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Vol 05 Chapter 160: Political Change

As the new year arrived, I turned twenty-one.

Ankus and Fiona were now three years old according to the traditional Japanese way of counting age. They had safely reached the age of three.

That’s a relief. Once children pass the age of three, their mortality rate drops significantly. While we can’t be completely complacent, we can breathe a bit easier now.

Perhaps paying close attention to hygiene has paid off. Well, we also have Julia taking care of them, she is the best doctor in our country.

Now, since it’s the new year, let me provide an update on the various policies we are running.

First, the construction of the capital. It is expected to be completed in five months.

Currently, we are in the midst of building the palace and the temple. Once these are completed, we can start calling it a capital city.

That said, we also need to construct the mansions for the nobles. Additionally, the houses for merchants and artisans need to be built as well. According to Ismene, it will take another two years to really finish it, once it’s finished it will become a city we will be proud to call our capital.

However, this prediction largely depends on the pace at which the nobles and merchants build their houses. It might be sooner or it could take longer, depending on their circumstances.

Next, the construction of roads. This is progressing smoothly.

The major roads connecting the old capital to the new capital, the major cities to the new capital, and the new capital with the borders of each country have already been laid.

King Rosais’ Country has a vast flat terrain, making road construction relatively easy. We are now in the process of creating a network of smaller roads throughout the country. These roads are not for military purposes, but for communication and economic development.

Roads only make sense when they form a network.

…However, infrastructure needs constant maintenance. We need to proceed with road construction while keeping our budget in mind.

Next is the development of farmland within the country.

The target area is the plains near the new capital. The new capital is located at the confluence of three rivers.

The surroundings of this area were a mix of marshlands and other wetlands, making it difficult to convert into farmland. However, the fact that it was a marshland means it’s a place where water for agriculture is easily accessible.

By building dikes along the rivers and draining the water, the land can be transformed into fertile soil.

To secure the food supply for the new capital, and for reasons related to hygiene and flood control, the conversion of this area into farmland is essential.

Well, we have already completed about half of the dike and drainage work necessary for building the capital. It shouldn’t be too difficult.

The development of the Romalia Forest has been entrusted to Gram, and it seems to be going relatively smoothly. The lumber and furs fetch a decent price, so the project is paying for itself and even making a profit.

The development of Romalia Forest is our most successful national project to date.

On the other hand, the task of cracking down on narcotics and spies, which has been entrusted to Ron, is proving to be somewhat challenging. But, dealing with people is always difficult, so it’s unavoidable.

We’ll just have to wait patiently until the system is properly in place.

The monopoly on narcotics, which supports our finances, has seen moderate success. Meanwhile, the sale of perfumes and fragrant oils, planned with Julia, is still in the preparation stage.

Julia is quite busy with various matters, and cultivating flowers is not easy. Moreover, we need to teach the slaves how to make perfume.

Well, it’s certain that once successful, it will be profitable, so we plan to proceed patiently.

Now, that’s all for domestic affairs.

Let’s move on to foreign affairs.

◇

「Your Majesty, it appears a coup has occurred in Lezado.」

It was around the end of January when this news was revealed through a report from Iarl.

Lezado had closed its gates and checkpoints to prevent information about the coup from leaking outside, but Iarl’s extensive diplomatic network managed to uncover it.

「Did the pro-Rosais faction win? Or was it the anti-Rosais faction?」

「It was the anti-Rosais faction. They incited a portion of the citizens and took over the parliament. It seems the pro-Rosais faction members and their families have been imprisoned.」

Hmm… This is troublesome.

The thing is, I was hoping for a coup in Lezado. I planned to advance our army into Lezado using the excuse of helping the exiled pro-Rosais faction members return home.

However, if all the pro-Rosais faction members and their families have been captured, the situation changes. This means we can’t cooperate with the pro-Rosais faction.

Without their cooperation, we lack a legitimate reason for invading.

If we conquer Lezado, our country will become the most prominent power in the Adernian Peninsula, and that will attract suspicion and wariness.

To mitigate this suspicion as much as possible, a legitimate reason, a rescue request from the pro-Rosais faction is essential.

What should we do…

「Can we send spies inside Lezado somehow? If they are able to liberate the captured pro-Rosais members…」

「But the people of Lezado aren’t complete fools, are they? Would they let us jailbreak them so easily?」

We couldn’t ignore this, though.

Trade with Lezado brings great wealth to our country. Most of the narcotics we sell are purchased by Lezado.

If we leave Lezado as it is, the trade will be disrupted, leading to a decline in our national strength.

Could we provoke Lezado into making the first move? But how… Surely, they wouldn’t seriously consider going to war with us.

This is difficult…

「Is it possible to cooperate with Alexios Barca?」

「That man is a mercenary hired by Lezado. With their parliament taken over…」

It would be difficult to win him over. I don’t want to turn that man into an enemy if possible…

「I’ll need to think about it. You may go for now.」

I dismissed Iarl.

Now, what to do…

◇

That night Alice asked for an audience.

「Your Majesty, I would like to speak with you.」

「Alice, huh? It’s rare for you to ask for something. What do you want to talk about?」

Alice bowed deeply. Her hair glowed golden in the candlelight.

「I heard that a coup occurred in Lezado.」

「Yes, we’re very busy dealing with it right now.」

There’s a risk that the coup in Lezado could spread to our own country. We need to strengthen surveillance over the allied and autonomous cities.

「f we could arrange for someone influential in Lezado to seek asylum, would that solve the situation?」

「It’s impossible right now. It’s January. We’ll have to wait until spring to make any moves.」

Military operations in winter are extremely dangerous. The cold weather severely depletes the soldiers’ strength.

In winter, more soldiers die from the cold and disease-related health issues than from battle injuries.

If military action can be avoided in winter, it should be. While there are tactics involving surprise attacks during winter, we don’t need to take such risks given our superior military strength compared to Lezado.

「But it would be advantageous, right?」

「Yes. By making them figureheads, we can disguise our country’s invasion of Lezado as an internal conflict within Lezado.」

It’s pretty obvious, but pretext is important.

「How about I infiltrate Lezado and facilitate their escape?」

「Can you do it?」

「I can. I’ve done similar things many times before.」

Alice looked straight into my eyes. I’m happy to see Alice making decisions of her own volition and her willingness to volunteer for a dangerous mission like this.

But… is it really okay?

It’s dangerous.

「I’ll be fine, Your Majesty. This isn’t dangerous at all. Moreover…」

Alice placed her hand on her chest.

「Your Majesty, you freed me from my chains. I owe you a debt I can never repay… I want to help you in any way I can. I want to repay that debt.」

「You broke those chains yourself.」

「But I couldn’t have done it alone. It was thanks to you, Your Majesty.」

Alice’s eyes were clear and determined.

She truly seemed to believe it from the bottom of her heart.

…

「Can you really do it? I don’t want to lose you for something like this.」

「I’ll be fine, Your Majesty.」

Alice nodded deeply.

If she’s that confident, then it should be okay.

「Alright. This is a direct order. Infiltrate Lezado and break out a few of the pro-Rosais faction members.」

「Your word is my command, Your Majesty.」

Alice knelt down.

Thus, the operation to liberate the pro-Rosais faction began.