Chapter 3

"Lady Rishel, we have received a petition from the lord of the northern Goldar region, stating that he can no longer pay any more taxes."

In the royal office, Count Kaitel, who was assisting Rishel, reported with a sigh. Only a few people, including the clerks, were present in the room. It had been four years since Rishel came to the palace as Galsha's fiancée. Since then, the prince had not decided to marry Rishel, and Maria, who was engaged later, became the official princess.

Despite Rishel's repeated requests, she was never released from the palace.

Since the king fell ill two years ago, the prince and Maria, who held the real power, have been acting tyrannically. Maria introduced a series of policies to improve the lives of the people:

"Let's build schools so that commoners can also receive education."

"Let's build nursing homes for the elderly."

"Let's create social welfare to ensure that even the poor can live."

Maria's proposals were all wonderful, in theory. However, no matter how noble the ideals, if they do not align with reality, they are nothing more than fairy tales. When some become rich, others become poor.

Maria's welfare facilities have strained the country's finances.

"With my blessing of abundance, we won't have any financial problems, right?"

Maria said with a smile. No one dared to object to her words, which seemed abnormal to Rishel. In reality, the country was already in financial distress, yet no one dared to speak up.

Indeed, thanks to Saint Maria's blessing of abundance, Randilium always had bountiful harvests. However, the abundance was excessive. Crops that should have yielded twice a year now yielded five times, and those that should have yielded once a year now yielded four times, all with bountiful harvests.

At first, everyone was delighted. But the joy was short-lived. The overabundance of crops led to a collapse in prices. Despite the increased workload for planting and harvesting, the prices of crops plummeted, and farmers found it difficult to sell their harvests. Merchants bought the crops at rock-bottom prices, barely covering the farmers' costs.

Even if farmers tried to grow different crops, it was impossible to change the soil conditions in such a short time. The crops inevitably ended up being similar.

If the country relied solely on internal demand, the abundance of food might have been manageable. However, Randilium had no dungeons that produced magic stones, which were essential for all magical devices. Therefore, the country needed to earn foreign currency to sustain its economy, but it had lost the means to do so. The price of medicinal herbs, which were previously traded at high prices as raw materials for medicine, also plummeted. Even when Rishel pleaded with Saint Maria to moderate her blessing of abundance, Maria only tilted her head in confusion and refused to stop.

Attempts to limit the amount of crops sold by farmers were thwarted by the prince's supporters. Farmers who followed the government's restrictions were undercut by those who sold more, leading to a situation where those who adhered to the rules suffered the most.

As a result, the collapse in crop prices could not be stopped.

Perhaps out of pity, the temple made donations to the country, citing the presence of Saint Maria. However, these donations were quickly spent on Maria's whims. Some loyal retainers asked the temple to advise the saint, but the temple refused to listen. The previous saint had committed suicide under the pressure of the temple's strict education. Perhaps out of guilt, no priest dared to advise Maria.

The saint, on her 20th birthday, prays to the holy grail, Fantorium, to bestow abundance upon the world. If the saint, who appears once every 100 years, does not pray to the grail, the world will lose its greenery and become desolate. The previous saint had committed suicide before she could pray to the grail. Because the grail had not received the saint's power for 100 years, the priests were determined not to fail this time, and they only praised the saint.

This has fueled Maria's capriciousness, and no one has been able to stop her.

Sighing at the situation, Rishel stood up with a document in hand.

"Someone has to break this cycle—"

Rishel stood up, holding the document.