13 (76)

‘Even if my heart feels this way, he has a lover.’

She thought of Linsia. She was a woman full of confidence. She was a born noble, beautiful, and her father was an excellent helper to Louis.

‘She is different from me. I lied, and I only owe Lord Louis so much…….’

She thought of her father as well. And her territory. She knew this should not happen, but her heart was slowly catching fire.

The woman was gaunt. Her sunken cheeks were pitiful. Her linen clothes were rags. They looked like something a beggar would wear, as if it was unknown when they had last been washed. But she was not the only one like that. Everyone here looked like this. After Nestor took power, the people had lived in the middle of hell. One pouch was clutched against her chest. Her hands trembled as she held it, showing just how precious it was, and she was focusing every nerve on her surroundings in case someone attacked her. The smell was fragrant. It was so sweet that her mouth watered. Its identity was a sausage, a palm-sized piece of jerky, and a half-rotten barley bread.

Starving, she wanted to put the sausage into her mouth right away. She wanted to tear into the jerky. But she could not. Because there were children waiting for her. Since she had starved for two full days, she was in such a state that even walking was difficult, but by exerting superhuman patience, she did not open the pouch until she finally reached the door of her house. The door creaked and welcomed her. Inside was a young girl. The girl was in better condition than her, but she was starving all the same. The girl’s hollow eyes looked at her mother, and then at the pouch in her arms. In an instant, they lit up. The girl rushed into her mother’s arms.

“I was…. I was lucky. The army that occupied this place released some food.”

The sausage was for the girl. When she placed it in front of her, the girl, who was drooling with her mouth open, quickly took a bite. She took out even the jerky and felt relieved. She brought water and loosened some of the rotten barley in it. It was to make it last as long as possible.

‘Can these people…. be trusted? Are they pretending to be good, only to take even my daughter away…?’

After she finished loosening the barley bread, she took a bite. It felt like a bland porridge where she could not even taste the flavor, but she savored it as if trying not to miss even the smallest sensation.

‘We survived today, but…. how long can we endure?’

Along with her distrust of nobles, the future before her was uncertain. When she realized the truth, tears streamed from her eyes. She knew that death was slowly tightening around her throat. Something small clung to her sobbing legs. She hugged her young daughter. Then someone shouted outside.

“Fo…. food!!!”

“Mom…. They said food…. Let’s go together and see….”

At that sound, she opened her eyes. She roughly wiped her flowing tears, took her daughter’s hand, and stepped outside. People were coming out onto the street one by one. She unconsciously followed the procession of people and soon discovered the endless wagons coming in. Well-fed, glossy horses were pulling the wagons in. The cavalryman at the front shouted.

“The city now belongs to His Highness Louis. From now on, by the king’s order, food will be supplied here. Those who are hungry, gather at the square!”

Tears burst from her eyes. She naturally covered her mouth. It had truly been hard all this time. Because of that, her legs gave out as well. Her daughter hugged her, and she hugged her daughter too. They were not the only ones. Many people were shocked. The relief that they had survived now struck them. The sudden goodwill they received after only suffering wicked acts until now shocked them. Soon, someone shouted.

“Go…. God has descended here!!! He saved us!!!”

At the word god, the people cried. Men and women alike repeated Louis’s name. Like the people here, she spoke Louis’s name together with her daughter and shouted her thanks to the cavalrymen. The cavalrymen grew embarrassed by their gratitude. They soon corrected them, saying it was not God but His Highness Louis who had done this, then led the wagons toward the square. She went to the square. The people who had been hiding throughout the city like rats were gathering in the square. Food began to be distributed. Her daughter tightly held her hand, and only then, realizing that hope was before her eyes, she walked forward.

—

Louis checked the information window. There were a total of three cities owned by Duke Christopher, and among them, the two places that the food had reached had escaped starvation for now. The other one would soon show results as well. In any case, the cities Louis had occupied could be said to be an extremely small number compared to the entire territory Duke Christopher had owned. That was right. Originally, there should have been six cities. But three cities had been ground up by Nestor. They had been massacred.

After resolving starvation, two cities escaped their state of severe unhappiness. The seed that would barely allow the cities to function had been prepared. In any case, the farmers would work, and the merchants would begin exchanging goods.

‘Food alone is not enough to resolve a complete state of unhappiness.’

Just because someone filled their stomach did not mean they would be happy. Since the city’s industries had collapsed, many people were unemployed.

‘Originally, this was a complicated problem, but it will be solved more easily than expected.’

Building a Colosseum in a place where the industrial base had been destroyed, or building cultural facilities, was difficult. Normalizing three cities seemed like a simple quest, but it was not an easy quest. However, if Louis applied the reward he had gained after defeating Ian, the story changed.

A rich vein of jewels and gold was buried here. Jewels and gold were resources that had not existed in the Duchy of Eron. The most valuable resources in the Duchy of Eron had only been salt and Black Water. Considering that Black Water was not yet being fully utilized, salt could in fact be seen as the greatest source of income. However, each house took a certain share of the salt. Because of that, it was not the most efficient resource for Louis.

Jewels and gold were a different story. Most of the nobles who belonged to House Rose were dead, so he could seat new people and take all the income generated here for himself. If he concentrated the population, industry would be created in an instant. The citizens would gain jobs, and based on these resources, other jobs would spring up like mushrooms after rain. Moreover, gold and jewels had the property of making people happy in themselves.

Christina was dressing up to meet Louis. She had arrived in the city. And she had a tearful reunion with the people of her territory. The fact that many had survived instead of all dying made her extremely happy. And she saw her father. She personally handled his cremation.

At present, she was having a trivial worry. She had to wear mourning clothes, but she did not want to wear plain clothes in front of Louis. The desire to wear a dress with splendid patterns that tightened her waist suddenly arose. Unlike other noblewomen, she had a modest side. Her hobby was chess. When she came here, she had not even applied simple powder. She was not the type to do so normally either. Even so, she was beautiful enough to capture the eyes of the men around her at a glance.

‘I will choose this.’

In the end, she decided. The dress was black, but it had its own elegance. She also applied powder. The face reflected in the mirror looked lively for the first time in a while. She walked down a familiar corridor. After taking one deep breath, she opened the door. Louis was looking at a map.

Louis turned his gaze toward Christina. Her chest stood out, and beneath her white skin, her red lips shone attractively. She politely greeted Louis. After receiving her greeting, Louis listened to her long thanks. Her words continued for a full ten minutes. Louis, who had been admiring her shapely figure, leisurely opened his mouth.

“Christina. I rather like this place. So I have decided to focus on it for the time being.”

“Th…. that means….”

“It means I have decided to restore it.”

She spoke in a trembling voice.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“But do you know why I liked these cities?”

“…….. It is difficult to guess.”

“Gold and jewels are buried nearby.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. After instantly reviewing various assumptions, she spoke to Louis.

“That cannot be. In my memory, the probability of gold and jewels existing in my father’s territory is….”

“They were hidden. And I confirmed that today. Look to the side.”

She turned her head. A small temporary table was piled high with stones. The stones glittered. Her mouth slowly opened.

‘That cannot be. If such things had come from the territory, Father would not have had any reason to fall for Nestor’s temptation.’

“I want you to do two things from now on. One is to activate the gold and jewel deposits, and the other is…….”

Louis fell silent, then spoke.

“I need a way to attack Ruderwin.”

“……?!”

“I think Ruderwin has become quite weak. It seems certain that Nestor did something, but I do not know exactly what. What I want from you is not whether it is possible, but an efficient way to attack Ruderwin. Assume they have been weakened as much as possible, devise a strategy, and report it to me. Can you do it?”

“Un…. understood. I am honored that you trust me.”

“The infiltration operation was excellent. Nestor looked ridiculous.”

“Your Highness, I have a request…. I want to hear the details.”

“Ah, that is right. You and Nestor were sworn enemies. Fine. I will tell you even about his final moments.”

Christina was riding a horse through dense undergrowth. The soldiers advanced while thoroughly watching their surroundings. The reason they even radiated killing intent was because remnants might remain. The place she arrived at was the first beginning of the mountain range. She looked up. A cliff. A massive rock cliff spread out darkly. This place, where the mountain range began, was familiar even to her. This had been her father’s hunting ground. Memories of hunting deer and foxes rolled through her mind. She soon gave orders to the soldiers. They began digging into the cliff with pickaxes and various tools.

“Pr…. Princess! My God! Please look at this!”

A soldier pointed at a pile of stones and spoke. Gold dust glittered thickly. She was so dumbfounded that no words came out.

‘His Highness was right. I—no, Father—had treasure right before our eyes and did not know it.’

“Go…. good. Everyone. From now on, we will restore the cities abused by Nestor with this. Do you understand?”

“Yes! Princess!”

“When we return, please gather everyone who can work. We must make a road first.”