Chapter 198 – I’ll Keep Him Around for a Long Time (1)


    “Please spare us!”


    “We can help stabilize the territory!”


    “You can’t do this to us!”


    The retainers of Count Cabaldi wailed desperately, but Ghiin didn’t so much as blink.


    Gillian and the Fenris Knights, on the other hand, were already ustomed to such situations.


    After all, they had already experienced carrying outrge-scale purges when they upied the Digald County.


    “Arghhh! Please, I beg you, spare me!”


    “I’m a noble, damn it! Let me go! I said, let me go right now!”


    “Youwless bastard!”


    The retainers screamed as they were dragged away. Once Gillian and the knights left, Belinda cautiously approached and asked.


    “Young Master, are you really sure about this? That territory is far bigger than Fenris’. Our administrative resources are severelycking.”


    “It doesn’t matter. Keeping them alive would only lead to bigger troubleter.”


    Had ude and the other Fenris officials been present, they would have been horrified and would have tried to stop Ghiin.


    After all, as Belinda pointed out, managing the Count’s territory would require far more manpower than they currently had.


    However, Ghiin had no intention of letting them live.


    The retainers of this region were practically aplices to Count Desmond.


    Keeping them around would only give them the opportunity to betray him at the first chance they got. Even if it would be difficult now, it was better to purge them thoroughly while he could.


    “Belinda, for now, take the people and confiscate all the retainers’ assets. ude will take care of the rest once he gets here. Also, make sure the soldiers know not to harass the locals.”


    “Understood.”


    The people of Cabaldi’s territory were trembling in fear and unease. Their lives would depend entirely on what kind of ruler the new invaders turned out to be.


    Having suffered greatly under Count Cabaldi, it was only natural for them to be wary.


    But their fears turned out to be unwarranted, as the Fenris upying forces carried out their duties quietly and without incident.


    All they did was secure the battlefield, inventory the assets of Count Cabaldi and his retainers, and maintain their position.


    Several days passed in this state until ude finally arrived, bringing along a handful of officials.


    “Hey, ude, you’re here.”


    “Haha! We won! We really won! Absolutely incredible!”


    Having been consumed with worry every day, ude burst with joy as soon as he saw Ghiin.


    Seeing this, Ghiin let out a small chuckle.


    “You’re that happy?”


    “Of course I am! We’ve seized a county! And not just any county, but the North’srgest iron mine as well!”


    “You were against it at first.”


    “Well, that was because I was afraid we’d lose. And I was also worried about the repercussions from the Ducal families.”


    “And now you’re not scared anymore?”


    “To be honest, I’m still scared. But what can we do about what’s already done? I’ll worry about tomorrow’s problems when tomorrowes.”


    ude answered cheerfully. After all, Ghiin had already shed with the Ducal families long before he joined him.


    Now that there was no way to restore rtions, ude decided to focus purely on the joy of what they had gained.


    Expandednds, resources, and poption. Any lord would be thrilled by such acquisitions.


    Ghiin chuckled at ude’s yful remarks and continued speaking.


    “How about it? Do you believe in my abilities now?”


    “Yes, yes. I believe in you. Two battles, two victories—a 100% sess rate. Do whatever you want, my lord.”


    Ghiin clicked his tongue. No matter how he looked at it, it sounded like sarcasm. But since it was a day of celebration, he decided to let it slide.


    “Alright, start by assessing the state of the territory. We need to stabilize and begin development as soon as possible, so do it quickly. Belinda should already have gathered all of Count Cabaldi’s and his retainers’ assets.”


    “Leave it to me! I’ll get started right away!”


    With an enthusiastic response, ude immediately led the officials to begin evaluating the situation.


    The first thing they checked was Count Cabaldi’s personal wealth, and ude’s jaw dropped.


    “A-a-a-amazing! Insane! This is crazy!”


    Gold coins and priceless artworks were piled so high in the warehouse that it was overflowing. The fortune amassed from monopolizing the North’s iron mines was truly beyond imagination.


    Without thinking, ude stuffed a handful of gold coins into his pocket and mumbled to himself.


    “I-I’m rich now! No, wait, we are rich—our territory is rich. Huh?! What am I doing?!”


    Startled, he quickly turned around to find Wendy and the other officials ring at him with disdain.


    “This—this is a misunderstanding! Don’t look at me like that! I’ve lived in poverty for so long that I just… acted without thinking….”


    Under their sharp, using stares, ude sulkily returned the coins to their original ce.


    “Let’s get an exact tally of these assets. If anyone is caught embezzling even a single coin, I will never forgive them.”


    “…Understood.”


    A few junior officials beganpiling an inventory of Count Cabaldi’s wealth. ude also checked the confiscated assets of the retainers.


    “Wow… these people were out of their minds.”


    The hidden fortunes of the retainers were also substantial.


    How much exploitation of the territory’s people and how many bribes would it take to amass such wealth?


    As someone who had lived a clean and upright life without taking a single coin of bribes—even as a ve—ude couldn’t help but feel a tinge of envy.


    This must be why so many people chose to live dishonestly.


    “Ugh, make sure to assess everything here thoroughly and report it. If we’re going to use these peopleter, they’ll need a serious dose of discipline.”


    Although ude wanted to leave them all to rot in prison, the current situation left them desperate for manpower—even if it meant using them as ves.


    With that bitter thought set aside, ude moved on to inspect the military warehouses.


    “Holy… Was it really this much?”


    The overflowing gold and treasures were impressive, but the stockpiles of iron ore and ingots filling countless warehouses were even more so.


    It was no exaggeration that this territory was called the North’srgest iron mine. Even the other lords likely had no idea Count Cabaldi had umted such a massive hoard.


    Despite having all these resources and wealth, the people had been starving due to the drought. It was truly impossible to predict how the world would turn out.


    ude, who had been momentarily stunned, soon burst intoughter, brimming with joy.


    “To think there’s this much high-quality equipment! Our soldiers don’t have to dress like beggars anymore! Woohoo!”


    There was enough to fully arm every soldier in the territory as heavy infantry.


    After a quick inspection of the other warehouses, ude returned to his temporary office to review Count Cabaldi’s administrative documents.


    “Wow, there’s even more than I expected!”


    Thanks to the region’s advanced refining techniques, the number of cksmiths and skilled craftsmen was far higher than in other territories.


    It appeared that even Count Cabaldi had recognized the value of the iron mines, as he had meticulously managed and documented the miners, cksmiths, and other skilledborers.


    “Bring me the other documents, too!”


    As the pile of paperwork grew, ude couldn’t stop marveling at what he saw.


    Even in the harsh and barren North, a county was still a county. Compared to a small barony, the poption of Count Cabaldi’s domain was iparablyrger.


    While the expandednd was valuable, the increased poption was an even greater boon. It could supplement theirckingbor force and significantly boost their military strength.


    “Ha! Let’s call Desmond and even the Ducal families! Bring them all on!”


    ude’s confidence skyrocketed in an instant.


    With the added resources and poption, he now felt emboldened.


    Of course, in a real battle, they’d likely be crushed before they could put up much of a fight. But at that moment, he was too overjoyed to care about such practicalities.


    As soon as he finished assessing the situation, ude ran straight to Ghiin.


    “My lord! Our amazing lord! I’ll begin the stabilization work for the territory right away!”


    “Oh, good. Now that you’ve checked everything, what do you think?”


    “It’s incredible! With this, we can boost the territory’s overall strength much faster! Since thend has expanded, we can also build more facilities! First, I n to improve the working conditions for the miners and the locals to increase productivity further!”


    “Alright, you know how short on time we always are, right? Handle it as quickly as possible.”


    “Understood! Ah, by the way, where did you imprison the retainers from this territory? Those bastards stuffed themselves full! I’ll make sure they’re properly disciplined, even if I have to turn them into ves!”


    “Why them?”


    “Well, they know the workings of this territory better than anyone. I n to keep them under me and make use of them. This ce is toorge, and Fenris’ current administrative capacity can’t handle it on its own.”


    “…Oh, right. The lower-level officials are in prison. Since there don’t seem to be any spies among them, I’ll release them. Use them as you see fit.”


    “What about the retainers who originally held key positions? Are they also there? People like the Chief Overseer, Treasurer, or Master of Arms?”


    “….”


    “My lord?”


    “They’re dead.”


    “…Words can be said one way or another. Did they die due to circumstances, or were they killed?”


    “They were killed.”


    At that blunt answer, ude cautiously asked, “…Why?”


    “Because they had all gone over to Desmond’s side. Those bastards didn’t get rich for no reason.”


    “Ugh…”


    ude scratched his head furiously before lowering it deeply.


    If they had betrayed them to Desmond, then killing them made sense. But the current Fenris administration was already struggling to simply manage the territory as it was.


    “We’re screwed… We’repletely screwed…”


    ude muttered in despair.


    Even now, the workload was overwhelming, leaving no time for rest. How were they supposed to manage such a vast county?


    The fleeting joy from earlier disappeared, reced by the heavy weight of reality.


    As ude twisted his body in frustration, not knowing what to do, Ghiin spoke.


    “For now, let’s focus on handling the most urgent issues. This isn’t the time to sit around worrying, is it?”


    “…Understood. I’ll start by distributing food and calming the people of the estate.”


    ude retreated with tears in his eyes.


    Though it wasn’t something that could be said by someone who had killed the retainers, the lord’s words weren’t wrong. With no time to waste, sitting and worrying wouldn’t solve anything.


    For now, they could only throw themselves into the work with everything they had.


    * * *


    “Wow, this is seriously a mess. Aplete disaster. How on earth was this ce managed?”


    ude clicked his tongue as he looked at the emaciated miners before him.


    While the warehouse was piled high with wealth, the people of the county were on the brink of death.


    The miners stared at ude with a mix of fear and hostility.


    More precisely, they were looking at the carts behind him.


    ‘Food… That’s food…’


    ‘Was it stolen from somewhere else?’


    ‘We’ve already got nothing left to take…’


    The miners were, rtively speaking, treated better than the other residents of the territory.


    After all, the miners who extracted iron ore were the backbone that supported the prosperity of the estate.


    But when the drought came and war broke out, even the supplies sent to them were cut off. What little they had was also confiscated by the army.


    ‘Damn bastards…’


    ‘If only you hadn’t invaded…’


    ‘Filthy invaders!’


    Though the miners nced around cautiously, they ground their teeth in secret.


    Normally, it would have been natural to curse Count Cabaldi, the corrupt lord of the estate. That was how they had lived until now.


    But the invaders had made the situation even worse, so resentment naturally took root.


    They didn’t even dare to hope that the food would be distributed to them. The drought had been so severe that everyone knew even the nobles were struggling.


    From their perspective, it was only natural to assume that the invading army was simply going around the territory, seizing whatever little was left.


    ude chuckled as he observed the miners’ reactions.


    Sigh, it’s always like this at first.


    Even the people of the Fenris Estate had shown the same powerless expressions and gazes filled with hostility in the beginning.


    For people who had been oppressed by a tyrannical lord, such reactions were inevitable.


    Breaking the awkward silence, ude gestured to the soldiers standing behind him.


    “Start distributing the food. Make sure to give them plenty. Oh, and by the way, there’s almost no meat. That’s been really hard toe by these days.”


    The miners, receiving sacks filled with flour and a small amount of provisions, stared in dumbfounded disbelief.


    Giving away food during such hard times? Wasn’t it normal for them to be the ones taking everything away?


    When the miners remained silent and frozen in ce, ude grinned slyly.


    “What? Is it not enough? Hey, hand out one more sack to each of them. Just give it out generously. If we hoard it all, it’ll just rot away.”


    “Gasp!”


    At ude’s words, the miners audibly gasped in shock.


    Receiving even this much already felt like a dream, but now they were being told they’d get more? They couldn’t believe it.


    However, when the soldiers came forward and handed out an additional sack of flour to each miner, the miners immediately dropped to the ground in gratitude.


    “Thank you! Thank you so much!”


    Heartfelt expressions of thanks erupted from all around.


    ude clicked his tongue as he watched them. Just how badly had Count Cabaldi worked these people to the bone that they now behaved no differently than ves?


    Tsk, tsk, tsk. No wonder people say Northern nobles are ruthless. Ande to think of it, the Ferdium Count is truly remarkable. Despite struggling so much, he never exploited his people even once.


    Of course, it was unlikely that Count Cabaldi had deliberately tried to turn these people into ves.


    After all, he would’ve needed them to pay taxes. Instead, he had probably used soldiers to continually pressure and suppress them.


    Driving people to such a miserable state… It was clear the man wasn’t just cruel—he was exceptionally cruel.


    “From now on, this ce will be vastly different under the leadership of the new lord. All you need to do is keep working hard at what you’ve been doing. You’ll be paid fairly, so you don’t need to worry about that, either.”


    Even at ude’s assurance, the miners hesitated to show any signs of trust.


    Instead, they clung tightly to their sacks of food, warily ncing around.


    The fact that they were afraid of having their food stolen by those around them was proof of just how utterly their trust and goodwill had been destroyed.


    ude, having seen many people in simr situations before, furrowed his brow and issued a stern warning.


    “Anyone caught touching another person’s food will be executed on the spot. Don’t ever forget that.”


    In circumstances like this, leniency was pointless. Punishing offenders harshly and setting an example was often more effective.


    At ude’s chilling warning, the miners bowed their heads.


    “We will keep that in mind.”


    They were not oblivious. They knew better than to provoke the upying force that had taken control of the territory.


    If starvation forced their hand, they might steal from others, but with full stomachs, they would behave—at least for now.


    Simr scenes yed out across the estate. ude and other administrators visited even the smallest viges to distribute food.


    The reactions of the estate’s residents were no different from those of the miners. With the drought so severe, they couldn’t believe the food distribution would continue for long.


    ‘Tsk, tsk. This is going to take more time.’


    Although distributing food had quelled the immediate unrest, it wasn’t enough to dispel the deep-seated anxietypletely.


    Even in Fenris, it had taken several months after a sessful harvest and regr food distribution for the people to begin trusting their new leadership.


    To unite the entire estate and prepare them to stand against a powerful enemy, consistent support and building trust in the new lord were the only options.


    After receiving ude’s report, Ghiin nodded in agreement.


    “Considering they’ve lived through nothing but exploitation, it’s only natural that they’d be skeptical. Once they see that there’s plenty of food and their lives begin to improve, they’ll change—just like the people of Fenris.”


    “Yes, this process will inevitably take time, so we’ll continue to provide steady support.”


    “Good. Then, shall we move on to the next task? After all, we’ve gained both resources and arger poption now, haven’t we?”


    “Of course, we should start with that, right?”


    At ude’s question, Ghiin nodded.


    “Naturally, that’s where we begin. The Cabaldi County has more than most other ces, but even that won’t be enough. We’ll need to increase productivity several times over.”


    Settlements, farnd, and public facilities would need to be constructed gradually over time.


    However, after taking control of the estate, an even more crucial task presented itself—one far more important than building those basic facilities.


    It was the construction ofrge-scale smelting facilities and forges capable of producing iron weapons and tools in massive quantities.