The Oldest and Weakest Loyal Retainer
Ludwig used all of his connections to help him find out what was going on. He paid secret visits to his fellow “disciples” and listened to everything they had to say.
“I thought I would start by looking more closely at what the House of Yellowmoon and its allies did. During this process, I heard that another student of my master wants to talk to me. He works for the Ministry of the Azure Moon.
“Who was it? You know, I’m always surprised by how big this group of your students is,” said Dion.
Ludwig smiled despite himself.
“They are a strange group, but in times like these, they can be very helpful.”
The two were waiting in a private room of a large tavern on the edge of the capital.
Soon, their visitor came.
“Oh, it’s good to see you again, dear senior student of our master. Too much time has passed.”
A young man walked in and smiled warmly at Ludwig.
Ludwig said with a grimace, “Not long enough to get that smug look off your face.”
Of course, it was a joke. Mostly.
“It’s nice to see that you’re still as annoyingly friendly as ever.”
“It’s a curse I don’t want to live with,” the young man said with an even bigger smile than before.
“And you, old student, seem just as likely as ever to stick your nose into sticky situations. Oh? Could that handsome guy behind you be Her Majesty’s sword? The one that’s been going around in the rumour mills lately?”
The young man looked at Dion, and Dion gave him a shrug.
“I don’t know how long I’ll be hanging from her belt, but for now I still am. Hi, I’m Dion Alaia.”
He looked at the young man with a sharp, careful eye.
“I’m still trying to decide if I’m glad to meet you.”
“Ha ha ha, you’re just as scary as they say you are! Ludwig, how do you spend so much time with this nice guy without getting dirty every other minute?”
Even though Dion had a scary vibe, the young man put out his hand.
He said “Gilbert Bouquet” with a flourish on the soft “g.”
“You can call me Gil if you like. At least it’ll make me happy.”
Dion shook the man’s hand and looked at Ludwig as he did so.
“Gotta say, Ludwig’s friends are pretty cool.Are you as talented as the rest of the young people?”
“Oh, you make me feel good. I’m just a lowly employee of the Ministry of the Azure Moon.” One of the five main parts of the Tearmoon government, the Azure Moon Ministry was mostly in charge of running the imperial capital. As you might expect from a ministry with such a broad goal, it had many different jobs to do. One of these jobs was to talk with the nobles in the centre.”
It was common knowledge that the best way to find out about the important nobles in the empire was to ask someone from the Azure Moon Ministry.
“Man, I have to say that the last thing I expected was for the Great Detester of All Things Imperial to work for Her Highness. Why did you change your mind, Ludwig?”
“Hah. You’d understand if you met her. Her Highness is someone who makes you feel like doing anything to keep serving her would be worth it. Even our master has made a firm promise to work for her.”
“Yes, that’s the most strange part. Not just you, but also that old rock too. I didn’t think he could change his mind about anything anymore.”
Gilbert pursed his lips and nodded, showing that he was interested in what was being said. So, The Great Wisdom Indoctrination Campaign went after the next person. Ludwig was its most devoted member, and he never stopped. He worked at any time and any place. Every day of the week, on and off the clock, as long as there was a mind to be changed, he was there to do it.
“But, back to the point. You wanted to know more about the Yellowmoons?” Gilbert asked as a waiter brought drinks for everyone.
“You’re right. If you know anything interesting, please let me know.”
“Well, I do have something, but it’s more of a warning than information.”
Gilbert took a moment to look around the room before whispering.
“By the way, it was smart of you to bring that Dion guy along. If you want to get close to Duke Yellowmoon, you can’t be too careful.
“That bad, huh? From what I’ve learned so far, I thought I’d need to be more careful, but…”
“… Just to be clear, I know that your idea of ‘extra’ is much bigger than most people’s, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to tighten it up a bit more.”
Gilbert put his head down and shook it.
“I honestly can’t think of a single reason why you would want to fight with these people… Anyhow, where do I begin? Let’s see… Also, do you know why the Duke of Yellowmoon is called the “weakest” noble?”
“Of course. Lord Georgia’s uprising. Since then, it’s been that way.”
The thing he talked about happened almost 200 years ago. It was probably the biggest uprising in the Tearmoon Empire’s history. Duke Georgia Etoile Yellowmoon had been in charge of the house at the time. He planned to rebel against the imperial family with the help of a number of powerful nobles. This revolt was so big and moving so fast that it threatened to split the empire in two and start a civil war there.
Even though it started with a bang, the uprising ended with an incredibly sad whimper. Gardier, Lord Georgia’s younger brother, killed him, and the rebel army fell apart soon after. All of the nobles who had planned the uprising were killed, and their families’ names were ruined.
It was especially interesting that Gardier, the younger brother, was put on a bed of thorns instead of a bed of glory, even though he was very important in stopping a costly rebellion. People started to talk badly about him because the Yellowmoons were the ones who caused the disaster in the first place, and all he did was stop his own traitorous family from doing more damage.
His request to spare the lives of those whose families were involved in the plot added fuel to the fire, even though most people knew that the price of treason was the death of one’s whole house and clan. Gardier got a lot of flak for defending people who were guilty just by being around them. In the end, people had different thoughts about the two brothers.
People came to see the older as a scary, ambitious person who had the guts and courage to challenge the empire to get what he wanted. The younger was called a traitor and a coward for betraying both the country and his own family.
Even so, Gardier’s petition saved a lot of lives, and people who lived in houses that were suspected gathered under the Yellowmoon banner to show their thanks. People came to think of the Yellowmoon faction as a group of losers because it was made up of people who lost the power struggle. Over time, more and more nobles in similar positions, like outland counts who were often looked down upon by the central nobility, joined them. So, a group of outcasts formed, and the Yellowmoons got the name “the oldest and weakest of all.”
“And that’s the story in a nutshell, as everyone knows. But what if I said that everything was planned? That every step of the uprising was planned? Then, what would you think then?”
Gilbert asked in the way a parent might ask a child a joke to make them laugh.
Ludwig crossed his arms and thought, “You mean if the uprising wasn’t just an uprising but a way to get somewhere else?”
“Then, a lure… Like a light for moths…”
When Ludwig replied, Gilbert shook his finger at him.
“Bingo. I knew you’d get it. It’s not hard to find out about this, but some of the nobles in the Yellowmoon faction have known the duke for a very long time. Even before they lost that power fight. For example, around the time of the uprising, there was a marquess whose power and influence were almost as great as the emperor’s, but for some reason, he started losing heirs left and right. In particular, his sons were getting sick one after the other. Other nobles started to look at him funny because they thought he was bad luck. Eventually, he was cast out of high society. The Duke of Yellowmoon, an old friend of his, happened to be there at that time and asked him to join their group.”
Gilbert smirked and took a sip of wine.
“Doesn’t that smell like something is wrong?”
“I see. So what you’re saying is that the Yellowmoons killed the marquess’s sons to make him less powerful. They go up to people who bother the empire, win their trust, and then take away their power. The fact that they went after the marquess’s sons instead of him directly and that the imperial family seemed to have mixed feelings about them kept them from being seriously suspected of wrongdoing.”
“On top of all that, the Yellowmoons know a lot about plants and herbs. It makes you wonder, don’t you think?”
“‘They have been interested in medicinal gardening for a long time,’ would be a good explanation. But no. This is probably a case of medicine and poison being two sides of the same coin.”
“Precisely. The clan of assassins known as the House of Yellowmoon uses poison to kill people who are a threat to the empire. “That’s my theory,” Gilbert said in a tone that had nothing to do with the seriousness of the subject.
They tried to hide their fall from grace. The fact that they were called “the weakest” hid the fact that they did something important for the emperor. At the same time, they were still a group, which made those plotting against the empire want to gather in their area of influence.
The Yellowmoons’ job was to act as a lure. They were both the light that drew in the bad moths of the empire and the fire that burned them to death. Someone had to do the dirty work for every emperor. It wasn’t a very exciting job, but it was an important one that had to be done. It made perfect sense…for a normal empire.
But Ludwig knew that Tearmoon wasn’t like other empires. Taking into account what he knew about the first emperor’s plans…
“Being the weakest and farthest from the central nobility makes the Yellowmoons an attractive ally…to new nobles. Those who don’t have anti-farming beliefs. It would be easier for people to talk to them, like outcounts. And if that new person turned out to be a problem, kill them. Is that what they want?”
If this whole web of intrigue was planned to help the empire spread the idea that farming is bad, then the House of Yellowmoon would have played a very important role. And by being able to do that…
“I see. So, the other version comes from that. The loyal ones who are the oldest and weakest…”
“The point is, look behind you. The Yellowmoons seem to be pretty good at killing people,” Gilbert said with an easy smirk.
