Chapter 192: |
Chapter 192
“I will ask the Healing Tower.”
Information on the smallpox epidemic is shared at the Healing Tower.
The irony is, it’s not for the treatment, but for the safety of the healers.
Because it was an unofficial rule of the Healing Tower to completely withdraw when a highly fatal infectious disease like the Black Death or smallpox was prevalent.
Christine got the information quickly.
“It’s currently popular in the Donggong region of the Iron Empire.”
The Iron Empire, the Eastern Province, was the easternmost part of the continent.
The Kingdom of Houston was located deep in the western part of the continent, so it could almost be said to be on the opposite side of the continent.
Raymond shook his head.
The distance is only a distance. The real problem is the fact that the Iron Empire and the Cross League Empire were always in a state of near-war. It was a place that was realistically impossible to go to.
“Is there anywhere else?”
“It was popular in the Free City Union, but thanks to the activities of the ‘Crimson Saintess’, it’s almost at a standstill now. And there’s another place. I’m not sure about that yet…”
Christine told an unexpected story.
“It is in the Kingdom of Droughton.”
“…!”
“Not long ago, it was said that a suspected case of smallpox broke out south of the capital of the Kingdom of Droughton.”
Raymond’s face hardened.
It was unexpected news.
Then, suddenly, the door opened.
“Your Excellency, we have received urgent communication from the Kingdom of Droughton!”
When he went to the communication hall, he saw a face he hadn’t seen in a long time.
Macapell III!
He was the toung king.
-Master! I have contacted you to ask for help.
The boy king’s face turned pale.
– A smallpox case has broken out near the capital of our Kingdom of Droughton! It is on the verge of spreading to our capital.
“… … !”
-Please save our kingdom of Droughton, I will give you any reward!
* * *
Houston, the capital of the Kingdom.
At the meeting attended by King Oden and high-ranking nobles, something unexpected was happening.
“…For these merits, I grant the Count Penin the title of Prince and Marquis of the province of Rafald.”
King Oden made this declaration.
Up until this point, there had been no significant changes.
Because it was what everyone expected.
The forces of princes hostile to Raymond also had no voice in this matter.
The problem was what happened after that.
It was Lemarton who made the sudden statement.
“May I say something, Your Majesty?”
For reference, Lemarton was recently released from prison.
All eyes in the conference room were on Lemarton.
Everyone knows that Lemarton is in a tight spot.
If things continued this way, there was no chance of Lemarton inheriting the throne.
‘In terms of power, he is inferior to His Highness Kairn, and in terms of ability, he is inferior to the Marquis Penin.’
Originally, Lemarton’s strength was his thinking ability, gaining him the title of a genius.
Even though he was somewhat pushed out by his supporters, he was considered a candidate for the throne due to his outstanding talent.
But now no one considered him a genius.
Because there was a true genius named Raymond.
‘Princess Sophia may be more likely to ascend to the throne than His Royal Highness Lemarton.’
People glanced at a person sitting at the head of the table.
Sophia.
It was common knowledge that she was intelligent.
Although she did not receive much attention, she silently took on various tasks and displayed her excellence.
Of course, the chances of her inheriting the throne were extremely low.
He was fourth in the line of succession and had no supporters.
But now, Lemarton’s situation was so precarious that she seemed even more powerful.
“Let me tell you.”
“I also want to work for the Kingdom of Houston like the Marquis Penin. Please appoint me as the governor of the Tiryu region, which recently suffered a flood.”
“… … !”
Tiryu region.
It was a large area in the northern central part of the Kingdom of Houston.
The Crown’s fiefdom was in the midst of a water crisis recently, and the right person to take charge was Lemarton.
‘Why, His Majesty the Lemarton?’
Everyone looked puzzled.
Stabilizing a disaster area is an arduous task.
Lemarton usually showed no interest in such ‘lowly’ matters, so this was unexpected.
Of course, there was a reason why Lemarton acted this way.
It was because of the sense of crisis that he was falling behind Raymond.
He had to prove his abilities by establishing merits that were not inferior to those of Raymond.
Lemarton gritted his teeth.
‘I will go to the Tiryu region as an administrator and show myself to be better than that guy.’
Governor.
It was an administrative position equivalent to that of a lord.
He rules the province like a lord under the king’s command.
Therefore, it was easy to achieve success because it had a high level of discretion.
‘So I’ll prove that this body is better than Raymond.’
In other words, this was a head-on attack on Raymond.
Everyone held their breath and looked at Lemarton and King Oden.
Everyone knew what Lemarton meant.
‘This is a huge burden to His Highness Lemarton.’
‘What if Lemarton shows up badly again?’
‘By then, no one will really consider Lemarton a candidate for the throne.’
‘On the other hand, if he shows a good performance here, he can salvage his reputation.’
In other words, Lemarton is willing to risk everything he has.
Tension filled the conference room, and Oden opened his mouth.
“Very well. Lemarton, I hereby appoint you as the temporary governor of the Tiryu region.”
“… … !”
“I will give you six months to stabilize the Tiryu region. However, if you show any shortcomings during this period, I will remove you from the position of governor at any time.”
Everyone looked surprised.
King Oden will also know the meaning of what Lemarton just said.
Now that it’s come to this, the work of Raymond and Lemarton, who have just become lords, cannot help but be compared.
‘He wouldn’t know that, would he?’
The nobles gulped.
‘Could it be that His Majesty the King is trying to gauge the ruling ability of these two people through this incident?’
No one knows
In fact, it is not known at all what King Oden thinks of Raymond.
But what if.
If King Oden had any intention of considering Raymond as a candidate for the throne.
‘This is going to be a very important turning point.’
Raymond became a prince.
Lemarton was appointed governor.
This incident will clearly compare the abilities of the two.
A decision was made that would have a huge impact on politics.
* * *
After the meeting, Lemarton met a man.
“Uncle.”
“Your Majesty.”
Marquis Terne!
He was the older brother of Lemarton’s biological mother and the leader of the forces supporting him.
“Are you okay with this?”
The Marquis Terne was concerned about Lemarton.
If Raymond pushes back again, Lemarton will be pushed into an even more difficult situation.
In fact, he might have been eliminated from the line of succession to the throne.
“You don’t trust me?”
Lemarton frowned.
The Marquis Terne shook his head urgently.
“Of course not. I trust Your Highness’s abilities. But I am worried because of all the strange tricks Raymond uses.”
Lemarton was silent.
In fact, he wasn’t completely unworried.
Because Raymond’s abilities so far have been too outstanding to be ignored.
Raymond was definitely a genius.
But Lemarton was confident.
“Isn’t that why I’ve asked for you, uncle?”
“… … !”
“Please help me, uncle.”
The Marquis Terne kept his mouth shut.
The request that Lemarton made was a huge burden to him as well.
Because it was not an easy question to answer.
‘To cut off trade with the Rafald region.’
The Marquis Terne let out a sigh.
The Rafald region traditionally traded more with the Kingdom of Huston than with the Kingdom of Droton.
This is because, just 100 years ago, it was part of the Kingdom of Houston, and water transportation was on the side of the Kingdom of Houston.
Large-scale trade was not easy on the Droughton Kingdom side due to the rugged mountain range blocking the way.
Even though the two countries were hostile, the trade relationship continued for a long time because the movement of merchants was not blocked.
There was a lot of trade, especially with the western regions where the Marquis Ternes precedes.
‘We received products from the Rapald region and sold wheat and other foodstuffs.’
The Rafald region is not good for farming.
Additionally, the frequent appearance of monsters makes it unfavorable for large-scale livestock farming.
Therefore, a significant amount of food is imported from outside.
But Lemay wants to break that chain of trade.
Then the Rafald region will fall into great chaos.
“But it won’t be easy. There will be a lot of backlash within the territory.”
In addition, there is a political burden to be shouldered.
‘His Majesty the King would not sit idly by and watch such an obvious trick.’
But Lemarton was adamant.
“The Rafald region relies heavily on food imports from my uncle’s estate. If exports are cut off in this situation, the Rafald region will fall into great chaos.”
That was right.
The best granaries of the Kingdom of Houston were the Western Province and the Central and Eastern Provinces, which were under the direct control of the Crown.
Among them, the central and eastern regions had very poor crop yields this year due to poor climate.
Only the western part of the Marquis Terne was experiencing a bumper crop, and if sales were cut off, the Rafald region would have no way of obtaining food.
The Southern Life Expedition may have provided some support, but the South was not particularly fertile to begin with, so it was difficult to provide sufficient supply.
“But the justification is…”
“You can come up with an excuse. If that doesn’t work, why not just start a large-scale fire in the food storage facility?”
“…!”
The Marquis Terne opened his eyes wide.
Set fire to the stockpile.
It was a story that couldn’t be told. If he did, he would suffer enormous damage.
“Your Majesty, that is…”
“Uncle. No, Marquis.” Lemarton said, biting his lip.
“Think carefully. The loss right now is not important. You have to crush him somehow. Otherwise, I’m finished.”
The Marquis Terne clenched his fists.
He understands what Lemarton means.
‘The fate of Marquis Terne lies with His Highness Lemarton. This is no time to be picky about the means or methods.’
This was the last chance given to Lemarton.
If he fell behind Raymond again, there was no chance of Lemarton ascending to the throne.
“Understood. I will do as Your Majesty says.”
The Marquis Terne closed his eyes tightly.
The thought of burning food made his heart sink.
‘No. This is an investment for the future. This will pay off many times over.’
But then suddenly a worry occurred to me.
‘What if he gets food somewhere else?’
If that happened, it would have been a huge loss for no reason.
But the Marquis of Terne shook his head.
‘The other provinces within the Kingdom of Houston are not in a position to supply food. The Kingdom of Droughton remains, though.’
However, as mentioned earlier, transportation from the Kingdom of Droughton to the Rafald region is extremely inconvenient.
Therefore, the logistics costs are enormous.
‘Unless the Kingdom of Droughton is willing to accept the loss and provide food, they will have to pay an enormous price.’
If they buy food at such high prices, prices will skyrocket, public sentiment will waver, and Raymond will be in big trouble.
On the other hand, Lemarton spoke, “Thank you, uncle. This time I will prove it. That no one like him can dare be compared to him.”
He smiled confidently.
“I have already made plans. This time, as the newly appointed governor, I will receive achievements that are incomparable to that guy.”
* * *
Meanwhile, at a villa on the outskirts of the then capital of the Kingdom of Houston.
Kairn’s eyes were sinking.
‘You seem to be feeling unwell.’
The escort knight swallowed hard.
Kairn’s mood became like that after Raymond solved the plague situation.
“Get out of here.”
“Oh, yes, yes!”
The escort knight disappeared in a hurry.
Kairn, left alone, headed somewhere with a cold face.
It was a secret space in the basement of the villa.
A communication device was placed there.
Surprisingly, it was the same type of communication port that Berad had been trying to connect with ‘them’ the other day!
“Connection.”
Then a voice was heard along with a crackling noise.
-I’ve been waiting for you, collaborator.
It was different from general communication channels.
The face was not visible as if it was covered by a curtain, and only the voice could be heard.
Also, even the voice was altered so it was impossible to guess who it was.
-There was an unexpected variable. I never would have thought that Raymond would have such an ability.
The voice on the other end of the communication channel was genuinely surprised.
‘They’ also didn’t think Raymond could solve the disaster.
“Then what are you going to do?”
-We are working on a plan to deal with Raymond. We will find a way soon…
“No, you’re wrong.”
Kairn interrupted.
“Raymond isn’t the one we should be targeting now.”
-What are you talking about?
Kairn frowned.
“Isn’t your goal to put me on the throne? So you’re probably trying to use my power to achieve some goal.”
The opponent in the crystal ball was silent.
Kairn continued.
“Even if Raymond falls, can I ascend to the throne?”
-Well…
The opponent mumbled.
That’s how it will be.
Because there was currently no one threatening the throne from Kairn.
With Lemarton in this situation, the throne would belong to Kairn if Raymond were not there.
“I will ascend to the throne, but when?”
-…!
Kairn had an eerie expression on his face.
“You have always been very patient. But I am not. How long must I wait for the day when I can ascend to the throne?”
The opponent who understood Kairn’s words remained silent.
It had to be that way.
That’s why the meaning of what Kairn just said was so enormous.
Then after a while.
-Hahahaha. As expected. That’s amazing. You’re worthy of being our partner.
The person in the crystal ball continued speaking as if he was genuinely happy.
-That’s right. If you want to ascend to the throne, we must kill King Oden and not Raymond.