Chapter 200
Chapter 200: Three Times the Current Market Price. (1)
Ghislaine, confirming the surprisingly fast and smooth development status of the territory, checked the next plan.
“Development is something that has to continue regardless… The confrontation between the Crown Prince Faction and the Duke Faction will intensify in the future.”
Marquis Branford probably didn’t want it, but he must have realized that the civil war was being hastened because of Ghislaine.
The movements of Count Desmond alone provided enough proof.
Ghislaine was already aware that Desmond’s Army had been halted by the 2nd Corps. He had initially moved with that in mind, and Marquis Branford had acted just as he hoped.
But the problem starts now.
“Time to stop dragging things out with Amelia.”
Count Desmond had moved his army, discarding the mask of neutrality and justification.
That he, who had focused heavily on Amelia’s rebellion, was moving now meant he had decided to target this place directly.
Whether his attack would coincide with the civil war or occur before it remained to be seen.
“Now it’s Harold’s turn.”
Desmond was a territory praised as the strongest in the North along with Raybold.
Though it might seem a bit lacking compared to other regions, a Grand Lord is called so for a reason.
To be called a Grand Lord, one must possess outstanding knights, numerous strong soldiers, and abundant resources to support them.
Ghislaine, momentarily glancing at a map, muttered without realizing it.
“Raybold’s power will be diminished thanks to Amelia… For the time being, the title of strongest in the North will go to Harold.”
After all, Raybold would fall to Amelia. Even if Ghislaine leaked information, it was clear Count Raybold wouldn’t be able to handle her.
However, Ghislaine had no intention of letting Amelia easily take down Raybold.
“Well, thanks to Amelia, we’ve also opened up the Forest of Monsters, and she’s drawn the attention of the Duke House and Harold. If you think about it, she’s quite a helpful woman.”
Ghislaine recalled the past when she had extorted money from Amelia in exchange for her silence.
She couldn’t be certain if that choice was the best. After all, Amelia was a remarkable and dangerous individual.
But for Ghislaine back then, it was the best option.
How could Count Raybold trust a good-for-nothing like her? Even if the Count had believed Ghislaine, Amelia wouldn’t have fallen easily.
“Though I might have succeeded in pushing Amelia away, the dangers afterward would probably have increased.”
They likely sought other means besides Amelia and wouldn’t let her off the hook for disrupting their plans.
Now things were different.
Penris had grown so large that it could no longer evade attention, and Harold was starting to feel threatened.
And that posed a different kind of danger for Ghislaine.
Ultimately, to take control of the North, there was no choice but to confront them head-on.
“The time the Crown Prince Faction can keep the Duke House in check is limited. We must crush Desmond with overwhelming force before that.”
Only by bringing all the lords of the North under their heel could they hope to compete with the Duke House.
To subdue them all through war would obviously come with great losses. Thus, overwhelming force was needed to make them yield voluntarily.
For that, how well they prepared from now on was extremely important.
“I’ll need more Runestones. For the time being, we’ll have to reduce the quantity sold to the Mage Tower.”
Many places would require Runestones in the future. Naturally, the largest demand would be in territory development and strengthening their power.
Ghislaine had anticipated this from the very start when she set out to gather Runestones. Now the time had finally come.
“Speaking of which… it should be arriving soon.”
Recently, she had received a letter from Hubert, the owner of the Tower of the Bloody Flame.
He congratulated her on winning the war and mentioned he would come to check on the branch and see Ghislaine’s face after a long time.
Seeing through his intentions, Ghislaine let out a relaxed smile as she gazed out the window.
*
A few days later, Hubert arrived with the elders of the Mage Tower.
As the wizards arrived, a small commotion broke out near the Lord’s Castle.
The Tower of the Bloody Flame was famous in the North, but it was rare to actually see its members.
“The Lord of the Tower of the Bloody Flame has come!”
“Really? Such a renowned figure has come to meet our Lord?”
“Indeed. He arrived in a ridiculously extravagant carriage, with many attendants as well.”
“If such people came personally, it must mean our Lord’s reputation has increased substantially?”
Laborers working in the workshop chatted about the guests. Alfoy, who was engraving a magic circle in a corner, lit up at the news.
“The tower lord has come? Stay calm, stay calm!”
Alfoy wiped the cold sweat from his brow and calmed his racing heart.
After being abandoned here, he thought he would never see Hubert again.
But with Hubert coming directly, it was now the perfect opportunity for escape.
Surely, he wouldn’t turn a blind eye to the fact that he was living as a slave.
Alfoy, calming the agitated wizards around him, said quietly, “Now’s the chance. I’ll meet the tower lord. You all need to draw some attention.”
At Alfoy’s grave declaration, the wizards nodded and immediately sprang into action.
“Where did I put the tools?”
“Call the priest. Not feeling well.”
“Hey, hey! We need to move this quickly! Where are the dwarves?”
As the wizards began to rise and started unnecessarily poking around, the atmosphere became chaotic.
“I’m heading to the restroom.”
Seizing that opportunity, Alfoy naturally slipped out of the workshop as if heading to the restroom.
“Haste.”
He cast a spell to increase his speed on himself and moved swiftly.
Time was short. If he lingered too long, they would come looking for him.
“Alright, let’s run!”
Alfoy put all his effort into running towards the castle.
The sun had already set, and the surroundings were dark. It would be difficult for the guards to notice him moving quickly from afar.
“Phew, phew!”
Perhaps he was using up the remaining mana from working, he quickly found himself breathless.
He had thought working in construction had improved his stamina, but it seemed he had overexerted himself lately.
“Come on, Alfoy! You can do it! You’re the flame man who never gives up! Ugh, my heart!”
The hope of escaping this hellish place caused his heart to race frantically.
“Just a little more! Just a bit further! If it’s my master, he will surely release me from the slave contract…”
Thinking of Hubert made a sudden wave of anxiety wash over him.
The Hubert he had known until now was lazy, extravagant, and incredibly narrow-minded.
Would he truly set him free, considering how much he gained from the lord? If it were him, he wouldn’t be willing to take a loss for a disciple…
“C’mon, what are you thinking! Who would abandon their disciple in this world… no, where could you possibly find a teacher who would do that! I know my master isn’t like that!”
The castle was just up ahead. There was no need to let unnecessary thoughts distract him.
If things got noisy up ahead, Hubert would surely notice him.
As Alfoy sprinted using his mana at breakneck speed, he suddenly came to a halt.
“What is it?!”
Suddenly, a thick darkness surged around him, and his vision began to distort.
Faced with this unidentifiable phenomenon, Alfoy immediately gathered his mana in his hand.
In this territory, it was best to attack first when encountering something strange.
But before Alfoy could cast a spell, dark shadows tore through the air, extending a hand toward him.
Snap!
“Damn…”
Alfoy’s consciousness faded as his neck twisted.
Belinda sighed while looking down at the fallen Alfoy.
“Phew, this kid is getting more perceptive and harder to catch every time. It’s dinner time, and he moved with that speed despite having almost exhausted his mana? How high has his mana efficiency become?”
He had been using magic day in and day out while working on construction, so it was no surprise that his skills were improving.
His magic circles remained the same, but his mana manipulation abilities and application were developing abnormally.
In actual combat, that type of progress could be even more threatening. They might not realize it, but from Belinda’s perspective, it seemed like these wizards could probably face off directly against ordinary knights.
After clicking her tongue several times, Belinda tossed Alfoy back into the workshop.
The wizards who saw the fainted Alfoy wore openly disappointed expressions, and Belinda smiled once before leaving the place.
While their skills had improved, they were still far from surpassing Belinda.
*
“Long time no see, Lord of the Tower. And the elders are here as well.”
“Oh, yes. I was surprised to hear about your recent victory. You really are good at fighting. So, how have you been?”
Hubert smiled brightly in response to Ghislaine’s greeting.
He was genuinely happy. He had feared for his life when he heard that this brat had waged war again.
He genuinely wished that Ghislaine could consider the consequences of his actions as well, since if he fell, the tower would face difficulties too.
Hubert and the elders exchanged greetings, full of relief, and then started chatting about how they had been doing.
Mostly, Hubert bragged about how well he was doing lately.
“The nobles of the territory are trying to impress me by bringing in gifts…”
“Ah, I see.”
“My popularity at social gatherings is at its peak…”
“Ah, I see.”
“So if you continue to be friendly with me, it’ll be of great help in the future…”
“Ah, I see.”
Ghislaine’s unimpressed responses made Hubert lick his lips.
To be honest, the fellow standing before him was doing incredibly well. With Marquis Branford backing him, he found it hard to flaunt the authority of the Tower Lord like before.
“Ahem, so, how is the branch? Is it helpful?”
“Of course. It’s been a great help to the territory. Would you like to meet Alfoy? It’s getting late, so why don’t you take some time to relax and catch up with your disciple today? I’m rather busy, so…”
Ghislaine’s subtle attempts to shoo him away made Hubert widen his eyes in surprise.
“No, no! As long as it’s going well, that’s enough. Why meet? I didn’t come here for that. He’ll manage on his own. No need to worry.”
“Ah, is that so? Then what brings you here? Is there anything you need?”
At Ghislaine’s blunt question, Hubert and the elders appeared restless, like puppies needing to relieve themselves.
Ghislaine smiled slyly and continued talking.
“Feel free to speak up. Why put on airs between us?”
“Of course, between us… hehehe.”
Hubert brightened up, then cautiously asked.
“Um… could we possibly buy some food? We really need a lot.”
“Hmm, you know food has been incredibly expensive lately, right?”
“Ah, I know! But the Mage Tower’s personnel have increased, and it’s been a bit… Even if we have the money, it’s not easy to get what we want.”
After receiving Runestones from Ghislaine, the Tower of the Bloody Flame had been regaining its former glory little by little.
Not only had the number of disciples increased, but they had also hired more servants to support them.
The magic tools and scroll sales had also been flourishing, and their funds had built back up to previous levels.
However, with the drought, everything had come to a halt.
If even the Crimson Tower, hailed as the strongest in the North, was coming to Ghislaine in search of food, it was needless to say how dire the situations were elsewhere.
“Ugh… Lately, food has been really hard to come by. But I heard rumors that there’s a lot of food here…”
“I wouldn’t say the Tower is likely to starve, would you?”
“Oh, don’t even get me started. We consume hundreds of servings a day, and it’s getting harder to find it, with prices skyrocketing to the point where it’s driving me crazy.”
It was the nobles who were sweeping up the available goods in the market, even changing the laws of the territory to maintain their armies.
Thanks to the authority and abundant funds of the Mage Tower, they managed to hold out until now; otherwise, they would have long been finished.
Even Count Cabaldy, who had hoarded a massive fortune, had no choice but to starve his soldiers.
Drought was truly terrifying. Once famine struck, the supply would be almost nonexistent until at least the next harvest.
With an earnest expression, Hubert wiped the sweat from his brow and spoke.
“Is there any way we could purchase some food together? Your territory’s population has grown, so it may be challenging, but… there’s a saying that real friends share hardships.”
Hubert didn’t know exactly how much food Ghislaine had. He had only heard through rumors that there was indeed a lot.
But to think that the person before him had sold that precious food to save soldiers and fight wars.
“Ugh, I don’t know why you did such a crazy thing… However, the population has increased, so maybe there wouldn’t be any surplus. What if you refuse to sell?”
He felt uneasy, but since there was nowhere else to get food, he had come to assess the situation.
After listening to his concerns, Ghislaine nodded as if it were nothing.
“We still have plenty of food. There’s enough to spare apart from what we need for ourselves.”
“R-really? Is there really that much? Then please sell us some! We won’t need to sell everything to the nobles. Just enough for our people to eat well for two years… safely…”
The Tower of the Bloody Flame had once been reputed as the strongest in the North.
Including the disciples and hired hands taught in the Tower, their numbers easily surpassed several hundred.
The amount needed to comfortably sustain that many for two years would be staggering.
Ghislaine smirked and held up three fingers as she did before.
“Three times the current market price.”
The faces of Hubert and the elders contorted in shock.
