After the storm had passed.
Eustia had returned to her usual refined and graceful self.
It felt completely disconnected from the way she had just been swinging that warhammer like a madwoman.
She reminded me of a cat that had thrown a full tantrum of adorable punches and now pretended nothing happened.
I opened the conversation as calmly as if nothing had occurred at all, completely ignoring the short blond guy who had called himself her fiancé sprawled on the floor.
“Have you been well?”
“Thanks to you. Thanks to the Empire certifying that I suffered no physical harm, everything has been peaceful.”
“Still, you must have gone through hardships.”
“I’m fine. I returned safely; that much is something I should endure.”
Surprisingly, Eustia appeared remarkably calm.
Even though all sorts of rumors must be swirling inside her head.
As expected, she’s no ordinary woman.
For some reason, armor seemed to suit her far better than it did her fiancé.
Ah, now’s not the time for such thoughts.
What was the reason I had come all the way from the Delriat Autonomous Territory to the Crawford Principality?
To beg for money, of course.
That’s why I had even prepared a splendid(?) gift.
I smoothly brought up the main topic.
“By the way, what a beautiful country this is. Magnificent natural scenery and splendid architecture.”
The Crawford Principality had been heavily influenced by the Empire.
It was originally founded by a branch of the imperial family, so that was inevitable.
Eustia and I were also distant relatives.
It was flattery, but I had to start this way.
It would make the person I was about to borrow money from feel less bad.
“Compared to the imperial capital, it’s nothing more than a country village. Still, the mountains and fields are lovely, aren’t they?”
“With such a lovely princess here, the people of this land must be truly happy.”
“Ohohohoho! You flatter me too much.”
“So, may I make one small request?”
“Of course. I’ve been feeling uneasy for not having properly repaid my savior. Please speak freely.”
“Then I won’t stand on ceremony… I would like to request a loan from the Crawford Principality.”
I briefly explained the situation in Delriat.
When she heard I had been appointed governor-general, Eustia’s eyes sparkled.
“You want my help persuading Father.”
“Exactly.”
“He is rather… peculiar.”
She hit the core before I had even finished.
Truthfully, with my status and position, meeting Prince Crawford wouldn’t be hard.
They would welcome me with full honors just for visiting.
But borrowing money was an entirely different matter.
Prince Crawford III, Peilly, was infamous for being a stubborn miser.
“It’s not a difficult request. Father dies the moment I speak.”
Eustia was the only precious jewel of the principality.
The child he cherished so much that it wouldn’t hurt to place her in his eye.
Come to think of it, Skyler must have had nerves of steel to kidnap someone like her.
No matter how much I thought about it, that guy was incomprehensible.
He had everything, yet why did he do such things?
It didn’t seem like it was merely for fun.
“Your Grace Carius?”
Eustia waved her hand in front of my face.
I must have been lost in thought for quite a while.
“Ah, yes. Where were we?”
“The conditions.”
“Did those suddenly appear?”
“They just popped into existence?”
“Let’s hear them.”
She flashed a bashful smile and tilted her head.
“My condition is that I get to visit the Delriat Autonomous Territory.”
“There is no place there fit for a princess to stay.”
“Then you’ll have to make one. With the money I lend you.”
“Oh! There’s a way like that?”
Of course I was just playing along.
Build a luxurious villa in a land that was barely breathing?
When feeding the people was the top priority; what kind of nonsense was this?
Then how would I be any different from the previous governors?
That money would eventually have to be repaid by Delriat; it would be no different from exploitation.
I shook my head seriously.
“However, the purpose of the loan is to help the people become self-sufficient. I cannot use that money for personal luxury.”
“Ah…!”
Eustia lowered her head as if she had realized something.
Then she immediately smiled even brighter.
“I overlooked that. I’m sorry for making such an immature request.”
“It’s fine.”
“I’ll speak well to Father. We’ll arrange a meeting soon.”
“Yes, then I’ll take my leave…”
“Travel safely, Your Grace.”
She understood perfectly.
I left the palace with a satisfied expression.
But she exceeded all imagination.
“So… you came together?”
“Yes.”
***
Hozein stared at Princess Eustia with blank eyes.
The precious jewel of the Crawford Principality had actually come to a place like this; even seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn’t believe it.
What was there to see in the chaos that was the Delriat Autonomous Territory?
He couldn’t understand, but Hozein first offered the proper courtesies.
“However, I’m not sure where would be best to escort you.”
“My lodgings will be the governor-general’s residence. I rarely use it anyway.”
“Well, you’ve been doing exactly that until now.”
Everything in Delriat needed fixing, from top to bottom.
Hozein had been handling city reconstruction, water management projects, and wiping out remnants.
Self-sufficiency for the people had actually been pushed to the back burner.
He was already on the verge of going insane from the immediate crises alone.
So I said I’d handle that part, and now there’s an extra tag-along.
Princess Eustia’s gaze was fixed on me.
Whenever our eyes met, her face would turn bright red and she’d quickly look away.
Anyone could see she was a maiden deep in love.
But I had absolutely zero interest.
Distant relative or not, she was roughly a sixth cousin and already engaged.
She doesn’t seem the type to enjoy forbidden love or anything…
Then suddenly a memory flashed into my mind.
A real-time grand strategy game set in medieval Europe.
When a lord died, his son inherited; if there was no heir, game over.
That’s why a male heir was absolutely necessary for the family.
Even if it meant resorting to incest.
Wasn’t there even an achievement for continuing sibling incest for three generations?
Grand strategy my ass; it was just a filthy medieval politics simulator.
Yet strangely enough, it was historically accurate.
Incest had indeed happened frequently under the pretext of preserving pure bloodlines.
“Wait a minute, then…?”
Eustia showing favor toward me was perfectly natural in that context.
Still, it felt awkward.
The fact that her fiancé was the heir of a powerful marquess house bothered me.
Plus, she wasn’t even my type.
I do not want a wife who goes around swinging a warhammer!
Of course, I couldn’t exactly push her away outright.
Thanks to the princess, I had secured quite a generous loan.
I needed to draw a proper line and keep some distance, but would this woman even listen to me?
How am I supposed to control someone even the prince can’t rein in?
Just thinking about her staying at the governor-general’s residence was already giving me a headache.
Still, I couldn’t keep leaving her in a half-collapsed mud hut.
I need to get us out of poverty as fast as possible.
Eustia followed me around wherever I went.
She didn’t even mind the stinking shanties in the slums.
Even though she had been raised delicately and should find such things uncomfortable.
Since things had come to this, I had no choice.
The only option was to make my disinterest as clear as possible.
I inspected the people’s livelihoods with the meticulousness of a workaholic.
“I’m going insane. There really is nothing here; absolutely nothing.”
The only thing the Delriat Autonomous Territory had in abundance was dirt-cheap labor.
They weren’t even food self-sufficient.
There were no specialty products to sell abroad.
Most of the terrain was desert, making travel itself difficult.
How the hell was I supposed to develop land like this?
“The only way is to sell some revolutionary product…”
The problem was that there was absolutely nothing like that.
What could anyone possibly make in a place filled with nothing but sand and scorpions?
While I was deep in thought, someone approached.
It was Princess Eustia, who had unpacked her luggage in the crumbling governor-general’s residence.
“What are you thinking about so seriously?”
“Just worrying.”
“You look extremely grave. It definitely isn’t something simple.”
“It’s difficult. I need to normalize Delriat as quickly as possible, but there’s no way to make a living.”
“Doesn’t the Empire send food aid?”
Her unexpected reply made me blink.
Then I realized one mistake.
There’s no concept of “future food source” here, is there?
She couldn’t have known I wasn’t talking about literal food.
I continued the conversation while naturally shifting the topic.
“Imperial food supplies will be cut off soon. We need to find a way to become self-sufficient before that happens.”
“Ah, you’re talking about the future.”
“Yes.”
“Reviving a collapsed economy is no easy task. Still, if we look, I’m sure there’s a decent method. For example… that over there.”
Princess Eustia pointed at the ground near the residence.
A small scorpion was slowly crawling along.
I had no idea what she meant and tilted my head.
She surely wasn’t suggesting we sell fried scorpions.
Then she smiled brightly and said,
“Have you ever heard that my father has thirty concubines?”
“Ah, I’ve vaguely heard the rumors. They say the prince is quite the manly man.”
“And he’s old enough for that to be impressive.”
“Weren’t the concubines taken for political reasons?”
“Oh, come on; he’s not that kind of person at all.”
“Then?”
“It’s extremely good for a man’s body, but I don’t know how to explain it…”
Princess Eustia blushed and turned her head.
Meaning she couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.
At that moment, everything clicked in my head.
Scorpions as an aphrodisiac?
From ancient times to modern, stamina had always been the number-one concern of middle-aged men.
It was the age when physical burdens started appearing.
Still, I had doubts.
The deserts of Delriat were overflowing with scorpions.
If those were excellent tonics, Delriat should have been a wealthy nation.
They probably wouldn’t have been conquered so easily.
Reading the doubt in my eyes, Princess Eustia continued.
“Some scorpions in the former Delriat Kingdom turn into plants during certain seasons. That’s the key.”
The moment I heard her words, I nodded involuntarily.
A tiny mushroom that parasitized insects.
The true identity of the tonic was clearly cordyceps.
Then the story changed completely.
Not every scorpion would be infected, after all.
If we could cultivate the fruiting bodies of cordyceps…
The Delriat Autonomous Territory would gain its own growth engine.
I gave Princess Eustia my sincere thanks.
“Thank you for the excellent idea!”
“You’re very welcome. If you need anything else, just say the word. I’ll help with everything I have.”
“Yes, I will.”
I nodded without hesitation.
If she lent her strength, we could secure sales channels in the Crawford Principality and the Western Nations Alliance.
Far more effective than if I did it myself.
And it didn’t seem like empty words.
Princess Eustia was beaming with a flushed face.
She really mustn’t fall for me any harder.
Just to be clear: this is absolutely not some axe-wielding yandere thing.
I could feel her sincerity crystal clear, that’s all.
“I do not want a wife who goes around swinging a warhammer!”
If that ever happen, MC will become the house husband instead lol