CH 91

Free…

Damon spoke as if he didn’t care about the pressure from the Imperial Family, unlike the Grand Dukes in the past.

Elysia wondered how the Imperial Family was intimidating the Grand Duchy as the perfect Grand Duchy would have no weakness. And while it worked for the previous Grand Dukes, it didn’t work for Damon.

What was it?

“Wife, what position do you think the Grand Duchy is in the Empire?”

The position of the Grand Duchy in the Caesar Empire…

A family stronger than the Imperial Family, an impregnable existence that no one could defeat. They were also the largest pillar supporting the empire, so it could be said that the safety of the empire could not be guaranteed if the Grand Duchy disappeared.

The largest force in the Empire was the Grand Duchy Raphael.

There were no imperial citizens who did not know that. Even more than the Imperial Family’s soldiers, there were many who wanted to become the Grand Duchy’s soldiers.

That was how big the difference was in reputation.

Everyone knew that if the Grand Duke wanted to, he could become Emperor.

“The strongest… family? The second noblest after the Imperial Family.”

“Second to the Imperial Family… that might be so.”

Was it wrong…?

Still, many people besides her would think that way. Grand Duchy Raphael never became the Emperor, so they became the Grand Duke. She just thought they didn’t threaten the Imperial Family because they wanted to stay in the position of the Grand Duchy.

“Am I wrong?”

In fact, Damon, in the original story, recaptured the imperial power very easily.

He didn’t even need a large army because he was strong by himself, so there was no unnecessary war as it was instant. After losing the Emperor, the imperial army lost their will to fight. No one protested or even showed any sign of opposition to Damon’s ascension to the throne.

It was just a natural feeling stemming from the original story. Even now, judging from his ability and skill, Damon was more suited to the position of emperor than the emperor himself.

“No, that’s right. It’s because we’re the second highest family after the Imperial Family.”

It was a high family name, but… strangely, in the world, the Grand Duchy was also called the loyal dog of the Imperial Family.

Elysia didn’t even know why that came to be, but when something went wrong with the empire, the Grand Duchy immediately followed the Emperor. It was the Grand Duchy who stood at the forefront of the war, and it was the Grand Duchy who took the initiative to resolve forces that could be harmful to the Imperial Family.

“Have you heard that the Grand Duchy is the loyal dog of the Imperial Family?”

“…Yes.”

When he brought up the idea of the loyal dog, she hesitated for a moment whether to say so. Nevertheless, since it was true, Elysia nodded her head slightly. It was never a good thing to say that the Grand Duchy was the loyal dog of the Imperial Family. She wasn’t saying this to praise their loyalty.

It was said that even the Grand Duchy could be nothing more than a dog in front of the Imperial Family, and it was to make it clear that the Grand Duchy was below the Imperial Family.

Of course, it was a rumor that the Grand Duchy could not have liked.

“That’s understandable. I also fought in the war.”

As he said, Damon fought in numerous wars before and after ascending to his position.

He had to take the lead in large and small wars in Caesar’s empire. The sacrifice of the Grand Duchy was taken for granted, and there was even a saying that the empire could not be invaded because they were afraid of the Grand Duchy.

“What do you think is the reason?”

“To protect the empire from other countries…?”

If the Empire were to fall, the Duchy family would also be a problem. Wasn’t that why they took part in the war?

“Of all the wars that have been fought so far, did Caesar’s empire really were attacked first?”

It was the first time she had heard of this. Elysia thought that all wars in the Empire were for defense. The Imperial Family has been tricking the people of the empire like that. Everyone would, of course, think that.

It was strange. There were times when she thought that the Empire was being attacked a lot.

After the war, the empire was always rich. New lands were acquired, and tributes were received. All the defeated countries were like that, so she didn’t have any doubts. The more the war went on, the richer the Empire got.

“That many wars? Even Caesar’s empire always triumphed.”

“Ah…”

“If you’re not an idiot, you won’t hit the empire first.”

It was. There was some truth in Damon’s words. People wouldn’t usually pick up a fight with great power first. Besides, it was too frequent to be called an attack as the empire was not weak.

“Would you believe it if all wars so far were caused by the preemptive strikes of the Empire?”

“That’s… nonsense. All of them?”

She couldn’t believe it easily.

According to Damon, the entire empire was fooled. Obviously, the higher-ups would have known it all since the common nobles and commoners like her were all unaware of it. Even among the nobles, there must be some lower nobles who don’t know about it.

Still, they were never attacked…

The territory of Caesar’s empire was vast because they were constantly expanding their territory, though how could they have fooled everyone about why this happened?

“The current Emperor is someone who does not know what satisfaction is. Remember how many wars have been fought since the current Emperor ascended the throne?”

“Ah…”

War was frequent enough that even she, who always worked in the attic of the Count’s family, could tell.

Even Elysia, who couldn’t hear outside news, had always heard of it. At first, listening to the talk of war made her feel uncomfortable, but the news of war gradually eased her mind. Even when she heard the news of the war, she found it boring, contrary to an initial fear.

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“The Emperor wants to expand the territory without end, and he wants to receive more tribute.”

She was surprised to hear that the emperor was such a greedy person.

Of course, she had never seen the emperor’s face, nor had she heard rumors about him. Elysia, who had never gone out properly, would not know about the Imperial Family. Even the maids couldn’t talk about them.

It was because they had never worked for the Imperial Family.

“Even if there are repeated wars, the Imperial Family has nothing to lose.”

“Why…? If you start a war… materials and military power are consumed.”

“Because it is not the Emperor who leads the war.”

Could it be that the Grand Duchy took care of all the materials and military power required for each war? Though the Imperial Family gains from the war?

It was something too difficult to believe.

Wasn’t that too unfair? And what was the reason why the Grand Duchy couldn’t move against the Imperial Family even though they knew it was unfair?

“Why does the Grand Duchy… have to sacrifice?”

She couldn’t figure out why unless the Grand Duchy had a really big weakness in the Imperial Family…

The more she listened, the more she couldn’t understand.

Did the Grand Duchy have such a weakness to be stuck with the Imperial Family for five hundred years? Besides, weaknesses usually go away with time. She wondered what the weakness would be to be caught for such a long time.

“Did you make any contracts?”

In the current situation, she wondered if there was some kind of transaction between the Imperial Family and the Grand Duchy. If that was not the case, then the Grand Duchy must have a very big weakness…

Elysia couldn’t quite understand any of that. As much as that, the Grand Duchy looked so perfect on the outside.

“A contract… You could call it a contract of some sort.”

“Ah… as expected…”

It was like that.

It made no sense for the Grand Duchy to have a weakness since there could be no weakness in the perfect Grand Duchy. However, what kind of contract did they make, and why was the contract so unfair?

“We’re getting some items from them. It can only be made in the Imperial Family…”

“What is it?”

It must have been incredibly valuable that it could only be made in the Imperial Family. The Grand Duchy was a place where money overflowed, so was it something money couldn’t buy? Because of that, they were forced to go to war for that?

Could it be something like a rare mineral…

“The wife always shows her thoughts on her face.”

“Yes?”

“That makes it even cuter.”

Hearing that her thoughts were being revealed on her face, Elysia groped her face with her hand. Was it that obvious? She was trying to pretend that nothing was wrong…

It seemed that whenever she stood in his presence, she always lost all control.

“It is not as precious as you think.”

“Isn’t it like a gem or a mineral?”

If it was something precious, such as a gem or mineral, they could buy it from someone else. She was a bit puzzled that it was only given to the Grand Duchy.

“If it’s something like a gem or mineral, there’s no need to work like a dog.”

But… There was no way that Grand Duchy would move for barely any jewels or minerals. Elysia couldn’t fathom what only the Imperial Family had.

“Others don’t need it. It is only needed by the Grand Duchy.”

Something only the Grand Duchy needed… What others did not need…

“We will do whatever the Imperial Family tells us to do to get it supplied. Without it, the Grand Duchy cannot survive.”

“…Cannot survive?”

Elysia’s eyes widened at those words. What did the Grand Duchy receive from the Imperial Family through that contract?

“However, Your Grace said it was fine. You’re different from other grand dukes…”

“When I didn’t get married, the Imperial Family started threatening me, saying that if you don’t give birth to an heir, we won’t supply you anymore.”

‘Ah, that was why all the Grand Dukes were forced to get married.’

The more she listened, the more strange it felt.

“Wasn’t Your Grace free from the Imperial Family’s pressure?”

Obviously, he said he was free. Contrary to it being a transaction, the situation was where the Grand Duchy unilaterally obeyed the Imperial Family.