Episode 21: “Crazy Guy, Why Are You Doing That!” (1)
As Ghislaine and his group returned to the territory, they couldn’t hide their relief.
The outing was short, but outside, they could never relax like they did in Perdium.
Only Gillian wandered around the territory without showing any expression.
On their way to the Lord’s castle, Ghislaine asked Gillian, “This is Perdium Territory. What do you think of it now that you’ve seen it for yourself?”
“…It seems alright.”
“No, no. I want an honest evaluation, not that formal answer. What do outsiders really think?”
Gillian hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to answer honestly.
He preferred not to just say what would please his superiors.
“…The houses are all old and rundown. They don’t seem to be undergoing any repairs. That likely means the territory is poor.”
Raybold is the richest territory in the North.
Though Gillian himself was living in poverty after spending all his wealth on treating his daughter, he’d seen how the people of Raybold lived while coming and going.
Even during his time as a mercenary, he had traveled around and seen many territories firsthand.
To Gillian, Perdium Territory was just a poor, rural backwater—nothing more, nothing less.
Ghislaine nodded without showing any anger.
“Right. It really is a poor territory. The Lord and the territory residents all lack money. They live day by day, barely scraping by.”
“I hardly see any young men around. With that, development would be impossible, right?”
“Exactly. Do you know why?”
Gillian thought for a moment before answering.
“I heard that Perdium Territory is pretty much always at war because of the barbarian tribes from the North. That must mean they frequently draft people, so there’s bound to be a lack of young folks.”
“Quite knowledgeable, aren’t you?”
Ghislaine offered a bitter smile.
“Even the area near the Lord’s castle, which is usually the most developed, is like this. The other villages are even worse.”
“Hmm…”
“With no one to farm, taxes go down, and the territory becomes even poorer. It’s a vicious cycle.”
Listening to Ghislaine’s words, Gillian realized that the state of the territory was more serious than he thought.
Right now, the situation in Perdium was just like pouring water into a bottomless bucket.
If taxes couldn’t be collected properly, there was no way the territory or the army could function properly.
Ghislaine slowly drove the horse and let out a self-deprecating laugh.
He chuckled bitterly.
“Indeed, the biggest problem is money. The equipment for the knights and soldiers is getting old, but we can’t replace it because we don’t have any funds. Supplies aren’t arriving on time either. If other territories hadn’t supported us, we’d have been done for a long time ago.”
“The situation doesn’t sound good.”
“Yeah, at this rate, we’d probably die of starvation before we even get to fight.”
In his past life, Ghislaine was too busy complaining that he was born in a poor territory. Now he realized just how childish that was.
“The truth is, we aren’t fighting all year round. We just keep defending and pushing back at regular intervals. The problem is, all the people who could work are in the army, and we’re barely managing.”
“But we can’t just disband the army, can we?”
“Exactly, we can’t escape poverty when we need to keep the army running but don’t have any revenue.”
In Gillian’s view, it wasn’t just a geographical problem.
The Perdium Territory had decent weather and didn’t seem bad for agriculture.
But the issue was the lack of farmers. All the labor was consumed by the war.
Ghislaine brought up other problems, aside from the barbarians.
“Did you see the forest to the northwest of the territory? It’s called the Forest of Monsters; are you aware of it?”
“Yes, I’ve heard it’s a forest full of monsters.”
“We have troops stationed there because we never know when a monster might pop out. In the end, we’re just fighting a war there as well. Even maintaining the army consumes resources.”
With no money and few people, the remaining workers were all in the army standing guard.
At this rate, one might wonder if it would be better to just charge ahead and go out fighting instead of starving.
The army was a money pit just sitting idle.
Right now, they were somehow managing with support from other territories, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they collapsed at any moment.
Gillian asked with a heavy heart, “What about getting more support from other territories? Money or food? If we share it with the poor…”
“They don’t want us getting stronger. They only provide just enough to barely keep the army running. Nothing for the territory residents.”
Gillian unconsciously nodded.
Ghislaine was the unusual one; most nobles didn’t care about the lives of their territory residents.
People like that would never willingly share their wealth to feed the residents of other territories.
They probably just provide a bit of support begrudgingly because someone needs to guard the place.
If not for the northern folks being somewhat resilient, they would have crumbled under this poverty long ago.
“Were there no other options?”
Ghislaine nodded.
“Father, my grandfather, and my great-grandfather all tried to break this vicious cycle, but none succeeded. We simply don’t have the money to try anything else.”
“It’s a tough situation.”
“Even if the land is barren, there’s always the possibility for a sprout if there’s just one drop of water. But we don’t even have that drop of water in our territory.”
“Honestly, I think it might be better for you to be knighted in another territory, My Lord. Even if you inherit the territory, it’s clear you’d only suffer.”
“It seems better for you. Even if you inherit the territory, it’s clear that you’ll only suffer.”
Gillian openly expressed his frustration.
Ghislaine smiled slightly.
“I’ll resolve it.”
“What? The Grand Duke is saying that?”
It almost felt like a vow. When Gillian questioned him, Ghislaine nodded.
“I’ll definitely put an end to the poverty of the territory. Not just a drop of water, but a rain.”
Gillian thought it was simply a futile dream born from youthful enthusiasm. It looked impossible to save the territory in the current situation.
However, Ghislaine was confident that he could truly solve the problems of Perdium.
It was a conviction that no one could understand, something only he could achieve.
*
As soon as Ghislaine arrived at the lord’s castle, he confirmed that his father had returned and busied himself.
“Belinda, prepare a place for Gillian and Rachel to stay. I’m going to meet Father soon. Also, since I need daily treatment, please gather some medicinal herbs.”
“Got it. I also have some pending tasks to take care of.”
Ghislaine looked at Gillian.
“Gillian, stay in the castle for a while. I’ll arrange a place for you to stay soon.”
“Thank you.”
Ghislaine praised the knight attendants for their hard work and, with Gillian in tow, went to find his father.
‘How long has it been?’
For the Grand Duke of Perdium, it had been several months, but for the Mercenary King, it was the long-awaited reunion after decades.
Ghislaine couldn’t walk in right away and stood by the door, calming his trembling heart.
He could hear the tired voice of Count Perdium from beyond the door, as he was likely in a meeting with his retainers.
“We must reduce the troops?”
“Yes. It seems tight to maintain the current state. The funding has decreased.”
Treasurer Albert responded in a monotone.
After a brief silence, the heavy voice of Knight Commander Randolf resonated.
“Brother Albert, if we cut more here, we won’t be able to properly maintain the front line.”
As the Knight Commander, Randolf had to be sensitive to maintaining the front line and fighting the barbarians.
With a frustrated expression, he asked, “Where has the funding been reduced? Wouldn’t it be better to request more support from Raybold? They should have some leeway.”
With a sigh, Chief Officer Homern replied, “That seems difficult. The reason we need to cut back now is that Raybold, which used to provide the most support, has reduced their funding. Upon further inquiry, it appears Count Raybold has increased his military forces. It seems they’re gathering soldiers and stockpiling food.”
Randolf asked back, slightly surprised, “Why is Count Raybold increasing his army? Where else could there be a war in the North besides here?”
“I don’t know. We’re always focused on the Northern fortress, so it’s hard to grasp what’s happening around us.”
“We can’t reduce the troops. If we do, we’ll be at the mercy of the barbarians. There are fewer than thirty knights left. With no money, everyone is leaving, and traitors like Jamal and Philip are emerging.”
Randolf argued firmly, but Albert still responded in a flat voice.
“I think we may need to reduce the Knights’ strength as well. If that happens, we’ll have no choice but to also scale back the Northern front.”
“If we do that, we can’t help but reduce the northern front.”
Randolf shouted as if he were about to burst with frustration.
“Brother! Reducing the front means there’s no point in holding it! Barbarians will come pouring in through the gaps!”
His words left everyone speechless, unable to respond.
The main retainers were just the Chief Officer, the Knight Commander, and the Treasurer. Despite being a poor territory, they had somehow stuck together to keep things going.
Homern, Albert, and Randolf were the core and the true power behind Perdium.
Ghislaine, standing by the door and overhearing the conversation, chuckled awkwardly and said to Gillian, “This is a bit embarrassing. The situation here is just so dire. It’s different from other territories, right? Everyone is blood brothers with my father.”
“It’s alright. It’s surprising that the territory has managed to stay afloat in this state; it seems possible only because the people are tightly bound together.”
“Yeah, those folks are holding on with loyalty and commitment. They may be a bit grumpy, but they are good people.”
‘They may look at me like a foe though.’
Ghislaine swallowed those words internally.
He wasn’t on good terms with those three due to all the trouble he often caused.
Taking a deep breath before opening the door, he prepared to face those grumpy folks.
“Let’s go in.”
He pushed open the war room doors with determination.
The Chief Officer, Homern, who was half bald, the always-serious Treasurer, Albert, and the bearded Knight Commander, Randolf—all were present.
They were all around the same age as Count Perdium, and their faces frowned the moment they saw Ghislaine.
However, when Ghislaine caught sight of his father, nothing else caught his attention.
‘Father!’
His father, Zvalter Perdium, wore his customary expression—stoic and unsmiling.
Ghislaine’s heart raced.
Of course, he was also glad to see the other three, but his father was a bit more special.
After running away in his previous life, he hadn’t seen his father and couldn’t even remember his face clearly.
Seeing his father again brought every single feature into vivid clarity.
‘I didn’t expect it to take this long.’
When he left the family, he thought he could always come back and meet them whenever he wanted.
It was a childish thought.
Only after the family’s downfall did Ghislaine realize that what he had taken for granted might not be so guaranteed after all.
It was only after feeling the pain and suffering of not being able to see what he longed for that he understood how precious the things he currently took for granted really were.
“Father…”
Ghislaine opened his mouth with a trembling voice, but the words couldn’t fully escape his lips.
He couldn’t even get out a greeting, asking if he had done well or if he had returned safely. He merely gazed at his father with trembling eyes.
However, Zvalter had no way of knowing his son’s feelings. Seeing Ghislaine act differently made him slightly tense.
‘What’s wrong with him? Did he cause another incident? Why are his eyes so unnecessarily moist?’
After a moment’s hesitation, realizing Ghislaine was silent, Zvalter finally spoke first.
“Ahem, I heard you were out. What happened with Count Raybold’s Young Lady?”
