Episode 136 It’s Not a Difficult Request (4)
The Marquis of Branford squinted his eyes at Giselle, as if assessing the truth.
Jiselle also raised her head proudly and faced the Marquis of Branford.
‘Don’t let that tough guy get you ripped off. Give me everything you’ve prepared.’
After learning that the Delphine Dukes were reaching out here and there, the Prince’s faction also hurriedly tried to increase their influence in the northern region.
The place that was chosen and selected in this way was the territory of Brivant.
‘Everything is good there, but the problem is that it is already under the control of the Duke of Delphine.’
In the previous life, the royal family and the royalist faction had invested enormous resources in the Breviary territory.
Even the population of the royal territory was handed over.
Unfortunately, however, the Duke of Delphine had long predicted that the royalists would make such a decision.
The reason he took the time to weaken the Red Flame Tower was to reduce the power of the pro-Prince faction in the long term.
‘The Magic Tower was able to survive thanks to the Rune Stones I provided, but… … The entire territory was taken over, so what can you do with just one Magic Tower?’
Most of the vassals and vassals of the Brevant domain had already been won over to the duke’s house.
In this situation, no matter how much support was given to the Brevan territory, it would be like pouring water into a bottomless pit.
But what if the royalist faction supports Giselle?
The time and money spent by the Delphine Dukes will be meaningless. It will just be a waste of time.
‘Don’t think about raising it slowly by spending time on it, just give me everything you’ve prepared. Fighting is my specialty.’
Looking at the confident Giselle, the Marquis of Branford’s mind was in a complicated state.
The Earl of Brivant was a kind-hearted but lazy and timid man. To the Marquis, he was no better than a parasite who depended on the taxes and technology of the Tower.
‘But if it’s this guy… … .’
I thought he just wanted to be my guardian so he could have power and make things easier.
But now that I look back, it wasn’t to that extent. He had pushed it in considering that the Marquis of Branford was the leader of the royalist faction.
Although there may be some noise, it is not difficult to change the target of support to Jiselle even now.
Because there is a justification that the person is a talented person who has been entrusted with the role of guardian.
Anyway, the Prince’s faction didn’t particularly like the Brivant territory and chose it. The other territories in the north were a mess, so they had no choice but to choose it.
‘Yes, there was a reason why you risked your life to rush in.’
He’s a guy I like more and more. He’s much better than the lazy Earl of Brivant. If you’re going to push him, you should push him like this.
But regardless of what he liked, he couldn’t just decide on a plan that would move the entire faction.
There, the risk factors could not be ignored.
‘If this guy is the Duke’s puppet, he’s dangerous.’
If the person who has been using all of the power of the royal faction to grow is a spy, then the power of the Delphine Dukes will only grow stronger.
“I understand what you mean, but it’s too risky to trust you and push you forward.”
Jiselle took it fatly.
“Can you trust the Count of Brivant?”
“I have done enough research on the Count.”
“Don’t you know me well?”
“… … I see that it is very different from the previously known evaluations.”
In fact, this was the biggest reason why I couldn’t trust Jiselle. I couldn’t figure out why she was hiding herself.
‘Oh, just tell me that I’m from the future?’
Jiselle suppressed her frustration and spoke indifferently.
“If you can’t trust me, how about trusting my father? I am the successor and vassal of Ferdium.”
“hmm.”
The Marquis stroked his chin and fell into deep thought.
Certainly, Count Ferdium was trustworthy.
One who has been loyal to the royal family and silently guarded the changes for a long time.
Some of the royalist nobles even suggested that it would be better to raise a responsible man rather than the Earl of Brienne.
However, since the Ferdium estate was so poor, I thought it would be pointless to support it, so I deleted it from the list of candidates.
‘This is ridiculous. To think that we’re going to mobilize the entire faction just because of one guy.’
The Marquis of Branford chuckled inwardly.
It was ridiculous to even be struggling with such absurd choices, but there was something even more ridiculous.
I’m tempted by the absurd choices he presents.
Giselle spoke again to him who was worried.
“You must have also heard reports about the war between Ferdium and Digald.”
“Why are you suddenly bringing that up?”
“You seem very uneasy. That war, it seems like someone was behind Digald’s instigation. I don’t have any evidence to show you… … but I think Earl Desmond may have sent troops.”
There is some evidence, because the article Desmond was captured with at the time is still in Giselle’s hands.
But I couldn’t reveal him publicly yet. That was something I had to write about later.
However, the evidence alone was enough to convince the Marquis.
“… … That means… … .”
“Count Desmond is a suspicious man. Perhaps we have the same enemy.”
Anyway, the rumor that Jiselle had joined the prince’s faction would spread quickly. So there was no need to hide the fact that she was in a relationship with Duke Delphine and Cheokjin.
The Marquis of Branford gestured to his butler.
“Bring me information about the war that took place in Ferdium.”
The Marquis of Branford carefully looked over the materials his butler had brought.
It was nothing special, just a small-scale territorial war that often took place in the North.
There is only one thing that is suspicious.
‘The size of the force sent from Digald was larger than we had expected… … .’
It was reported that this was due to excessive conscription and the hiring of many mercenaries, but the author of the report added his own opinion that there had been suspicious activity in Desmond.
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If Count Desmond helped Digald, then the puzzle fits together.
The royalist faction was already suspicious that Earl Desmond was on the Duke’s side.
The Marquis of Branford closed his eyes again and fell into thought.
Everyone else also remained tense and silent.
Claude, in particular, couldn’t hide his nervousness, even biting his lips.
‘The biggest problem we couldn’t solve on our own was the population problem. If the Marquis of Branford could help, we could solve a problem that would have taken decades to solve quickly. It’s a huge opportunity.’
Even though they brought in slash-and-burn farmers from the mountains, there was still a shortage of workers.
No matter how much money you make, the population problem cannot be easily solved.
‘Most of them are serfs, so they cannot come to our territory unless they run away.’
Even though the Fenris Territory is rumored to be a great place to live, you cannot move around freely unless you are a permitted free citizen.
It wasn’t easy to get back the people who had previously fled from the Fenris territory. The surrounding lords made excuses and refused to let them go.
‘No, clearly, where did someone who only roams around the territory get this information?’
He looked at Giselle as if he was looking at something unfamiliar.
After thinking for a while, the Marquis of Branford opened his eyes and asked.
“Do you have any other requests?”
“Yes. Ferdium has only recently experienced war. No matter how much money you earn, it will take some time to stabilize the territory.”
“so?”
“Please grant a three-year grace period for Ferdium and his vassals to pay their taxes.”
“… … .”
The deceased made frowns and muttered among themselves.
You’re hoarding money like a hawk and you want to postpone paying your taxes!
Even the most powerful lords would never refuse to pay their taxes. If they did, they would be criticized by numerous nobles and officials.
Even before the loss of face, it was obvious that the royal family would not remain silent.
You end up making enemies just to save a few pennies.
‘He doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would do that out of simple greed… … .’
The Marquis clicked his tongue inwardly, unable to understand Giselle’s intentions.
The Giselle I’ve seen so far doesn’t seem that stupid, but I’ve only had a short time with him to guess what he’s after.
However, Claude, who had been treated by Giselle many times, instinctively realized that there would be more work in the future and built a statue.
‘You’re not going to pay taxes?’
Jiselle is not the type of person to save money like that.
This obviously means that you have a plan that requires a huge amount of money. So much so that you even have to save money to pay taxes!
‘Oh my, I’m going to die again. Now all I have to do is sell cosmetics, but I keep getting into trouble because I’m lacking something.’
Why can’t I, Claude, be happy!
The Marquis of Branford laughed in vain as he looked at Claude, whose face was turning pale and dying.
Judging from the fact that his subordinate was so annoyed, it didn’t seem like there was a particularly good reason.
At this point, I started to wonder how far this guy named Jiselle would go.
“Is there anything else you need?”
“I think this will suffice for now. If Your Majesty permits my previous request… … the rest of the problems will take care of themselves.”
If I had to name one thing that was absolutely necessary, it would be to block the criticism of the nobles.
Accepting the people of the direct territory and not paying taxes also became a pretext for other nobles to cause trouble.
But if the Marquis of Branford pushes him, no one will dare to complain.
That’s why there was no need to ask Jiselle to stop it.
Marquis Branford chuckled as he understood what Giselle meant.
‘You had no choice but to come to me.’
You must persuade the royal family and the nobles who are loyal to the prince to change the fiefs they support, postpone tax payments, and even act as a shield against attacks from other nobles.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that no one else could do it.
Looking at the situation, it seemed like he was using the excuse of being a guardian to receive help like this in the future.
‘This distribution is really something out of the ordinary.’
It was clear that he was using me for something, whether it was the position of the High Lord or something greater.
Even if it hadn’t been Rosalind’s job, he would have come up with some outrageous method.
If it was the guy in front of you, it would definitely be like that.
The Marquis stroked his chin and fell into thought. Since it had come to this, it seemed like it would be better to tie up the relationship a little more firmly.
“I heard you have a younger sister.”
“yes.”
“What do you think about forming a marriage alliance with one of the powerful nobles of the Prince’s faction? It would be okay to form a relationship with our family. If you agree, I will find a suitable person for you from the collateral line.”
People who heard those words were shocked.
The noble and cool Marquis of Branford offers to be the matchmaker!
It was too glorious an offer for a small family like Ferdium to refuse.
Everyone thought that Jiselle would accept right away.
But Giselle lowered her head and touched her forehead without answering.
I never thought you’d make such a proposal. This is like taking my brother hostage.
He raised his head and said, shrugging his shoulders and laughing.
“Thank you for your kind offer, but I must decline.”
