Chapter 29
"Shouldn't I tag along with you this time?"
Ruth asked after reading the telegram for a long time and scratched his disheveled hair. Riftan firmly shook his head and threw a piece of meat to Agalde who was sitting on the perch.
"You will stay in Anatol to supervise the construction."
"I'm a wizard, not a Lord's representative." Ruth grumbled, throwing the telegram into the brazier. "How about getting married instead? You can have a decent marriage with someone from the less prominent nobles. You'll have a noble lady managing your estate when you're away and you'll even get the bonus of a little dowry."
Riftan threw him a sharp gaze. "That's a very aristocratic idea."
Ruth merely shrugged. "You're now a nobleman. The king himself gave you the title of a vassal knight, the Lord of Anatol. It's not out of the ordinary for nobles to marry for convenience."
Riftan's throat felt choked, like he had whole chestnuts stuck in it upon hearing such nonchalant words. It made him wonder if Maximillian Croisso would also get married sooner or later for the sake of convenience. A sharp pang of pain rose in his chest as he pictured a gleaming white-skinned nobleman standing next to her. Riftan hurriedly drove those thoughts out of his head and turned to stand in front of his desk.
"Stop wasting your time on such bullshit and prepare for my departure! I won't be able to return to Anatol for months. In the meantime, the necessary funds shall be allocated."
"I'm telling you I'm not a lord's representative, I'm a wizard...!"
"I'm aware you're a wizard. I pay a huge sum for your researches every year."
At his growling remarks, Ruth immediately took on a timid and polite attitude and sat quietly by the desk. Riftan swallowed a sigh and pulled out piles of parchment. He had overwhelming responsibilities; he had to obey the king's command to participate in wars and expeditions while overseeing Anatol. It was incomparably more burdensome than when he worked as a mercenary.
However, it wasn't the time to be lost in a reverie. He picked up a quill and scribbled his reply to the king's orders on a parchment, stating that he would rejoin the knights within a week and tied it to Agalde's ankle.
A few days later, Riftan led his men back to the eastern border of Whedon. The Remdragon Knights pursued a horde of bandits along with the knights of the Duke of Croix, then he immediately began the pursuit and chased after their trail. Proceeding the long and tedious chase, he was finally able to track them and wipe out the bandits who fled with supplies of stolen food. However, the pillaging still continued after that incident and the Remdragon Knights had to camp near the border. The knights, who spent months camping, had begun complaining.
"If only the Duke of Croix had been a little wise and merciful, we wouldn't have to suffer like this." Hebaron spat violently as he sat in front of the campfire to warm himself. "It's natural for the people of Dristan to go on a rampage when the trade route has been unilaterally blocked, as if extorting a large amount of damage compensations from them wasn't already enough. These people are already suffering from the famine..."
Riftan silently agreed as he chewed some jerky. Without enough food and water to survive the upcoming winter, the farmers of Dristan were left with no choice and rapidly turned into bandits. Their mission was to keep the borders safe until those bandits either freezed or starved to death so they could no longer invade the Duke's territory. Hebaron constantly grumbled as he fueled the campfire with long dry branches.
"If only the Duke of Croisso trades food with the merchants of Dristan, all problems will be solved! We don't have to spend winter in these outskirts and that man wouldn't be bothered by the bandits, it will all be solved. But because of his foolish pride..."
