The moment I arrived at the Delriat Autonomous Territory, the order I gave was simple.
‘Figure it out yourselves.’
That was literally it.
The locals knew the situation here far better than I ever could.
For now, I planned to just sit back and observe how things worked.
Originally, I had intended to seize full control of the Governor-General’s office the moment I stepped foot here.
But there turned out to be no need at all.
Even if I did, there were only a handful of low-ranking officials, starting with Hozein.
‘No one’s going to stick around when they haven’t been paid.’
Their wages had already been in arrears for six whole months.
All because the Governor-General’s office was completely broke.
Wage theft was one of the words I hated most in the world.
Fixing it was simple.
All I had to do was stay still.
‘As long as the new governor doesn’t throw his weight around, the money to pay them will appear somehow.’
Besides, the fact that they had stayed on despite not being paid for half a year was honestly commendable.
I planned to promote heavily every official who had endured until now.
Thankfully, every single one of them was surprisingly competent.
Even the man standing right in front of me, Hozein, had impressive stats and motivation.
Name: Hozein Allegan
Status: Count (vassal state)
<Character Information>
Position: Administrator
Relationship: No prior acquaintance
State: Burning desire to save a nation in ruins, genuine care for the people, shallow loyalty toward the Empire, suspicion toward the new Governor-General.
Overall Ability: A
He had handed his country over to the Empire, but at his core he was a decent man.
He had simply run out of options.
If he had kept shouting resistance without knowing his enemy’s strength, what would have happened?
‘They would have been completely exterminated and replaced with new imperial settlers.’
That was exactly how Iron-Blooded Emperor Karon had subjugated every neighboring country until now.
Since this place had raised the white flag, at least they were still breathing.
‘He’s technically a traitor to his nation, but that has nothing to do with me.’
There had even been Japanese who surrendered to Joseon during the Imjin War and were treated as allies.
I could understand it in roughly that way.
Besides, I was imperial royalty; as long as someone was useful, that was all that mattered.
“The important thing isn’t evidence of Skyler’s crimes anymore… it’s how the hell I’m supposed to live from now on.”
A sigh slipped out on its own.
I was immediately guided to the official residence, and the state of the building was beyond dire.
No wonder the previous governors had insisted everything be built to imperial standards.
Giving a man who was essentially the king of a former nation a mud hut was ridiculous.
Compared to imperial architecture, it was practically a barn.
The only advantage was that the plot of land was huge.
“Ha… haha. It is far too humble; I am truly sorry, Your Excellency the Governor-General.”
When one person held multiple titles, imperial etiquette dictated you used the highest one.
In a way, it could be seen as subtly belittling.
But he didn’t seem to mean it that way.
Hozein had been fidgeting nervously the entire time.
If that was acting, he deserved to be called the god of lies.
“Surely this isn’t the most luxurious mansion in the territory?”
“I am terribly sorry, but you are exactly right.”
I had already seen how the people of Delriat lived on the way here.
A life far worse than imperial serfs.
The result of defeat in war and ruthless exploitation.
Yet I had never imagined even the Governor-General’s residence would be in this state.
Looks like this won’t do. I’m going to need massive reforms.
I would have to move separately from Hozein.
There was no way I could keep living in a house that was literally falling apart.
“Shall I take a little walk around?”
I strolled around the residence grounds and looked here and there.
Delriat’s problems were not one or two.
As Hozein had said, water management was the most urgent.
People were literally dying of thirst because there was no drinking water.
At this rate, even when spring came they wouldn’t be able to farm.
That could be solved by installing water supply pipes and irrigation facilities.
The problem is we don’t have the money for it.
That was the most fundamental reason Delriat had ended up like this.
The country had become appallingly poor.
No matter how innovative the policy, you needed money to implement it.
‘I do have some funds the Emperor gave me, but it’s nowhere near enough to transform an entire region.’
The shock I felt when I first arrived in the Empire was nothing in comparison.
At least there had been roofs that blocked wind and rain.
Here, it looked like they had just tied bundles of straw together and thrown them on top.
Very similar to thatched cottages, one might say.
“Isn’t there any corner where money might come from?”
If there had been, the previous governors would have sucked it dry long ago.
The Delriat Autonomous Territory was truly one step away from total collapse.
How on earth had they chosen to send me to a dogshit place like this?
For a moment I genuinely hated our reliable lunatic cousin.
Then suddenly an absurd idea popped into my head.
The Crawford Principality and the Western Nations Alliance are around here, aren’t they?
It looked like I was going to have to do something rather shameless.
“Ahh, why have I been like this lately?”
Princess Eustia was wrapped in an inexplicable restlessness.
Her hands itched unbearably, and she kept feeling anxious and fidgety.
It had started after she was kidnapped while touring the Delriat Kingdom’s desert.
“Are you all right, Princess? Shall I bring tea and sweets?”
“No need.”
The maid asked with a worried face, but Eustia only answered coldly.
Right now, nothing she did could relieve this frustration.
Warm tea that was supposed to calm the mind, delicious food that was supposed to bring happiness.
Exciting horseback riding or archery; none of it worked.
So the maid’s monotonous suggestions only annoyed her.
“Princess.”
“What?”
When the maid called again, a sharp reply shot out.
But she couldn’t keep frowning forever.
An unexpected guest had arrived.
“Young master Izkaya of House Soltri has come to visit.”
“Ah, show him in.”
Soon a man with long blond hair appeared.
Ceremonial light armor and a fluttering white cape.
The overall atmosphere was very flashy.
Yet he didn’t look particularly cool.
His plain face and short stature canceled everything out.
Still, considering he was the heir of a marquess house, he wasn’t an unattractive man.
“It has been a long time, my lady.”
“You never showed your face even once, and now you suddenly come all this way. Whatever for?”
“I was rather busy with personal matters. I was also searching for traces of you, Princess.”
“Yes, I’m sure you were.”
Nothing good was going to come out of Eustia’s mouth.
More than two weeks had already passed since her return.
Yet Izkaya had not visited even once.
Despite the fact that they were clearly engaged.
Instead of comforting her, he showed up late and acted all grandiose.
It felt like dragon breath was rising from deep inside her.
“I don’t particularly want to see you right now, so just go home today.”
“I came all this way, and you want me to leave empty-handed?”
“My mood is a bit like that right now.”
“Hah! You’re too much. I came despite all the rumors swirling around you.”
Crack!
The moment she heard those words, something snapped inside her head.
Eustia glared at Izkaya with venomous eyes.
“What rumors?”
“Ah, I misspoke. There are no such things, really.”
“Don’t dodge the question; say it clearly. What are they?”
“Well, the usual stories that follow a lady who was kidnapped and returned. That she might have been defiled by low-born scum…”
“What did you say?”
In truth, she already knew such stories were circulating.
Her maids had collected the rumors for her.
But she never wanted to hear them from her fiancé.
It was an indescribable feeling.
As if she had surpassed the limits of human anger.
Soon Eustia opened her mouth to spit out the vulgar insults she had heard from her kidnappers.
But right at that moment.
“Princess, a guest has arrived. What should I do?”
The explosion that was about to erupt subsided for a second.
She couldn’t scream like a madwoman when an outsider was nearby.
Eustia answered as calmly as possible.
“…Who is it?”
“I don’t know the person either, so I will relay exactly what I was told.”
“Go ahead.”
“Ahem! The cousin of His Omniscient Majesty the Emperor, the master of the ducal house that is the Empire’s sturdy pillar, the berserker of the north, Duke Abel Carius.”
At the maid’s torrent of words, everyone’s faces went blank.
Especially Izkaya, who frowned in open displeasure.
“They really used every fancy honorific in the book. Those are supposed to be reserved for me.”
“You shut up.”
“Heok! How can you say that!”
“Want to hear something even worse?”
“N-no, my lady.”
“And stop using that pretentious way of speaking when you’re younger than me. You sound like the old cats in parliament!”
Izkaya flinched visibly.
He always wore armor like a knight, but in truth he was nothing more than a fragile braggart.
That was why he could only shrink before the force of a delicate lady.
Soon Eustia nodded cheerfully toward the maid.
The face of the wonderful man who had saved her floated into her mind.
“Bring him in quickly. With the utmost courtesy.”
“Yes, Princess.”
An awkward silence lingered for a moment.
Izkaya opened and closed his mouth but offered no explanation.
He clearly believed something must have happened to her at the hands of the kidnappers.
Yet Eustia and the other victims had not suffered any such violation.
Because that lunatic Skyler had placed extreme importance on the “merchandise value.”
Soon a tall, striking man appeared.
“It has been a while, Princess Eustia.”
He had similar blond hair to Izkaya, but the atmosphere was completely different.
Neatly styled hair and a face carved like a statue.
In contrast to his refined features, muscles that looked ready to burst out of his tunic.
Even loose clothing couldn’t hide it; one could scarcely imagine how solid his body really was.
Eustia stared at Abel in a momentary daze.
He flashed a gentle smile and said,
“You’re going to bore a hole through my face.”
“Oh my! Look at me. I left an esteemed guest standing far too long. Please, sit this way.”
Blushing, she gestured toward a chair.
But instead, Abel stepped closer to her.
“Before that, I have something to give you first.”
“Ah! What could it…”
The moment she was about to answer happily, Izkaya, who had only been watching, suddenly interrupted.
“There is an engaged woman right here; isn’t it improper to approach so closely? And just why have you come here in the first place!”
A blushing Eustia and a savagely handsome benefactor whose eyes nearly rolled at the sight.
As her fiancé, it was something he could naturally say.
Of course, Izkaya had no right.
Hadn’t he just doubted her chastity moments ago?
A deep crease formed between Eustia’s brows.
Ignoring her fiancé completely, she spoke to Abel.
“What is it you have for me?”
“Ah, this. You seemed to really like it back then.”
What he held out was the two-handed warhammer that had belonged to the leader of the kidnappers.
For an instant, madness flickered in her eyes.
She finally understood why she had been so restless all this time.
Eustia smiled brightly and answered,
“It truly is the best present ever.”
Immediately she grasped the handle of the warhammer.
A thrilling sensation raced up her arm.
“Yes. This is exactly it.”
Eustia’s gaze turned toward her fiancé.
Eyes burning like blazing fire.
Every hair on Izkaya’s body stood on end.
“M-my little bird… why are you looking at me like…”
“Die, you fucking coward!”
KWAA-JIK!
At the refreshing impact sound, Abel blinked rapidly.
“I didn’t give it to you for that… well, I’m glad you like it anyway.”
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Asdfghjkl I like this girl 🤣🤣🤣