Shadow King Chronicles: Building a Kingdom From Behind the Scenes
What to Watch Out for
"Mr Issac, after dinner, can we speak with four eyes? Yeah, just the two of us."
While eating the dinner served by the servants of Mary. Issac turned to Olivia and Carolina. They nodded. There's no problem. Issac smiled and stroked the two of them.
"Well, I'll fulfill Miss Maria's invitation. Actually, I'm also interested in talking to you."
Maria smiled and thanked him and continued to eat dinner. Afterwards, Carolina and the tired Olivia walk into the room tired of asking for a good-night kiss on Issac.
He followed Mary into his office and sat down before him. Like this afternoon, he was serving a delicious black tea. This time it was accompanied by two doughnuts. It had been a long time since he had not eaten a donut after being reincarnated.
"Do you like this snack, Mr. Issac? Its name is a doughnut and it is usually coated by various toppings on it. It will suit your taste."
"Indeed right. The cake you say as a donut is very tasty. I just ate this. It's really amazing."
Issac issued his honest opinion about donuts. But obviously, Maria is not here to talk about donuts.
"How about Mr Issac, do you like the Moskov empire? May I know what you think of this empire?"
Sipping his black tea solemnly, Issac enjoyed every part of his tea.
"You're asking for an honest opinion? Or just want a compliment?"
"Fufufu. You don't have to be shy. I want you to say everything inside your head without restraint."
After swallowing his donut, Issac began to say everything that came to his head.
"The Moskov Empire well.I think this is a huge empire with the most vast territory and the most population in the Lantos continent. Its military power is also great as well as its economy.
"But if I am allowed to say one proper word about this empire, it is 'rotten'."
Maria tilted her head. A little bit of annoyance was seen on his face. That's too rough. After all, he was still a citizen of the Moskov Empire. But he decided to listen to Issac until he finished speaking.
"Maybe it's too rude but I won't apologize for it. The vast imperial territory. But his officials and nobles were too stupid to keep an eye on every corner of his territory.
"Now I am sure, there have been many attempts from the former conquered kingdoms to break away from them. The population is also large, but most of them live in poverty.
"Wealth is concentrated in the hands of some while the rest are left poor or impoverished. The military power of this empire was indeed strong. But that's all.
"If a battle between the Moskov empire and the Heinz empire were to take place, the Moskov empire would indeed prevail. But if you intend to wage a long-term war with the kingdom, you will lose the decisive battle."
Maria's face was red from the anger. But after taking a deep breath, his anger subsided a little. To be honest throughout the conversation, he might have cut down on Issac. But he refrained from doing so.
"You look very confident Mr. Issac. What makes you so sure to say that? Does that mean the kingdom is better than the Moskov Empire?"
Issac stood up and walked towards the window facing outside. The moon and stars are not visible tonight. It may be cloudy and it will rain tomorrow.
"Maybe this is subjective but it is true that I consider the kingdom better than the Empire. Our territory is much smaller than Moskov.
"We do not give autonomy to each province and city to develop their own territory. If they succeeded, they would be given many rewards and a promotion. The opposite is true.
"The result has an impact on many things. Well I don't need to spell it out long. But clearly, when compared to the empire, we have been ten steps ahead with many things."
It's not just about the territory. The population in the kingdom is slowly increasing as well. Birth rates are rising and maternal mortality rates are falling. Surplus harvests were enjoyed by the people and a population explosion occurred.
The number of people means more and more labor. And the more labor means the more money that goes into the royal treasury. The mechanism is a bit elusive but more or less like that.
"Are you Miss Maria? One of the three breads that the imperial community consumed, its wheat was produced by the kingdom. Two of the three metal furnishings that the imperial community wore such as scissors, kitchen knives, agricultural utensils, and others were made and cremated from the kingdom.
"Not to mention the medicines you consume, the clothes and pants you wear, even the luxurious jewelry owned by the emperor and his family. Most of them were made by the government.
"Accordingly, do you understand what happens when the empire goes to war with the kingdom?"
Mary's body was shivering when she heard all that. Of course what Issac said was not just a figment of the thumb. He's telling the truth.
The technology and techniques that the empire possessed were not as advanced as the kingdom had. It was because it had been a long time since the Empire had turned their attention away from science.
Any money they earn will be spent on fun and buying luxury properties that are actually useless. Expenditures to the military also consumed up to two-thirds of the total revenue of the empire. It is still being corrupted so that the welfare of the soldiers is not guaranteed.
Meanwhile from the merchant network she formed, Maria got a lot of information about the kingdom that is increasingly transformed into a monster.
New technologies have sprung up along with the investments the kingdom is making to develop the various production sectors they are creating. Steel processing, agricultural cultivation, increased fabric production, and many things.
Their military is also getting stronger. He had only a rough number but about 150,000 to 200,000 soldiers were active in military service. Not counted with the reserve corps ready to be deployed whenever a war occurs.
That's the power of the kingdom now. As Issac had said earlier, if the empire and the kingdom were to fight today, they would probably win. But if the war continued to drag on, the empire would clearly lose.
In other words, he did not want to make the kingdom an enemy.
"Miss Mary, the tea that we all drink today is not something that can be found on this continent right?"
Maria finally fell out of her daydream. He nodded. Actually he intended to hide this but it was as if he could not hide anything from his interlocutors right now.
"You give sailors the right to sail the seas and to seek a new world. And it seems, progress has been made because the sailors you sent have found a vast land across there but because of the monsters, they cannot let go of the anchors."
This time Maria could not hold back her emotions. He got up and approached Issac and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.
"Where do you know all that! All the things you mentioned earlier are secrets that even the emperor does not know! But you...."
"Calm Miss Maria. Well, in essence don't underestimate the information networks that I have established. Therefore, from now on, please cooperate, huh?"
Mary had no other choice. In the end, he realized one thing. The kingdom should be wary. But what was much more to watch out for was the demon that was now standing in front of him.