Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: The Use of a Traitorous Subject
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In the end, this meeting could be considered a victory on points for the Emperor.
While the Emperor gained nothing substantial, he had certainly given Beonald a big "screw you," and his mere presence here was a major hindrance, making it a clear points victory.
The only consolation for Beonald was the hope that the Emperor wouldn't be staying for long.
'First, I need to have someone tell the situation to Heidi and the others hiding with Selina and ask them to come out. Phew~'
"Hoh, what a lavish breakfast."
"The menu is stew made from the salted and preserved meat of a Black Drake, grilled liver from a recently acquired fresh Ogre, and veal tenderloin steak."
"Ogre liver?"
Currently, Beonald, dressed as a chef, was explaining the menu set before the Emperor like a proper chef.
The food served to the Emperor had to be as luxurious and fitting of his status as possible, but the local yokel chefs here were incapable of that, and calling someone from the Valderian territory would have taken too much time.
'But thanks to that, I was able to buy time to send a message to Selina.'
Still, the process of cooking allowed him to naturally summon Selina, and Beonald, directing the cooking himself as he had served the Emperor in his previous life, managed to present reasonably impressive dishes.
Then, calmly like a professional chef, he began explaining the dishes placed before the Emperor one by one.
"The liver of an Ogre, which has such a voracious appetite it keeps searching for food even when full, is far larger and richer than foie gras. The downside is the peculiar fishy smell when first obtained, but if you know how to handle that, it boasts an exquisite taste that will make you never satisfied with duck liver again. It's a dangerous monster species, hard to catch, and being an organ, it spoils quickly, so opportunities are rare."
"...But how did you learn how to prepare it?"
"Records. And I have know-how gained from processing the livers of Land Drakes and Black Drakes, not just Ogres, so I used that to handle it."
"Huh, well then, shall I taste it? Oh... Ooooooh!"
The outer part was crisp enough to be felt with one's teeth, but the moment that crust was pierced, a rich, concentrated meat juice and aroma filled the mouth, pierced through the nose, and overwhelmed the senses.
A symphony of flavor so rich it was almost thrilling. But eventually, even that fades. The Emperor exclaimed in admiration, gulped down the wine that had been poured beforehand, and then voiced his appreciation.
"This is truly amazing. Haha, I've never tasted anything like this in my life. May I have one more piece...?"
"If you wish to feel that initial thrill again, I recommend trying the other items first before having more. Sensations tend to become familiar with repetition."
"Harmony is also important. Haha."
Beonald hosted the meal with great skill and succeeded in satisfying the Emperor all the way through to dessert.
Then, as he headed to his office to attend to his duties, the Emperor, who had followed him, sat at the reception table in the office, enjoying tea while watching him work.
"Haha, then don't mind me and get to work."
'Now that we're in this situation, it's driving me crazy.'
Currently, the territory was in a difficult situation with a mountain of urgent tasks piling up. Vesia, in particular, was an indispensable talent for urban construction and mansion design, and there were too many secret trump cards in progress to risk being revealed to the Emperor, which was annoying to the point of frustration.
'Trying to change and adjust the order of work is killing me. Ugggggh......'
"Hmm... Hoh~ You manage all those documents by yourself?"
"Well, compared to the Imperial capital, this is just a city the size of a booger, so it's manageable. Of course, as it grows, we'll need to expand our workforce here too... but I've already prepared an appropriate method."
"What are you thinking of doing?"
"Primarily, I plan to employ those from noble families under the influence of the Valderian territory who have been pushed down the line of succession. It's good for them because they can be sent outside their territory, and good for us because we get educated personnel."
"Hoh~"
"If that's still not enough, I'll create a school where all children in the territory can learn language, history, numbers, and arithmetic. A three-year course. Children who stand out there, I'll create an advanced school to educate them directly, teach them work, and make them part of the territory's workforce."
"You'll educate commoners too?"
"Well, it's just turning wooden blocks into cogs for the organization. If you don't have the parts, you have to make them yourself. If the population were as abundant as the capital and talented people flocked from everywhere, I wouldn't have these worries either."
Beonald, being a proper orthodox noble himself, was well aware that giving excessive education to commoners was not a good thing.
The Emperor nodded in understanding and continued to watch Beonald work, asking questions in this manner and listening to his answers.
However, no matter what question he asked, answers came out smoothly as if prepared in advance, the work was efficient, and an air of experience as if he had been doing this for decades was palpable. The Emperor found himself vainly worrying about how to bring such a talent under his command, thinking he had failed to see this person's inner worth.
And while the Emperor was spending time in the Valderian territory, an unprecedented storm of food shortages, as foretold, swept across the Empire.
Last year could be blamed on the war, but this year, the abundant food from the south, which was thought to arrive normally, had all fallen into the hands of the Garkan Republic, causing prices to skyrocket at a terrifying rate. Territories with some agricultural focus could endure by saving or finding ways, but places like the Imperial capital, where the agricultural proportion was low, were hit directly.
"What on earth is His Majesty thinking in such a critical situation......?"
"Your Highness! Your Highness! Do not be alarmed. Archbishop Harun of the Valderian territory's temple has arrived with a large quantity of food."
"What did you say?"
"Archbishop Harun says he will hand it over, asking only for transportation costs and compensation for the temple paladins' labor. It's truly a fortunate event."
However, a large amount of food brought by the religious order had arrived at just the right time.
Archbishop Harun had decided to first aid the Imperial capital, which would suffer the most damage in this crisis due to its weakest agriculture, by deploying about half of the one-year's supply he had secured there.
'How could there be so much food from there... I see! Father must have gone to the Valderian territory and taken action!'
It was a ridiculous misunderstanding, but as the Crown Prince acting as the Emperor's proxy, he couldn't help but misunderstand that the Emperor had taken some measure, since the food arrived not long after he left.
Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to leave the capital during such a national emergency.
Anyway, in this desperate situation, a helping hand had finally arrived to aid in stabilizing food prices, and there was no leisure for deep thought now.
Thanks to the emergency supply of preserved food, they managed to first stabilize the capital's food prices, barely suppressing and stabilizing the fire lit under the people's lives. Then, they began stabilizing other territories where lower nobles resided by dispatching Imperial knights and soldiers to areas where chaos erupted.
Of course, these measures didn't happen quickly across the entire Empire, but by preventing chaos in the largest-scale capital, subsequent measures and support for each region became manageable enough for the Crown Prince to handle.
Originally, an event that could have overturned the Empire had its initial momentum quelled, and as people gained room to cope, it ended up as merely a minor incident.
The news of the Empire's measures reached Chancellor Neumel's ears three days after the food arrived in the capital.
"What is this...!"
She looked at the letter that had flown to her, checking its contents as if she couldn't believe it.
The story was that the religious order from the Valderian territory had supplied a large amount of food to the Imperial capital, which reduced the scale of the intended chaos, and the capital's food prices had stabilized. The conclusion was that the plan had completely failed.
"How on earth did this happen? Did someone see through my plan? But even if they did, by the time they noticed this year, there should have been no food left to produce? To counter it now, they would have had to notice at least by the time the war ended last year... Who is it?"
Chancellor Neumel racked her brain to find the existence that had seen through her plan and screwed her over.
Starting with the Emperor, she began crossing off names from a checklist of those considered wise within the Empire, no, the continent.
'The Emperor of the Empire. Of course, he might have noticed. But the Imperial capital without agriculture would struggle to cope. Even if he spoke to high nobles, lower nobles, or merchants to respond, the time for news to travel and the fact that the food came from the Valderian territory... Is it someone related to the Valderian earldom? No, would those ungrateful mutts who forgot Father's grace have such wisdom?'
No matter how much she thought, within the scope of her knowledge, there was no person capable of devising such countermeasures, and she couldn't even imagine such a person existing in the Valderian earldom, but she soon changed her mind.
'No, even if they are mutts, they are a family that legitimately carries the blood of our Neumel family, aren't they?'
'So... shall I start calling you in-law now?'
'I'm too embarrassed to bear it. Otherwise, I'll call you that too?'
'...Alright. Even though we're now in-laws, let's just call each other as before.'
During Beonald von Neumel's reign, he married off a daughter to the Valderian family, the closest and most loyal family, and naturally, the family head, Kerwell Valderian, passed the headship to a son born from that child married to Beonald's daughter.
Therefore, although diluted, the Valderian family also legitimately carried the blood of Beonald von Neumel.
"Found it! Kedron Valderian! You were the culprit!"
While sifting through numerous stacks of investigation reports on the Valderian family, she came across the current heir, Kedron Valderian.
Kedron Valderian. Graduated from the Academy and returned to his territory. According to reports, he maintained noble dignity calmly and wisely without being swept up in the somewhat barbaric family customs.
"The heir of the Valderian family. That's enough influence and ability to carry out tasks. Moreover, as a martial family, it's a prestigious house... Cross-checking shows the food brought from the Valderian territory is mostly preserved meat. Hunting in the western forest... I see. So they saw through my plan in advance and immediately began preparing for the food shortage?"
Chancellor Neumel quickly grasped the outline of the other party's inner workings, and while checking Kedron Valderian's data, she discovered an unbelievable name.
It was the name 'Beonald Callermain,' said to be currently a retainer, that stopped her eyes.
"Why is this name among the retainers...? A namesake? But... the timing, and also......"
[...The individual named Beonald Callermain appears capable of alchemy and magical tool creation, and also excels in administrative duties and city construction tasks. Additionally, he commands a high-knight level knight under him, and the Valderian family is currently preparing for a marriage alliance with him...]
"Alchemy... Magical tool creation......"
The same first name, though the family name was different, and the points of alchemy and magical tool creation made her unable to help but think of her father.
Beonald von Neumel. The person she loved, respected, and was most proud of.
But someone using the same name as him, practicing alchemy and even magical tool creation. She didn't know who it was, but as far as she was concerned, it was an issue she couldn't just pass by, so she continued reading the report to uncover the identity, but there was nothing more groundbreaking beyond that.
"Whoever it is, I simply can't stand this nagging feeling."
Judging by the contents in the document alone, this was a person with not just one or two elements that grated on her nerves.
All the more reason she felt the need to confirm it definitively.
It could simply be a coincidence of the same name, and the person might truly have a talent for alchemy and magical tool creation by chance. But there was also the possibility that this person was related to the Neumel family, or perhaps had plundered some legacy of Beonald von Neumel.