37-89

EP.89 Mountain Territory Development (2) 

"Greetings, Your Highness the Princess! I am Baron Kimberly, serving under the Third Prince, Yuno, and currently responsible for administrative affairs on his behalf." 

"Nice to meet you. I am Mayer, also working under the Third Prince. I am in charge of military affairs within the territory and the castle's security forces." 

After the introductions from Baron Kimberly and Mayer, Diane, Hiriya, and Rachel gave awkward smiles. 

"Sigh~ I suppose Sir Cordelia told you we were here?" 

"Haha... well... that's true, but wouldn't it be better for you three to stay at the manor that Lord Yuno used, rather than this inn?" 

"I even made a reservation to meet Baron Kimberly officially... Anyway, let's do that. By the way, did you say your name was Mayer?" 

"Yes, that's correct... but?" 

"It seems the castle guards aren't being trained properly. They tried to deny me a meeting with the administrator just because of how I was dressed as a commoner, and even tried to hit on me. Do you know what that means?" 

At Diane's words, Mayer's face turned red with embarrassment. 

"...I apologize. We've recruited many new soldiers since the monster invasion, so training has been lacking. I'll make sure to improve it." 

"I'll be watching to see if you do. I'll be going on secret inspections from time to time, so let's see how it goes." 

"I'll make sure it never happens again." 

"We'll see about that. When I showed a forged ID at the city gate, they just let me right through... The security level is really disappointing." 

Watching Mayer get completely scolded by Diane from the very first meeting, Baron Kimberly looked on with a satisfied expression. 

'Heh heh heh, that guy... I knew he was trouble since he always tried to match me. Ah this feels so good All my fatigue from last night's overtime is gone~' 

"Let's leave it at that for now... Shall we go to the manor, Baron Kimberly?" 

"Yes, Your Highness the Princess." ... "By tomorrow morning, please prepare a full report on the territory's budget status, expenditures, current projects, future development plans, population and occupational breakdown of the villages, and crop status." 

At Diane's sudden and thunderous order, the smile disappeared from Baron Kimberly's face. 

"Uh... yes? Why... all of a sudden?" 

"You know Princess Rachel here was the former Minister of Finance in the Kingdom of Leon, right? She offered to review the financial status of this Teshidanikana County and help. Isn't that a great opportunity?" 

"Uh... yes?" 

As Baron Kimberly looked distressed, Rachel added, 

"Hohoho, if you've always kept things in order, it shouldn't be a problem. But... if we find any false reports..." 

"Hahaha, that will never happen!! ...Probably..." 

"Right? Since you're so upright, Baron Kimberly, there won't be any holes in the finances... And you wouldn't just slap together a fake report at the last minute, right? If you did, Diane would have your head. Hohohoho." 

Even Hiriya joined in, asking for a detailed report on crop status, and Baron Kimberly's face grew darker and darker. 

'Ughhhh, I should never have followed that bastard Yuno!! Ughhhh~~!! What glory did I expect to find suffering in this backwater where no one even recognizes me!!!' 

In the end, Baron Kimberly had to pull an all-nighter on top of his usual overtime just to prepare the reports for Diane, Rachel, and Hiriya. 

But his ordeal didn't end with making the reports. 

The next morning, in Yuno's office, the three women read the reports and started grilling Baron Kimberly and Mayer mercilessly. 

"What? You hired a troll and promised 9 tons of food? Are you crazy, Baron?" 

"No... it wasn't my decision... it was this damned Mayer..." 

As all three women turned their gaze to Mayer, Baron Kimberly, who had been watching with a satisfied grin, quickly looked away and pretended not to notice. 

"Captain Mayer, explain what happened." 

Under Diane's direct questioning, Mayer had to explain everything in detail. 

"Ah~ So, after 20% of the mountain rangers and guards died and over 50% were wounded, while we were rebuilding the forces, a master-level troll who could speak offered his services as a mercenary, so you had no choice but to put him in charge of mountain security? Baron Kimberly, am I supposed to believe this?" 

"Sigh~ If you just admit where you stashed the 9 tons of food and cough it up now, we'll spare you the pyre and mercifully hang you instead. Just be honest." 

With Diane and Rachel saying they'd execute him either way, but it would be less painful if he confessed, Mayer shook his head and hands frantically, insisting he was telling the truth. 

"Uh... Your Highness? What Captain Mayer said is true. It's also true that many soldiers died in the large-scale monster invasion, and the master-level troll Ajin saved my life as well. I swear on the honor of my lord, Yuno, that this is the truth." 

"In that case... I'll believe you. Since my brother's knight says so, it must be true." 

As Diane's stern face relaxed, Mayer and Baron Kimberly both sighed in relief. 

"Baron Kimberly. I understand that the previous administrator, Boras, created a financial hole and you worked hard to make up for it. But I don't see any vision for how you plan to develop this territory in your financial management." 

But Rachel wasn't done her eyes lit up again, and this time her target was Baron Kimberly. 

"Excuse me?" 

"I mean, I don't see any vision!! As lord of the territory, you have a duty to improve the lives of your people and to provide direction! But I don't see that in your work! All I see is a bureaucrat just trying to avoid daily problems!" 

"But..." 

"And didn't you get extra budget after the last monster invasion? Even after buying food for the troll mercenary and rebuilding the army, there should have been plenty left over. Where did it go?" 

"I kept it as a reserve in case something else happened..." 

"Seriously!! If you have leftover budget, you need to invest it more proactively!" 

"But what if it fails..." 

"Whether it fails or succeeds! If it's a way to move the territory forward, you have to try! If you just sit and settle for the present, there will be no development! A territory is like a small country! Weren't you Yuno's tutor in statecraft? How could you teach statecraft while working like this!! I'm worried about Yuno!!" 

Baron Kimberly felt like he was losing his mind under Rachel's relentless criticism. 

'But... I was never supposed to be the lord!! The lord is stuck in the Monster Mountains and never comes out, so what am I supposed to do!! If I spend the budget however I want and the lord comes back and accuses me of mismanagement, I'll lose my head!!' 

Regardless of his thoughts, Rachel's criticism crashed over him like waves, and the stress from the all-nighter, the scolding, and the burden of future work finally made him collapse from exhaustion. 

Thud!! 

"Hey!! Kimberly! Are you okay?" 

"Please step aside for a moment!" 

Mayer, being a colleague, shook the collapsed Baron Kimberly, but he didn't wake up. Diane came over, checked him, and said he had just fainted, so they moved him to a corner of the office. 

"We've got a rough idea of how the territory has been run so far. But now that we're here, things will be different. Mayer?" 

"Yes! Your Highness!" 

"Report to me on the new recruit training plan, discipline training for existing soldiers, and what to do with rangers retiring due to injuries from the last incident." 

"Let me know the current status of weapons and equipment in the territory. I'll reallocate the budget accordingly." 

"I want to inspect the farmland in the villages around the territory... Prepare two or three soldiers and horses to escort me." 

With Diane, Rachel, and Hiriya all assigning him tasks, Mayer's face turned pale. 

"Mayer, I'll take charge of escorting Lady Hiriya. And I'll have one of my knights handle the weapons and equipment report, so you just focus on Princess Diane's tasks." 

"Thank you, Sir Cordelia!!" 

Grateful that Cordelia would at least take some of the biggest tasks, Mayer quickly escaped the manor before any more orders could come down. 

Of course, he cursed Yuno in his heart the whole way. 

"Whew~ Most of the work is sorted... Sir Cordelia? How can I meet Yuno? Once we've sorted out the territory, I'd like to visit him." 

"Ah! For that, you'd need permission from the Elf Queen in the elf territory..." 

"Sir Cordelia, could you get entry permits for me, Hiriya, and Rachel? Since you've been to the elf territory before, you could go and ask for permission, right?" 

"That's true, but...." 

However, Cordelia was reluctant to return to the elf territory, unconsciously rubbing her lower belly. 

There was a womb tattoo there, and just thinking about the blissful hell of pleasure she experienced during her two days in the elf territory made her womb tingle with excitement.