[ Episode 197. Plan ]
When evening came, there was a call from Salem.
Thinking that Noah’s diagnosis was roughly over, I went to his closet by myself and saw Salem looking quite agitated.
“fun. I think it has to do with sin.”
“yes?”
what is this again
“No, to be precise, it must have been connected.”
“Could you elaborate a bit more?”
“It seems that the biological experiment was conducted as a sin. With ‘jealousy’ now in the hands of the assembly.”
jealousy.
A sin I’ve never seen before.
I expected it, but the assembly had it.
I realized again, but there were still many things I didn’t know about the rally for being a member of the rally.
I’ll have to pay attention.
“It must have been used before being retrieved from the meeting. To be honest, I was lucky. A little more time would have passed and he would have died.”
“Is treatment possible?”
“Didn’t you ask me because you thought it would be possible?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll try, but I can’t predict the outcome. Instead, I will answer that I will do my best as much as I am curious about the results. It’s a great opportunity to find a clue to harmony.”
Although he had mastered the harmony, it seemed that he had not fully realized it yet.
That’s why he’s doing research in this closet.
“How long will it take?”
“I can’t even say that. If it is long, it may take several years, if it is short, the answer will come out in a few days.”
“All right.”
It seemed that Noah would have to take a leave of absence.
It’s a must if you don’t want to die.
After talking with Salem, I went straight to Ivy.
She shared a room with Vivian, but Luna was in it.
“this!”
“this?”
Unexpectedly, he was playing cards with Vivian.
When did you two become so close?
Ivy must have been watching from the sidelines, so I asked about Noah as soon as I arrived.
“what?”
“For now, there is nothing that can be confirmed. It is unclear whether or not the treatment will take place, and the duration is unknown.”
“Tsk. Aren’t you a quack?”
“It is not. He is probably the continent’s foremost expert on this subject.”
He’s a nobleman who became one of the 10 people on the continent after experimenting with his own body, but he’s definitely an expert.
“Ha ha yeah?”
“Perhaps Noah will have to take a leave of absence. I couldn’t even set the exact time period.”
“okay. After all, that’s none of my business. We didn’t even live together in the first place.”
She smiled self-deprecatingly and nodded.
What else happened after escaping from the warlock?
I don’t know why I live separately from my brother whom I hate so much.
“If Noah is cured, I will repay this grace forever.”
“yes. Please do.”
Ivy nodded without hesitation, and Ivy smiled again.
It’s still not a bad laugh this time.
“friend! Let’s do it together!”
“yes. Let’s do it together.”
It would have been a great advantage if Ivy was also drawn to the same side.
Plus, if Noah comes along, the icing on the cake.
All I can do is pray for Salem to heal.
**
The news of the fall of the Valley of Lamentation soon spread throughout the Empire.
It was a great shock to the people of the empire, who had never thought that they would be invaded by an outsider.
Even more so, the opponents were the barbarians in the north who had been ignored as less likely to fall.
The northern territories suddenly turned into a war situation, and the aftermath spread across the country, freezing various supplies and food.
As a result, many merchant families and families suffered severe losses, while the Morheim family in the west was rather booming.
“We urgently want a second dispatch from Borgien.”
“Call twice. If you still accept it, send it.”
Morhaime family office.
Countless people were sitting in their seats doing correspondence and paperwork.
And at the highest seat, Minus was answering the butler while stamping the approval documents.
There were many delays, but Minus was in a good mood when he thought that these were all money.
“Next, Montaigne sent an intention to purchase equipment for 1,500 people. Prices are as written.”
“Hmm. Just raise it by 10%.”
“All right. I will ask right away.”
“okay. Just check that and take a little break.”
Minus, who had not slept for the past few days, stretched and said.
All of his subordinates had tired faces as they had not slept along with their masters.
Still, everyone’s expression was bright, and they seemed to know that all these things would make their wallets thicker.
“Is it that good?”
“oh my! do you call that a word? so good!”
When someone shouted, everyone burst into laughter.
Minus also sighed and laughed and leaned back in his chair for a moment.
“Anyway, let’s pull it tight this time. Suffer a little.”
“All right!”
In Morheim in the west, the aftermath of this war was not felt much.
It’s partly because they prepared in advance, but they were born to be mercenaries.
Rather, the atmosphere of this war made me feel as if I had returned to my hometown.
“Anyway, Your Highness’ insight is amazing. At first, when I was told to prepare this many supplies, I wondered if I had eaten something wrong. It could have gone bankrupt.”
Daenerd, seated closest to Minus, smirked.
He was born with the title of deputy knight division commander, but ironically, he was the one who smelled paper all day recently.
“I also have something called Jinang.”
“I have already heard about that. You said you made a deal with Adrias Cromwell, right?”
It was a name that was often mentioned in the dukedom of Morheim recently.
Perhaps he could become the wife of the duke’s younger sister, Greta, so he had no choice but to be more concerned.
“I have a question.”
“What.”
“Could Earl Cromwell have foreseen that things would turn out this way?”
At Danard’s question, each of his subordinates in the office fell into thought.
But no one could have imagined that the barbarians would capture the Empire’s infamous fortress.
So I had no choice but to dismiss it as just luck.
“Maybe?”
But Minus was an exception.
Excluding this war, he had already received a lot of help from Adrias’ advice, knowingly or unknowingly.
It was a plan that was carried out through the meeting in Muriel, and it is still ongoing.
The ultimate goal is independence from the Empire and establishment of a royal family.
Of course, right now, it just felt like setting a big goal and running, but the possibility of realization was low.
“Are you saying Earl Cromwell guessed everything?”
“I wonder if he would have done that. And this is not the end.”
Apparently, Adrias said that a much bigger wave would come after this.
And I remembered that I emphasized that this could also be an opportunity for someone if used well.
“We just need to read the current and ride the waves well.”
“We just go where Your Highness leads us.”
“So, I have something to say.”
Minus slowly brought out what he had been thinking about for a long time.
“The Cromwells are definitely our allies. But that force is incompetent.”
“It is ambiguous to be called a colleague. In fact, there is only one family, Adrias Cromwell.”
“That’s why I’m saying this…… I’m going to give you some strength this time.”
“How do you mean?”
“This is still speculation. Perhaps the savages are more annoying than I thought. If that happens, the emperor will eventually declare conscription, not recruitment, and there is a high possibility that it will become an all-out war for the empire.”
“But will the lords step in? Even if you win, it’s a war that only hurts.”
“Listen to the end. Even the emperor, unless he’s an idiot, will use bait. That’s pretty tasty bait.”
“It’s a tasty bait… You’re not saying that you’re going to give away the emperor’s direct jurisdiction, right?”
“I don’t know that yet. What I want to say more than that is this. I’m going to go to war this time in Cromwell’s name.”
I couldn’t answer Minus’ remarks, wondering if everyone had misunderstood.
Then Danard barely came to his senses and asked.
“No, then are you saying that we will give all our balls to Cromwell?”
“Don’t be honest. The story with Adrias has already ended. It is also the place where we obtained this information and stocked up on supplies using him as an excuse.”
“No, no matter how hard it is, giving all the credit in the war is……”
“Danerd. Can’t you feel that the gazes around you have changed lately?”
At Minus’s question, Danard paused and then nodded.
“I feel it. I feel like I am being held back.”
“okay. Even if it wasn’t for this war, we were in a situation where we were getting quite envious. In addition, this incident will only intensify that kind of stare. But think about it. In a situation like an angular stone, are we skipping even the major? Maybe you can take the sweet fruit right away, but everyone will be enemies. Not only the imperial palace, but also all the forces in the western region!”
“Then helping Cromwell is…”
“It’s making a double ledger. Oh, the concept is a little different? To be precise, should I say it’s similar to making a ghost guild?”
“Are you saying you want to make Cromwell the second power in Morheim?”
“yes.”
Minus nodded shamelessly.
“Then we can absorb Cromwell later. In that case, after all, Cromwell’s growing up isn’t much different from Morhaime’s growing up, right? Since we need to avoid attention right now, let’s return the reward to Cromwell.”
“Will Adrias not notice that intention?”
“You already know. That’s why he refused to marry Greta. You know, but you have your own thoughts, so you must have agreed to the deal.”
“Hmm. It’s also better to hit and run and fight. Politics is a headache.”
Dannard frowned and shook his head in disgust.
Minus smiled at Danard and rested his chin on the desk.
“Originally, this floor is like this. Either eat the opponent while rolling your hair like this, or dominate with overwhelming power. On the contrary, they will be eaten or dominated.”
Those who were together naturally recalled the history of Morheim at Minus’ words.
How the Morhaiim family, which was a family of wizards who used to gather medicines and make potions in the beginning, grew to this extent.
It was a bloody history of struggling with all kinds of things in order not to be eaten by the opponent.
And they took it seriously.
If you don’t catch it, you will eat it!
“Anyway, unlike us, no one will object to Cromwell growing up. They’ll think it doesn’t matter if they’re given a big reward anyway, since they’re a pitiful family without a single fiefdom.”
“That’s what you were aiming for.”
“okay. Didn’t you just say that the Cromwells were the only family of Adrias anyway when I asked? Everyone must be thinking the same thing. So, you would think it wouldn’t matter if I majored in it and received a territory.”
Dannard had a strange goosebumps.
It was like looking at a puzzle where everything was put together.
way too perfect.
There was even a suspicion that Morheim might be playing into Adrias’ hands.
‘It doesn’t matter if I play around a little since Cromwell has no power anyway?’
When that thought suddenly passed by, I wondered if he might have anticipated all this carelessness and made a plan.
In fact, if you look at the list of things that have been there so far, Morhaime’s ability to prepare and sell supplies was the strength of Morhaime.
From funds to prepare supplies to personal connections, everything is the power of the Morheim family.
Of course, I knew that information was the most important thing, but it was being dismissed as if this whole situation was thanks to Adrias.
In such a situation, the Cromwell family was able to take up their major for free.
And that no one goes against that flow.
“If you were aiming for it, you look like a monster.”
“Let’s be careful not to get eaten. haha!”
Minus just laughed lightly, but Danard couldn’t.
If Minus didn’t raise Cromwell like this and absorb it as originally planned, it would have been like letting others do good things at the cost of their own blood.
And for some reason, it seemed that Adrias could make the situation that way.
‘I have to keep my head straight.’
Danard said he was sick of politics, but he couldn’t hide his keen sense.
With the sound of Minus’ laughter in the background, he quietly immersed himself in his thoughts.
[ Episode 197. Plan ] End
