Free Web NovelChapter 23: Stockpile Shortage
"Up! Up! Up!"
Large rocks moved with the help of simple pulley cranes. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Men and women shoveled to create a narrow passage inside the tunnel.
One person at a time moved through.
An hour later, multiple units of the Knight Order and Railguard Division brought along people from the neighboring towns on Vincent’s command.
The Knight Order focused on security while the Railguard Division organized the people’s work.
Vincent was still sitting on his chair with Leona and Anastasia by his sides, commanding the Knight Order and Railguards when necessary.
The initial mob that attacked Vincent was in a corner, watching everything.
Ten more minutes later, another group arrived from the towns.
This time there were men in simpler clothing pulling wagons alongside people in formal uniforms.
The ones in formal uniforms made their way toward Vincent.
Once they reached, they bowed and greeted him.
These were the servants of D’Arc House residing in the County towns.
"We have brought the ration and cooks, My Lord." The servants answered.
Vincent looked in the direction of the wagons. Men sat with their backs against it, huffing and puffing.
There were multiple sacks on the wagons but Vincent wasn’t sure what they were.
The only thing he knew was that they weren’t ready to eat and would need to be prepared.
His gaze shifted to the mob of young women, elderly, and children quietly sitting in the corner with the Knight Order standing beside them.
Once the wagons had arrived, their eyes were fixed on it as if looking at a treasure.
Vincent turned his attention to the wagon again.
Food.
His eyes glanced down.
Tired cooks.
His eyes turned to the mob.
Well rested young women and elderly.
He connected two and two, then turned to the servants of his house.
"Is there enough supplies to feed the people in this area?"
The servants looked at Vincent, then looked around.
There were a lot of people in this area.
Excluding the Knights and Railguards, the number of commoners were enough to fill a small town.
The servants then gazed at the wagons.
There were only ten wagons with rations.
They turned in Vincent’s direction, but then bowed and looked down, saying,
"Pardon us, My Lord. But I’m afraid there is only enough to ensure lunch." A uniformed butler with a curled mustache replied.
Vincent thought about it and then nodded. "It’s alright."
He pointed at the mob in the corner. "Take those who can be of help from there and prepare lunch."
"Understood." The curly-mustached servant bowed and walked to the mob’s side, recruiting people to cook.
Vincent stared at him and leaned to the side, in Leona’s space.
"I asked them to bring workers and food supplies, but why would they only bring a small amount like that?"
"I find it strange too." Leona looked at the curly-mustached servant. "Can you call him over? There’s some questions to be asked."
"Alright." Vincent said and straightened his back.
He first waited for the servant to allocate labor. Leona expressed the concerns in the meantime and Vincent had a few questions framed in his mind.
He failed the servant when he was done organizing the groups. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
"Yes, My Lord?" The servant bowed and asked.
"Why are the supplies so low? Didn’t I mention bringing enough food to feed a village for a few days?" Vincent asked.
"That..." the servant flicked his shirt’s collar, feeling hot.
"Those are almost the last supplies in the Northern Region’s storage, My Lord."
"What?" Vincent blurted in surprise. M
Beside him, Leona frowned. She leaned at Vincent’s side and whispered a few things in his ears.
At the other side, Anastasia closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
’And so, it begins...’
Listening to Leona’s opinion, Vincent knitted his brows and looked at the servant.
"Isn’t it standard practice to stock up three months of ration in every town? You’re saying the entire Northern Region... only has this much left?"
It was chilly despite midday approaching, but the servant had beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
"I’m afraid that’s how it is, My Lord."
"How?" Vincent rapidly tapped his fingers on the armrest. "How could everyone possibly watch the storage get depleted and not think of stocking it up?"
The servant went quiet for a few seconds.
He then looked up and was about to say something but ultimately looked down and didn’t do it.
Vincent could feel this man getting slightly afraid to answer.
He stopped tapping the armrest and said, "If you know something, say it. I’ll ensure your protection. No one will trouble you for it."
Thinking words might not be enough, Vincent took out a small bag of gold coins from his pocket and handed it to the servant.
The curly-mustached servant immediately shook his head and gently pushed the small bag back.
"My Lord... I do not seek a reward for answering your questions. I was merely afraid of the trouble it might bring me..."
The servant looked around after rejecting the coins.
Once he saw nobody looking in his direction, he answered in a low tone, "...the Northern Region’s storage did not get depleted overnight."
Vincent put the small bag back in his pocket and listened carefully.
Leona and Anastasia were paying attention too.
"My Lord... it all started a few weeks ago..."
The servant opened up because he was starting to trust Vincent.
From the moment he arrived, he noticed how Vincent was working towards helping the commoners. He did not seem what the rumors stated, adding to that, he was literally the heir of the D’Arc House!
The only person above him was the Countess.
The County belonged to him.
Who else but him deserved to know the problems occurring here?
"A telegraph arrived from the Central Region three weeks ago, requesting an urgent additional month’s worth of grain supply..."
Hearing this, Anastasia leaned closer to Vincent and whispered, "The Northern Region accounts for two-thirds of grain imports in the County."
"...the region had only imported the standard supply. We did not have additional supplies to send, but the request was still approved. Needless to say..."
The Northern Region used one month’s supplies from their emergency stockpile and sent it to the Central Region.
Leona made a mental note of it while Vincent focused on listening and understanding.
From one ear he heard the servant’s complaint and from the other understood the different contexts from Anastasia.
"My Lord... we only had two month’s supplies left and a request was immediately made to the Heinrich Duchy. They asked for double the standard price due to the urgency. We had no choice but to pay."
The man sighed. His tone lowered.
"Shipments usually arrive within a week so we should’ve restocked our emergency supplies, but..."
The man shook his head.
"Two weeks ago, we got a telegraph stating the rail route was damaged and the shipment couldn’t be delivered anymore. Even the trains carrying mineral exports had to return. The Heinrich Duchy deducted the labor costs and refunded the amount. However..."
The servant didn’t speak and let Vincent connect the dots.
Vincent stared at him, waiting for him to continue.
He didn’t.
Vincent cluelessly stared at him.
The servant was staring down, waiting for Vincent to ask further questions while he contemplated his words.
Leona and Anastasia both saw Vincent’s blank face.
Anastasia thought maybe Vincent was thinking of something while Leona was sure he was absolutely not thinking of anything.
Leona leaned to his ears and whispered, "He is saying that even though the money was returned, the issue of grains still remained. North still only had two months worth of emergency stockpile."
"Oh..." Vincent said in understanding. So this was what the servant was hinting at, he thought.
"Ask him what happened next." Leona said and got back in her position.
"What happened next?" Vincent asked straight.
The servant’s eyes were droopy as he looked down. He replied, "A telegraph was sent to the Capital stating our situation and seeking help. That was ten days ago and until now..."
The servant stopped speaking.
At this moment, Anastasia and Leona both leaned closer to Vincent’s ears.
"Ten days ago was our engagement."
"Ten ago was your engagement."
Vincent covered his mouth and thought, ’My house must be busy with the engagement and probably weren’t able to reply. It could be that or...’
The Northern Region still had two month’s supplies left. It’s not like they’d go hungry immediately if the house didn’t respond, right?
Vincent looked at the servant and asked, "Help did not arrive from the Capital, but there was still two months worth of supplies left. How did it get so depleted in just ten days?"
Being able to analyze and ask the right question simply from being told about the engagement made Leona and Anastasia stare at him with visible surprise on their faces.
Vincent did not see them staring in his direction. His attention was on the servant.
"There was indeed two month’s supply left. But that was only until a week ago." The servant answered.
"It suddenly began pouring and as His Lordship knows... pests like rats quickly spread indoors at such times. Many of the storage facilities were infested and..."
The servant shook his head.
"...we had to burn those supplies as nobody wished to risk another plague occurring."
"Huh?" Vincent let out a genuine groan of confusion.
Leona and Anastasia were silent and contemplated what the man had just said, both of them thinking of different things.
"You burned the storages because you thought the rats touching the grains would cause plague?" Vincent asked in a slightly shrill tone.
"My Lord, had we not, the people would’ve done it themselves." The servant clarified.
Vincent rubbed his forehead. ’Shit, I forgot medicine isn’t as advanced here and the fear from plague is understandable. Even in my time, we could combat most things but not viruses. People were quite afraid of being closer than six feet at a certain period...’
"Anything else that happened?" Vincent asked.
"The tunnels..." the servant instantly replied and turned to the entrance of the mines.
By the time he and Vincent had finished conversing, a lot of rubble had been cleared.
The workers had dumped it all in a corner and the pile seemed a story tall.
The servant turned back to Vincent.
"Forgive me for commenting on this, My Lord, but there seems to be one misfortune upon another befalling the County this month. Many have left their homes thinking this place is cursed..."
Vincent felt the servant probably did not have anything more to say. He heard his last comment in passing and waved his hand, dismissing him.
He then turned to Leona and said, "I feel we should ask a few more people about this and cross-check the information."
Leona nodded gently. "Railguards would know more about the destroyed rail routes."
"Okay." Vincent turned to Anastasia and asked her to fetch a Railguard.
Soon, a uniformed guard in a gas mask arrived before Vincent and kneeled, greeting him.
