Chapter 13
Although it was just a light stroll through the mansion’s garden, the days seemed to pass quickly, perhaps because of the change in my routine.
It wasn’t good.
There was no news of Ludger.
“Has something gone wrong?”
They say no news is good news, but this situation felt different. The longer his return was delayed, the more it implied that something problematic had occurred.
If I, an outsider, openly inquired about the affairs of the territory, the servants might grow suspicious. Thus, gathering information fell entirely on Shanette’s shoulders.
It wasn’t long before she uncovered the troubles that had befallen the Northern Light Territory.
“The deal fell through,” she said.
Even with Ludger personally handling it, the deal didn’t go through?
“Are they now looking for additional trading partners?”
“Yes. In the meantime, they’ve been stockpiling food through hunting, but it’s nowhere near enough…”
I was slightly surprised by her smooth and detailed explanation.
As a maid, it wouldn’t have been easy for her to uncover such specific details about the family’s troubles. Even a surface-level understanding would have sufficed to get the general picture, but she knew much more than I expected.
“You’re surprisingly well-informed.”
“Yes. Everyone is worried since their families live in the territory. I pieced together information from conversations with several servants.”
She might have even uncovered deeper details.
“Do you know why the deal fell through?”
Territorial trade largely depended on trust. Once an agreement was made, both sides would typically work to adjust terms if necessary.
“They said the price of food was raised to an absurd level.”
Taking advantage of the situation to profit heavily, were they? It wasn’t entirely unexpected, but—
“How high are we talking?”
She spread her hands wide.
“An additional 10,000?”
“No, ‘ten times the usual price!’”
Taking advantage of a good opportunity to exploit the situation was one thing, but this was excessive. Charging ten times the normal price would mean the territory couldn’t secure enough food to survive.
It was tantamount to saying, “starve to death.”
No, there was another intention behind this deal.
“So they don’t actually intend to sell.”
If they refused the deal outright, it would hurt their credibility, so they had manipulated things to force Ludger to walk away.
“Does the Northern Light Territory have bad relations with neighboring territories?”
More often than not, neighboring territories were rivals or outright enemies, but Northern Light was different. Ludger, who had inherited this barren land, had made efforts to improve relations with nearby territories, even taking the initiative to help resolve their issues.
While they couldn’t openly assist him due to the emperor, they wouldn’t simply stand by and watch him starve. There had to be something I didn’t know.
Shanet shook her head lightly.
“No, relations were fine.”
“Nothing happened recently to strain those relationships?”
“Not at all… Everyone seemed just as confused about why they’re suddenly trying to extort us.”
Strange.
According to her, there was no apparent reason for them to refuse to sell food. Natural disasters weren’t something one could control. Even in my previous life, similar issues would have occurred, and Ludger would have secured food despite the costs of his campaign.
“I’ve never heard of Northern Light’s residents failing to survive the winter.”
If the emperor, eager to find fault with Ludger, had caught wind of such a failure, he would have ensured he faced consequences.
The lack of uproar meant that food had been secured, and the winter had passed without incident.
“So why are they suddenly trying to extort us?”
What had changed?
Because I made a different choice in the past, Ludger did not set off for war right away.
The war with the Baltara Kingdom that he was supposed to join…
‘The war hasn’t happened yet.’
The Empire and Baltara had stationed knights at their borders, in a tense stand-off.
For Baltara, a war would bring no benefit, so unless the Empire launched a preemptive attack, their troops would remain at the border.
‘Now that I think about it, why did the Imperial family specifically target Baltara?’
It was natural for the country that started the war to face subtle criticism.
What’s more, the war with Baltara had been so horrific that even the citizens of the Empire were horrified by the details, and the responsible party was remembered as a villain throughout history.
And that unjust villain was Ludger.
‘The Imperial family must have intervened in this deal.’
There was one person who could have influenced Ludger: me. I had interfered, saving his life, but in exchange, the people of the Northern Light Territory were now on the brink of starvation.
It was a tricky situation.
‘Rudger must be flawless.’
To ascend to the throne in place of Cesar, he needed the support of everyone.
I couldn’t allow any blemishes to appear on him.
Luckily, this matter could be easily resolved.
All that was needed was one thing.
‘I just need money. A lot of it.’
In fact, the neighboring territories of Northern Light would probably want to sell their food at a reasonable price.
Stale food would become difficult to manage, so it would be best for them to take a small profit and get rid of it.
However, they had to reluctantly refuse because of the emperor’s pressure.
‘Ten times the price? I’ll pay whatever they ask.’
It wouldn’t be an issue even if the emperor found out.
They could just claim they didn’t know how to negotiate and were unable to buy at the inflated price.
Moreover, the neighboring lords would likely feel favorably toward Ludger for understanding their situation and making the deal.
Thinking of it as an investment in building support, it was no loss at all.
I wanted to show the value of Eckhart, but I never expected such a situation to arise.
I smiled faintly.
‘This will be easy to resolve.’
For someone from Eckhart, money was in abundance.
I had told the butler to find me whenever I needed something.
“Shanet.”
“Yes, Lady.”
“I want to meet the butler of the Northern Light family.”
* * *
“I overheard some servants talking during my walk. I already know about Northern Light’s predicament, so I’ll lend you the money.”
The butler, who had been nodding along, suddenly broke into a bright smile.
“That’s not possible.”
He rejected me outright, without even considering it!
“Are you worried about the interest? I’m not thinking of making it a loan business. You only need to repay the principal.”
I didn’t mind giving it outright, but handing over a large sum all at once would look suspicious, so I intended to offer it as a loan.
After all, once the Northern Light territory properly utilized the resources, they would quickly repay the principal and more.
“I understand your intentions, Lady. But before Master Ludger left, he gave strict orders that if you ever tried to help with Northern Light’s affairs, I was to refuse everything.”
He hastily mentioned that as if he had to get going, but found time to repeat those orders!
“Alright then, I want to make a donation to the Northern Light Territory. Since we’ve benefited from their care, I want to show my gratitude by contributing to their development fund.”
“I’ve been instructed to refuse even under the pretense of a donation.”
Tch, he had already prepared for this.
I clicked my tongue and stared intently at the butler. His eyes gleamed with determination, indicating that he was resolute in rejecting any proposal.
Looking at the situation, it seemed like the butler would simply turn a blind eye and ignore it if I pushed hard enough.
“Think about it. If you accept my money, it won’t just solve the food shortage. I’m planning to offer quite a generous amount.”
The butler flinched.
Was he intrigued?
“I’m from Eckhart. Not only will I supply food, but I’ll also make sure the people of the territory have warm woolen clothes. I’ll even ensure there’s enough firewood so they don’t have to worry about it.”
“Ugh.”
“I heard the winters in Northern Light are harsh. Don’t you think they need to prepare well?”
“Everything you say is perfectly reasonable!”
Under my persistent pressure, his eyes were shaking violently.
His mind was probably racing, weighing all sorts of calculations.
Alright, let’s shake him up a bit more.
“They say this year’s crops were a disaster. If they don’t stockpile for winter, they won’t have the strength to start next year’s farming. At this rate, they’ll be too exhausted after the winter to farm properly.”
The butler clutched his head in distress.
“Ugh, aaah!”
Good, he’s wavering now.
“Such an enticing proposal, but… I… I can’t accept Lady Eckhart’s money! I can’t go against my master’s orders, even if you point a sword at my neck!”
He seemed to be trying to shake off a demonic temptation, his words coming out with fervor as he rejected me.
I felt a strange sensation.
It was for my personal revenge, but in the end, it was a good deed that would help the people of the territory.
Anyone watching would think I was blackmailing him into accepting ill-gotten bribes!
“Why are you so reluctant? It’s not dirty money!”
Huh? The money was from legitimate taxes collected based on Eckhart’s annual production, and profits from selling diamonds mined from the gemstone mines!
“It’s not because of that. Honestly, I’d even accept dirty money if it meant escaping this crisis!”
Fortunately, the butler’s thoughts were different from Ludger’s.
