delightful strategy.

Although she was my hated enemy, now that I reconsider her tactics, her methods were truly brilliant.

I’d like to commend her.

Indeed, I told Lady Sabine stories like that, along with the notion that ‘there’s another main use for printing presses besides printing newspapers: mass production of indulgences.’

“…So essentially, you’re planning to make as much noise as possible about the Citizen Council’s misdeeds?”

Lady Valiere wasn’t foolish.

It seemed the outline of the plan was becoming clear to her.

“Exactly. Then, we’ll threaten them: if they want us to stay quiet, they’ll have to buy up all the goods we’ve brought at a high price.”

“And the hostages?”

“We needed people who knew how to operate the printing press, especially the master printer.”

I spoke up, “As long as we have the master printer, we can operate the press without issue.”

Lady Valiere looked exasperated, her expression filled with genuine annoyance.

“All of this could have been done with the Cologne Sect’s printing press. Why go to such lengths?”

“The presses belonging to the Cologne Sect are entirely dedicated to the full production of the ‘Bible’ and ‘The New Age Legend of the Redeemer.’ They have no capacity for anything extra—and besides…”

Lady Sabine twisted her neck, producing a crack as if easing a terrible stiffness.

“I did ask them, but they refused. They said, as religious individuals, they wouldn’t use the sacred printing presses to print scandalous materials, even if it was for the benefit of the faithful. They only use the presses for ‘The New Age Legend of the Redeemer’ and the ‘Bible.'”

“Right, of course. The Cologne Sect is devoted. It makes sense they’d refuse.”

Honestly, producing the ‘Bible’ might be well and good, but is printing ‘The New Age Legend of the Redeemer’ truly a sacred act? I, Berlichingen, had my doubts. I was literate thanks to my mother’s teachings, and I had read it—it felt more like an entertaining collection of tales than anything divine.

Since Lady Valiere is affiliated with the Cologne Sect, I too have converted, but…

“So, essentially, you plan to use the printing press to spread rumors and blackmail the Citizen Council?”

“And while we’re at it, it wouldn’t hurt to make them buy indulgences along with the supplies.”

Lady Sabine’s deviousness knew no bounds.

However, Lady Valiere didn’t flinch. She stared back at her silently, murmuring.

“Is all of this truly necessary?”

“It’s the only way to bring down the Citizen Council.”

Lady Sabine answered firmly.

“Your Highness, the citizens of the Imperial Capital are not like those of the kingdom. We aren’t dealing with some minor lord or a small state. We’re trying to bring down a much larger, mighty white whale.”

That much was true.

The population of the Imperial Capital stood at four hundred thousand. Even if you separated the ruling class, the Citizen Council’s influence far surpassed that of Anhalt’s royal capital.

We couldn’t afford to underestimate them—not in the slightest.

They weren’t like toys that wouldn’t fight back when struck.

With that in mind, I added my voice.

“Your Highness, your life will be in danger.”

Indeed.

They wouldn’t hesitate to target her, even if she was the child of an Elector. Even if she was the very storm that brought down Eugen von Mainz.

“I understand. Well, I trust you. With you here, there’s no way Vali-sama will be killed, right?”

Lady Sabine spoke up confidently.

“Of course.”

I puffed out my chest in pride.

I swear to heaven and earth that Lady Valiere will not die before I do.

“…Very well. I understand your plan.”

Lady Valiere nodded, though her lips twitched in displeasure.

She clapped her hands together.

“Having understood, there are a few problems. First, how do we declare that this is not an attack by the Cologne Sect, but a declaration of war from Valiere herself?”

“We’ll use the newspapers for that. Give us a week. By then, I believe the situation will unfold in a most satisfying manner.”

Lady Sabine spread her unbroken arm wide, grinning mischievously.

Well, it was certainly possible.

“…Second problem. Who’s going to convince the newspaper master, the one who was bloodied and beaten in the attack, and still believes it was the Cologne Sect? Especially after we burned down her newspaper office?”

“That’s up to Vali-sama.”

“Impossible! Unless we offer some sort of benefit, there’s absolutely no way!!”

That much was true.

If I’d been informed ahead of time, there could’ve been some means, but Lady Sabine never provided enough details.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. With Vali-sama’s charm, it’ll work out. Besides—”

Lady Sabine rotated her neck again, seemingly bothered by her stiff shoulders.

“The newspaper master will be abandoned by the Citizen Council anyway. She’ll have no choice but to cling to Vali-sama.”

She implied that the newspaper master would be discarded.

Just how far ahead could this woman see?

I found myself curious, but in the end, she was on our side.

As long as it benefited Lady Valiere, I had no reason to question her ruthlessness.

With a thin smile, I, Berlichingen, began calculating just how much we could extract from the Citizen Council.