428

Episode 428 I will save you. (2)

As soon as Giselle finished speaking, the two people fell to the floor and shouted.

"We, we are innocent! We opposed it!"

"It's all done by the lord's order!"

Unfortunately, the Earl of Grafton was not a man worthy of loyalty. The Chancellor and the Treasurer were ready to confess before even the torture could be applied.

As Giselle approached, the two men fell to the ground and shouted again.

"I know where it is!"

"It's not that far from here!"

At their words, the Earl of Grafton's face turned pale and he shouted.

"You idiots! Shut up! I said shut your mouths!"

But it was already too late. The two men had told Giselle everything they knew, in detail.

The Earl of Grafton had secretly built an underground warehouse in a village not far from here to store his medicines. He also set up a manufacturing facility there to produce medicines.

After hearing the whole story, Jiselle nodded.

"Gillian, lead the troops and go check that place right away. Use these two as your guides."

"All right."

Gillian moved in with the General and the Treasurer. Even then, the Earl of Grafton was still fuming.

"Eww! What are you guys doing! Hurry up and attack! Aren't all the northern troops outside the outer wall? Hurry up and attack these guys and prepare for war!"

There was no reason to avoid the fight if I was going to lose everything anyway.

The knights and soldiers were supposed to move at the Earl of Grafton's command, but they dared not. They did not dare to attack Giselle, even though the soldiers were clearly coming in more and more, and the number of troops belonging to the estate was much larger.

'You want me to fight Earl Fenris, who has become a master?'

'He is one of the strongest men in the kingdom?'

'Is it true that we can win even if we all attack?'

The Master is also human, so if we all rush in, we might be able to win. But who would rush in first? The one who rushes in first will definitely have his head cut off.

There, the Northern Army also gained fame by dealing with the fortress cracks. No, the Fenris Army was famous for its elite soldiers in the first place.

There are only a few people here, but there are 80,000 Northern troops outside. If they invade, it is obvious that those here will be trampled in an instant.

No one would be so loyal to the unpopular Earl of Grafton. The commander of the knights simply stammered and spoke, struggling to save face.

"Wow, it's a matter of enforcing the laws of the kingdom, so first let's see the results… … ."

"You crazy bastard! And you still remain loyal to me as a knight! What will the result be?"

Jiselle chuckled at the comical situation and sat back down.

He muttered with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

"I really don't like being forced."

People may not believe him, but Jisel, a former mercenary, truly loved freedom.

It was just the world, the times, the environment, that kept pushing him that way. I'm serious.

While Giselle waited for Gillian, the Earl of Grafton continued to swear.

"I said, kill that guy! You should never have let these guys into the castle! If you mess with me, the other lords will stop you too! Do you plan to go to war with all the lords in the kingdom?"

He was talking about all sorts of things by himself. But everyone ignored him. Even his own people.

If they had attacked Jiselle from the beginning, they might have gained momentum and started a fight. However, with the atmosphere like this, no one could move.

After some time, Gillian returned and reported.

"Found it."

"Yeah, how much is it?"

"We will have to check the exact quantity to know, but at first glance, it looks like there are tens of thousands of bottles of medicine that have been manufactured. There are also quite a lot of medicinal materials piled up."

"You ate a lot."

Giselle smiled and rose from her seat. He looked at the Earl of Grafton with cold eyes and said,

"Remove this man's title. Put him in prison. The royal family will confiscate his lands, and later grant them to someone who has done great deeds."

The Earl of Grafton's face turned pale. Where in the world is there such a law!

This can't be happening. We lost our territory without even fighting a single war.

The Northern soldiers tied him up and lifted him up. The Earl of Grafton was still swearing.

"I said, hit these guys right now! What are you guys doing! I said, hit them quickly! Where is this unreasonableness! I am the master of this place! Even a king cannot do this to me!"

The vassals and their knights simply watched and stood still.

Although Giselle's actions may seem a bit harsh, it was their lord who broke the law first.

Wasn't the power of a lord originally given in exchange for fulfilling his duties to the crown and his subjects? The Earl of Grafton was the first to abandon it.

'It was a chaotic situation, but our lord went too far.'

'People are dying one by one because of illness. It seems like everyone is having a hard time just plugging the cracks.'

'Actually, the Northern Army was dealing with the cracks too. We were just lucky to be out of that place.'

Everyone closed their eyes, rationalizing with these thoughts. They didn't particularly want to risk their lives to be loyal to the Earl of Grafton.

Rather, they were just worried that they might get involved.

Giselle pointed directly to several of the Earl of Grafton's knights and said:

"You guys, go to the surrounding territory right away and tell them about this. Prepare it yourself while we distribute the medicine. Do you understand?"

"All right!"

The places that Jiselle told me about were territories that had escaped the aftermath of the rift, but were either hoarding medicinal herbs or not cooperating properly.

If you hear about this, you will probably prepare well. Since you have already obtained the information, there is no use sticking your feet out.

If you resist to the end, you have no choice but to exercise your power like you did now. Right now, there is no room to proceed while being considerate of the situation.

Giselle looked back at the Grafton vassals and said:

"I will only ask the lord for this crime. If I take all of you away, there will be problems in the territory. Until a new master is chosen, the Fenris administrator will come and take charge of this place. Everyone, please cooperate well."

"Oh, I understand."

Who could refuse such an order? Even the vassals of the Earl of Grafton all bowed their heads.

Jiselle turned and spoke to Gillian.

"We need to figure out a way to quickly deliver the medicine we collect from the surrounding areas. First, let's identify the places where the epidemic is widespread."

Now that we've set the example, it's time to move again.

* * *

The epidemic was spreading very quickly.

First of all, there were many people who had come into contact with the soldiers who fought against the cracks. The bigger problem was that among them, there were people who wandered around. Merchants, messengers, adventurers, and mercenaries.

The disease was spreading much faster than the medicine could be distributed.

Although Jiselle had prepared the medicine in advance by setting up a production facility, it did not work very well. The lords did not believe Jiselle's words and acted passively so as not to suffer losses.

Even though they started producing medicine as soon as the epidemic began to spread, more and more cities were abandoned due to the epidemic.

The people of the abandoned city cried out in pain.

"Euuuuu… … . What on earth is the lord doing… … ."

"I heard there was medicine… … . Why aren't you giving me the medicine… … ."

"We were abandoned… … . We were abandoned… … ."

People who were healthy collapsed with high fever. People around them avoided them, but the latent infectious disease manifested itself in everyone as time passed.

The nobles and administrators in the city had long since fled, and they again spread the disease to other fiefdoms.

The city was so abandoned.

Production stopped. Merchants stopped coming. The economy was paralyzed, and everyone starved to death.

Inside the house and on the street, corpses began to pile up.

Those who were still less seriously ill covered their mouths with rags and carried away the corpses, but they too collapsed shortly after.

Death descended upon the entire city.

Despair is something that happens when you have the strength. These people didn't even have the energy to despair.

All they could do was die slowly.

"mom...."

The girl put her finger to her mother's nose as she lay in bed.

He's still alive. He has red spots all over his body and is suffering from a high fever, but I can feel his breathing faintly.

'There's nothing to eat… … .'

Food has been running low for a long time. If things continue this way, we will starve to death faster than die from disease.

The girl staggered up from her seat.

'I need to get something to eat… … .'

In a city where even the upper class did not come and the lords had abandoned it, there was no way to obtain food.

So the girl went out.

He had red spots on his body and a fever, but he was still able to move.

'cold....'

Even though it wasn't cold, my body was shivering. I had a fever, but my body was so cold that it was hard to bear.

Still, the girl moved.

'Please, someone... ... .'

I wish someone could help me, but none of us could even control ourselves.

The fruit shop owner who was always noisy and chatty, the general store lady who always greeted me with a smile, and even the occasional street gangsters who caused trouble on the street are nowhere to be seen.

Everyone fell ill and collapsed.

The streets were quiet. There was a pile of garbage and flies were flying around. A rotting corpse was visible in one corner.

'I have to get out of the city… … .'

There was nothing left to be found in the city. Everything was falling apart and everything was rotting away.

I had to hunt some weak beast outside the city. It was not something a girl could do, but I had to do something.

The girl, her eyes wide open, started walking just thinking about that.

It wasn't hard to get out of the city, because even the soldiers had fallen and there was no one guarding them.

'cold....'

The girl wrapped her arms around herself, but the cold did not go away.

My head was getting dizzy and the world seemed to be spinning.

Kuung.

The girl who went out of the city eventually collapsed before she could walk very far.

'mom....'

The lord and the nobles are said to have medicine. I heard a rumor that if we wait a little longer, they will come with medicine and food.

But no one came. They kept waiting and waiting, but no one came to save them.

They have been abandoned.

"eww...."

The girl tried to get up somehow, but she couldn't.

I was very sick and dizzy from not eating for several days and from being sick.

'I have to get up… … .'

Only she can save her fallen mother. The girl struggled but could not get up. All she could do was forcefully open her eyes.

'please....'

In despair, there was nothing I could do but pray to God.

'Please, someone... ... .'

The girl screamed in her mind several times before finally closing her eyes.

Flutter.

And at that moment, something warm enveloped the girl's body.

At the same time, something refreshing entered her mouth. It was absorbed into her body in an instant and began to energize her again.

"ah...."

The girl opened her eyes with difficulty. She was wrapped in a luxurious cloak and was held in someone's arms.

"Who, who… … ."

The man answered the girl's question.

"Gissel Ferdium, Lord of Fenris and Commander of the Northern Army."

The girl didn't know exactly what he meant, but the man holding her was different from the city people. His hair was shiny, his skin was clear, and his clothes were luxurious.

And seeing that there was a lot of something attached to the back of his name, he seemed to be a nobleman of a very high position.

So the girl spoke pleadingly.

"help...."

The man said nothing.

The girl spoke again in a yearning voice.

"Please help… … . Mom… … people… … are dying… … ."

Then the man nodded and spoke in a soft voice.

"Don't worry."

In that voice, there was a confidence that he could solve any problem. There was even an arrogance that no problem was anything to him.

But the girl couldn't completely get rid of her anxiety.

Everyone was dying. Could this nobleman right in front of me really save everyone by himself?

The girl bit her lips and desperately clung to the man's arm.

"We… … are abandoned. No one has come to save us. Please, give us news from anywhere… … . Medicine and food… … ."

The man shook his head.

"No, you are not abandoned. Look behind me."

The girl turned her head from his embrace, letting out a trembling breath.

And I opened my eyes wide at the scenery unfolding behind the man.

There were so many soldiers approaching, waving countless flags, that it filled the horizon.

Rattle, rattle, rattle.

An endless stream of carts filled with food and medicine passed by on either side of the man.

The girl who saw that sight shed tears without realizing it.

"ah...."

They were not abandoned.

There was someone who came to save them.

The girl turned her head again and looked at the man.

The man's face was hard to see because of the tears. But the man's voice was clearly audible.

"I will save you."