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Chapter 198: Must Keep for a Long Time. (1)

“Please save me!”

“We can help stabilize the territory!”

“You can’t do this!”

The retainers of Count Cabaldy were wailing, but Ghislaine didn’t even blink.

The Knights of Penris, including Gillian, were all too familiar with such situations.

After all, they had already conducted a large-scale purge after taking over Count Digald’s territory.

“Uwaah! Please let me go!”

“I am a noble! Let me go! I command you to release me!”

“You ignorant fool who doesn’t even know the law!”

The retainers were dragged out, crying. As Gillian and the knights left, Belinda cautiously asked.

“Are you really okay, Young Master? This territory is much larger than our Penris, and they’ll lack administrative power.”

“It doesn’t matter. Besides, if we keep them around, they’ll just cause bigger troubles later on.”

Had Claude and the other administrators from Penris been here, they would have been horrified and tried to dissuade Ghislaine.

As Belinda pointed out, managing the count’s territory would require even more manpower.

However, Ghislaine had no intention of sparing their lives.

All the retainers here were practically allies of Count Desmond.

It was clear they would betray him at the first opportunity if kept alive. No matter how difficult it was, he had to cut ties decisively.

“First, Belinda, take people and seize all the property from these retainers. I’ll handle the rest with Claude when he arrives. Also, tell the soldiers not to lay a hand on the territory residents recklessly.”

“Understood.”

The residents of Cabaldy were trembling in fear and anxiety. Their lives depended on the nature of the new invaders.

Having suffered greatly under Count Cabaldy, it was only natural for them to be wary.

Yet, to their surprise, the occupying forces of Penris were merely going about their tasks in silence.

They cleaned up the battlefield and confirmed the assets of Count Cabaldy and his retainers; that was all they did.

Days passed in that state, and finally, Claude arrived with several officials.

“Hey, Claude, welcome.”

“Wahaha! We did it! We actually won! This is incredible!”

Claude, who had been worrying every day, was overjoyed upon seeing Ghislaine.

Seeing him act like that made Ghislaine smirk.

“Are you happy?”

“Ah, absolutely! We’ve taken over the count’s territory! And it’s the largest iron ore source in the North!”

“But you were against it at first, right?”

“Well, that was because I thought we might lose. I was also afraid of how the Duke’s faction would react.”

“Are you not scared now?”

“To be honest, I’m still scared of that, but what can I do about what’s already happened? I’ll worry about tomorrow when tomorrow comes.”

Claude replied cheerfully. After all, Ghislaine had already severed ties with the Duke’s faction before he joined.

Given their relationship couldn’t be mended now, he decided to purely rejoice in what they had obtained.

Increased territory, resources, and population, all of which anyone managing a territory would surely be happy about.

Ghislaine smiled again at Claude’s playful banter.

“So, what do you think? Do you trust my abilities a bit more now?”

“Yes, yes. I do trust you. Two matches, two wins, a 100% win rate. Lord, do what you want!”

Ghislaine clicked his tongue. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed somewhat sarcastic, but since it was a joyful day, he decided to overlook it.

“Alright, first, let’s assess the current status of the territory. We need to begin stabilization and development, so as quickly as possible. Belinda must have gathered all the assets of Count Cabaldy and his retainers.”

“Leave it to me! I’ll start right away!”

With a delightful response, Claude immediately led the officials to assess the situation.

The moment he checked Count Cabaldy’s personal assets, Claude’s mouth dropped wide open.

“W-w-wait! This is insane! This is crazy!”

Gold coins and artworks were piled up to the point that the storeroom could burst. The wealth accumulated from monopolizing the North’s iron ore was indeed beyond imagination.

Unconsciously stuffing gold coins into his pockets, Claude muttered,

“I— I’m rich now! No, our territory is rich… Wait! What am I doing right now?”

Startled, he turned around to find Wendy and the other officials looking at him with contempt.

“O-okay. Don’t look at me like that. I just… I didn’t realize after living so far without anything…”

Under their sharp gazes, Claude dejectedly returned the gold coins to their original place.

“First, I need to figure out exactly how much wealth we’ve got. I won’t forgive anyone who skims even a single coin.”

“…Understood.”

A few junior officials began organizing the inventory of Count Cabaldy’s assets. Claude also checked the confiscated property from the retainers.

“Whoa, these guys were insane.”

The hidden assets that the retainers stashed away were considerable as well.

How much did they have to exploit the territory residents and take bribes to accumulate such wealth?

Claude, having lived as a honest person without receiving even a penny and as a slave… honestly felt a twinge of envy.

So this is why everyone resorts to doing bad things.

“First, hurry up and assess this as well. If I’m going to put these guys to work later, I’ll need to prepare some strong indoctrination for them.”

He wanted to just leave them rotting in prison, but he also lacked administrative power, so he would have to put them to use even as slaves.

With that sense of regret, Claude moved on to check the military stores this time.

“Wow… is this really the amount?”

While the overflowing treasures were impressive, the countless storerooms filled with iron ore and iron bars were even more so.

It wasn’t for nothing that this place was called the largest iron ore source in the North. Other lords probably had no idea Count Cabaldy had stockpiled this much.

With such wealth and resources, to think they were starving because of a drought—how unpredictable the world can be!

Lost in thought, Claude suddenly broke into a big grin, thrilled.

“There are so many high-quality weapons! Our soldiers won’t have to wear rags anymore! Wow!”

There was enough to fully arm the entire military with heavy infantry.

After quickly inspecting other storerooms, Claude immediately headed to the temporary office to review the administrative documents of Count Cabaldy’s territory.

“Oh, there are more than I expected?”

With the developed smelting techniques, there were far more blacksmiths and engineers here than in other territories.

It seemed Count Cabaldy understood the importance of iron ore, thoroughly keeping track of miners and blacksmiths.

“Bring out the other documents too!”

Claude continuously admired the piles of documents before him.

No matter how barren the northern territory, it was still a count’s territory. Count Cabaldy’s domain housed far more people than a small barony.

Gains in territory were great, but gains in population were an even bigger boon. It meant they could fill the labor shortages and muster more troops than before.

“Damn! Tell Desmond and the Duke’s faction to come as well! Bring it on!”

Claude’s confidence surged sky-high in an instant.

With increased population and resources, he felt bolstered.

Sure, in an actual fight, they might end up stomped without even putting up a fight, but for now, he was too excited to have such rational thoughts.

As he wrapped up his assessment, Claude dashed over to Ghislaine.

“Lord! Our amazing lord! We’ll start the territorial stabilization work right away!”

“Oh, great. How’s the situation looking?”

“It’s incredible! With this, we can raise the territory’s power much faster! Since the land has expanded, we can build more facilities as well! First, I’ll improve the treatment of miners and the territory residents and boost productivity!”

“Right, you know time is always short, right? Let’s get it done quickly.”

“Understood! Oh, by the way, where did you put the retainers? Those guys were eating a lot!”

“I sent them to prison.”

“Did they… die?”

“Died.”

“That’s quite the revelation. Did they happen to die by accident? Or was it on your orders?”

“Died.”

With such a concise reply, Claude cautiously asked,

“…Why?”

“Because they all sided with Desmond. They didn’t get rich for no reason.”

“Ugh…”

Claude scratched his head, then hung it low.

If they sided with Desmond, it was indeed right to eliminate them. But now, the administrators from Penris were also busy running the territory.

“We’re screwed… We’ve truly wrecked ourselves…”

Claude muttered, pale as reality weighed heavily upon him.

There was so much work already piling up; how could they manage this vast count’s territory?

All his joy evaporated, replaced with the heavy burden of reality.

As Claude squirmed, unsure of what to do, Ghislaine spoke up.

“Let’s deal with the urgent things first and think later. Now isn’t the time for worry.”

“…Understood. First, I’ll distribute food and calm the territory residents.”

With tears in his eyes, Claude stepped back.

Though it was odd for someone who had killed the retainers to say such a thing, Ghislaine’s words were right. Time was of the essence, and simply worrying wouldn’t solve anything.

For now, he had to keep running.

*

“Wow, this place is truly a mess. What on earth happened to the management?”

Claude clicked his tongue as he observed the emaciated miners in front of him.

The storerooms were filled with wealth, yet the people of the count’s territory were on the brink of death.

The miners looked at Claude with a mix of fear and hostility.

More accurately, their eyes were glued to the wagons behind him.

‘Food… Food….’

‘Did they rob it from somewhere else?’

‘We have nothing left to lose now…’

The miners were treated slightly better compared to other territory residents.

After all, the miners who brought in the iron ore were the backbone supporting the prosperity of this territory.

But with the drought occurring and war breaking out, the supplies they used to receive were cut off. What little they had was taken by the army.

‘You bastards…’

‘If you hadn’t invaded…’

‘Filthy invading scum!’

While the miners were wary, they were filled with unexpressed resentment.

It would have been standard to curse the tyrannical Count Cabaldy, as they had lived under his oppression.

Yet, as their situation worsened due to the invaders, their hostility arose naturally.

They weren’t even expecting the food to be distributed to them. Everyone knew the nobles were in a bind due to the serious drought.

Hence, they could only think that the invading army was there to take whatever little they had left.

Seeing such miners, Claude couldn’t help but smirk.

‘Ah, everyone starts out like this.’

The people of Penris had also appeared just as defeated and shot him looks filled with resentment.

Territory residents suffering under a greedy lord couldn’t help but feel that way.

In the awkward atmosphere, Claude gestured to the soldiers behind him.

“Distribute the food. Give generously. Oh, and there’s barely any meat. That’s really hard to come by right now.”

The miners received bags filled with flour and a bit of grain, and they looked utterly stunned.

To receive food during such hard times? Isn’t it normal that they would be robbed instead?

As the miners stood speechless, Claude tried to play it cool.

“What? Is it not enough? Give them an extra bag each. Just hand it out freely. If we save it, it’ll just go bad.”

“Gah!”

Claude’s words shocked the miners, making them gasp.

They couldn’t believe they were getting more on top of what they just received, which was like a dream.

Yet as soldiers approached and handed them an extra bag of flour each, the miners immediately dropped to their knees.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Profuse expressions of gratitude erupted all around.

Watching that scene, Claude clicked his tongue. How much had Count Cabaldy ridden these people to make them look so much like slaves?

“Tsk tsk, this is why they say the northern nobles are ruthless. Speaking of which, Count Perdium is truly amazing. He managed to live so hard without exploitation.”

Count Cabaldy likely didn’t purposefully make these people slaves.

That way, he could collect taxes. He must have continuously pressured them with his soldiers.

Seeing them pushed to this state showed he wasn’t just a common tyrant; he was exceptionally harsh.

“Now, under the leadership of our newly appointed lord, this place will change immensely. Just focus on your work, and I will ensure you are compensated well, so there’s no need to worry about that.”

Despite Claude’s words, the miners didn’t readily show belief.

Instead, they tightly clutched the bags of food and looked around nervously.

Worrying about their food being snatched by someone else was evidence that goodwill was at an all-time low.

Claude, having seen such people many times, narrowed his eyes and issued a firm warning.

“Anyone caught touching another’s food will be executed immediately. Do not forget that.”

In such a state, being gentle wouldn’t work. Instead, setting an example by punishing others would likely be more effective.

At Claude’s ominous warning, the miners bowed their heads.

“We will remember.”

They had some awareness. There was no way they would go against the mood of an armed invading force.

If they ended up starving, it was natural to snatch from their neighbors, but for now, they would abide quietly.

Similar situations unfolded throughout the territory. Claude and the other officials did not miss a single small village and distributed food.

The residents’ reactions were no different from those of the miners. They didn’t believe they would continue receiving food during such a terrible drought.

“Tsk tsk, it seems this will take some time.”

While calming the stirred public sentiment by distributing food, they couldn’t entirely mitigate the fears.

It hadn’t taken just a few months for the people of Penris to successfully farm and distribute food.

To unite as one territory to battle a powerful enemy, they would have to gradually support the residents and build trust in their lord.

Upon hearing Claude’s report, Ghislaine nodded.

“With the years of exploitation, they won’t easily trust us. Once they realize there’s an abundance of food and their lives are getting better, they’ll change just like the people of Penris.”

“Yes, since this will take time, we will continue to provide consistent support.”

“Right. So shall we begin with the next task? We have more resources and a larger population now, don’t we?”

“Of course, we should start with that?”

In response to Claude’s question, Ghislaine nodded.

“That’s a given. While Count Cabaldy’s territory is larger than others, it’s still not enough. We need to boost productivity several times over.”

Residential areas, farmland, and public facilities would all have to be constructed steadily over time.

However, having seized this territory, there were far more important facilities to be established.

Big-scale smelters and blacksmiths capable of mass-producing iron weapons and tools.

 

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