Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence - Chapter 667 - 385: The First Breath of Spring in Cold Sand Territory
Chapter 667: Chapter 385: The First Breath of Spring in Cold Sand Territory
The winter in Cold Sand Territory had just receded not long ago, yet the wind outside the castle still carried a hint of chill.
As dawn broke, fog rose from the slopes, and the remnants of snow slowly melted along the cracks in the castle walls.
Baron Hold, Lord of Cold Sand, sat in the small hall of the castle; the coarse wooden chair, aged over the years, let out a slight squeak as he sat down.
“Being a lord has become such a hardship…” Hold muttered under his breath, the lines on his face furrowed, as if fearing others in the castle might overhear.
In truth, no one would hear him; apart from his attendant, there were barely any willing to stay in this castle.
Cold Sand Territory was long impoverished. For the past three years, the mines were flooded, and the granaries grew emptier with each passing year.
If not for the salt, grain, timber, and ironware sent by Red Tide, this place would have collapsed long ago.
Yet Hold was unwilling; he was the Lord of Cold Sand, supposedly the highest ruler of the domain.
But now? Officials sent by Red Tide came to inspect the accounts; the warehouses bore Red Tide seals, and even spring sowing had to follow Red Tide’s schedules.
When people in the domain encountered troubles, they sought Red Tide’s officials, not him.
“A Lord… turned into a mere decoration.” He scratched his disheveled hair, his face furrowing even more.
But Hold was well aware that without Red Tide, he wouldn’t have survived last winter.
The last few bags of grain in his warehouse remained only due to Red Tide’s relief.
Even the winter medicinal soup his son consumed was supplied by Red Tide’s medical team.
Yet when it came to rebellion, Hold dared only to think about it, without the courage to act.
“Should I keep an extra cart or two of ore?” Hold cautiously considered, but quickly withdrew the thought, “Forget it, the warehouse has seals; even a missing bag would be noticed.”
He pondered again: “How about… falsifying the accounts?”
Immediately, the image of Inspection Department officials surfaced in his mind, imagining himself hung at the city gate, having heard of consequences faced by other lords who falsified records.
Hold’s entire body shivered as he extinguished the idea completely.
“How about driving off Red Tide’s officials?…No, don’t be ridiculous; I only have a dozen knights, a squad would be more than enough to handle me.”
The more Hold thought, the more dejected he became, slumping back into his chair: “Being a Lord is truly difficult. If only Duke Edmund were still here.”
As he rubbed his brow, the attendant urgently knocked on the door: “Lord, Pete, the aide from Red Tide, requests an audience.”
Hold’s heart skipped a beat.
Pete? Red Tide’s aid supervisor? Coming at a time like this? For what?
“Oh no, are they here to investigate me?” His throat tightened, “Has the letter I sent to Collins been intercepted?”
Recalling the letter filled with complaints, his face turned pale for a moment, yet outwardly he feigned composure: “Show him in.”
After the attendant left, Hold quickly tugged at his sleeves, pretending to sit upright, though sweat had already formed in his palms.
He didn’t wait long before Pete stepped into the small hall.
The middle-aged Red Tide official wore a deep red shawl and offered simple gestures, yet exuded a sense of reliability.
“Lord Hold.” Pete’s voice wasn’t loud, yet commanded respect.
Hold feigned impatience, his face cold: “What brings you here?”
Pete didn’t rush to speak but signaled to the attendant.
Two attendants pushed a waist-high wooden box inside, its weight making the stone slabs emit a muffled sound.
Hold froze, heart skipping a beat, fearing it was interrogation equipment, he shrunk back an inch against his chair.
The box was placed beside the table, its latch snapped open by Pete’s hand.
The moment the lid lifted, Hold’s breath halted…
Inside was not documents, nor seals, but an entire chest of blinding gold coins.
Sunlight slanted through the window slits, illuminating the gold, making the small hall seem ablaze.
Hold stood frozen, even forgetting to move his Adam’s apple.
Pete placed a ledger atop the gold, his tone steady as if reciting routine business: “Lord, this is Cold Sand Territory’s dividend for the year.”
Hold’s lips trembled: “…Dividend?”
“Two thousand gold coins.” Pete personally flipped the ledger to the settlement page and pushed it toward him, “This is the Red Tide settlement, there won’t be any errors.”
Hold fixed his gaze on that page.
The words “Two thousand” etched clearly in his mind.
He reached to touch, yet his hand trembled so much he couldn’t even grasp the ledger’s corner’s edge.
In his life, Baron Hold hadn’t seen a sum of gold this formidable.
Cold Sand Territory was perpetually poor, the income for a baron of such a small domain was more of a formality in the family annals, rather than tangible wealth in hand.
Yet now, this chest of gold sat before him, solid, real, its brilliance hard to divert his eyes from.
Even a wild thought flashed through his mind: “Is this heaven playing tricks on me?”
Pete began to explain: “The rails expedited shipments sixfold, and the steam pumps ensured no downtime for the mines. Red Tide acquisitions were at stable prices, naturally elevating the domain’s income.”
Hold listened, his mind blank, feeling somewhat dizzy.
He whispered in repetition: “Two thousand gold coins… In my lifetime… I haven’t even seen one thousand…”
Pete opened another ledger: “Additionally, the domain received winter frostbite subsidies, farm equipment grants, road and bridge repair bonuses, and school construction aids.”
Hold struggled to process, feeling as though his chest was blocked by something, which suddenly felt unobstructed.
Pete concluded with a final gesture, pulling from his bag a thinner catalog, laying it before Hold like a finishing blow: “This is the list of items the Red Tide Commerce Association can supply, with discounts for Lords within the Red Tide system…”
