Episode 21 You crazy bastard, why are you doing that! (1)
When Jiselle and her party returned to the territory, they couldn’t hide their relieved expressions.
Although my trip abroad was short, I couldn’t feel as relaxed and comfortable outside as I did at Perdium.
Only Gillian was looking around the estate without any expression on her face.
On their way to the lord’s castle, Giselle asked Gillian.
“This is the Ferdium territory. What do you think of seeing it for yourself?”
“… … It seems okay.”
“No, no. Don’t give me such a formal answer. I want to hear your honest evaluation from an outsider.”
Gillian hesitated for a moment, but eventually decided to answer honestly.
He himself did not prefer to just say things to please those he served.
“… … All the houses are old and worn out. They don’t look like they’ve been renovated. That must mean the estate is poor.”
Leipold is the wealthiest fief in the North.
Although Gillian herself lived in poverty, having spent all her fortune treating her daughter, she had seen how the people of Leipold lived as she went.
Even during my time as a mercenary, I traveled around and saw many territories with my own eyes.
To Gillian, the Ferdium estate was nothing more or less than a poor, rural estate.
Jiselle nodded without showing any sign of anger.
“That’s right. It’s a really poor estate. Neither the lord nor the people have any money. They live hand to mouth.”
“You hardly see any young men. If this continues, even if they want to advance, they won’t be able to.”
“Yeah. Do you know why?”
Gillian thought for a moment and then answered.
“I heard that the Ferdium territory is always at war with the barbarians from the north. There will be frequent conscription, so there will inevitably be a shortage of young men.”
“You know a lot.”
Jiselle smiled bitterly.
“Even the area around the castle, which is the most developed in the territory, is like this. The other villages go without saying.”
“hmm…….”
“With no one to farm, taxes are reduced and the land becomes poorer. It’s a vicious cycle.”
After hearing Giselle’s words, Gillian realized that the condition of the estate was more serious than he thought.
The current situation in Ferdium was no different from pouring water into a bottomless pit.
If taxes are not collected properly, there is no way the land and military can function properly.
Jiselle rode slowly and smiled self-deprecatingly.
“The biggest problem is money. The equipment of the knights and soldiers is getting old, but we can’t replace it because we don’t have money. And supplies can’t be supplied on time. If the other territories hadn’t supported us, we would have collapsed long ago.”
“Things aren’t looking good.”
“Yeah, if we keep going like this, it’ll be faster to starve to death than to fight to death.”
In her previous life, Giselle was busy complaining about being born in a poor estate. Now she knows how foolish that was.
“Actually, we don’t fight all year long. We just block and drive out periodically. The problem is that all the people who can work are in the military, but we just keep doing it like that.”
“But that doesn’t mean we can abolish the military?”
“That’s right, there’s no way to get money, but the military has to be maintained, so there’s no way to escape poverty.”
In Gillian’s opinion, it wasn’t just a matter of geography.
The weather in the Ferdium estate was a little cool, and it didn’t seem too bad for farming.
But the problem was that there was no one to farm, because all the labor was being consumed by the war.
Besides the barbarians, Giselle also brought up other problems.
“Did you see the forest attached to the northwest of the territory on your way here? Did you know it’s called the Forest of the Demon Beast?”
“Yes, I heard it’s a forest full of monsters.”
“You never know when monsters might pop out, so the army is standing guard there too. After all, it’s like they’re waging war there too. Just maintaining the army consumes resources.”
To begin with, there is no money and few people, and those who can work are all enlisted in the military and just stand guard.
I was thinking that in this case, wouldn’t it be better to just charge in and fight to the death?
The military is a place where they eat money even if you just sit still.
Although it is somehow maintained now with the support of other territories, it would not be strange if it collapsed at any time.
Gillian asked with a sad heart.
“How about getting more support from other territories? Money or food? If we give that to the poor… … .”
“They don’t want us to become stronger. They only give us enough support to barely sustain our military. Giving it to the people of Yeongji is out of the question.”
Gillian nodded without realizing it.
Jiselle is a special beggar, usually nobles don’t even care about the lives of their own people.
Such people would not be willing to share their wealth to feed the people of other countries.
Someone just has to guard this place, so they’ll be reluctant to provide support, little by little.
Fortunately, the northerners are strong-willed and are able to endure this poverty.
“Wasn’t there any other way?”
Jiselle nodded.
“My father, my father’s father, my father’s grandfather, they all tried to break this vicious cycle, but they couldn’t. Since they didn’t have money to begin with, they didn’t have the capacity to try anything else.”
“It’s a difficult situation.”
“Even if the land is dry, if there is just one drop of water, there is a chance that a sprout will bloom. However, the reality of our territory is that there is not even one drop of water.”
“To be honest, I think it would be better for you to be knighted in another territory. Even if you inherit the territory, you will definitely suffer.”
Gillian honestly confessed her frustration.
Jiselle smiled brightly.
“I’ll figure it out.”
“Huh? Are you talking about Confucius?”
It was almost like a pledge. When Gillian asked back, Giselle nodded.
“I will definitely end poverty in Yeongji. Not by becoming a drop of water, but by becoming rain.”
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Gillian simply thought it was a vain dream born of youthful passion, because to anyone looking at it, it seemed impossible to save the territory in the current situation.
However, Giselle was truly confident that she could solve Perdium’s problem.
It was a confidence that no one could understand, that only he could do.
* * *
As soon as she arrived at the lord’s castle, Jiselle confirmed that her father had returned and moved busily.
“Belinda, prepare a place for Gillian and Rachel to stay. They will be visiting their father soon. They will need treatment every day, so please get them some medicine.”
“Okay, I guess I have some piling up work to do, too.”
Jiselle looked at Gillian.
“Gillian, stay in the castle for the time being. I’ll give you a place to stay soon.”
“thank you.”
Jiselle praised the knights for their hard work and went to see her father with Gillian.
‘How long has it been since then?’
For the Grand Duke of Ferdium, it was the first time in months that he had seen his father, but for the Mercenary King, he was the first father he had seen in decades.
Jiselle couldn’t go in right away, so she stood in front of the door and calmed her trembling heart.
Count Ferdium’s tired voice could be heard from beyond the door, as he was conferring with his retainers.
“We need to reduce our troops?”
“Yes. I think it will be difficult to maintain the current status. The support has been reduced.”
Treasurer Albert answered in a dry tone.
There was a brief silence, and then the heavy voice of Knight Commander Randolph rang out.
“Brother Albert, if we cut back any further, we won’t be able to maintain the front line properly.”
Randolph, the commander of the knights, could not help but be sensitive to holding the line and fighting the barbarians.
He asked with a frustrated look on his face.
“Where did you cut the subsidy? Why not ask Leipold for more support? They must have enough money there.”
At Randolph’s words, General Homer sighed.
“That seems difficult. The reason we have to cut back now is… … because Leipold, who used to provide the most support, has reduced his support. I looked into it and found that Count Leipold has increased his military budget. It seems he is gathering soldiers and stockpiling food.”
Randolph asked back, seeming a little surprised.
“Why is Count Leipold raising an army? Where else in the North is there a place to wage war?”
“I don’t know. We always focus on the northern fortress, so it’s hard to know what’s going on around us.”
“We can’t reduce our troops. If we do, we’ll be defeated by the barbarians. There are less than thirty knights left. Since we have no money, they’ll all leave, and traitors like Jamal and Philip will emerge.”
Although Randolph insisted strongly, Albert still answered in an emotionless voice.
“I think we’ll have to reduce the Knights’ strength as well. If that happens, we’ll have no choice but to reduce the northern front as well.”
Randolph shouted loudly, as if his anger was exploding.
“Brother! If you shorten the front line, there’s no point in blocking it! The savages will come in through the holes here and there!”
No one responded to those words, as if they had nothing to say.
The main vassals were the general, the knight commander, and the treasurer. Even though it was a poor territory, they stuck together and managed to lead it until now.
Homer, Albert, and Randolph are the central figures and real powers that lead Ferdium.
Giselle, who had been listening to the conversation at the door, spoke to Gillian with an awkward smile.
“This is a bit embarrassing. The circumstances of the territory are so bad. The atmosphere is a bit different from other territories, isn’t it? They are all sworn brothers to their fathers.”
“It’s okay. It’s amazing that the territory has been maintained in this condition, but I think it was possible because the people were so closely connected.”
“Yes, they have also endured hardships and persevered until now with loyalty and righteousness. They are all good people, even if they are a bit picky.”
‘They see me as their enemy.’
Jiselle swallowed her words.
Because he was always causing trouble, the three of them weren’t on good terms.
Jiselle took a deep breath before opening the door. Now she had to deal with those little guys.
“Go in.”
He opened the door to Daejeon with force.
The half-bald General Homer, the always serious-looking Treasurer Albert, and the bushy-bearded Grand Master Randolph.
They were of similar age to Count Ferdium, and frowned at Giselle as soon as they saw her.
But from the moment Giselle saw her father’s face, nothing caught her eye.
‘father!’
His father, Zwalter Ferdium, had an expressionless and stoic look on his face as always.
Jiselle’s heart was pounding.
Of course, the other three were happy to see me, but my father was bound to be a little more special.
In my past life, I ran away from home and never saw my father again, so I couldn’t even remember his face.
When I saw my father again, every single feature of his face became vivid.
‘I didn’t know it would take this long.’
When I left my family, I thought I could always come back and see them again.
It was a childish idea.
It was only after her family was destroyed that Jiselle realized that things she had taken for granted might not have been so obvious.
Only after experiencing the pain and suffering of not being able to see what I wanted to see did I realize how precious the things I took for granted were.
“father…….”
Jiselle opened her mouth with a trembling voice, but couldn’t finish speaking.
There was no word of greeting, such as thanking him for his hard work or asking if he had a good trip. He just looked at his father with trembling eyes.
But Zwalter had no way of knowing Giselle’s feelings. He felt slightly nervous when his son showed unusual behavior.
‘What’s wrong? Did you have another accident? Why are your eyes so wet for no reason?’
After waiting for a while and seeing that Giselle didn’t say anything, Zwalter finally spoke first.
“Ahem, I heard you went out and came back. What happened with Count Leipold’s daughter?”
