Chapter 247 It Seems Like There's A War Going On
"What a situation..."
Crown Prince Gerhart held his head in his hands and sighed.
"Perhaps the Coastal Union's aggressive approach has gone beyond what our kings expected."
"So, does that mean Roisen has to bow down to the Coastal Union again and buy wheat at their price?"
"This situation is beyond my imagination. We are not at the stage of worrying yet."
At that moment, Marquis Grandchester interrupted.
"Sophia, could this be a war?"
"I think the chances are high. It seems the Coastal Union is attacking both Roisen and Avalon. Moreover, they (Roisen) have gotten quite close to us."
Crown Prince Gerhart suddenly looked up and asked Sophia.
"Wait, if it's a declaration of war against Roisen, I can understand that, but why Avalon too?"
"It's likely that this has been planned for years. Considering that the land has been getting worse for decades, they must have thought that the demand for wheat would keep increasing."
"That's not hard to imagine."
"However, Avalon, which is Roisen's neighboring country, has fertile areas like Grandchester. For the Coastal Union, who wants to sell wheat at high prices, Avalon is a troublesome presence."
"Hmm."
"Then they approached the officials of Grandchester and caused an embezzlement incident. A large amount of wheat, including reserves, has disappeared from the Grandchester territory. It's likely that one of the countries in the Coastal Union sold Grandchester's wheat. There's also a possibility that the wheat exported to Roisen was actually Grandchester's wheat."
"What! Are you saying they sold the stolen wheat to our country at a high price?"
"That's just a hypothetical situation. We won't know until we investigate."
Marquis Grandchester listened with a bitter expression.
"And in the Grandchester territory, there was a riot caused by people pretending to be from Roisen. It seems that the riot had several purposes. The first was to eliminate the current His Excellency Marquis Grandchester. With the big event of the hunting tournament coming up in Grandchester, a riot in the hunting ground is not something that can be ignored. Also, the former knight His Excellency Marquis Grandchester himself would likely have been expected to come to the scene."
"What did you say!"
When Edward shouted, Robert, who was next to him, also showed his anger.
"Both of you, please calm down. In fact, considering that there were more mercenaries hiding than rioters, it seems quite likely. They might have thought that even if they didn't kill anyone, injuring someone could force them into retirement. Perhaps they wanted to change the lord in the Grandchester territory."
"Why did they want to make me Marquis Grandchester, even if it meant harming Father?"
Edward raised his voice.
"I'm a bit hesitant to say this, but..."
"It's fine. Go ahead."
"Perhaps it's because Your Excellency the Young Marquis was in debt."
"What! How do you know that?"
"The cash that was lent through Miss Sara came from the Sophia Merchant Guild."
"I-I see."
Robert patted Edward on the shoulder.
"Even the shopping for Liz and the kids might have been set up by the enemy. If that's the case, it's quite a clever trick."
"That is a possibility. Your Excellency the Young Marquis's notes are concentrated too much in one merchant guild."
"Silt Merchant Guild, right? I believe that guild is based in Lombart."
"Yes. It's a major merchant guild based in Lombart. If I remember correctly, the Duke, the late wife of His Highness Roisen's third prince, is from Lombart, right?"
"That's correct. But he gave up the throne himself."
Crown Prince Gerhart answered with difficulty.
"I've heard that too. However, there must be many voices supporting the Duke's daughter as Crown Prince Gerhart's wife."
"That may be true, but I rejected it, saying the country should welcome a princess from another nation for the sake of the country."
"However, most of the factions supporting Duke Gruenevald and his daughter are nobles and merchants connected to the Coastal Union. From a different perspective, marrying the princess of the Coastal Union is the same thing. Isn't the Queen, Her Highness, also from Lombart?"
Crown Prince Gerhart stared at Sophia with a face like he had been struck by lightning.
"Are you really doubting Her Highness the Queen or Duke Gruenevald?"
"I'm not saying that. But I can't say they are completely unrelated either. Even if they are not directly involved, the supporting factions can act on their own. It's all just speculation."
"Hmm..."
With anger in his eyes, Robert calmly asked Sophia.
"By the way, Sophia, you said there are other purposes for the riots, right?"
"Yes. The second one is quite obvious; it is to burn the wheat in the Grandchester territory. This war greatly changes based on how much wheat is held. In fact, around 500 operatives infiltrated various places in Grandchester in coordination with the riots. Fortunately, we were able to capture all of them before they set the fires, so there was no actual damage, but if they had succeeded, wheat prices would have skyrocketed in Avalon for sure."
"I can't hide my surprise at the information network and mobility of the Grandchester knights."
Baron Jilbafuchs was very impressed.
"Now, for the third goal, isn't it to make people think these series of violent acts are the work of 'Roisen'? It seems like they want to worsen the relationship between Avalon and Roisen."
"I heard that directly from Marquis Grandchester right after the riots broke out."
Marquis Grandchester responded with a wry smile.
"By the way, I also met Your Highness the Crown Prince Gerhart in the royal capital. I didn't expect that he would be involved in such a big matter."
Seeing this, Sophia voiced her doubts.
"But Your Highness the Crown Prince Gerhart, why would you ask someone like me, just a simple merchant? It seems you didn't expect the Grandchester family to be the witnesses, and you know we can't just sell wheat on our own. What do you wish from me?"
"Well... um... I wanted you to connect me with the Florence Merchant Guild."
'Oh, I see. He wanted to rely on Sara's bloodline.'
"They are also a merchant guild based in a country that is part of the Coastal Union. Don't you think they would act together with the Coastal Union?"
"The Coastal Union is not united, and Florence and Lombart are in conflict. Plus, Genoa is always neutral in the council."
Sophia let out a deep sigh.
"Unfortunately, I don't have the connections that Your Highness is expecting. I understand that my appearance might lead to some assumptions, but I am a citizen of Avalon."
Marquis Grandchester followed up on Sophia's statement.
"What Sophia says is true. She was born and raised in Avalon, and before coming here, she was in the royal capital."
"I see."
Crown Prince Gerhart clearly looked disappointed.
"I'm sorry I can't be of more help. But I do have one piece of information to share. Meyer from the Silt Merchant Guild was at tonight's dinner party. If he hasn't left yet, he might also be at the ball."
"What!? What kind of man is he!?"
"He looks to be around 40 years old, about the same height as Sir Robert. He is slim, but he seems to have solid muscles. His hair is a reddish-brown, and his eyes are a tawny color. He was wearing a navy blue coat and had a sapphire decoration on his cravat."
Crown Prince Gerhart instructed a nearby servant to find Meyer and bring him as soon as possible.
'He's probably gone into hiding. If only Sedrick had told me earlier, I could have handled this differently.'
It seems unreasonable to demand so much from a fairy, but when things are too convenient, the expectations tend to rise.
"However, you observe very well."
"I had dinner at the same table with him."
"Did he introduce himself?"
"No, he was pretending to be the head of a merchant guild in the royal capital under a different name."
"How did you know?"
"I had heard in advance about the person's appearance, and he asked me about buying up all the wheat as if he were trying to investigate me. When I replied, 'As expected of a great merchant like Sir Meyer, your ears are quite sharp,' he looked surprised but didn't deny it."
"Hmm."
"After that, he asked me to sell them wheat, so we decided to discuss the terms on another day."
Crown Prince Gerhart leaned forward, placing his hands on the table, and pressed Sophia.
"Please. Don't sell the wheat to the Silt Merchant Guild!"
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