426

Episode 426: I have to get it by force. (2)

Belinda wasn't the only one who thought that way. Gillian chimed in too.

"You will eventually have to take over the entire North, even if it isn't right away."

"What, why are you suddenly like this with Gillian too?"

"All the soldiers who were already part of the Northern Army want to come to Fenris. Even after the war is over and the Northern Army is disbanded, they will be dissatisfied with their own territory."

"Hmm… … ."

"The soldiers joined us and learned how the people of Fenris live."

"That's true, there will probably be a lot of comparisons."

"That's right. They've actually eaten more since joining the Northern Army. If we go back, it's obvious that they'll all escape from their territory and come to us."

Jiselle nodded.

He was also aware of the mood among the Northern Army soldiers. The number of soldiers who openly wanted to come to Fenris was increasing.

Gillian also raised another issue.

"If they simply escaped and came to us, it wouldn't matter, but once the war is over and the Northern Army disbands, there will definitely be a lot of problems. There are not only soldiers, but also knights and commanders leading them."

When the Fenris officials called up troops, they excluded any commanders who were related to the lord in question, in order to secure a firm grip on command.

So those who were relatively pushed out of the center of power became commanders and joined the Northern Army. Naturally, most of them also wanted to come to Fenris.

It is rare to find an army where the commander and the men are of the same mind. And those armies are often dissatisfied with their own territory.

If the Northern Army is disbanded like this, they will either turn into a band of bandits or rebel.

Gillian continued speaking while looking at Giselle who was worried.

"It is an inevitable trend of the times. Everyone wants to follow the lord. If we don't take them in, they will become even more desperate."

Kaoru also chimed in from the side.

"Yeah, the South is already taken over by the Dukes, so there's no reason why the North can't do the same. Honestly, everyone wants it, so why don't you just do it? If you just send the military, everyone will kneel, right?"

Alpoy also joined in.

"Then you're giving me a fief? I want to be a lord too. I want to be given the title of count."

He was dragged away by Vanessa with his mouth gagged.

Jiselle clicked her tongue and shook her head.

It started out as a simple matter of protecting the territory and family, but now the scale has grown too large.

He had no such ambitions. However, he could not completely ignore the great flow of the times.

Because it was also something he had created himself.

"Let's talk about that later. I have more busy things to do right now anyway."

People smiled faintly. They thought it was okay that Giselle didn't stubbornly refuse.

'Everyone has made up their minds.'

Jiselle clicked her tongue again and opened the map.

"Let's take care of urgent matters first. There's an epidemic going on right now, and the lords aren't cooperating at all."

A messenger from the capital reported the current situation. He said that the lords were hoarding the ingredients and hiding them in order to sell the medicine at a high price.

Most people were doing this, but there was no way the medicine could be made properly. With medicine shortages throughout the kingdom, the epidemic was spreading faster.

Jiselle said, pointing to several places on the map.

"Sometimes there are guys who are too greedy. And these guys always make a big deal out of it."

Gillian asked cautiously.

"Should I turn the troops around right away?"

"The cracks are urgent, but there's nothing we can do because people are dying right now. We have no choice but to forcibly confiscate the materials and make the medicine. I actually don't like doing things by force. I love freedom."

Jiselle looked around at everyone and shrugged.

"But if you continue to cause damage with bad symbols, you will have no choice but to do it by force, right?"

People smiled. If you were going to do whatever you wanted, why do you keep pulling it out like that?

Just like Belinda said, I thought it would be better to do it quickly, whether it was the Northern Duke or whatever.

In any case, even though the Marquis of Branford had banned the trade of materials in the name of the crown, the lords would not easily give them up.

The plague was sweeping across the continent. Whether it was selling medicines or making medicine to foreign countries, there would be huge profits to be made.

At first, even Jiselle was worried about what to do.

'There are still too many cracks.'

The cracks were expanding their territory. Even the powerful lords were unable to stop the crackers and were being pushed back.

The small territory was having difficulty holding out and was in the process of continuing to retreat.

Ultimately, the Northern Army will have to go and take care of it, as the other lords will suffer too much damage if they try to deal with Equidema.

If that happens, we won't have any troops to fight the Duke.

But I couldn't stand by and watch people die from the plague. So even if I close the cracks, it's not a win.

"Turn the army around. We must first meet the lords who will not listen."

The Northern Army changed direction according to Giselle's decision.

The royal army and royal officials are also moving, but they will not be able to quickly take the medicine from the hands of the lords. It will be difficult to take it by forcefully searching and fighting against the lords.

Knowing that, the Marquis of Branford also gave full authority to Giselle and conveyed his intentions.

'In short, what he's saying is that he needs someone to do the sword dance instead.'

Jiselle snickered. As someone who also wanted to resolve this situation quickly, he had no intention of turning down that role.

"The North is safe for now, so contact Claude and tell him to send all the supplies. We'll quickly eradicate the epidemic."

The North was not affected by the epidemic. The frontline troops, including Ferdium, were all medicated, and the cracks had never even formed nearby in the first place.

Belinda asked with renewed curiosity.

"Is it true that the epidemic was caused by cracks?"

"Yeah. Did you see the blue mist spreading thinly across the eroded area? That's what causes the epidemic. You could say it's the breath of Equidema spreading."

"Aha, so that's why the soldiers got sick."

Belinda nodded, as if she now understood.

Before the Northern Army set out, all of them took the medicine produced in Fenris. They followed Giselle's advice, but now they know why the epidemic is spreading.

Jiselle nodded and continued speaking.

"That's right. That's why I told you to isolate them to minimize the damage. Sooner or later, those who can't control mana will eventually get sick, and then it will spread."

"The lords heard all that and still did not listen."

"It's because of greed."

The lords who did not believe Jiselle's words also hoarded the medicine.

When the production of medicine began under the leadership of the Marquis of Branford, the price of the ingredients was bound to rise, so the quick-witted lords began to stockpile the ingredients.

Clearly, each territory was instructed to make medicine and prepare for the epidemic if they had the means. However, even though they made the medicine, they did not use it properly.

Jiselle's eyes grew cold.

"There are too many crazy people out there who only think about making money with that."

And that action was now posing a serious threat to the kingdom.

The kingdom's main military and nobles also consumed the medicine that was being produced, but the quantity was still significantly insufficient.

"Who bought the most herbs nearby?"

"wait a minute."

In response to Giselle's question, Belinda looked through the papers she had received from the royal family. When Claude and Lowell were away, Belinda also served as Giselle's staff member.

She was surprisingly good at gathering and classifying information, so much so that everyone was gossiping about how on earth the butler could do such things.

Although Lowell was the spy chief, few people knew that she was mostly in charge of training the spies. In any case, she was a mysterious woman in many ways.

"This is the Earl of Grafton. He has been buying a great deal of things lately."

"But you're saying that the epidemic has spread all around?"

"Yes, the medicine has barely taken effect and support is also lacking. Only the lord's family, his close associates, and the troops near the lord's castle are okay."

"You're quick-witted. Let's go that way first."

The Northern Army immediately turned and headed towards Grafton County.

As she moved, Giselle looked over the information on the Earl of Grafton.

The Earldom of Grafton was a fairly large fiefdom, and fortunately it was outside the rift zone, so the army was intact, except for a few who had been sent to the surrounding areas to provide support.

The count himself was quite talented and had accumulated a lot of wealth.

"It's true that the amount of medicine dispensed is too little compared to the amount purchased so far. I guess they don't want to give it to the other party. I clearly said I would compensate them."

The Earl of Grafton immediately collected the medicine after receiving the royal order. However, the medicine was actually distributed only to the major cities and the vicinity of the lord's castle.

It was clear that the remaining herbs were intended to be traded.

"I must get it by force from those who trade with human lives."

Tennant offered advice from the side.

"If the lords rebel, they might be caught in a really dangerous situation later. They will surely hold a grudge for a long time."

Tennant knows the habits of the nobles better than anyone else, for he too has been with such lords.

"It doesn't matter. If you don't cut out the rotten part now because you're afraid of the aftereffects, you'll get sicker."

Jiselle had seen countless cases like this in her past life. The kind of result where everyone, including herself, was ruined because of someone blinded by the greed in front of them.

The entire continent cannot be moved by Giselle's will. But at least in the Kingdom of Rutania, she had no intention of allowing that to happen.

Because this is where everything Jiselle wants to protect is located.

As Giselle had expected, the Earl of Grafton was beaming at the thought of making a lot of money.

"Hahahaha! I really didn't know there would be an epidemic. I was wondering why! It turns out the Earl of Fenris and the Marquis of Branford were right!"

One of the people who went to see his laughter said with a little anxiety.

"The royal family has banned the trade of all medicinal herbs. Is that okay?"

"So? I told you not to sell herbs, I didn't tell you not to sell medicine."

"Well, that's true, but… … ."

Gasin broke out in a cold sweat. He definitely told me not to sell the herbal medicine, but he didn't say not to sell the medicine.

The Earl of Grafton had already been spurring the production of the potion when the crack burst. In fact, he thought that the crack had opened up and that there was a high possibility that the disease would spread.

And his prediction turned out to be exactly right.

The man stammered again and spoke.

"Hey, even if the medicine isn't banned, if you actually sell it, you might get criticized or have it confiscated. There's chaos everywhere right now because of the epidemic."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, why are you so timid? Just wait and see and sell to other countries. I heard other countries are in more trouble? It's because they didn't prepare in advance like we did."

"Yes, that's right."

"Yes. So why are you limiting it to the kingdom? That's why. If you broaden your horizons, the world is so vast. How much money do you think they're asking for from us?"

"Still… … the safety of the kingdom must be prioritized… … ."

"Wow, this is how you make money. Originally, money had no blood, no tears. Isn't it because I moved quickly that I was able to make this much money?"

The deceased were speechless.

Certainly, the Earl of Grafton was smart. He read the mood faster than anyone else and prepared more medicine than anyone else. It was thanks to his excellent eye.

The problem is that he is so vicious that he hoards medicine to the point that people cannot get it from their surroundings, and he even lets people die because of it.

Gasin spoke again cautiously.

"Then shouldn't we properly administer medicine to our territory and quickly cure the epidemic?"

"Of course. My army and the area around Yeongju have already been distributed, so now select areas where taxes can be collected well and distribute them mainly to the cities."

"Huh? You mean a mystery?"

"Yeah, just leave alone the cities and towns that don't collect taxes well."

"But they are also our people. After all, if the people of the territory are alive, we can continue to pay taxes, right?"

"Tsk tsk, think about it. It would be more profitable to sell that amount to other countries than to collect taxes by saving those poor guys."

"yes?"

"Why would you waste money when you can get a large sum of money that is equivalent to decades of taxes for the territory in one go? Those small territory residents will increase over time, and if you run out, you can buy them."

The attendants could only swallow their saliva and say nothing.

The lord had already finished calculating everything. To abandon his duty as a lord because of his greed for money was truly heartless.

'I wish I had used that good head for the good of the land… … .'

The retainers sighed. If the lord had decided to do so, they had no choice but to follow. After all, the prosperity of their territory was their priority.

But they were very nervous about the news they soon heard.

"Father, the commander of the Northern Army has arrived!"

Jiselle came straight to Yeongji without any contact.