Chapter : 105

Of course, the elf knights had their own thoughts as well.

‘Following the Margrave seems like it will lead to greater benefits.’

‘He is one who is watched over by God. If we are with him, honor will surely follow.’

‘Greater battlefields, greater battles… If I follow him, I’m sure I can experience them.’

They weren’t planning on just having one big score and leaving, but sticking by the Margrave’s side and going to war for a long time.

Besides.

‘It seems like it will be fun.’

‘It was very thrilling.’

The elf knights had a feeling that if they were with him, some fun incident would always break out. The kind of incident that you risk your life for.

“W-what is this…!”

Thanks to that, Magician Agpiel’s mouth was wide open in astonishment.

Well, for me, since they were willing to join on their own, it was as if a blessing had rolled in.

Think about it.

How great would it be to just swallow up about 100 famous elf knights?

‘And I have definitely seen their skills.’

The immense power they showed in the southern heretic hunt.

No matter how much my infantry were cavalry killers and superior to most unit types, they still had the inherent limitations of being infantry.

Slow movement. Slow turning.

If I accepted the elf knights and expanded my cavalry force, it would give my lacking army mobility.

And if that happened?

‘At least for the time being, there will be no rivals around.’

It was creating another sharp sword that would be my strength in the coming era of great chaos.

In the meantime, we had arrived at our destination.

“Whoa-. Whoa-!”

“The castle is in sight.”

“We’ve arrived! Send a messenger. The lord has returned.”

After such a long time, my city, which I was so happy to see. It was the capital of the Bellua Margraviate.

***

From ancient times, an army that returned from victory was to be treated to a splendid triumphal ceremony and a lavish banquet. And this was no different for my army.

As soon as I entered the lord’s castle, I ordered a banquet to be held, and I had my soldiers march in a parade in ten units in succession.

“Wahahaha!”

“Pour, drink!”

“Today, we are the main characters! Kyaaaaat!”

Some drank and caused a ruckus, while others were greedy for delicious food.

But from today, for at least a week, it was a grand festival. A day when such minor problems were practically all forgiven.

Even the knights had loosened their belts and were mingling and playing with the people.

Thanks to that, my domain was bustling for the first time in a long time.

Of course, unlike the atmosphere in my domain, I couldn’t rest at all.

Because I had been away for so long, the work of the domain had piled up.

Although I had received letters from time to time and dealt with urgent matters, it was still not enough.

I needed to get a grasp of the domain quickly.

“My lord-! I’m so glad you returned safely without any injuries. I don’t know if my son, Biden, served you well.”

“Oh, Chamberlain Hamil. Thanks to your concern, I was able to come and go without any trouble. There haven’t been any problems with the domain in the meantime, have there?”

“Hehe. That’s right.”

A look of pride was visible on Chamberlain Hamil’s face as he spoke. It was understandable, as he had heard so much about the achievements I had made that his ears were ringing.

The fame that had spread from the southern heretic hunt had already slowly spread beyond the Elang Kingdom to the entire continent.

Thanks to that, Chamberlain Hamil was in a better mood than ever.

It was because it seemed that the prestige of the Bellua Margraviate, which he served, had finally been restored.

“Here. This is what you’ll be curious about, my lord. I’ve summarized and organized all the current progress.”

“Oh?”

I looked at the document that Chamberlain Hamil handed me with admiration. It was a well-organized report that was easy to read and see at a glance.

“Is this Treasurer Palmer’s work?”

“Yes, my lord. He was very diligent, even though he was pouting. In fact, he’s been so busy lately going back and forth to Mangtong City because of the homework you gave him.”

At those words, I chuckled.

To think he was being worked to the bone… that was a very good thing. As they say, an official is at their best when they are being ground down.

‘Let’s see…’

Putting aside the idle chatter, I began to skim the report.

And I was quite surprised.

First, the number of people in the domain had increased significantly.

It had increased by a whopping 40,000 households, from the original 20,000 households to 60,000. It had grown to the size of a small kingdom of nearly 500,000 people.

“Refugees are periodically flowing in from the surrounding domains. We are taking them in and continuously pushing them into the reclaimed land.”

“Hmm… is the food supply smooth?”

A sudden increase in population could lead to a shortage of food to support them.

“On the contrary, there’s more than enough, my lord.”

But fortunately, it seemed there was no shortage.

“The Norfolk farming method you mentioned has now been established throughout the entire domain. The recently reclaimed farmland alone exceeds 50,000 acres, so the productivity is explosive.”

“Hmm, that’s encouraging.”

This meant that my domain was slowly entering a stable phase.

It now had a population and food support capacity appropriate for a Margraviate.

And that wasn’t all.

‘The taxes have increased a lot too.’

A huge sum of over 10,000 gold in taxes was accumulating every year.

This was thanks to the goods produced in the factories of Markel City and my domain spreading throughout the region through the relay market.

Thanks to the efforts of Chamberlain Hamil and the administrators, the relay market had grown to become the core of the region.

According to the report, it was a very good thing that the relay market was being used from the northern part of the Holy Empire to the Kingdom of Aragon in the south of the continent.

“And the list of major products you mentioned has been managed, and they are now being produced preferentially in each factory.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes, my lord.”

Indeed, Chamberlain Hamil was becoming a capable internal affairs manager. Things were now starting to run smoothly on their own without me having to intervene.

“Then are the granaries I mentioned being filled? The price of grain must have fluctuated a bit due to the recent wars…”

“Fortunately, it was limited to the southern region, so there wasn’t much of an impact.”

“Really?”

“Yes, thanks to that, we’ve filled all the granaries you mentioned.”

And no sooner had the sharp-witted Chamberlain Hamil finished speaking than a notification window popped up.

-Tiriring!

[You have finally eliminated the shadow of bankruptcy that was hovering over your domain. Your domain has regained its former prosperity and now stands at a crossroads of endless prosperity. Remember, the moment you are satisfied, your domain will stop developing and regress. Be careful. As your domain becomes stronger, many ambitious people will target you.]

[Notification: The internal affairs stat is normalized, and all debuffs are removed.]

[Notification: All disasters disappear.]

‘Ooooh…’

I was filled with emotion as I watched it.

The Bellua Margraviate, which had been a failing company in a state of capital impairment, had now become a sound blue-chip company.

With this, I had completed all the preparations to endure the Great Famine and ride the wave of the subsequent chaotic era.

‘Ready… now I can just walk the tightrope to my heart’s content.’

***

In fact, walking the tightrope was nothing special.

The two forces that divided the kingdom.

It was about trying to find a balance between the King of the Elang Kingdom and the Duke of Bourgogne and testing the waters.

Ah! Recently, the Holy See had been actively involved in the Elang Kingdom, so the Holy See was also included.

In any case, it was about conducting a kind of balance diplomacy among these three forces.

One time I would side with the king, one time I would side with the Duke of Bourgogne, and another time I would side with the Holy See.

It sounded easy enough in words…

‘The problem is that it’s not easy.’

All three of them were full of greed.

It was said that politics is the product of compromise, but that was a story that would only work in modern times. In [Pangea Universalise], direct military force was much closer.

But the good thing was that I knew the future.

‘And the fact that I’m a seasoned player of [Pangea Universalise].’

If I used the future information and the power structure well, I was sure I could lead it in a way that was advantageous to me.

In that sense, this meeting was quite important.

“It’s been a while, Baron Pierre.”

“Indeed, Your Excellency the Margrave. Your fame has been soaring high these days.”

Baron Pierre, whom I met after a long time, was the same as ever. A sturdy body unlike that of a merchant, deep eyes that were unreadable, and even a cold, sharp atmosphere.

Rather, he was a person who was more reassuring because he was unchanging. Baron Pierre was.

“Have you been well? I heard you gave a lot of help to the relay market. Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. I helped because I also stood to gain from it.”

Baron Pierre answered with a nonchalant shrug. Then, Baron Pierre got straight to the point.

“I came today to warn you, Your Excellency.”

“A warning?”

“Yes. The nobles in the capital find you uncomfortable. It seems they are preparing to attack you soon. It would be best for you to prepare for this.”

“Hmm…”

I wondered why they were being so quiet, but it seemed they were already on the move.

“Do you know what kind of scheme it is? It would be good if you could tell me even the general details.”

“Haha.”

At that, Baron Pierre grinned.

“Your Excellency. You know that if I give you this, it will be a pretty big deal, don’t you?”

“I know. But if you want to continue to have a good relationship with me, you can give me that much, can’t you? I never forget a crucial favor.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s a basis for help. The scales are not balanced, Your Excellency.”

“The House of Viscount Bardi.”

For a moment, Baron Pierre’s eyes wavered.

“Why are you suddenly talking about my family…”

“As I said last time, when you really need strength, I will lend you that strength. It will be a great help in achieving your goals.”

“Hmm… you make things very difficult for me.”

At my words, Baron Pierre frowned for a moment as if he were perplexed.

If things went wrong, he could be attacked for leaking information.

But his thoughts were brief.

“Alright, Your Excellency.”

Soon, Baron Pierre nodded. He had chosen the greater gain.

“The method the capital nobles are trying to use is…”

***

“Hmm? What’s wrong? You don’t look well.”

“Ah, Magician Agpiel. It’s nothing. I just suddenly feel a little sick. Haha.”

“Is that so? You need to rest. Why don’t you get some sleep?”

“Thank you for your concern.”

I said to Agpiel with a smile and came outside.

My head was throbbing after hearing what Baron Pierre had told me.

The capital nobles’ aim was nothing other than this.

‘Be careful of the witch imprisoned in the tower, Your Excellency.’

My stepmother.

The sister of Count Bozen.

It was Isabella.

‘Damn it. Why can’t she just stay quiet? Tsk.’

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