Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 205

205.

Because the magic circle was still unstable, I rode a horse to Grenian.

Lilian vowed to stabilize the magic circle as soon as she arrived in Grenian.

I thought riding a horse wasn’t so bad.

I could also observe the public sentiment in the former Kingdom of Pireon after the war and see with my own eyes how they were living as imperial citizens.

It took over fifteen days to arrive in Grenian.

My expression wasn’t very good as I passed through the Grenian castle gate, which made my subordinates very aware of me.

I passed through the castle gate without saying a word.

The castle walls destroyed by the war were still standing, and the people of both the province and Grenian were emaciated.

‘It’s terrible.’

My expression twisted involuntarily.

The public sentiment in the former Kingdom of Pireon was the worst.

People were starving to death in the Kingdom of Pireon, which was known as the largest granary on the continent, and there was also an epidemic.

“It was better before.”

“That’s right. If it weren’t for that young Imperial Crown Prince.”

“Why invade another country for no reason?”

My subordinates tried to step forward at the murmuring voices, but I lightly raised my hand to stop them.

I pretended not to hear anything and headed to Grenian Castle.

The castle, which had been repaired from the royal palace of the Kingdom of Pireon, still boasted its splendor.

I sighed and said as soon as I entered the castle.

“Everyone, unpack your things and then gather.”

Currently, David and Riorden are in charge of security.

I sent them, asking them not only to look after the security but also to take care of the overall public sentiment.

I thought that even if it was difficult to reach the Kingdom of Pireon’s provincial areas, the public sentiment within Grenian would be fine.

However, the public sentiment that I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears was so bad that it wouldn’t be strange if a rebellion broke out immediately.

With a stern expression, I headed to my room with Olivia.

“Your Highness.”

Olivia opened her mouth as she unpacked her luggage alone without the help of the maids.

“You seem very angry. Are you okay?”

I shook my head.

“I’m not okay at all. David and Riorden had plenty of time. They also had resources. At least they should have soothed the public sentiment in Grenian.”

I was disappointed in the two of them.

I didn’t think the two of them were neglecting public sentiment, although I didn’t know why yet.

There must be a reason why they couldn’t take care of the public sentiment.

Still, I was angry.

I trusted the two of them and entrusted Grenian to them, but the construction of the Magic Tower wasn’t even started, and even basic public sentiment control wasn’t being done.

“Anyway, I need to hear the reason. I’m angry, but I can’t just reprimand them without hearing the reason.”

I calmed myself.

Olivia comforted me.

“Yes. There must be another reason.”

“Let’s go. My subordinates have been watching me all day because my expression hasn’t been good. If I’m angry for too long, it’ll be hard for me and hard for my subordinates.”

“Yes.”

I headed to the conference room with Olivia.

The splendor of the royal palace continued even as we headed to the conference room.

‘I need to take it all apart and dispose of it.’

I decided to thoroughly remodel the royal palace decorated with paintings, jewels, gold, and more.

I wasn’t just remodeling the royal palace because it was luxurious, but I needed to remodel it to erase the traces of the Kingdom of Pireon.

‘David should have been able to remodel the royal palace. To leave all this as it is.’

The image of emaciated people came to mind.

Just disposing of the items obtained from remodeling this luxurious royal palace would be enough to purchase food that many people could eat.

‘What were they doing?’

The anger I had been suppressing rose again, but I bit my lip tightly.

There must be a reason, I opened the conference room door with a stern face.

All the subordinates were already waiting for me.

After taking a seat at the head of the table with Olivia, I opened my mouth.

“I know why I’ve called this meeting so soon, even though you must be tired from the long journey.”

First, I talked about what I had seen and felt while coming to Grenian for fifteen days.

“The public sentiment is very serious. It wouldn’t be strange if a rebellion broke out immediately. This is the case not only in the provinces but also here in Grenian.”

Ken agreed with me.

“The poverty problem was more serious than I thought. The local nobles tried to hide such problems while welcoming Your Highness, but it’s not something that can be hidden.”

Ken continued.

“People are dying in droves from epidemics, and we could easily see starving people attempting to escape the territories.”

Gale opened his mouth with a serious expression.

“The problem is that all of those things are being blamed on Your Highness.”

Ken immediately chimed in with Gale’s words.

“Yes. That’s the biggest problem. Originally, the Kingdom of Pireon was a collapsing kingdom. The royal family’s excessive luxury, the nobles’ luxury, and the enormous tributes paid to the kingdom alliance every year.”

Ken’s eyes narrowed.

“The kingdom, which was heading towards ruin, eventually perished due to the war with the Empire.”

Riorden and David hadn’t said anything yet.

The subordinates’ expressions were all serious.

“In a situation where resentment towards the Kingdom of Pireon’s royal family and nobles is already sky-high, Your Highness is rather seen as a ray of hope, so it’s definitely surprising that Your Highness’s public sentiment is not good.”

I finally turned my gaze to Riorden and David.

“You two.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I asked the two people who answered at the same time as calmly as possible.

“Why is the situation like this?”

David opened his mouth first.

“The first thing I saw after arriving in Grenian was looting.”

“Looting?”

“Yes. After the war ended, some soldiers of the Kingdom of Pireon did not disarm and turned into bandits.”

I clicked my tongue.

“They’re out of their minds.”

“It wasn’t difficult to suppress them.”

Following David’s words, Riorden brought up the cause of why Grenian had become like this.

“The kingdom alliance and the nobles are the cause.”

“The kingdom alliance? Nobles?”

Riorden answered my question.

“They’re not just keeping us in check.”

* * *

“Provoking us at the border is the most basic thing.”

I listened to Riorden’s explanation.

“It may sound like an excuse, but guerrilla warfare breaks out at the border not just once a day, but at least two or three times a day.”

I swallowed a groan.

The expressions of the others also sank strangely.

Riorden’s words continued.

“The soldiers are very tired of the kingdom alliance’s provocations that happen every day, not just once or twice.”

David also stepped in.

“We thought about ignoring it, but occasionally the kingdom alliance provokes us on a fairly large scale. If we ignore it, the northern border of Grenian could completely collapse.”

After listening, it was definitely a big problem.

However, Ken found a gap in the midst of it.

“It is true that the kingdom alliance’s provocations are a big problem, but it can be prevented by strengthening the border and replenishing soldiers. Also, if our defenses are perfect and they continue to suffer losses, the number of provocations could naturally decrease.”

Riorden sighed.

“The problem is that they don’t care about a hundred soldiers dying and continue to provoke us even if they suffer losses.”

Ken’s expression hardened.

“Are they continuing to provoke us even if they are continuously suffering losses?”

“They induce local warfare every day as if they want to die together. It’s as if they don’t want to give us time to focus on other things.”

Ken narrowed his eyes.

“It’s a strategy to not give Grenian time to stabilize.”

I nodded.

“Good. The kingdom alliance’s continuous provocations. Are there any other problems?”

“The nobles are not cooperating at all.”

I tilted my head at David’s words.

“The nobles’ cooperation?”

“Yes. Only the royal family and major high-ranking nobles of the former Kingdom of Pireon were punished for the fall of the kingdom.”

“That’s right.”

My father only punished the Pireon royal family and major nobles, and recognized the existing status of the remaining nobles on the condition that they were loyal to the Empire.

If all the nobles in the occupied country were punished at once, it would be difficult to manage the country after the occupation.

In the case of the Kingdom of Pireon, surprisingly many nobles retained their positions.

Most of them swore allegiance to the Empire.

‘They swore allegiance, but cooperation is not being achieved.’

David explained in detail.

“Since local warfare breaks out every day, the number of soldiers is naturally insufficient. There is a limit to conscripting soldiers from Grenian itself, so we requested them from the provinces.”

“Did they refuse?”

David shook his head at my words.

“No. They didn’t refuse, but the problem is that it takes a long time for the soldiers to come up. The number of soldiers being conscripted is also small.”

Ken sighed.

“Perhaps they are also having difficulty with conscription. Many people are starving to death, and there is even an epidemic.”

It’s a total mess.

David added one more thing to Ken’s words.

“There is also an absolute shortage of administrative personnel. Even if we had established a puppet state, this problem would not have occurred.”

After listening to Riorden and David so far, I could fully sympathize with their difficulties.

“Are there any other problems?”

“The nobles are not only not cooperating, but they are only concerned with preserving their status and wealth.”

I turned my gaze to Hamilton.

“Hamilton.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Find out about the major nobles.”

“Yes.”

I gave Lilian an order.

“Complete the magic circle first. Investigate the ruins after that.”

When the story of the ruins came up, Riorden interjected.

“Your Highness, I also have something to report regarding the ruins.”

“The ruins?”

“Yes. The kingdom alliance guys are fighting particularly hard near the ruins.”

“Near the ruins?”

“If they fight with a hundred people in other places, they mobilize at least five hundred near the ruins. So, I suspected several times that it would turn into an all-out war.”

I unconsciously muttered, “This.”

‘It seems like information has been leaked.’

Where did the information leak from? I couldn’t know, but the kingdom alliance’s obsession with the ruins was definitely strange.

They thought there was nothing in the ruins.

Lilian found nothing while researching the ruins in the Kingdom of Pireon.

The kingdom alliance, which treated the Pireon royal family like subordinates, would naturally know about the ruins.

The fact that they are suddenly obsessed with the ruins means they know something.

“Gale, take charge of the northern border, focusing on the ruins.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

If a Sword Master goes to command the border, the kingdom alliance will not be able to provoke us easily.

I said to Vikan.

“How much surplus food do we have?”

“We will start relief efforts from Grenian. We have stockpiled enough to provide relief to some of the provinces.”

“Once the magic circle is completed, move the food first.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

First, I decided to stabilize public sentiment.

“David and Riorden, take charge of security.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I decided not to reprimand the two of them.

The two of them had their own reasons for having a hard time, and they certainly did their best.

The external situation was so bad that there was a limit to stabilizing Grenian.

Still, I didn’t just let it go.

“I know there were many difficulties, but it’s true that the two of you didn’t meet my expectations.”

“We are sorry, Your Highness.”

“Do your best to stabilize security.”

I ended the reprimand with a light word, and I finished the meeting.

“It’s different from before. Grenian will be my base. Now is not the time to solidify my position as heir.”

I said with a firm determination.

“It’s time to build my base as the next emperor. Just as Father built his power in the north and rose up, I must also increase my influence in the Empire based on the west and Grenian.”