Regressor of the Fallen Family-Chapter 252
Chapter 252
As the priests acknowledged the effectiveness of deer blood, and with dual treatment approaches underway, the pestilence’s momentum began to wane markedly.
Then at one moment,
“This medicine is primarily made of deer blood and herbs from the River Lethe. It’s certainly more effective than drinking the blood directly!”
“Good! Very good job! Excellent!”
With Gilbert’s success in developing the remedy, the patients’ recovery quickened dramatically. Moreover, as the ghastly sight of consuming fresh deer blood vanished, the priests felt relieved of their burden and began to focus solely on healing.
As a result,
The epidemic that had begun in the dead of winter had disappeared in just three months, even before the onset of the planting season, achieving a remarkable triumph.
“You’ve worked hard, Bishop Illya.”
“Not at all. It’s all thanks to His Majesty’s wise measures.”
“The priest knows how to flatter quite well, I see.”
“Excessive flattery? Look around, Your Majesty.”
Eliane pointed back with a smile.
Behind her, in the vast fields, people were gathered like a sea of humanity, ready to send off Logan’s party with the certainty that the plague had ended.
Of course, Logan wasn’t thoughtless enough to conscript the suffering people of Raftan for a send-off.
In other words, this scene was solely by the volition of the territorial citizens.
As Logan’s gaze naturally fell upon them, cheers erupted here and there.
“Look over here, Your Majesty!”
“We are truly grateful!!”
“Long live King Logan!”
“Long live the MacLaine Kingdom!”
Like thunder, the shouts that erupted momentarily shook the entire field, and natural smiles formed on the lips of Logan and his group.
A heartfelt thank you from what seemed to be a crowd of more than ten thousand even brought smiles to some priests, who had grumbled all throughout the dispatched period.
“After we return, I’ll make sure to donate generously to the Temple of Amonda.”
After expenses on soldier training and equipment purchases, and even including the magic stone farming and dam construction,
The king, who had completed the most costly tasks, wore a face brimming with ease.
But then,
“Rather than donating to the temple, I wish you’d pay more attention to your people, Your Majesty.”
“That’s a given, and not just that….”
“Your Majesty, the people are groaning under the heavy taxes. The planting season is near, and it’s the time when they are the most hungry. If it continues this way, it wouldn’t be surprising if another pestilence emerges.”
As if she had become a different person,
Illya threw Logan a bright smile with her painfully blunt advice, causing him to chuckle wryly.
In any case,
‘The taxes of the nobles had to be pulled forward to cover most of the expenses.’
Of course, that money had been practically spent up, but thanks to the magic stone mines, there were ample reserves.
“…Alright. I’ll consider a solution.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Thanks… It’s the least a king should do.”
Instead of responding, Illya merely smiled and bowed her head, and Logan blurted out his heartfelt thoughts without realizing it.
“Truth be told, I didn’t have a good opinion of temples or priests.”
“…Pardon?”
Surprised by his unexpected confession, Illya tilted her head in confusion.
“Until I met you, that is.”
It was something that Illya couldn’t just laugh at, and she awkwardly responded with a laugh,
“Ah… Those are generous words, Your Majesty.”
“If you ever need help from the royal family, don’t hesitate to ask. I may not heed the temple’s request, but I would certainly oblige yours.”
“What could a priest possibly request of a secular ruler? I will gratefully take to heart your kind offer, Your Majesty.”
To the very end, the bishop made pleasing remarks, leaving Logan no choice but to smile.
“One never knows how things may turn out in the world. Just keep a good relationship in mind for future reference.”
“…Understood, Your Majesty.”
As everything seemed to resolve on a good note,
The mood among the relief corps couldn’t have been better.
Thus, the party left with reluctant steps amid the people’s cheers.
And behind them, the Raftan territorial citizens kept cheering endlessly, waving their hands.
Their cheers continued until the relief corps’ figures disappeared beyond the horizon.
“Long live King Logan!”
* * * Bang!
“How on earth could the improved pestilence amount to so little! What kind of management was that!”
A harsh shout erupted beneath the gust of black hair, shaking the opulent room.
Collapsed in front of him, Cleo trembled but couldn’t help but bow his head to the ground.
Thud.
“My apologies, Your Highness. We completely failed to anticipate such a weakness.”
Thud.
Watching Cleo persistently bowing his head, the Second Prince Baros Van Ares finally plopped down in his seat, grinding his teeth.
“When it comes to Logan MacLaine, nothing ever goes right!”
Tsk.
With a small sigh to quell his anger, the Second Prince turned his gaze away from Cleo, who was still prostrate,
“Leos. What’s the current score?”
Score.
The out-of-place word caused the blue-haired handsome man standing to the side to answer blankly,
“The First Prince has achieved a major feat in the west, according to our intelligence.”
“A major feat?”
“We only know it’s related to the Kingdom of Gaia. The details are known only to the ‘scribe’ and His Imperial Majesty himself. But the scale still tips in your favor, Your Highness.”
“Of course. Hmm….”
Encouraged by the report, the Second Prince’s lips curved into a smile again.
“What if we took another swing at MacLaine?”
“King Logan is repeating mistakes in everything except for the plague. The Strategic Department predicts within a year, there will be catastrophic aftermath.”
“So on top of the already doomed kingdom, causing further fractures wouldn’t garner much score. As your scribe, I recommend looking beyond MacLaine to the allied nations of the minor kingdoms.”
“Uhmm…”
The Second Prince recalled the red-eyed, red-haired king of those small nations.
The man who had left a lingering feeling of discomfort since their first meeting.
More than just ending the civil war he had planned,
there seemed to be something else about him that caught in the prince’s mind.
“I don’t like it…”
“Pardon?”
“…Something about that man bothers me.”
“Then perhaps…?”
“Do we not have control over other plagues?”
“Your Highness, plagues are dangerous. If the Restabum weren’t under the control of the Imperial Tower of Magic…”
“Right. That Imperial Tower of Magic that’s worse than deer blood. No point in expecting anything from them.”
At that sardonic response, a flicker of disturbance passed through Leos’ eyes.
“Your Highness… as I said, the Kingdom of MacLaine for the time being—”
“Ah, I’ve heard enough. But let’s try just one more thing.”
“Your Highness?”
“He’s expected to self-destruct from recklessly raising an army, according to Strategic Department’s predictions, right?”
“…Yes.”
“I don’t think he’s that foolish, though. Hmm.”
After pondering with his chin in hand for a while, the Second Prince suddenly spoke as if something had come to mind,
“What if he had another source of funds?”
“Pardon? There’s no way. A source of state funds that would just pop up out of nowhere…”
“That’s why I said ‘what if,’ hypothetical! If there were one?”
“…Are you suggesting that there’s a fund to sustain an army?”
“Yes.”
“Even so, the fallout from the past mistakes will be significant. The very basis of the nation, the starving citizens, will lead to mass deaths. Even if they could survive a year somehow, the worsened public opinion would make the people reject serving the state. That’s the limit of a small kingdom’s king’s perspective.”
“Ah, a limit.”
“The consequences will last decades. He’s changed the future for the mere cost of 50,000 soldiers.”
“Then he’ll try to buy food.”
“Pardon?”
“If he isn’t a fool like Strategic Department thinks, and if there’s a source of funds, he’ll buy food to ensure the people don’t starve.”
At that, Leos’s eyebrows twitched.
“If he intended to do that, he wouldn’t have raised taxes in the first place.”
“Creating an army requires considerable funds. Even for an average-sized regiment from our imperial army. He must have needed a significant sum at the beginning.”
“…Your Highness seems to be overestimating King Logan.”
“Overestimating?”
“Yes. If there was a fund for maintaining such a force, he could have taken a few years to build it.”
Pfft.
Indeed, it was a valid point.
‘Unless he knew about our empire’s plan, he wouldn’t have needed to rush. However….’
The Second Prince couldn’t shake off that nagging premonition.
“That might be the case. Still, there’s something unsettling.”
The orders of one of the empire’s leading successors to the throne.
Even if they involved ‘unsettling’ feelings, the subordinates couldn’t voice their dissent loudly.
“So let’s try just one more thing. One last time.”
With the Second Prince’s ambiguous smile, Leos fell silent.
And Cleo, who had been thudding his forehead until it bled from the start to the end of their conversation, trembled without moving an inch from his spot.
* * *
“Gilbert. What do you think caused the epidemic?”
“Your Majesty, as I’ve told you before, our Healer’s Guild believes that it’s due to the microbes….”
“Excluding those microbes, what then?”
Gilbert, promised full support by Logan and usually grinning from ear to ear, slightly hardened his expression.
“That’s… well, I….”
Seeing his hesitation, Logan smirked and finished the thought himself.
“Is it due to hunger and unsanitary conditions?”
Caught off-guard, Gilbert couldn’t hide his shock, prompting a small sigh from Logan.
“I’m well aware that the heavy taxation is my doing. I have no intention of blaming you, so speak your mind.”
“Yes. That’s actually the most important part. Even the pestilence called Pestian….”
“Started because starving people resorted to eating rats?”
“…How do you know so much, Your Majesty?”
Sensing Gilbert’s displeasure, Logan firmly resolved himself.
The logical structure that hunger from excessive taxation could lead to pestilence started to feel like certainty.
‘Let’s put aside the guilt. Now is the time…’
He thought of the measures to take.
So,
“I intend to ensure that no one starves to death, especially during planting seasons.”
“…Pardon?”
“If that approach still results in another situation like this, I may have to rely on you again.”
“If Your Majesty calls for me, I’ll run no matter when.”
“Good. I would be grateful if you did.”
Logan firmed up his resolution, but after returning to the palace, his thoughts hit a wall from the start in a meeting with his close aides.
“A nation where none of the people starve… Haha…”
Dwayne’s expression turned vacant, and just as a fire seemed to light in his eyes, Logan involuntarily flinched.
And glaring at the king, Dwayne uttered each word deliberately,
“Your Majesty. May I speak frankly?”
“…Go on.”
Suppressed by a threatening aura, Logan awkwardly replied just as Dwayne burst out.
“Have you lost your mind?!”
The office resounded with a thunderous shout,
“It’s impossible! Utterly impossible!”
Unstoppable like a seizure, no one dared to soothe Dwayne’s outburst.
“An entire nation where no one starves. It sounds noble indeed! But even the empire can’t manage it! Do you think that royal power makes you some kind of god!? Power comes from the budgets, the budget!! There’s no way to have that kind of money!”
The continuous shouts, already far beyond a vassal’s civility, were left unchecked even by the stern Knight Commander, who looked away without blaming Dwayne.
After all, it was clear how impractical it was.
Luckily, Logan, having anticipated such resistance, slightly corrected Dwayne’s words.
His loyal vassal had perhaps received them too exaggeratedly,
“Not that none should starve, but prevent deaths from starvation. Maybe that’s feasible if we squeeze the budget?”
With that, Dwayne, who had still been ranting, froze.
He wanted to say it was impossible, but the surplus from the magic stone mines made it difficult to do so.
He involuntarily did the calculations.
‘I wish my head wasn’t so sharp.’
Ugh.
Dwayne tortured himself by pulling at his hair.
“If so, you shouldn’t have squeezed the taxes! And why did you form the army so hastily! Slow down. Ahhh…”
Amidst his miserable groans, the long-serving vassal saw the king’s challenging retort.
“…Does this mean it’s possible?”
Dwayne collapsed on the spot, thunderstruck.
