Von Belial Archdukedom is the household deemed to be equivalent to the Imperial Family, they have the largest territory located in the Eastern region of the empire.
Originally, the Von Belial Archdukedom was a prosperous kingdom next to the empire. At that time the empire successfully leads the invasion towards the Northern, Western and Southern regions to unite the Azure continent, and in preparation for taking the largest territory of the continent, the Eastern region, Belial Kingdom.
At the same time, the King of Belial Kingdom, Matthias Edwin Von Belial didn't wish to put his people in war, of course, it wasn't due to his cowardice or whatsoever.
In truth, more than half of the Belial Kingdom is the den of dangerous monsters called the Forest of Demise, having a war with the empire in the west while keeping guard of the monsters in the east at the same time is like dancing with death.
Forest of Demise is widely known as a double-edged treasure land, it could be the source of calamity, yet might be the land of fortune as well. It all depends on how they manage this deadly treasury.
It's because the monster's bodies possess mana stones, a valuable item used as energy core in magic items, and the price of mana stones in 1-time hunting by the subjugation squad can cover the whole Imperial yearly expenses, Belial kingdom was called the most prosperous land for that reason.
To avoid the casualties, Matthias proposes a win-win contract to the empire, that the Belial Kingdom willingly become a part of the Azure Empire with several conditions.
Belial Kingdom wishes the empire to keep out of the territorial internal affairs, and in exchange for the citizen's safety, they offered the authority of the Forest of Demise under the restrictions of no excessive and only periodical hunting allowed.
Von Belial family promised to fulfill their tasks as part of the empire aristocracy, yet they refused to bow because they offered such an advantageous contract without any casualties on the Imperial side.
The Azure Emperor was a conqueror but not a greedy person, he was known as a reliable ruler.
He accepted the contract because the conditions are reasonable, and without any sacrifice, the advantage is far bigger than he could imagine.
Lusting over the Forest of Demise is not a wise move, Belial kingdom is the keeper of this dangerous treasury for generations, they should have something hidden in their sleeve to be able to keep that hazardous land as their backyard.
And it wasn't like they could betray the empire, because their huge military is tied and more focused to protect the land and guarding the Forest of Demise, simply put, they don't have the extra manpower to rebel against the Imperial family unless they have no choice but to do so, but as long as both parties didn't break the contract, there is no reason to shed the blood.
The Emperor approved the Belial Kingdom as part of the Empire and bestowed the limited independence to the land of Belial Kingdom as Von Belial Archdukedom of the Great Azure Empire.
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Grizel reads the history of Von Belial Archdukedom that wasn't mentioned in the novel because It only said about the execution of the villainess along with her whole family.
This big family now is like a secretive clan, to maintain their wealth, authorities, and the symbol of the family which are the silver-white hair and blue sapphire eyes, they married each other within the relatives.
The territory of this land is divided into several areas and ruled by those relatives called the branch family and the Archduke as the head of the main family.
Von Belial Archdukedom has enormous wealth and military power mostly equal to the Imperial family, yet they always keep as a neutral faction among nobles, this family secluded themselves from the society, moreover, they aren't interested in having a political marriage and bound to the other nobles, hence, this lone territory don't have any significant friend nor enemy.
This family is powerful yet harmless.
'then why is the verdict of bullying the heroine, a mere low noble's daughter, could lead her entire family to the execution?'
Grizel sneers in disbelief inwardly, even those who are not aware of political affairs will notice the obvious nonsense in that severe punishment.
She feels something amiss about the execution, as if the real Grizel in the novel was a mere pawn to bring down her family, even if the prodigious Crown Prince is falling head over heels to the heroine, he has no power to execute the Von Belial family, likewise the Emperor.
The potential of rebellion and civil war is high due to the origin of the Von Belial family as the descendants of the Belial kingdom Royal Family.
Though the name of this kingdom is left as history, the people of the territory still regard them as their legitimate rulers, and there is no way the Emperor didn't aware of that fact.
Moreover, in [The Love of War Prince] there are lots of war scenes and rebellion, yet oddly enough, the most potential civil war ain't mentioned in the book. And it's hard to imagine this Von Belial family will surrender without a fight, even if they thought of Grizel as unworthy, they do love their own lives.
All the new facts she discovered leaving a big question mark in her head.
Sigh...
'Urgh, I have a ton of things to investigate'
Grizel groaned inwardly, she was reading in deep frowning while staring at the ceiling, no, she was looking at the screen-like thing that floating in front of her face.
6 months ago, when she opens her eyes for the first time after reincarnated, she could see something that invisible to the others.
It was a blue half-transparent screen like in the game, at first, Grizel was bewildered by its sudden appearance even though the content is merely a simple greeting.
Afterward, the screen changes into a question to confirm her acceptance of something called a guidance system.
Although her mind was still in a confused state of the sudden reincarnation and the appearance of the game-like screen, she was thankful for the free offer.
Grizel loves free stuff the most, so she accepted this guide named Athena, hoping to learn more about her situation.
'It's way better than walking barefoot in a foreign land'
Grizel thought of her first time obtaining this resourceful guide, Athena is like an unlimited library, and can be accessed anytime and anywhere.
In this half-year, she has read hundreds of thousands of books at tremendous speed, and that is the explanation of why she keeps on staring at the ceiling every single day, she was reading.
'Athena...'
She speaks in her mind, calling the guidance system.
'Yes, Master'
Athena answered back, as always the monotone voice echoed through her head sounds like the legendary Siri of a phone brand in Grizel's past life.
'How is the progress of my mana core?'
A floating transparent screen pops up in front of Grizel to show her the progress bar.
'Your mana core is 71% complete, with the current pace of mana manipulation, the estimated time of a finished mana core is in 112 days'
Athena replied in a monotonous tone.
Satisfied with the answer, Grizel's lips start to curl upward, the smile is nothing like a cute baby, it was a sinister smile of an evil baby.
To be continued...