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Chapter 53
“Did their skin turn blue? Are there any records of severe headaches?”
“Yes. Do you know what caused it?”
Iona nodded her head and asked in response.
She thought it might be a disease that Leroy, who had territory on the border with other countries, was already aware of.
Sure enough, he immediately gave the correct answer.
“Looking at the symptoms, I think it might have been mountain sickness.”
The Leman Empire was a country with vast and fertile plains.
Even the highest altitude regions were only as high as a village's back mountain, and most of them did not exist.
All the workers recruited by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty were from the interior, and naturally, they had no tolerance for arduous mountaineering.
The problem arose when these people, with no prior adaptation to the new altitude, blindly climbed the high mountains with the ambition of mining silver. Many of them suffered from altitude sickness due to their inability to adapt to the new height.
As it was difficult to commute to and from the site, those deployed at the site had to stay near the mine for accommodation, which was also one of the causes of the uncontrollable death rate.
Iona spoke in a bitter voice.
“Nowadays, there is trade even with countries across the sea, but at that time, there was a strong rejection towards foreigners, and it was difficult to even get the proper information from neighboring territories. People were afraid and believed that any unfamiliar illness was a curse.”
After the change of land ownership, there was a significant increase in accidents, as the old workers who had adapted to the mines were replaced by new employees.
Count Modrov, who had inherited the mines from the royal family, wanted to show results as soon as possible.
Many people who followed the illusion of becoming wealthy or were forcibly taken out by the Lordship died senselessly. It was a tragic situation.
“So, what should we do? Is it just a matter of climbing the mountain slowly?” Jerome asked with concern.
“Yes, if you move with enough room for your body to adapt, there won’t be any big problems.”
Iona answered as if to reassure the anxious Jerome.
In the past life, when Siam Mine was reopened for the first time, similar accidents occurred frequently.
Fortunately, Iona was living in an era where the cause could be identified, so she was able to quickly find out that it wasn't a curse.
After understanding the situation, she first had the miners climb the mountain over a period of 15 days.
Those who complained of symptoms such as headaches or nausea were immediately sent down to the plain.
It was a simple safety rule, but above all, it was effective.
Iona gave the same warning to Jerome.
Jerome nodded his head in agreement while copying down her words in his notebook.
After a while, when Iona finished her explanation, Jerome put down the pen and let out a long sigh.
"I understand, Dame Iona. If you hadn't told me beforehand, we could have been in big trouble."
“Remember that safety comes first. For the time being, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to recruit people from nearby residents until the problem of manpower supply and demand is resolved.”
That was Iona's final advice on the operation of the mine.
Perhaps the introduction that he had learned from his father for a long time was not a lie, and from then on, Jerome skillfully led the conversation.
Thanks to this, discussions about wages and other support were completed faster than expected.
“Thank you both very much for your valuable time. Then I will report on the progress as soon as the outline of the work is taken.”
As soon as the discussion was over, Jerome hurriedly stood up and said,
As if he wanted to quickly go and experiment with the smelting method Iona had taught him, he left the parlor immediately after leaving a polite greeting.
Only then did Iona breathe a sigh and find something to drink.
Her throat was dry, probably from talking too much.
She found a water bottle on the trolley parked next to the sofa, and as she stood up, Leroy suddenly opened his mouth.
“Amazing.”
“… …What do you mean?”
"I never expected to see even cutting-edge technology that experts don't know about."
Iona silently poured water into her glass and drank as if she could not hold back her thirst.
Fortunately, it seemed that he was expecting a response on a different topic, as the conversation soon moved on.
“Of course, knowing this in advance and purchasing the mine has made a huge profit. But considering the original promise, I think you have another plan in mind."
His guess was correct.
Of course, more money was always better. But that was not the final goal of this plan.
Originally, Count Modrov would have bought back the land Nils had sold.
Although he had no interest in unprofitable mines, as someone who relied on the power of the royal family, he did not want to leave any room for his behavior to be interpreted as improper.
Even if production stopped and the obligation to pay tribute became meaningless, the contract with the royal family was still valid.
Returning to her seat, Iona quietly placed her glass on the table and spoke.
“The Siam region is a land that was granted under the condition that a part of the silver produced is paid back every cycle. It's not a high percentage, but instead, there was no time limit. Even though several decades have passed, strictly speaking, it is still a land with public attributes. If Siam Mine had remained an abandoned mine all along, there wouldn't have been a big problem even if the owner changed... …”
“Not anymore. Your stupid brother just sold it on his own.”
At Leroy's response, Iona smiled mischievously as if mocking Nils.
"If the fact that the heir to the Count's family disposed of this tremendous value of silver mines as a gambling game were to be known, how would the royal family come out? There's no distribution contract with the new owner, is there?"
And that was exactly why Iona wanted to make Nils the official heir.
***
After leaving Mrs. Benzel's house, Iona and Leroy went to a nearby restaurant instead of parting ways.
Coincidentally, it was still lunchtime for both of them, so the rest of the story was decided to be with the meal.
Iona was a bit hesitant at the thought that someone might see them, but when Leroy suggested a place not often visited by nobles, she eventually gave up her opinion and followed him.
"Let's eat to our heart's content."
Leroy said, offering food to Iona first.
Iona looked down at the dishes that filled the table with rather weary eyes.
“… …I wasn't that hungry."
"Coming to think of it, I don't think I've ever had a proper meal with you, so I wanted to make sure you ate to your heart's content."
Contrary to the gentlemanly explanation, the pressure from the mountain of food still came violently.
Was it a mistake to leave the order to him and go to the bathroom for a while?
Iona looked back at her past memories with a troubled expression. she wondered if she had ever acted like she was starving in front of him.
Of course, nothing came to mind.
As Leroy said, he and she had never had a meal together before.
"Thank you for the food."
Iona hid her timidity and picked up the fork.
She didn't want to repay his kindness with ingratitude, so she decided to fill her stomach first.
Fortunately, the food tasted quite good.
After seeing Iona eat, Leroy began to eat as well.
Unlike other nobles, he did not seem to have any objection to common people's food.
Iona asked.
“Have you been here before?”
"Yeah, I came with Jonas once, and it wasn't as bad as I thought. I liked the wide spacing between tables and the noise."
Usually, it would be rare for those who would pick the latter as an advantage, but they were planning to discuss something that shouldn't be leaked outside from now on.
Iona nodded her head in agreement.
Only then did Leroy begin to ask about the recent situation he had been putting off.
“Looking at the lunch, is today a holiday?”
“No, I took a vacation. I just have something to tell you about it. I will be away from the capital for the next ten days.”
"Why?"
“Nils and Yvonne are quite upset about Miss Fleur. The Count has decided to send Miss Fleur away for a while. I'm going to accompany her."
“Leaving the affairs of the government to an adopted daughter, the count is not a gentleman.”
“For now, nominally, I am going to look after the estate instead of the family head.”
Even if Hayden hadn't handed over the authority to audit, Iona would have made another excuse and headed for Modrov's estate.
Fortunately, the situation worked out favorably, so there was no need to prepare a forced excuse.
Now that Leroy has been informed that she would be away from the capital, it was time to talk about the noise it had caused.
Iona cleared her throat and opened her mouth.
"There's one more thing I need to tell you. There was a bit of a problem in the process of getting my vacation approved."
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