The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 186

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 186

28.

“To my beloved Your Highness.

The days are getting chilly, and I wonder if you are staying healthy. You wrote in your last letter that you were well, but Your Highness is always the type to say you’re fine, so I worry.

Since His Highness the Prince is by your side, I’m sure nothing serious will happen.

Here, the wheat has already begun to be harvested.

This year isn’t a great harvest either, just a little better than average, but the wheat fields stretch endlessly and it’s quite a sight.

Depending on the region, some places will start about a month later.

Count Pove, the agricultural encouragement officer, deliberately staggered the planting times so that harvesting could continue without interruption.

This is thanks to the small area damaged by the monster wave two years ago.

If the area damaged by the monster wave had been extensive, they would have had to harvest all the wheat at once during the first harvest to pay taxes.

But this year, by harvesting leisurely like this, it became possible for the western residents to consume food without interruption.

There’s an alliance formed by small grain merchants gathering together, and they’re very cooperative.

Each household has some storage, and with the supplies His Majesty provided and the grace period, it seems we’ll be able to provide relief in winter without emptying the warehouses.

I thought you might be curious about Count Pove’s records, so I asked him to write a report. To avoid overworking you, I’m sending it separately to Lord Ansgard instead of Your Highness.

Now there really isn’t much time left.

Sister Hailey keeps sending letters with her crying written in them, and last time I received four at once.

I think she would be perfect for it too.

I’ll come to see you after the baby is born. Please take good care of yourself during recovery, and I’ll be praying for your health from afar.

Lisia.”

Lisia read through the finished letter once more. Since she had already written and checked it three times on practice paper before copying it, there were no problematic sentences.

She pressed the letter with blotting paper to remove the remaining ink.

Then she set fire to both the blotting paper and practice sheets. She smiled bitterly at this.

She couldn’t quite remember when she had started lighting fires before beginning to write.

She closed the envelope and sealed it with wax.

Knock knock.

A knocking sound was heard.

“Come in.”

“Excuse me, Baron Mortan.”

It was Secretary Ranie.

When she first came here, she had thought what need would she have for a secretary.

But now her position was a little different.

Lisia wanted to do her best.

Unlike the old days when she naively thought all she had to do was distribute supplies and heal patients, she now understood a little about how the world worked.

Ranie said.

“Count Pove has arrived.”

“I understand.”

Lisia placed the letter on a tray and went outside.

Pove was waiting in the drawing room. His wrinkled face was full of beaming smiles.

“Have you been well? I heard you went on another inspection tour, when did you return?”

“I returned this morning. I brought some news that Baron Mortan might want to know about.”

Lisia tilted her head.

Pove was a low-ranking official. Agricultural encouragement officer sounded good, but his original duties were simply to predict harvest yields from various regions and report them to higher authorities.

This wasn’t work done to calculate taxes. It was work done to understand the causes of poor and good harvests by region.

If the cause of a good harvest was a new farming method, they would study it and spread it widely. Regions with poor harvests would receive education and support.

That was the principle. In reality, no follow-up measures came from the central government at all.

So it was meaningless. They just appointed someone because the position existed in imperial law.

However, Pove did not neglect his role.

For decades, whether there were monster waves or not, whether warlords were throwing their weight around or not, he investigated, studied, and compiled statistics on what happened in the western farmlands.

And finally, such efforts were rewarded.

Thanks to blocking one monster wave, the western region could breathe again.

The relief grain project began to be organized.

Pove thought, as always, that this relief grain project would also fail midway.

That’s what happened every time the central government appointed a new person in charge and sent them down.

At first, they would repair warehouses and collect grain to fill them during harvest season. But that grain was never distributed to farmers who had been starving for more than two years.

Most of it was converted to money and went into the person in charge’s pocket.

They would distribute mixed grains with straw and collect refined wheat, yet the warehouses wouldn’t fill up again.

Sometimes the person in charge would try hard to do well. Then the grain from the warehouses would sneak into the homes of middle managers and temples.

Pove often thought it would be better if warlords just took everything and put it in their castle warehouses.

Then at least starving armies wouldn’t have to face monster waves.

But this time was different.

It was thanks to the Western Army being organized first.

No general of the Western Army tried to raid the warehouses under the pretext of military supplies.

The same went for administrators and nobles.

If anyone touched the relief grain warehouses that the Duchess of Evron was responsible for, the Western Army clearly wouldn’t stand for it.

In fact, in spring, a local official tried to embezzle grain from a relief warehouse and was caught by Western Army knights guarding the area and hung from the city walls.

People who thought they could take the young woman in charge lightly disappeared instantly.

It was around that time that Pove was summoned by Lisia.

Lisia said this.

“Her Highness told me to meet with the agricultural encouragement officer. Even if we block the next monster wave one more time, if the current situation continues as is, it won’t be easy for the west to become prosperous.”

“Th-that’s right.”

Pove stammered as he spoke.

Although the Mortan family was a provincial baron house, it was still a titled family. Their status was much higher than Pove, who was a commoner.

Moreover, she was a maid who had come directly under orders from the Duchess of Evron, which made it even more significant.

“So she told me to provide support if there’s a capable agricultural encouragement officer who has thought thoroughly about ways to improve the western harvests.”

Lisia smiled brightly.

“And when I came here and looked into it, everyone unanimously recommended Count Pove.”

That’s how their relationship began.

A considerable portion of the manpower and funds invested in the relief grain project supported Pove. Once it became known that he had the Duchess of Evron’s backing, local officials had no choice but to help him.

The Western Grain Merchants Alliance and the Western Army also lent their assistance.

As a result, in just half a year, things became quite presentable.

Wheat yields increased. But that was only a small part.

With Pove’s eyes watching over everything, knowing all the crop conditions in his jurisdiction, no corrupt official could exploit at will.

Behind him were the Evron Duchy and the Western Army. The capital and imperial palace were too far away to play political tricks.

As surplus food was produced, wheat trading volume exploded.

The Western Grain Merchants Alliance, which had been formed by just over ten trading companies, now had over fifty members.

Pove hadn’t predicted this situation. But he could respond to it.

He knew everything about crops that grew well in each region of the west. Emergency crops were no exception.

Poor farmers who needed money could survive on other things and sell wheat instead.

The relief grain warehouses filled up quickly. Considering that harvesting was still continuing, the good times weren’t over yet.

It seemed like it would continue for several more years.

There was no reason for the smile to leave Pove’s lips.

Lisia also smiled.

“What could such good news be?”

“Won’t the temple hold the harvest festival soon?”

“That’s right.”

“We’ll be able to offer wheat bread to the altar. The Archbishop gave his confirmation today.”

Pove said. If he had been standing, he would have been dancing with joy.

Lisia also smiled brightly.

“That’s wonderful.”

“Yes! Since it’s a crop that came from Monster Land, it would be better to have the Temple’s recognition to properly spread it.”

Pove said excitedly.

Melbourne was the name of a saint who had fed a million people with ten sacks of wheat.

Pove had discovered the Karam crop and attached the saint’s name to it.

He hoped the Temple wouldn’t unconditionally oppose it just because it was a new plant.

It was a plant that grew well even in that barren and cold region. In the Western Regions, it grew abundantly by autumn just by scattering the seeds.

Pove quickly realized it was an edible plant.

Being able to grow it even in winter was an indescribably great advantage. Since it grew on its own once planted, it didn’t require much labor and didn’t greatly deplete the soil.

That it had come from the north was easy to guess considering its growing environment.

Pove believed it had probably spread from monster-infested areas, either accidentally carried on monsters’ bodies or through animal droppings.

If only this could be widely spread, they wouldn’t have to worry about winter starvation anymore.

Lisia knew how it had spread. Pove had discovered what some Western Army soldiers had secretly planted under their house walls or in fields.

However, she pretended not to know anything and smiled.

“That’s wonderful. Her Highness will be pleased too.”

“Please praise the Western Grain Merchant Association chairman as well. He put in a lot of effort.”

“Of course. I’ll have to rewrite my letter. Both of you will be commended.”

Having someone like Pove made things go smoothly.

When Artizea told her to find an agricultural promotion officer, did she know this matter would be resolved so easily too?

When Lisia first received the instructions, she didn’t yet understand Artizea’s intentions well. She simply followed the orders given.

But thinking about it now, Artizea probably already knew of Pove’s existence.

The Western Grain Merchant Association was the same. Lisia was certain Artizea had created it.

Without industrial development accompanying it, no matter how well the relief grain system was organized, the Western Regions couldn’t escape starvation.

Even if agriculture developed to create surplus food and officials were well managed, if commerce couldn’t sustain itself, they would be exploited by the merchant magnates of the Central and Eastern regions.

Only by escaping exploitation and starvation could people remain on their land. Only then could they defend their territory.

Everything was interconnected.

The change was just beginning. But it had started moving.

Unless the Emperor reclaimed the relief grain project from Artizea’s hands or replaced the leadership to remove Cedric’s influence from the Western Army, things would get better.

If things went well, they might be able to withstand the next Monster Wave without Cedric having to step in.

They might even be able to overcome floods and epidemics.

“What should I do in the Western Regions?”

When she had asked that question, Artizea had answered like this.

“Believe that people have the strength to overcome.”

Lisia now thought that answer wasn’t sufficient.

To overcome, more than just faith and courage was needed.

She should have been able to see what Artizea saw back then.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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