Chapter 229: A Shortage of Wheat!
It was early autumn, and the eastern part of the Astera continent entered the peak season of wheat harvesting.
During this time, even if there were some disputes between countries, they would usually settle them amicably.
The transportation of food, especially wheat, was more important than anything else.
Nobles, commoners, and slaves all relied on grains as their staple food, and wheat was the most essential among them.
Even in Elvrande, which regarded human cuisine as barbaric, they imported wheat through various channels.
They had reduced their wheat cultivation area by focusing on expanding the forests.
It was a horrifying fact that there was no proper plain in their vast land that occupied a quarter of the continent, but the elves were proud of their lush forests.
―Look at this forest full of life that we have nurtured.
―We are different from humans. We know how to coexist with nature.
Anyway, at this time of the year, each country put all their efforts into transporting wheat.
The wheat ears harvested from various fields were threshed and then moved to mills equipped with water wheels, where they were processed into flour.
The farmers carefully monitored this process to make sure that the mill owners did not steal any bags of flour, which actually happened quite often.
Most of the lords used the mill owners as scapegoats to embezzle flour, and as a result, the farmers’ hatred for them increased.
Despite these conflicts, the water wheels of the mills were spinning vigorously in the autumn of 1037.
The Lantis County should have been busier and noisier than anywhere else, as it was in charge of supplying food to the eastern part of Bagran.
But recently, the amount of wheat that arrived at the county was only 70% of that in previous years.
The residents of the county were the first to notice this.
―This is strange. Why are there so few wagons?
―This is the smallest scale in years. The harvest was similar though.
―Did they sell the wheat somewhere else?
However, there was no outward expression of these suspicions.
Only the vassals of Count Lantis knew the exact amount of wheat harvested.
Even the landlords of the fields did not know much about anything outside their own lands.
The reduced supply of wheat soon affected the neighboring counties.
The vassals of Count Lantis began to complain, and even Baron Pindor personally visited the county to ask for more supply.
Given this situation, Vandus Viscounty faced a sudden cut-off of wheat supply.
Carson, the administrative officer, and other bureaucrats tore their hair out.
“We need at least five tons of flour bags a day! This is the minimum!”
“Right now we only get three tons… And that’s with fewer and fewer wagons coming in. Soon there will be a shortage of flour in our county.”
“Did you check with the suppliers?”
“I tried various ways, but they said it’s hard to increase the supply.”
“Why? It’s not like there’s a famine.”
That was the biggest mystery.
For the supply of flour to decrease so much, there had to be either a poor harvest compared to previous years or a clear intention from the suppliers.
According to what Carson heard, it was not the former.
‘I didn’t hear anything about a famine in Lantis County… Then it must be Count Lantis.’
His thought stopped there.
As a mere administrative officer, he could not criticize a grand lord.
That was only within Leobold’s authority, but judging by their relationship, it seemed unlikely that they would solve it through dialogue.
‘Count Lantis must resent our lord for annexing this land…….’
It was just a rumor, but he heard that Count Lantis suffered a great humiliation at a meeting in Wangdo.
There was a lot of talk among bureaucrats that Count Lantis’s castle was noisy for a week.
‘Then this is Count Lantis’s scheme to pressure our lord.’
But he had no idea where he was diverting the remaining wheat.
Wheat was a staple food, so its demand did not suddenly increase.
Humans ate about 500-600g of bread per day, which was almost constant.
The difference was that nobles enjoyed more meat and desserts, while commoners had no choice but to eat porridge.
Carson organized these suspicions and reported them to Leobold.
He scanned through the report with an interested expression and said,
“Administrative officer, if Count Lantis is really stealing wheat, where do you think he is sending it?”
“How would I know such a thing?”
“What if it’s Galisto Kingdom?”
“Wha-? My lord, that makes no sense.”
“Why doesn’t it make sense?”
“Galisto Kingdom is our enemy country…”
It was more like Galisto Kingdom was picking fights with us one-sidedly.
They had more than twice as many people as us and had achieved significant development by actively adopting the technology of Zaium Empire.
We used to be stronger than them, but now the situation had reversed.
“Do you think Count Lantis hates Galisto Kingdom as well? As much as I do?”
Carson finally realized the crux of the problem.
The point was that Count Lantis hated Leobold so much that he caused this trouble.
“He holds a grudge against you for taking over this land…”
“Who would like someone who killed his vassal and dumped his family on him? I understand that, but it’s troublesome if he shows his teeth like this.”
There was no confusion or anger in Leobold’s voice.
He was not too flustered to forget his countermeasures.
The Leobold that Carson knew was a prudent and meticulous person who prepared for all possibilities.
“My lord, did you intend this situation?”
“How could I control Count Lantis? How could I intend this?”
But he had been waiting for this conflict to happen.
Conflict would bring him an opportunity.
It was difficult to take over the whole Bagran, but he could easily swallow up Lantis County.
He shuffled through some documents.
“We’ll be short of flour for a while, but the royal palace will help us out, though it won’t be much. Can you endure it?”
“People have been getting used to potatoes and crustaceans lately… And we have enough fish supply, so we won’t starve too much.”
“It won’t last long, so just bear with it a little. I estimate it will be over in a month.”
“That’s hardly a hardship. You know our people are tough when it comes to hunger.”
“There won’t be any more trouble like this once we get rid of Lantis. Just don’t tell the residents until then and comfort them well.”
“My lord, are you really going to…”
“Don’t you think I’m more qualified to be a grand lord than that scoundrel?”
Carson bowed his head.
Leobold had proven himself to be a wise and strong ruler in various situations that stemmed from the Sagris silver mine.
On the other hand, Count Lantis had nothing to show except his bloodline.
But that one thing was very important in Bagran Kingdom.
If Leobold tried to attack Count Lantis, the other lords would not sit still.
Galisto Kingdom would also take advantage of that.
“My lord, I have no doubt that you are right, but I’m afraid you might provoke the other lords. And Galisto too…”
Leobold smiled confidently.
“I have already taken care of that. Don’t worry.”
“Leave that to me and send this document to the top. And say one thing. I hope you make a good choice.”
“…I will follow your words.”
***
Prince Ruad listened to the autumn harvest reports from various regions and tilted his head.
Compared to other domains that reported similar yields as previous years, only the Count Lantis domain had a significant drop.
‘70 percent… Something is strange.’
He found out after going through the documents that there was no major pest infestation in the farmland of the Count Lantis domain.
‘The cultivated area did not decrease, there was no flood, and there was no pest infestation, but the harvest was 70 percent of the previous year…’
As a result, the eastern part of Bagran was suffering from a serious food shortage.
Among them, the worsened situation of the Viscount Vandus domain stood out.
‘They need 5 tons of flour a day, but they only get 3 tons… And that will drop to 2 tons in a few days…’
At this point, even a fool would know who was behind it.
It was not possible that the merchants voluntarily reduced the supply, so it was Count Lantis’s doing.
Prince Ruad put down his pen and gave a hollow laugh.
‘Was he so resentful of being scolded by me? Or did he want to vent his anger for losing his relationship with Marquis Prozan?’
The only thing that was certain was that he had a grudge against Viscount Vandus.
He seemed determined to reduce the wheat supply, which was a very dangerous move.
Because Viscount Vandus was an even more dangerous person who could start a war if he made a mistake.
‘If a war breaks out, Count Lantis’s domain will not be able to stop it with its military force. But the other lords will not sit still.’
Count Lantis had an extraordinary network of connections that stretched beyond the royal road to the west.
His domain did not have any remarkable resources, but it had the largest granary in Bagran.
It meant that if he shook, the whole Bagran would shake.
‘I wonder if he is aiming for that by doing this.’
Count Lantis and Viscount Vandus.
Prince Ruad liked the latter, but he could not choose as he pleased when he thought of the whole Bagran.
One of the reasons was that the Holy Church of Palma had been suspicious of Viscount Vandus lately.
Someone had leaked the content of the trust that the saintess had received.
―The protagonist of the trust is none other than Viscount Vandus of Bagran.
―His appearance is different from that of the protagonist of the trust, but she believes so. She told this to her closest confidants and asked them not to leak it anywhere else.
―His Holiness the Pope, who is deeply concerned about Palma’s future, ordered an investigation of Viscount Vandus after careful consideration.
This was the rumor that had reached Bagran.
Prince Ruad wondered if this was the intention or a slip of tongue of the saintess.
‘Did she confirm it when we met before? That he is a hero from another world?’
A hero from another world…
It was a funny nickname that someone had made up.
In the royal road, all kinds of stories were already being made with this.
The idle talkers were excitedly expecting that he would finally end the tyranny of the nobles and sang songs about him.
He did not know if that was true, but it was a fact that Viscount Vandus showed some unusual moves.
‘Is he really a hero? Is that strange power something that can be shown by being a hero?’
He had accepted it when he killed viscount Ohmel.
The investigation revealed that he had received a metal called living metal from Denova.
It was unfortunate that there was no evidence because Blue Dragon had smashed Denova, but it was something he could not blame him for.
He agreed with that, but he could not understand how he annihilated the Shadow Elf pirates.
According to the situation at that time, Granden and a few soldiers participated, but he almost slaughtered them alone.
He could not imagine what happened at all.
‘Did he capture Zaium’s High Knight by chance…’
Prince Ruad decided after some thought and raised his hand on the communication device connected to Viscount Vandus’s domain.
After some time, he came out in person.
“I greet Your Highness.”
“I’m sorry to call you out when you must be busy with food matters.”
“You’ve already brought up the topic. You must have noticed that Count Lantis reduced his supply.”
“You liked quick approaches. Are you going to war with him?”
“Not yet. I don’t want war either.”
“But someday he will not be able to endure and declare war. Can you handle it?”
“If you allow me, I can.”
“…”
Prince Ruad stopped breathing for a moment.
Even though he trusted him, his heart was pounding.
It was because he did not know the essence of Viscount Vandus.
Is he really a hero?
Where did he come from and what is his purpose?
Is his oath of loyalty to Bagran a lie?
All kinds of questions came to mind, but there was only one thing Prince Ruad could say.
“We are riding the same horned bird and we can’t get off in the middle. I trust you, so you should also be loyal to me and Bagran.”
“I will take it as your permission.”
“But Count Lantis is not an easy person. The surrounding lords will not sit still.”
“Galisto will probably intervene too.”
“Galisto? Why them?”
Leobold exposed that the convoy that left the count’s domain with wheat bags entered a domain in the north.
But Prince Ruad did not believe it easily.
“Are you putting too much blame on Count Lantis? Galisto is our enemy. I don’t think he is a traitor.”
“I will show you undeniable evidence next week. Along with revealing the new ether engine.”
“Ether engine? You mean the expensive one?”
Only Elvrande and Zaium could barely maintain it because it cost a lot to operate.
The fee was so expensive that only the nobles occasionally rode it.
In other words, it was for show, but he wanted to use it in a small domain?
“The ether engine that will be revealed this time is a version that the dwarves have overhauled. The efficiency has been greatly improved, so it’s not like before where you sprinkle ether stones on the ground.”
“Hmm… It’s true that Viscount Ohmel had dwarves with him. But even Imir Republic couldn’t achieve great efficiency.”
That would be correct for now.
Considering the technology of Imir Republic, there was a high possibility that they would come up with an improved version within decades.
Leobold was able to improve it because he came from a world with much more advanced technology.
Except for ether, that is.
“Don’t you wonder about the undeniable evidence?”
Prince Ruad felt awkward and cleared his throat.
“No, no. But evidence that Count Lantis is colluding with Galisto… I feel like burying him right away.”
The word pyromaniac applies to this faraway planet as well.
Count Lantis was too influential to be easily dismissed.
But Leobold thought differently.
“Your Highness. If he is too big to disappear, he is also too big to exist.”
“…That applies to you as well.”
“At least I won’t bring in external enemies like Count Lantis.”
To Prince Ruad’s eyes, Leobold seemed to have confidence that he would never fail.
Anyway, at this point, what he had to say was decided.
It was too late to turn against each other now that they had been holding hands for a long time.
‘I’ll have to give him the eastern part of Bagran at least.’
It was hard to imagine what kind of outcome that would bring.
The prince tried to ease his anxiety by telling him a relatively light news.
“By the way, do you know? Your marriage candidate decided to come herself. She probably didn’t like your answer.”
“Do you mean Countess Croitz? I don’t think she has much time to spare as the future commander-in-chief of Zaium…”
“It shows in your tone that you don’t want to meet her. I know it’s a bit strange for me to say this, but you can relax. Her influence in the military is solid. She will come by airship. Do you want to see the new ether engine together?”
“…It wouldn’t hurt.”
“That’s good. Just don’t show her that you hate her openly. She has a hotter temper than you.”
“We don’t seem to match well in many ways.”
“Personality doesn’t matter. In the end, ability is what matters, right? Anyway, let’s leave that matter as it is and how about the wheat? It must have been reduced by almost half.”
“I’m growing various foods from the floating continent, so it’s not that fatal.”
“Maybe he calculated that too… I heard a rumor that you ate monsters. Is that true? The ones that look like crabs.”
“You’ll change your mind if you try it. And you’ll think that only nobles should eat this and issue a decree for it.”
“That much?”
“It’s only the appearance that’s a bit off. It will be one of the most delicious things you’ve ever eaten.”
“I’m looking forward to it. Lastly, I want to ask one thing. Is it true that the saintess named you as a hero?”
“The saintess of Palma seems to have a loose mouth…”
“To protect the honor of the saintess, she wouldn’t have blabbered about it. It must be someone from above who caused the problem.”
“It seems like it spread everywhere. It’s true that she named me as a hero.”
“What evidence did she have… Ah, I don’t really want to dig into your conversation. Just asking casually.”
“There was nothing great. Saintess Veronica named me as a hero for some reason, and I denied it. That’s all.”
“I see… Anyway, I’ll talk to Count Lantis about the wheat supply. I can’t watch another domain war happen.”
“He probably won’t give a good answer. He already diverted it.”
“I can only hope not…”
***
In the autumn of 1037, a small event was held in Ohmel City of Viscount Vandus’s domain.
It was the unveiling event of the new ether engine.
It was expected that not many people would pay attention to the event of a small domain, but it was different in reality.
Many merchants who were doing business in the eastern part of Bagran, including Prince Ruad.
There were also ether engineers and magicians from the royal road who stopped by Ohmel City to see the event.
The most interesting thing was that Countess Croitz of Zaium participated.
She seemed to have nothing to do with Viscount Vandus.
People looked at Countess Croitz who walked with her black hair flowing on her tall figure and whispered.
“Did she come here to find a husband? That’s what I heard, but is it true?”
“There must be many young nobles in Zaium, why come here…”
“The nobles of Zaium are just a bunch of people who inherit titles by blood and fight each other. There is no one like Viscount Vandus who achieved something with his own hands.”
“Shh, your voice is too loud.”
“By the way, why did they lay train tracks in this small domain? Do they want to pull carts with ether engines?”
“Haha, that’s ridiculous. How bad is the efficiency of that?”
“It’s like sprinkling ether stones on the ground, that thing.”
Airships were much less efficient because they had to bear the cost of buoyancy stones, but they could afford it because they had a treasure trove of resources called the floating continent.
As long as it made a profit once it was sent.
But that train was something that he didn’t know what benefit it would bring.
“Is that track supposed to connect Ohmel City and Vandus Village?”
“No way. It’s not that far. They must have laid a little bit.”
“It’s best to use horned bird carts anyway…”
With the current technology, nothing could surpass the efficiency of a cart pulled by two horned birds, and that was proven by Elvrande and Zaium over decades.
Some nobles criticized Leobold indirectly, saying that he should buy more food instead of spending money on this.
“The people of the domain are starving, aren’t they? Was the rumor that Viscount Vandus gave infinite love to his people wrong?”
“He’ll probably buy food in a hurry when some people die.”
“There’s no way to do that. There are only a few places where you can get food in the east at this time.”
They were mostly nobles who had a high affinity with Count Lantis.
They didn’t know anything about Viscount Vandus’s domain, so they thought the people were starving.
In fact, it was rather better than other domains.
They ate other foods instead of bread, so it was better nutritionally.
Camilla Croitz approached Leobold while listening to the nonsense of the nobles.
It seemed that the rumors about him circulating in Zaium were not completely wrong.
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