Chapter 111 – 11. Frozen Land Can’t Dry (1)
Three-way battle.
There is no more appropriate expression to sum up the power of the Marquis Command in one word. It was because the previous lord, Gerard Lemoang, was a man who did not have a firm second-in-command. The world praised him for being an honest military officer, but in reality he was a person capable of tricks like any other aristocrat.
Vice-Count of Corbin of the Gasin faction.
Sir Mathieu Peltier of Gassfar.
Mayor Georges Garrel of the administrative faction.
In the past, the three of them, who were under the command of the Margrave, continued to tow the territory in a way that kept each other in check. Gerard, who had absolute authority over them, solidified his dominance by using them appropriately as if he were the monarch of a country.
“Let’s sort it out somewhere.”
Tuk-tuk, he tapped on the old wooden desk with his second finger and sighed inwardly. Even if he didn’t show it, he felt very empty now. It also meant that the political power and leadership of the late margrave were great.
It was a yard lined up like a gira-seong, with people who were equivalent to packs or spies.
It was only then that Rome realized why his previous life his, which had been renewed through bone-breaking efforts, had been so difficult. While everyone was busy taking care of their own interests, he and his wife tried to run the estate properly, so it was inevitable.
“Mayor Garrel, you and your friends in the administration have been well-received for a long time in Saint-Bourse, where the influence of the Lemoens family is relatively unaffected. Even so, the reason we didn’t impose any sanctions is because you’ve never been negligent about the affairs of this territory.”
“Yes, yes!”
Georges, straightening his back his, corrected his discipline and replied. Seeing that his face suddenly turned bright again, it seemed that he had glimpsed hope for a pardon in Rome’s attitude of his. After all, he was still more useful in the frozen land.
“Did you know that the retainers were purged this time?”
“Are you talking about Corvin and the four idiots? Even so, those scoundrels believed only in my identity and pretended to be like that one day. I could n’t understand how he could dare to rebel without knowing his wife’s grace his. How shameless they are!”
He adjusted his glasses and boasted with an excited face. He was ignorant, but it was more correct to see it as a kind of sophistication. The fact that a commoner who was not an aristocrat rose to the position of mayor of a large city despite his young age and his meant proven ability.
“Do you think it is unwelcome to take bribes from nobles in neighboring estates?”
“Well, isn’t that a little different in the case?”
“How?”
“Unlike the greedy vassals, I only pursued a little romance. I will not deny the crime of taking back money, but it is too harsh to put them on the same line as the traitors.”
A weary Rom shrugged his shoulders and added.
“How will it be?”
Georges, who sensed the unusual atmosphere, closed his mouth tightly in a cold sweat. Embezzlement is something that can only be done with talent, and the mayor of St. Buch has many uses not only for his political position but also for his ability.
In fact, no one in the Lemoang family knew that the administrative faction was colluding with a nearby aristocrat until he visited. Of course, considering the physical distance between the citadel and the courtesy city, it is natural, but it is.
“Your wife doesn’t just assume that you are innocent.”
Squeezing the mayor with narrow eyes, he continued.
“Even so, the reason you haven’t been involved with the administrative faction is because, as I said, unlike the vassal faction, you haven’t crossed the line. It is because I did the right thing as much as I was given.”
Georges Garrel is not a villain, but a cowardly petit bourgeois. He looks like an ignorant idiot who does his job smartly, and the appropriate punishment is to tighten the leash. Compared to his young age, he was a man of considerable stature, but it was Rom who held the hilt of his sword.
Even without title and fame, he was able to speak three chi.
“But I don’t know what kind of ugliness this is. Even if he betrayed his wife’s trust in her was not enough, he would still commit a crime even if he was hung immediately. It is deplorable to see him begging for his life here without being able to take care of himself properly.”
“He has no face.”
Georges lowered his head and groaned. It was because the glasses he was wearing fell to the floor. Seeing the scene that was no different from a skit, Rome, who was dumbfounded, lost his luck while struggling to decide what to do.
“I personally had a high opinion of Mayor Garel’s ability his.”
It was a lie. Actually, I only heard his name a few times, but this was the first time I saw his face his. In my previous life, it was a city where there was a lot of distance, so I didn’t have a chance to meet you. Since he inherited the title as the son-in-law of Daryl, he was not even given an oath of loyalty.
“Actually, that thought hasn’t changed even now.”
However, the Marquis of Lemoyn needs three pillars that are as strong as the feet of a pot.
“What is the reason that Saint-Buch became one of the most prosperous cities in the Marquis?”
A clique is like a dog that bites its master. The two are not only difficult to balance, but also precarious and unstable. Therefore, only the three of them can keep each other in check and enter a stalemate to bring stability to this frozen land.
“Even though you may have moral flaws, isn’t it thanks to you, who are as good as your ability as a bureaucrat?”
“I, the baron, never dreamed that you were paying attention to a lowly official like me.”
Georges spat out in a hoarse voice. Tears glistening over the lowered head seemed like someone who was genuinely impressed. If it were acting, it was a vivid feeling to be able to sew a lead actor position in the Royal Theater Company.
“There is no one who commits sins from birth. However, the atmosphere of the territory was dizzy, so I couldn’t help but succumb to temptation. It’s nothing else, it’s the main color, but as a man, wouldn’t it be worth being attracted to at least once… !”
“If only it had happened once.”
“Kheup, I’m really sorry. If you give me one last chance, I will swear that I will live the noble life of Cheongbaekri from now on. Please save this poor life… !”
Rom looked at him with silent eyes. As always, bloody scars ran across his face, which had the power to create fear. So, Georges had no choice but to cower in fear at the baron, who had a sullen expression on his face while holding his chin.
“Mayor, I’m not making promises I can’t keep.”
“Hey…”
“It is disappointing again and again.”
He is a shameful man. It’s not that he didn’t feel like punishing. However, the problem is the need for a three-way battle. At this point, when the vassal faction has been expelled, there is a high risk of backlash if one more faction is forced to disband.
It won’t be difficult to control it, but it’s not a pleasant result, so it’s wiser to be patient.
“You really don’t know what I’m talking about?”
“Now, I don’t know.”
At least until a group of newly emerged merchants replace the vice-count and the four barons, it’s a generational change that will happen naturally if the snowfield trade route is successful. If possible, it would be better to tame it in a state where it can be properly controlled after that.
“Teach me if you don’t mind…”
If he had been him in the past, he might have been furious as he saw the moral hazard revealed in front of his eyes. However, not now. The knight who loved the wicked woman was reborn as a more mature baron and has a macroscopic perspective.
“If you are going to accept money, you have to accept it so that there is no regret. Why would you take it from someone who is sure to be an obstacle in your way?”
Therefore, it was a change of thinking. After all, a faction needs three groups. Even if he could control a vile and greedy seed, he would have been worthy of carrying it according to his ability his.
“The royalist lords of the north, without exception, are people united by ambition. The bribes you take from them may be sweet for a while, but in the end they will ask you to do more and more difficult things. Isn’t that why the mayor came to complain to his wife?”
Raising his finger her, Rome mesmerized Georges with his fierce reasoning his.
“The reason why Poitiers, Lorthringen, and Brienne were able to arrive in front of the citadel with a total of a hundred escorts was probably because you and your friends in the administration were pressuring them. You must have caught the weakness by recording the bribes handed over in the ledger.”
The mayor, who opened his eyes wide, was only shaking his head.
“I would have had no choice but to let it pass. Otherwise, I don’t know what would have happened there. However, once I got to work, I couldn’t think of a way to fix it. Even if he tried to make it look like he had gone through formal procedures, he would still be able to do it.”
It was because of the insight of the baron, who was not the person involved, and was not present at the scene, but looked into the context as if he were looking into the palm of his hand.
“I must have been a bit scared. So he must have decided to report everything straight up.”
“No, it is as you said.”
“You must have wanted to save my life, right?”
Bang! Rom, who hit his table with his fist, snarled as if it were not the same. Surprised by the sudden action, Georges shuddered and was overwhelmed with momentum.
“It’s an insolence that I can’t get over!”
“Ugh, sorry! I’m really sorry!”
“Why did you keep your eyes on the dangerous money while leaving the blind money!”
“… Yes?”
The mood had already passed. Rom stood up, dragging his chair back, making an exaggerated gesture with his arms wide open. Even so, I asked with a solemn expression to prevent the clever mayor from attacking me.
“Do you know what Mathieu Peltier’s knights say about this Romuald?”
“Lord, if you’re talking about gossip about being a pawn in the center, then that Georges Garrel is also a really unreasonable false accuser…”
“Exactly! Central minion!”
The stalwart warrior’s physique was sometimes so strong that he had to work hard not to impress. On the other hand, who seemed to be able to provide a reliable background from the administrative faction, Rome, who did not want to remain an object of fear, appropriately adjusted the level and continued his speech.
“Honestly, this is a very offensive comment. There is no one more concerned about the future of the frozen land than this body. That ignorant chivalrous guy grits his teeth and refuses to admit it. Brain-muscle idiots!”
“Yu, they must be inflexible.”
“As they say, I am the front of the center. It can be said that it was an advance guard sent by the royal family and the main house of the center, Dior. However, that only means that the role given to me is like that, not my true intention.”
“Aigoo, it’s alright! I know this Georges!”
“I am well aware of how low-paid the administrative staff are in spite of the hard work. In order to be in public office, proper compensation must be followed. In that sense, did n’t the mayor also want to soothe his tired mind and body with the flowers in his hands?”
Sneaking, Georges crouched and rubbed his hand. He was more of a dream interpreter than a dream, but since he was not in a position to cover it up, he fought hard. For some reason, I felt like a dawn was shining on my bleak future.
“Would you use it if you were stingy with even that amount of compensation to competent officials like the administrative faction? The part that made you angry was just where you took the bribe. Why risk it when there is a way to scrape together more generous, trouble-free money?”
“Um, what do you mean by that…”
“Only this time, I will take care of the bribery case from the neighboring lords. Instead, do it in a more legal and safe way from now on.”
Slowly and slowly, Rom opened the drawer under the desk and rummaged through it, took out a list of estimates from various stores and presented it to me. It was a so-called bonanza that detailed the cost of many projects, including the maintenance of roads in Yeongji and the development of outdated facilities.
A bonanza for those with administrative discretion, such as mayors and high-ranking officials.
“The Lucerne Chamber of Commerce, the Brullin Commercial Association, the Britannia Trading Company… ?”
“This is the top list of recent business wins on our estate. It’s a big project that can easily exceed a thousand gold coins alone. We will be able to earn enough money through tariffs imposed on material procurement and import/export.”
The expenses invested in the revival of Marquis Baekryung are not completely paid by the Lemoang family. The upper level that promotes work also invests in the same way. For that reason, putting a price on goods coming from outside the territory takes on the character of an official exploitation.
“Stop, please… !”
Of course, Rome had previously promised to ease or exempt them from various taxes. However, that was a secret pact made only between the baron and the head of the guild. There is nothing we can do about the fact that those who are hostile to them or those who are out of control decorate them at will.
On the surface, that excuse would suffice.
“That’s right. Show me the power of the executive faction. It’s going to break their pockets with unimaginable money. Legally and safely.”
“Oh, baron! How could such a big gift be given to me who I had never met before!”
“Listen to the end. You and the administration must bring me half of the money you and the administration take from them. In addition, you must not mobilize other means other than the method you have been informed of, or receive donations from anyone other than them. That’s the price you pay for looking after me so that I can seize this opportunity.”
Georges’ head spun rapidly. The baron, who was about to marry the lord, had now promised not only a pardon, but also a constant income. Where in the world would there be an idiot who would refuse an offer like this?
“Well, if it’s true as you said, the only owner our administrative faction will follow from now on will be the baron.”
“If you break even the slightest bit of the conditions I suggested, or try to betray me…”
“I swear it won’t happen!”
“Next time you will have to pay with death.”
“Yes, yep! I fully understand what you mean! I will never forget this favor! Let this George risk his life to check so that Mathieu, the old woman of the knights, does not dare to harm the baron!”
It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will never come again.
“Make sure to send invoices of exploitable taxes and tributes upon return.”
“Is it possible! I am truly loyal and I will be loyal again!”
“Please, I will believe you.”
So he still didn’t know the terrifying intention of the smiling baron.
