Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 75

075

I turned my gaze from the tight-lipped Second Prince and looked at those gathered for the cabinet meeting.

“The principle of prioritizing the supply of Generol [a newly developed medicine] is simple: to save as many of our kingdom’s citizens as possible. And if anyone has concerns about side effects, like my brother Damian, please raise your hand. Until the Pantheon [a powerful religious organization] acknowledges Generol’s safety, those regions will be pushed to the back of the line.”

Naturally, no one raised their hand.

Even those based in the eastern region avoided the Second Prince’s gaze and hesitated to speak rashly.

They all seemed to know that keeping quiet was the best course of action.

I took a pointer from my pocket and extended it.

“The regions we will supply first and foremost are…”

I pointed to the map and announced the Generol supply schedule.

Inevitably, it focused on cities with well-established transportation networks and dense populations. These were the intermediate hubs for distributing Generol throughout the kingdom in the future.

Faces shifted between joy and sorrow depending on the order, but most seemed to understand. After all, most of those present were high-ranking nobles who owned territories in such cities.

‘The problem is the territories of the small and medium-sized nobles.’

Schuitz has been producing Generol day and night since completing it, but there isn’t enough to distribute throughout the kingdom right away. We prepared diligently, but we can’t keep up with the exploding demand.

The only thing I can do for them is to supply Generol to every corner of the kingdom as quickly as possible.

We need to increase the production speed.

“As some of you may have heard, my merchant guilds are receiving a flood of inquiries from various countries overseas regarding the import of Generol.”

We can’t even handle domestic demand, so producing enough for exports is obviously impossible.

So, I came to a conclusion.

“To rapidly produce Generol and, in the future, Genesia [a potential cure], the cure for Red Star Fever, I would like to receive national-level support and investment.”

We need to gather capital to expand manpower and production facilities.

“I have a question.”

Miloa raised his hand.

“Please, Count Miloa.”

“You just mentioned a cure called Genesia. Could you tell us how far along the development is?”

“I expect a prototype within a month.”

“That quickly…”

“I was fortunate enough to have a very talented healer by my side.”

“What kind of national-level support are you talking about?”

“Tax exemption benefits for Generol and the cure that will be created in the future. At least until the Red Star Fever subsides.”

At my words, everyone glanced at each other.

They seemed to know that I would accumulate enormous wealth thanks to the Red Star Fever.

I subtly looked at the Second Prince.

His lips were twitching, as if he wanted to object just for the sake of objecting.

It must be a dilemma.

The warning lights in his head must be flashing furiously, telling him that I might gain power equal to or greater than his thanks to the Red Star Fever.

‘But he won’t be able to speak rashly.’

The eastern region may have suffered relatively less from the Red Star Fever, but it’s not nonexistent.

If I suddenly decided to postpone selling Generol and the Genesia to be developed in the future to the east, he would have to bear the brunt of the resentment himself.

The only thing the Second Prince can do is to hold a dagger and aim for the back of my head.

Without even the nobles of the East who support him knowing. If it’s him, he will definitely do that.

At that time, I plan to take the dagger and stab him in the heart.

So that he can never recover.

I glanced at Clian, who was standing with his arms crossed on one side of the conference room. He nodded slightly without anyone noticing.

***

A few days after the emergency cabinet meeting.

The Second Prince’s office in Opal Palace.

Damian’s hands trembled as he read the newspaper.

『Pantheon Acknowledges Generol’s Outstanding Effects』

The Pantheon, known for its slow work, acknowledged the efficacy of Generol in less than two months after the outbreak of Red Star Fever.

Generol had been flooded with import requests even before the Pantheon’s certification. Considering Genesia, which would soon be completed and distributed worldwide, it was only a matter of time before an unprecedentedly large merchant guild was created in the Lionel Kingdom.

It was a national celebration.

But.

Not for Damian.

『The Kingdom’s Light, Fifth Prince Evan, States Investments Are Sufficient. Red Star Fever Will Be Conquered Soon.』

Yesterday, he heard from Shadow Mooyoung that the nobles who had been too afraid to invest in Evan’s merchant guild because they were watching him were now regretting it.

‘I have to stop him from growing any bigger.’

As he crumpled the newspaper roughly, such thoughts filled his mind.

Knock, knock.

“Prince Damian, Count Clian is here to see you.”

“Clian?”

While keeping Clian by his side, Damian was inwardly burdened by his outstanding abilities.

Clian’s eyes were always expressionless, but there were times when he felt like he was subtly looking down on him. Every time, he felt the urge to gouge out those eyes.

When he pushed the responsibility for Evan’s soaring reputation after wiping out the Joe Bayley pirates onto him, he couldn’t have felt more relieved.

… Honestly, I’m regretting it now.

The unexpected outbreak of Red Star Fever, and Evan, who was nibbling away at the eastern forces while showing his talent.

When he got rid of Clian and looked around to find measures to deal with it, everyone around him was an idiot.

Then, Clian visited unexpectedly.

After a moment of contemplation, Damian opened his mouth.

“Let him in.”

Guided by the servant, Clian entered the office. He glanced at the crumpled newspaper that Damian had crumpled and opened his mouth.

“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”

That’s it, that look that looks down on me.

Damian suppressed the urge to gouge out Clian’s eyes and opened his mouth.

“What brings you here without notice?”

“The elders are likely to move to replace the head of the White family soon. Please stop them.”

Damian chuckled.

That was because he was the one who had put wind in the ears of those elders.

“You must be very urgent. Even though I am the Second Prince of the kingdom, within the White Count family…”

“I have found a way for the Second Prince to take the achievements that have been concentrated on the Fifth Prince.”

The unpleasant feeling of being interrupted came first. But the words Clian spat out were too sweet to vent his anger.

The Second Prince leaned forward.

“Tell me.”

“Promise to stop the White Count family elders.”

“Clian, I’ll do my best if I like your plan after hearing it.”

Clian was silent for a moment. Then, as if he had made up his mind, he took out a small map from his arms.

“I found out the whereabouts of the healer who made Generol and is currently making Genesia, the cure for Red Star Fever.”

The Second Prince’s eyes flashed.

Everyone knows who made Generol.

Schuitz Reming.

A healer who worked in the Emerald Palace Medical Office.

He disappeared without a trace shortly after the outbreak of Red Star Fever. Along with Fran, a 7-star wizard and guest of the Emerald Palace.

The reason was obvious.

Personal protection.

It was a story that all the people of Lionel knew that the Hamel Empire’s spies who crossed the border of the Lionel Kingdom to kidnap Schuitz Reming were caught by the Lionel Guardian Army and beheaded.

As an aside, there was a lot of talk about Evan hiding him in the palace. It was a story that clearly showed that Evan did not think the palace was safe.

“How did you find him? The man whose traces the shadows couldn’t even find.”

“Schuitz’s wife has a congenital disease. I found out that he was using a medicine he made himself by combining various herbs. There were a few unique ingredients among them. I searched every place where they were traded. Here, here, here…”

Clian began to put dots on the small map.

The dots that were scattered throughout the kingdom. There was one place that looked like a crooked circle when viewed from a distance.

“After intensively searching this area, I finally found Schuitz Reming’s location.”

Damian stared at the area Clian had painted black for a moment.

“It was in the East?”

Not the North or the West, but the East.

I couldn’t have imagined it.

‘It’s about the size of a decent barony.’

It was amazing that he narrowed down the range to that point, and even found Schuitz Reming.

Damian glanced at Clian once.

He is capable after all.

“So where exactly is he?”

“Please give me a definite answer first.”

Also, that bothered him.

“Okay, I’ll meet a few of the White Count family’s elders.”

***

After Clian left, Damian, who had been lost in thought for a while, summoned the servant.

“I’m going to Seras Palace. Right now.”

“I understand.”

A little later.

The Second Queen, who was preparing to go out, greeted him with an uncomfortable expression.

“What’s going on without contacting me?”

After the Fourth Prince Akard went to his death.

Damian broke up her power into small pieces and placed it under his command. It was something he did under Clian’s advice.

Currently, the Second Queen has almost no political power to exert in the kingdom.

The two, who had become estranged in the process, rarely met.

“Where are you going out in this situation… Don’t tell me you’re going to Gracia?”

『Red Star Fever Does Not Discriminate Between Status, Even the Imperial Family of the Hamel Empire Turns to Black Smoke』

The imperial family of the Hamel Empire who died of Red Star Fever, which decorated the news headlines. Ironically, it was the empire’s fatso who married the 4th princess.

He already had a bunch of chronic diseases.

It was Red Star Fever that broke out in an extremely sensitive state due to the stress of the demons turning the magic stone mine into a mess.

Unfortunately, he developed an acute illness while at the mine reconstruction site far from the city and did not receive timely treatment from the priest. His condition deteriorated rapidly and he died.

He had borrowed money by mortgaging the mine to rebuild it, so he had no assets left.

The 4th princess was literally penniless, or rather, she was kicked out of the empire with debt and returned to the kingdom. With the tag of widow.

“I know that the incubation period of Red Star Fever is very long. It hasn’t been long since Gracia returned from the Empire. Please visit her at least a month later.”

“Gracia is your own flesh and blood! How can you be so cold! I heard that there hasn’t been a day since she came back that she hasn’t cried.”

“You must have heard wrong. I know that it is Gracia’s maids who have been crying since she came back.”

“…”

“I will do my best to help Gracia remarry a decent aristocrat, so please calm down.”

“… So, what else are you going to ask for after cutting off your mother’s hands and feet?”

“Please visit your home country for a while.”

“… To the Arya Kingdom?”

Schuitz Reming.

The Generol he made.

Genesia, which has the potential to end Red Star Fever in a short time.

It was too big to eat alone.

Most of all.

7-star wizard Fran.

Damian’s best card was the naval admiral of the Eastern Seokham Island. He was not sure that he alone, a 7-star knight, could subdue her.

If a large number of people moved, they would surely notice and evacuate Schuitz. He had no choice but to move alone.

However, if the wizard Fran avoided the battle and ran away using space movement magic, which is a symbol of a 7-star wizard, he would be chasing chickens.

A clever move was needed to prevent that and reliably subdue Fran.

– The Second Queen’s cousin. Call her, a 7-star summoner. I know that space movement becomes impossible around the moment one of the summons she uses appears.

– A new drug will be created using Schuitz Reming’s research data and Genesen, which grows naturally in the eastern region of the kingdom. Promise to share half of the stake. The King of Arya will definitely accept the Prince’s proposal.

Damian recalled what Clian had said and slowly opened his mouth.