Chapter 72.2

I asked Gard with a serious gaze.

“There was no specific information.”

He shook his head before continuing.

“The Imperial Palace was quiet and peaceful. And that’s exactly why it’s terrifying.”

It became clear that the conversation we were about to have was the main topic at hand.

“Not just the Imperial Family but also the Imperial Church is unusually quiet. Normally, those fanatics would be foaming at the mouth, screaming that the Renslet Church in the North is heretical.”

“Even the Imperial Family, the Church, and the Magic Tower have shown an oddly subdued reaction to the North’s prosthetic limb industry. No matter how discreetly we operate, there’s no way they wouldn’t know about it.”

Following Gard’s remarks, Entir also chimed in.

“!!”

Hearing that, my expression grew even more serious.

“……”

Mary, who had been standing next to me listening to the conversation, also had a hardened look on her face.

***

The entire world now craved celadon from the North.

“What an unbelievably beautiful color this is!”

“This is even more beautiful than porcelain.”

“And it’s in Arcadian style, no less!”

“Good heavens! I just dropped it, and it didn’t even break!?”

It wasn’t just royalty, nobility, and merchants. Even commoners were infatuated.

Everyone, from nobles to merchants to commoners, was captivated by the celadon that had suddenly appeared one day.

“Hey, what on earth did you do to the field to make it grow like this?”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Honestly, I’m just as shocked as you are. It’s all thanks to that fertilizer called Mary’s Blessing… It’s incredible.”

“Mary’s Blessing? Where can I buy that?”

“I heard it’s being sold by the Bishop Company.”

“Wait, isn’t the Bishop Company the only merchant group that trades directly with the Northern Grand Duchy?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Not only celadon but also Mary’s Blessing quietly made its way into the heart of empires and kingdoms.

The fertilizer, which could make farming possible even in the frozen wastelands, had now been introduced into warmer climates.

“More celadons from the North! Do you have any more Northern celadons?!”

“Please, I beg you! I need Mary’s Blessing! If I don’t buy it now, my wheat harvest in spring will be ruined!”

“My word… Did the North make this too?! First, it was Arad Salt, and now this? What in the world is going on up there?”

The name of Renslet of the North had become firmly established across the entire continent of Arcadia.

It had become just as significant a geographical concept as the Eastern Continent.

“Is this Northern art?!”

“It’s beautiful! The Northern Grand Duchess must be a truly stunning woman!”

“I finally understand why the Emperor and the Crown Prince were so desperate to propose to her!”

“What kind of oil paints could possibly create these colors?!”

“Look at these bold lines and vivid expressions!”

“Who called Northerners barbarians? Could they still say that after seeing this?!”

Adding to that, portraits from the North spread like wildfire throughout the Empire and Kingdoms.

Merchants from the Bishop Company and nobles who had traveled to the North to receive prosthetic limbs brought back Northern portraits and character paintings, which quickly swept through Arcadia’s social circles.

“Lately, I’ve been seeing those belt-attached pouches everywhere.”

“Ah, that’s a Northern-style bag.”

“Northern-style? Does that mean it was made in the North?”

“You didn’t know? It’s the bag that the famous Northern Grand Duchess always carries.”

In addition, the bag that Arina always wore around her waist was quietly catching on with adventurers, mercenaries, and knights alike.

Now, the North wasn’t just amassing wealth — it was undergoing a massive cultural rebranding.

Northern Romanticism.

Northern Heroism.

Northern Impressionism.

The continental art world has created new categories like these.

“This? This is the Northern Grand Duchess depicted in Northern Impressionism, isn’t it?”

“I’m glad you recognized it at once. You’re right. I went all out and bought it this time.”

“I also won a romantic-style painting at an auction last week. It’s hanging in my villa right now.”

“Is that so?”

“Indeed. Why don’t you come and see it sometime?”

“I’ll head over immediately.”

Just as Mona Lisa paintings were displayed as decorative art pieces on Earth, it became fashionable across the continent to decorate estates with portraits of the Northern Grand Duchess.

“Ah! If only I had colors like these!”

“Northern art is undoubtedly high-level! But surely, we can do just as well!”

“Paints! We need Northern paints!”

Many of the continent’s painters tried to imitate Northern art, but their dreams were crushed due to the differences in pigments and tools.

“Selling a set of paints made in the North!”

“If you want to paint like Northern artists, you absolutely must buy this! The auction starts at one gold coin!”

Soon, through the Bishop Company, Northern paints, brushes, and canvases began to be sold.

“I’ll cover the cost of Northern paints.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

“In return, I want you to paint a portrait of me and my family — in the style of Northern Heroism.”

Nobles began to compete to sponsor impoverished artists, all in pursuit of portraits and character paintings done in the Northern style.

This was an outcome the Imperial Family never wanted to see.

Naturally, the Imperial Family couldn’t just sit idly by and watch this unfold.

But responding with military or economic measures wasn’t feasible.

The continent was already hopelessly addicted to Arad Salt, Northern celadon, and Mary’s Blessing.

If the Empire recklessly tried to interfere with the North, not only would the Kingdoms’ Union respond, but even the Empire’s own noble assembly would rise in revolt.

The nobles’ patience had already run dry long ago due to the expansion of imperial demesnes and the emancipation of serfs.

***

The border between the Empire and the North.

The outermost edge of the Northern Demonic Territory.

A group of people gathered in secret.

“Is everyone here?”

“Looks like it.”

“No one followed us, right?”

“Please. I may not be as sharp as I once was, but I was once the leader of Sigma.”

“Sure, sure.”

“……”

“Activate the barrier.”

Even though this area was under the jurisdiction of the Frost Knights, it was still technically at the border shared with the Empire.

The gathering was held in one of the few blind spots outside the Frost Knights’ surveillance.

Whirrrr! Whirrrr! Whirrrr!

But just in case, they activated several layers of protective barriers around them.

“So, what brings such esteemed figures from the Imperial Family and the Church to this wretched place?”

A voice came from a figure clad in a sinister black robe and hood. His hoarse, eerie voice was paired with lifeless eyes that were a dull, murky gray. His skin was nearly ashen, devoid of vitality.

It was a black sorcerer from the Devil’s Den, welcoming the guests from the Empire.

“It’s about that — the thing you’ve been suspecting.”

The one who spoke was a woman in a white silk robe.

Her face was hidden under a hood, but her aura was less like that of a magician or adventurer and more like a priest.