Chapter 212
Chapter
Chapter 212 Just Went Up. (2)
Food prices had already skyrocketed, and iron ore was originally an expensive resource.
Struggling to endure a 30% increase, and now they want 50% more? Just for themselves? This was utterly unfair.
“W-What do you mean? Did you not hear me? We are a merchant group that has had long transactions with Perdium from the past…”
“Double.”
“…What?”
“It just went up to double. Why are you even bringing up Perdium?”
“P-Please don’t joke, my Lord. No matter what, making deals like this now is just…”
Seeing Pharil panic, Ghislaine scoffed.
“Joke? Does what the Lord just said sound like a joke to you?”
Under that icy pressure, Pharil broke out in a cold sweat. He couldn’t fathom why Ghislaine was being so aggressive.
As he racked his brain, Pharil suddenly recalled a past deal with Perdium.
‘Where does he even get off talking about Perdium? Could it be now…?’
Faced with a sense of foreboding, Pharil shouted in desperation.
“Is this because of the past deal we had with Perdium? It seems there’s been a misunderstanding. That time, we calculated transportation costs, labor, and market prices at the northern edge fairly…”
“Triple.”
“M-my Lord…”
“Does this still look like the poor Perdium that was being pulled around by your tricks?”
Pharil couldn’t hide his despairing expression.
It was certain. The Lord before him hadn’t forgotten about the past when his father was heavily taxed by the merchant group.
Food and iron ore were tightly controlled by Baron Penris, and Marquis Branford claimed to be his guardian.
Baron Penris was considered a rising star in the kingdom, an ardent supporter of the Northern Crown Prince faction, and his reputation was soaring rapidly.
Having been targeted by someone like him, the future of the merchant group looked grim.
“My Lord, I’m sorry. Please, let’s stick to the original price of a 30% increase…”
“You’re not making any sense. Just drag him out.”
With a gesture of annoyance, Ghislaine signaled for the soldiers to come forward and drag Pharil away.
“M-my Lord! Please! I was wrong! Please reconsider!”
“No reconsideration. From now on, I’ll take triple the price from Pharil’s group.”
‘You bastard!’
Dragged out, Pharil regretted it. He had come to dispute and ended up incurring greater losses.
But alongside that regret, even bigger anger surged within him.
‘Damn it, damn it! That brat! That was just the standard price at the time! Do you think Perdium could have even gotten goods without us? You wretched bastard!’
Pharil continuously cursed and damned Ghislaine.
No matter how precious food and iron ore were, he couldn’t pay triple for them. It would be cheaper to buy from another merchant even if he had to pay extra.
There was no loss like this. He gritted his teeth and vowed.
‘Just you wait! Desmond had to have moved his army, right? I will surely attach myself to them and bring about your ruin!’
If the merchant group was to survive, there was simply no other way. Ghislaine had to either die or fall into ruin for him to live.
So, he had no choice but to go after the enemy’s enemy.
Ghislaine chuckled as he watched Pharil being dragged out.
It was obvious. The merchant groups that had just been humiliated would scheme against him without fail.
But it didn’t matter. Once he subdued the North, he planned to devour them all.
He only needed to gather the necessary resources until then.
Ghislaine immediately called Claude.
“Collect all the promissory notes from the merchants and territories that had debts to Perdium while handing over the food. Leave not a single one. For the iron ore, just release a small quantity for now.”
“Understood. Count Perdium will be pleased. Now there’s no need to pay interest.”
“Can we also reclaim that interest?”
“Of course, just leave it to me.”
Claude handled the matter efficiently. First, he sold cheap food at inflated prices and collected all the promissory notes.
After that, while he didn’t raise prices further, he set purchase limits. If they wanted to buy more, they would need to bribe him to make money shrewdly.
The merchants clicked their tongues. While they, too, had exploited others for a living, they had never seen someone this vicious and corrupt in their lives.
‘So you’re going to wield power just because you’re the Chief Officer?’
‘Did you really think you could stuff your pockets with bribes and get away with it?’
‘You’re already annoying us with high prices; we might just need to take you down as well.’
Countless complaints from merchants flew toward the Lord’s castle, but it had no effect.
After all, he was colluding with the Lord to increase income through bribery, so that sort of complaint was futile.
Claude diligently collected bribes, filling the granaries of the territory, while Ghislaine looked on with a pleased smile.
*
Belinda and Fergus were overjoyed to hear that all of Perdium’s debts had been cleared.
For the two of them, Perdium was still a bittersweet place filled with fond memories.
“That’s fantastic! Our young master is so impressive, isn’t he? I must’ve raised him well, right?”
“Hoo hoo hoo, yeah… The butler really did raise him well… Cough, cough! Suddenly my heart…”
Fergus couldn’t finish his sentence and turned his head. No matter how pleased he was, it was hard to say something insincere.
Meanwhile, the Chief Officer of Perdium, Homern, received all the promissory notes and threw them into the air, shouting.
“We are free! We’ve finally broken free from debt! Hahaha! I thought the Grand Duke would die after recklessly starting a war, yet he won and cleared all our debts! This is truly something to live long and witness!”
Treasurer Albert and Perdium’s retainers cheered alongside him.
“We don’t have to pay interest anymore! We can start saving now!”
“Besides, the food prices we received so generously from the Grand Duke have skyrocketed, haven’t they? Thanks to that, our wealth has increased tremendously!”
“It’s an unexpected gift! Who would have thought the Grand Duke would pay off debts suddenly?”
They sang praises of Ghislaine until their mouths ran dry.
When the Grand Duke caused trouble, they wanted to kill him, yet when he did something good, they were overjoyed.
Having bounced back and forth between hot and cold, they decided to simply express their feelings according to the moment.
Zvalter and Randolf, who were staying at the Northern Fortress, were also delighted to hear this news.
“Brother… Finally, we’ve paid off all our debts…”
Randolf muttered, tears brimming in his eyes.
Zvalter felt something swell within him and couldn’t even respond, closing his eyes instead.
How much had they suffered and struggled due to debt?
Hearing that their successful son had cleared it all brought them immeasurable joy.
His heart swelled. Today, he missed his wife even more. It was truly heartbreaking not to have her by his side at a time like this.
“My love… Why did you leave so early, not even being able to see that rascal succeed?”
His son was soaring in fame and success day by day. How proud he felt!
Actually, when he heard news of recent warfare, his heart had dropped.
He had attacked the Cabaldy territory without consulting him first, doing it so recklessly. There was no noble demeanor or courtesy in that approach.
But the moment he heard that, concern took precedence over anger.
He thought it would be difficult for Ghislaine to win against Count Cabaldy, a powerful figure in the North.
In a hurry, he began preparing to withdraw from the Northern Fortress and call upon Perdium’s forces. He thought it best to help Ghislaine first and worry about the aftermath later.
Just then, news of victory came flooding in.
— Grand Duke has won! There were no injuries! The Cabaldy Territory has been taken!
Zvalter couldn’t forget the feelings he experienced then.
‘Incredible. It’s hard to believe. How did he gain such strength in such a short time?’
He could no longer be classified as merely a baron. At such a young age, he had amassed greater power and territory than most earls.
With the help of Marquis Branford, achieving the title of earl wouldn’t be a problem at all.
‘He has already far surpassed me.’
A truth he had known but chose to overlook.
Even Zvalter himself, although experienced in the field, lacked the confidence to defeat Count Cabaldy in a siege war.
From profit-making skills to military tactics, his capabilities were not something one could see easily in someone of his age.
‘Well, I’m now curious just how far you can go.’
He was still worried due to his precarious and dangerous actions.
But that was a father’s heart. Now was the time to trust and watch over him rather than intervene.
After all, it wouldn’t help to intervene since Ghislaine wouldn’t listen anyway. It felt better to believe comfortably instead of wasting energy on a futile struggle.
Sighing in resignation, Zvalter wore a wry smile. Yet, today was indeed a day worth celebrating.
It was a monumental day as Perdium was finally free from the shackles of debt.
He gathered the knights and soldiers and exclaimed loudly.
“We’ve paid off all our debts!”
“Waaah!”
The knights and soldiers cheered loudly. It was common knowledge that the territory had been living under a crushing debt.
Now that they had cleared their debts, their granaries were overflowing with food received in exchange for timber. Given Zvalter’s nature, everyone expected that he would take care of their needs if he found surplus.
Zvalter didn’t betray their expectations. He was a lord who knew how to share generously.
“Starting today, everyone will receive a salary much higher than before. Besides salaries, I will be distributing additional food, so there’s no need to worry! You all have worked incredibly hard!”
“Waaaaah!”
An even louder cheer erupted. Zvalter looked at them with deep emotion.
His throat felt tight in this dream-like reality. He had always thought a day like this would never come.
His ancestors had all failed in tasks he so proudly accomplished.
Clearing his throat multiple times, Zvalter continued.
“I sincerely respect your loyalty for enduring the difficult times until the end. And… let us not forget that it was Ghislaine, the heir of this territory, who resolved all these difficulties.”
“Understood!”
A thunderous response echoed around them.
Especially the knights had no choice but to rejoice even more.
Ever since learning the new Mana Circulation Method, it had been a struggle. They couldn’t afford to pause their training even while fighting barbarians.
While they assuredly grew stronger day by day, their bodies and minds were becoming increasingly fatigued. No, even their very souls felt drained.
Hearing this joyful news lifted their spirits. In tough times, good treatment was necessary to keep going.
Ghislaine had a remarkable knack for delivering this kind of bitter sweetness.
*
Ghislaine couldn’t hide his admiration as he calculated the prices from earlier transactions.
“Wow, food prices have risen even higher than before the war. It’s like completely clearing the debt for free.”
Just sharing a bit of surplus food had made Perdium’s debts vanish.
But that wasn’t all. Resources necessary for territory development, such as timber, herbs, and textiles, were constantly flowing into Penris.
Yet, there was no movement in Penris’s property value. Thanks to the food being harvested and piled up madly.
Selling small amounts of iron ore was just a bonus. It was used heavily within the territory, so not much was sold.
“Well, it still isn’t enough.”
No matter how many resources they gathered, it always felt tight compared to the speed of territory development.
Still, as long as they kept scraping together, things would improve over time.
Collecting resources and developing the territory wasn’t the end. It was only the foundation for securing strong military power.
They had to maintain their soldiers’ status at peak levels, including training and welfare.
“We need to check on tactical training too.”
As soon as Ghislaine finished his paperwork, he headed to the training grounds.
The soldiers who had come for food were still adjusting properly in the territory. However, Ghislaine didn’t worry even a bit about the training situation.
With the victory in war, morale and loyalty had increased significantly, and Gillian was a seasoned individual at training people.
So lately, he’d been focusing only on post-war handling and territory development…
But while observing the training situation, Ghislaine discovered a serious issue.
“Ughh!”
“I-I can’t move anymore.”
“It’s so tough I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
Groans erupted from the soldiers in various corners.
Though the training intensity of Penris was higher than other territories, it wasn’t too harsh for knights.
Still, most of the soldiers were struggling to keep up with the training.
“How can you say you want to protect the territory when you can’t handle this much?”
Even the usually taciturn Gillian seemed frustrated and urged the soldiers repeatedly. Yet, everyone was just standing there trembling.
“Ugh… This training is just too hard. What am I supposed to do when my body won’t cooperate…?”
“We didn’t have to train like this before. We’re not knights, after all.”
“We easily won the war, so is there a need to get stronger here?”
Northern lords didn’t train their soldiers to this extent. They just needed to be trained enough to maintain discipline.
Controlling territory residents took precedence over war training.
But things were different in Penris. They had to undergo intense training to become elite soldiers.
So, soldiers experiencing this kind of training for the first time could only wear grimmaces.
‘It may be tough, but it’s not training to the point of being unmanageable.’
Though Ghislaine and Gillian had high standards, they weren’t so foolish as to over-exert people.
The two devised a training schedule based on their experiences, allowing soldiers to grow thoroughly step by step.
Still, the fact that most couldn’t keep up indicated a different issue at play.
Watching the soldiers’ conditions, Ghislaine soon nodded as if realizing something.
“They’ve been through too much hardship without enough food.”
