Chapter 428
Chapter 428: I Will Save You. (2)
As soon as Ghislaine finished speaking, the two men fell to the ground and shouted.
“W-we are innocent! We opposed it!”
“It was all ordered by the Lord!”
Unfortunately, Count Grafton was not a figure deserving of loyalty. The Chief Officer and Treasurer were already prepared to confess without even being tortured.
As Ghislaine approached, the two men shouted again while still on the floor.
“We know where it is!”
“It’s not far from here!”
At their words, Count Grafton turned pale and screamed.
“You fools! Shut up! I said to keep your mouths shut!”
But it was already too late. The two men had spilled every detail they knew to Ghislaine.
Count Grafton had secretly built an underground storage in a nearby village to store medicinal herbs. He even had manufacturing facilities set up to produce drugs.
After hearing the story, Ghislaine nodded.
“Gillian, take your troops and go check that place. Use these two as guides.”
“Understood.”
Gillian moved with the Chief Officer and Treasurer. Up until then, Count Grafton had not stopped his desperate struggles.
“Uaaah! What are you doing! Hurry up and attack! Isn’t the Northern Army outside the fortress? Get rid of these guys and prepare for war!”
If he was going to lose everything anyway, there was no reason to avoid a fight.
The knights and soldiers had to follow Count Grafton’s orders, but they couldn’t bring themselves to do it. Even though more soldiers were gathering and the number of troops affiliated with the territory had significantly increased, they didn’t dare charge at Ghislaine.
“Fight against Count Penris, the Master?”
“He’s one of the strongest in the kingdom, right?”
“Can we really win, even if we all charge at him?”
Surely if they all jumped him at once, they might stand a chance, but who would be brave enough to be the first? The first one to charge would surely lose his head.
Moreover, the Northern Army’s reputation had risen as they dealt with the fortress rift. In the first place, the Penris Army was known for its elite troops.
Only a few were present here, but outside there were 80,000 Northern Army soldiers. If they attacked, everyone here would be trampled in an instant.
There was no one loyal enough to Count Grafton. The Knight Commander merely murmured something about the situation, hesitantly saying, “Well, since this involves enforcing the kingdom’s laws, let’s see the results first…”
“You crazy fool! After all this, you’re telling me you’re a loyal knight?! What result are you even talking about?”
In a situation that felt more like a comedy, Ghislaine smirked and sat back down.
He crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and muttered.
“I really don’t like doing this forcefully.”
People didn’t believe him, but Ghislaine truly loved freedom, having come from a mercenary background.
It was just that the world, the times, and the environment kept pushing him in that direction. He meant it.
While Ghislaine waited for Gillian, Count Grafton continued his raving.
“Hurry up and kill that guy! They should never have been allowed into the castle! If you touch me, other lords will stop you! Are you planning to make war with all the lords of the kingdom?!”
He was ranting on and on, but no one listened, not even those on his side.
If they had just charged at Ghislaine from the beginning, they might have built up some momentum for a fight. But with the mood now being what it was, no one dared to move.
After some time, Gillian returned to report.
“I found it.”
“Good, how much is there?”
“I can’t determine the exact quantity until I check, but at a glance, there are at least tens of thousands of vials of manufactured medicine. There are also considerable amounts of medicinal herbs piled up.”
“Looks like they’ve been quite gluttonous.”
Ghislaine chuckled as he stood up, looking coldly at Count Grafton.
“I will strip you of your title. Lock him in a prison. The territory will be confiscated by the royal family and will be bestowed upon anyone who contributes in the future.”
Count Grafton’s face turned pale. Where in the world was such a law written?!
This couldn’t be happening. He hadn’t even fought a single war yet and was losing his territory absurdly.
Northern Army soldiers bound him and lifted him up. Count Grafton continued to shout desperately.
“I said to attack that guy! What are you doing! Hurry up and attack! Where’s the justice in this?! I am the master of this place! Even a king can’t treat me like this!”
His retainers and guard knights merely watched, unsure of what to do.
While Ghislaine’s actions might have seemed a bit harsh, it was Count Grafton himself who had broken the law first.
After all, the authority of a lord was given in exchange for fulfilling duties to the royal family and the territory residents. It was Count Grafton who had first forsaken that.
“It’s a chaotic situation, but our lord is being a bit too much.”
“People are dropping dead from the illness. Everyone seems overwhelmed dealing with the rift.”
“In fact, the Northern Army is the one dealing with the rift, right? We were just lucky to be away from the mess.”
Everyone rationalized their thoughts this way and turned a blind eye. They didn’t want to devote their lives to Count Grafton.
They were simply anxious that they too might get dragged into this.
Ghislaine pointed out a few of Count Grafton’s knights.
“You all head to the nearby territories and relay this matter correctly. While we distribute the medicine, they should prepare accordingly. Got it?”
“Understood!”
The places Ghislaine referenced had escaped the effects of the rift, but were territories stockpiling medicine or inadequately cooperating.
Surely, upon hearing about this incident, they would adequately prepare. The information had already been gathered, so there would be no denying it.
If they resisted until the end, there was no choice but to flex some power, just as he was doing now. At the moment, there was no time to go easy on them.
Ghislaine looked back at Count Grafton’s retainers.
“I will hold the lord responsible for this crime alone. If I were to catch all of you, it would create problems for the territory as well. Until a new lord is determined, a Penris official will come to take charge of this place. All of you cooperate well.”
“Y-yes, understood.”
Who would dare refuse an order? Count Grafton’s retainers all bowed their heads.
Ghislaine turned his body and spoke to Gillian.
“We need to quickly devise a way to deliver the surrounding medicines as soon as we recover them. First, let’s identify the areas severely affected by the epidemic.”
Having shown a demonstration, it was now time to move again.
*
The epidemic was spreading incredibly quickly.
There were many territory residents who had come into contact with the soldiers who fought against the rift. The bigger problem was that among them, some were wandering around here and there. Merchants, messengers, adventurers, and mercenaries alike.
The speed at which the illness spread was much faster than the speed at which medicines could be distributed.
Though Ghislaine had prepared production facilities and had them produce medicine in advance, it wasn’t working out very well. The lords didn’t trust Ghislaine and were acting passively to avoid losses.
Even though production of medicine began as soon as the epidemic spread, more cities were being abandoned due to illness.
The people in those abandoned cities screamed in agony.
“Ugh… What is our lord doing…?”
“I heard there were medicines… Why aren’t they giving them to us…?”
“We’ve been forsaken… We’ve been forsaken…”
Once healthy people collapsed from high fevers. Those around them avoided them, but the already lurking illness eventually manifested in everyone.
The nobles and administrators in the city had long since fled. And they were spreading the disease to other territories.
This city was thus abandoned.
Production activities halted. Merchants no longer came. With the economy paralyzed, everyone collapsed from starvation.
Inside homes and in the streets, corpses began to pile up.
Those who were still somewhat well covered their mouths with cloth and tried to clear away the bodies, but soon they too collapsed.
A cloud of death hung over the entire city.
Despair takes strength to feel. These people had no strength even to despair.
All they could do was slowly fade away.
“Mom…”
The girl placed her finger on her mother’s nose, who was lying in bed.
She was still alive. Her body was covered in red spots and she was writhing in severe fever, but a faint breath could be felt.
‘There’s no food…’
They had run out of food long ago. At this rate, starving to death would be faster than dying from illness.
The girl wobbled and stood up.
‘I need to find something to eat…’
With the merchant groups absent and the lord having abandoned the city, there was nowhere to find food.
So the girl stepped outside.
She had red spots on her body and was burning with fever, but she could still move.
‘It’s cold…’
Even though it wasn’t cold weather, she felt a chill all over. Though her temperature was hot enough to feel uncomfortably warm, her body felt cold to the point of almost being unbearable.
But still, the girl moved on.
‘Please, someone…’
She hoped someone would help her. But everyone was in no state to gather themselves.
Even the fruit shop owner who was always loud, the store sister who always welcomed her with a smile, and even the gangsters who occasionally caused trouble in the street were nowhere to be seen.
Everyone had collapsed from the illness.
The streets were silent. Trash piled up everywhere, and flies buzzed about. In one corner, a decomposing corpse could be seen.
‘I need to get out of the city…’
Nothing could be found inside the city anymore. Everyone had fallen, and everything was rotting away.
She needed to hunt a weak beast outside the city. It was something she couldn’t do, but she had to try.
With her eyes glazed over, the girl kept moving.
It was easy to leave the city. Even the soldiers had collapsed, leaving no one to guard it.
‘It’s cold…’
She wrapped her arms around herself. But the chill wouldn’t go away.
Her head was starting to spin and the world seemed to be spinning around her.
Kuwung.
The girl, having exited the city, could barely walk any further before collapsing.
“Mom…”
She had heard that the lord and nobles had medicine. There were rumors they were coming soon with food and medicine.
But no one came. No matter how long they waited, no one arrived to save them.
They had been forsaken.
“Ugh…”
The girl tried desperately to get up. But she couldn’t rise.
After days of starvation and suffering from illness, her body ached too much and felt too dizzy.
‘I need to get up…’
Only she could save her fallen mother. The girl strained, but couldn’t stand. All she could manage was to force her tired eyes open.
‘Please…’
In despair, all she could do was offer a prayer to the gods.
‘Please, someone…’
The girl cried out in her heart several times before eventually closing her eyes.
Flutter.
And at that moment, something warm enveloped her body.
At the same time, something refreshing entered her mouth. It was absorbed into her body in an instant, starting to restore her vitality.
“Ah…”
The girl struggled to open her eyes. She was wrapped in a luxurious cloak, cradled in someone’s arms.
“Wh-who…?”
The girl asked, and the man replied.
“Ghislaine Perdium, Lord of Penris and Commander of the Northern Army.”
The girl didn’t quite understand what he meant. But the man holding her was different from the city folk. His hair flowed, his skin was clean, and his clothes were luxurious.
And seeing the titles attached to his name, he seemed to be a noble of very high standing.
So the girl pleaded with him.
“Please help me…”
The man said nothing.
The girl spoke again, more earnestly now.
“Please help me… My mom… people… are dying…”
Then the man nodded and said softly.
“Don’t worry.”
From his voice emanated a confidence that suggested he would resolve any difficulty. There was even a conceited arrogance that implied no problem was too great for him.
Yet, the girl still could not completely shake her unease.
Everyone was dying. Could this noble before her truly save them all?
She bit her lips and desperately clung to the man’s arm.
“We’ve been forsaken… No one has come to save us. Please, anywhere… any news… medicine and food…”
The man shook his head.
“No, you have not been forsaken. Look behind me.”
The girl took a trembling breath and turned her head from his embrace.
And her eyes widened at the scene unfolding behind him.
An immense number of soldiers, filling the horizon, approached, waving countless flags.
Clatter, clatter, clatter.
Wagons loaded with food and medicine endlessly passed by the man’s sides.
Upon seeing this, tears fell from the girl’s eyes without her noticing.
“Ah…”
They had not been forsaken.
Someone was there to save them.
The girl turned back to look at the man.
Her vision was blurred with tears, but his voice rang clear.
“I will save you.”
