The Extra Wants To Live-Chapter 304: Return to Hilpin [1]
The central part of the empire, where Himmeln is located, didn’t have that much snow yet, so I was able to get out quickly by hurrying my steps.
There are only six people in the group: Carl, Catherine, Billford, Harmon, Milton, and Curtis, so there is nothing to worry about.
"Not only do we experience strange battles and wars with Tumaria, but now we get to experience the land of the northern Balturan people in winter..."
Milton’s eyes darkened.
As soon as autumn comes, temperatures in the north drop below zero, snow falls, and ice begins to form.
But you’re going there in the middle of winter?
"Milton, I’m glad you find it so interesting."
"...."
Milton lowered his head at Carl’s words and pulled his fur cloak tighter around him.
If Carl were to go to such a dangerous place, his personal physician, Milton, could not be left out.
...no....
Come to think of it, Milton isn’t Carl’s personal physician. He’s just the royal physician!
But now I can’t say I’m not going.
I was too deeply entangled with Carl to use that as an excuse to get away.
Since when did it become like this?
"....."
While Milton laments his fate, Curtis rides quietly, almost as if he were not there.
He would often glance at Carl and close his cloak again and again, shivering from the cold.
After leaving Himmeln, I feel relieved that Carl doesn’t talk to me like before, but on the other hand, I’m starting to feel anxious and scared.
"Hilpin... How long has it been since then?"
"It’s been a little over two years."
Billford was lost in thought as he recalled the first official mission he had undertaken under Carl: the expedition to Nol.
At that time, I was small and weak, and I didn’t know how to use mana.
I almost died from a little fun, and I couldn’t control my anger and cried in shame.
Meanwhile, Catherine was also quite sentimental, as she had her family in Hilpin.
It has been two years since Kurtval led the Mold family to settle in Hilpin and begin managing the silver mine.
I haven’t been able to contact you properly for a while because I had to avoid the eyes of those around me.
’If it were my uncle, he would have already rebuilt the pillars of the Mold family. He is too honest to rebuild a family that is falling apart, but he is honest enough to stand up after a wound when the foundation is solid.’
Catherine smiled faintly as she remembered Kurtval.
Kurtval is a man of upright and honest character with no talent for politics.
So, I couldn’t rebuild my family that had lost its power and collapsed. I couldn’t do anything wrong, and I always tried to be honest with myself.
But now that he has taken charge of Hilpin’s silver mines with Carl on his back, honesty is a precious quality.
The amount of silver buried in Hilpin is enormous.
If they were to mine everything at once and release it into the market, the price of silver would plummet, and the value of the empire’s currency would falter.
It would be strange not to feel greedy about managing such a huge silver mine.
However, Kurtval has managed the silver mine well without causing any problems so far.
It’s amazing.
"It reminds me of the old days."
"Because you fought your first battle."
"When I told you to stay in the castle, Harmon, I can still clearly remember the embarrassed look on your face."
"...I think it’s okay to forget about that."
Harmon turned his head away from Carl’s words.
At that time, Harmon thought of Carl as an incompetent and arrogant brat. So he even became pessimistic about his situation of being tied down to Carl.
But now, Harmon is closest to Carl and follows him wholeheartedly.
Isn’t that a very old story?
It’s only been two years...
’All my hardships started here...’
Milton was frustrated at seeing the land of Hilpin for the first time in a long while.
The moment Milton rushed out of Hilpin Castle at Catherine’s words, he was jumping into a path of hardship of his own making.
To be exact, it was from the moment Carl reached out to him when he had not yet been cured, but anyway.
Curtis was in no position to participate in such a reminiscing story, so he just hung his head in even greater loneliness and pain.
So Carl led his party and entered Hilpin.
Officially, it was just a brief stop on the way north to the Balturan people, so no one even told them that Carl was visiting. So no one came out to greet Carl.
"Your, Your Highness!"
"It’s cold outside, you must be working hard."
"No! ... Oh, that, yes! Thank you!"
The gatekeeper, who was given the important task of welcoming His Highness the Grand Duke who suddenly arrived without any notice, is flustered and flustered.
Bang!
"...Your, Your Highness...."
At those words, a knight jumps out from the guard post next to the gate, looks at Carl, and opens his mouth with a pale, astonished face.
"Can I come in?"
"Yes! please come in!"
The knight hurriedly responded to Carl’s words and guided Carl himself.
Carl looked back at the snow-covered street from his horse still on board.
"You’ve changed a lot."
"Yes, Hilpin is no longer the small and weak fiefdom it once was."
The knight answers Carl’s words with a proud voice.
Hilpin Castle has completely shed its image as a dirty and backward country castle of the past.
The enormous wealth from the silver mines was laundered through the Monte Bank and used carefully.
The first thing to do was to restore the ruined territory, and then increase the number of troops.
But even though the interior of the castle has improved noticeably compared to before, there are hardly any soldiers to be seen.
It’s a given.
These are the troops that will become Carl’s daggers, so they must be handled secretly.
Carl looked up at him, not sparing a glance at those who were muttering.
The rumor that Carl once subdued the Gnoll here was a small source of pride for Hilpin, so many people wanted to see Carl, but Carl’s time was too precious to waste on such things.
