Black Iron's Glory

Chapter 136: Lady Maria’s Reply

Claude didn’t know that the trouble he caused at the gambling den would be interpreted as a contracted assassination attempt. He couldn’t explain himself even if he wanted to anyway. In the past few days, he decided to lay low for the time being and play his role as the Ferd kid who was tasked to watch Normanley Wood. He did nothing but patrol the farm and visiting home as the filial son to take care of his siblings.

During the afternoon of the 8th of the 1st month, Borik finally returned from the royal capital. He was dressed in a set of new clothes and he brought Maria’s reply back with a healthy look on his face. The trip had gone by smoothly and without a hitch according to him. When he arrived at the baroness’s manor to deliver the letter, he was soon called in by Lady Maria herself and asked about what happened in Whitestag. She appeared to be really worried for Claude.

In the end, the baroness had him rest at the manor for a few days as she wrapped some things up before writing Claude a reply. She even instructed Rodan to attend to him carefully. Borik spent a few days in the manor luxuriously and even took a few walks in the capital to experience its prosperity.

Two years after the new year, Maria summoned Borik again and handed him the letter. She even had some tailors make him new clothes and rewarded him with a crown before sending him off. Though the snow fell heavily on the way back, it only took him five days to return.

Claude felt a lot of regret for not considering his finances and giving such a huge tip to the two gang members that brought him to the den. He only realized that he had run out of money when he returned home. Though he found some riyas in his wooden hut, they wouldn’t last him long. As for the eight thales he gave his sister, the cost of necessities and medicines for his mother had mostly used the money up.

If only he had robbed the gambling den while he was at it. Even though the gambling chips on the tables of the den weren’t money, he could at least find a place to cash them out and make a huge earning. He was already that poor, so stealing some off the pockets of the rich wasn’t that big a deal. He faulted himself for not thinking about that. His fight at the den was a complete waste of time and effort.

Claude didn’t have any reservations whatsoever about robbing the den and didn’t think it was a bad thing. The den earned money through illegal means after all, so he wouldn’t feel bad about using some of his spoils on his magic experiments. At least, it was far better than being troubled by finances like he was now. It was a shame that it didn’t occur to him back then. He felt like he had broken into a bank vault and left empty-handed.

Currently, Claude was bringing Borik with him to the national bank for his one-crown payment. Claude was only alerted of the reality that he would run out of money after paying Borik.

He didn’t think that there would be so many people lining up to withdraw money right after the new year. There was only one counter for withdrawals and the worker moved very slowly. The line was long and complaining customers could be sighted from a mile away. That was when he was reminded of his mistake. If he had robbed the den, he wouldn’t have had to line up for a withdrawal.

Fortunately, Maria opened an account at the national bank for Claude. Otherwise, he really might go to Blacksnake’s den to rob it that night itself. The last time, he was there to find Arbeit for payback, but now, he would be there to rob it. Claude didn’t mind seeking trouble with the gang for money. That was far more preferable to not having enough money to pay his bills.

When it was finally his turn, he withdrew three crowns from the account. He paid Borik one which he previously agreed upon. The man thanked him and left. Of the two remaining crowns, he would give one to his sister for household use and keep one for himself in case of emergencies.

When he was finally settled with all those other things and cast away the urge to rob Blacksnake, he took out Maria’s letter and read it.

When he wrote his letter to Maria, he detailed the sudden changes that occured in town, especially how his father got charged for threatening national security and arrested. He also wrote everything he knew about the plan of his father and a few others to start a new trade route to Tyrrsim in Nubissia from Whitestag as well as the successful formation of a trading fleet to carry out the first voyage.

Claude knew that only an earnest attitude can convince Maria to help him out at a time like this. There was no need to hide his father’s plan and he told everything he knew about it, including his guesses, to Maria. Only then would she be able to find out more about the situation and find out the reason why the fleet failed to return in time and why his father and his associates were arrested.

Maria didn’t disappoint him. Her reply covered a few pages in full. Apart from her expressing her sympathies for what happened to Claude and his family, she wrote down what she found out about the matter.

The trading fleet did in fact run into some trouble. However, it wasn’t because of a natural disaster at sea nor a foreign power. Instead, they had unluckily become the targets of pirates.

She mentioned that the five eastern nations that were part of the anti-Aueras alliance knew that they weren’t able to compete with Aueras on the continent of Nubisia. So, they decided to greatly expand their naval forces to control the naval routes between Aueras and its seven colonies. On the other hand, they also rallied together pirates from the islands near Nubissia and had them raid the seven colonies and cause as much damage as possible to force them to move deeper into the continent away from the coastline.

Currently, the kingdom could only send fleets to its colonies twice a year, once during each half of the year. Every time they did so, they would have to mobilize two-thirds of their naval fleet, Fearless, as an escort. The fleet also couldn’t exceed 50 long-distance cargo vessels. Even after all that, they would have to suffer countless small-scale attacks at sea and it was already commendable if they only lost three to five warships each time. Many sailors call the voyages to Nubissia the bleeding journey as a result.

Under such circumstances, Captain Altroni’s Shark of Red Sea didn’t attract much attention when it first docked at Tyrrsim on the survey trip. People believed that it was a smuggling ship that lucked out and managed to avoid the patrol ships and blockades of the anti-Aueras alliance as well as the pirates that were active around Nubissia. They didn’t think that Captain Altroni would be that lucky on the way back because they weren’t aware that he had found a new route.

So, when Captain Altroni returned with a whole fleet of ships there, the people understood that it wasn’t a fluke. captain Altroni had found a route that wasn’t known to anyone else.

However, Captain Altroni kept his promise and forbade any of his crew to reveal the secret of the new trade route. Soon, that commotion died down. Nobody in Tyrrsim would be daring enough to openly attack a fleet from the motherland itself. However, many secretly started plotting from the shadows. The situation was like a calm sea before the storm, unnaturally peaceful and subdued.

Morssen and his friends only saw the potential profits for this new trade route and ignored all the risks that came with it. They were but a group of merchants and local officials who had a vision and dared to risk to achieve it, but they didn’t understand the geopolitical situation of Nubissia and suffered as a result.

Maria expressed her sympathies at that point. Even though they had a good hand, Morssen and his associates had played it horribly. Morssen was to blame for being too greedy. If he had reported the discovery of the new route to Nubissia to the royal capital immediately, he would’ve been given a Title at the very least. But because of his own desire for profit, he sent out a trading fleet to Nubissia and ended up ruining what was supposed to be a great blessing.

Captain Altroni also had a bad premonition, so he decided to set out during the middle of night ahead of the plan. However, the pirates planted many spies in Tyrrsim and eventually, that plan was found out. Five days after they set sail, countless pirates swarmed the fleet and raided it. After losing more than half his men, Captain Altroni had no choice but to surrender to ensure that those who remained won’t be harmed. That was how the new trade route entered the control of the pirates.

It was said that the captain and some other sailors that refused to join the pirates were dropped at an uninhabited island to fend for themselves. The rest were forced to join the pirates. They brought the pirates through the route passing through Sea of Storms and Tranquil Ocean and found a few islands nearby to set up base where they would raid any outgoing trade fleets.

That was the reason Morssen and the others were charged for endangering national security.

The suppression by the anti-Aueras alliance already applied a lot of pressure on Fearless. Coupled with the fact that they lost much of their forces during the past two voyages, protecting the eastern coast of the kingdom was already the most they could do. They were caught in a stalemate with the fleet of the alliance.

Yet, after the route Morssen and his associates discovered was taken control of by the Nubissian pirates, more than 20 trading and transport ships were raided within a span of two weeks. That was akin to a huge stab in the kingdom’s vital organs.

Fearless had no choice but to send out a flotilla to the midwestern coast to seek and destroy pirates. Fortunately for them, they ran into five pirate ships in the midst of a raid. After a heated battle, one pirate ship was sunk and two were captured. A few of the surrendered pirates were the sailors of the trading fleet from Whitestag that were forced to join. That was how the truth was revealed.

The naval department of the kingdom was in an uproar after receiving the news and believed the local officials like Morssen as well as the merchants who invested in that venture had to be killed and made an example of as a warning to the other greedy people who would endanger the kingdom for their own interests. Morssen and co. had lured a large group of Nubissian pirates to the new trade route and put the midwestern coast of the kingdom in immeasurable peril!

If Fearless had to send a flotilla to guard the coast all year long, they would begin to suffer a disadvantage against the fleet of the anti-Aueras alliance and the intricate balance of power at sea might be shattered. A huge naval war would be triggered and the naval trade routes of the kingdom would be completely cut off. That was something the kingdom couldn’t afford to let happen.

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