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Chapter 811 - Chapter 812: Governing for the People

In February, Boleion was still cold, though no longer unbearably so, and the snow had begun to melt. This duchy, located on the western coast of Britannia, was starting to awaken from the depths of winter.

Last year, the Duchy of Boleion suffered a series of disasters. A moderately severe plague swept through the region, followed by a tsunami and earthquake. Then came the terrifying skeletal pirates and bandits from the southern lands. The duchy faced enormous challenges, and its main army was away on a grand expedition to Mount Eight Peaks. The remaining forces struggled to fend off these formidable enemies.

At this critical moment, Duke Theodoric of Boleion declared his return, wielding the holy battle axe of Baldwin, the first Duke of Boleion and one of the twelve original Grail Knights. With his horse, he appeared on the battlefield, and his return greatly boosted the morale of both the nobility and the serfs. The army regrouped and engaged in a fierce battle against the skeletal pirates and bandits. Theodoric fought valiantly at the forefront, with his divine battle axe radiating pure light, resisting the undead pirates' evil magic.

After five hours of bloody combat, the duke cleaved the leader of the undead pirates in two. With the collapse of the necromantic magic, the undead army crumbled into dust. The remaining bandits fled in disarray, and the knights of Boleion celebrated a great victory, cheering triumphantly.

With this victory, Duke Theodoric officially announced his return, swearing to the Lady of the Lake that he would not repeat his past mistakes and sought forgiveness for his sins. Whether or not the Lady forgave him remained unknown, but the Lake Witch Morgiana decided to give him another chance after witnessing his performance. Theodoric was reinstated in the Boleion court. This time, the duke made a complete turnaround. He fully supported Ryan's reforms and policies, even promoting many serfs to knightly ranks. He dismissed several inactive knights, confiscated their fiefs but retained their noble titles, and elevated dozens of knights from the serf class.

However, after the wars and looting, the duchy's situation worsened. Theodoric's urgency destabilized the region, leading to chaos, food shortages, and significant losses in the winter wheat crops. Many areas lacked noble governance, and famine spread across the land.

Fortunately, at this time, King Ryan returned, bringing with him Boleion's main army.

Late February, in the Old World, Britannia, Duchy of Boleion, in the territory of Baron Siebern, in the town of Siebern.

The cold wind howled, carrying the scent of damp earth. Many homeless refugees had flooded into the town. Their villages and fields had been destroyed, and the winter wheat was gone. The duke ordered them to gather in the towns to await relief.

Siebern was a town located on the southern border of Boleion, near the Boleion River. The town had a population of around 4,000, but more than 1,000 refugees had poured in, causing some chaos. However, the local nobility and army reacted quickly, working with the Church of the Lady of the Lake and the Church of the Goddess of Mercy to provide relief.

On the main street, a Grail Knight, dressed in full noble attire with a white cloak emblazoned with a golden chalice, appeared near one of the relief stations. Accompanying him was a noblewoman with blonde hair and blue eyes and a dark-haired, silver-eyed witch. Following them were over a dozen old guards, dressed in luxurious dwarven rune-adorned gold half-plate armor and pristine white uniforms.

Several large iron pots were suspended over fires, boiling something inside. Thirty or so infantrymen and two knights maintained order, while nuns and priests from both churches assisted. Upon seeing this group approach, the lead knight trembled with excitement and saluted, saying, "Your... Your Majesty! Good afternoon! May the Lady bless us! I am Sir D'Astié de Vierry of the Baron Siebern's territory!"

"Shh, keep it low-key. His Majesty doesn't want to be recognized," Sulia, who stood behind Ryan, smiled and put a finger to her lips.

"What's cooking?" Ryan smiled. His old guard's extravagant appearance made it impossible to hide his identity. The knight-king glanced at the pot's contents—a large mass of semi-liquid substance bubbling away, light brown in color.

"Porridge, Your Majesty!" Sir Vierry replied nervously. "Careful, Your Majesty. Don't get burned. It'll be ready soon."

"Porridge? Porridge?" Ryan chuckled. He extended his hand to a nun from the Church of Mercy, who hurriedly handed over her ladle. She nearly knelt before him, but Sulia signaled that it wasn't necessary. "No need to kneel. Just doing your work is the greatest respect you can show us."

"Thank you!" Sir Vierry saluted excitedly.

"Very good. Let me see what's in this porridge." Ryan stirred the pot with the large ladle. The sound of metal scraping against the pot's bottom echoed sharply. The king scooped up a ladleful and examined it closely.

The ladle contained a semi-liquid mixture of chopped vegetables, yellow beans, peas, some partially crushed rye and buckwheat grains, and bran. Ryan stirred again and scooped up another ladleful, this time finding pieces of nuts and a small amount of pork offal.

The king put down the ladle and asked Sir Vierry, "Is this all there is?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, all the pots are filled with the same mixture," Sir Vierry answered respectfully. "Each refugee gets one bowl of porridge and half a loaf of black bread. This is our relief food."

Ryan gave a noncommittal nod and glanced at Bertrand, the commander of the old guard behind him, who immediately issued orders, "Check every pot and all the relief supplies!"

"Yes, sir!" The old guards began inspecting the pots and the piles of foul-smelling black bread, rye, and buckwheat. After a thorough search, they reported, "Your Majesty, all the pots contain the same porridge, and the storage room is full of black rye bread. The smell is awful—really sour!"

"Good!" Ryan nodded in satisfaction. This sudden inspection had been unannounced, but the king was pleased with the results. "Well done, Sir Vierry. I'm glad. I've inspected three towns today, and in all of them, no refugee has starved to death... Why did you add pork offal?"

"This is enough to keep a man half-full," Ryan remarked. "That's enough for now."

"The baron intends to repair the town walls and plans to use the refugees as labor. He thought adding pork offal would help." Sir Vierry saluted again. "That stuff is usually only eaten by serfs. It's cheap—just a few copper coins for a large sack. We bought plenty, and it's stored in the back."

"Very good." Ryan nodded again and casually said, "Better than having them idle, right? Let them know that relief doesn't come easily. Soon, once spring comes, Theodoric will send troops to escort them back to their villages to rebuild and return to their fields."

"Yes!" The knight-noble complied. Ryan looked off into the distance at the refugees waiting in line for their porridge. His gaze became distant. "In times of peace, the people are everything."

"In times of peace, the people are everything!" he repeated.

With that, Ryan smiled at Sulia and Theresa, who stood behind him, and asked, "Sulia, Theresa, care to try some refugee food?"

"I'll eat whatever you eat, my dear," Sulia smiled.

"... If you insist," Theresa said reluctantly, the smell of the black bread repulsing her. She found both the taste and the sight of the food deeply unpleasant. But since Sulia had agreed, the sorceress, not wanting to be outdone, awkwardly conceded.

"Hahaha!" Ryan burst out laughing and held up three fingers. "Bring us three bowls of porridge and a loaf of black bread for me, my queen, and my lady!"

"Your Majesty, you are the king! How could you eat this?" the knight couldn't believe his ears, but seeing Ryan's determination, he complied.

Soon, the porridge was ready. Ryan ate heartily, and Sulia took her time with small spoonfuls.

Only Theresa hesitated, staring at the bowl's contents with a conflicted expression. She pretended to blow on it, as if afraid it was too hot, but she couldn't bring herself to take a bite. Looking up, she noticed Ryan smirking at her.

Theresa's face turned bright red, embarrassed by his gaze, which felt both intimate and teasing. She bit her lip and finally forced herself to take a spoonful.

The strange texture and grainy bits made her gag. She couldn't hold back and spat it out, angrily setting the bowl down. "How can anyone eat this? Ryan, it tastes... so weird!"

Ryan and Sulia exchanged amused glances.

"Five thousand people in Boleion are surviving on this porridge, dear Theresa," Ryan said, setting down his empty bowl. "It's fine if you don't want to eat it. The fact that you tried is enough."

Theresa, feeling embarrassed, wanted to say something, but Ryan gently wrapped an arm around her waist, signaling that they could discuss it privately in the carriage. He reassured her that it was truly okay. After all, as a sorcer

ess, she was inherently above such hardships. It wasn't expected for someone of her status to be able to stomach such fare.

Sulia, too, set down her spoon after a few bites, signaling to Ryan that she couldn't eat any more either.

With the surprise inspection complete, Ryan ordered their return to Jean City. He, Sulia, and Theresa washed up and boarded their luxurious carriage. Today was Theresa's last day in the area, as she needed to return to the Ice Wizard Tower the following day to prepare for Grass Day. She and Aurora would spend two or three days getting ready before teleporting to the Sky Fortress.

As the three settled into the plush carriage, Theresa remained somewhat reserved. She wore a pink skirt adorned with soft ripples of early cherry blossoms and paired with a light pink fur coat, sheer nude tights, and white high heels. Normally, she didn't like such bright and vibrant colors, as pink wasn't her style. But Sulia had encouraged her to try something new, so she hadn't refused.

The effect wasn't bad. By noon, she still felt sore and weak, slumped on the soft sofa. Internally, she cursed Ryan for being increasingly mischievous, not knowing how to be considerate. Yet, she also felt physically and mentally content and quietly hoped she'd be lucky enough to conceive a child.

Sulia, on the other hand, wore a luxurious yellow lace dress and similar nude tights, paired with red-soled black heels adorned with pearls. Her elegance and queenly demeanor filled the entire carriage. Though she and Theresa sat on either side of Ryan, Sulia's aura was clearly more dominant.

Ryan broke the silence, "Beria has sent word. The situation in Kislev is dire. Famine is widespread, the court can't pay the army, and Katarin is barely holding things together with her cunning and bloody suppression of a military mutiny. Beria has confirmed that Master Shergo is in the Cheka prison, but there's no clear way to rescue him yet."

Ryan showed Sulia and Theresa the urgent message Beria had sent via a magical device. Both women sensed the gravity of the situation. Sulia was deep in thought, while Theresa was curious about the name.

"Shergo? Who is he? You seem to care about him a lot," Theresa asked.

"Master Shergo is one of the designers and builders of the Hellstorm rocket battery. In Kislev, the name 'Shergo' means 'hell,' so the rocket launcher was named after him," Ryan explained with a serious expression. "We must secure this engineer."

"If he's so important, why is he in prison?" Theresa asked, puzzled. "Why isn't he being put to good use?"

Ryan sighed and shook his head. "Because Kislev is now ruled by witches. The royal court is controlled by the Ice Witches led by Katarin, and they don't like engineering or gunpowder weapons. They prefer to rely on their magic. There are few people like Gelt who are both wizards and masters of chemistry and engineering. You see what I mean?"

Theresa nodded. As a sorceress herself, she understood the preference for magic over technology.

"Because of that, most of the kingdom's resources are monopolized by the Ice Witches to fuel their magic, leaving little for people like Shergo. And talented individuals like him usually have a common trait," Ryan continued.

"That trait being..." Sulia smiled knowingly. "They have terrible tempers! We've learned that from the dwarves."

"Exactly. Terrible tempers. After Tsar Boris Bokha's death, Shergo received fewer and fewer resources. His frustration grew, and he openly criticized the Tsarina and mocked the Ice Witches' privileges. Kislev is crawling with Cheka secret police, so his comments were quickly reported. Katarin tolerated it for a while, but eventually, the Ice Witches demanded that the Tsarina have him arrested. If not for the pleas of the generals and boyars, Shergo would've been executed."

"How could it come to this?" Theresa murmured. "I've met Tsarina Katarin many times. She didn't seem like this kind of person."

"That's because you're an Ice Witch, and so is she!" Ryan chuckled. "Aurora is also an Ice Witch! Among yourselves, you're all equals. But Shergo isn't, and neither are Kislev's nobles or commoners. When wizards rule, they tend to treat the state as their personal research fund. To them, fiscal revenue isn't about distribution or efficiency; it's about how much they can claim for themselves."

Theresa pursed her lips. She wanted to argue, but she realized Ryan had a point. Her mother, Aurora, was notorious for her lavish spending habits. Half of the funds sent to the intelligence service were diverted to Aurora's research and luxury purchases (though Aurora more than compensated Ryan with powerful spell scrolls). Theresa herself had annual expenses exceeding four thousand gold crowns, but her income was meager. She hadn't achieved the financial balance that Veronica's Dawn Wizard Tower had managed.

"Regardless, Kislev cannot fall. If it does, the Empire will face the full brunt of the northern barbarians' attacks," Ryan concluded. "At the same time, we must accelerate our preparations. Sulia, regarding what we discussed earlier..."

"The Mousilon Veterans' Institute is already under construction. This institution will house disabled soldiers and showcase military honors. It will be completed by the end of the year. The Royal Infantry Academy and the Mousilon Military School have also begun groundwork. Additionally, the Royal Old Guard Estate will be expanded, and all soldiers who participated in the Battle of Mount Eight Peaks will receive special stipends and the right to send their children to the academy," Sulia smiled. "As you said, Ryan, how can soldiers fight hard without proper pay? And we can't let them bleed and cry. They risk their lives for our kingdom, and it's our duty to ensure they know that the king and queen will never forget their sacrifices."

"Good, but there's one more thing," Ryan nodded. His soldiers were now more devoted to him than the noble knights, a widely acknowledged fact in Britannia.

"What is it?" 

"Well..."

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