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The Verdin Duchy (4)
Translated by Wook
Edited by Wook
Elisha listened to those who raised their voices about the situation of the continent, the future of the empire, and the usefulness of the West to play its part in it.
Is this the beginning of a change in the long confrontation between the most capable emperor of all time and the most powerful noble faction in history?
Although the situation was not very good, the nobles showed a strangely excited look.
Elisha’s sky blue eyes narrowed.
Not knowing whether the change will be beneficial to her or not.
While Elisha remained silent, the voices were cut off for a moment.
“By the way, isn’t there a place where the Duke needs help? For example, in the Vecchia Plain within the Duchy.”
She led the offense.
In fact, Vecchia was a small land that could not be compared with the vast plains of the East.
However, it was rare in the barren West.
“I understand that the Duke was reluctant to ask for help to set an example for other nobles, but the Vecchia Plain is not a place that affects not only the Verdin Duchy, but the whole of the Western Empire.”
“So?”
“Isn’t there some time before departure? In the meantime, I thought it might be okay to fulfill my duty as a guest of Barossa.”
It wasn’t a bad offer.
However.
The Duke’s eyes narrowed in embarrassment, and Elisha continued.
“Since the Vecchia Plain is close to the Duke’s Castle, I want to get some fresh air, and the 3rd Prince is very fond of Young Master Benjamin, so can he accompany him?”
The Duke judged Elisha’s will.
When a four-year-old goes out, it is natural for the mother to follow.
“The second daughter-in-law may be lacking in etiquette and rude, would you mind?”
“Yeah, it didn’t bother me when she first showed me around the castle, so it doesn’t matter.”
At Elisha’s words, the Duke thought that his first daughter-in-law, Anne, had been firmly stamped on what had just happened.
But he refused to help at all, even if it was only to ask if the 2nd Empress would like to be accompanied by the first daughter-in-law. Even with his dignity as a duke, such words did not fall out of his mouth, as the 2nd Empress would try to bring up the dispute that he had put aside.
Until Benjamin grew up, he would leave the external affairs to Jonathan to increase the power to support Benjamin, and left the internal work to Anne, the first and slowest, to balance.
“If so, then let’s do it this way. I’m just grateful that Your Majesty took the first step to look at the situation in the West.”
The Duke’s consent fell, and Elisha nodded her head slightly.
When the series of flow became too unfavorable to her, Anne closed her eyes tightly and opened them.
Then her husband, Patrick, who was sitting next to her, looked at her father, the Duke, and said.
“How about I go with you? Since it is a matter related to the Duchy, it doesn’t seem like it would be polite to leave it only to Sir Rohan and the 1st Knights.”
“Since his wife is going, will Jonathan just stay around? You don’t have to step up!”
When the Duke responded with a disgruntled look, Patrick immediately panicked.
This is a banquet hall where most of the powerful families of the Western nobility gather.
It was not a situation in which she was in a position to step forward, but as Anne was already on the defensive, and even her husband suffered humiliation on the spot, she couldn’t lower her reputation further.
“Father, what he means is not that he will go alone.”
“Then?”
“Aren’t most of the aristocrats who came with the 2nd Empress from the capital to return to their respective estates after the dinner is over?”
The reason why the Western nobles gathered was due to the 2nd Prince’s birthday, and the reason they followed the 2nd Empress was because of Barossa’s eyes.
Except for the Rwanda March, the other two regions are in extremely poor condition, so it would be a big inconvenience if they visit.
“Since all the family members will return
 Before that, we must watch the grace given by Barossa to increase our loyalty and evoke the stagnant atmosphere of the West, Father. Those who were at Barossa had already seen it, but we, who stayed in the West, would like to see it in person as well.”
Either way, it wasn’t something that could come out of Patrick’s head. The Duke was about to snort, but Elisha was one step ahead.
“I don’t care.”
The Duke frowned and looked at the nobles opposite him.
Those who had witnessed the power of the 2nd Empress were in awe while frowning at the same time

Those who have only heard about it, brighten their eyes and show great curiosity.
In fact, the Duke himself had not even seen it, so he was curious to see how effective it would actually be.
Depending on the 2nd Empress’s abilities, the number of things to be considered in the future will increase tremendously.
While the Duke was briefly looking through everyone, Anne rolled her eyes with her eyes down and sneaked a glance at Elisha.
That cool, arrogant face was unbearably disgusting that her stomach was boiling.

 Then, something suddenly came to mind.
“Since the 2nd Empress also said it doesn’t matter, if I may be so bold, can I say another word?”
This time, instead of the Duke, she asked Elisha directly.
Elisha waited as if giving her the permission to speak.
“Come to think of it, how could we share such a good thing only among us? Wouldn’t it be great if all the people of the Empire in the Duchy could see the miracle that together would overcome this ordeal? It will be the glory and joy of their lives.”
Kung!
The reaction came first from the Duke, not from Elisha.
The Duke, who smashed the table with one hand, forcibly resisted the wrath he was about to unleash, wanting to say that how dare anyone make the 2nd Empress a spectacle of lowly things.
It was disrespectful to say such a thing, and it was no different from giving the others something to nitpick about.
The Duke is already worried about how the 2nd Empress, who is more difficult to deal with than expected, will show her displeasure and make him pay the price.
“It doesn’t matter.”
The 2nd Empress’s voice pierced their ears.
“Your Majesty, what do you
”
The Duke’s words were cut in the middle.
“It may be a good opportunity to remind the people of His Majesty’s grace.”
The sky-blue eyes that didn’t waver, so vivid that everyone felt a sense of alienation, even eerie for a moment.
Because of the positions of the two people who can be said to be the parties to the conversation, it was difficult to return the conversation from the already finalized state.
However, unlike the quiet Duke, the air in the dining hall heated up due to the sudden development.
“Can we see the process of searching for the water veins? What about that spirit?”
“With the people of the Empire? Why did Anne make such a proposal? I hate having to be in one place with those lowly things. What if it smells dirty?”
“It seems that the Duke’s heart is focused on Master Jonathan, even the 2nd Empress approves this.”
The disturbance went round and round with its tail connected.
The banquet ended with only a few thoughtful people joining the Duke in keeping their mouths shut.
Elisha stood up straight as if she had done her job, and followed Rohan who escorted her out.
As Vera tried to chase her, Jonathan stopped her by squeezing her hand slightly tighter before letting go.
“We have to wait until Father gets up.”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
When Vera apologized, Jonathan said it was okay and wiped the back of her hand before he continued to talk to her so that her nerves were directed elsewhere.
He was afraid that the other people’s gaze would be so tenacious that they would scare his wife.
“What on earth were you thinking by doing that!”
The Duke was furious, but Anne did not withdraw.
It was enough for her husband to have 10.000 tails in front of that old man.
“I was just proposing. Wasn’t it the 2nd Empress who accepted it? The Duke will not be blamed.”
Somehow, she could create a cause.
“Moreover, is there any need to make the name of Barossa and the 2nd Empress resound from the Duchy?”
Let’s say that even if the nobles agree.
Until then, it was something one could say in their own way.
What if they open the scene to the commoners, who are also the citizens of the Empire?
One wouldn’t know how fierce and fast their mouths are!
“Father, don’t you remember the report of Marquis Rwanda?”
Anne spoke without erasing her calm look until the very end.
“It said that the 2nd Empress found a water vein, but it ruined the 1st Empress’s garden and caused a flood. Which part do you mean?”
“So, it is true that the 2nd Empress can find the water veins, but we shouldn’t just wait and see ‘who’ digs it up.”
“Ha!”
The Duke let out a laugh.
So, what the first daughter-in-law was saying right now

“It is certain that the 2nd Empress could find a water vein, but isn’t that in Barossa? No matter how small the Vecchia Plain is, it is still a plain. It is not easy to find water veins in a land full of dust that has been cracked open in the scorching sun, and it will be even more difficult to dig it out.”
It is incomparable to Barossa Palace, where dozens of Imperial Knights will rush into the garden and dig the land to find the water veins for her.
Therefore, what could be done to the 2nd Empress who couldn’t dig up her veins even in Barossa?
In any case, all she has is her low-ranked water spirit.
While the nobility and territorial residents are watching, it is highly likely that nothing would come of it.
Even if she finds the right water vein.
Besides.
“The 2nd Empress doesn’t want to spend a long time here, and she has to leave on time for some reason, so she won’t be able to keep an eye on the situation in the Vecchia Plain.”
Since she can’t mobilize all the knights to dig the ground, she will have to find suitable workers, but what if one loosen them up and make them lazy?
What if one twists the place they’re digging a little bit?
Those who may have been interested at first will eventually get bored and later try to undermine the name of the 2nd Empress.
Even if they succeeded in other territories, their failures in the Duchy, the largest and most important place in the West, will always hold the ankles of the 2nd Empress.
“I never knew you had such a toxic side.”
The Duke stared at his first daughter-in-law with a new look.
Wasn’t she a child who thought it was her mission to protect her dignity as a noblewoman and fulfill her role as a dignified and calm hostess of the Duke’s family, and refrained from escaping from boundaries?
However, Anne personally thought that it wasn’t that the Duke didn’t know, but that he just didn’t want to see it.
What could be achieved without poison in each and every action she took to protect her place in this Duke’s Castle?
What kind of woman can do such a perfect job for her husband, who is useless and only makes accidents?
But Anne chose silence instead of answering.
The Duke didn’t say anything more and let her go.
There was a lot to prepare.