Episode 263
“Logan McLane… Logan McLane… Wow… It’s so unexpected that it’s strange.”
At the muttering voice of the second prince, the expressionless face of Leos, who was sitting next to him, slightly hardened.
All the advice he confidently gave regarding the Kingdom of McLane turned out to be wrong, because the prince’s complaints sounded like he was criticizing himself.
“I wasn’t good enough. I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
In fact, the recorders dispatched to each prince in relation to the imperial succession battle are officially neutral. Its only role is to evaluate the prince’s abilities and deliver objective indicators of the results to the emperor.
However, at some point, it became a tradition for the newly crowned emperor to annihilate or imprison not only his rival brothers but also their archives. In other words, the recorders were in a position where they had to support the victory of the prince in charge with all their might.
Naturally, Leos also had no choice but to do his best for the second prince’s victory.
And the second prince also knew that fact well.
He still has the upper hand in the cumulative scores in the battle for succession to the throne.
Moreover, the recently completed ‘work’ on the Small Kingdom Union was able to be completed successfully thanks to Leos’s scheme.
“No, no. If you’re lacking, who else is lacking? He’s just weird…”
The 2nd prince clicked his tongue briefly.
“Regardless of what happened before, what is the biggest reason why we couldn’t predict this situation?”
Leos answered that question without delay.
“Because Logan McLane’s behavior is beyond common sense.”
“Specifically.”
“It is clear that there is a fairly large source of funds in the Kingdom of McLane that has not been officially revealed. However, the way it was used was strange.”
“Is that strange?”
“If there was a sufficient source of funds, there was no need to rapidly raise the army while enduring side effects. Considering the size of the source of funds estimated so far, it was an army that could be comfortably built in at least five years.”
“But you took on the side effects in order to raise them in one year, right? Wasn’t it a ploy to eliminate the nobles in their country?”
“That could have just been done after the army was created. Even before that, the royal authority was powerful, so even if it had been exercised legally, no noble would have rebelled.”
“Then why did he do that?”
“There are two cases. One is that his personality is so impatient that he can’t stand it…”
“That’s not true.”
Leos also nodded at the 2nd prince’s assertion. Considering his actions and speech in front of the emperor, it was only natural.
“Then there is only one possibility left.”
Leos paused for a moment and spoke carefully.
“He knows the ‘grand plan’ of our empire.”
Both Leos himself, who spat out the words, and the second prince who heard them couldn’t help but harden their complexions.
“Okay. Then it makes sense. And on the other hand, it doesn’t make sense.”
The 2nd prince smiled bitterly.
Does the king of a small country know a plan known only to the emperor, his immediate recorders, and the princes who participated in the battle for succession to the throne?
The emperor’s plan, which has been strengthened by shrinking for 20 years?
This was something that anyone who knew anything about the imperial family’s security policy would never believe.
Leos was also smiling bitterly as he rubbed the small magic tattoo on his temple.
“…Maybe I’m just guessing?”
“I don’t seem like a fool who would bring the government to the brink of collapse just by guessing.”
“Yes, I guess so. Then how on earth did you know?”
“I don’t know that. I’m sorry.”
“Do you have any guesses?”
“…yes.”
“Yes. That’s right. You’re in such trouble…”
The 2nd prince, who was tapping the armrest with his finger, asked again.
“What can we check now?”
“The hunt for their funding sources will likely be completed within a month or two.”
“What to expect?”
“Finding a rare mineral mine or an ancient site. I’m looking at it either way.”
“Either way, we got lucky and hit the jackpot. It’s not good for us… But if it was distributed there, whether ore or relic, we would have known in advance, right?”
“The only trade item between the McLane Kingdom and our empire was grain.”
“if?”
“While working on the Little Kingdom Alliance, we discovered that a large amount of money was flowing into McLane. It was confirmed that it was not grain, and we are investigating the details of that transaction.”
“Only in the Small Kingdom Alliance? Our side only has grain?”
“yes.”
“…It certainly seems like he knows about the Great Realm. Otherwise…”
Leos agreed with the second prince’s mutterings, but did not bother to answer.
Advice can be given, but the conclusion is entirely up to the prince.
While waiting for the decision with that thought in mind, words that could not help but be surprising came out of the second prince’s mouth.
“I guess I should go.”
“…yes?”
“The invitation just arrived, so I’m going in person. Prepare the ‘ghosts’.”
“Your Highness!! Is there a need to do that…!?”
Looking at Leos, who had an unusually surprised expression, the prince smiled grimly.
Perhaps His Majesty the Emperor is not interested in such trivial matters. Even if they knew about the great world, that small kingdom would never be able to stop the empire.
‘But not me. ‘I don’t have a good feeling.’
The black eyes of 2nd Prince Baros van Ares flashed.
* * * After the declaration of national marriage in the McLane Kingdom.
A month has already passed and winter is approaching the end of the year.
There was a group of people crossing the border in the east of the McLane Kingdom, braving the harsh winds.
At first glance, there was a large-scale procession that seemed to number over a thousand people.
An irritated voice came from the front of the procession with its carts and people.
“Usually marriages, especially national weddings, are held in the spring, right? In the middle of winter…”
“That must have its own meaning. Don’t worry about unnecessary things and focus on what we have to do, Roy.”
“Yes. I know. It’s just that the weather is so cold…”
Ragon fully understood the feelings of his grumpy young subordinate.
It’s unlikely that a mid-level knight would really feel cold in this sharp wind.
‘I guess it’s not the weather, but my heart that’s cold.’
It was the same for him too.
‘Where on earth did it all get twisted?…’
Their homeland, the Kingdom of Tria, is the most powerful of the seven countries in the small kingdom alliance at the eastern end of the continent, and has firmly maintained its position as leader since the alliance was first formed.
However, last summer, the Principality of Tahiti, which is only a principality in name but a large fiefdom in the Kingdom of McLane, suddenly demanded a re-discussion of the voting rights of the union.
Normally, they would have easily ignored it, but absurdly, four countries, including them, responded in unison and the position of head of the union was changed.
It was an incomprehensible behavior, but when viewed from within the framework of the union, it was not a big change.
However, the Kingdom of Tria, whose position was immediately lowered, was already shaking. This was because, according to the resolution of the new coalition, border security had to be reduced and taxes on merchants had to be lowered.
It was only natural that the Kingdom of Tria was located at the center of a union of small kingdoms, and taxes on inter-kingdom trade accounted for the largest amount of revenue.
However, due to its geopolitical location, it was not possible to leave the union.
‘We have no choice but to find a new way to live.’
So now, they were heading to McLane with a large-scale business under the pretext of McLane’s national wedding.
An attempt to create a new source of income led by the royal family, rather than simply through trade brokerage. In other words, it was a journey to develop a direct trade route.
Therefore, Ragon, who is currently in charge of the chapter, could not help but feel a great sense of responsibility.
The rest of the leadership felt the same burden. The delegation, all with stern expressions, did not have the mental space to appreciate the new scenery abroad.
However, even though they were very nervous, they couldn’t help but roll their eyes at the strange sight they encountered.
As we approached the eastern end of the former Duchy of Douglas and now the Crown Territory, we saw hundreds of people shooting crossbows at targets.
Not only was the flying force and shape completely different from the existing crossbows they were familiar with, but the clothes of the people shooting it were strange.
“What are they? They can’t be called soldiers…”
Before I could say that their clothes looked too much like peasants, McLane’s driver Tamil, who was guiding the delegation from the border, spoke up.
“Ah. This is the village’s vigilante training.”
“Vigilante… group?”
“Yes. According to His Majesty’s orders, we are training the men of each territory to be able to maintain security on their own.”
After hearing those words, Ragon had several things he wanted to argue about.
First of all, there were many women among those shooting crossbows, and it was questionable how pointing a crossbow at a target and shooting it was not hunting training but security maintenance training.
No, before that, there was something else I was more curious about.
“It’s a crossbow that looks a bit powerful, but are you distributing something like that to commoners?”
“Ah, it’s only given for brief training. How can something like that…”
“Why train if you’re not going to use it? Of course, it’s to be distributed. Of course, it’s not for individuals, but at the village level.”
The two people’s faces went blank at the firm answer that came after Roy interrupted them.
“Ah… Haha. Since the McLane knights are strong, they can give commoners weapons like that… right?”
“Ah, a rapid-fire crossbow can hurt even knights if they are careless. It easily pierces ordinary armor, so it is quite a threatening weapon for ordinary knights who cannot use the force on their weapons or armor.”
“…yes?!”
Is that a threat only to ordinary knights?
Even Roy, an intermediate knight, did not have the confidence to fight for a long time while wearing force armor. That’s why he thought Tamil’s words were bluff.
“Ah, you are good at joking. It seems that the Lord ignores us because we are members of the Union…” “
Is that possible? How could I ignore the envoys whom His Majesty has told us to treat with great care?”
“So you’re saying that’s true now?”
“Yes that’s right.”
Roy, who was incensed by the knight’s naturally virtuous answer, ended up saying something he shouldn’t have said.
“Then can I test whether that weapon is really that powerful?”
“Roy!!”
Ragon had no choice but to yell at his subordinate.
I understand that Roy, a loyal knight of the Royal Guard, was nervous because of the country’s situation, but there was no way that he would be received well in national relations by criticizing the words of the knight guiding the envoy.
However, Tamil accepted Roy’s words calmly.
“Whatever.”
“Even if you ignore people, you’re still oily…”
Roy, who had been grinning like that, turned around with a gloomy look on his face only after attaching a quarrel shot to his forearm that pierced the armor and stuck in it.
It was a sight that shocked the entire delegation.
– Are you giving away weapons that can kill even knights to commoners?
– Are you crazy?
Everyone was perplexed, but that wasn’t the end of their surprise.
Douglas City arrived three days after crossing the border.
On the main street of the castle, where we arrived with the mayor’s welcome, a truly amazing sight unfolded.
“Come on! This is imperial silk brought straight from the royal capital. It’s only 10 gold per piece!!”
“A pack of 10 apples from the southern Dissen region costs only 1 gold! It’s a breeze!!”
“I’m selling a special anti-plague medicine made in Raftan Territory! Please keep one in your home!”
“This is a craft produced in the Taren region~! Crafts from Taren, the city of dwarves! Come and take a look!”
The streets were noisy as if the harsh winter wind was blowing at them. The large-scale market, which cannot be found anywhere else in the Small Kingdom Alliance, was bustling with activity.
“It hasn’t even been long since the rebellion ended…”
” I heard it was completed in one day, but it’s a lot different from what I expected.”
Ragon, who had a blank face, muttered, and Roy, who had a similar expression, received it.
“If you’re just going to do a simple trade, there’s no need to go all the way.”
“That’s right. ”
If the purpose was not to make a formal contract with the royal family of McLane, it seemed like the prepared quantity could be released right here.
In addition, there was a strange sight that caught the eye.
“Why are they digging the waterway in the castle over there?”
“Directly from the royal family. This is an ongoing project. A sewer was created to drain domestic sewage into farmland.”
The mayor of Douglas City, Thompson Rendoval, kindly responded to Ragone’s question.
“A sewer?”
“Yes. This is implemented not only in castles but also in larger villages outside the castle. The smell has definitely gotten less.”
“So that’s…”
“Lagon. “That’s because I…”
Seeing Ragon’s puzzled expression, the mission’s urban expert approached him and explained in a whisper.
Perhaps considering the mission’s representative’s dignity, Mayor Thompson just smiled and slightly turned his head, and Ragon was impressed once again after hearing the explanation. I looked closely at the castle construction site.
‘I thought things would be bad because of the turmoil of the past few years…’ I never thought that a country
that had experienced three civil wars in 4-5 years and
even changed dynasties in the meantime would be running so normally.
‘If the big cities in the provinces are this size, then the capital…’
Ragon was impressed by the sight, which was completely different from what he had imagined, but he felt a little sick.
Let alone a civil war, he was once again seeing his country on the decline because of a single agreement. Because it came to mind.
But that’s why I made up my mind again.
‘I will definitely close the contract.’
Looking at the success of the double-ended crossbow and McLane that we saw earlier, it was clear that if we could properly open up trade, it would be a great help to our country’s current situation.
‘There will be no delegation larger than ours. We will negotiate with the king on our own. .’
That’s how Ragon strengthened his will.
After more than a week, when he arrived at the capital Grand,
he couldn’t help but frown as he saw an incredible sight.
With carriages with golden dragon flags fluttering throughout the castle, it hurt his ears. It was because of a rumor that
the second prince of the empire had personally come to congratulate His Majesty on his marriage.
Ragon’s promise to treat the king privately was in vain, and the royal palace of McLane was in a state of hesitation to receive a completely unexpected guest.
