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Chapter 21

“Crazy! Why would you do that?” (1)

Ghislaine’s group couldn’t hide their relief upon returning to the territory.

Though their outing was short, outside, they couldn’t relax comfortably like they could in Perdium.

Only Gillian was silently surveying the various spots in the territory without any expressions.

As they headed towards the lord’s castle, Ghislaine asked Gillian, “This is the Perdium Territory. What are your honest impressions?”

“…I think it’s okay.”

“No, no. I want an honest evaluation, not some formal response. What do you really think from an outsider’s perspective?”

Gillian hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to be truthful.

He didn’t like to just say what others wanted to hear.

“…All the houses are old and dilapidated. They don’t seem to be undergoing repairs. That likely means the territory is poor.”

Raybold is the wealthiest territory in the North.

Although Gillian himself was living in poverty after using all his assets to treat his daughter, he had seen how the people of Raybold lived on his travels.

Even when working as a mercenary, he visited many territories up close.

To Gillian, the Perdium Territory was just a poor rural area, nothing more, nothing less.

Ghislaine nodded without showing any anger.

“That’s right. It’s a really poor territory. Both the lord and the residents are short on money. They live day by day.”

“There are hardly any young men visible. If that’s the case, it would be impossible to develop.”

“Right. Do you know why?”

After thinking for a moment, Gillian replied, “I heard that the Perdium Territory is almost always at war because of the northern barbarians. That often leads to conscription, so there would naturally be a shortage of young people.”

“You’re well-informed.”

Ghislaine smiled wryly.

“Even the area around the lord’s castle, where development typically flourishes, is like this. No need to mention other towns.”

“Hmm…”

“With no one to farm, taxes decrease, and the territory becomes even poorer. It’s a vicious cycle.”

Listening to Ghislaine, Gillian realized that the state of the territory was more serious than he had thought.

Currently, the situation in Perdium was akin to pouring water into a bottomless pit.

If they couldn’t collect taxes properly, there was no way for the territory and military to function properly.

Ghislaine slowly spoke with a self-deprecating smile.

“Indeed, the biggest problem is money. The equipment for the knights and soldiers is aging, but since there’s no money, they can’t be replaced. Supplies aren’t delivered on time either. If other territories hadn’t supported us, we would have collapsed by now.”

“The situation is not good.”

“Yeah, at this rate, it’ll be faster to starve to death than to die fighting.”

In his previous life, Ghislaine was too preoccupied with complaining about being born in a poor territory. He now realized how childish that was.

“Actually, it’s not like we’re fighting year-round. It’s just a repeating cycle of blocking and pushing back at set intervals. The problem is that all the able-bodied people are in the military, yet we’re only managing to maintain that status quo.”

“Then we can’t just eliminate the military, can we?”

“Exactly. We have no resources to spare, yet we still have to maintain the military, so there’s no way we can escape poverty.”

In Gillian’s view, it wasn’t just a geographic issue.

The Perdium Territory had reasonably mild weather and didn’t seem that bad for farming.

But the problem was the lack of farmers. All the labor force was consumed by the war.

Ghislaine brought up another issue aside from the barbarians.

“Did you see the forest attached to the northwest of the territory? It’s called the Forest of Monsters. Do you know about it?”

“Yes, I’ve heard it’s a forest full of monsters.”

“Since we never know when monsters might appear, the military is on guard in that area too. So it’s practically a war there as well. Just maintaining the military consumes resources.”

Not only was there already a lack of money and people, but those who could work were all in the military, just standing guard.

At this rate, it almost seemed better to charge in and fight than to just sit around and wait to starve.

Just standing still, the military was a money-eater.

Right now, they were somehow holding on due to support from other territories, but it wouldn’t be strange if they fell apart any time.

Gillian asked with sympathy, “What about getting more support from other territories? Money or food, for example? If we could share that with the poor residents…”

“They don’t want us to grow stronger. They only provide just enough support to barely keep the military going. There’s no way they’re sharing resources with our residents.”

Gillian nodded unconsciously.

Ghislaine was the exception; most nobles didn’t even care about the well-being of their own residents.

Such people wouldn’t be willing to part with their assets to help others’ residents.

It was likely that there were those who felt obligated to support just enough to maintain some level of security.

Fortunately, the people in the North had stronger characters, allowing them to endure despite the poverty.

“Were there no other options?”

Ghislaine nodded.

“My father, my grandfather, and my great-grandfather all tried to break this vicious cycle but failed. From the start, there wasn’t any money, so they couldn’t attempt anything else.”

“It sounds difficult.”

“There’s always a chance for new sprouts if there’s just a drop of water, even if the land is barren. But our territory doesn’t even have that single drop.”

“To be honest, it might be better for you to receive knighthood from another territory, Your Highness. Even if you inherit the territory, it’s sure to be a struggle.”

Gillian honestly expressed his mounting frustration.

Ghislaine smiled slightly.

“I’ll handle it.”

“Pardon? You, Your Highness?”

It sounded like a promise of sorts. Ghislaine nodded when Gillian questioned her.

“I will definitely break the cycle of poverty in our territory. Not a drop of water, but rain.”

Gillian thought it was just a hollow dream stemming from youthful ambition. No one would look at the current situation and think it possible to save the territory.

But Ghislaine truly believed she could solve the issues in Perdium.

It was a confidence no one could understand, one only she possessed.

*

As soon as Ghislaine arrived at the lord’s castle, she hurriedly moved when she confirmed that her father was back.

“Belinda, prepare a place for Gillian and Rachel to stay. I’m going to meet my father soon. And since we need to treat her daily, also gather some herbs.”

“Got it. I also need to finish my delayed tasks.”

Ghislaine looked at Gillian.

“Gillian, stay at the castle for a while. I’ll arrange a proper place for you soon.”

“Thank you.”

Ghislaine acknowledged the hard work of the knight attendants and, together with Gillian, sought out her father.

‘How long has it been?’

For the Grand Duke of Perdium, it had been a few months, but for the Mercenary King, it had been decades since they last met.

Ghislaine stood at the door for a moment, calming her racing heart.

Was her father in a meeting with his retainers? Ghislaine could hear his tired voice through the door.

“Are we going to have to cut the military forces?”

“Yes. It seems it will be tight to maintain the current state. The funding has decreased.”

Treasurer Albert replied in a dry tone.

A moment’s silence passed, and soon Knight Commander Randolf’s heavy voice echoed.

“Brother Albert, if we reduce any further, we won’t be able to maintain the front lines properly.”

As the commander of the knights, Randolf was sensitive to the maintenance of the front line and fighting against the barbarians.

With frustration, he asked, “Where have we reduced the funding? Why not request more support from Raybold? I’m sure they have surplus resources.”

Hearing Randolf’s words, Chief Officer Homern sighed.

“That seems hard. The reason we need to cut is… the support from Raybold, which had been the most plentiful, has decreased. Upon inquiry, it seems Count Raybold has increased his military efforts. They’re gathering troops and stockpiling food.”

Randolf looked a bit surprised as he asked again, “Why is Count Raybold increasing his military? Besides here, where else is there to wage war in the North?”

“I don’t know. We’re always focused on the Northern Fortress, so it’s hard to grasp how things are going around us.”

“We can’t reduce the military. If we do, we’ll be finished by the barbarians. We have less than thirty knights left. With no money, everyone is leaving and turning into traitors like Jamal or Philip.”

Randolf strongly insisted, but Albert replied in that emotionally detached tone.

“It seems we should also cut the strength of the knight order. If we do so, we have no choice but to reduce the front line in the North.”

Randolf shouted as if he were about to explode with anger.

“Brother! If we reduce the front line, it defeats the purpose of holding them back! The barbarians will pour in through the gaps!”

At that, no one seemed to have anything to say in response.

Even the main retainers were just the Chief Officer, Knight Commander, and Treasurer. Although the territory was poor, these three had somehow managed to hold things together.

Homern, Albert, and Randolf were the central figures steering Perdium.

Hearing the conversation from the door, Ghislaine let out an awkward smile and said to Gillian, “This is a bit embarrassing. The state of the territory is really bad. It feels different from other territories, right? Everyone here is like sworn brothers with my father.”

“It’s surprising that the territory is still sustained in such a state. It seems the bond between the people plays a big role there.”

“Yeah, those gentlemen have endured so far out of loyalty and duty. Even if they’re a bit stubborn, they’re good people.”

‘Though they look at me like I’m an enemy.’

Ghislaine held her tongue on that thought.

Since she had caused so much trouble, she was not particularly on good terms with those three.

Taking a deep breath before opening the door, Ghislaine was now facing those stiff and serious individuals.

“Let’s go in.”

She firmly pushed open the door to the grand hall.

The chief officer Homern, with thinning hair; Treasurer Albert, who always looked serious; and Knight Commander Randolf, with his bushy beard.

Though they seemed of similar age to Count Perdium, their faces frowned the moment they saw Ghislaine.

But from the moment Ghislaine saw her father, nothing else caught her gaze.

‘Father!’

Her father, Zvalter Perdium, wore his usual expressionless, stern face.

Ghislaine’s heart raced.

Of course, she felt happy to see the other three as well, but her father was a bit more special.

In her last life, she hadn’t seen her father after running away, and she couldn’t even remember what his face looked like well.

Now seeing her father again, every feature stood out vividly in her eyes.

‘I didn’t think it would take this long.’

When she left her family, she thought she could always return and see them again.

That was a childish thought.

It was only after the family fell that Ghislaine realized that what she had taken for granted could be anything but assured.

After feeling the pain and sorrow of not being able to see what she wanted, she came to understand how precious the things she had previously thought were obvious were.

“Father….”

Ghislaine opened her mouth with a trembling voice but couldn’t manage to finish her thoughts.

Words of gratitude or inquiries of her father’s well-being couldn’t come out. She could only gaze at her father with trembling eyes.

However, Zvalter had no way of knowing Ghislaine’s feelings. He felt a little tense seeing his son displaying behavior different from usual.

‘What’s wrong? Did he cause trouble again? Why are his eyes so inexplicably moist?’

After waiting in vain for Ghislaine to speak, Zvalter finally broke the silence.

“Ahem, I heard you went out. What happened with Count Raybold’s daughter?”

 

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