Chapter 913: An Idealist (II)
Roland held Edith’s gaze. “Do you really believe leaving the Kingdom of Dawn as it is would serve us better than having Earl Quinn rule it?”
“In the short term, the difference is small.” Edith’s answer came without hesitation. “A reliable ally provides resources, population, and support for the Battle of Divine Will. Earl Quinn’s loyalty you can depend on — you have Andrea, after all. The other nobles are less certain.”
This surprised him. He had expected her to press harder on the unreliability of the nobility, to build her argument there. Instead she was acknowledging the value of the alliance. “She admitted that?” He waited. “Then what’s the short-term you mentioned?”
“On the other hand,” Edith continued, “if the Kingdom of Dawn collapses into chaos, the only path back to order runs through war. The state weakens. It may fail entirely. What you’d inherit afterward would be refugees and abandoned land — the same situation as the Eastern Region or the Southern Territory of Graycastle.” A small pause. “But those people would belong to you permanently, and without the political complications that come with an allied crown.”
“Three benefits against one.” Nightingale’s voice was sharp. “An ally gives you population and resources and military support. Refugees give you population alone. And you haven’t accounted for how many of those people die on the road.”
Edith turned to her without blinking. “Three sounds larger than one, but there’s a condition attached to each of those three. To use an ally’s resources effectively, you first have to invest in them — steam engines, Golden Twos, ammunition, weapons. Without that investment, the Kingdom of Dawn has nothing to offer demons on a battlefield, let alone meaningful support for Graycastle. The investment is substantial. Neverwinter can barely supply its own needs. When you account for the cost, the net benefit of both paths is approximately equal.”
Roland’s brow rose fractionally. Very few people in Graycastle understood risk and return in those terms. Barov would sooner refuse to export a single steam engine than provision a neighboring kingdom’s defense. Edith had just described the investment problem with the precision of someone who had actually done the calculation.
“Then if the net benefit is equivalent,” he said, “why does leaving the Kingdom of Dawn in chaos come out ahead?”
“Because of witches, Your Majesty.” Edith raised one finger. “Consider: if witches are no longer persecuted in the new Kingdom of Dawn — if Earl Quinn, under Andrea’s influence, begins hiring witches for production and construction — then newly awakened witches would have a safe haven south of Graycastle’s border. They would stop moving to Neverwinter. That is one loss.”
She raised a second finger. “The Kingdom of Dawn is geographically better positioned than Graycastle. Witches fleeing the Kingdoms of Wolfheart and Everwinter — driven south by demon incursions or by the church’s remnants — would naturally continue south until they found stability. If the Kingdom of Dawn provides that stability before they reach Neverwinter, they stop there. Within a few decades, the concentration of witches in neighboring kingdoms could exceed that of Graycastle. That possibility concerns me more than the witches you would lose immediately.”
Nightingale’s voice had lost its edge. “Isn’t that a good thing? Everyone living safely, everyone free —”
Edith turned back to Roland as though the question had not been asked. “Has it occurred to you that one witch with an irreplaceable ability can cause a single kingdom to outpace all others?”
“A witch like Anna.”
“Anna. Agatha. Soraya.” She said the names with the care of someone listing assets. “The moment you secured their support, Neverwinter surpassed every other domain. Your broader knowledge and sharper judgment maintained that lead — as long as you are king, and as long as the Witch Union remains intact, no one can challenge Graycastle’s position except the demons.” She let the silence hold for a breath. “But what about a century from now? When neighboring governments operate the same way Graycastle does. When witches are employed widely. When the knowledge you’ve written spreads to cities and towns outside Neverwinter — when people there study machine manufacturing and learn everything you’ve taught them.” Her eyes were steady. “If one awakened witch in the Kingdom of Dawn possesses an ability that no one in Graycastle has, Graycastle falls behind. And that’s only getting started.”
“That’s im—” Nightingale caught herself. Swallowed the word.
Edith pressed the point. “You rely heavily on specific abilities — Anna’s above all — to drive your construction and development. Can you guarantee that Anna’s power represents the ceiling of what a witch can achieve? If a future witch possesses something more capable, and she awakens in the Kingdom of Dawn — will the king there remain your ally?”
Roland almost applauded.
This was not an argument about the next five years. Edith was modeling a century forward, accounting for compound changes the way an engineer accounts for metal fatigue: not in the failure itself but in the invisible stress accumulating long before the crack appears. Ordinary advisors reasoned in terms of the next campaign season. Edith was reasoning about technological succession, about the distribution of talent across civilizations, about which kingdom would be positioned to absorb the next witch who changed everything.
And she was not wrong. Roland knew this from the inside out. He had lived through the history of his other world, had watched technological change accelerate from decades between revolutions to years between them, had seen how a single correct person in the right place at the right moment could rewrite the trajectory of entire societies. The emergence of witches might compress that interval further. If Anna had been born in the City of Glow instead of Neverwinter, the map of the last three years looked completely different.
He could see the future Edith was describing. Members of the Witch Union aging while new and more powerful witches arose in kingdoms that had learned, finally, to value them. That was the fear underneath her argument, and it was not irrational.
If Roland were a lord born into this world — if he measured his obligations by the length of his own reign and the reign of his children — Edith would have just persuaded him. No king wanted to build a rival. No king wanted to guarantee the conditions of his descendants’ defeat.
He could still change course. Abandon Otto. Break the promise he had made to Andrea’s face. Keep the calculation clean.
He found he could not.
Not because he was incapable of the arithmetic. Because the arithmetic was not, finally, what he was optimizing for.
It was not the kingdom he cared about — not as a thing to be preserved past his own death, not as an inheritance for successors he had no obligation to protect. What he cared about was the advancement of the human race in full: improving how people lived, exposing the mechanisms of the Battle of Divine Will, pushing knowledge outward until it belonged to everyone. His successor’s war with the Kingdom of Dawn was not his problem. His successor’s kingdom was not his problem.
What was his problem: breaking his word. Deceiving Andrea to her face. Using a person’s trust as a raw material.
He had noticed, somewhere in the last thirty seconds, that his resistance to Edith’s proposal was not calculated. It had arrived before the reasoning. Which told him something about the kind of person he actually was, as distinct from the kind of politician he was never going to become.
“An excellent argument.” He looked at her with genuine appreciation. “I won’t take back my words.”
Edith’s composure flickered — just barely. “Your Majesty—”
“I know what you’re going to say.” He cut her off, not unkindly. “That a wise king always acts in his country’s best interests, and that a certain kind of deception is simply statecraft. You’re right that this is true of kings.” He paused. “But there are other kinds of rulers.”
Edith repeated the phrase slowly, as though testing its weight. “Other kinds.”
“Yes.” Roland held her gaze. “An idealist, for instance.”
Chapter 913: An Idealist (II)
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
Roland gazed at Edith after disclosing his thoughts. “Do you really think it would be better to leave the Kingdom of Dawn as it is than have it ruled by Earl Quinn?”
Edith looked as if she had already known Roland would ask that. “In fact, I don’t think the two choices would be much of difference in a short term. A reliable ally can provide you with resources, people, and assistance in the Battle of Divine Will. You can trust Earl Quinn since you’ve got his daughter Andrea, but you can’t say anything about other nobles.”
“She… admitted that?” Roland was now confused, wondering what the “short-term” she referred to meant. He had thought Edith would focus on the untrustworthiness of the nobles to establish her argument.
“On the other hand, if the Kingdom of Dawn sinks into a state of chaos, in order to re-establish order, a war would be inevitable. The Kingdom would definitely be weakened in wartime and the state would inevitably fail. By that time, refugees and deserted lands would be all that is left in the Kingdom of Dawn, just like the Eastern Region and the Southern Territory in Graycastle. You can obtain these lands populations effortlessly, and unlike the first choice, these people would belong to you forever.”
“But didn’t you just say that an ally can provide not only population but also resources and assistance for the war effort?” Nightingale questioned agitatedly. “How does it make sense to you that one benefit is the same as three? Besides, has it never occurred to you that those refugees would die of hunger or exposure to the elements during relocation?”
Edith instantly shot back. “It seems that three sounds certainly more promising than one, but there’s a condition. In order to make full use of the ally’s resources, His Majesty would first have to make some investments, for example, a steam engine, Golden Twos and even ammunition and weapons. Without these, the Kingdom of Dawn has nothing to compete against demons with, let alone supporting Graycastle on the battlefield. It’s a significant investment, although with quite a high return. However, we can’t just ignore such a sumptuous amount of money when we can barely satisfy the need of Neverwinter itself. Therefore, I hold that the benefits of the two plans are approximately the same.”
Roland raised his brow. He knew very few people in Graycastle understood risk and reward in investing. Barov, for instance, would definitely refuse to provide his own technologies and products to support a neighboring country.
“Then why do you think leaving the Kingdom of Dawn as it is would be a better option if there’s no big difference in gains?”
“Because of witches, Your Majesty.” Edith’s answer surprised both Roland and Nightingale.
“Witches?” Roland was stunned.
The Pearl of the Northern Region stuck out one finger. “Yes. Please think it over. If witches are no longer persecuted in the new Kingdom of Dawn — or rather, under the influence of Andrea, Earl Quinn starts to follow your example and hire witches to help with the production and construction of the country, newly awakened witches facing no death threats, would stop moving to Graycastle. This is one of the potential losses.”
“Second, the Kingdom of Dawn is geographically more advantageous than Graycastle. Witches in the Kingdom of Wolfheart and the Kingdom of Everwinter would move south in the event of demon invasion or persecution from the dregs of the church. However, once the situation in the Kingdom of Dawn is stabilized, will they still move to Graycastle? The answer is no. It’s probable that the number of witches in the neighboring countries would exceed that in Graycastle in several decades. I’m actually more concerned about this than the loss of current witches.”
“Isn’t it good… that everybody lives a happy life? What’re you so concerned about?” Nightingale’s voice was less provoking than before.
Edith ignored Nightingale but directly looked into Roland’s eyes. “Has it ever occurred to you that one, or several witches with incredible abilities, would instantly make one kingdom outstrip another?”
“A witch like Anna?”
“That’s right. Anna, Agatha, and Soraya… they all have incredible abilities. The moment you won their support, Neverwinter surpassed the domains of other nobles. This is also why you’ve achieved such great accomplishments so far.” Edith said slowly, “Apart from that, you have a wider breadth of knowledge and greater wisdom than anyone else. As long as you’re still the king and no one leaves the Witch Union, few could challenge Graycastle’s position, except demons.”
Edith paused for a few seconds at these words. “But what about the future in over 100 years when the government of the neighboring countries operates the same way as Graycastle’s and when witches are employed in various areas? The knowledge you wrote would inevitably spread to cities and towns outside Neverwinter. By that time, people will study the method of machine manufacturing and learn everything you’ve taught them… If there’s one single awakened witch in the Kingdom of Dawn possessing an irreplaceable ability, Graycastle would probably fall behind!”
“That’s im—” Nightingale immediately attempted to refute Edith’s theory, but she swallowed her words halfway.
“Plus, you now largely rely on various magic powers such as Anna’s ability to carry out your construction and development plan. Can you guarantee, however, that Anna’s power is the farthest a witch can go?” Edith stressed each syllable with due strength. “If a new witch possesses a more ingenious ability than Anna, will the future King of Dawn still view Graycastle as his ally?”
Roland almost wanted to applaud her speech.
Edith was not focusing on immediate gains but was actually envisioning a scenario in the distant future. Ordinary people may only foresee changes in a few years’ time, but Edith was picturing what would happen a century later!
Furthermore, Roland somehow sensed an upcoming explosion of technological innovations in her speech. As a person who had learned about the history of the industrial revolution, Roland knew very well that major technological changes expedited over the past few hundred years. It took apes thousands of years to learn how to make fire, but it took only a decade for human beings to enter the Information Age from the Steam Age. A person living in the modern society might experience technological changes that would otherwise take thousands of years in the past.
Now, the presence of witches might further shorten the interval between each technological change, and the emergence of one or two powerful witches might bring a new technological revolution. Edith was right. If Anna had awakened in the City of Glow, Roland would have no idea how far he could go.
Roland could almost foresee what the future would look like when the members of the Witch Union gradually entered their years of decrepitude while new powerful witches appeared in the Kingdom of Dawn. This was also the reason Edith insisted on leaving the Kingdom of Dawn as it was if Roland was not able to get full control over it.
Roland believed if he were a lord born in this world, he would have definitely been convinced by Edith just now. All kings wanted their kingdoms to endure through time, and for their descendants to perpetuate their glory. They would never create a rival that would potentially pose a threat to their own country.
Roland could still change his mind and abandon Otto to his fate. To do that, he just needed to break his promise and deceive Andrea.
However, he was not that kind of person.
It wasn’t the country that Roland really cared about.
He did not care about what his kingdom would look like after his death. Compared with an everlasting kingdom, he was more interested in the advancement of the entire human race. No matter who his successor was, Roland did not have an obligation to assist him in ruling the state. His life goal in this world was to improve the standard of living in Graycastle and take it to the next level while at the same time unveiling the mystery of the Battle of Divine Will.
As for which of the four kingdoms was the strongest? He would leave the choice to people living here.
Last but not least, he wanted to stick to his principles of being an honest and righteous man. He realized that he could never easily break his words for personal gains, nor could he lie in negotiations. His instant resistance to Edith’s proposal made him understand that he would never truly become an outstanding politician.
“An excellent argument.” Roland looked at Edith with satisfaction. “However, I won’t take my words back.”
“Your Majesty…” Edith was surprised.
“I know what you want to say. You want to say that a wise king should always seek the best interests of his country and that it’s normal to cheat.” Roland interrupted Edith. “But there are rulers in this world other than kings…”
“Other… rulers?” Edith echoed in confusion.
“That’s right. For example, an idealist.”