episode_0038

The morning after going on a secret trip.

Time to eat with my in-laws and family.

“Hey, do you have a lot of work today?”

My mother-in-law’s words made me, Theodora, and Joey look puzzled.

“It’s a little bit, but if you have anything to say, I’ll make time in the afternoon.”

When I spoke with a shy smile, my mother-in-law spoke with a kind smile.

“I don’t plan on taking up much of my busy time. There’s something I’d like to talk to you about for a moment.”

“Mom? What are you going to talk about with your brother-in-law?”

Joy, who was next to my mother-in-law, asked a question, but seeing her smiling kindly and finishing her meal without saying anything made me wonder again.

“Yes, I will visit you in the afternoon.”

With that, the meal came to an end.

Afterwards, on the way to my office with Theodora, she asks me.

“But why did your mother ask to see you alone?”

“Well?, I don’t have any guesses either?”

In fact, I don’t remember ever having a conversation alone with my mother-in-law.

So… I don’t know what you’re going to say.

“Hmm… That’s strange. There’s no way your mother would ask to see you for no reason…”

I also nod my head at Theodora’s words.

“I think so too.”

The Empress Dowager is the elder of the imperial family and at the same time, she is loved by the people of the empire.

I think that person like that is asking to meet with me because he wants something.

Honestly, if you ask for something, from my perspective, I have no choice but to listen.

This lady is a lifesaver and I was forced to marry her lovely daughter.

It is natural that it must be followed as a human duty.

“Your Highness the Archduke? See you here.”

“Oh? Agrippa? Are you going to my office now?”

Agrippa comes out of the cloister, bows lightly to Theodora and speaks to her.

“Yes, I still have something to report to you…”

I look at Agrippa, who is speaking with a slurred voice, and look at Theodora next to me.

If you’re giving me that slight hint, I guess it’s something Theodora shouldn’t hear.

“Theodora, I have something to talk with Agrippa…”

As I carefully trail off, Theodora nods as if she understands.

“Yes, you can do whatever you want while talking. I have somewhere to go anyway.”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

At my words, she gently turns around and speaks with a gentle smile.

“Secret.”

As I stare blankly at her leaving while saying that.

“Grand Duke, come to your senses.”

“Ah… really?, but what happened?”

“A letter has arrived from Princess Mary. Last time, this was about the bank that was decided to be established in the Grand Duchy.”

At those words, I look around and say.

“Then let’s go to my room… no, let’s go to your room.”

My office is no longer my own space.

Recently, Theodora has also been studying in my office every day.

“Of course.”

Let’s follow Agrippa and arrive at his room.

Agrippa hands over a piece of paper.

[To my stupid brother.

As my brother told me, I bought 30-year imperial bonds with 30 tons of gold and used those bonds to create a trading company and a bank.]

A short article.

“Really? I did it faster than I thought. Agrippa I think you should go to the Grand Duchy quickly.”

Now Agrippa and I have organized a bank and a chamber of commerce to make up for the lack of funds.

I plan to run it under my own name and rob the imperial faction’s treasury.

“Yes, then I will sign a contract as you said?”

“Yes, the dwarves, Epirus, and the merchants and guilds of Nicaea… Make contracts with everyone you can afford.”

Agrippa nods at my words.

“But wouldn’t there be a lack of money?”

“If it doesn’t work out, I’ll have to borrow it from my uncle.”

They say the United Kingdom is overflowing with gold these days, right?

I believe that if my lovely nephew asks me to borrow it, I will lend it to him.

Well… I guess I’ll have to put up collateral instead.

“Well… I understand first.”

I nod my head at those words.

“First of all, I have work to do, so I’ll go first.”

Saying that, he leaves the room.

And when we arrived at the office…

“Huh? There really isn’t one?”

I feel a little empty seeing Theodora not in the office.

Is it because I see it every day? It feels a little empty because it comes and goes.

But where on earth have you gone?

With that thought in mind, I finish my work.

***

“Meet Your Majesty the Emperor.”

I see three old men in front of me.

The three people who are said to be the best in the empire.

I smile as I look at the magic professors, the elf, the alchemy professor, and the technology professor, the dwarf, respectively, at the academy.

“Everyone must be busy, but thank you for taking the time to come.”

Three people waving their hands as if they disagreed with what I said.

“No! We can only thank you for calling us to serve the empire.”

“Yes. Thank you for saying that.”

Three people nod their heads at my words.

“Hmm… We looked for what His Majesty ordered last time.”

I ask because I am very excited about those words.

“Is that so? Have you had any good results?”

The alchemy professor nods at my words and takes out a small glass bottle from his pocket.

Only white powder is visible inside.

“If this is the case, His Majesty’s wish will come true.”

I ask as I see white powder for the first time.

“What is this?”

The alchemy professor spoke triumphantly at my words, as if it were a great discovery.

“Does Your Majesty know how farming is done?”

I shake my head at those words.

Agriculture is an important industry for the country, but unfortunately I do not know how to farm.

If it were him… would he know?

A thought like that suddenly occurred to me, but I don’t think he knows much about farming either.

It’s impossible for someone from a noble family to know much about farming.

“No, I don’t know.”

The magic professor nods his head at my words, takes something out of his pocket, and says.

“Now, please look at this.”

It shows a map with a circular castle in the center divided into four districts around it.

“What is this?”

When I ask, the magic professor says:

“The current farming method of the empire is as follows. Farming on one piece of land divided into 4 districts…”

He then points to the land next to him and continues.

“We farm here next year, and then here. Farming takes place like this. It is called fallow.”

I ask because I am puzzled by that statement.

“Then the three lands are not idle? Why are you farming like this?”

I don’t understand.

Are you deliberately teasing the land while farming?

“That means not farming on purpose to maintain the land’s strength.”

“Intellect?”

“Yes, if you farm haphazardly, your intellectual power will decrease and you will not be able to farm in the end. This is something that every farmer in the empire knows.”

I feel ashamed for a moment at those words.

“Kuhm… I see. But what is that white powder?”

What is fallow and that powder that we are talking about?

The alchemy professor smiles and says at my words.

“If you have this powder, you can farm without having to fallow the fields.”

I say that in surprise.

“Is it true? Does something like that exist?”

The alchemy professor nods his head and says to me.

“But it is not easy to make.”

The technology professor answers that question.

“To make powder, you need equipment that can maintain high temperature and pressure.”

The wizard continues with those words.

“And you need magic to create high temperature and high pressure in that device. It requires a completely different form of magic than the one-time-acting scrolls we’ve had so far. As a result, a huge amount of investment and time will be needed.”

I nod my head and say that.

“Don’t worry, the empire’s funds will never dry up.”

I asked curiously as I saw the three people nodding their heads at those words.

“However, as far as I know, I heard that the Archduke went to the Academy to inspect research that could be helpful to the development of the empire. I’ve never heard of such a groundbreaking product.”

If something like this existed, Debian wouldn’t have stayed still.

In fact, I only thought of sending letters to the professors asking them to let me know if there was anything that could be helpful to the development of the empire, so I sent the letter because I remembered that Devian went to the academy before I got married.

So I didn’t have much expectations.

But I couldn’t think of any other way to do it, so I tried it.

If he goes to the Academy and looks at this, but sees that it won’t be developed, isn’t it because it’s not as useful as he thought?

I ask out of fear that I might get scolded for investing this, but…

“The Academy does not cooperate with the Archduke. Most of the professors hate the Archduke.”

“That’s right. The day the Archduke visited the Academy. Many professors were busy hiding the data they were researching.”

That statement is puzzling.

I think of him sitting in his office every day, always thinking about the empire and its people, and brooding over documents all night long.

Why do you hate Debian?

I’m asking because I’m curious.

“Why is that like that?”

Three people nod their heads at my words and kneel in front of me and speak.

“Aren’t you making fun of the true owner of the empire and ruling over the empire as if you were the emperor? We all just follow His Majesty the Emperor.”

“That’s right. And he made a mockery of the Imperial Council and became a traitor to His Majesty, the master of the Empire!”

With those words… I get a strange feeling that feels both good and bad.

Debian…

For some reason, I don’t like it when professors here badmouth Debian.

Could it be that my husband is… my husband?

Do I feel bad because they criticize my husband?

I don’t know either.

But one thing is certain.

There is no one in this empire who puts in as much effort for the empire.

Although the way I did it was wrong.

I know how much he values the empire.

So, in order to change their minds, I open my mouth cautiously.

“Keuhum… I value your loyalty highly. But the Archduke is Jim’s companion. And he is truly a loyalist who works hard day and night for this empire.”

They shake their heads and say what I say.

“Your Majesty! He is a wicked treacherous traitor. Please do not trust him.”

“That’s right! Don’t you know how the Imperial Diet and the Supreme Court were bribed?”

I feel offended by what professors say.

It’s not wrong, but why does it make me feel bad?

Regardless of his effort or dedication, I also think his methods are wrong.

However, there is no reason to criticize these professors as treacherous.

He is proud and arrogant to be considered a treacherous person.

Although Debian is a treacherous company that studies policies for the people of the empire and for the empire, they were a little… just a little angry that they did not know what Debian was doing.

still…

I struggle to hold back my anger, thinking that if we can just make a lot of that powder, our empire’s future will be brighter.

“First of all, I value your loyalty. But how much money would it cost to make that?”

At my words, the technology professor takes out a piece of paper from his pocket and hands it to me.

“It will cost about this.”

“Uh…?”

My head starts to hurt when I see the amount far exceeding my expectations.

***

The review of the plan to create a new national agency has been completed.

“Ugh!, it’s over. Finally…”

I don’t know how many times I read and edited this.

30 tons of gold were recently brought into the imperial treasury.

Although the amount of gold in the Grand Duchy’s treasury has decreased significantly, this is something that cannot be helped.

Roman is shaken right now, so it’s important to fix that…

Anyway, we can fill the treasury while dealing with the anti-emperor faction.

“Now, shall we go see my mother-in-law?”