episode_0051

King Ioannes of Nicaea is in a good mood because many good things have happened recently.

Sitting at a large, ornate dining table, he cuts off a luxurious cigar, gently puts it in his mouth, and lights it.

Ioanes says as he takes a sip of smoke, enjoys the rich taste and aroma, and exhales white smoke.

“Ha…yeah. How much are you taking?”

“10 tons of gold in Epirus and 30 tons of flour in Egypt…”

-thud!

“You look like a damn lion cub!”

The aide answered while sweating profusely as Ioanes roared and hit the desk violently.

“I… please fix your highness.”

At those words, Ioanes took a rough puff on his cigar.

‘Damn you bastard. I knew you would do something bad, but you did it so blatantly.’

Although they have taken control of Epirus and Egypt to some extent, they are not yet in a position to overwhelm the imperial nobles.

Although they have plenty of gold and food, they still do not have enough troops to compete with the imperial faction.

‘Time… we still need more time.’

Ioanes, who thought he would need time to one day have a decisive battle with the emperor faction, calmly opens his mouth.

“Phew… Okay. I need to fix it. Isn’t it a situation where we can’t not give it to you right away?”

“That’s right… The imperial faction must not yet realize that Your Majesty has taken control of Epirus and Ezip.”

Ioanes trembles slightly at those words.

‘I’m angry, but there’s nothing I can do. But… don’t think that you can easily achieve what you want.’

“Savinelli. What do you think?”

Let Ioanes talk to the man watching from behind the aide next to him. A young man named Savinelli comes out and speaks.

“I have no choice but to hand it over first. If you break the imperial order for no reason, an inspector who knows nothing will come and the rumor will spread throughout the empire.”

Ioanes answers those words.

“I know too. But it’s so unfair to just have so much gold and food taken away. Is there nothing you can do to give a lion cub a shot?”

Savinelli says those words with a subtle smile.

“Yes.”

At those words, Ioanes smiles brightly and says.

“What is that?”

Savinelli looks at Ioanes urging him on and gives his aide a look.

“Aide, go out.”

“Yes!”

Savinelli, who soon saw him leaving the room, opened his mouth.

“Soon the Archduke will have to resolve the divided anti-imperialist faction.”

Ioanes nods at those words.

“I think the same thing, but… there’s no movement right now. We need to quickly recruit people like the anti-emperor faction who broke away.”

“The Archduke will have no intention of recruiting them.”

Ioanes says, as if surprised by those words.

“Then. Are you saying you are trying to subdue them through war?”

Savinelli nods at those words.

“Probably certain. Otherwise, there would be no way to ignore the breakaway forces courting the Archduke for long.”

Ioanes says as if he is dumbfounded.

“It’s hard to guarantee that we will win since we don’t have Valorant. Why fight a fight you might lose? You don’t look that foolish, do you?”

Savinelli says as if he agrees with that statement.

“I think the same thing, but there must be something going on. From the information I recently heard from Roman’s Part 5, I understand that he is making various preparations.”

Ioanes speaks as if he is interested in what he says.

“Preparation? Is this really about the Ministry of Intelligence?”

A new department, the Intelligence Department, that Debian wants to create.

‘But I don’t think it’s possible to take part in this war right now?’

To build a spy network, there are more than one or two things you need to prepare.

Ioannes obtained the proposal that the Archduke had published in Part 5 through an acquaintance.

And when I first saw the proposal of the archduke, who was as cunning as a snake.

I thought it was a brilliant idea, but I thought it would take a year to prepare, no matter how quickly I could plan it.

It seems like he knows how Ioanes feels.

Savinelli steps forward.

“The intelligence department thinks this is their first move to win this time and shake us up. In other words, the Archduke does not think about his defeat if war breaks out this time. It could be because you believe in something hidden.”

At those words, Ioanes rubs his chin and gets lost in thought.

“Hmm… I guess you can’t say that you will always win any war.”

In fact, there is quite a history of hundreds of thousands of armies losing to tens of thousands of armies, and there are also cases where great lords lost wars to small barons on the border.

So, in war, the word absolute does not exist.

‘If you’re not stupid enough to not know that, they’re definitely up to something.’

“That’s right. Then let me ask you again. So what should we do so that the Archduke won’t like it?”

Ioanes spoke as if he had noticed those words.

“Okay… I guess I should get involved in that war.”

Savinelli nods his head and says those words.

“That’s right. But you shouldn’t show it off too much. If the Archduke just wants to kill both of us, it will be difficult for us to be safe.”

“Puhahaha!, Good… Good! So how should I give them water?”

Savinelli smiles sinisterly at those words.

“In times like this, the best thing to do is to spend money.”

“Money?”

“If we distribute the gold we have to the defecting anti-emperor faction, won’t they hire more mercenaries? That much damage could be done to the Grand Duchy. Otherwise, the war will drag on for that long.”

Those words made Ioanes feel better.

There were already rumors that the empire was short of gold, and it is said that the Grand Duchy sold a large amount of gold to the empire.

Therefore, from the perspective of the Grand Duchy, if the war drags on for a long time, it will inevitably suffer a huge blow.

“Phahaha! That’ll do it then. That’s it!”

Ioanes laughs out loud, feeling happy at the thought of returning the humiliation he suffered several times over.

***

Today, as always, I go to the office.

“Huh?”

I see two letters on my desk.

One is from… Ioanez.

What’s going on with this guy?

He tears off the seal that sealed the letter and reads the letter.

-Flutter.

[Dear Archduke Francesco]

A letter that starts off well.

[I would like to thank you for handing over Epirus and Ezip to me as you promised.]

[But I have doubts about the order to transport a huge amount of gold and food from Epirus and Egypt to Roman.]

[Out of consideration for my friendship with you, I will tolerate it this time, but I hope that something like this will not happen in the future.]

[Your friend Ioannes.]

“Ping…”

To be dear is a piece of shit. What can you do if you don’t persevere?

Now it is a secret that Ioanes swallowed Epirus and Ezib in one gulp.

If it is known that Epirus and Egypt, which are directly under the emperor’s jurisdiction, have rejected the emperor’s orders, an inspection team is sent to Epirus and Egypt.

Ioanes had no choice but to be eaten by the imperialists, so all he could do was give him money and food and keep his mouth shut.

Did I send you this letter for no reason because I couldn’t do anything?

Well… it looks like he’s going to make a fuss. At best, I’ll throw money at it.

With that in mind, I read the next letter.

This is a letter from the Grand Duchy.

The sender is Mary.

Open the red seal with the Grand Duchy’s seal and read the contents.

[brother. The engagement with Agrippa ended well.]

[And it will bloom soon.]

[So, when the wind blows, you just have to do what you do.]

A short letter whose meaning is difficult to understand at first glance.

This is something only I, Mary, and Agrippa know.

“Hmm… But Mary’s handwriting has become neater while I haven’t seen her.”

I wasn’t very good at writing in the past.

He carries the letters to the fireplace and puts some firewood into the fireplace.

Then, he moves his mana to create fire at his fingertips and burns the firewood.

-Howl… Howl!

I start my day by inserting a letter into the flames that dance like rags on firewood.

“Soon… it’s war.”

We should issue a declaration of war.

The story about Agrippa and the date of the war is already over.

A week after the engagement ceremony.

That is, today.

It is the day to announce the promised declaration of war.

You must be busy today too.

“Ha…”

I sighed and left my office and headed to the bathroom.

I see a familiar man with brown hair and say hello.

“You came early today. Lucius?”

Slave No. 4, whom I purchased at a high salary some time ago… no, this is my aide, Lucius.

“Haha… did you sleep well?”

I say this out of concern as I look at Lucius, who has dark circles on his face.

“I slept well. But what happened so early in the morning?”

Lucius takes off his coat, shaking like a zombie.

“I couldn’t finish all my work yesterday, so I went to work early today.”

I am worried about Lucius saying that, so I speak cautiously.

“It looks like you didn’t sleep well. How about staying in the imperial palace instead?”

Lucius shakes his head violently at my words and speaks hastily.

“I hate it!”

I say that, feeling saddened by those words.

“Tch, I could have cooked more.”

Lucius speaks with a white face at my words.

“Is the Grand Duke truly the devil?”

“They paid a high salary to bring me here, but I have to work that much.”

Lucius is paid quite a lot for a civil servant.

His annual salary would probably be over 200 million in modern Earth.

Well, it may seem expensive, but it doesn’t reach the salary that nobles receive.

However, seeing Lucius going about this and that is annoying, so I just sing loudly and work hard to eat.

At that time, it was funny to see Lucius with his mouth open like an idiot, as if his jawbone was missing.

Ah… FYI, there is no concept of Labor Standards Act here, so although I work overtime every day, I am not obligated to pay more.

Thinking that he might run away, he wrote in his letter of appointment that his retirement would be with the consent of the empire.

At first, I refused, but when I said that I didn’t want to lose a talented person like you to another kingdom, Lucius, who was moved and his nostrils flared, readily agreed, so it was easily accomplished.

Tsk tsk… It’s simple.

“Anyway, I have work to do, so I’m going first.”

Saying that, I head to my office.