881 – The Burden of the Empire – 3

I barely managed to suppress the surging desire to escape.

In fact, I couldn’t completely suppress him, but I gave up because Chief of Staff Dae-Armain was sitting on the escape route that I was running to the window. If I tried to escape with my current state of mind, I would hit Chief of Staff Dae-Armain and pass by. It would be like giving a hit-and-run gift to someone who is already suffering from work.

‘How on earth did things go wrong for such a disaster to happen?’

However, instead of preserving the physical health of the Great Armenian Commander, my mental health rapidly deteriorated.

The war between Ryuton and Bazen? It’s not common, but it’s not uncommon either. It’s a bit of a bother, but not something that would shake the Empire.

However, if the Rutton-Bazen War had expanded beyond the two countries to an event involving six countries, it would have been a different story. In the first place, it is extremely rare for three or more countries to be involved in a single war. The war between the Empire and the Eastern Kingdoms is the most recent example. Even that would not have happened if the Empire’s amazing tyrannical line had not appeared.

In other words, this is a miracle that only happens once in a hundred years. It just so happens that it happened in our time. The Minister of Foreign Affairs must be furious.

‘The lineup of participants is also splendid.’

Even the countries involved are Quaronos and the Winter Kingdoms.

If you have a spoonful of spoons in Leon, if you have a lifeline in the empire’s mercy, you will be able to soar.

‘…Why are we involved?’

No matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand it. Why did Quaronos and the Winter Three Kingdoms intervene? No, rather, did they intervene voluntarily? But if it was an intentional intervention, was there a good reason for it?

“Manager.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“First, give me some coffee. Let’s talk about the details while drinking it.”

Coffee has a calming effect on the mind. I don’t know if it’s real or a placebo effect, but at least if you drink coffee and have a conversation, you’ll be able to maintain your senses even when receiving shocking news.

It has to be that way.

If there had been no coffee, it would have been instant death. If I had listened to it without being prepared and defenseless, blood would have spurted out of my face.

‘Is this a dream?’

I stared blankly at the face of the Chief of the Armenian Department while fiddling with my coffee cup.

It was a pretty successful joke, because it surprised me like this. If you were to say now, ‘Actually, it was a surprise from the Foreign Ministry for His Excellency, who is on vacation,’ I would laugh it off. It was such a well-made performance that I would pay the admission fee to see it.

But the expression on the face of the Great Armenian Chief was serious. If that was acting, then the Great Armenian Chief should go to the extreme right now.

“Well, things are pretty messed up.”

“Yes. Thanks to that, chaos broke out in the Northern and Eastern departments. The unexpected spark set the northeastern part of the continent on fire.”

Anyway, I calmed down and opened my mouth, and a complicated answer came back.

An unexpected spark set the Northeast ablaze. That’s right. Even I, who am not an expert on diplomacy, found myself wondering, “How can this happen?” How angry and aggrieved must the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs be.

And even if we exclude Ryuton and Bazen, who are waging war as a kind of tradition, how unfair must it be for the other four countries to be caught up in this horrific war?

‘It’s really hard to say whose fault this is.’

Finally, I sighed, rubbing my forehead. The more I tried to organize my thoughts, the more my head started to hurt.

First of all, the Winter Three Kingdoms. The weakest and most vulnerable of the continent. The basic income-producing countries that attempted to form a union system not to become stronger, but to survive. If the empire had not provided any help, the Three Musketeers, who would have perished after several generations.

When I heard that those countries were involved in the war, I was very surprised. I thought that the Three Kingdoms of Winter were prosperous because of Ziz’s great efforts. If they had jumped into the war with the supplies they received from the empire, I was prepared to really punch them.

However, it was a mistake. The Three Kingdoms of Winter were not madmen who had a full stomach and joined the war, but victims who got caught up in the middle of it.

‘It’s even more heartbreaking because the victim’s life was at stake.’

Originally, the Winter Three Kingdoms wanted to completely open the borders between the three countries so that they could easily exchange what little supplies they had. The Empire participated in this tearful decision, and the Empire and the Winter Three Kingdoms agreed to continue radical and open exchanges compared to other countries.

However, the location of the Empire and the Winter Three Kingdoms is at the end of the continent. No matter how active the Ziz is, the exchange of goods through Ziz is limited, and due to the nature of Ziz flying at high altitudes at the speed of light, it is impossible to even think about transporting certain goods.

Of course, that would be enough for the Empire. Even if they were to give supplies to the Winter Three Kingdoms, if they were to receive excessive supplies, they might forget the Empire’s favor and become arrogant. If they were to send just enough to live off of, the Empire would be happy, and the Winter Three Kingdoms would be very grateful.

However, even at that level of poverty, he could not help but feel cold-blooded pity when he saw the innocent nations that said, “Thanks to the grace of the master, I am full.” In fact, the emperor also began to sympathize with the Three Kingdoms in Winter, and he sought new methods of exchange under the pretext that it was not good to see the empire’s loyal friends in such poverty.

‘That’s the road connection.’

Expanding air exchanges is impossible unless Ziz uses the art of cloning. There is no need to even discuss maritime exchanges due to the chronic problem of the Winter Three Kingdoms. Therefore, if the Empire and the Winter Three Kingdoms want to continue large-scale exchanges, the only answer is land.

In fact, considering the distance between the Empire and the Three Kingdoms of Winter, even land exchange is inefficient, but what can you do? Sometimes in life, there are things that must be done even if it means enduring inefficiency.

Even if it meant enduring some expenses, he wanted to build a road connecting the empire and the three winter kingdoms, and he wanted to open up the winter kingdoms’ airways by coordinating customs and intermediary trade locations for the countries in between.

In the process, the continent’s tradition, the Ryuton-Bazen War, broke out. The road connection that the three winter kingdoms had been waiting for with sparkling eyes was indefinitely put on hold, and the basic income countries that had been hesitantly entering the restaurant with their child meal cards were caught up in a fight between gangsters from the neighboring town and had their tables overturned.

“Somehow the Winter Three Kingdoms are being appeased, but isn’t it the most miserable when hope is first there and then disappears? The diplomatic ministries of the once gentle Winter Three Kingdoms are now running wild. They say they will kill any traitors who dare interfere with the Empire’s national policy.”

“I wonder if they will die first.”

But it was okay up to this point. The Winter Three Kingdoms are clearly loyal to the Empire and are close friends. If you gently coax them and put some food in their pockets, they will turn back into gentle penguins even though they are whining. As for the war between Ryuton and Bazen, you can mediate them to fight next time, or at least warn them that if they cause trouble near the road, you will kill them.

But here, something no one could have imagined, Quoronos, intervened.

“As Your Majesty knows, a few years ago, a coup d’état took place in Quoronos, led by the Minister of the Interior. After that, the King at the time abdicated, and the Third Prince, not the Crown Prince, ascended to the throne.”

The internal coup in Quornos occurred as a result of the special military operation that occurred in Leon. The Minister of the Interior of Quornos, who saw his country on the path to real-time ruin due to the pressure of the Empire and Armen, made the decision to save the country, and when the situation calmed down, he drove out the king and crown prince. I knew that much.

“But the wife of the newly crowned third prince is the princess of Bazen. Suddenly, the king of Quaronos became the son-in-law of the king of Bazen.”

“Fuck.”

However, this is the first time I have learned of this. I did not know that it was not simply a marriage between royals, but that the king would become the son-in-law of another king.

In this case, even Quaronos, who is keeping his mouth shut while keeping an eye on the Empire, has no choice but to intervene. No, rather, he has to intervene even more because the Minister of the Interior seized power through a coup d’état and the current king ascended to the throne as a result.

Even if diplomacy between countries is thoroughly based on profit, if the kings of the two countries are father-in-law and son-in-law, it becomes difficult to simply consider profit. This is a matter of basic trust and morality before profit. No one would want to have a relationship with a country that does not even keep the basics.

Thanks to this, Quaronos intervened in the Rutton-Bazen War under the pretext of helping the craftsman.

“It looks like a huge alliance has been created behind Ryuton’s back. Bazen will have no intention of backing down, nor will he have any justification for it.”

“If we miss this opportunity, there will be internal unrest.”

“Yes. And I know that Ryuton is surrounded on both sides, but that makes it all the more impossible for him to back down. If he shows weakness here, he will have to acknowledge Bazen’s superiority for the rest of his life.”

National interest, pride, legitimacy, etc. All sorts of factors are intertwined, and six countries are involved, creating a bizarre situation where no one can withdraw first.

It is a bizarre situation. If these elements had exploded one by one, it would have been possible to somehow handle it, but as they exploded one after another, a complicated mess unfolded. A war involving six countries was born, a monster of unprecedented scale.

However, the empire cannot back out. If war has already broken out while trying to mediate, it must run until the end, even if it means saving face. If it gives up face and backs down, not only will its authority be high, but its loyal friends, the Three Kingdoms of Winter, may feel betrayed.

‘Those damn guys…’

I feel like the Foreign Minister’s anger is contagious to me.

I sat down in the corner of the hallway for a moment and then listened to the communication port.

– Huh? Why are you calling me all of a sudden?

Eventually, I contacted the Minister of Finance at his mansion.

“It’s nothing. Please come to work as usual starting tomorrow. That’s what I was contacting you to tell you.”

– Oh? It’s quiet already?

I burst into laughter at the sight of the minister filled with secret anticipation.

“Anyway, you’re going to be summoned tomorrow, even though you’re on vacation. Rather than being a minister who was dragged out while on vacation, you should be a minister who went voluntarily. At least save face.”

– What the hell.

The minister sighed at my kind explanation.

This is the greatest courtesy and consideration I can show to the Minister.