Chapter 47: 45

The 39th, Every last one of them must disappear.

　He has sent out the security forces with detailed information.

　This will stabilize the north and prepare our forces for a decisive battle.

　It’s all good. There is nothing wrong with it.

　And yet, for some reason.

　Alone in an empty room, he was devastated.

“…shit.”

　He goes into the north as a spy, and that’s when he sees reality.

　The worst kind of reality.

“I’m not going to say anything about the duties of nobility. But is that… what humans normally do?”

　When Klein visited the village as a spy, what he found was…

　―It was a different kind of hell from the massacres he had seen before.

　Vagrants scavenging for carrion.

　Mothers were weeping over the dead bodies of their children.

　An old man sits on the side of the road, waiting to die.

　He asked the villagers if the Viscounts of Asgard had brought this on themselves.

[ It’s always been like this around here. Rather, it’s getting better, isn’t it? ]

[ Yes, thanks to the Viscount. ]

　That’s what they answered.

　He doesn’t even want to imagine what it was like before.

　Thinking this way, Klein continued to gather information.

“A little luxury is fine. It’s a privilege of the nobility. But… raising taxes when taxes went down because of a bad harvest? After all the inaction that led to the famine? How many people do you think starved to death because of that decision?”

　Originally, they imposed heavy taxes on poor areas.

　They made people pay a fixed tax, the same as in a normal year, even in a bad harvest.

　The money they exploited from the people.

　That is the source of Klein’s confiscated, undeserved wealth.

　They did not take any special measures when the people died of starvation but enjoyed themselves with fine wines and sumptuous food.

　On top of that, what if the Asgard family tries to get the money?

　They conscripted even those on the verge of starvation and sent them to their deaths.

　As for Klein. At this point, he already feels no sympathy for those nobles.

　The mere thought of covering up for a bad government is depressing.

　The reality, however, is far worse than he can imagine.

　While there were the weak who suffered, there were those who still maintained a strong position.

　The landowner enslaves the poor using their debts.

　Stores that drive up the price of food.

　Officials who confiscated and embezzled rations.

　Former members of the aristocracy tried to rob the poor and lavish themselves on the poor.

　The official inspection did not reveal that many people are still dying.

　That’s not surprising.

　They wouldn’t just leave a dead body lying around in front of a visiting viscount.

“I know the people who preceded us buried them ―no, different. It’s good to know they do that, at least. That sight should be gone from this world as soon as possible.”

　Aside from the corruption of the officials, the figures in the report to Klein were correct.

　He also thought that the territory was slowly recovering.

　However, the report on paper and the actual landscape is quite different.

　The newly added areas are filled with voices of resentment and sorrow.

　Klein, who knew what was happening there, despised the minor nobles and their cronies even more than before.

　At any rate, he searches for the cause of the rebellion during the decisive battle against Eastern Count.

　And as he began to investigate, he soon realized.

“It was unnatural for a people who needed 3,000 soldiers to manage revolt all at once.”

　In the new territory, people were starving to death all over the place, and everyone was barely surviving.

　The famine had already occurred, and the war had just ended with a terrible defeat.

　Moreover, the lords were executed.

　Why would there be an uprising that could be called a large-scale military action?

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“It will never end because there are those who are agitating for it. It’s obvious….now that I think about it.”

　Previously, the lords took 70% of their income in taxes, but now he only takes less than 10%.

　In three years, the tax will return to 40%, but even so, life will be much easier.

　He was proud that he was doing a good administration compared to his predecessor and supporting food aid.

　Assuming that they are not indebted to their predecessor’s aristocratic family.

　Did they start the rebellion out of resentment against his family members killed in the war?

　That’s what Klein thought at first, but the fact is different.

　Some cheated the people and used them behind the scenes for their own gain.

[ Now that we are the rightful owners of our lands again, let’s get rid of the Viscounts of Asgard! ]

　The people don’t know the truth of such a statement from the remnants of a noble family.

　They only know that they will be killed if they do not obey.

　Those who disobey will have their property confiscated, and the remnants will try to maintain their luxurious life with their money.

　That’s the way it is now.

　One defeat had not changed the old rulers’ thinking.

“It’s that state of affairs, to begin with. It was… obvious that nothing would change if it was left to their own.”

　When the heads of the families have been disposed of, those who have been sucking on the sidelines are virtually untouched.

　He did nothing more than return the attacker’s blow if nothing else.

　He took away the king-like authority that the landowners and village headmen had.

　And unless there is a serious problem, he lets influential people rule the land as it is.

　What about the survivors, those who are at least somewhat intelligent?

　They pretended to be obedient until an opportunity came, or they went into hiding.

　When it came time for the Eastern Count to attack, they all turned on him.

　The truth of the rebellion is something like this.

“They started the war out of greed, and now their families are preying on the weak. What kind of a joke is this?”

　Especially the relatives of the minor nobility who remained unpunished.

　They used their own people as pawns in the rebellion; if it didn’t work out, they would think of another move. Most of them made a spur-of-the-moment decision.

　If it doesn’t work out, we’ll think of something else. Using the people who no longer belonged to them, they would be lucky if their plan succeeded.

　Klein was furious when he discovered that the plan was based on this idea.

　Driven by a passion similar to the one he felt for Hermes.

　He became even more vindictive and thoroughly researched his opponents.

　The refugees that Klein had protected are still being preyed upon today.

　They are the ones who are now his subjects.

　They are already in Klein’s circle of protection.

　Perhaps he would not have felt that until he saw them in person.

　In the course of his research, he has seen hundreds of people starve to death or die because they were robbed of everything.

“I will not have my own people sacrificed for their petty pride and selfish desires.”

　The newly annexed territories must be restored as soon as possible.

　As a lord, Klein has a duty to keep the peace.

　And punishing one or two representatives will not change that.

　To make his domain prosperous and protect his people’s happiness, he ordered the slaughter of all the remnants of the rebellion.

　The influential people who are not involved in the insurgency and the vested interests will resent him.

　The territory would be devastated, albeit temporarily.

　Nevertheless, the decision to exterminate them was made for the sake of peace.

“For the future, they are an obstacle. That’s why… Every last one of them must disappear.”

　Klein, for his part, believes that he made the right decision.

　A peaceful future where no one will starve can only be achieved by taking the blood-soaked path.

　However, there will be those who will join the hostile forces out of duty.

　There will always be armed conflict.

“…Ahh, this sucks. It really does.”

　It will be the kind of slaughter Klein is trying to avoid.

　So as he thinks, he felt a black feeling growing in the depths of his heart.

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