The Matter of How Only a Political Rival Duke, Not My Own Family, Recognized My Worth After I Was Disowned ~When I Turned a Remote Frontier Territory Into the World’s Greatest City, the Noble Lady Assigned to Supervise Me Became the Best Fiancée~ - Episode 8: A Trap and Stage for the Fool

Episode 8: A Trap and Stage for the Fool

“—Your elder brother, Lord Bertrand.”

At Isabella’s words, the final piece of the puzzle clicked into place within me.

That arrogant, short-tempered, and—above all—overly ambitious second brother of mine.

This was exactly the kind of shallow, careless scheme he would come up with.

“If we take this evidence and accuse Lord Bertrand’s cruelty before the central council—!”

“No, we’ll let him move freely.”

I calmly stopped Isabella, who was bursting with indignation.

“With just this much evidence, Father would protect him and cover everything up. It would be meaningless.”

“Then what should we do!?”

“We’ll use Bertrand’s personality against him.”

I pointed to a newly spread map of the area surrounding the iron vein.

“He’s vain. He’s obsessed with fame. And above all, he hates nothing more than seeing someone he deems beneath him succeed. So, if we continue developing smoothly and dangle the ‘bait’ he desires right in front of him… he’ll definitely make a move—one that’s more direct, and far sloppier.”

I gave Isabella two instructions.

The first was to spread two rumors in the royal capital:

That “Brau Workshop’s weapons are poor in quality and poorly managed.”

And that “the disowned third son of House Silford has discovered a massive iron vein in the frontier and is amassing a fortune.”

The second instruction was to begin full-scale preparations for mining the iron vein.

“While we mine, we’ll also turn this site into a defensive stronghold—a perfect fortress designed to repel any attackers.”

Upon hearing my plan, Isabella no longer even looked surprised. Instead, she nodded with a look of almost blissful admiration.

“…Understood. I’ll prepare the stage exactly as you’ve scripted it.”

◇

In the days that followed, Grindle once again buzzed with construction.

The dwarves were guided by my blueprints and their exceptional skills. They were digging through the tunnels at astonishing speed.

But these weren’t just mining tunnels—they were a labyrinthine underground fortress. They were complete with traps and ambush routes to repel any invaders.

At the same time, I selected capable individuals from among the new settlers and formed the “Grindle Territorial Defense Force.” I then had Duncan serve as captain.

Former knights, ex-mercenaries, skilled hunters—men who were given fair pay and, more importantly, a noble purpose: to protect their land.

They rapidly grew into a formidable unit.

Our territory’s economic and military strength grew by the day.

And the poison I had unleashed in the form of “rumors” was steadily eating away at its prey in the distant royal capital.

◇

“—What!?”

At the Silford Ducal Residence in the capital, Bertrand von Silford crushed the report in his hands and shouted in fury.

“That useless Noah found an iron vein!? Ridiculous! That’s the mine I was supposed to claim as my achievement!”

Not only had the Goblin raid failed, but the incompetent Brau Workshop had caused more troublesome rumors to spread. His irritation was at its peak.

Jealousy.

Impatience.

And that despicable hunger to steal his younger brother’s achievements for himself.

All of it clouded his reason.

“…Enough waiting. I won’t let that failure do as he pleases any longer.”

Bertrand gave orders to his trusted knight.

“Gather my private soldiers and some reliable mercenaries. Do it discreetly—Father must not know. Officially, it’ll be a monster-slaying expedition to the frontier. We’ll head to Grindle and ‘discover’ that iron vein for ourselves—along with my wretched brother!”

He had no idea that every move he made was unfolding exactly as drawn in the blueprint his brother had crafted, far away in the frontier.

◇

The very day Bertrand departed from the capital, cheers echoed through the Grindle mines.

The first iron ore had been successfully extracted.

The dwarves were ecstatic. “Never seen ore of such high quality!” they exclaimed.

The future of the territory seemed to shine brilliantly.

Amid those joyous voices, I quietly gazed westward.

My skill [Territory Design] clearly detected a large hostile force approaching.

[Warning: Hostile armed group—120 men—approaching the territory.]

[Commanding individual: Bertrand von Silford.]

Beside me, Isabella drew a sharp breath.

“…Lord Noah, everything is unfolding exactly as you planned.”

“Yes.”

I smiled quietly. Like a hunter awaiting his prey.

“Welcome, my foolish brother—

I’ve prepared the perfect stage for you.”