I could see where he was coming from. The fact that an acting count’s hands would be tied when it came to certain matters meant it would be all the harder for them to govern effectively. Any major decision would have to be sent to me for approval before it was enacted, meaning that the rate of decision making would, from time to time, slow to a crawl.
“Relocating to Kuat for a time is also an option…but it would be a dangerous path to travel, given Kuat was once an enemy territory,” Rietz noted. “Though we’ve wiped out most of the Seitzan army’s remnants, it’s difficult to say whether any Seitzan agents remain, and if so, how many. And needless to say, Seitz’s status as a vassal state by no means guarantees that they can be trusted.”
We had plenty of reasons to distrust Seitz, even considering their unconditional surrender. The former duke, Ashude, was alive, well, and possibly even plotting to bring down Missian from within. If he did, I had a feeling that House Louvent would be his very first target. He would try to weaken our influence through whatever means he could muster.
Kuat and Purledo were both once Seitzan counties, and many of their residents still considered themselves Seitzan to the core. I was positive that both of them were lousy with Ashude’s spies. We’d put down the local resistance, sure, but eliminating every single opposing agent just wasn’t a realistic goal. There weren’t many spies out there as capable as the Shadows but Ashude was a former duke, and I knew that whatever agents he had on his payroll would at the very least not be incompetent.
“I think it would be best for me to not relocate, at least for the time being. I may consider it down the line, but that can wait until after we’ve held Kuat County for a few years and seen what sort of challenges present themselves,” I concluded.
Kuat’s not that far away, really. I don’t think not being there all the time will lead to any huge disasters.
In the end, despite my apprehensions, I decided to entrust Kuat’s management to Mireille. I also chose to assign Braham’s unit to the region. Kuat County was more dangerous than Purledo and Canarre at the moment, and there was a chance that Seitz would try to stir up even bigger trouble, so having Braham and his men there would hopefully head off any major issues. It would also discourage Mireille from stabbing me in the back, with any luck. Braham had matured a lot, and I didn’t think she’d be able to fast talk her way around him as easily as she used to.
Seeing as Thomas had been overseeing Fort Purledo for some time, I decided to let him be the acting count for that county. I also sent Rikuya and his siblings to Purledo─specifically to Castle Auros, in their case. I was a little worried it was too soon to entrust them with an important task, to be honest, but we were at a nasty deficit when it came to personnel, so I didn’t have much of a choice. Rikuya would be my official proxy at the castle with Maika and Takao assisting him, and considering Maika’s brains and Takao’s brawn, I had a hard time imagining that the three of them would encounter any troubles that they couldn’t solve together.
Virge would be ruling over Lamberg in Mireille’s absence. He’d spent long enough working as Rietz’s assistant in Canarre to pick up quite a bit of skill when it came to governance, and since Lamberg was such a small territory, I figured he’d be able to keep it under control without too much trouble. Rietz himself would remain in Canarre, handling governmental affairs here like he always had─though really, he’d be busier than ever since he’d now have to deal with all sorts of detailed information coming in from and going out to Kuat and Purledo Counties. Clearly, I’d have to help him out whenever I found the chance to do so.
I’d thought that Rosell would want to work abroad somewhere, at first, but in the end he refused the opportunity and asked to stay in Canarre instead. It seemed he was comfortable in his current environment, and didn’t feel like branching out for now. Things in Canarre were going to be busier than ever, of course, so having him around to help out would be a good thing in the long term. Charlotte would likewise be standing by in Canarre, at least until the next war began. I’d considered sending her to Kuat to help out there, but considering she was more or less our ultimate weapon, I preferred the idea of having her around in our home base, just in case. Knowing she would be there in the event of an emergency was very reassuring.
With that, we had a solid plan in place for how we’d manage our new territories. Things went pretty smoothly from that point onward, and the details of everyone’s new stations were soon set in stone. The one problem: frankly, we just didn’t have enough people left after everyone had departed. We lacked the manpower to deal with our new lands, and by a dramatic margin. I’d been significantly more cautious with headhunting excursions ever since the attempt on my life, and I knew that I couldn’t start taking crazy risks again, but I still had to find some way to appraise and recruit more retainers before my staffing issues started causing major problems.
“I think we can call this council to a close, then,” I said. “I wish you all the best of luck carrying out your new duties.”
If my retainers did a good enough job managing their territories, House Louvent would grow bigger and more powerful still. I knew that all of them would do just fine, which meant that the only real question was whether I’d do my part as well. I departed from the council chamber, determined to do everything I could to fulfill my role to the best of my ability.