episode_0089

It’s been two months since the Empire’s mercy began to take full effect beyond the eastern border.

Burghai, which seemed on the verge of collapse at any moment, has finally regained stability.

Of course, this is not to say that it has completely regained its former glory.

It means that in a situation where you could barely breathe, you have reached a state where you can barely eat and survive.

The Burghers’ rulers still had not recovered their power.

In the face of an unprecedented disaster, those in power failed to show that they were okay.

Rather, they went so far as to step on the people of the kingdom in order to survive.

In a situation where the people had already lost their support due to the war, the great flood was a fatal blow.

The royal family would immediately be shaken and the nobles would plot behind the scenes.

The best thing to do in this situation is to place blame on those at the top.

When we say the highest person here, we are most likely referring to the king.

By doing so, the nobles below can completely avoid the wrath of the kingdom’s citizens.

There actually are kings of those ancient kingdoms that have fallen.

Or, in some cases, the royal family changes and the country itself changes.

Burkhay had already lost the war, so it was quite possible that this would happen.

But nothing similar happened in Burkha.

Instead, the nobles supported the royal family and swore loyalty to it.

They, like the king, devoted their energies to national stability.

Are the nobles united in loyalty to overcome this unprecedented disaster?

How could that be? Just a little while ago, I was trying to leave a ship that was on the verge of collapse.

There was only one reason why the nobles of Burkhay were doing this: because of the Empire.

‘I thought the imperial bastards would kick out the royal family, but that wasn’t the case.’

‘Rather, it is praising the royal family. The Crown Princess has a meeting with the Crown Prince at least once every three days. They say it is to overcome an unprecedented disaster, but this only means one thing.’

‘It means support for the current Burkhay royal family. To our nobles, to Forland and Kaden. The Empire is declaring its intention not to be hostile to Burkhay.’

The Empire has no intention of installing a new royal family to suit their tastes in the East.

Why should it be like that? There is no reason to hear unpleasant words from the people of Burkhai.

Anyway, if the current royal family has any thoughts, they will know that joining hands with us is the right thing to do.

In terms of legitimacy, overthrowing the existing royal family would be a huge loss.

Keep them as they are. Rather, give them back some of the authority they cannot refuse.

Instead, if you let go of this hand, you will only end up losing what you have regained.

This will also send a clear message to Forland and Kaden.

It will not completely destroy the existing order and create puppets for the empire.

I guarantee your autonomy. I also guarantee your independence. I won’t touch you.

Just keep the line. If you cause confusion, you will not be forgiven and will be punished.

The Burghhey royal family was also naturally aware of these facts.

I feel a little sad, but I also think it’s fortunate.

If the Empire had really changed its mind, it would have fallen off a cliff.

If you say your pride isn’t hurt, you’re lying.

But I have no intention of strangling myself because of that pride.

Above all, aren’t the people of the kingdom who were on the brink of survival regaining their lives?

As Burkhay became more or less stable, the Crown Princess also began providing support to Portugal and Kaden.

Of course, he fixed his residence on the Burghei side and did not move.

This reassured the still anxious people of Burkhay.

At the same time, he tells both kingdoms that they can be with the empire as long as they keep good.

“Your Highness the Crown Princess. This time, here is a report from the Special Affairs Bureau and a letter from nobles who cooperate with the Empire.”

“Finally, what I’ve been waiting for has come. Yes. I wonder if the contents of the two sides will be the same or not.”

The nobles who cooperate with the empire will naturally use it only for good.

Very occasionally there are some that are extremely objective, but the number is so small that it is difficult to compare them.

So the verification process is always about what if. It’s always against the critical perspective of the Special Forces.

The Special Services Agency. It serves as the last bastion when combining various types of information among the imperial agencies.

Keep all possibilities open, investigate thoroughly, and check all possible directions, even the negative ones.

That is why, in a situation like now, we can say that its reliability is very high.

[ All the people of Burkhay now praise the name of the Empire… . ]

[ Those who lost their sons, husbands, and fathers in the war. However, they were also deeply moved by the fact that their remaining families were saved by the Empire – ]

[Recently, there have been voices among the nobles calling for the borders to be opened to the Empire…]

As expected, the Burghhey nobles are all bringing only good news.

There’s no way this is a lie. If we investigate this, we can immediately determine whether it’s true or not.

However, it is possible that only positive reactions will be reported while negative public sentiment is hidden.

‘Was this the report submitted by the Special Forces Department?’

The Crown Princess took a moment to catch her breath and then checked the contents one by one.

To be honest, I’m a bit cautious. I’ve been here for almost three months now.

It took quite a bit of time and even more resources.

However, if I do not achieve any significant results, I will be ashamed to face the Emperor and his subjects.

[ 182 Special Agents in Burkhay. Detailed report after all return. ]

[Confirmed that the majority of antipathy towards the Empire has disappeared.]

[ Nearly a year has passed since the Eastern Front ended, and it is expected that the unprecedented flooding that followed will have a major impact ]

“… Okay.”

Yes. Now, finally. It’s exactly as the Empire wanted it to be.

Not simply surrendering to a power differential or defeat in war.

By bowing down from the heart and doing so on one’s own.

One day, someone will definitely appear who rebels against this order.

There may be those who agree with this and it could cause great confusion.

But at that very moment, the people who had been relying on the empire for peace will rebel.

Since legitimacy ultimately relies on public sentiment, the empire will always have the upper hand.

That was what the Empire, the Emperor, and the Crown Princess wanted.

An order that they themselves uphold, not an order that the empire pressures them to accept.

Those who oppose it are rejected not by the empire, but by their own tendencies.

“Your Highness the Crown Princess.”

In a situation where that alone is enough to make you happy.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent news.”

Something that would make the Crown Princess even happier has arrived.

“Armed conflicts reportedly broke out between Novogord and Atria.”

*

As the eastern part of the continent was gradually stabilizing under the care of the empire.

On the contrary, the northern part of the continent was increasingly falling into a whirlpool of chaos.

“Damn demons! You bowed down and yielded and did all sorts of things! You deserve to be punished by heaven! Is it okay to trample on people’s hearts like that!!”

“Dirty Atria bastards! You smile on the outside while hiding your daggers behind your back! Why do you keep coming into our Novogord territorial waters and fishing indiscriminately! Send those thieves away immediately!!”

At first, it wasn’t like it is now. Rather, the atmosphere was quite friendly.

Atria continues to reach out to Novogord, and Novogord is conflicted.

In that situation, those who were somewhat intelligent would each envision a new future.

But at some point, it completely changed. No, it flew away.

From the beginning, Atria and Novogord had considerable friction over territorial waters.

In the meantime, both sides were exercising maximum self-restraint in order to improve their relationship.

Suddenly, a piece of news began to spread like fog between the two kingdoms.

[ Atria’s illegal fishermen escaped Novogord’s navy. ]

[They didn’t run away, but they pretended to be ordinary fishermen to deceive the demons, and when they let their guard down, they used force to inflict damage and escaped.]

At first, it was a story about events that could easily happen.

Since it wasn’t the first time this had happened, everyone seemed to think it was the case.

But Novogord, or to be precise, the council ruled by the moderates.

To be more specific, those who received advice from someone had no intention of letting this incident pass.

It’s inflated. Flesh is added to the bones and a story that didn’t exist before is added.

It extends from simple illegal fishing to coastline surveying and map making.

Eventually, there was even talk that they had been targeting Novogord’s navy from the beginning.

Atria, or rather Dedorant, who heard the news, tried to sort out the situation.

The only place that can stir up the northern part of the empire at present is Novogord.

If we can just involve them, we can force the Empire to fight a two-front war.

If we raise Benito, it could be a nightmare on three fronts.

In such an important plan, Novogorsk, a key axis, could not be lost.

“The demons of Novogord are fabricating things!”

“We always kept to the established line! Illegal fishing!”

“I have never surveyed or mapped the coastline! This is all a lie from the demons!”

However, contrary to the will of Dedorant, the public sentiment in Atria became increasingly hostile.

Dedorant doesn’t really have any contact with Atria, but she and Novogord have clashed from time to time.

Because of this, relations between the two countries are not the worst, but they are not the best either.

In that situation, with Novogord out there, the people of the Kingdom of Atria would not be able to stay still.

It started out as a battle of pride between the people of each country.

If some more time had passed, it would have been possible for it to quiet down as if nothing had happened.

But as if that couldn’t be the case, firewood kept pouring in from somewhere.

Atria is smiling in front, but plotting a scheme behind the scenes.

In fact, all of this was a farce orchestrated by Novogord.

They were very precise in picking out the words that would irritate each other.

In this situation, the two countries were boiling and boiling again, and were finally on the verge of exploding.

“Everything Atria says is false! They are very good at plotting things behind the scenes! There are even reports that they are going to ask Novogord to shake up the northern border of the Empire right now!!”

A huge bomb that shook the political situation in an instant was dropped.