CH 3.18

“……I should go?”

“Isn’t His Highness particularly fond of you? Go and give him some words of encouragement.”

Though she found it incredulous, Marie nodded her head in agreement.

‘I should give him a cup of tea for his insomnia.’

After Marie brewed a cup of tea, she quickly headed to his office.

“Your Highness, it’s me, Marie.”

The iron door creaked open, revealing the familiar sight of the crown prince wearing an iron mask at his wooden desk, completely engrossed in his work.

“Marie?”

“Yes, Your Highness. I have brought you a warm tea.”

“Thank you.”

The crown prince lifted the corners of his mouth ever so slightly beneath the iron mask.

It was a faint smile that occasionally graced the crown prince’s face, but today, Marie sensed a hint of exhaustion within it.

Upon closer inspection, it became evident that weariness filled not only his smile but also his eyes covered by the iron mask.

Now that Marie had thought about it, she could hardly recall the last time she saw him asleep.

“……How about getting some rest? I’m concerned about your well-being.”

“It’s okay. Right now, I’m dealing with something much more important than my health.”

Upon hearing those words, Marie held back a sigh.

She couldn’t help but marvel how a ruler like him could exist.

At times, it seemed as though the crown prince was subjecting himself to hardship for the sake of the empire and its people.

“The tea you brew always put my mind at ease, Marie.”

Not to mention, he showed consideration towards her as well.

“It’s getting late, so you should head back and rest. You must be tired.”

Upon hearing his concern, an indescribable emotion stirred within her.

‘Is there no way I can help the crown prince?”

Yes, she wanted to help him. She longed to aid him—the very person who’d tirelessly dedicated himself to his people’s welfare while neglecting his own—hoping for even the slightest glimpse of progress.

‘And I don’t want people to suffer from unnecessary war, even if it’s not my homeland,’ Marie thought so in her head. ‘Think, Marie. There must be a solution.’

Suddenly, a simple solution came to her mind. ‘Hold on. Shouldn’t it be like this?’

Seeing her like that, the crown prince asked in a puzzled tone, “Marie? Do you have something to say? If there’s something on your mind, feel free to share it.”

Marie hesitated before opening her mouth.

“Your Highness, may I share with you my thoughts regarding the recent incident?”

“Didn’t I say you could speak freely?” The crown prince frowned and scolded her, “You are mine, so stop being humble. From now on, no matter what happens, don’t ever speak that way again.”

Upon hearing those words, Marie once again felt an indescribable emotion.

The crown prince was undoubtedly concerned about her, but the nature of his favor remained ambiguous.

Summoning her courage, Marie spoke up.

“Is it really impossible to provide food for the kingdom?”

“It is impossible,” The Crown Prince answered right away. “We are not a vassal state of the Eastern Kingdom. No matter how much we want to avoid war, we cannot submit to their threats.”

It was an undeniable truth.

Facing the consequences of war—no matter how severe—was still preferable to surrendering to the East Kingdom.

Of course, Marie was well aware of that. Nonetheless, she had brought up the topic to the crown prince for a different reason.

“As Your Highness mentioned, it is impossible to yield to the East Kingdom. But what about trading with them?”

“Trade?”

Upon hearing those words, the crown prince’s eyes sparked with interest.

“Yes, the idea is to provide food in exchange for a fair price. This way, through mutual trade, the empire’s reputation will remain untarnished, and the kingdom will achieve what it wants, consequently avoiding war.”

The crown prince, in awe of Marie’s suggestion, said, “Great idea. Marie, did you come up with this?”

Marie couldn’t help but wince at those words. It seemed too suspicious for a mere maid like her—who used to do menial tasks—to come up with such an insightful suggestion.

‘It’s alright. After all, that’s not what’s important right now. I just need to stay undetected until I leave the imperial palace with Lady Rachel’s help.’

Rather than turning a blind eye, she decided to help the crown prince in solving the problem at hand.

As Rael inhaled the gentle aroma of the tea, he said, “Actually, I had the same idea. If we sell the food for a fair price, it will be a mutually beneficial transaction.”

“Then…….”

“But it is impossible right from the start.”

With a low voice, the crown prince explained to Marie, who had a puzzled expression on her face, “Because they are considered ‘heretics’.”

Marie realized at once what the crown prince was trying to say.

“That word…”

“Yes, in principle, Western countries, including our empire, are prohibited from trading gold and silver with them. Private transactions, of course, are not explicitly blocked, but official trade on a national level is not permitted.”

Marie realized she had not considered that aspect deeply enough.

‘Well, it’s not surprising that a shrewd prince like him has already thought of that.’

In principle, Western countries are restricted from trading currency and goods with Eastern countries.

Although this principle was not strictly followed due to various loopholes, large-scale transactions are, of course, prohibited.

“Could we receive payment in goods instead of money?”

“It is possible. However, all items with monetary value such as pepper, spices, dyes, and jewels are generally prohibited.”

The crown prince shook his head. “Anything other than those specific items can still be traded, but they hold little value compared to the prohibited items.”

Marie nodded in understanding.

The crown prince’s words rang true. If they somehow find a way to trade with them, what non-prohibited goods could they possibly receive in exchange?

“I apologize, Your Highness. I have disturbed you for nothing.”

“No, Marie. The idea you shared with me is something I had considered as well. If you have any other good ideas, please let me know.”

With that, Marie exited the crown prince’s office and sighed, her heart filled with frustration.

“Ha. Is there no other way?”

Instead of returning to her chamber, Marie remained outside his office, deep in contemplation.

The looming threat of war and the potential loss of countless live weighed heavily on her, compelling her to desperately find a way to help the crown prince in resolving the issue effectively.

‘Aside from the items prohibited from trading with the Eastern Kingdom, is there anything valuable that could be received in exchange? If such a thing exists, exchanging food rations for that item could maintain the empire’s prestige and result in a mutually beneficial transaction. Think, Marie!’

Marie reminisced about the numerous books she had read during her past confinement in the Cloyan Kingdom Palace.

She recounted how, during her time in the palace, reading books were her sole means of pastime, allowing her to accumulate a wealth of knowledge.

Even now as a lady-in-waiting, her exceptional judgment and insight occasionally shone through, thanks to the knowledge she had gained from her extensive reading.

‘But no matter how much I wrack my brains, I cannot think of a valuable item for trading.’

Plus, the prohibited items themselves were not specific goods but rather a broad range of items encompassing anything that could be traded with ‘heretics’. As a result, there was no viable options left after excluding basically everything.

Merchants could manage to trade prohibited items in secret, but for a vast territory like the East Empire, it was not possible.

‘What should we do? Is there truly no solution?’

She anxiously bit her lip as the night went on like that.

Upon returning to her chamber, Marie struggled to fall asleep, her mind plagued by worries. Eventually, at midnight, she succumbed to sleep.

Perhaps due to her prolonged preoccupation throughout the night, Marie found herself dreaming once again.

Marie’s eyes widened as the vividness of the dream felt like she were experiencing it in real life.

It must be one of the mysterious lucid dreams that granted her special abilities!

‘Is it a dream related to the situation involving the Eastern Kingdom?’

Marie swallowed nervously. While she had previously despised having lucid dreams because they often foreshadowed mishaps, she felt different this time.

Perhaps that lucid dream held the key to solving their current predicament.

She focused her entire mind on the contents of the dream. However… something felt odd about the dream.

“What are we having for today’s meal?”

“The rations from His Highness are nearly running out.”

They were speaking in the imperial language, and surprisingly, the dream took place within the empire itself. Judging by their accents, it appeared to be set in the southwest region, known as the poorest region in the empire.

The individuals in the dream, clad in tattered clothing, sighed deeply.

“I heard that the other regions have had bountiful harvests. Meanwhile our region continues to struggle.”

“If it’s not the extreme humidity, it’s the heavy rainfall. The problem is that this cycle repeats every year……”

“Not to mention, our soil is also infertile…”

Someone said in a voice full of despair, “I don’t know what else we can eat this year…”

Startled, Marie abruptly woke up from her sleep.

“What kind of dream was that?”

As usual, she couldn’t discern the meaning behind the dream.

“A dream about farmers? And from the southwest region of the empire, no less?”

She tilted her head. The characters in the dream were clearly peasants from the southwestern region.

‘Unlike other regions, the southwest region seems to have difficulties every year. Just like the contents of the dream,’ Marie thought to herself.

In contrast to other regions known for their fertile lands, the southwest region, located near the sea, had a subtropical climate, abundant rainfall, and less fertile soil. As a result, even when wheat was cultivated, the yields were often meager.

‘The southwest region is under the crown prince’s jurisdiction but…’

Marie recalled what she knew about the southwest region.

Although it was an imperial territory, it did not prove to be beneficial for the empire.

On the contrary, after the civil war ended, the land remained ownerless as no one was willing to claim it. As a result, the crown prince took control of it.

Due to the continuous years of decline, a significant amount of tax was allocated for relief efforts, surpassing the amount expected to be collected in taxes.

‘But why did I have this dream? It’s not like I was bestowed with any special abilities,’ Marie wondered, tilting her head in contemplation.

As usual, the dream was unlikely to be meaningless. It seemed that the dream was related to the current predicament at hand.

‘Let’s analyze the dream. There must be clues within it.’

With those thoughts in mind, Marie began her day.

She rose from her bed, dressed herself, and proceeded to carry out her duties at the Lion Palace. However, her mind remained preoccupied.

The need to find clues to help the crown prince persisted, as she was determined to prevent any unnecessary bloodshed from occurring.

t/n: east nation → eastern kingdom, cause i have a late realization that it sounded better. will change them in the previous chapters later since they’re still unedited anyway