This was because, no matter how much I researched with the strength of my family, the information I could know was limited, no matter how competent the information dealer was.

On top of that, the neighboring countries did not smell very suspicious, perhaps due to the fact that the investigation began too early.

The fact that the kingdom, which will become the center of the enemy country, is rapidly increasing its power, is that enough?

But even that was an absurdly small force compared to the Empire.

No matter how short-lived it was, it was nothing compared to an Empire that had built up power for a long time.

Unless something happens that could shake the Empire significantly.

‘Then how did the war started?’

Unfortunately, I haven’t found an answer to that yet.

So in the end, they put off the war and went all out to find a cure for the epidemic.

But I didn’t know… The answer to my question was, I’ve already come at a new pace that I don’t even know.

“Miss!”

And in an unexpected way…

“The Duke of Bouser has fallen!”

✿

The news from Rudrick that I had not heard in a long time was truly the worst.

I’ve been distracted by my father’s future, but I didn’t forget Rudrick at all.

Two years ago, when I sent my last letter to Rudrick, I couldn’t sleep for a while because of anxiety.

That’s why when I first dreamed about the novel, I dismissed it as a nightmare.

At the time, the only concern I had was Rudrick. I was so worried that I thought I had a bad dream.

But when I found out that it was a crisis for my family, I couldn’t think of Rudrick any more.

So the concern for Rudrick faded and eventually came to this situation.

‘I don’t know how things got so big.’

As I’ve seen the Duke of Bouser, he would have been a great man who won’t be hurt by anyone.

So I didn’t even think about the northern part of the Empire guarding the border, but I didn’t expect anything to happen there.

‘It doesn’t make sense.’

But if I think about it, the northern part had to be drilled, but the angler was right.

Obviously, how the kingdoms, which would not have a chance of winning a war with the Empire, decided to go to war, and why Rudrick joined the war as the commander of the Duke of Bouser.

It was quite serious that the North had collapsed.

The reason why the Duke Bouser couldn’t ignore the other nobles and even the Imperial Family, no matter how isolated and independent they were, was that they were protecting the North.

It’s because of that…

The northern part, infested with barbarians and demons, was bound to be more dangerous than any territory.

The Duke of Bouser has kept that boundary firmly for generations.

So, for the Empire, Bouser was nothing but a powerful wall.

But the wall collapsed in an instant.

For the Empire, it was like a blue sky that turned dark with rain. The aristocrats as well as the commoners were buzzing, and there was an aura of uneasiness throughout the Empire.

Each family also had to undergo a disturbance over Duke Bouser’s condition.

And it was the same with our family.

“Are there any signs of recovery?”

“It’s been a week since he hasn’t opened his eyes. Even doctor’s can’t say for sure whether he will live or die in the future.”

“What about succession?”

“He has an eldest son from the Duchess.”

“For the time being, it seems that the eldest son will be in charge, Rudrick’s will act as a Duke.”

But this year’s suppression was a failure.

Before we could make up for the loss, we had to worry about the deficit this year. Most expected the Duke to go bankrupt before he could be revived.

“If someone doesn’t help him, I’m sure it’ll collapse.”

However, there were not many families who could afford that amount.

A few families control the capital’s business district, and the remaining two Duke’s, the Duke of Goldman and the Duke of Averine.

‘And that’s our lineage.’

“We don’t have much to gain from just helping each other out. If we give that amount of money, it might help in the future.”

“It might also be a problem.”

“But wouldn’t it be better to clear the debt in advance? We still have half of the Knights left. There was enough room for medical supplies if we only got support.”

“What can we gain even if Bouser was revived? Family trust? A barren northern business district?”

“It’s the opposite. Even if the crisis was averted now, the amount of money that will be spent on recovery in the future will be considerable.”

The opinions of the retainers were divided, but most of them did not respond very well.

We have maintained a close relationship with the Duke of Bouser to maintain the balance of power, not to shoulder the crisis.

Reliability with the Duke of Bouser was also important, but it was a subordinate order considering the existence of the family.

In particular, the Duke of Averine was a family that clearly weighed profits and losses as commerce was the main means.

We couldn’t persuade the retainers with any ungrateful sympathy. My father also seemed to think that he could not change the atmosphere given his dark expression.

But I knew… Why needed to help the Duke of Bouser.

“What if war breaks out?” Dahlia said.

When I heard from my father that there was a meeting about the situation of Duke Bouser.

I expressed my desire to attend the meeting immediately.

“Yes, look at this.”

I rang the bell and called in the pre-arranged servant.

Then, as if he had waited, a servant with a huge pile of papers entered the meeting room, and placed it on the table at my gesture.

It was all the documents I had been collecting steadily for about two years.

Not only my father, but also his vassals, their mouth were wide open as the saw the papers.