I Became the Master of the Empress

71 – Episode 71

My door opens roughly…

A woman with gray hair comes in and speaks to me in an argumentative manner.

“You! “Where were you last night?”

Theodora, who has a gaunt face, is glaring at me and I feel puzzled.

“Huh? “You worked here all night?”

I’m worried about her as I see her dark circles, as if she hasn’t slept at all all night.

“Did you stay up all night? Are your dark circles dark? “My eyes were bloodshot and…”

What I said…

“Hmm… No!”

Or not… Why are you yelling like that?

But, I’m in such good shape today that it doesn’t matter.

“By the way… this is an investment fund plan I put together with bonds from the opposing principality faction. Take a look.”

When I handed him a thick stack of documents, he took it and asked as if it were absurd.

“You’re telling me not to interfere in the affairs of the Grand Duchy?”

I answer that question in a joking tone.

“This is a project that the Grand Duchy and the Empire are working on together, so take a look. Your majesty?”

“Ha…What are they planning again?”

He takes the document and looks through it quickly.

“The content is not a joke… Did you stay up all night?”

At those words, I smile and stretch.

“Ugh! That’s right, I was feeling strangely good today. “So it was morning when I was busy working.”

Theodora’s eyes dimmed for a moment at my words, but then turned cold.

“Hmph! “I’m going to die from work!”

-Boom!

He said something incoherent and took the documents and left.

“But can I drink it today too? Unicorn horn?”

I don’t know about your stamina, but your vitality is amazing.

Just like an energy drink.

It tastes a bit good, but I want to drink a little more.

***

Terra and her son-in-law’s first breakfast after their union.

Terra frowns and glares at Debian, as if she is in a bad mood.

In contrast to my daughter and Terra, who had deep dark circles and red bloodshot eyes as if she hadn’t slept all night, Debian looked so energetic that his face was glowing.

Seeing those two makes me feel good.

It seems like Debian didn’t let me sleep all night.

I made that face when my husband drank dragon heart and unicorn horn.

When I see those two, memories of my youth come to mind and I smile involuntarily.

hehehe… Finally! At las!

It was a good idea to prepare the unicorn horn.

I’m sure things were hot between you two yesterday, right?

I speak cautiously, just in case something happens.

“Hmm… Did you both sleep well?”

When I say that, Terra sighs and says.

“Phew… It was just like that.”

“I was the best!”

What is the best?

My son-in-law is also…

As a mother, it feels strange to know that she likes Terra so much, probably because she had a hot night with Terra the night before.

She should praise her daughter for coming of age and spending a good night with her beloved husband… But she always thought it would be a child…

Seeing my daughter grow up like this makes me feel old.

“Hmm… I’m glad you did that. Come on, let’s eat.”

When I said that, my son-in-law looked at the oysters set out in front of her and cautiously opened her mouth.

“That… Mother-in-law… That dragon heart… And unicorn horn…”

Oh my… Did I really like that that much?

“You! “Are those words coming out of your mouth after yesterday?”

Seeing Tera getting angry at her son-in-law makes me happy because I think my prediction was correct.

In my dream yesterday, the grandchildren and great-grandchildren that I held in my arms flash through my mind.

Ahh… Ian and Renee…

I think that her husband heard my prayers yesterday and that drinking it two days in a row might not be good for Terra’s health.

Wouldn’t Terra be too difficult? Yesterday would have been the first time…

Although she hesitated for a moment thinking about her daughter, she thought that she wanted to meet Ian and Rene as soon as possible and that people do not die that easily.

At that time, I too felt like I was going to die, but didn’t I still live and die?

Once my thoughts were organized, I spoke to the chamberlain.

“The chamberlain did that yesterday…”

Looking at Terra with her frown down and Bian drawing her bright smile, she feels deeply sorry for Terra.

Terra… I’m sorry. Please forgive my poor mother.

But I want to meet the lovely and pretty Renee and cute Ian quickly.

Hearing my words, the chamberlain skillfully brought out yesterday’s liquor in front of Debian and sprinkled the unicorn horn on the liquor…

I get chills watching it all being emptied in one go.

“Khaa!”

You must be good at it, right?

But I guess I’m not the only one who thought that way, as Joey whispers to me.

“Mom… won’t her sister die if she does that?”

As I see Joey talking nonsense next to me, I smile and whisper in his ear.

“Don’t worry… She won’t die until her sister gives birth to her Ian and Renee.”

Joey asks me back with a puzzled look on his face.

“Who are Ian and Renee?”

The dream her husband showed her last night.

As I couldn’t sleep worrying about Terra and Devian, it must have been a precognitive dream from her husband showing me not to worry.

“What are you two whispering about?”

Do you not like this situation? Terra’s sparks fly here.

“It’s nothing.”

“hehehe… It’s nothing, sister.”

I feel truly happy as I look at Terra, who looks at us with suspicion, and her son-in-law eating her raw oysters.

***

That day, I stayed in the office until late at night and did some work.

I clear my mind by reading recent reports on the war, the establishment of the Ministry of Intelligence, and the development of fertilizers.

The anti-principal faction has not yet accepted my conditions.

But now they don’t last long either.

Slowly, their major cities have begun to surrender, and there is no power to stop our troops.

“You may still be reluctant to surrender.”

I get lost in thought while looking at the map in front of me.

The enemy is now trying to gather as many troops as possible, but there are barely more than 10,000.

But this side has already joined the Golden Knights and 10,000 of the emperor’s soldiers, and the number is already over 50,000.

This side has both numerical and qualitative advantages.

However, it is not easy for them to recruit mercenaries.

There won’t be many mercenaries who want to participate in a war that is already over.

From Noble mtl dot com

Besides, even if you hire someone somehow, you will need a lot of money.

My guess is that they are very short on money.

The only way to raise money is to receive it from Ioanes or issue additional bonds.

Ioanes is not stupid enough to give money for a war that has already been lost.

I have to prepare for a war with the Emperor’s faction, and you probably don’t think there’s any need to offend me in a fight that I’m sure I’ve already won.

That makes it impossible to issue additional bonds.

Even if we want to issue additional bonds, there is no one to buy them.

They must know there is no hope now…

Well, time will tell.

Thinking so, a report was posted about the establishment of an intelligence department.

Currently, the military officials have decided to hire former diplomats as instructors.

Originally, diplomats are high-ranking people who secretly spy in the name of promoting diplomacy between two countries, so there is no one better suited than them.

But the biggest problem is the operative training instructor.

“Hmm… First of all, I hired assassins as temporary fixers…”

We are considering hiring a large number of assassins who are requested to secretly assassinate people like Rebecca as instructors.

Recruiting them is more difficult than you think.

First, I received help from Rebecca and was introduced to a few acquaintances…

I’m worried because they say I’m no different from a newbie on that floor.

“Phew… I’m frustrated because money can’t solve the problem.”

Even if you want to hire highly capable assassins, it is not easy to do so.

First of all, there are two main reasons.

One is that they cannot trust the country because of their own sins.

Even if I write an amnesty decree, the majority of assassins will not believe it, and secondly, assassins with ability have already made a lot of money and do not prefer to be tied down somewhere.

“Let’s think about it slowly, one by one.”

And check the next agenda.

“Fertilizer factory…”

The project currently showing the most sluggish performance.

First of all, an astronomical amount of money was spent…

“There is no performance…”

From requesting tools needed for the experiment and developing new magic suitable for the experiment, to developing materials that can withstand high temperature and high pressure…

I have a feeling that this topic will probably ask for additional research funds soon for a topic that has not had much of a track record so far.

The good news is that our finances are abundant this time.

It’s not abundant yet.

The war is not over yet, and even if the war is over, procedures are needed to legally use Pieta Company’s money.

If I take and spend money from a company that has nothing to do with me legally…

It’s like admitting that I’m a market manipulator.

“This… Will be resolved slowly.”

At that time…

“Please have a cup of coffee, Grand Duke.”

I say happily as I watch Lucius bring two cups of coffee.

“Ah. Thank you! But haven’t you finished work yet?”

Lucius grumbled at my words.

“So-and-so told me to prepare the materials by tomorrow…”

Those words remind me of myself.

Should I ask my mother-in-law to share the unicorn horn with me later?

I was impressed by the clear effectiveness of the horn.

I can’t believe I don’t get tired even if I stay up all night like this.

How great is this drug?

I’ll have to ask Lucius a favor later.

“Hmm… So-and-so is wise. Ah! “I still have something to tell you.”

Once the war is over, we will have to rule over the territory of the opposing principality faction.

It is natural that many talented people are needed to rule effectively.

“You went to Lucius Academy, right? “Is there any talent there that could be of use?”

He says my words with an evil expression.

“Yes! There are so many! “There’s Müller, who graduated from the same academy as me and is graduating this year, and Maximilian, who is the same age as me and is an excellent magic engineer!”

Lucius actively appeals to me about those two.

“Brother Müller, of course! He has excellent academic records to the point where he is called the treasure of the Academy, and Maximilian comes from a family of blacksmiths for generations. “He is a genius when it comes to magic formulas.”

Seeing the people spitting out recommendations for those two, I feel like God is on my side.

Yes… I suffer like this. There should be a lot of good talent.

In addition, if a technology investment fund is created soon, guilds and factories seeking investment will come with investment proposals, right?

Among them, I was struggling with how to select a technician who would be able to filter out the crowd.

You’ll know once you see Maximilian…

But things are going better than expected.

“If we get those two, this empire will have peace for a thousand years… And the population will increase…”

I said this while looking at Lucius who was talking nonsense next to me.

“Because I understand. “Please make an appointment with these two people.”

When I said that, Lucius, with a bright smile on his face, nodded his head solemnly.

“hahahaha! All right! “Your Majesty the Archduke!”

And then, as I watch him leave my room, I smile involuntarily.

Is it really that good to have more slaves?