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nChapter 104

nProofreader: somnium

n“This is my daughter. I heard that you have seen her before.”

nMarchioness Camellia introduced a young woman who stood by her side like a lady-in-waiting. She was the Marchioness’ eldest daughter Skyla Camellia.

nSkyla politely raised a bow.

n“Long time no see, Grand Duchess Evron, I’m Skyla.”

n“Nice to meet you, Camellia’s Heir Apparent.”

nArtizea replied in a nonchalant way.

nShe had made an acquaintance before marriage, but she had never intimately talked with the girl. The greetings were enough.

nShe was caught off guard, so she didn’t feel good.

n‘If Marchioness Camellia is here, there is a possibility that there will be Grand Duke Roygar in the salon. It would be okay if there was only the Grand Duchess….’

nShe doesn’t know if Hayley can do it well.

nAlthough she was concerned, Artizea said without revealing her expression.

n“….. Would you like to walk for a minute?”

nArtizea took the lead.

nMarchioness Camellia told Skyla to remain there, and she followed Artizea.

nAt the time of their first meeting, Marchioness Camellia was in authority, and Artizea was nothing but a poor girl dressed in shabby clothes without any real power.

nBut now her status has changed, and Marchioness Camellia followed her a half step behind her.

nEven temples in the capital usually have green spaces nearby to keep quiet.

nThe two soon entered a path in a garden decorated like a forest. The escorts followed in a distance where they could not hear anything.

n“Do you come to this temple often?”

nAt Artizea’s words, Marchioness Camellia smiled softly.

n“No way. Why would you pretend you don’t know?”

n“Well, it was a whimsical decision to come to this temple. It’s a surprising coincidence that Marchioness Camellia has the same whims.”

n“It wasn’t on a whim, but on the small possibility that the Grand Duchess might be visiting. Brother Colton here is from the West.”

nBrother Colton was to refer to the retired old Bishop, whom Artizea wanted to meet.

n“Considering his reputation and history, one must seek his advice before starting a philanthropy for farmers in the West.”

nMarchioness Camellia did not hide that she knew that Artizea had bought the land of the West.

nArtizea was not surprised. Before she entered the mainland, she had already sent the news to Marcus.

nApart from that, she turned some of the grain vendors bought under a borrowed name to the Marquisate Rosan’s and made them invest in mills and land in the western region.

nIt was intentionally disclosed. So, of course, Grand Duke Roygar would know. Even if he doesn’t, he’s a sensitive person to the flow of money.

n“Yes, the West is a land worth investing in from now on.”

n“The only thing I can say for sure as the Grand Duchess.”

nMarchioness Camellia smiled at her.

n“I’ll have to invest a little, too. I don’t think it’s going to fail if I follow Your Grace. I’m really impressed by the skill that Your Grace has shown in managing the assets of Evron Grand Duchy over the past half year.”

n“It was a little money.”

nArtizea said slowly.

nUntil now, Cedric’s personal property on the mainland was managed by Ansgar.

nSome of them were the estate of the Evron Grand Duchy. However, Cedric’s personal wealth was also there.

nCedric’s mother brought it as a dowry and inherited it to her son with the succession of the predecessor Emperor.

nMost of them were conservative assets such as mills, farms and wineries. It was about the income of a small noble family.

nCedric wasn’t particularly interested in it, even more so given the size of Evron Grand Duchy.

nWhen added that income to the budget of Evron Grand Duchy it did nothing but pour a well into the river.

nAlthough he wasn’t the character to actively try to increase his assets, there was also the fact that it was inherited from his mother, who died due to misfortune, so he left it as it was from the time he inherited it.

nAnd he told Ansgar to use it for the cost of the capital’s mansions and villas.

nSo Artizea put her hand on it. This is because there was no reason not to do so, even though there was an opportunity to spend the money.

nShe sold most of the eastern stable assets.

nShe invested all that money, and she bought a sericulture farm and stocked up silk thread.

nIt was said that one should not put all eggs in one basket, but it was not relevant to Artizea.

nShe knew that silk would be unbeatable for decades to come. Especially so in the years to come. This is because silk is the new fabric that will be popular following the embroidery velvet at Iantz.

nAlthough the Iantz fabric is famous, it was at the Krates Empire where most of the raw materials were produced.

nWith the exception of the Iantz fabrics, the Krates Empire produced most fabrics considered to be of the highest quality and next level.

nArtizea had secured raw materials in large quantities.

nShe didn’t even have to hide it. Silk is a luxury item. The sericulture farm is in the east, and the purchaser of silk yarn is the Kingdom of Iantz. And consumption took place on the mainland.

nSo, there was no direct relationship with the growth of Evron Grand Duchy itself.

nWhat the Emperor is wary of is losing control of Evron. The growing dependence on the East and the South is rather welcome.

nEven if Cedric’s fortune increased, it wasn’t a large sum for the Emperor to care.

nOf course, he was also ignoring the rate of the asset growth because he did not yet know.

n“Because Marquisate Camellia was also investing quite a bit in the sericulture business. When I tried to secure silkworms by obtaining secret information from the Kingdom of Iantz, the Grand Duchess had already wiped it out.”

n“Because the silk business never fails.”

n“Do you believe that even though the Iantz leaked information that the next trend for embroidered velvet would be muslin?”

n“It would be to keep the raw materials available in bulk by temporarily dropping the price of silk yarns ahead of the launch of a new silk fabric, because Iantz, who knows that the most expensive ones are the biggest money, can’t choose muslin.”

n“My my. I thought Your Grace had planted an informant in the Kingdom of Iantz.”

nArtizea glanced at her. However, it was unlikely that Marchioness Camellia knew something and said it.

n“Did Marchioness Camellia come to talk about a trivial business? If that was the case, it would be nice to drink tea at home calmly.”

n“Oh my god. I’ve been sidetracked for so long. Personally, I was very surprised, so I was curious. Thanks to that, I confirmed that the wisdom of Your Grace is not only in the court.”

nMarchioness Camellia laughed.

n“I wanted to ask about what you want to do in the West. Even if you focus on charity work, His Majesty will be reluctant, so I was wondering how you plan to overcome that problem.”

n“Well, I don’t have a specific plan. It’s still necessary, so I have to try my best to persuade His Majesty.”

n“If there is a possibility that there is a rear base capable of stably supplying grain to Evron Grand Duchy, His Majesty will never tolerate it.”

n“Because it’s about using the property of Marquisate Rosan, not the Grand Duchess Evron’s, he can’t openly stop it even if he made an unpleasant expression.”

n“There are not only political means that His Majesty can use. As Your Grace Grand Duchess knows better.”

nSaid Marchioness Camellia.

n“Grand Duke Roygar said that he couldn’t afford to give the Evron Grand Duchy that much.”

n“….”

n“The shield of the north, the hero of the west. If Evron collapses, the mainland will also collapse. His Majesty the Emperor places great importance in the imperial power, so sometimes he is harsh.”

nArtizea paused for a moment. And she looked back at Marchioness Camellia.

n“Does Marchioness Camellia mean to say that if Evron falls, then the mainland will fall?”

nArtizea spoke in a hostile tone. Marchioness Camellia opened her eyes wide.

nArtizea knew well how to take full control of her facial expressions from the time they first met.

nEven when Miraila was expelled at her wedding, there was always a gentle, bright, appropriate appearance on her face.

nBut now she was revealing her raw feelings. At least it looked so.

n“I’ve been attacked by Karam once. It was terrible.”

n“My God.”

nMarchioness Camellia was really astonished.

n“I guess you didn’t know that.”

nThat meant that Cadriol’s incident was completely swept under the carpet.

nArtizea was satisfied. But instead of smiling, she hardened her face and spoke in a hard tone.

n“Do you know why Evron is loyal?”

n“Your Grace.”

n“Because the Northerners are born with an exceptionally straight and unselfish nature? Marchioness should know that humans are not made that way.”

nIt was a cold voice that she consciously gave out, as if her emotions came out. It was like anger and fear.

n“I found out this time. The Northerners don’t have a feeling of resentment, they know so well that they’re unable to do so. It’s impossible to flee, and if the community collapses, the defenses of the north will fall.”

n“….”

n“They don’t even have the option of becoming a migrant if other places collapse like the West. It’s because Elia Wall is stopping it. The Northerners are loyal because it was an environment where they could not survive without. Because they knew that, Grand Duke Evron was willing to take heavy responsibility.”

nUp to that point, everything is true.

nFor this reason, Marchioness Camellia could not discern whether Artizea’s reflection was sincere or whether it was intentionally exaggerated feelings.

n‘If you had an experience that put your life in danger by being attacked by Karam, it might be sincere.’

nMarchioness Camellia never downplayed Artizea. But she couldn’t get it out of her mind that she was 18 years old.

nIf she was as old as Grand Duchess Roygar, Marchioness Camellia would have completely doubted it.

nBut not now.

n“The cornerstone of Evron will be at Evron Grand Duchy, no matter what. My husband loves Evron and the land, and he has a strong sense of responsibility. But I think differently.”

n“Your Grace.”

n“There is no reason to sacrifice Evron alone.”

nArtizea said quietly.

n“I want to make a place in the West, of course, because I want to support my husband, Marchioness Camellia.”

n“….”

n“It’s also because I need a place to fall back on when something happens. If possible, I will protect as many people as my husband cares about.”

nMarchioness Camellia took her breath.

nArtizea’s words meant that Evron could give up the estate in case of unforeseen circumstances.

nCedric is not one to do that

nBut he is always at the forefront. There was always the possibility of a sudden loss of contact due to the collapse of the Thold Gate, or something more.

nIn that case, Artizea is the owner of Evron. And she was the one who would remain open to the mainland.

nAfter being recognized as Grand Duchess Evron, the loyal Evrons will follow the order of Artizea.

nIt was a real threat.

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