Chapter 913: An Idealist (II)


    Trantor: TransN Editor: TransN


    Rnd gazed at Edith after disclosing his thoughts. "Do you really think it would be better to leave the Kingdom of Dawn as it is than have it ruled by Earl Quinn?"


    Edith looked as if she had already known Rnd would ask that. "In fact, I don’t think the two choices would be much of difference in a short term. A reliable ally can provide you with resources, people, and assistance in the Battle of Divine Will. You can trust Earl Quinn since you’ve got his daughter Andrea, but you can’t say anything about other nobles."


    "She... admitted that?" Rnd was now confused, wondering what the "short-term" she referred to meant. He had thought Edith would focus on the untrustworthiness of the nobles to establish her argument.


    "On the other hand, if the Kingdom of Dawn sinks into a state of chaos, in order to re-establish order, a war would be inevitable. The Kingdom would definitely be weakened in wartime and the state would inevitably fail. By that time, refugees and desertednds would be all that is left in the Kingdom of Dawn, just like the Eastern Region and the Southern Territory in Graycastle. You can obtain thesends poptions effortlessly, and unlike the first choice, these people would belong to you forever."


    "But didn’t you just say that an ally can provide not only poption but also resources and assistance for the war effort?" Nightingale questioned agitatedly. "How does it make sense to you that one benefit is the same as three? Besides, has it never urred to you that those refugees would die of hunger or exposure to the elements during relocation?"


    Edith instantly shot back. "It seems that three sounds certainly more promising than one, but there’s a condition. In order to make full use of the ally’s resources, His Majesty would first have to make some investments, for example, a steam engine, Golden Twos and even ammunition and weapons. Without these, the Kingdom of Dawn has nothing topete against demons with, let alone supporting Graycastle on the battlefield. It’s a significant investment, although with quite a high return. However, we can’t just ignore such a sumptuous amount of money when we can barely satisfy the need of Neverwinter itself. Therefore, I hold that the benefits of the two ns are approximately the same."


    Rnd raised his brow. He knew very few people in Graycastle understood risk and reward in investing. Barov, for instance, would definitely refuse to provide his own technologies and products to support a neighboring country.


    "Then why do you think leaving the Kingdom of Dawn as it is would be a better option if there’s no big difference in gains?"


    "Because of witches, Your Majesty." Edith’s answer surprised both Rnd and Nightingale.


    "Witches?" Rnd was stunned.


    The Pearl of the Northern Region stuck out one finger. "Yes. Please think it over. If witches are no longer persecuted in the new Kingdom of Dawn — or rather, under the influence of Andrea, Earl Quinn starts to follow your example and hire witches to help with the production and construction of the country, newly awakened witches facing no death threats, would stop moving to Graycastle. This is one of the potential losses."


    "Second, the Kingdom of Dawn is geographically more advantageous than Graycastle. Witches in the Kingdom of Wolfheart and the Kingdom of Everwinter would move south in the event of demon invasion or persecution from the dregs of the church. However, once the situation in the Kingdom of Dawn is stabilized, will they still move to Graycastle? The answer is no. It’s probable that the number of witches in the neighboring countries would exceed that in Graycastle in several decades. I’m actually more concerned about this than the loss of current witches."


    "Isn’t it good... that everybody lives a happy life? What’re you so concerned about?" Nightingale’s voice was less provoking than before.


    Edith ignored Nightingale but directly looked into Rnd’s eyes. "Has it ever urred to you that one, or several witches with incredible abilities, would instantly make one kingdom outstrip another?"


    "A witch like Anna?"


    "That’s right. Anna, Agatha, and Soraya... they all have incredible abilities. The moment you won their support, Neverwinter surpassed the domains of other nobles. This is also why you’ve achieved such great aplishments so far." Edith said slowly, "Apart from that, you have a wider breadth of knowledge and greater wisdom than anyone else. As long as you’re still the king and no one leaves the Witch Union, few could challenge Graycastle’s position, except demons."


    Edith paused for a few seconds at these words. "But what about the future in over 100 years when the government of the neighboring countries operates the same way as Graycastle’s and when witches are employed in various areas? The knowledge you wrote would inevitably spread to cities and towns outside Neverwinter. By that time, people will study the method of machine manufacturing and learn everything you’ve taught them... If there’s one single awakened witch in the Kingdom of Dawn possessing an irreceable ability, Graycastle would probably fall behind!"


    "That’s im—" Nightingale immediately attempted to refute Edith’s theory, but she swallowed her words halfway.


    "Plus, you nowrgely rely on various magic powers such as Anna’s ability to carry out your construction and development n. Can you guarantee, however, that Anna’s power is the farthest a witch can go?" Edith stressed each syble with due strength. "If a new witch possesses a more ingenious ability than Anna, will the future King of Dawn still view Graycastle as his ally?"


    Rnd almost wanted to apud her speech.


    Edith was not focusing on immediate gains but was actually envisioning a scenario in the distant future. Ordinary people may only foresee changes in a few years’ time, but Edith was picturing what would happen a centuryter!


    Furthermore, Rnd somehow sensed an uing explosion of technological innovations in her speech. As a person who had learned about the history of the industrial revolution, Rnd knew very well that major technological changes expedited over the past few hundred years. It took apes thousands of years to learn how to make fire, but it took only a decade for human beings to enter the Information Age from the Steam Age. A person living in the modern society might experience technological changes that would otherwise take thousands of years in the past.


    Now, the presence of witches might further shorten the interval between each technological change, and the emergence of one or two powerful witches might bring a new technological revolution. Edith was right. If Anna had awakened in the City of Glow, Rnd would have no idea how far he could go.


    Rnd could almost foresee what the future would look like when the members of the Witch Union gradually entered their years of decrepitude while new powerful witches appeared in the Kingdom of Dawn. This was also the reason Edith insisted on leaving the Kingdom of Dawn as it was if Rnd was not able to get full control over it.


    Rnd believed if he were a lord born in this world, he would have definitely been convinced by Edith just now. All kings wanted their kingdoms to endure through time, and for their descendants to perpetuate their glory. They would never create a rival that would potentially pose a threat to their own country.


    Rnd could still change his mind and abandon Otto to his fate. To do that, he just needed to break his promise and deceive Andrea.


    However, he was not that kind of person.


    It wasn’t the country that Rnd really cared about.


    He did not care about what his kingdom would look like after his death. Compared with an evesting kingdom, he was more interested in the advancement of the entire human race. No matter who his sessor was, Rnd did not have an obligation to assist him in ruling the state. His life goal in this world was to improve the standard of living in Graycastle and take it to the next level while at the same time unveiling the mystery of the Battle of Divine Will.


    As for which of the four kingdoms was the strongest? He would leave the choice to people living here.


    Last but not least, he wanted to stick to his principles of being an honest and righteous man. He realized that he could never easily break his words for personal gains, nor could he lie in negotiations. His instant resistance to Edith’s proposal made him understand that he would never truly be an outstanding politician.


    "An excellent argument." Rnd looked at Edith with satisfaction. "However, I won’t take my words back."


    "Your Majesty..." Edith was surprised.


    "I know what you want to say. You want to say that a wise king should always seek the best interests of his country and that it’s normal to cheat." Rnd interrupted Edith. "But there are rulers in this world other than kings..."


    "Other... rulers?" Edith echoed in confusion.


    "That’s right. For example, an idealist."