Aren nodded as if resigned.
“That’s why I came to consult with you.”
“How are the nobles rebelling? Even if they’re worried about His Majesty’s reaction, they can’t openly raise a banner against him. They’re not childishly saying that Prince Kalroy should be called back now, are they?”
“It’s not child’s play… How could politics be that childish?”
“Then what?”
“The Ridden family has been monopolizing cotton trade and is also a family that made direct contributions when His Majesty ascended to the imperial throne. When there were food shortages due to bad harvests, they overcame the food crisis by making textiles from cotton grown by the Ridden family and exporting them…”
As the story continued, I began to feel increasingly anxious.
“The Ridden family is suddenly making strange excuses that cotton cultivation isn’t going well and saying trade will be difficult. They’re saying they won’t exchange for food even if cotton is rotting away, overflowing in their warehouses. How is this a normal situation?”
It was certainly abnormal behavior. Even in our country from long ago, hadn’t there been times when the nation suffered because specific goods were monopolistically traded?
This was a situation that arose because one family held both the monopoly on cotton cultivation and trade rights.
“Next month, there won’t be enough food to distribute to the poor citizens of the empire, so how is this a normal situation?”
“I’ll try to persuade His Highness. Although His Highness is stubborn, he shows mercy to the empire’s citizens.”
“Right. Except you and I both know that’s only possible when it has nothing to do with Daniel Lambert, don’t we? Rather than wasting our heads and time on hopeless matters, it’s better to think of ways to solve the impending food shortage.”
There was no room to argue with Aren’s words. Even if I asked William, he would obviously think of ways to escape the food shortage rather than take in a Companion Omega, just like Aren.
Is this the time when the power of books is needed?
To overcome the food shortage, I needed to know about the various climates and temperatures of the Stamili Empire, which is elongated from north to south, and also know what kind of farming has been done there and how.
But that doesn’t mean crops would appear immediately… There was too little time to research and implement.
Then I suddenly thought about taking advantage of the Stamili Empire’s diverse climate. Just like what we eat as food in our country is discarded in the West, there must be crops that people here don’t know well or fruits that haven’t been discovered yet.
Having thought this far, I asked the book inwardly.
I noticed bread tasted like barley before, are there places in the empire that grow barley?
[The Putdy family in the north manages a territory where barley is cultivated.]
Do they also grow potatoes there?
[Potatoes?]
Seeing the information window display a question mark, it was clear that either there were no potatoes here or the people here didn’t know of potatoes’ existence. It’s a plant that doesn’t particularly choose its habitat, has good growing conditions, and has taken root worldwide – there’s no way it would only be absent here. If done well, this might be an opportunity to show William’s excellent political skills by solving the food shortage well.
Moreover, the Putdy family was friendly toward William, and since they had barren territory enough to grow barley, if we looked carefully, potatoes might be growing somewhere.
“Duke, we need to go to the Putdy family’s territory right now!”
“Putdy?”
“Quickly. We don’t have time.”
My heart pounded vigorously as I found a way to solve this.
This was the real beginning of being a kingmaker.
***
William and I formed an inspection team and arrived at the Putdy family’s territory. Even though we came to flatlands, it was a grand journey that took a full three months.
If it hadn’t been for the high-quality carriage that Kalroy sent from the Ohariko Empire, we couldn’t have come this quickly.
Upon arriving at the territory, Count Waburn Putdy welcomed us.
“Welcome, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
Count Putdy, who had a good build and pleasant impression, was a contributor who provided important information about the private soldiers that Kelton was using when the progressive faction drove out Kelton.
“From now on, I shall serve you personally.”
William elegantly raised his arm in response to the Count and then looked at the carriage he had prepared.
“Hmm, the imperial carriage is good too, but is there a reason we must ride that?”
I had also been suspicious of that, so I was inwardly relieved that William asked first. Being suspicious sometimes helps like this.
Waburn answered with a friendly smile.
“Because the imperial carriage is good. We can’t let it get damaged.”
Hearing Waburn’s words, the carriage personally prepared by the lord didn’t look ordinary. Even though he was a lord of an outlying region, it was still a Count’s carriage, yet it was incredibly shabby. I thought his courage in trying to serve the Crown Prince in such a carriage was admirable.
“It’s old. I heard that the castle is located high up because it faces the border, but is the road rough?”
“Yes. It’s in treacherous mountains. Moreover, to pass the castle, you have to go through a forest, and people don’t often travel through because mysterious monsters are said to be hiding there.”
“That’s unusual… Building a castle in such a place would be good for preventing enemy invasion, but it would be difficult for the people living in the castle to move around, wouldn’t it?”
“They say Your Highness the Crown Prince is truly wise, and that seems to be correct.”
Waburn, who had been looking at William with satisfaction, added.
“That’s why this carriage was necessary. Our Putdy region is cold and far from the center, but we have mines. Since metals are well-developed, there are also many craftsmen who refine them.”
The moment I heard Putdy’s words, a good idea occurred to me. If done well, food problems and such would be easily solved.
In an era when cotton sells as expensively as silk, if there are metals and people who refine them?
I couldn’t hide my excitement as I joined their conversation.
“Excuse me, may I say something?”
William’s eyes full of curiosity turned to me.
“Who? Ah… You must be Lord Daniel, His Highness the Crown Prince’s only concubine.”
Oops, I should have greeted first… I was in too much of a hurry and forgot the greeting. I immediately bowed.
“I am Daniel Lambert. To Count Waburn Putdy…”
“Ah, since we’re in a hurry, let’s set aside minor courtesies for now. Rather, what were you trying to say earlier? According to rumors, Lord Daniel is His Highness the Crown Prince’s hidden strategist… I wanted to meet you.”
Although I didn’t sense malice in his words, his eyes seemed to think ‘surely that can’t be true?’
Well, who would believe that a lowly Omega concubine could be wise? Whether he believed it or not, that wasn’t what mattered now.
I continued calmly.
“I have one request. Could I examine the metals that come from the mines?”
Although I didn’t know much about metals, what I learned from hearing about neighboring countries’ situations and reading books was that this world valued metals more preciously than the world I had lived in. In such an era, good metals would have value as currency.
“That’s not difficult, but may I ask why?”
At Waburn’s question, William interrupted.
“Let’s hear that on the way to the castle.”
“I was short-sighted. I shall serve you immediately.”
Getting on the carriage with William and heading to the castle, I thought.
There were two ways to escape the Ridden family’s monopolistic trade. One was to process raw stones and sell them to neighboring countries to buy food, and the other was to use barley bran grown in Putdy territory instead of wheat flour. It would also be good to look for potatoes according to the original plan.
“Danny, your expression is serious.”
“I can’t let the empire’s citizens starve.”
William agreed seriously.
“True, there are extremely few territories where farming is possible, so people living in the north have always struggled with food shortages. Until now, we’ve solved it by relying on the Ridden family’s trade… Those bad guys. How dare they try to negotiate using the empire’s citizens’ food as bait.”
William’s fist placed on his knee began to tremble. Trembling hands and rapid breathing were precursors to rampage, so it was important to prevent it beforehand.
I urgently embraced William’s shoulders and whispered in his ear.
“Your Highness, there’s no need to get excited. When I came here, didn’t I say so? That I thought I could find crops to solve the food shortage.”
William nodded.
“Moreover, if we utilize the mines well, I think we can make tremendous profits incomparable to cotton.”
William squeezed my hand tightly as if responding to my words. Then he looked at me with an expression so moved he seemed about to cry.
“Danny… I’m touched.”
What could be touching about this?
When I looked at William without understanding, he pressed his lips to my cheek like a stamp and then pulled away.
“I thought Danny didn’t feel even a bit of jealousy since you keep telling me to take in a Companion Omega whenever you get the chance.”
“…?”
“But seeing you check the Ridden family this much, our Danny also dislikes me taking in a Companion Omega after all! Otherwise, there’s no way Danny, who hates standing out, would come all the way here with me and actively try to solve problems, right?”
William muttered with a moved expression.
“Just trust me. I’ll do well so Danny won’t be concerned. I’ll definitely solve the food problem.”
He seemed to have completely misunderstood, but it didn’t seem like it would be good for my well-being to say otherwise, so I kept my mouth shut.
Fortunately, Count Waburn Putdy was riding in a different carriage and couldn’t see this scene.
***
“There are this many minerals?”
I gasped looking at the minerals the Count had laid out before us. William also seemed surprised as he couldn’t close his mouth.
“Yes. Actually, I’ve only presented the representative minerals – there are even more minerals in Mount Eki than this.”
Only then did I understand how a castle in a resource-poor territory could be so splendid. Despite having abundant minerals, trade hadn’t developed, so they must have used the overflowing minerals to build the castle and make carriages.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
