Lapis, a mining town located near the Zelkatos Canyon. This was the area where lower-level homunculus gathered and were in charge of mining rechargeable magic stones from the Galamut Tail Magic Mine.
Half a year has passed since the Seventh Princess of the empire was crowned Crown Princess. There have been many changes in the treatment of lower-ranking homunculus.
Lower-class homunculus were granted the right to emigrate voluntarily after five years of mandatory mining labor.
It was a temporary promotion to citizenship, but this was a compromise that the imperial family, who had been relying solely on homunculus for mining manpower, did not want to bear the burden of a sudden change. Even so, Eve drastically reduced the initial ten-year period that the Emperor had called for by half.
Accordingly, a plan was put forward to obtain mining manpower from ordinary citizens, rather than relying solely on homunculus.
The person in charge was Eve. She planned to quickly establish a system of hiring laborers with royal funds, thereby reducing the mandatory labor time of the homunculus to less than three years.
As part of this, wage miners were mining at the Ambroxa mine in Yggdras.
The imperial expenditures that went towards the miners' wages were minimal compared to the basic income earned by the magic stone and the income from the additional business that Eve had promoted.
In addition, since those who lost their homes due to the raids of Ambroxa wanted to migrate to Yggdras and provided support as wage miners, this also had the effect of stimulating the economy of the empire.
The policy and system were going smoothly. It seemed that the day would come when the mandatory labor period would be shortened as Eve had intended.
Eve did not forget to look after the present situation as well as the future of the lower-level homunculus.
Even during their mandatory labor period, they were given wages so that they could use them as settlement funds when they migrated in the future, and efforts were also made to improve their backward living environments.
However, the latter sent a proxy because it needed someone to inspect the site directly.
Baron Andres Panelo, the Imperial Secretary, and Cadelin Belcram, the General Manager of the mining town, were waiting for visitors in the square of Lapis Village.
“Sir Belcram, please do not be aggressive towards the person who visits you this time. You must be very polite!”
“Yes, Baron Panelo. Don’t worry.”
“Aren’t you worried? Just thinking about how you were rude to the 7th Princess, no, the Crown Princess, still sends shivers down my spine.”
“I said I was reflecting on it.”
Cadelin sighed. It was definitely his fault, so he had nothing to say.
But it was a bit frustrating to see Baron Panelo, who was reluctant to give faith.
Since Eve's last dispatch to the mining town, Cadelin had been deeply grateful to her. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the person who most warmly and politely welcomed the person who came as Eve's representative this time was Cadelin.
Cadelin expressed his curiosity about Eve's agent.
“Who did Her Highness send? Surely it wasn’t the same Young Master like a corrupt official who came with her last time?”
“A corrupt official? That’s a strange thing to say. There’s no way such a treacherous person would be by Her Highness the Crown Princess’ side.”
“Why, you know. Now he’s called Baron Linus..."
“What? Why is he a corrupt official? Where in the world is there a person as upright and innocent as Baron Linus? After all, someone like that should be the prime minister.”
“Oh, yes.”
“Anyway, he’s busy, so he can’t come, so he’s sending a local lord instead. A recently-appointed lord... Ah, there he is!”
Finally, the agent appeared in the town square. She was a woman with long black hair and a refined demeanor.
'Huh? That guy... No way?'
It was when Cadelin was surprised that he noticed something. The other person greeted him politely.
“Nice to meet you. I am Count Snoret Wind, Lord of Epenhaden. I have been ordered to annex and rule the surrounding areas, including Lapis Village, into Epenhaden.”
“Welcome, Count. I am Baron Andres Panelo, the royal secretary. This is Sir Cadelin Belcram, the village’s general manager.”
Thankfully, Baron Panelo introduced Cadelin on his behalf. In the meantime, Cadelin barely had time to calm down from his shock.
'If it's Snoret Wint...!'
Snorlet smiled as if he knew what Cadelin was thinking and spoke to him.
“As you may have guessed, I am from the Homunculus. To my shame, I am not very good at managing things. I am worried about taking charge of this place, but Her Highness the Crown Princess assured me that if I rely on the General Manager, there will be no problem, so I gladly accept this position.”
“Me, me?”
“Yes. So, I will be indebted to Sir Belcram from now on. Please take good care of me.”
“Oh, I am the one who needs to be treated well, Count Wint.”
Snoret was the first to extend her right hand and ask for a handshake. The moment Cadelin awkwardly took her hand, there was a feeling that was conveyed. For some reason, he had a feeling that they would get along well.
The lord of the homunculus origin was not always warmly welcomed.
Friction was bound to occur wherever he went, and the backlash was especially intense in the lands where conservative and arrogant vassals were acting as the lords.
“That, that is very difficult! We must respect customs...!”
“Oh, yes, so you’re going to disobey me?”
“Ah, no...!”
The man who was showing off his humanity in front of the old men with red and blue faces was the lord of Exacion. He was dealing with the native vassals in an awkward posture, with his legs crossed and his chin resting on his hand, which was not typical of a knight of his generation.
He was dealing with the natives in a bad attitude.
“Yes, just do as I say.”
“Hey, hey! How can you say such an impudent thing!”
“Do you understand? I am the lord of Exacion here, the Baron.”
Finally, one of the bearded retainers spoke up in frustration.
“Such arrogant remarks! I can’t stand it any longer!”
"Yes?"
“What kind of Exacion is Exacion! How can you give such a baseless name to the historic Chansley estate?”
“Oh, you know that was a dangerous statement just now? The family was destroyed by imperial decree, but you still mention the name. Isn’t that treason?”
“Eek?! B-Betrayal? No way! That’s absolutely not true!”
The vassals became quiet at the words of Elijah, the Baron of Exacion.
The Marquis Chansley was stripped of all his property, lands, and titles as a result of his tyranny.
The territory that Elijah received was the Marquisate of Chansley, which was renamed Exacion.
For the vassals who were fortunate enough not to be arrested under the system of collective punishment, they had no choice but to always watch the emperor's face. So the word treason effectively pressured them.
While the servants became more docile, Elijah changed the direction of his hand, rested his chin on it, and spoke.
“For the time being, we’re just going to reduce the number of people and check the ledger. I don’t know why that’s such a big deal..."
The deliberately long speech foreshadowed an ominous atmosphere. Soon, the casual tone began to take on a murderous tone.
“Well, if you want to continue to be uncooperative, then go ahead. I also enjoy harassing and killing struggling bugs.”
The moment a cold smile appeared on Elijah's lips, goosebumps ran down the spines of the vassals.
Evil was best dealt with by greater evil. Elijah Halsten. He was the perfect man to rule this place.
The palace was bustling with the procession of nobles entering the palace. People dressed up in elaborate attire were constantly coming in from the southern wing, where the warp portal was located, and from all the passages in the east, west, north, and south of the palace. They were there to attend the important ceremony that was to take place today.
Even as the entire palace waited excitedly for the ceremony, there was one man who could not put down the bundle of papers. It was Baron Alben Linus, the official in charge of protocol.
Baron LaFlier, who had come to visit from the next department, watched Alben for a while and then asked him casually.
“Baron Linus, what on earth do you do that makes you smirk like that when you’re working?”
“Oh, that’s not work.”
“What? Doesn’t it work?”
When the cashier was about to open his eyes, wondering if he was embezzling the taxpayers' money, Alben answered with an even more vile expression on his face.
“I was preparing a small gift for Her Highness.”
“Oh, if that’s the case, I will acknowledge it as an official matter. May I ask what kind of gift you are preparing?”
“The building is blowing up.”
"Yes?"
“Hehehe, there is something like that.”
Alben smiled sheepishly and hid the documents away.
It was when he started to slowly prepare to go to the ceremony.
One of the servants he had stationed in the palace to notify the visiting guests came running in a hurry.
“Baron Linus!”
“Huh? What’s the fuss?”
“Duke Yggdras is expected to arrive at the palace via the Warp Portal soon!”
“What? My maternal brother?!”
"Yes!"
“Then I should go out and see!”
Alben's face lit up with joy. He threw down everything he was doing and got up from his seat.
At that moment, there was a person who arrived at the palace through the warp portal a step earlier than Alben's maternal brother.
“Phew.”
Princess Stefania, the 6th princess, let out a deep breath. Stepping on the ground of the palace for the first time in a long while made her think of many things.
“Welcome, Sister Nia.”
Stefania flinched without realizing it when she heard the word “sister” being called from behind her.
She barely managed to turn her head without showing it.
“...It’s Euclid.”
The 8th Prince Euclid was there to greet her. Stefania quickly realized that this was Eve's arrangement.
He had been through a lot and had somewhat improved from his bad and twisted personality. So, she didn't feel bad when she thought that Eve had tried to calm him down.
The 8th Prince Euclid was quite tall, and he had a rather manly and dignified air about him.
Stefania chuckled as she was escorted by Euclid.
“I heard you’re learning swordsmanship, but you’re starting to act like a real knight.”
“Thank you, Sister.”
“Yeah, is the academy worth going to? Come to think of it, isn’t it the height of exam period right now?”
“Even if it’s exam period, I have to come if Sister Eve calls me.”
“Sister?”
Stefania's expression became mysterious. She looked as if she was doubting what she had just heard.
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