Chapter 103

Chapter 103

#103. Lenslet Arc (1)

Duke Sedes, the head of the imperial delegation, maintained a strained smile as he greeted the dukes and ministers.

“Hohoho… With the recent friction between the Empire and the North, it seems communication has been lacking.”

This was something he had prepared for before leaving the Empire.

He was a high-ranking noble responsible for diplomacy in the Empire.

He knew all too well what had transpired between the North and the Empire so far.

“If you’d allow it, may we establish an embassy in High City or Haven? Of course, Lenslet can also set up embassies in the Imperial Capital and Solasis.”

But diplomacy is about completely excluding emotions and focusing solely on national interests.

Though deeply offended by the cold treatment from the northern barbarians, he endured it.

For this moment, he sold soulless smiles like a shameless merchant or a lowly prostitute.

‘Endure, endure. All for the thousand-year glory of the royal family!’

And this was why Emperor Khanbraman sent him as envoy to the North.

Among the high nobles of the Empire, there were few diplomats as flexible as him.

“We’ll cover all expenses on both sides. By the way, embassies these days between the Empire and Kingdom Alliance…”

The first thing Duke Sedes and the delegation revealed was their gift – the embassy card. Essentially recognizing the North as an independent sovereign state with this card.

Simultaneously, it was a cunning move to regularly monitor the North.

“What? Do you really think you understand the relationship between us and the Imperial Family? Either you’re shameless or fearless…”

“…”

But the envoy’s gift was cut short by Ariana’s cold reception.

“So what exactly is your purpose here? It’s obviously not a formal apology for past incidents… Still clinging to my marriage proposal?”

“No. Hohoho… The purity of His Grace’s intentions has moved the Emperor and all citizens, and His Majesty has decided to respect it.”

“Empire scum always have such silver tongues. Just tell me the real reason.”

“Our goal is to resolve longstanding tensions between the Empire and the North and establish a new relationship.”

A tense and rude audience…

Yet the entire delegation, led by Duke Sedes, maintained their smooth smiles without any sign of disturbance.

“You might’ve heard through rumors, but His Majesty recently abolished the infamous law that long separated northerners and imperial citizens – the ‘Group of Twenty Northerners Prohibition Law’.”

He continued speaking without pause.

“Additionally, through the establishment of embassies mentioned earlier, we officially recognize the North as a principality.”

“Sedes Duke, I assume someone of your stature knows the recent ill fate between the Imperial Family and us.”

“…Yes.”

“Let me ask. Do you truly believe that abolishing one bad law and acknowledging our sovereignty will instantly resolve our history of conflict?”

“Please, Your Grace, do not misinterpret the Emperor’s goodwill!”

“Not misinterpreting. This is the result of accepting and understanding the Emperor’s intent to assassinate me and spread famine and disease across my land.”

“T-That… We already clarified that. The Imperial House never involved itself in such wicked acts!”

“Yeah, we sort of swept it under the rug for now.”

“Ah… If Your Grace still feels uneasy, we’ll investigate and severely punish those responsible immediately upon returning to the Empire!”

“Severe punishment? Do you even know who’s responsible? Surely… Are you planning some kind of rebellion?”

“!!”

Ariana and the northern ministers gave wry smirks.

Indeed, there’s a clear difference between the aggressor Empire receiving envoys from the victimized North and vice versa.

“Moreover, many of our Lensretians believe the Empire was deeply involved in the passing of my father, former Duke Bykal Rune Lenslet.”

“…”

At Ariana’s words, Duke Sedes and the delegation could only break out in cold sweat, unable to respond.

Their minds were filled with ominous visions of heads rolling back to the Empire.

“By abolishing the Group of Twenty Northerners Prohibition Law and establishing embassies… Well, I wonder how the enraged Lensretians will react when Empire citizens come to the North.”

With that, Ariana coldly warned the Empire delegation.

“But isn’t Bishop Guild trading just fine? Because they have protection from Mercenary King Carpe and Red Wolf mercenaries.”

“It’s not because of my strict orders, but because proud Lensretians have contracts with Empire trade guilds that they remain safe. Even then, when they come to the North, they don’t wander around freely outside designated areas.”

“We’ll definitely contract only with mercenary groups composed entirely of northerners when expanding into the North! We swear! And we’ll pay all taxes thoroughly to High City! We swear!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes!”

“Still, I need to be able to trust you at least.”

“…”

‘Are we supposed to trust you?!’

The delegation barely managed to hold back those words.

Endure… Endure… Endure!

The North holds the moral high ground, while the Empire has regrets.

It was the Empire that caused trouble in the North until now, and it’s the Empire that needs to keep the North dependent for the time being.

Looking down at the Empire delegation, Ariana thought to herself:

‘This way, we can easily manage Empire citizens moving around the North. I was surprised when they suddenly abolished the Group of Twenty Northerners Prohibition Law, but this is fortunate.’

Naturally, a treaty was established between Lenslet and the Empire.

Ariana inwardly praised herself for starting off strong and aggressive.

‘How did the Empire end up like this? How did they come to grovel before these barbarians?’

Conversely, though outwardly smiling, Duke Sedes inwardly wept.

Looking down at Sedes and his delegation, Ariana suddenly smiled and spoke.

“Let’s hope the new relationship between Lenslet and the Empire takes root properly.”

Her smiling words changed the atmosphere of the court instantly.

Ariana sitting on her white throne, and the ministers standing on either side, all looked at them with gentle smiles as if nothing had happened.

“Of course it will.”

In response to the sudden warmth, Sedes and the Empire envoys awkwardly smiled and mechanically replied.

“Is that so?”

“Yes!”

“I am the monarch and mother of Lenslet after all. A ruler who can swallow personal feelings for the sake of the future.”

“??”

What are you trying to say? At this absurd statement, Sedes and the delegation finally wiped away the forced smiles they had maintained until now.

“Anyway, discussions about embassies, sovereignty, and abolishing bad laws seem to be wrapping up roughly. The details can be discussed with the ministers after the audience.”

Watching the bewildered expressions of the Empire delegation, Ariana smiled warmly and ordered again.

“So tell me the real purpose.”

As if she knew everything already.

“…We would like to discuss Count Arad Jin’s upcoming visit to the Empire.”

Thus prompted, the drained delegation weakly opened their mouths as instructed by Ariana.

* * *

While the Empire delegation was suffering at High City,

I welcomed Entaire at the guest room of the Arad Workshop.

Incidentally, Entaire’s audience was scheduled for the day after the Empire delegation’s, thanks to Ariana’s consideration of my urgent need to establish a bank.

“Are these the ones?”

I scanned the four people Entaire brought along.

Receiving my gaze, they tensed up slightly.

“That’s right. They’re also the result of my efforts and luck.”

Meanwhile, Entaire proudly promoted his achievements with a despicable smile like a slave trader.

“By the way, they’re all Empire citizens. Given the poor perception of Empire citizens in the North, I wonder if they’ll be able to settle in well…”

Even so, he formally showed some concern for the welfare of the quartet, perhaps out of residual conscience or mere formality.

“Just give them company uniforms.”

With that single sentence, I alleviated the concerns of Entaire and the quartet from the Empire.

“Names?”

“Baker.”

“My name’s Violet.”

“Richard.”

“Holland.”

A modest group consisting of two 30-year-old men, one 20-year-old woman, and a 50-year-old man.

“Who here has experience working in banking?”

In response to my question, two hands went up – Violet the woman and Richard the older man.

The remaining two, Baker and Holland, naturally turned out to be former loan sharks.

“The bankers are from the banks in the Imperial Capital, and the loan sharks aren’t from back alleys but rather systematic and sizable operations.”

Entaire added explanations from the side, handing over documents summarizing their specs and backgrounds.

‘This really feels like some kind of slave trading document.’

Putting aside the awkward feeling, I skimmed through the documents.

‘Impressive work gathering such talents.’

Their detailed specs made my eyes widen.

After briefly scanning the documents, I addressed the four who were still standing stiffly.

“Whatever experiences you had in the Empire no longer matter. From now on, you are honorable Lensretians and will be working in the most advanced financial industry on the continent.”

Deciding internally to separate one of them for securities work, I gave a brief welcome speech.

“Manager Te, please guide them to their accommodations and give them about a week to acclimate to the North and the company. Sending them to the academy is also an option if needed.”

“Understood.”

As these were talents I needed to utilize as soon as possible, I tossed them to Theo who was standing behind.

‘We should arrange regular monitoring through Frosthaven and our audit team.’

Though I accepted them coolly, I didn’t lower my guard.

Even if they were selected by Entaire, there was a possibility they were spies for the Imperial Palace. They might even be industrial spies deliberately planted by Entaire himself.

Therefore, I planned to investigate them thoroughly during the adaptation period through connections with High City’s Frosthaven and our company’s intelligence team.

Once Manager Te took the quartet from the Empire and left,

only Entaire and I remained. He immediately lit up with anticipation and asked:

“Then, Mr. Jin, how do you plan to run the bank?”

He had intentionally kept his guards and attendants at bay for this conversation.

“I have one thing I want to confirm before answering that question.”

“Yes, please speak.”

“I heard you presented several steam engines and spinning machines to the Emperor?”

“Hahaha… Well, you see… The pressure from the Imperial Palace was intense… And it’s not entirely bad…”

I cut off Entaire’s hurried attempt at excuses.

“Well done.”

“Excuse me?”

“That’s right. Good job. You were taking advantage of the division among the status quo faction, weren’t you?”

From my perspective, which desires the steampunkification and division of the Empire, Entaire felt like an auto-hunting AI set to farm efficiently.

“Eh? Yes! Thank you!”

Expecting a scolding for acting without prior permission, Entaire wore a bewildered expression.

The obvious reason he didn’t mention this to me first was that he anticipated the North and I wouldn’t approve.

On the other hand, Entaire, who was on the scene, must have believed that presenting a few of the Four Great Wonders to the Emperor was necessary.

Doing so would prevent the Emperor and the status quo faction from targeting him and the North. Instead, they would turn against each other, tearing apart the bait thrown in front of them.

“Generally speaking, forgiveness is easier than permission.”

“Hahaha…”

“However…”

“Yes, yes!”

“Do try to stay within bounds. I trust that Lord Entaire knows where those limits lie.”

“Of course…”

Briefly reining in Entaire’s conduct…

“Ah! What was your question again?”

I decided to continue the interrupted Q&A.

“Mr. Jin, how do you plan to operate the bank…”

Entaire repeated the question in a slightly deflated tone.

“Right, that was it.”

It felt very satisfying to have reestablished control.

“Isn’t there currently a shortage of silver coins and gold coins throughout the continent? Copper is scarce too.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

At my counter-question, Entaire’s eyes sparkled.

“The issue Mr. Jin pointed out is problematic now, but it will become an even bigger problem in the future.”

With the Industrial Revolution just beginning in the Empire, the market and capital have grown exponentially.

As a result, demand for gold, silver, and copper coins has surged drastically.

Mining simply cannot keep up with the demand.

“In fact, some factories in the Empire are paying wages in goods instead of money. Bartering is making a comeback among the Empire’s citizens.”

Though it may seem like they’re just trying to save money by paying in goods, the situation is serious enough to elicit such scattered reactions from Entaire.

“In the original timeline, the magic circuit was completed before anything resembling an industrial revolution occurred. The shortage of gold, silver, and copper coins was offset by mining using golems and giant soldier constructs created by the magic circuit.”

This world has a tangled tech tree compared to the original timeline.

If things continue as they are, a continent-wide economic depression-like situation might occur.

“There will be two types of banks established in the North. One is the Arad Bank, and the other is the Lenslet Central Bank.”

Because of this, what should have been launched after more tech development had accumulated had to be rushed out.

“Central Bank? What’s the difference between that and the Arad Bank?”

“Many differences exist, but the biggest one is this.”

I pulled out what I had prepared for Entaire.

“What is this?!”

Special high-quality paper catches the eye with artistic printing.

Especially the portrait of Ariana printed on the right side of the paper boasts artistic quality surpassing even the average Northern Hero Art.