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“Does that make sense?!” a middle-aged man shouted at the imperial aristocrats, causing the conference hall to reverberate.
“Why doesn’t it make sense? Aren’t the people in the East acting like merchants trying to grab a piece of the empire’s sorrow as an opportunity?!”
“What merchants! Do you dare to act so arrogantly because of your father, Marquis Croix?!”
“I don’t know why you’re mentioning my father here. I just said what I saw and felt.”
One of the mainstays of the imperial faction and a Minister of Internal Affairs, Count Acob, who was reputed to be worse than his father, did not back down at all.
“Don’t forget how high the proportion of Eastern knights is in this punitive expedition, Count! The imperial faction knights couldn’t even fill half of the punitive force!”
“But it was the 2nd Consort who led them, and the one who appointed her to the rank of general despite various objections is His Majesty. We shouldn’t dwell on the composition of the subjugation party because we have no say in it. We didn’t fill the position not because we didn’t have the heart to, but before we could do anything, Prince Raymond pulled a load of Eastern knights. We didn’t get a chance because you filled those seats!”
“Are you saying that moving quickly to follow His Majesty’s orders is a problem? Or the loyalty to give everything you have to carry out your mission is a problem?”
Count Acob’s eyes hardened at the sarcastic tone. It was not wrong, but it was true that Prince Raymond pushed the Eastern knights out of his greed to make a contribution and that Duke Cherkah even mobilized Count Dyke to take his place to protect his safety.
When Count Acob closed his mouth even though he complained, the opponent with momentum became even stronger.
“We, the East, will never give up our right to return to the East!”
As soon as the threat was released, the emperor, sitting in the deepest part of the concave hall, raised his gaze.
“Is that what you’re telling me to hear?”
“Y-Your Majesty, it is
”
The middle-aged aristocrat of the east realized that he had been overexcited the moment he met the blue eyes like the finest jewels.
“Everyone did a great job. However, isn’t suppressing a rebellion a responsibility and duty that must be fulfilled as a nobleman of the empire before the achievement of making merit?”
As the low-pitched voice resounded through the conference hall, the Eastern nobles bowed their heads and expressed their remorse. Of course, it was possible because the emperor’s authority was properly established.
“The 2nd Consort will arrive soon, and we can’t hold onto her and continue this tedious bickering. Show the right results. That way, things that have already been decided will not be overturned.”
The last was a warning to the Eastern nobility. Prince Raymond’s mistake and the Eastern knights’ lack of respect for the 2nd Consort and general were enough to face summary execution in wartime.
Of course, the knights of the imperial faction could have taken a bystander attitude and argued that they didn’t make things worse because it’s only natural that the one who did nothing was in a better position than the one who caused an accident.
It would be difficult to punish harshly even if the 2nd Consort returned since it was already in the past, but if she mentioned it directly, it would be enough to fade the light of the merit built by the Eastern knights and leave room for attack by other factions.
Somehow, wanting to be quiet, the Easterners with the exception of Prince Raymond and Count Dyke, attended this meeting so as not to provoke other factions, and met this result.
Still, this situation was better than expected, so the Eastern nobles sighed and were relieved. The emperor and the other factions were probably suggesting that it was better to give them a hand than to deal directly with the 2nd Consort, the main character of all these accidents.
“You are right, Your Majesty. I think we did what we had to do, but I couldn’t control it because Count Acob seemed to take the sacrifice of our dead knights too lightly.”
“Count Acob, it’s difficult not to reveal your feelings at a government meeting.”
When the emperor spoke to Count Acob, the count bit his lip and quickly apologized. “My words were too much.”
“Since His Majesty has gone this far, I will let it slide time, Count.” The middle-aged aristocrat had no intention of dragging on the matter any longer, so he responded immediately and tried to rectify the situation. Now they would negotiate how to share the interests of the West.
At that time

“Your Majesty, may I speak for a moment?”
The voice of Crown Prince Ascensio resonated throughout the conference hall. There was no one who could carelessly ignore the boy, who gained the full support of the 2nd Consort and was rapidly increasing in age.
It was the same with Count Morell and Baron Hauser. Starting with the recent actions of Marquis Blemir, there were many things they didn’t like, but they couldn’t act rashly.
“I’m listening,” with his chin resting on the back of his left hand, the emperor gave permission to Ascensio, who was sitting right in the middle of the first row across from him.
“As a result of this rebellion, many of the lands in the west have been left unattended. If we share this merit, those territories will also find a new owner. Difficulties are expected as His Majesty, and the Eastern and Western nobles differ in what they want. It is also questionable whether everyone will be satisfied with the result, considering how much effort was put into it.”
“Why do you have to say something that everyone knows, Your Highness the Crown Prince?”
That was the reason why everyone was trying to gain the upper hand in every word of the meeting that was taking place now.
As for Count Acob, if Ascensio, who was in the position of the crown prince, was suitable as the successor, then His Majesty would somehow look after him. However, he found it unpleasant to step up and install him himself. It was all the more so because he believed that the forces that should’ve been united as the imperial faction were divided into the crown prince faction and eating away the power.
“From now on, I’ll tell you something you don’t know,” Ascensio didn’t respond and replied calmly, then he continued. “When the new owner comes in while the West is still in chaos, he will have to get a lot of help from those around him. Since the drought is not resolved, there will be many situations where we need to work together and give and receive help.
“Yes, but
”
When someone said something again, Ascensio cut him off right away so as not to overwhelm the atmosphere.
“Then, when deciding the owner of the territory, why not completely reorganize the West, including the owners of the previous territory? The territory that will be the direct control of the central nobility or His Majesty starts from the land near the border crossing from the central to the west and expands to the west. So, after drawing a line in the allotted area, the remaining territory in the West is to be returned to those who will lead and nurture the West.”
Ascensio’s words calmed the surroundings. In the empire where the antagonisms did not stop because the colors of the central part, represented by the East, West, and Imperial faction were already clear, this was no different from trying to fix that tendency completely.
“Crown Prince, do you know how dangerous your remarks are?”
Wasn’t this rebellion also serious because of the local color and aristocratic tendency?
“Yes, Your Majesty. But it seems that there are more benefits than losses
”
In other words, that was how bad the condition was. There was nothing to improve by less, and the dam was already overflowing by adding, so how many votes would there be?
“What about those who, like Viscount Tara or Baron Hux, have territories near the border between the central and western regions, and have made new achievements in this rebellion to offset their losses?”
“Isn’t it a rebellion, Your Majesty? No amount of credit will completely offset the damage, so they will not protest if we let them put down their estate and let them get into the West and settle down. Then they will be the new boundary between the Midwest and the West.”
To sum it up, you should be grateful for your life.
“Do we let the permanent residents follow along, too?”
For the next question, Ascensio was unstoppable as if he had prepared his answer in advance. “Wouldn’t it be quicker to stabilize the territory if the people of the lost territory are moved, and the original permanent residents are sent away? Unlike the nobles, it would be nice to show Your Majesty’s generous heart by reducing taxes and making various policies to assist the territories. And since the number of people in the empire has decreased significantly due to a severe drought, and the movement to land worth living has become frequent in the West, I hope we can take this opportunity to organize land and register new people.”
Checking the population was a very important issue. This was because taxes came from it, manpower could be divided into the right places, and it served as the basic data when recruiting soldiers.
Only aristocrats who were interested in practical work and were capable knew this, and even though it was their own domain, most of them were concerned about how much tax was collected and did not know how it was collected.
It was a matter that was difficult for even the emperor to forcibly browse or confirm unless a problem was revealed to respect the uniqueness of each territory, so the emperor decided that the proposal of the crown prince was very useful.
If I thin them all out and organize them while I’m on the move, I’ll be able to check them accurately without anything slipping through my fingers.
Both the land and the people.
“It is truly a reorganization of the West. It’s the birth of the New West.”
For as long as possible. It seemed that the emperor was trying to ensure that the crown prince would not be checked or hindered by the emperor’s direct jurisdiction or the central region until the western dukedom, which would be under his command, had solid power. But was it truly like that?
Duke Jonathan had not formed much power. While he had no vassals or direct subordinates, what and how much could he do with the remnants who had turned their heads from the rebels and bowed their heads to Barossa?
If the emperor hadn’t prepared a card that he could use in advance, it would have been nothing but overzealous. But

When a woman with silver hair and sky blue eyes came into the emperor’s mind, what was being solved was erased at once. Just putting her on the table would give a good answer right away.
She could be a miracle for allies and a nightmare for enemies. The emperor knew he faced her between allies and enemies. He didn’t know how long this confrontation would last, but there would come a time when a decision must be made. No, he had already made his choice.
He was just waiting for the moment he could most effectively reveal his decision. Even the 2nd Consort wouldn’t know about it.
“But Your Majesty, where is the East in this decision?” the Eastern nobles, feeling positive energy from the emperor’s silence, exclaimed urgently. The emperor glanced at Ascensio again. It meant something like, “Do you have this in mind, too?”
Ascensio sensed this was the final gateway, so he caught his breath and said, staring directly at the emperor, not in the direction of the Eastern nobles, “What’s the point of Easterners having territories in the central and western regions? It is difficult to manage, and it only dilutes the meaning of the name ‘East.’”
“Why does the crown prince decide that?”
“It’s not a decision, it’s a guess. And in this way, there’s no need to worry about the other aristocratic factions driving a wedge into the central and western regions, isn’t it? Instead, everyone can get tangible benefits.”
With a clear tone, Ascensio dealt with the Eastern nobles without the least bit of flinch.
“What kind of benefits?”
“Such as getting tax cuts from the entire East, or finding a means to support the entire East. Whatever it is, we can find something that will benefit the entire East.”
At the crown prince’s words, the Eastern nobles, especially the families that dispatched their knights this time, and the vassals directly related to Duke Cherkah, looked as if they had been beaten hard in the back of the head.