Chapter 411: The Duchy of Ispaden
Previously, when helping the Restoration Army defeat the Hengfors League despite being outnumbered, Istrad had promised that Lynn could choose any city in Kovir and Poviss, excluding the summer and winter capitals.
When it was the witchers' turn, the assembled nobles began whispering amongst themselves. They were all curious to see what Lynn would choose.
Lynn simply pointed his hand toward the east of the map: the Free Duchy of Ispaden, an enclave of Kovir and Poviss.
Ispaden was nominally a part of Kovir and Poviss but enjoyed a very high degree of autonomy. They paid the least tax of all the vassals, and they outright refused to fulfill any military obligations. When the 'Poviss Schism' occurred, the nobles of Ispaden went so far as to kill the appointed Duke sent by Kovir and Poviss, declaring his death an accident. After the House of Thyssen fell and King Ead ascended the throne, control over Ispaden waned further. They simply stopped paying taxes altogether, effectively becoming an independent state.
The only reason Ispaden hadn't completely broken the final pretense with its suzerain was because its fractious nobles couldn't agree on a king they all trusted, and using Kovir's name as a sovereign was more beneficial than harmful.
To think that the Duchy of Ispaden only presented this one problem would be a mistake. Since Ispaden was deep inland, its commercial trade, while not non-existent, was insignificant. The revenue of a casual barony in Kovir or Poviss often surpassed that of an entire county in Ispaden. Add to this its extremely high autonomy and extreme xenophobia…
So, when Lynn pointed toward Ispaden, the nobles were utterly baffled.
Even Istrad hadn't anticipated this choice. He had prepared himself to make the painful sacrifice of giving up the Isle of Inis Bóet, if Lynn asked for it. He never imagined Lynn would ask for Ispaden. That territory looked large on a map, but its revenue was nowhere near that of the island.
"Count Lynn, have you truly considered this? No regrets?"
"Yes. This is the one."
While other nobles went out of their way to avoid Ispaden, Lynn had his own calculations.
First, Ispaden was very close to Kaer Morhen, allowing the two locations to mutually support each other.
Second, Ispaden was even larger than Velen, yet its environment was not as harsh, and its monster population was far lower. Therefore, as long as he dealt with the local power-brokers, he could develop agriculture on a large scale in Ispaden.
Agriculture was extremely important in this era—or, rather, it was important in any era. In Lynn's home world, many Westerners, made complacent by high welfare, genuinely believed that products grew on shelves. Coupled with the common Western belief that finance was more profitable than farming, knowledge of agriculture had declined, and its importance was gradually underestimated and forgotten.
In this world, however, the level of production could not be compared to Lynn's home world. Therefore, no matter how well commerce developed, agriculture could not be ignored. If people couldn't eat their fill, no amount of art or philosophy could save them; they would instantly devolve into beasts.
Moreover, Ispaden bordered Kaedwen. Lynn, holding the script for future events, knew perfectly well that King Henselt of Kaedwen would betray the Northern Realms and attack Aedirn alongside the Nilfgaardian Empire. When that time came, Lynn, with moral authority on his side, could seize the opportunity to lead his troops south and extinguish the Kingdom of Kaedwen.
Of course, the local Kaedwen nobles would undoubtedly challenge his bloodline. But that didn't matter. Lynn had no use for the local nobles; he wanted the land, not the people. Every single Kaedwen noble would be given a choice: either make a graceful exit, or Lynn would help them make one.
Furthermore, if, after conquering the Kingdom of Kaedwen, he carved up the land into countless small plots and distributed them to the low-born soldiers who had performed heroically in the wars (promoting them to knights or barons), these newly-minted nobles would naturally rally tightly around Lynn for the sake of their own vested interests. This approach wouldn't work on the continent of Westeros, where the Seven Kingdoms were all more or less related. If anyone dared to destabilize the interests of the upper nobility there, the Seven Kingdoms would immediately unite to crush him.
But this method could work in the Witcher world. The North and the South had an inherent, irreconcilable conflict, making a true alliance between them impossible. At the same time, the seemingly stable Northern Realms would soon be tossed by a storm, and the entire North would tremble under the iron hooves of Nilfgaard's black army. At that point, the Northern Kings would be unable to save themselves, much less interfere with Lynn.
Since Lynn had made his choice, Istrad said no more and declared that Ispaden was granted to Lynn.
To better enable Lynn to rule Ispaden, Istrad promoted Lynn's noble title from Count to Duke.
This time, the gaze of the other nobles shifted from mere envy to sympathy and pity. They all knew the fate of the previous Duke.
They could, in fact, guess Lynn's reason for choosing Ispaden. Even though Ispaden's commerce and mineral resources were inferior to the mainland, its size was comparable. If Lynn could manage to suppress the local nobles in Ispaden, he would be a Duke in name, but effectively a King in reality. Coupled with Ispaden's high degree of autonomy and independence, even if Lynn followed orders but ignored summonses, the House of Thyssen would be unable to do anything about it. They wouldn't even risk a rupture with him.
Even if Lynn became a de facto king, he would still be a potential ally, and Ispaden was separated from the mainland by the Hengfors League and the Marquisate of Targo. The world had proverbs akin to "befriending a distant state to attack a neighbor."
Of course, all of this hinged on one precondition: that Lynn could actually suppress the local nobles of Ispaden and secure his position as Duke.
The nobles under Istrad were not optimistic about this. Although they conceded that Lynn was powerful, he was not yet strong enough to ignore tens of thousands of soldiers. Furthermore, the number of witchers under Lynn's command was simply too small—a mere dozen or so. They were fine for a surprise attack, but in a pitched battle…
In short, the nobles did not see a bright future for Lynn.
With the usurpers brought to justice, Istrad's massive army was naturally dissolved. Such a large force incurred significant daily expenses in feeding men and horses, and many of the soldiers were conscripts. As long as the army was not disbanded, these conscripts could not return to their farms, which would hinder the recovery of production. Moreover, the nobles who had profited from the Restoration War were eager to inspect their new domains.
Thus, the nobles left Rákverellin, taking their armies with them. Even the conscripts in Istrad's direct forces were allowed to return home after receiving a considerable payout. Istrad himself led the remaining troops on the journey back to Lan Exeter. Although the Restoration War had ended much faster than he expected and the damage to the country had been minimized, it was still a transition between old and new regimes, and he needed to return to the capital quickly to take charge of the greater situation.
One evening, as the army stopped to make camp, an owl flew into Istrad's large tent.
Istrad, alone in his tent, glanced at the owl perched on a chest and smiled faintly. "Lady Philippa Eilhart, what a pleasant surprise."
A flash of light, and the owl vanished, replaced by a woman sitting elegantly on the chest. It was none other than Philippa Eilhart, the royal advisor of Redania.
"You are too kind, Your Grace… No, I suppose I should address you as Your Majesty now."
"I have you to thank for that. The House of Thyssen will not forget your efforts in delaying the Redanian army. When you have need, the House of Thyssen will answer your call."
"Hmm, I shall remember that. Your Majesty's generosity is truly commendable. Our two nations have had some unpleasant history, but that is all in the past. I hope the friendship between our two nations will be unbreakable and everlasting."
Our two nations? Istrad keenly noted the phrasing in Philippa's words. His eyes flickered slightly before quickly returning to normal.
After exchanging a few more courtesies, Philippa finally revealed the purpose of her visit. "Your Majesty, I have recently heard some rather interesting news."
"Oh? What is that?"
"The unreliable rumor in the streets claims that certain cat-eyed mutants were involved in the campaign where Your Majesty decisively defeated the Hengfors League Army. I wonder if there's any truth to that?"
"Lady Philippa, you jest. You yourself said they were unreliable street rumors. How could they be true?"
"So, your nation does not have a witcher who has become a Duke?"
"No, that is true. However, that matter involves state secrets, which should not be disclosed to outsiders." Philippa spoke in a deliberate, seductive tone.
"I understand, but Your Majesty, you must be very careful with those mutants. Surely you have heard the rumors about them."
"They will stop at nothing for coin. The active witcher schools in the South are facing annihilation precisely because their existence poses a threat to the usurping Emperor of Nilfgaard."
To Philippa's disappointment, Istrad's expression remained unchanged.
"Thank you for the warning, Lady Philippa. I will bear it in mind… Is there anything else?"
Philippa fixed her gaze on Istrad. He returned her look with an unwavering smile. Finally, Philippa was the one who broke eye contact.
Philippa had anticipated Istrad's shrewdness, but the breadth of vision and composure shown by the leader of the House of Thyssen exceeded her expectations. Logically, shouldn't a newly restored king immediately follow the ancient wisdom of putting away the bow after the birds are caught and cooking the running dogs after the cunning rabbit is killed?
What kind of maneuver was this? Could Istrad truly not worry that those witchers would seize his kingdom? Witchers, after all, generally lived for a very long time unless they met an untimely end. If they were willing to take their time to slowly infiltrate a regime, wouldn't that be a source of anxiety for any ruler, regardless of the ultimate success? Was Istrad truly so unconcerned?
Seeing that Istrad genuinely seemed unconcerned about the witchers, Philippa decided to cease her attempts at provocation. After all, she still needed Istrad's cooperation for the big thing she was planning next. At least for now, she couldn't afford to fall out with him.
I need to talk to those witchers privately and see which one of them has so thoroughly charmed Istrad.
Seeing that Istrad was unwilling to discuss the topic further, Philippa changed the subject.
At the exact same time Philippa was meeting with Istrad, in a prison in Rákverellin…
"Hey! Get up! Hurry up and get up, woman!"
Julia Abamark was roused from her bed in the cell. She and the other prisoners were taken to the shower room for a bath and given a set of clean clothes.
While waiting in line outside the mess hall, Julia quietly asked the prisoner in front of her, "Do you know what's going on?"
"I heard a big shot is coming."
"A big shot? What kind of big shot?"
The prisoner in front of her didn't have time to answer before a nearby jailer shouted: "No chattering! All of you, be quiet!"
Julia stopped talking.
After she and the other prisoners ate their meal, they were led to an open area outside the prison. There, she was surprised to find the area filled with people. They were all her comrades from the Feral Cats mercenary company.
"Everyone, quiet down and stand straight!"
The jailers in front of the prisoners were fully armed and visibly nervous. They only numbered a few dozen, but they were facing a crowd of three thousand prisoners. These prisoners were not murderers or rapists; they were members of the Feral Cats who had chosen the losing side and fought for King Rhaed during the siege of Rákverellin. King Rhaed had been executed, his entire family eliminated, and his loyal vassals executed or exiled. As for the Feral Cats, who had fought for him and suffered nearly fifty percent casualties, they had simply been thrown into this dungeon.