Civil Servant in a Romance Fantasy

937 – Can You Lend Me Some Land? – 2

All the territories I own are managed by the heads of each territory, as if they were running automatic hunting. It’s a strange situation where I reign but don’t rule.

For example, the County of Tilglehen retained the current head butler who had been the head butler since his father’s time, the County of Wiridia appointed the chief governor as the head butler, and the territories on the Kingdom of Leon were entrusted to Alfonso, who was from Quoronos. It’s so comfortable because they are all so capable.

Of these, I often visit Tilglehen because it is relatively close to the island and is my hometown, but I don’t have any reason to go to the territories in the direction of Wiridia and the Kingdom of Leon unless something comes up. Honestly, if you ask me when I last visited, I can’t answer right away.

It was a quiet and peaceful Wiridia with so few people walking around,

“Your Excellency the Count and His Excellency the Duke of Jeonseung!”

Two large bombs were dropped on Wiridia.

No. It would be more accurate to compare it to one grenade and one nuclear bomb, not two large bombs. I am the owner of the territory, and I am a person who comes when I forget. On the other hand, Jeon Seung-gong is a noble and honorable duke.

‘sorry.’

Anyway, I offered a deep apology to the head butler, Viscount Kissele, who was shaking his shoulders and bowing his back.

The butler is the second-in-command and de facto manager of Wiridia, and he had a surname even before receiving the title. Although he was far from a title, he was closer to a noble than a commoner. He was not in a position to be treated with contempt.

However, he spent a long time as a local official in Wiridia, a remote area within the empire, and after becoming a Viscount, he devoted his life to the development of Wiridia. Since he lived a life almost like a Wiridian exile, he rarely had the opportunity to meet big names like the Duke.

A duke suddenly appeared in front of the butler? Honestly, considering the butler’s age, I’m just thankful he didn’t have a heart attack.

“I’m sorry for coming so suddenly. I have something urgent to take care of.”

“No, Your Majesty! This Wiridia is a land that Your Majesty manages with the grace of the imperial family! Who would dare to refuse Your Majesty’s visit and consider it unjust! Come anytime!”

“I see? Thank you for telling me so.”

As I patted the butler on the shoulder, the butler answered in an even louder voice.

I nodded indifferently because it was exactly the reaction I had expected. No matter what I said to the current butler, it wouldn’t reach him. I was just saying it out of courtesy.

“Yeah. Did you bring the map?”

“Yes, Your Majesty! It’s a map that was just updated two weeks ago!”

And there’s a simple way to comfort civil servants who are confused by unexpected variables: Move from private matters to public matters.

It would be more convenient for the civil servants to just have official conversations. They can just give a briefing about what they know and what they have prepared. The head of the household would probably want me to get to the main point rather than asking about my current situation.

‘Nothing much.’

Thinking that way, I checked the map the butler had handed me, and it wasn’t much different from the map I had last seen.

At best, the pastures have expanded? A few towns have appeared where they didn’t exist before, and some have evolved into cities─ but even that isn’t a particularly impressive rate compared to the speed at which the pastures have expanded.

‘Let’s just keep going like this.’

The result was so satisfying that the corners of my mouth went up.

From the beginning, Wiridia was intended to be a trading post connecting the mainland of the empire and the north, as well as a paradise for horses. Unlike other famous territories within the empire, it was not intended to be a place where all kinds of people gathered, but rather a peaceful territory that was somewhat friendly to nature.

Of course, if the development level of the Baekjak territory is too low, that is a problem in itself. After all, this is an era where population is power, and the basis of tax revenue is population. It would be problematic if a territory like the Baekjak territory boasts the development level of a rural village.

So this is about right. The population is growing, but development is expanding around pastures, trade routes, and markets. The butler is on a very good path.

“Your Majesty, what do you think? There is still a lot of land that has not been used as pasture.”

“I see. Other regions have had a hard time securing land somehow, but Wiridia won’t have to worry about that.”

When I showed the map to Jeon Seung-gong with a satisfied heart, a smile appeared on his face.

Of course, Jeon Seung-gong’s smile will be for a different reason than mine. If I am satisfied with Wiridia’s actions, Jeon Seung-gong will be satisfied with the vast land.

In fact, I would have done the same if I were in the position of the Jeon Seung-gong. In other territories, I would first check the remaining territory and somehow secure the land. On the other hand, in Wiridia, after throwing a dart on the map, there is no problem using the area several kilometers from the place where the dart landed as the land. What a happy situation this is.

“First of all, there will be training in cavalry tactics, so it needs to be close to the north, but also close enough to a city for the students to live in…”

“Well, how about here? Down there seems fine too.”

“Well, as expected from the owner, Mr. Carl, he has a different perspective. This is the perfect place to establish a military academy.”

At that moment, the words ‘No matter where you choose, it’ll all be the same’ rose to the tip of my tongue. The empty land within Wiridia was that amazing, vast, and expansive.

‘This is mostly flat.’

Even the terrain is composed of clean flat land rather than rugged mountains, so the construction difficulty will be considerably easy.

It will also make it easier for students who will attend the military academy in the future. If there is a hill on campus, only the students will get tired, of course.

Jeon Seung-gong went around Wiridia like a rich man looking for apartments with potential for reconstruction.

However, there is a clear difference between the rich and the Jeon Seung-gong. The rich have to leave the timing of reconstruction to the heavens, but Jeon Seung-gong can immediately start reconstruction on the apartment he has chosen. In other words, if the Duke wants it, he should develop the blind spot instead of reconstruction.

So, after Jeon Seung-gong selected the site, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport jointly sent people.

– Your Majesty, I am truly sorry to have to say this.

The director of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Construction Department, who was in charge of the joint investigation team, cautiously contacted me.

He added that it was an embarrassing thing to say.

“What’s going on? Is there a dungeon nearby?”

I felt uneasy at the sight. The emperor had already supported it, Jeon Seung-gong was actively promoting it, and the landowner was also cooperating obediently. In addition, a person of the level of director of the Ministry of Land and Territory was on the scene. This huge move could not be stopped by any minor problem.

– That’s what I mean…

The head of the construction department let out a small sigh at my question.

– Relics were discovered on the site.

He put the worst into words.

“…ruins?”

– Yes, Your Majesty. It is a considerable ruin. It is not certain, but it is presumed to extend beyond the site selected by His Majesty the King.

After that, various explanations continued, but I couldn’t hear them. Instead of the construction manager’s kind explanation, a single sentence filled my head.

‘It’s fucked.’

One sentence that just means “fucked.”

If this news were to reach anyone in the system, it would be obvious that the immortal legions with their eyes turned upside down would rush to Wiridia. An invincible legion that no one could stop.

– Your Majesty, what would you like to do?

“What are you talking about?”

– Only a few people within the investigation team know about it so far. We contacted Your Majesty immediately after confirming the remains, so we will handle it as Your Majesty wishes.

Those were such fascinating words that I couldn’t open my mouth.

Should we just pretend we didn’t see it? Should we just ignore the relics and build a normal military academy?

‘no.’

I seriously felt such a desire, but I quickly shook it off.

Let’s not do that. No matter how scary it is that relics were discovered within the territory, why would a nobleman of the empire and the godfather of the crown princess try to do something so outrageous? When he’s setting an example for others?

And there are no eternal secrets in this world. If you try to escape an immediate crisis, you will be punished with greater karma in the future.

“…handle it according to the rules.”

– By the rules. Right?

“Yes. The Ministry of Culture… Well, just saying it as it is is enough. The Ministry of Culture will take care of the rest.”

– Yes, Your Majesty. I will do so.

I looked at the construction manager bowing his head and closed my eyes in deep thought.

Cultural. Those who descend like grim reapers when relics or artifacts are discovered within the empire. Real madmen who cannot be stopped by any power or blood relations.

‘My territory is also being attacked by the grim reaper…’

It’s been nice not having anything to do with you so far, but I never thought something like this would happen in Wiridia.

– Hahahahahaha!

The Emperor’s laughter echoed through the communication port.

Damn it. Is it really that good to hear that relics have been discovered in someone else’s territory?

– Oh, really. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard news of a large-scale ruin being discovered within the Empire. Since most of the territory has been developed, there hasn’t been much news for several decades.

“That’s what I mean…”

– However, since the northern territory like Wiridia was relatively slow to develop, it wouldn’t be strange if the ruins were dormant. I hadn’t thought of that.

Every word of what he said was so true that I couldn’t refute it.

Ruins and relics are also discovered by digging the ground. However, most of the empire’s territories have already been built or are difficult to build on. Compared to those territories, Wiridia is close to a clean and undeveloped area.

‘Why would it be on the lot?’

But who would have thought that among all the lands that were selected as sites, there would be relics there?

Who would have thought that the concentrated excavation of cultural properties would come first, let alone the construction of a military academy?

‘Fuck.’

It’s complicated. The Ministry of Culture is a department that covers the culture, history, traditions, etc. of the empire. Therefore, it is also a department that intervenes immediately when relics and artifacts are discovered during construction.

But this ‘immediate’ and ‘intervention’ are carried out so splendidly and terribly. If the Ministry of Culture intervenes, the construction currently in progress must be stopped unconditionally, and construction cannot resume until the Ministry of Culture declares, ‘I’ve seen everything there is to see.’

Although the damage caused by the suspension and delay of construction will be compensated by the national treasury, isn’t the fact that construction has stopped itself a huge damage?

‘A devil that even a peacock can’t avoid.’

Among the boyar princes of the past, there was a prince who enjoyed buying real estate, and surprisingly, whenever he dug up the land he bought, an incredible amount of artifacts would come out. Because of this, it was even said that whenever the prince bought land, the price of land in the area would plummet.

And the duke even begged the cultural excavation team to leave when they came to his construction site. This is truly a legendary anecdote.

Of course, the Cultural Heritage excavation team continued their work despite the peacock’s angry pleas. It was a terrifying and wonderful thing.

‘Still, it’s fortunate that there are several candidates for the site.’

He sighed inwardly and placed his hand on his forehead.

It’s a shame that an entire site was lost, but the land of Wiridia is still vast. There are a few more candidate sites, so all we have to do is survey the other sites.

Relics were also discovered at a second site.

I started to think that it might be better to pretend not to see it seriously and just push ahead with the construction.