Chapter 45
“You come back injured almost every single day! I’m running out of divine power! It’s fine for now since we’re not in active combat, but things won’t remain peaceful forever. Please, I beg you—tell him not to overdo it!”
Etienne couldn’t clearly remember how he had responded to that earnest plea. Maybe he had simply said that there was nothing he could do since Mia wouldn’t see him.
‘At this rate, it really feels like I’m the one being swayed by her.’
A faint, self-deprecating smile touched Etienne’s lips.
No matter how much he worried about her, to the point of feeling like he was being pulled along by her, there wasn’t much he could do when the woman in question avoided him like a monster whenever he came near.
‘If I gave her a direct order, she’d come on her own two feet… but I don’t want to go that far.’
It wasn’t that Etienne was unaware of his authority as her superior. Yet, oddly enough, he found himself unwilling to use it when it came to Mia.
So it wasn’t until four whole days after that incident that he finally set out to find her in person. Compared to how long she had spent running around disrupting Raven, his waiting wasn’t even that long.
But now, as reports piled high on his desk and he needed to consolidate them into a strategy, his chief operations officer’s input had become absolutely essential.
“You’re hurt again, I see.”
“If you’re just here to tell me to return to the homeland, go back to your room.”
“How cold. Didn’t you miss me even a little?”
“If I missed you, I would’ve gone to see you. The fact that you’re saying that means you must’ve been quite lonely.”
Whether she meant it or not, Mia didn’t even show Etienne her face. Thinking that his friendly tone was no longer working, Etienne temporarily set aside his concern for her and got to the point.
“We need to sort through these documents.”
Mia looked at the stack of papers in Etienne’s arms and replied flatly.
“You’re the one who makes the final decisions. I don’t see why you’re telling me about it.”
“This time, the issues with Veridian’s market and our troop deployment are entangled. I need your input. I’d appreciate it if you could take a look.”
He was practically begging—an attitude unfitting of his rank. But he didn’t mind too much, since in the end, she agreed to help him.
“So what am I supposed to be looking at?”
“Ah, here—start with this one.”
Etienne sifted through the mountain of documents he’d brought and pulled out a single sheet.
“As you know, Raven’s economy is on the verge of collapse. The only reason it’s holding up at all is that Etalon hasn’t shown any military movements—at least not yet.”
“So you’re saying even if we leave Raven tomorrow, the plan won’t be affected.”
“Exactly. The food you purchased is being distributed to the troops before it spoils, just as you instructed. The rest—what couldn’t be fed to anyone—was shipped to the coast and dumped into the sea. There’s no danger of unexpected stockpiles showing up.”
“I trusted you with that. You understand supply distribution far better than I do.”
Etienne gave a small nod of thanks and continued his report. He knew Mia had been going to the markets herself almost every day, so he didn’t think she was unaware of the situation. Still, it was important to confirm they were working from the same information when planning an operation.
“And as a result, the price of essentials—especially food—has skyrocketed. Almost none of the food that comes to Raven makes it out to other cities.”
“It’s probably too expensive for commoners anyway. And if it does leave, it’s just being hoarded in the storehouses of nobles or the nouveau riche.”
“Exactly.”
“Do you know who’s buying the most?”
“I’ve heard that Marquis Ahn has been steadily purchasing food supplies.”
“Same as what I heard. He’ll likely stay quiet for a while since he’s keeping an eye on Grenier, so we can leave him alone for now.”
“But Mia, what if he decides at a critical moment to release that food for Veridian’s benefit…”
“Then we’ll have to keep a closer eye on him.”
The confidence in her voice hinted that she already had a countermeasure in place. It was a serious enough issue that Etienne wanted to ask more, but he feared disrupting the rare moment of productive dialogue.
‘It might be a good idea to pin the inflation problem on the marquis. If something goes wrong, the angry mob might tear him down before he has a chance to act.’
Just in case Mia’s secret plan failed, Etienne was preparing his own contingency.
“Rumor has it that traders are flocking to Raven because they can sell goods at a high price. Naturally, fewer merchants are willing to sell in other regions, and those who do are charging outrageous amounts.”
“Then it’s not just food being stockpiled in Raven.”
“No. Essential goods and luxury items alike are being almost exclusively traded here. It may seem like commerce is booming, but in reality, only a few wealthy individuals are making money. The rest—ordinary merchants and commoners—are struggling.”
“What about the capital?”
“Ah, apparently the Emperor of Veridian is delighted. He believes that Raven’s true value is finally being recognized across the continent. He thinks the high prices mean our goods are high quality.”
“Of course he does. That man never cared about the people. He’d toss aside a thousand letters of protest from starving provinces without even reading one.”
“Anything else you’d like to ask?”
Etienne casually deflected her criticism. It wasn’t that he disagreed with her—Veridian was the enemy, after all—but he didn’t know enough about the emperor’s political capabilities to offer any real opinion.
“That’s enough about the market. It sounds like our information matches. And judging by what you’ve said, you haven’t sensed any suspicious activity either.”
“Do you mean the group we fought before?”
“Yes. They’re unusually quiet. They’ve made a few personal attempts on my life, but they haven’t gotten involved in any of the issues currently plaguing Raven.”
“Could it be that these issues don’t conflict with their interests?”
“You were there too, Etienne. They seemed to be following a priest. We don’t know what position he holds or whether he was acting alone. But for a priest—someone who’s supposed to follow the goddess’s will and protect the people—not to intervene during a national economic crisis is highly suspicious.”
“Corrupt priests aren’t exactly uncommon.”
“Even so, they’d at least pretend to care. Without the people, they wouldn’t be able to maintain their power. And now, even the emperor’s doing nothing. If the temple really wanted to expand its influence, this would be the perfect opportunity. But according to the intelligence we’ve received, there’s no sign of temple-led relief efforts—anywhere in the country, not just in Raven.”
Fortunately, after speaking with Mia, Etienne was able to get a clearer sense of direction for dealing with the mountain of paperwork.
Resources were flooding into Raven at an astonishing rate, and for the wealthy, rising prices were actually a welcome development.
The fact that goods were being concentrated in Raven meant that transport means—carts, wagons, even horses—were also being funneled here. That led to an influx of merchants, many of whom were eager to rent or seize military supplies and make a quick profit.
‘And they’re even recruiting soldiers to act as mercenaries to escort these shipments, right?’
Etienne examined the regions on the map Mia had marked as “areas where soldiers had been bribed into becoming mercenaries.” Two names stood out: Brandoph and Meinzhart—both cities of immense strategic value for different reasons.
This wasn’t information gathered by sending out spies to the field—it had been collected by identifying the backgrounds of soldiers who had arrived in Raven. There was no reason to doubt its accuracy.
‘They’ve grown complacent in peace… no thought at all to their defenses.’
Even major cities in Veridian showed signs of military depletion.
Since these cities were on the path to the capital anyway, striking them along the march would be easy. Their carelessness was a lucky break for Etienne, allowing him to seize more strongholds with minimal effort
