Chapter 119

The Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs meeting room was hot from early morning. Diplomats sitting opposite each other at the long meeting table gave their opinions one by one.

“Why don’t we provide a souvenir of our Porkaus shield to foreign nobles visiting the port of Doruk?”

Annie, who was writing the minutes of the meeting on the parchment behind her, smiled softly.

‘It’s pretty good.’

They were also passionate and creative, like talented people in the empire. Among them, there were issues that even she could not have imagined, so she had no choice but to keep her ears up.

At that moment, Demela, who was watching with his arms crossed, stared at Annie. A charismatic call came out of his mouth.

“Dsev.”

‘Why did you call me?’

When she lifted her head in surprise, she could feel Demela’s gaze, including the seniors around her. Even the hateful eyes of the two colleagues who sat far away.

The colleagues paid attention to even the most minor details when it came to Annie.

It was unusual that she puts her family affairs aside and goes to work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs every day.

Annie was also well aware that their eyes and ears turned towards her all day long. But there was no need to hesitate or be discouraged.

She deliberately answered boldly.

“Yes, Sir Demela.”

“Give me your opinion.”

Contrary to the calm command, the wave was quite large. Annie swallowed a gulp at the sound of murmuring around her.

“Oh my God. Is Demela asking the opinion of a newcomer who’s been here for less than a month?”

“How can this be? She’s only a young chick.”

If she made a mistake here, she would be completely buried. No matter how good a junior was, it was annoying if she did better than the seniors.

Annie struggled to keep her calm.

‘Calm down. I didn’t come here to have fun; it’s a place I applied to work.’

She had to be a real help rather than be wary.

“Already, the seniors gave me good opinions that I couldn’t even imagine… If I were to add a small opinion.”

Annie tried to convey her intentions as clearly as possible without losing her humility.

“In some areas of Yulfbe, there are still people suffering from hunger, so why not support the grain produced south of Porkaus?”

“Ha. Who doesn’t know about that?”

Lord Lemnas spoke out as if waiting for. A voice as sharp as a veil echoed through the conference room.

“Of course, I feel sorry for the poor, but we should not put too much weight on sympathy. What we need is to increase the number of foreign tourists in Porkaus or to promote the country to them.”

In other words, it was meant to look good only to wealthy people. The seniors nodded their heads because it was a cold, realistic opinion.

Among them, some frowned, saying they were too cruel, but there were very few.

The elated Lemnas raised his voice.

“Lady Dsev, is there a reason why we have to do that?”

“Because they need it the most, and we need it the most.”

Annie steadfastly continued her opinion without leaning to any side.

“It is said that the greatest of all giving is to give bread to the hungry.”

Like Kessen, Yulfbe was covered with snow all year round and lacked grain production compared to other countries. But that self-esteem was the problem. The sassy Yulfbe did not offer diplomacy to other countries or request imports first.

It was trying to become self-sufficient with agricultural and fishery products produced in its own country or to use substitutes.

“Recently, even within Yulfbe, a group has arisen that raises the issue of limited diplomacy. It would never be bad for us to recommend it first.”

“Does that mean to make their nobles come to our Porkaus?”

“Of course, they will be coming.”

Annie was more determined than ever. Her purple eyes burned hot.

“Yulfbe has a greater camaraderie for their own people than any other ethnic group in history. They call themselves blood brothers and sisters and express their friendship.”

Although it was not revealed to other countries as a matter of pride, the ruling class also distributed wheat and rice to the territory’s people.

She didn’t even know about it until recently. But when she saw Yulfbe’s sources in the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she quickly recognized it.

The fact that a particular estate’s annual production was less than half the consumption period of another estate meant that the nobility was willing to open a barn for the common people.

And most of the items loaded on the ship from the port of Doruk to Yulfbe were primarily grains.

There were many opinions within Porkaus that they wanted to produce precious grain wine in their homeland, but in fact, this was to give grain to their own people.

“If we put out our hand first, they will pretend they can’t win.”

“Isn’t that just My Lady’s speculation? Spending a huge amount of tax on an individual’s imagination would be a problem.”

“Then I think all the opinions out there today are just imaginations.”

Surprisingly, it was Demela who opposed Lemnas head-on. At the words of the one in power, Lord Lemnas quickly became dumbfounded.

Demela looked at Annie with bold eyes.

“You were thinking the same thing.”

“I was just giving my little opinion.”

“Your opinions are the same as His Majesty’s will.”

“…His Majesty?”

Annie asked confusedly. Why was the Emperor’s story brought up here?