I’ll Be The Matriarch in This Life [Novel] Chapter 277

"The East is now… producing wheat."

Perez murmured, almost as if reminding himself of the reality before him.

The East, with a topography and climate vastly different from the rest of the Empire, was inherently unable to produce the staple crop of wheat.

That was the established common knowledge regarding the East for generations, and it was their greatest vulnerability.

Because of this, they were always forced to walk on eggshells around the Central and other regions.

But things had changed.

The East had finally acquired the technology to cultivate wheat on its own.

"Larane has worked so hard. Hiding out here, so far away from Luman, out of the public eye, constantly researching wheat farming methods suited for the Eastern climate."

At my praise, Larane's cheeks flushed lightly.

"I didn't do it alone. If it weren't for the scholars you sent from Lombardi, Tia, I wouldn't have even dreamed of it."

But I shook my head.

I wasn't just offering empty flattery.

Even when she became pregnant with Rick, Larane never stopped her agricultural research.

Her labor pains had even started inside the carriage on her way here from Luman, and that alone said enough.

"Scholars are just people who possess knowledge and conduct research. You were the one who gathered them all in one place and led them this far, Larane. You don't need to be so modest."

"…Thank you, Tia."

Larane smiled more radiantly than I had ever seen her.

In that moment, a phrase my maternal grandmother, Soura, once told me surfaced in my mind.

Having left the Lombardi estate where she was born and coming here to the East, Larane had truly blossomed in full.

It was as if she had finally found the exact place where she was meant to put down roots.

I gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze before turning back to Perez.

He was still wearing a half-dazed expression, his fingertips continuously brushing against the wheat.

Yet, he couldn't tear his eyes away from the vast, golden fields.

"Lord Luman must have gone through a lot, too."

"Lord Luman?"

"In order to secretly conduct all this research here, we needed a smokescreen. So, he had to pretend he was entirely on Chanton Sershou's side."

Every time we crossed paths at the Grand Assembly, the desperate, pitiful looks he sneaked at me were unforgettable.

He looked similar to Avinox but was much more stoic, so whenever Lord Luman looked at me like that, I almost burst out laughing on more than one occasion.

"Tia."

"Yes, Perez."

"This… this Eastern wheat production is going to cause a massive ripple."

"I expect so."

It wasn't something I hadn't foreseen.

The immediate changes alone would be staggering.

"First of all, Sershou's influence over the East will drop dramatically. Luman will no longer have to rely on the South for food."

Now, House Luman was fully prepared to leap into the central political arena as one of the true pillars of the Empire.

This was something they had yearned for over a very long time.

"And their dependency on the Eastern Trade will decrease as well. They won't need to airlift food from the outside anymore."

"But if that happens, it won't just be Sershou, Lombardi will also have a harder time controlling Luman."

It was true that, up until now, the East was superficially under Sershou's influence, but in reality, they were firmly in the palm of my hand.

If it weren't for the Pellet Corporation's trade ships and cruises connecting the East to the Center, they would be isolated all over again.

But now that they were producing their own food, the East would soon become entirely self-sufficient.

Just like House Ivan in the North, who maintained independent political power thanks to their abundant minerals.

In other words, it meant they were slipping out of my grasp.

"You're right, Perez."

At my calm reply, Perez furrowed his brow, looking even more confused.

"Are you curious why I did it?"

"I don't understand it. Why would you mobilize Lombardi's scholars and intervene in something that offers you no political advantage?"

"Hmm, well, because."

After a brief moment of thought, I opted for the concise and honest route.

"I am the Matriarch of Lombardi, but I am also soon to be the Empress of this Empire."

"…Tia."

"If the East gains independent power, your job will become significantly easier in the future. Isn't that right, Perez?"

An Emperor's authority stems from military might and financial power.

But maintaining that authority depends on how well you can make the nobles under you keep each other in check, maintaining a delicate, razor-thin balance of power.

"Think of it as a kind of wedding present, Perez. Come to think of it, when you proposed, you gave me a ring and the revision to the Imperial Succession Law, but I hadn't given you anything in return."

I said it like a joke, but Perez just continued to stare intently at me.

"I still have something else to show you. You shouldn't be making that face already."

"…I'm almost scared of you now, Tia."

"Crybaby."

I shot him a playful glare before turning to ask Larane.

"I just follow this path north, right?"

"Yes. You'll see it as soon as you cross that hill over there."

"Thanks. I'll be right back."

I gave Larane a small wave and began walking down the straight path.

But my back felt strangely empty.

There were no footsteps following me.

I turned my head and looked behind me, urging Perez, who was still standing completely frozen in place.

"What are you doing? I told you I still have something else to show you!"

Following behind Florentia up the hill, Perez swept a hand down his still-stunned face.

The East producing its own wheat.

Tia had explained everything, but he still couldn't fathom it.

@thougt
How could she do that?
@end

Her actions were essentially the same as willfully putting down the greatest weapon in her hands.

If she had maintained total control over the East, as the Matriarch of Lombardi and the future Empress, she would have possessed absolute, unchecked power.

Yet, she willingly unfastened the collar around the East's neck and handed it to him as a "wedding present".

Overwhelmed by the colossal magnitude of the gift suddenly dropped into his lap, Perez almost let out a hollow laugh.

"Ah, that must be it!"

Tia's voice, which always sounded exceptionally clear and refreshing whenever they entered a wooded area, snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Hmm, so this is what it looks like. Seeing it in person, it's definitely a bit different."

Following her green eyes, which were murmuring something cryptic, he saw another vast field identical to the one before.

"That is…"

Perez's eyes narrowed sharply.

It resembled the wheat field they had just seen, but the sight unfolding before him was entirely different.

"Why is all the wheat dead on one side?"

The layout of the fields, separated by a single dirt path, was identical.

But drastically unlike the right side, every single stalk of wheat on the left side was withered and pitch black.

The unripe grain had all collapsed to the ground.

It looked as though a herd of wild horses had trampled viciously through the farmland.

"Do you happen to know why the nobles have been walking on eggshells around Chanton Sershou so severely lately, Perez?"

It was nothing new for the lords of regions dependent on imported food to cower before House Sershou, who owned the Empire's breadbasket.

But recently, their sycophancy had reached an extreme.

Even with the harvest season approaching, something about the situation felt off, prompting Perez to secretly order an investigation.

And the report he received just days before embarking on this journey was…

"A plague."

An unknown disease originating in the Southeast was annihilating the wheat.

The blight was spreading like wildfire, and no known agricultural remedy could stop it.

Even veteran farmers were throwing down their tools, wailing that it was a punishment from the heavens.

Furthermore, this blight specifically devastated wheat crops far more than any other grain.

Naturally, the South's wheat yield was guaranteed to plummet compared to previous years.

The pro-Sershou nobles, who caught on to this faster than anyone else, were desperately clawing over each other to win Chanton Sershou's favor to secure whatever scarce wheat remained.

But unlike the nobles who were ruthlessly bickering over just this season's harvest, Perez, the man governing the entire Empire, saw the wheat plague as a far more catastrophic threat.

"You know too, right? If this continues, the entire Empire is in danger."

"Because it's spreading so rapidly. By now, the central plains of the South must already be affected."

Perez's complexion darkened.

The central plains of the South were exactly where House Sershou's granaries were heavily concentrated.

Even if they somehow miraculously survived this harvest, there was no telling what would happen next year.

After receiving the report, he had rapidly devised a plan to dispatch scholars from the Academy to the South, but the results were entirely unpredictable.

The plague's momentum was that terrifying.

"If this goes unchecked, the entire Empire will suffer a famine,"

Florentia said, her hands clasped behind her back, her voice tinged with a sigh.

"And a lot of people will die, Perez."

It was a simple prediction, yet it gave Perez goosebumps.

He felt a strange, chilling weight in her murmured words.

Looking at her instinctively, he saw that Florentia was still staring at the withered wheat field.

But Perez suddenly felt that she wasn't looking at the field in front of them. it was as if she was gazing into a much further, distant future.

Just as Perez opened his mouth, wanting to alleviate Tia's anxiety…

"Tia, don't worry too much…"

"That's why I found a cure."

"…What?"

"For the wheat blight. I said I found a cure."