Translator: Cinder Translations
...
Cecil hurriedly ran out of his intelligence department with a stack of papers and made his way to the lord's mansion. After straightening his collar at the entrance, he walked straight in. No one stopped him; as the lord's "third eye," Cecil had the privilege to meet Paul without prior notification.
After inquiring about Paul's location from the servants inside, Cecil quickly approached a door on the second floor and knocked.
"Lord Grayman, I have important matters to report to you."
"Ah, Cecil, please come in," came Paul's voice from inside.
Cecil pushed the door open and found not only the Earl but also two unexpected visitors—the alchemists Wells and old Hoffman from the chemical laboratory.
These two alchemists, along with a bunch of their colleagues and students, were rarely seen, and not many sought them out, as anyone would tend to avoid those who spent their days dealing with the foul-smelling "nitration fields."
They were there to report on the progress of the nitration experiments.
Paul frowned at the report in his hands.
"Guys!" The lord's tone was filled with doubt and dissatisfaction. "If I remember correctly... uh, no, I mean, the yield from the nitration fields shouldn't be this low according to my calculations."
The alchemists had finally produced some results, but they still left Paul unsatisfied.
"Not mistaken? Has the Earl dealt with these so-called nitration fields before?" A flash of confusion crossed the minds of the two alchemists.
"Uh... cough! Lord Grayman..."
Old Hoffman explained, "I'm sorry, we haven't fully grasped the rules yet; please give us some more time."
Wells chimed in, "Temperature, humidity, ventilation, light... there are too many variables; we need to adjust them one by one to gather experience..."
Paul raised a hand to interrupt them: "Alright, 'Parameter Adjusters'! I didn't call you here to hear complaints."
The nickname the Earl gave the alchemists made Cecil, who stood at the door, chuckle, while the two alchemists' faces turned red.
"Let's put aside the nitration fields for now. Recently, I heard that the chemical laboratory procured a large batch of glassware and experimental materials. Where did you get the money? It wouldn't be from the special funding for nitration research, would it?"
"This... this... Lord Grayman... we are... you see, there are so many students who haven't dealt with alchemy, so... so... they need to practice more..."
Seeing the stammering of the two alchemists, Paul couldn't help but chuckle inwardly, but he warned them sternly: "Listen, both of you, outside of your main tasks, I don't mind if you conduct other research privately; you might come up with something useful. However, if you need funds, you can report to me, but it is strictly forbidden to misappropriate special funds again."
Paul had discovered through investigation that the misappropriated funds hadn't been used for the alchemists' personal lives. Given their enthusiasm for scientific exploration, he decided to let it go this time.
Old Hoffman and Wells felt as if they had received a pardon and swore to strictly adhere to the rules set by Paul.
"Alright, you two, you can go back now. I hope that within a year, the nitration fields will help us reduce our dependence on ore."
"Rest assured, Lord Grayman, since we've managed to create something from nothing, optimizing it from this foundation shouldn't be difficult."
The two alchemists took their leave.
Only then did Paul turn to Cecil: "My intelligence director, what's the important matter?"
Cecil stepped forward: "Lord Grayman, I just received news that the war in the south has ended!"
"Oh? Who won, the royal army? Or the rebels?"
Cecil stroked his chin and replied, "You could say the royal army won."
Paul looked puzzled at the intelligence director's statement: "You could say... what does that mean?"
Cecil explained, "Giles has resumed allegiance to the royal family..."
Paul asked, "What about the southern territories loyal to the royal family before the rebellion? Did Giles reclaim them?"
Cecil shook his head. "Neither side mentioned it."
Paul speculated, "It seems the royal family has tacitly allowed Giles to annex those territories."
"Yes, both sides suffered great losses. Even if the royal army won, they are powerless to march south."
This is an awkward victory for the royal family.
"What about Duke Vibren in the East?"
"He has also sworn allegiance to the royal family again, just like Giles. However, those territories in the East loyal to the royal family have also..."
Have likely been dealt with by Vibren, after all, the main force of the royal army is tied down in the south.
"It seems that the royal family has effectively lost influence over the south and east. From now on, these two places will become Giles and Vibren's private little kingdoms."
Paul and Cecil reached this conclusion together.
"Well, now that the war in the south is over, business in the northwest industry will be tough," Paul said, somewhat worried.
"Lord Grayman, there will always be wars in this world; you need not worry."
Ah, have I completely stepped into the role of a weapon merchant? How sinful!
...
"Your Highness! We should leave."
Ophelia walked to the princess's side and gently reminded her.
The two were standing on the grand city tower of Thorn Fortress, gazing at the southern land.
Catherine remained silent.
Will the kingdom ultimately lose its rule over the south?
Giles has ceased his rebellion; his initial rallying cry was to replace the Kingdom of Aldor, and now he has restored his allegiance. If we only consider this, the suppression has been a success.
But it is a bittersweet victory.
The former south not only had Giles and his followers, but also a considerable number of vassal families loyal to the kingdom. Now, their territories have all fallen into Giles and his followers' hands.
If these vassals had remained loyal to the kingdom, that would be one thing, but they were politely handed over to Giles after the ceasefire. How to resettle these nobles who have lost their lands is a major problem.
And what about Vibren in the East...
After the last battle, Catherine wanted to grit her teeth and hold on, but the huge losses and instability in the rear ultimately pushed her to accept peace talks.
News from Crystal Glare reported that a large number of goblins were lurking in the forest, requiring the army to clean them out. Additionally, there have been sporadic reports of pirate attacks along the west coast. The northwest fleet, sent south to protect the kingdom, performed well, but there were only a mere dozen ships—how could they guard such a long coastline?
"Sigh!"
The princess let out a sigh.
"Ophelia, let's go. But I swear..."
...
"Ah!"
Giles, his eyes bloodshot, yelled and knocked the person before him to the ground, then raised his great sword to strike down.
"Spare me, Duke!"
The fallen person hastily begged for mercy.
The war is over, but the outcome is far from Giles's expectations.
The accumulation of his family over several generations, his years of plotting, has resulted in merely controlling a territory.
He should have been riding a fine steed in the streets of Crystal Glare, receiving the cheers of the people.
He should have been sitting in the royal palace of Crystal Glare, receiving the congratulations of his ministers.
Now, he can only vent his anger in the dueling ground.
"Get lost!" Giles stopped his hand.
"Thank you, Duke, for sparing me!" The person caught as his dueling opponent fled in a hurry.
Giles wiped the sweat from his brow and cursed those who thwarted his wishes.
"Damn Vibren!"
Without this hindering "ally," the last battle should have been a great victory.
"Damn the northwest people!"
The Northwest Bay is also on the Duke's blacklist. If it weren't for them selling so much armor and weapons to the royal family, his already strong army would have swept through easily. Furthermore, intelligence shows that the Northwest Bay supplied a large amount of military provisions during the war.
"I will take care of each of you one by one!"
"I swear..."
TL: Uh, sure...
(End of the Chapter)
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