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nChapter 63

nProofreader: xoxomonami

nCedric said with a stiff face.

n“I get your point. But there’s no way you can do that. If you put your hands on the price of grain, it’s not about the supply to the north, it’s going to hurt the lives of the entire empire.”

n“Yes, I know.”

nArtizea replied.

n“To be honest, I think the priority is to bring down those who ruin people’s livelihood.”

n“Tia.”

n“The Empire occupies all the good lands that people can live in. The productive power is enormous and the industry is developed. The reason that people’s livelihood is impoverished is because the ruling class is exploiting it. So even by cleaning them up, the Empire will soon come back to life.”

nIt is a country with such potential.

nSo the faster you pull them down, the better.

n“If you count people’s lives as the total amount of happiness, my method is correct.”

n“If you think so, then why do you ask me for an opinion?”

n“When I look at Lord Cedric, I think it’s wrong.”

nArtizea muttered.

n“I’m not a ruler. I’m ashamed, because I just understand the moral rules with my head.”

nSo she said.

nIt didn’t mean that Cedric wouldn’t use it just because it’s a method he hates. His ideals were so high that he was worried that he could realize this kind of work.

nAnd she was actually guessing the answer. She just needed conviction.

n“Tia.”

nCedric lowered his head and looked into her eyes.

n“I understand your logic. I think it’s a judgment you can make.”

n“Yes…. “

n“But once you lose your morality, you cannot get it back. You can lose your honor, but you cannot lose your morality.”

nCedric gave her a smile instead of being angry with her.

nThen, carefully reaching out his hand, he swept the strands of her hair that had flowed down into Artizea’s ear.

n“You are a smart person. You can come up with a better way than that.”

nArtizea couldn’t help but nod her head.

nIt was then.

nKnock, knock.

nThere was a knock on the door.

n“Come in.”

nCedric stepped out of Artizea’s side with light movements and went to the other seat.

n“Excuse me. I don’t know why you called me…”

nIt was a middle-aged woman who opened the door. Artizea noticed that the woman was a little surprised to see her in the office.

nBut she quickly realized who she was. The woman politely knelt down on one knee to greet Artizea.

n“I’m Hannah. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Grace.”

n“Hannah is in charge of the town north of Thold. I called this time to get a report.”

nHannah couldn’t hide her surprise at Cedric’s words.

nThe work on the Karam crop was the greatest secret of the Evron Great Duchy.

nBut Cedric said,

n“You don’t have to hide anything from the Grand Duchess. Think of her in the same way you think of me and report on the Karam crop.”

nHannah soon resolved her surprise. She then put down the documents she brought in front of Artizea.

nArtizea briefly turned the papers over without a word.

n“The only thing I can tell for sure is that you need a proper drainage system. It can withstand the cold, but it can grow better in milder climates.”

n“Yes. The harvest can be done once in early spring and autumn, and the harvest in the fall is quite large. But it may be because of poor care during the winter. In winter it is almost impossible to dig frozen ground by manpower.”

n“What about the plough?”

n“It is said that horses are better than humans, but horses are also dangerous on a snowy or windy day. Only those who are mixed-race Karam can work little by little. If it is from the south of the Grand Duchy, it is easy to harvest twice a year.”

nArtizea read all the reports that were not many.

nAnd she covered it and looked at Cedric.

n“I think it would be better to stop this once again. Again, the efficiency is too low.”

nAnyway, this research will fail anyway. If successful, Artizea would have known.

nPerhaps the reason for the failure was that during that war, which decapitated Grand Duke Roygar’s neck, Evron Grand Duchy completely lost its power to make new attempts.

n“I don’t mean to give up. Let’s do it in a less dangerous way.”

n“Is there a way?”

nCedric’s eyes sparkled.

n“Let’s wash the source of the seeds first. We make it as crops found in the northwestern region.”

nArtizea pulled out all the pins on the map. Then she put a pin in another point. It is the end of the western border where the monster wave begins.

n“The border line with the Evron Grand Duchy was blocked by Elia Wall, but the western end of the monster habitat is directly connected to the north, right? In this way, it is also connected with Karam.”

n“It’s not a place where people can live.”

n“Yes, but when there is a monster wave, it often happens that the body of the monster coming down there comes with plants or insects.”

nCedric leaned out his body with a positive attitude.

n“I know a few people I can trust who are native of the West.”

n“That’s perfect.”

nArtizea smiled.

n“It would be much better to study farming methods there.”

nShe shook the document.

n“The seeds are kept strictly, but all of these records are burned. I hope we get rid of the town north of Thold as soon as possible.”

n“You mean to remove the trace?”

n“Yes, completely.”

nHannah swallowed. Artizea looked back at her.

n“If there is any other reason not to get rid of the village, tell me now.”

n“No. I’ve always been thinking that it would be better to do it in the south. It’s just because there’s no place for mixed race people to go…”

n“I’m going to get Aaron to find them a suitable job. We can’t ignore those who have worked so far.”

nCedric said.

n“Can you make sure the words don’t flow out?”

n“Don’t worry. That’s my job.”

n“Then, this is all about doing things that didn’t exist.”

nArtizea looked at Hannah once and then again at Cedric.

n“Forget the name of the Karam crop completely. The new name will be given to the western farmers. And next year, when a new western harvest is made, I will put it on the altar of the Temple.”

n“At the altar?”

n“Yes, since the work of consecrating newly improved seeds is done every year. Once consecrated, then, even if it turns out that they are also in Karam, they will not be said that it is a devil’s crop.”

n“Is it possible? They don’t just put anything on the altar of the Great Temple.”

n“In the mainland, there’s nothing that money can’t do.”

nCedric stroked his chin, thinking.

n“I think it’s possible enough. It’s an important job, so would you take care of it yourself?”

n“Yes.”

n“However, even if it receives the consecration of the temple, I am worried about how His Majesty will react.”

nFood is the most powerful weapon that controls Evron. There was no way the Emperor would like it.

n“If it starts in the West, it’s over in no time.There is no reason to reject the new crop that the farmer has found. Even His Majesty cannot deny the temple altar.”

n“That’s also true. It’s also something we have to go through anyway.”

n“If it’s still possible, it’s better to hide it until you’re ready enough.”

nArtizea said, pondering.

n“Let’s make a grain merchant union in the West.”

nCedric looked at her with her puzzled face. Artizea replied.

n“In the summer, I bought a small and medium-sized grain dealer under a borrowed name. There are roughly 70 of them. This is enough to lead public opinion and make a union.”

n“Tia, did you really intend to carry out the manipulation of the grain?”

n“Thanks to Cedric stopping the Monster Wave last year, there are no burnt warehouses, or farmland, and grain prices have stabilized. If you buy it, I just thought it was for now.”

nArtizea lied.

n“That’s why you make an excuse to bribe the temple and spread new crops. But if you simply have the upper ranks, you wouldn’t know that if you make such a coalition and move, there is a lot of chance to get caught by His Majesty.”

n“Even so, there will be no excuses to stop it. In case they can stop the transportation and take the warehouse, I think they will be relatively generous.”

nIf the Emperor tries to stop it, he will face the top forces, led by Grand Duke Roygar. Something they hate most is when the aristocrats are prevented from expanding their business.

n‘It’s okay to hold hands temporarily.’

nThe plan to dismiss Roygar with this was completely gone.

nHowever, she can plan other things later. As Cedric said, she, herself, would have been able to come up with better strategies.

n“I don’t know much about military affairs, and I don’t know much more about the Evron Grand Duchy. But I can support you so that you don’t worry about your back. So do what Lord Cedric wanted to do as much as you can.”

nLuckily, the Marquisate of Rosan is wealthy, it wasn’t enough to enrich Evron Grand Duchy, but it was enough to make a difference.

nShe thought it was the best course of action.

nCedric crept down the corners of his mouth. He was grateful, but he had no idea how to accept it.

n“No. You’ve only barely gotten the Marquisate back. You have to keep it. I’ll be grateful for the intention. It’s enough to lend your hand and wisdom.”

n“If I were Count Jordyn, would you have objected to the idea of using his private property?”

nCedric said perplexedly.

n“It is different from that.”

n“It’s the same. What’s different about using what I have for someone I’ve decided to devote my whole life to?”

nCedric’s face hardened for a moment.

nThen, from his neck, a new red color began to appear, and his entire face finally turned red. Cedric eventually covered his face with his palm.

nArtizea hesitated, not understanding why he did that.

nThen, Hannah and her eyes met. She was smiling with a lukewarm face.

nArtizea looked back at the words that she had said. And her face turned red as she came to her senses.

nCedric took her hand.

n“I know that’s not what you meant. I’m not misunderstanding, so just sit down. Isn’t the report not over yet?”

nHe said so, but of course there were some who misunderstood.

nHannah cleaned up the scattered documents.

n“I don’t dare to disturb you. I’ll go back. Please call me anytime you need anything.”

nThen she left the office.

nThe door is closed.

nArtizea felt like sitting on a thorny cushion. She said something without knowing what to do.

n“I’m sorry to have caused you a strange misunderstanding…”

n“It’s not a complete misunderstanding.”

nCedric said without letting go of her hand. Artizea pulled out her hand.

nShe said, in a cracked voice, as she wrapped her left hand in the heat of her other hand.

n“I’ll talk about the rest later. I’m…”

n“Don’t go.”

nCedric took her hand again.

nArtizea stumbled with dizziness. She let Cedric pull her hand and fall towards him.

n“Stay still. You can’t look at my face right now.”

nArtizea held her breath. Cedric hugged her with his arms and pressed his lips to the crown of her head.

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