Chapter 155

The first day of the first month of autumn, when the calendar shifted and the season changed

On the same day that many of the children of the Yuri Empire were leaving the Yuritania Palace for their ‘extermination’, a letter arrived from Cadain Theodore, the Lord of the Principality of Selsia.

It was not a formal letter of support.

If it were a letter from a sovereign, the person who brought the letter would have to be received in the audience hall, and the formalities of receiving a letter would have to be carried out according to diplomatic protocol.

But this letter was delivered by a knight of the House of Theodore as a ‘personal letter’ from Duke Cadain. Thanks to this, Yuri herself didn’t have to deal with it, and the <Nadeshiko> girl received the letter.

From the fact that he took the trouble to take care of it, I can guess that Yuri’s tendency to dislike unnecessary trouble has already been conveyed to Duke Cadain through Sofia.

The content of the letter from Duke Kadain was, in summary―――”The Duchy of Selsia hopes that the relationship between the two countries will continue for a longer period.”

The relationship of a vassalage that currently exists between the Yuri Empire and the Duchy of Selsia was established based on the consent of the two countries and was never forced by either side.

Therefore, the article that concluded the subordinate relationship includes a sentence that says, “Either side of the Principality of Selsia and the Yuri Empire can freely request the dissolution of subordination.”

The actual termination of the vassal relationship is specified as ‘one year after either country offers to terminate’, so there is a sufficient grace period. The important thing here is that one side can terminate the relationship without regard to the other side’s will.

In other words, this letter from Duke Cadai is in effect a petition to Yuri to not dissolve the subordinate relationship.

It seems that Duke Cadai is both concerned and afraid of the situation where the Yuri Empire unilaterally terminates the subordinate relationship.

The most important reason why the Yuri Empire and the Duchy of Selsia concluded a relationship of vassalage is because the duchy was damaged by heavy snowfall at the beginning of autumn last year, and all the food that was supposed to be harvested in the middle of autumn was ruined and needed support.

… Well, it was the Yuri Empire that caused the [Heavy Snow] itself.

It is only natural for a sovereign nation to support a subordinate nation when a relationship of vassalage is established. It could be said that the relationship was only temporarily concluded for the Yuri Empire, which had a surplus of food, to smoothly support the Principality of Selsia.

―――Today, the calendar has entered the following year’s “autumn”.

Unlike last year, this autumn’s harvest is expected to be as good as usual, so the Principality of Selsia should be able to meet the food needs of its citizens on its own.

As long as it no longer needed the food support of the Yuri Empire, it would be safe to say that there was no longer any need to continue the relationship of the vassal state any longer.

So it is understandable if the Duchy of Selsia asks for the termination of the vassal relationship.

But what Duke Cadain demanded was a longer continuation of the vassal relationship.

(… Everything is progressing just as Hera and Sera had planned.)

Yuri couldn’t help but chuckle.

To make the Yuri Empire a prison for the ‘benefits’ it gives to the dependent countries, and to make them lose their will of independence from the Principality of Selsia. ―――This is what Hera, the captain of <Shirayuri>, and Sera, the captain of <Water Lily>, had planned last winter.

The Yuri Empire has provided a seemingly excessive level of support to the Duchy of Selsia so far.

By deploying wards, the city of the principality is now kept at a comfortable temperature all year round, and no demons have been able to enter the city. The city is regularly cleansed with the magic of [Purify], so there is no stench of excrement spreading through the city.

With the establishment of【Transfer Gate】, the people of the Principality can visit the cities of Ulysses and Eureka at any time and enjoy the culture of the Yuri Empire, including the food. Also, since anyone could earn money through the “Labyrinth”, the poor, who had been a constant presence in the Principality, was no longer seen at all.

If you pay a certain amount of money, you can enjoy swimming to your heart’s content in the safe and clear lakes of the “Tourist Resort Area” in northern Ulysses.

And even without paying, it has become commonplace to live a life where you can get entertainment 24 hours a day, every day, by watching [Broadcast].

All of these benefits came from being a vassal state of the Yuri Empire.

Therefore, all of them will be lost as soon as the relationship with the Yuri Empire ends.

The safety, comfort, income, and entertainment that came with being a vassal state. The fact that all of this could be confiscated so easily would be terrifying to the current citizens.

Just as an animal that has grown accustomed to being fed can no longer live in the wild. The people of the Duchy of Selsia, who had grown accustomed to being given so much, could no longer be satisfied with only what they originally had in their own country.

Once they were drowned in the sweet poison, there was no way they could have the spirit of independence.

What Sera and Hera are thinking about as their “ultimate goal” is probably the annexation of the Duchy of Selsia without military force.

If the people of the principality are no longer satisfied with temporary subordination through an agreement, they will eventually seek indefinite subordination themselves. If they go further from that, they will eventually want the Principality itself to be incorporated as a part of the Yuri Empire.

Both of these women are [Extreme Good] in nature. They are planning to increase the land of the Yuri Empire in their way, without using military force.

To achieve annexation without force, will probably take a long time.

As of last winter, Yuri has already declared to everyone that he does not want to further expand the country for at least two years. The annexation of the Duchy of Selsia would undoubtedly take much longer than that.

In other words, there was no danger of going against Yuri’s will. From Sera’s and Hera’s point of view, it was even more convenient to take a long way.

(That’s very encouraging.)

As for Yuri, it doesn’t matter whether the relationship with the Duchy of Selsia is as a vassal state, an ally, or annexed as part of her own country.

Nevertheless, I am genuinely happy that my beloved children are acting for me and preparing a gift for me in the form of the Duchy of Selsia.

When their plan comes to fruition, I should accept it with a smile.

(Though―――it is a bit eerie that the Volmisian Empire has not interfered in any way with the Duchy of Selsia.)

The intelligent people such as Rubetta, Ados, and Sofia had all guessed that if the Principality of Selsia became a vassal state, the Volmisian Empire would surely begin to interfere in some way, judging that the Principality had been weakened. Looking at the results alone, that prediction turned out to be completely wrong.

Well, there’s no such thing as a 100% prediction, so it’s not surprising that It’s wrong. However, I didn’t expect that they would not interfere in any way.

(… Maybe the Volmisian Empire has a good grasp of our strength?)

As long as they are not in direct contact with each other, it is a little difficult to imagine that information about the Yuri Empire would leak to the Volmisian Empire. Nevertheless―――if that is the case, it is not surprising that the Duchy of Selsia is not touched, as it is under the protection of the Yuri Empire.

If they don’t do anything, that’s fine with me. The only thing I was a little disappointed about was the fact that I would be wasting some of my saved【Star Fall Meteor・Strike】.