Chapter 24.2

She turned her attention to him.

“What is your opinion?”

“Me?”

Whoosh!

In an instant, every eye in the room, including Arina’s, was focused on him.

“Um…”

Why is she suddenly asking me?!

Arad was deeply flustered but resolved to remain calm.

If he faltered here, the capable and resourceful image he had built would crumble instantly.

“…I’ve heard that the spirit of the North is to repay kindness twofold and enmity tenfold. However, if we fight the Empire now, we wouldn’t even be able to repay the harm they caused us, let alone strike back tenfold.”

After a brief silence, Arad spoke.

“I am not suggesting we forgive the Empire. But going to war with them right now would be madness.”

Oh?

The civil officials looked at him with approval, their expressions satisfied.

Hmm…

The knights, on the other hand, were clearly displeased. However, considering Arad had saved four of their leaders and even the Grand Duchess herself, they refrained from glaring daggers at him as they might have otherwise.

“Moreover, Her Grace has not fully recovered yet.”

“Hmm? I’m perfectly fine,” Arina interjected.

“Your skill hasn’t fully returned, has it?”

“Well…”

“And while you may feel fine now, there’s always the chance of aftereffects appearing later.”

This statement clinched it.

“For the sake of ensuring Her Grace’s complete recovery, stability must be our top priority.”

The knights, who had been brimming with frustration, suddenly averted their gazes, focusing instead on distant mountains or empty corners of the room.

“For now, we should focus on fortifying our internal stability while Her Grace regains her strength and martial prowess. Starting with Arad Salt, we can develop various goods to draw money from the Empire and the rest of the continent. Wars are fought with wealth and supplies, after all.”

Arad continued, “In my opinion, we should formally protest this incident to the Empire and demand financial reparations instead of immediate retaliation.”

“Do you really think the Empire would even listen to our protests?”

A senior knight scoffed, clearly unimpressed.

Sensing an opportunity to smooth things over with the knights, Arad quickly addressed their concerns.

“The Empire has many enemies. They can’t afford a full-scale war with us either. That means we can do almost anything to them short of declaring war.”

The Empire can’t go to war with us—so don’t be intimidated!

“On top of that, I’ve heard that thanks to Arad Salt, the North’s trade deficit has been alleviated. We’re in an even stronger position now.”

“But the North still relies heavily on the Empire for food,” another knight pointed out.

“If the Empire tries to play games with food, we can simply raise concerns that starving Northerners might flood into the Empire’s heartland. That threat alone would likely make them buy peace with money.”

Oh…?

This seemed to strike a chord with the knights, their expressions softening considerably.

Yeah, that’s right!

Across the room, the officials nodded vigorously, their agreement even more pronounced.

“I believe Arad’s suggestion has merit,” Arina said, nodding.

Wait…

As Arad continued speaking, he began to sense something odd.

Shouldn’t these ideas have already occurred to them?

Honestly, the people in the room—especially the officials—should have already considered these strategies. The same went for Arina.

Could it be… that I’m being used?

It dawned on him: as a neutral third party who had saved the lives of four High Knights, he was the perfect spokesperson to persuade the knights without offending them.

Arina had likely orchestrated this, leveraging him as a buffer to avoid antagonizing the knights while advancing her own agenda.

Arad decided to let it slide—for now.

The first council meeting since the Grand Duchess’s recovery concluded.

“Thank you, Sir Arad. Thanks to you, we managed to calm those stubborn bulls,” said a middle-aged man who approached Arad as soon as the meeting ended.

It was Haita, the senior administrator who held a chancellor-like position in the North.

“Don’t mention it. I’m sure the knights understood the need for restraint deep down—they were just frustrated with the current situation.”

“I understand their frustration. It’s not as if I don’t sympathize with them—I was born and raised in the North myself.”

“But their behavior was a bit excessive. To think they’d radiate killing intent in front of Her Grace… It’s surprising she let it slide.”

“The knights still harbor suspicions that the late Grand Duke Baikal’s death was connected to the Empire. Her Grace likely tolerated their behavior because she understands their loyalty.”

“…Is that so?”

Arad’s eyes widened in surprise.

Baikal Rune Renslet, Arina’s father and the former Grand Duke of the North, was officially said to have died in battle against the Extreme North Orcs.

But to suggest the Empire had a hand in it…

“For the record, even the officials, including myself, don’t disagree with the knights on this matter.”

Even the most rational and pragmatic administrators in Renslet agreed on this point.

“Are you saying the Empire colluded with the Extreme North Orcs, like they did with the black magicians from the Demonic Abyss?”

“Not collusion, exactly. The orcs aren’t the kind to negotiate. But they could have been used. The orcs’ weaponry notably improved a few years ago.”

If that was true, the Empire’s actions resembled covert operations carried out by intelligence agencies like the CIA back on Earth.

People are the same no matter where you go.

While there wasn’t concrete evidence, the circumstantial case against the Empire was strong. Combined with the indisputable evidence of their involvement in the recent incidents, it was no wonder the knights were furious.

It’s not just the knights—the entire North is seething.

Even Haita, the most level-headed figure in the North, was trembling with barely contained anger as his clenched fists quivered.

Watching them, Arad felt he could finally grasp the source of the North’s resilience in its century-long resistance.

“Ahem! Pardon an old man’s rambling,” Haita said, attempting to compose himself.

“Not at all. It was enlightening.”

“By the way, you should try to ease Her Grace’s mood. For some reason, she’s still acting a bit cold toward you, isn’t she?”

“Excuse me? Oh… yes.”

With that, Haita excused himself, leaving the room.

When Arad looked around, he realized the room had emptied. Everyone else—knights, witches, and officials—had quietly left, almost as if planned.

Now, only Arad and Arina remained.

Oh no.

In the sudden solitude, Arad found himself captivated by Arina’s beauty. Even with her slightly sulky expression, she was stunning enough to make him momentarily forget his desperate need to return to Earth.

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