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nChapter 88

nProofreader: somnium

nWhen the beacon rose from the fortress of the Thold Gate, it was the emergence of the variables that worried Artizea the most.

nAs Artizea remembers, there was no war with Karam this year.

nSo, is this a crazy butterfly effect of her actions?

nIf that’s not the case, was it because there was another person who had the memory before the regression, other than Cadriol?

nArtizea did not see the probability of the former as high.

nThe likelihood that a person outside of Evron who is related to Karam is near zero.

nThe Western monster wave was thought to be a natural disaster. Karam is no different, because it was considered a kind of monster in all areas except Evron.

nAs Artizea knows, she was still the broadest person ever to come up with new ideas among those involved in imperial politics.

nBesides, she had been devoted to giving Evron pain.

nShe didn’t even think that Karam could be the target of negotiations or politics until she came here and talked to Cedric.

nSo it is unlikely what she did at the mainland had any impact on the Karam.

nIn other words, it meant that a completely unknown variable occurred in Evron.

nVariables beyond her control are dangerous.

nHowever, if the cause of the war was the village north of Thold, it meant that Artizea herself had an influence on this conflict.

nIt is not a variable.

nThe war itself was, of course, a problem.

nHowever, it was better than the appearance of an unknown variable.

nArtizea took a deep breath and looked at them.

n“Does the Grand Duke know?”

n“Yes, the village guard went to the fortress at Thold Gate with the report.”

n“I see. What about the child?”

n“I’ve already sent it back.”

n“But since it happened once, it is said that the extremist in Karam got room to gain advantage over the moderate one.”

nArtizea was lost in thought

n“How did the villagers handle it? Hannah, I remember you being firmly confident that you could keep it confidential.”

nHannah lowered her head with a pale face.

n“I’m sorry. “

n“I don’t want to hear an apology.”

n“We will look for the suspect that leaked the information as soon as possible.”

nHannah bowed her head.

n“What are you going to do about it?”

n“Punish the perpetrator severely and warn the other not to let this happen again…..”

n“I’m sure you know what will happen if this is known to the mainland. I have already told you why I am dismantling the village and trying to put the crop on the altar of the Great Abbey.”

n“Yes. “

n“A warning doesn’t mean anything unless you kill everyone to cover their mouth.”

nArtizea said coldly.

n“Your Grace…!”

nLysia was startled and called her. Artizea shuddered.

nTo be sure, there is nothing more than that. Half-hearted punishment and warning increase the likelihood of information leakage.

nIt wasn’t clear whether it would make any sense to investigate it now.

nArtizea touched her forehead. Viscount Agate said like an excuse.

n“In the first place, we were going to relocate to a suitable area and cut off contact with the outside for a while. At the time of the conflict, I went to the stronghold first to deal with the urgent matter, but after that, since Karam troops appeared here and there, we have not yet cleaned it up.”

n“First of all, we’ll have to deal with the residents.”

nArtizea turned to Lysia and asked.

n“Will there be any room in the village of the rebels?”

n“Our village?”

n“Because the village of rebels is the most secret place in Evron. It would be nice if you could accept about 8 households.”

nFirst of all, the rest of the mixed family or their relatives are all right. This is because they had already pretended to be a common civilian.

nThe words of relatives who have mixed Karam blood will not be accepted publicly at all.

nSo, hide the rest in the village of rebels.

nThe village of the rebels is a place where everyone hides together. The people there were most loyal to the Evron Grand Duchy. They will also have a sense of revenge for the imperial family.

nThey will monitor the villagers north of Thold to keep information from leaking.

n“You will have to get some support from the stronghold.”

n“It’s not impossible.”

n“I think it would be okay if it was a temporary residence. We have to discuss whether it will be acceptable in the long term.”

nArtizea looked at Viscount Agate and Hannah. Hannah nodded her head vigorously.

n“We can meet this winter, and we can solve the problem after it. In spring, we will relocate the entire village to a secret place as originally planned.”

n“Is it okay to believe that?”

n“They won’t be so uncooperative. All of them have lived as neighbors with mixed Karam for several years. They have enough loyalty, I swear.”

nHannah said.

nArtizea sighed a little.

nLoyalty and faith are compatible. Even the one who confessed to the priest this time would not be because they have a lack of loyalty.

nAnyway, it’s good.

nNow that information leakage has already occurred once, it is safe to think that it is already known somewhere.

nAs Hannah said, it’s good if there is no information leaking again, or else it can’t be kept secret, anymore.

nShe had no choice but to have the Karam crop on the altar in the Abbey as soon as possible.

nThe Western Grain Merchant Union must also be made quickly. Wherever the word karam crop comes from, it can be regarded as a battle between grain vendors.

nArtizea said.

n“I have to go to the capital.”

n“Yes? “

nViscount Agate, Hannah, Lysia, all three looked at Artizea in amazement.

nArtizea said again.

n“The sea is blocked, but the land is clear, right?”

n“By land… you mean?”

n“It’s not an easy road, Your Grace. Snow has piled up…. If you take a break in the carriage, it would take a lot longer than two months.”

n“In addition, Karam is crossing the Thold Mountains. As you can see, the patrols are subduing them, but it cannot be said that it is not dangerous.”

nSaid Viscount Agate.

nHannah had other worries, too.

n“There is a dispute at the Thold Gate, and if the Grand Duchess is away, the morale of the people may be lowered.”

nArtizea was also concerned about that.

nTo be a good Grand Duchess, it would be right to remain in the stronghold.

nArtizea also knew that the master and his family could give pride and trust to the young people by protecting the stronghold.

nBut that’s too low of the profits when she thinks about what she can do to go to the capital.

nShe doesn’t know much about the protocol. Rather, unnecessary efforts and resources are put into protecting her.

nThere will be someone who sees the Grand Duchess returning to the capital, not long after she has been married, as running away.

nHowever, such personal disgrace is fine.

nAmong the few issues here, there is Karam who has crossed the Thold Mountains. Disputes are arising at the gate. A war will break out by any chance.

nShe was not afraid of war. There were also concerns that Cedric would get hurt.

nHowever, such worries mean nothing, no matter how sleepless she may be.

nOn the other hand, there are so many things that she can do in the capital at this moment.

nNo one can touch the Grand Duchess of Evron at this time.

nIf the Grand Duchess of Evron was accidentally ‘touched’ or betrayed and the Grand Duchy falls back, the next front line becomes the Elia Wall.

nIt means that it will be a war coming to the imperial family and the central nobility.

nInstead, they will get enough military supplies and compensation. Wouldn’t it be necessary to get as much as they sacrificed?

nShe doesn’t know what the naive ancestral Grand Duchess was like. But Artizea knew well enough to know what could happen if Evron was touched at this point.

nAt least in their opinion, their lives are much more expensive than those of Evron.

nShouldn’t the gap be filled with gold?

nThe same was true of the Great Abbey; while Evron is at war with Karam, they cannot excommunicate the Grand Duchess.

nSo now was the best time to harvest and manipulate the seeds she sown.

nEverything she has to do is in the capital.

nIn the meantime, she thought that she had to bring all the western troops that Cedric had given up.

n“Make a plan so we can get there in two months, Lysia. Before the end of winter.”

n“Your Grace….”

n“Go down to the south and do the work together. If you don’t have enough troops, you’ll have to organize a minimum of escorts and hurry.”

n“No need, it is possible.”

nViscount Agate replied.

n“But before that, I would like to speak to His Grace the Grand Duke.”

n“Yes.”

nArtizea said.

n“I will write him a letter.”

n“Yes. “

nViscount Agate replied without concealing his embarrassment.

n“It’s late at night, so go and take a rest.”

n“Yes, Your Grace.”

nArtizea first stood up.

nA rough outline of what she had to do in the future has already been made in her head. Now, she only has the priest to deal with it.

n***

nIt was three days later that Artizea’s letter was delivered to Cedric at the fortress at Thold Gate.

n“Did you bring the letter yourself?”

nCedric frowned lightly at Lysia, who handed the letter.

n“Yes. It’s not a long distance from the stronghold. Her Grace said this is an important letter, so she wished I could deliver it myself.”

nThere was also a slight suspicion that she was trying to pass Cedric to Lysia.

n“She asked me to see the war with my own eyes and tell her. She thought that the Grand Duke might downplay it when telling her….”

nHaving said that, Lysia looked over the wall.

n20,000 Karam warriors.

nIt’s not a small number, but it wasn’t enough to break through the fortress at Thold Gate.

nIn general, it is said that attacking a fortress requires 3 to 5 times the troops of the defending side.

nThe number of troops regularly deployed at Thold Gate was 10,000. When calculated arithmetically, there should be more than 30,000 Karam warriors to be able to fight against them.

nBut it is a story between people. In fact, Evron has 10,000 troops to prevent 100,000 Karam.

nKaram’s civilization lagged far behind that of the Empire.

nKaram’s life span is about 40 years, even at the maximum. History cannot be accumulated because there are no letters and the environment is not capable of developing agriculture.

nKaram’s tactics are childish, and their weapons are poorly developed. Compared to humans who already use guns, Karam is now barely starting to properly handle spears.

nThat was the reason why Karam couldn’t surpass Thold despite its excellent physical ability and survivability like a beast, fertility that is more prolific than humans, and the rapid growth of reaching adulthood in five years.

nHowever.

n“A battering ram, is it?”

nLysia stared blankly at the other side. They had a siege weapon.

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