Chapter 428

How to Normalize the Country
"Hmm. Isn't there some way to end the war?"

At this point, I might as well hear what these two have to say.
They might have a good idea.

"To be honest, it's difficult. Neither the King’s brother’s faction nor the Third Prince's faction has any intention of laying down their arms."

"That's the core problem. If you want to end the war quickly, you'd have to silence all the warmongers in both countries. You could do that, Lily…"

"But if I did that, they'd definitely realize it was my doing, and their next target would be Vardmoi, wouldn’t it?"

"Exactly. Don’t do anything rash."

Even I can understand that much.
But that means… there's no clear way to stop the war.

What should I do?

"Ah. What about the current border line—or rather, the boundary between the King’s brother’s and the Third Prince’s factions? What’s it like now?"

"Hmm. I haven’t studied it in detail either, but I hear military forces are concentrated along the former noble territories of the old country, and neither side has been able to cross into the other's domain."

"I see. Marquis Vardmoi, then how about we use Talat to freeze the border line?"

"For you, that’s not a bad idea—but I’m rejecting it. They’d just look for areas without ice and move their troops through there. It wouldn’t be enough to end the war."

Hmm, no good.

Is there anything I can do directly to help bring the war to an end… What about that idea?

"Then how about shifting the financial advantage toward just the King’s brother’s faction?"

"What?"

"Viscount Melt. His territory, though small, has Mana Silk Spiders, right? If I talk to them and it goes well, I think we could increase production of Mana Spider Silk."

"I see... You’re suggesting we restart domestic production of spider silk, which has been stopped due to the halted imports from Vardmoi, and use that to stimulate the economy."

"Yes. Besides, the only people who can afford such expensive goods in this situation are big merchants and nobles, right? If we can extract money from them, maybe it could fund some policies."

"Honestly, for you, that’s not a bad idea. But to do that, we’ll need to win over Viscount Melt to our side."

"Right. Would it be alright to leave that part to you, Marquis Vardmoi?"

"I don't think you’re capable of handling negotiations between nobles. Leave that to me. Duke Roberaud, do you agree?"

"Yes. I was surprised to hear Viscount Melt had joined the invasion this time, but if we can bring him to our side, it’ll be a rare opportunity. As for how to break apart the Third Prince’s faction, I’ll look into that on my end. I may ask for your help, though."

"Thank you, Duke Roberaud."

Alright, we have a basic plan in place.
Now if we can bring this Viscount Melt over to our side, we can start the operation.

He’s said to be a decent man—maybe I can make it work?

What do you think about this chapter?