Chapter 35: Last of the Four - The Oldest and Weakest Duke

Ludwig meandered through the marketplaces and stores of Ganudos’s capital, asking after and listening to all kinds of gossip. By the time he returned to his inn, the sun had already set, and he took a seat in the adjoining eatery to order a late supper. Vanos, who’d followed him around the whole day, sat down across from him and promptly gestured to a server for some liquor. Not long after, the big man’s brows furrowed in thought.

“...You think Her Highness is enjoying herself out there?”

“Hm? Is there some reason to assume she might not be?”

“Well, I don’t know, but the men she took with her are a little, you know... Oh, don’t take this the wrong way. Their skill with the sword is top-notch. Whipped into shape by Captain Dion himself. If things get physical, they’ll prove their worth, no doubt about it. Bandits are no problem. Hell, if it comes to it, the pair of them can even wipe the floor with that whole retinue of Greenmoon guards. Her Highness’s safety is in good hands.”

Ludwig nodded, recalling the faces of the new recruits to the Princess Guard. To a man, they looked like thugs and brigands, but at the same time, they undeniably bolstered the Guard’s prowess in battle.

“Their loyalty to the empire is maybe a little suspect,” Vanos continued, “but they know they owe Her Highness a big one. They’ll gladly take an arrow for her. There’s no question about that. Thing is...” He smiled awkwardly and scratched his head. “They’re a rowdy bunch, and they love their alcohol. It, uh, can be a little hard to take an arrow for someone when you have trouble walking in a straight line.”

In other words, they came with a disclaimer. Satisfaction guaranteed—only when sober.

“I see.” After a moment’s contemplation, Ludwig shrugged. “Either way, it’s out of our hands now. Fretting about it would be an exercise in futility. Her Highness is accompanied by her two princely classmates, who I hear are fine swordsmen in their own right, and the attendant Keithwood is with them as well. I think it’s best if we left it up to them and focused on the things we can accomplish here.” His expression grew more serious. “Let’s review what we learned today. The information we gained is admittedly incomplete, gleaned from gossip in a hurried tour through the city, but it does give me the impression that the Greenmoons are not viewed in a very favorable light here.”

“You’re right about that. Doesn’t seem like they’re making an effort to improve their image either. Hell, people here actually have a better impression of Her Highness than the Duke,” agreed Vanos, nodding with crossed arms.

“And in spite of that, they still funnel all their trade through the Greenmoons. Even if some of the country’s higher-ups are receiving kickbacks, the sheer scale of the monopoly is unnatural.”

The Duke of Greenmoon couldn’t possibly be rich enough to bribe the entire upper echelon of Ganudos’s government. What was behind their stranglehold on trade then?

“You sirs are from across the Galilea Sea?”

They looked up. The voice came from the place’s owner. He was an old man with a slightly crooked back. His experience was obvious in the way his hands flew across the counter and grill.

“No, we’re from Tearmoon.”

“Ah, Tearmoon. You know anything about the Duke of Yellowmoon then? How’s he and his people doing?”

Ludwig raised an eyebrow at the owner’s question.

“Hm? Do you mean...the Duke of Greenmoon? If so, he’s—”

“No, no, I said yellow. I can still tell my colors apart, thank you very much. The Yellowmoons. How’re they doing? I heard from my grandma— back when she was still around, mind you—that they’ve been good friends to our country for a long long time. Gave us a lot of help over the ages. But at some point, they stopped talking to us. Just like that. Been worried about them ever since.”

“The Yellowmoons, you say... Well, as far as I know, the Duke is in good health. And...his daughter is attending school at Saint-Noel Academy...” Ludwig said, his response guarded.

The owner’s question baffled him. He’d never heard of any connection between the Yellowmoons and Ganudos. It hadn’t come up during their walk through the city either. After further conversation with the owner, he fell into silent contemplation. Vanos mulled over the unexpected discovery as well, albeit more audibly.

“...Things are getting real weird. The Yellowmoons, oldest and weakest of the Etoilers... Didn’t expect to hear their name here... What’s the deal?” he muttered. After a while, he shrugged. “Well, that’s why I’m not hired for my brains, I guess.”

He promptly downed his cup of liquor, sighed in pleasure as the piquant smell of alcohol rose up his nose, and started in on a dish of seafood the server brought. Ganudos was known for its fresh fish, and a local delicacy was to serve it raw. He placed a piece into his mouth and savored its texture, so tender that the fat melted on his tongue.

“So good... Gotta say, this job has some serious perks.”

He reached for another piece but stopped when he noticed that Ludwig, brow still furrowed, hadn’t taken a single bite of his food.

“What’s bothering you so much?”

“Good question... Sir Vanos, how much do you know about our empire’s beginnings?”

“Not much. Don’t know much about history in general.”

“Let me fill you in a little then. There was a region of land called the Fertile Crescent, and at first, it was inhabited by an agrarian tribe. A society of farmers. Later, they were invaded by a powerful tribe of hunters, who conquered their land and subjugated their people. This acquisition of land and serfs by the hunters is widely considered the beginning of the empire.”

It was the prevailing consensus in Tearmoon, but after reciting this piece of common knowledge, Ludwig lowered his gaze and spoke in a more thoughtful tone.

“However... There is another theory, and it posits that our ancestors came from across the sea. This theory isn’t entirely without merit, and while not perfect, enough evidence exists to suggest that at least a part of the current population traces its roots to a land beyond the Galilea Sea.”

“Huh. All right, I follow you, but I don’t see the point of this story. What’s it got to do with anything?” asked Vanos, puzzled.

“Think about it. If they crossed the sea to get here...” said Ludwig, leaning forward. “What path would they have taken? To go from the Galilea Sea to the Fertile Crescent that the imperial capital currently rests upon, where would they have to pass through?”

“Ah, I get you.” Vanos tapped on the table with one finger. “You mean here, don’t you? These ancestors of ours would have had to pass through Ganudos.”

“Exactly. Of course, at the time, this place wouldn’t have been a country yet. It’s said that the Tearmoon Empire and Ganudos Port Country were founded at about the same time. However, if the theory is true, we should assume that the two had ties from the very beginning. Then, if we were to further assume that it was the Yellowmoons, the so-called oldest and weakest of the Four Houses, who were put in charge of maintaining those ties...”

“Then, at some point, the Greenmoons stepped in and started handling all the negotiations by themselves. As time went on, it became natural, and people stopped asking questions. And finally, here we are now. You say Ganudos, and people think Greenmoon. Gotta admit, something about this does smell fishy.”

“We require more information. My apologies for taking so much of your time, Sir Vanos, but I’ll need you to come with me after my meeting with the senator tomorrow.”

“You think you’re on to something?”

“I’m not sure yet...” Ludwig crossed his arms and frowned. “But to my knowledge, those with malicious plans tend not to be the ones attracting a whole lot of attention on stage but the ones hiding quietly behind the curtains.”

“Hey, what a coincidence! That’s exactly what I’ve learned in my line of work,” Vanos said with a grin.

Ludwig couldn’t resist an amused snort. Then he shrugged.

“In any case, I have a strong feeling this country is hiding something about the Yellowmoons from us, and I intend to find out what. So, we’re going to investigate...”

“Investigate, huh? I bet it’s not gonna be easy to get ’em to cough up answers. You got a plan of some kind?”

“There are usually two places that archive this kind of information: the government and the Church. Since the government here isn’t trustworthy in this regard, we’re going to try the latter option.”

The following day, the two of them made their way to the local Central Orthodox Church.