Lysia took the envelope and went towards the furnace. Because it was a mild day, there was no fire in the fireplace, and the brazier seemed to be extinguished.

Lysia stirred the brazier with the poker to revive the embers. And she put the envelope there, took a bottle of oil and sprinkled a few drops.

Rainier widened her eyes. She wondered what kind of letter she was burning like that.

Lysia said,

“Of course, we have to cooperate. We have nothing to hide, so let’s make the books completely public.”

“Sir Adevan will object.”

“The grain loan office does not need authority.”

After Lysia spoke, she thought for a moment.

“But if we have applied for it, whether it’s for budget, manpower, or information, it should be approved.”

“Yes.”

Rainier had a bright face. Although she was not in a position to be ignored wherever she went as Lysia’s secretary, of course, it was true that there was a subtle quarrel between the grain loan office and the administrative office.

“Let’s leave the responsibility of the audit to Sir Adevan. You are responsible for cooperative support.”

“What? Me?”

Rainier was startled.

“The winter wheat harvested this year is already bountiful. The warehouse is full, so it won’t be a big deal.”

“Where…… are you going?”

Rainier asked cautiously. Lysia spoke softly, as if it was nothing,

“I’m going to the Capital for a few days.”

“What are you going to do?”

“It’s a personal matter. It won’t take long.”

Even so, considering the time it takes to travel, it will take two months. Rainier had a concerned face.

“I will organize an escort squad as soon as possible.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m going to go lightly. It is a private business.”

“You can’t do that.”

“It takes too long to take escorts. It’s faster to just go with a couple of knights.”

“You’re not going alone, right?”

“No. I’m going to ask Sir Joffrey and Sir Adele. On the way, I will use the Western Army Garrison.”

Still, Rainier had a troubled face. Lysia was an important person. There were never a few people who would mobilize force to take advantage of her or to eliminate her influence.

Lysia said as if she knew the truth,

“Don’t worry. It won’t be the same as before. It was an unstable and ugly time in many ways at that time. It’s different from back then.”

Behind those words, she was hiding that the one who was obsessed with her was gone, but it was something that Rainier did not know.

Rainier couldn’t help but nod her head. When Lysia had already decided, she had no power to stop it.

“What about Venia?”

“What to do? Leave her to what she’s doing.”

“Next month, she will be upset if she finds out that Miss Lysia left her alone.”

Rainier shrugged her neck a little.

She had a hard time with Venia. Even though she was younger than Rainier. Her work skills were mature for her age.

Lysia sent Venia to the department overseeing the grain loan so that she could keep moving. She wanted to soften Venia’s heart a little bit by going to various places and observing the changes.

It seemed too early. Venia, unable to release her accumulated emotions, was relying on Lysia for her unstable state.

But one day she will change.

For Venia now, neither just the western lands, nor Lysia herself, was an object of love, but more of an object to which she clings to endure despair.

So when she understands that her despair is over, the day will come when her heart will be opened and she will see the world through full eyes.

Venia was a strong enough child, Lysia believed her.

“I’m going to write her a letter, so give it to her when Venia arrives. Even if she comes, she’s busy and she’ll have to go out again soon anyway.”

“Yes.”

Lysia gave Rainier a few more instructions.

Even though she was the head of the grain loan office, she was not directly involved in the business. All she had to do was decide on the basic policy.

Early on, she left the office and headed for her private residence.

She simply packed her things and left, and the two knights had arrived. Lysia said her greetings with her light heart.

“I’m going to the Capital.”

“Yes, Miss Lysia.”

Lysia put the pistol into her waist one last time.

It was the first time in two years.

＊＊＊

It was at the end of April that the Empress Dowager returned from her trip.

If she had gone to avoid the weather, she would have returned at just the right time. But she stayed a little longer than that, so Artizea wondered.

“I heard Southerners say that summer is the best part of a trip to the South Sea, but you came back early.”

“Aren’t sea fishing and boating too difficult at this age? After living in the Capital for a long time, the heat is hard to bear now.”

“I see.”

“Did nothing happen?”

“Yes. Nothing happened. There are many things that happen in history, but there is nothing that will change the social circle of the Capital in the short term.”

The social world was fluctuating with the arrival of the northern nobles, including Mel.

However, once they knew that the Emperor had no plans to focus on the northern nobles, it was nothing. It’s for a distraction anyway.

The issue of Karam was a secret even to the Empress Dowager. And the exchange with the temple was going smoothly to the extent that it went unnoticed.

“How is the South? Seeing that you came back early, it doesn’t seem like a big deal, right?”

“What do you mean by big deal?”

“Like increasing armaments in the Eidel Kingdom.”

“It’s something that always happens, so I feel refreshed.”

“It is.”

“Rather than that, it is noisy over the king’s marriage. At last, it seems that Eimmel’s vassals have reached their limit.”

“Is that so? Is there a proper queen candidate?”

“Well, there’s nothing particularly new about it. They say that from the beginning they were going to choose princesses of several countries with marriage alliances in mind.”

“The power map in the South will also fluctuate.”

Artizea answered indifferently.

It is unknown which country Eimmel decided to ally with. But nowhere has there been a princess so ambitious and daring enough to be Cadriol’s life companion.

Rather, if the new queen tries to cause internal disputes or fight for power, only Eimmel’s national power will be consumed.

‘It might be better to have a queen who is not famous. Even King Cadriol would know.’

Interestingly, it was unlikely that it would become such a complex political problem that the Empire would have to take it seriously.

“More than that, I got a lot of gifts from Iantz.”

It was then.

CRASH-BANG!

The living room door swung open so hard. The Empress Dowager frowned, but when she saw the child jumping in, she couldn’t.

“Grammaa!”

Leticia screamed and ran with all her might.

But she flinched before she rushed to the Empress Dowager’s lap. The Empress Dowager looked down at the child with a happy smile, and then she grinned.

“Ticia forgot Grandma’s face.”

“I, I …… not.”

Leticia got very shy. She hadn’t forgotten, but she seemed to be hiding her face after seeing the Empress Dowager after a long time.

The Empress Dowager put her hand under Leticia’s and held her up.

“Oh, you got heavy. Even after a few more months, it will be difficult to hold you like this.”

“Compared to the amount she eats, she is not gaining that much weight.”

“It must all be piling up on the bones. Because Cedric did.”

“Yes?”

“He fell from the ceiling and hit an iron flagpole without breaking a single bone.”

“What?”

Artizea asked. What does it mean to fall from the ceiling?

The Empress Dowager turned her gaze back and forth. But Artizea’s living room wasn’t very lavishly decorated, so it didn’t have the kind of drapery she was looking for.

“Well, you don’t have it here? An Imperial Insignia to be hung in conference rooms or reception rooms.”

“Ah yes. It goes down from the ceiling to the point where it almost touches the floor.”

“He claimed it up to the ceiling and fell; in my parlor.”

Because it was a place to be dignified, it was more than half a floor higher than other places.

Artizea widened her eyes. The Empress Dowager was happy because it was a face that Artizea was rarely seen with.

“Did you not know?”

“Why did he climb it up like that?”

Then, the Empress Dowager’s face darkened a little. It was because she remembered the past.

“Pavel flew his kite there. Since the floor height is higher than other places, he must have thought that it was sufficient. It got caught and it looked like he was going to take it down because he was afraid of Pavel being scolded.”

Then he fell, terrifying the nanny and attendant. The Empress Dowager also scolded him for greatly shocking her.

Luckily he wasn’t hurt, so he could laugh and say something. Artizea also grinned.

“Then, it’s a lie to say he didn’t hang on the curtains like Ticia did. He didn’t ‘ride it like a swing’, not that he never climbed it up.”

“Ticia, you, too?”

“Aaahhh.”

When the Empress Dowager looked at her, Leticia, who was in her lap, covered her face with her hands. She was scolded several times for that.

The Empress Dowager warned with a smile,

“You must be careful with the stair railing.”

“Ticia isn’t that tall yet, but I have to be prepared.”

“So is the sled.”

“I have to let them ride a sled and play.”

“On the stairs.”

Unlike Ansgar, the Empress Dowager had no reason to protect Cedric’s face.

“Pavel was very mischievous. Cedric may be pretending to get involved, but he was never innocent.”

“The nanny must have had a hard time.”

“If she takes her eyes off them, they disappear at that moment. There were times when I thought about using several servants, but that was not an easy task…….”

“Yes. Accidents happen if there is no one watching, but there might be a mix of people who cause accidents…….”

“Ticia doesn’t have that concern, so you can get a bunch of people.”

“Yes.”

Artizea laughed.

aaaahh had a good laugh knowing cedric’s childhood embarrassing stories :p