Chapter 162

Translator: Willia

Firewood was not something one could simply obtain by going into a forest or up a mountain and chopping down trees.

More specifically, every tree in the forests and mountains was the private property of the local lord. Cutting one down without permission was therefore illegal and, in principle, could bring severe punishment.

Of course, life did not always proceed strictly according to the law. There were times when tree-felling was permitted during designated periods, and other times when the authorities simply looked the other way even though it was technically illegal.

People needed fire to cook their meals, and they needed fire to keep warm. They could hardly be expected to starve or freeze to death.

It was not as though lords cared about nothing but satisfying their own greed and paid no attention to their people.

Those living in remote, sparsely populated regions could cut trees as they pleased without worrying about anyone seeing them, but in densely populated areas, the amount of firewood available was inevitably limited.

Cities had no choice but to rely on the countryside for food, firewood, and other consumable goods. If those supplies were disrupted, there were times when a city could find itself gripped by famine almost overnight.

Mass deaths were not uncommon.

Firewood was like air. Indispensable, yet something everyone took for granted. Only when people were choking to death did they realize how precious air was, and firewood was much the same.

And that firewood was piled up like mountains. Not figuratively, either. There were heaps of logs nearly the size of houses, and there seemed to be dozens of them at the very least.

Fences surrounded those enormous piles of firewood, with armed men standing strict guard around them.

In other words, all that firewood had an owner.

“Until yesterday, one Copper Coin bought two bundles of firewood, did it not? Why is it only one bundle today? That is no different from doubling the price overnight. This is practically extortion.”

Markwin spoke in disbelief. The Trading Company Master of the Kelbron Trading Company, however, showed little reaction.

One side of his face was still swollen, leaving his cheeks noticeably uneven. A Nord mercenary had hit him and left him that way.

He quietly studied Marie, who stood behind Markwin, then turned his gaze back to Markwin.

“This is not extortion, Mayor. Just as grain prices fall in autumn and rise during winter and spring, it is only natural for the price of firewood to increase as winter approaches. Winter draws nearer with every passing day, so surely it is only natural for the price to rise from one day to the next as well?”

“Even so, I have never seen a price double in a single day. I cannot help but suspect you have some other intention.”

“Some other intention?”

“Perhaps you are trying to play power games with us.”

“How could I possibly dare do such a thing? Her Ladyship was born of the noblest bloodline in the world, and even renowned heroes cannot match her swordsmanship. For a humble man like me, who merely buys and sells goods, to play power games with her would be utter foolishness even by my own reckoning. I assure you, that is absolutely not what I am doing.”

If only he had been bad with words, he might have been less irritating. But no, the man was smooth as silk. It was like strangling someone while insisting he had absolutely no intention of killing them.

“Would it not be a loss for you as well if you fail to sell all this by the end of winter? Let us make a reasonable deal.”

Even then, Markwin refused to give up on the negotiations. At that moment, however, Marie, who had merely been watching until then, stepped forward.

“Just pay what he asks. One Copper Coin per bundle. We’ll buy 5,000 bundles for now.”

By a rough calculation, that came to around 50 Gold Coins. Compared to the money Ricardt had received for selling spices and silk, it was not a large sum, but in their present poverty, it was an enormous amount of money.

“M-My Lady.”

Markwin was flustered. The merchant from Kelbron looked somewhat surprised as well. Even he had not expected them to actually buy firewood at that price.

“The Nordmen are building huts right now, and once everyone starts burning firewood through the winter, even this won’t be enough. I’ve saved some money of my own, so we’ll cover the cost with that for now.”

“No, that isn’t the point. You mustn’t buy it at this price.”

“Then do you have a better idea?”

“No......”

Even so, one Copper Coin for a single bundle of firewood was an absurd price. The intention to take advantage of them could hardly have been more obvious, and they could not simply let themselves be treated this way.

But as Marie had said, failing to stockpile enough firewood could result in heavy casualties that winter. And it was not only the people inside the city they had to worry about. There were even more people of Adeloron below the city.

The refugees.

In truth, 5,000 bundles would not come close to being enough, even if they distributed them free of charge.

The Trading Company Master remained dumbstruck for a moment at Marie’s outrageous decision before finally opening his mouth.

“Might I speak with you in private for a moment, my lady?”

Marie nodded and gave Markwin a look. Having heard nothing about this beforehand, Markwin backed away from the two of them with a baffled expression.

The Trading Company Master stepped closer and lowered his voice to a whisper.

“Is this because of your pride?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You need only apologize. That is all we want. A public apology.”

“You want me to apologize? For what?”

“Do you truly not know? You sided with the Nordmen during the last trial. What does that make us? No, I could let the fact that I was beaten slide. But there are people who follow me. I have to consider how I look in their eyes.”

“And if I apologize?”

“We will sell at the original fair price. Five bundles for one Copper Coin.”

Marie thought quietly for a moment before answering.

“I’ve never heard of a judge apologizing for the verdict she delivered. If I apologize, every judgment I make from now on will lose its authority. No matter how I look at it, I cannot apologize.”

It was an exceedingly wise answer. Even though a single apology would save them an enormous amount of money, Marie refused to compromise. Authority could not be measured in coin.

“Even if people freeze to death because of it?”

“If that happens, it will not be because of me. It will be because you made it happen. I appreciate your honesty, but do not shift the responsibility onto me. What you are doing now violates proper merchant ethics. You are taking people hostage and using their lives as leverage.”

“......What I genuinely cannot understand is this: you and we are from the same homeland, while the Nordmen are barbarians from who knows where. Why are you doing this to us?”

“By that logic, the people of Adeloron have nothing to do with me either. Does that mean I should not care whether they live or die?”

Marie did not yield an inch. And what she said was entirely reasonable.

From the Trading Company Master’s perspective, however, it was unrealistic. No, she seemed out of touch with reality.

No matter how sound one’s principles were, solving real problems required a certain amount of practical maneuvering.

Sometimes one had to swallow one’s pride. Sometimes one had to lie. Sometimes one had to be shameless. That was politics, and the Trading Company Master believed that was how such matters had to be handled.

There seemed to be some fundamental difference in the way the two of them viewed the world.

After saying this much and still failing to get through to her, the Trading Company Master let out a hollow laugh.

“How old are you, my lady?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because such weighty responsibilities seem too much for a young woman to bear.”

Huh? What was that supposed to mean? Marie tilted her head, wondering whether she had really heard what she thought she had, then anger surged up inside her.

She glared at the Trading Company Master with an icy gaze.

“Trading Company Master, I think you just crossed a line.”

At that, the Trading Company Master tapped his swollen cheek with one finger.

“You crossed the line first, my lady. As someone from the same homeland, I wanted justice. When justice was denied, I endured it once. Now you tell me you cannot even apologize, so I see no other choice. Pay me. One Copper Coin per bundle.”

Marie seethed inside, but she held herself back as she remembered what Paolo had told her. She had decided to stake everything on that.

“But have you considered something?”

“What would that be?”

“That perhaps I’ve been showing you every possible courtesy precisely because I’m young and a woman. What do you think would have happened if my husband were standing here?”

“Regrettably, my lady, I too first came here because I thought your husband would quickly pacify Adeloron. But what is the situation now? He is facing Prince Rotarius, and Prince Rotarius has more troops. Is that all? Prince Rotarius seized the bridge first and holds the advantage. No one is more sensitive to which way a war is turning, or who is likely to win and lose, than people like us. I wish your husband good fortune in battle, but if I may offer some practical advice, you may be better served appealing to Prince Rotarius in advance and asking him to remember the bond between brother and sister.”

“Really? Is that what you think? Then what will you do if the opposite of what you expect happens?”

“Pardon?”

“If my husband defeats Prince Rotarius and arrives here within a week, what will you do then? What do you think will happen if I tell my husband about the humiliation I suffered today?”

The Trading Company Master burst into hearty laughter, apparently finding Marie’s words truly absurd.

“If that happens, I suppose I will be as good as dead. I imagine I will find myself calculating just how much my own life is worth. Still, it saddens me that you remain so unrealistic to the very end, my lady. Such a thing will not happen.”

Marie gave a disbelieving snort and turned away. With one hand resting on the sword at her waist, she walked off. The negotiations had broken down.

When she reached Markwin, she lowered her head and let her shoulders sag. The citizens, the city guards, and the Nordmen had all been watching from a distance.

They glared at the merchant from Kelbron as though they wanted to kill him. To them, he looked like nothing more than a greedy, vicious merchant. Of course, if one looked beneath the surface, the circumstances were somewhat more complicated than simple greed.

Before long, someone arrived to make the payment. He handed over a purse filled with Gold Coins, and the merchant delivered the firewood in return.

5,000 bundles sounded like a great deal, but once the people inside the city and all the refugees were taken into account, it was nowhere near enough. Marie distributed all the firewood for the time being.

Then came the very next day. Not even a week. As if it were a lie, news arrived of Ricardt’s victory.

No one could believe it. Not the Kelbron Trading Company, not the citizens, and not even Marie herself. They had not even been given time to fret.

Everyone wondered whether the news had somehow been reported incorrectly. But almost simultaneously with the report of victory, someone else arrived. He was proof of that victory.

Neighhh-!

A horse’s cry, far more powerful and resonant than that of any ordinary steed, shattered the quiet morning of Adelivari.

When people came outside to see what it was, they found a man in the center of the city riding a brilliant red horse unlike anything they had ever seen. The animal looked as though its entire body were aflame, and its sheer size, musculature, and perfectly balanced build were close to the ideal of a warhorse.

The rider himself wore a magnificent Tabard of red silk, and the armor that flashed whenever sunlight caught it gleamed gold.

He looked like an archangel descended from heaven. He was so dazzling that those who saw him almost felt shabby by comparison.

The legend passed down in Adeloron had been true. The Red Prince. No one doubted it.

In other words, Ricardt was a living legend. Everything he had done, and the uncanny way his deeds happened to match the lyrics of the folk song, only reinforced it.

Whatever everyone else might have felt, however, Ricardt himself was simply thrilled. His expression was not frivolous. He merely looked around with a bright smile, his blond hair, now grown long enough to brush the tops of his ears, swaying lightly.

There seemed to be more people than when he had left. But there was only one person Ricardt wanted to see most.

“Marie! Marie!”

Ricardt tipped back his head and shouted at the top of his lungs. Something about that cry seemed to lift a weight from everyone’s chest, and smiles spread naturally across their faces. His very presence seemed to embody joy, hope, and victory.

When he reached the palace where the kings of Adeloron had once stayed temporarily, Marie came rushing outside.

Rather heedless of propriety, she was barefoot and wearing a sheer nightgown.

But when Ricardt leapt from his horse and swept her into his arms, his red cloak fell around her and concealed her body.

Perhaps joy could only exist after suffering. Perhaps sorrow and pain existed in this world so that God could teach people what rapture truly was.

The purest, healthiest kind of joy filled their hearts completely and breathed vitality into every part of their bodies.

“Hahahahaha!”

Ricardt’s laughter rang out, and everyone watching wore smiles of their own.

Ricardt and Marie remained tightly wrapped around each other for a long while. Once they had finally regained some of their senses, Ricardt removed his cloak and wrapped it around Marie.

As they looked at one another, there was no need for a hundred words. One smile and one look were enough.

“Ricky!”

It was Bori’s voice. Ricardt reached a hand toward him. When Bori approached, Ricardt pulled him into a fierce embrace. He held him so tightly it was almost uncomfortable, and somehow that felt unbelievably good.

Ricardt looked around at all the people who had come out to see him and spoke with a smile.

“It has been a while, everyone. Or perhaps not that long? In any case, judging by your faces, it looks like you’ve all managed well enough, which is a relief. I ended up visiting the Holy Land unexpectedly, then passed through Lunadan and Sinatria before crossing the Empire, so I was delayed somewhat. The knights will arrive a little later. They’re bringing Prince Rotarius’s supplies with them. Unless I’m the only one happy to be home, let us leave talk of work until later.”

His voice brimmed with confidence. It was not something forced or feigned, but genuine confidence in the truest sense. Even his eyes seemed different somehow. It felt as though he had become a bigger man than before.

Bori was the first to notice.

“Ricky, you seem different.”

“Do I? In a good way?”

“I don’t know. You kind of feel farther away.”

“I’m not farther away. I’m right here.”

“That’s true.”

Ricardt laughed, vigorously mussed Bori’s tawny hair, then went inside. First, he removed his armor and washed himself in water drawn from the hot springs.

By the time the married couple had finished their marital duties, it was nearly noon.

Once the storm of exhilaration had passed, everything felt calm and peaceful, like clear skies after a tempest.

Marie suddenly remembered the matter of the firewood, but bringing it up in bed felt rather petty, so she did not feel inclined to mention it.

Ricardt’s sharp eye, however, did not let the change pass unnoticed.

“What is it? Did something happen?”

“No.”

“If you don’t tell me, I’m not going to ask.”

“You don’t have to ask.”

“No, I just don’t want you feeling hurt afterward.”

“Why would I feel hurt? Are you stupid?”

Marie merely smiled as she spoke. Now that Ricardt was back, the matter of the firewood and everything else suddenly seemed unimportant.

Ricardt’s eye for detail, however, had other ideas.

“Come to think of it, why does this place look so bare? It feels like some of the furniture is missing.”

“We needed money. We sold whatever we could.”

“Really? Wait here a moment.”

Ricardt climbed out of bed and got dressed. Then he buckled a single sword around his waist and went outside.

The corridor looked bare as well. Hadn’t there been pottery, tapestries, and things like that here before?

Just then, Mayor Markwin happened to be passing by, so Ricardt stopped him and asked.

“Why does this place look so bare?”

“Pardon? Ah, well, we were somewhat short on funds, so we sold quite a few things. Once the war is over, we’ll replace them little by little.”

“No, no. That is not what I mean. Something feels different.”

Markwin hesitated and glanced around cautiously before broaching the subject.

“......Well, the truth is......”

Unlike Marie, he simply told Ricardt the entire story about the firewood exactly as it had happened.

Surprisingly, Ricardt did not become angry after hearing it. He merely gave a faint, derisive grin.

“Is that so? Then tell that Trading Company Master to come see me. Right now.”

“Understood.”

It did not take long for the Trading Company Master to appear before Ricardt. His expression was stiff, and he seemed extremely nervous.

Ricardt asked him as though it were no great matter.

“I heard you charged one Copper Coin for a single bundle of firewood. Is that true?”

“Ah, well, the truth is......”

“Is it true or not?”

The Trading Company Master realized that one wrong word here might get him killed. As a merchant, he was not so oblivious that he could fail to read the situation.

“It is true.”

“You needn’t be so nervous. I’m not such an unreasonable man. I fully understand that merchants need to make a profit. But is it true that you were trying to play power games with Marie?”

“Pardon? N-No! Absolutely not! How could I dare? How could I possibly dare? How could I do such a thing to someone of the Imperial House? It is slander! I know who told you that! It was that man Markwin, wasn’t it!? You must not keep such a man at your side! He is a cunning snake! He is the one keeping the Princess from seeing and hearing the truth and causing her more trouble than anyone!”

The Trading Company Master from Kelbron was so nervous and flustered that he began insisting on his innocence with claims he did not even need to make.

“I told you there’s no need to be nervous. Still, if you’re as innocent as you claim, do you have any way to prove it?”

“P-Prove it?”

“That’s right. The knights will be arriving soon. Once they do, we’ll need even more firewood. So why not make everything you prepared a gift to me?”

“......”

The Trading Company Master suddenly remembered what he had said. If things turned out that way, he would find himself calculating the price of his own life. In other words, his own words had come true.

But he had gone around the surrounding regions and spent nearly all his capital buying this firewood. At present, it was practically everything he owned.

Ricardt could see every calculation running through the Trading Company Master’s mind. Marie had tried to have a conversation with the man, but conversation was not what Ricardt wanted.

“If you don’t want to give me the gift, then don’t. I won’t force you. But I do have one question. I’ve cut off a Sultan’s head, and I’ve cut off a king’s. Do you think my blade would go dull on a merchant’s neck, or would it remain just as sharp?”

A gentle smile rested on Ricardt’s face as he asked. He was not glaring or widening his eyes or anything of the sort.

Of course, what he was actually doing amounted to little more than outright robbery. But so what? Another lord who behaved this way might earn a bad reputation among merchants, but Ricardt was not the sort of man who cared about such things.

As he had said himself, a man who cut off the heads of kings was hardly going to concern himself with what merchants said about him. More importantly, even if his reputation became terrible, he could simply drag merchants in by force and make them do business anyway.

“......The firewood was intended as a gift from the very beginning. I meant to present it to you personally, Sir Ricardt, and I fear that in doing so I may have shown some discourtesy to your wife. I could think of no proper way to refuse her, so I resorted to setting an intentionally unreasonable price instead. Naturally, I will return the money, and of course, all the firewood is yours as well.”

Ricardt was sincerely impressed. Wow. How could anyone be this good with words?

Clearly, one should never try to beat a merchant with words. That was why Ricardt figured he had little choice but to use somewhat violent methods when dealing with merchants. After all, that was what he was good at.

“Thank you. I shall put the firewood to good use. You may go.”

The Trading Company Master bowed deeply to Ricardt and left the room.

And just like that, the problem that had been giving them such headaches was resolved all at once. It truly was an age in which personal charisma mattered.

When countless complicated interests became tangled together, there was value in the kind of charisma that could cut straight through the knot with a single stroke instead of painstakingly unraveling every thread.

Of course, not every problem in the world could be handled that way. Still, if Ricardt wanted his words to carry weight, he needed a certain measure of that quality.

Ricardt had returned. And with his return, the complicated, chaotic Adelivari began to regain its balance.

Chapter 33 – Return. End.

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