Chapter 426: I’ll Make You Accept It, Even If by Force (2)
Belinda wasn’t the only one with that thought. Gillian chimed in, agreeing with her words.
“Even if not immediately, you will have to take control of the entire North eventually.”
“What is this? Why are you suddenly saying that too, Gillian?”
“The soldiers in the Northern Army already want to come to Fenris. Once the war ends and the Northern Army disbands, they will become dissatisfied with their territories.”
“Hmm…”
“The soldiers have spent time with us and have seen how the people of Fenris live.”
“That’s true. There’s bound to be a lot of comparisons.”
“Exactly. They’ve been eating even better since joining the Northern Army. If they return to their territories, it’s obvious they will try to escape and come to us.”
Ghislain nodded.
He wasn’t unaware of the current mood among the Northern Army soldiers. More and more of them were openly expressing their desire to come to Fenris.
Gillian pointed out another issue.
“It’s not just a matter of soldiers defecting to our side. When the Northern Army disbands after the war, many problems will arise. It’s not just soldiers, but also the knights and commanders leading them.”
When Fenris’ administrators conscripted the troops, they deliberately excluded commanders who were blood relatives of the lords to ensure solid control over the forces.
As a result, those who had been pushed away from the center of power became commanders in the Northern Army. Naturally, most of them also wanted to come to Fenris.
A military force where both the commanders and soldiers shared the same intent was rare. And that army was deeply dissatisfied with their own territories.
If the Northern Army disbanded under these circumstances, they would either turn into bandits or start a rebellion.
Seeing Ghislain’s concern, Gillian continued.
“It’s the inevitable flow of the times. Everyone wants to follow you, my lord. If we don’t take them in, they will fall into deeper despair.”
Kaor added from the side.
“Yeah, I mean, the ducal families already took over the South, so why not the North too? Honestly, everyone wants it anyway, so why not just do it? I bet if you march the army in, they’ll all surrender without a fight.”
Alfoi joined in as well.
“So, can I get a territory then? I want to be a lord too. Maybe an earl title while we’re at it?”
Vanessa immediately shut him up, dragging him away.
Ghislain clicked his tongue and shook his head.
He had only started this to protect his territory and family, but things had escalated far too much.
He didn’t have such ambitions. Yet, he couldn’t completely ignore the massive tide of change sweeping through.
After all, he was the one who had set this in motion.
“Let’s discuss this later. We have more urgent matters to deal with right now.”
The others smiled slightly. The fact that Ghislain hadn’t outright rejected the idea was enough for them.
‘Everyone has made up their minds.’
Ghislain clicked his tongue again and spread out the map.
“First, let’s handle the most pressing issue. There’s a plague spreading, but the lords aren’t cooperating.”
A messenger from the capital had reported the current situation. The lords were hoarding the ingredients needed for medicine, hoping to sell them at exorbitant prices.
With most of the ingredients being stockpiled, the production of medicine had practically stopped. As a result, the plague was spreading even faster across the kingdom.
Ghislain pointed to several spots on the map.
“Sometimes, you get these kinds of greedy bastards. And they always seem to make things worse.”
Gillian cautiously asked.
“Should we move the army immediately?”
“The rifts are critical too, but we can’t just let people keep dying. We’ll have to confiscate the ingredients by force and make the medicine ourselves. Honestly, I’m not a fan of forcing things. I love freedom, after all.”
Ghislain looked around at everyone and shrugged.
“But if their greed is causing more harm, we have no choice, right?”
The group smiled. It was obvious he would do whatever he wanted anyway why was he pretending otherwise?
It seemed like Belinda was right. Maybe they should just hurry up and crown him Duke of the North or something.
Regardless, Marquis Branford had already invoked the royal authority to ban the necessary ingredients of the medicine for trading, but the lords weren’t likely to comply so easily.
The plague was sweeping across the entire continent. Whether by selling ingredients to foreign nations or making and selling the medicine themselves, the lords stood to gain massive profits.
At first, Ghislain had hesitated, unsure of what to do.
‘There are still too many rifts.’
The rifts were continuing to expand. Even powerful lords couldn’t hold back the Riftspawn and were steadily losing ground.
Smaller territories were barely holding on, continuously retreating.
Ultimately, the Northern Army would have to step in to resolve the issue. If the other lords tried to handle Equidema alone, the casualties would be catastrophic.
And that would leave no forces to face the ducal families.
But he couldn’t just stand by while people died from the plague. Victory over the rifts would be meaningless if the people perished.
“Move the army. We’ll start with the uncooperative lords.”
Following Ghislain’s decision, the Northern Army changed direction.
Although the royal army and the kingdom’s officials were also mobilizing, they wouldn’t be able to quickly seize the medicinal ingredients from the lords. Forcing a search and engaging in conflicts with the lords would be difficult.
Marquis Branford, understanding this, had given Ghislain full authority, entrusting him to act on behalf of the royal family.
‘In short, they need someone else to swing the sword for them.’
Ghislain smirked. As someone who also wanted to resolve the situation swiftly, he had no intention of refusing to take on such a role.
“The North is safe for now, so contact Claude and tell him to send all the reserves. We’ll wipe out the plague first.”
The plague hadn’t spread to the North. The frontline troops, including Ferdium’s forces, had all taken the medicine in advance, and the rifts hadn’t appeared near the region in the first place.
Belinda, curious, asked, “Is the plague really caused by the rifts?”
“Yeah. You’ve seen that faint blue mist spreading in the eroded areas, right? That’s what causes the plague it’s basically Equidema’s Breath spreading around.”
“Ah, so that’s why the soldiers got sick.”
Belinda nodded as if she finally understood.
Before deployment, the entire Northern Army had taken the medicine produced in Fenris. Though they had followed Ghislain’s orders, they were only now understanding the reason behind it.
Ghislain nodded and continued.
“Exactly. That’s why I ordered quarantine to minimize damage. Whether quickly or slowly, anyone who can’t control mana will eventually fall ill, and then it will spread.”
“So the lords ignored all this despite being informed about it?”
“Because of greed.”
Even the lords who hadn’t believed Ghislain still hoarded medicinal ingredients.
Since Marquis Branford was preparing to manufacture medicine under royal authority, the savvier lords had begun stockpiling ingredients, anticipating a price surge.
Each territory had been instructed to produce medicine and prepare for the plague. However, despite making the medicine, the lords hadn’t distributed it properly.
Ghislain’s gaze turned cold.
“There are too many bastards only thinking about profiting off of people’s lives.”
And now, that greed was posing a serious threat to the entire kingdom.
Although the kingdom’s main forces and nobles had taken the medicine, the supply was still critically insufficient.
“Who’s the one who’s hoarded the most ingredients nearby?”
“Just a moment.”
At Ghislain’s question, Belinda sifted through documents received from the royal court. With Claude and Lowell absent, she had also taken on the role of Ghislain’s advisor.
Her skills in information gathering and organization were exceptional to the point where people whispered, wondering why a housekeeper would be capable of such tasks.
Though Lowell was officially the intelligence officer, most of the spy training had actually been handled by Belinda something few knew. She was, indeed, a mysterious woman in many ways.
“It’s Count Grafton. He’s purchased an enormous amount recently.”
“And the surrounding areas are all plagued, right?”
“Yes. The medicine hasn’t been distributed properly, and his support efforts have been minimal. Only the count’s family, his close associates, and the units stationed near the lord’s castle remain unaffected.”
“Sharp-minded bastard. We’ll head there first.”
The Northern Army immediately changed course toward Count Grafton’s territory.
While traveling, Ghislain reviewed the information on Count Grafton.
The Grafton territory was fairly large and, fortunately, located outside the expanding rift zones. Therefore, except for some troops deployed to nearby areas, the local forces were largely intact.
The count himself was known to be a skilled merchant who had accumulated significant wealth.
“Considering how much he’s bought, the amount of medicine distributed is ridiculously low. Clearly, he doesn’t want to share with others, despite being promised compensation.”
Count Grafton had started hoarding ingredients as soon as the royal decree was issued. Yet, the only areas where medicine had been distributed were the major cities and the area around his castle.
It was obvious he was planning to profit from selling the remaining ingredients.
“For those trying to profit off of human lives, I’ll take it by force if I have to.”
Tennant offered advice from the side.
“If the lords rebel, they might hinder us when we’re truly in danger later. They’ll definitely hold a grudge.”
Tennant knew the nature of nobles better than anyone else. After all, he had served alongside such lords himself.
“It doesn’t matter. If we don’t cut out the rotten parts now just because we fear future consequences, the disease will only worsen.”
Ghislain had witnessed such cases countless times in his past life. Because of those blinded by immediate greed, everyone, including himself, had ultimately been ruined.
He couldn’t control the entire continent according to his will. But at the very least, he wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen in the Ritania Kingdom.
This was the place where everything Ghislain wanted to protect was.
Just as Ghislain predicted, Count Grafton was beaming, thinking about the fortune he would make.
“Hahaha! To think a plague would actually break out. I was doubtful, but it turns out Count Fenris and Marquis Branford were right!”
One of his retainers, looking slightly uneasy, spoke cautiously.
“The royal family has prohibited all trade of medicinal herbs. Will this be alright?”
“So what? They said not to sell herbs, not the medicine itself, didn’t they?”
“W-Well, that’s true, but…”
The retainer broke into a cold sweat. Indeed, the restriction was on the sale of herbs, not the medicine itself.
Count Grafton had already been ramping up medicine production since the first rift outbreak. Seeing the rift emerge firsthand, he assumed the plague was also highly likely to spread.
And his prediction was exactly right.
The retainer hesitated again, stammering.
“E-Even if the medicine isn’t prohibited, if we actually sell it, we might be criticized or have it confiscated. The plague is causing chaos across the kingdom.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Why so timid? Just gauge the situation carefully and sell it to foreign nations instead. Aren’t they in worse chaos? They weren’t prepared like we were.”
“Th-That’s true.”
“Right. So, why limit ourselves to the kingdom alone? Broaden our horizons, the world is vast. Imagine how much foreign buyers would be willing to pay us.”
“Even so… shouldn’t we prioritize the kingdom’s safety?”
“Tsk. Money is made in times like these. Money has no blood or tears. Isn’t it thanks to my quick thinking that we can profit like this?”
The retainers could say nothing.
Count Grafton was undeniably clever. He read the situation faster than anyone and secured more medicinal supplies than anyone else. That was a testament to his keen insight.
However, his cruel heart, hoarding so many herbs that people around him were dying from the lack of them, was the real issue.
A retainer cautiously spoke again.
“Then… shouldn’t we at least distribute the medicine properly within our territory to treat the plague quickly?”
“Of course. My army and the area around my castle have already been supplied. Now, prioritize distribution in the tax-rich regions and focus on the cities.”
“P-Prioritize? You mean to exclude some areas?”
“Yes, ignore the towns and villages where taxes aren’t collected well.”
“But… they’re still our people. If they die, won’t it affect our future tax revenue?”
“Tsk, think a little. Selling the medicine to foreign countries will bring in far more than the taxes we’d collect from saving those poor wretches.”
“Huh?”
“I’m talking about making a fortune equivalent to decades of taxes all at once. Why waste the opportunity? Peasants will eventually repopulate, and if not, we can always buy more labor.”
The retainers could only swallow nervously, unable to argue further.
The count had already made all his calculations. He was so blinded by profit that he had abandoned the duties of a lord entirely truly a man without blood or tears.
‘If only he used that sharp mind for the good of his territory…’
The retainers sighed, realizing they had no choice, but to follow. Ultimately, the prosperity of the territory was their concern too.
But soon, news arrived that left them all tense.
“Th-The Northern Army’s Supreme Commander has arrived!”
Ghislain had come directly to the estate, without any prior notice.