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Volume 3 Chapter 3 Part 10

Marquis Dawson said in amazement.

「Because I have started a war with the Factory Alliance on my own? I see… 」

Villar nodded and gave Theo, who was standing behind him, a meaningful look.

「If that is what you have believed until now, then let me tell you a tale of how that war started not from me, but from my subordinate Lord, Theo Cornero here. 」

Theo stepped beside Villar and looked over at the Lords seated at the round table. He then stated his name and bowed to everyone once.

He then began to tell the story of how he first encountered the woman who would become his contracted Mage, how together they defeated an independent Lord who was using the peerage system to further his own gains, how he obtained his own peerage and territory after he took them from that defeated Lord and how he wanted to then join the Fantasia Union because he agreed with the idea that the Union represented: the idea of loving freedom and peace but was then attacked by his neighbors who were allied with the Fantasia Union and he had no choice but to defend himself and his territory against their aggression. All this time, he was speaking in his usual, natural manner, and regardless of whether it was persuasive enough or not, he was trying to deliver only facts in a way that would not cause the listening Lords to become suspicious of him.

「Just like Theo Cornero now said, the first battle of the war that I have supposedly caused was nothing more but a subjugation of a Lord who was trying to use the peerage system to further his own selfish goals. Not to mention that said Lord was not a member of any faction at that time, but an independent one. 」

After Theo finished speaking, Vilar immediately took over again.

「The Lord in question who was trying to use the peerage system for his own gains now serves me as one of my Knights, and he confirmed that everything that Theo Cornero said just now was true. 」

Alfred, the King of Clovis, added hesitantly.

「You were not granted the right to speak, so you should not have said anything, right? 」

Marquis Dawson remarked as he stared at the King of Clovis sharply.

「I sincerely apologize for this. 」

Alfred hurriedly closed his mouth and hung his head in shame.

「Now then, I know we agreed that the newly joined members are not going to be granted the right to vote, but nobody said anything about taking away their right to speak, correct? 」

Vilar pointed that out ever so gently.

「The right to speak and the right to vote go hand in hand. 」

Marquis Dawson said while clearly being in dismay.

「Personally, I think that such a claim is a little on a wild side, but oh well… 」

Vilar simply smiled with ease.

「More importantly, just like it was already stated a number of times before, the war that was started by Theo Cornero was not the one that was aimed directly at the Factory Alliance, so him defeating the independent Lord who violated the rules of the peerage system and claiming his territories for himself should be considered a legitimate act that should not be subject to any sort of legal consequences. Is that not right? Are there any Mages in attendance who could shed some light onto that matter? 」

Vilar then started to turn his gaze towards every single contracted Mage who was present in the hall, but all of them shook their heads to indicate that they were not going to challenge anything that Vilar said just now, since there is no way that any sane Mage could deny the peerage system which was designed and implemented by the Mages Association.

「After that, Theo Cornero was attacked by a Lord who was affiliated with the Factory Alliance, so that was not an attack with malicious intent, but rather a battle in defense of his territories and the people who lived in them. The first person to Challenge Theo was Lassic David, the current King of Selvis. Do you have anything that you would like to add to everything that has already been said? 」

「I would, if it was not for the fact that apparently we are not allowed to speak.」

Lassic said jokingly.

「No, but seriously now, it is just like Lord Vilar said. Back then I was a part of the Factory Alliance, and I was the one who invaded Theo Cornero’s territory of my own volition. 」

The Lords present at all tables roared when Lassic finished speaking.

「Marquis Dawson accused me of, to borrow his own words: I have started a war with the Factory Alliance on my own, but as you can see, I was not the one who started this war. Factory Alliance did. I hope that you are not going to tell me that I should not have fought back even though the enemy was already attacking me? 」

Vilar looked at Marquis Dawson.

「If he suddenly started calling himself a member of the Fantasia Union while knowing that he is going to be surrounded by the nations that are the members of the Factory Alliance, then is it not natural to expect that you are going to be attacked by them? 」

Marquis Dawson said as he snorted with contempt.

「Oh really now? 」

Vilar’s eyes narrowed slightly, just like a cat that has spotted its next prey in the grass.

「Going by the same logic that you presented just now, does that mean that according to you, it is only natural that the whole of Artuk should be regularly attacked just because it is located so close to the territories of the Factory Alliance? 」
「W-Well no, that is not what I wanted to… d-do not dare changing the subject on me now! That is not what we are discussing now, and besides, Artuk is no longer surrounded by the members of the Factory Alliance at every side! 」

Marquis Dawson stoop up and shouted in a fit of rage.

「Thanks to all of the actions that I have taken recently, I managed to secure the inclusion of Falvis and Clovis into the Fantasia Union and break out of the impasse of being surrounded by the Factory Alliance at every side, which is a good thing to the Union as a whole, and yet, you seem to be denouncing me for this very reason. 」

Vilar also stood up from his seat in order for his gaze to be on the same level as Marquis Dawson’s.

「Marquis Dawson, Earl of Artuk, I implore both of you to calm down. 」

Alexis, the Marquis of Halusia who has been silent ever since he opened the proceedings of the Conference immediately tried to calm down the two Lords. Vilar promptly bowed to Alexis and sat back down as requested. Marquis Dawson was standing for a while longer, until he finally decided to sit back down as well after the Lords who were sitting around him urged him not to make a needless scene.

(As expected of Lord Vilar.)

Siluca was beaming with pride inside. She was already well aware that Vilar was not also a master swordsman, but also a master debater as well, so by trying to best him in a verbal competition, the only thing that Marquis Dawson managed to achieve was digging his own grave with the skillful guidance of the Earl of Artuk.
Several of the Lords who were supporting Marquis Dawson were trying to speak in his defense, but it was clear for everyone present at the meeting that their arguments and opinions were not very persuasive, so Marquis Dawson started to actively look towards Alexis, hoping that he would also speak in his favor, but much to his horror, Alexis did not say anything. Just like he told Siluca the other day, he was not going to be proactive here, but would instead follow the resolution reached by the other Lords.

(His greatest mistake was trying to publically denounce the Earl of Artuk in the first place.)

The only reason why Marquis Dawson was trying to undermine the value of Artuk’s recent victories was out of nothing more but pure hostility towards Vilar himself. That is why his main argument for his denouncement was that he started the war against the Factory Alliance of his own accord. However, if only he had access to correct information, then he would have known that the party that made the first move in that war was not Artuk, but the Factory Alliance themselves. But now that he has already made a complete and utter fool of himself, there was no longer any need to be thinking about it.