154 – true winner 4

Sofia, the capital of the Dragona Empire.

It was an area located on the outskirts of the country for an empire’s capital, but it was by no means small in size as a large city with a name from the past.

In addition, as it has been the center of the country’s power and economy for over 80 years, its status can never be said to be low.

In the very center of the city was the Imperial Palace, the heart of the empire.

The scale itself was by no means small because it was expanded little by little as needed, but the luxury of the castle itself was incomparable to the Hungarian royal castle, let alone the Turkic Empire or the Holy Empire.

It’s neat to express pure sentiment, but it’s a place that feels a little boring to see it as an empire’s imperial castle.

There were no fancy artworks or ceiling paintings, and precious metals such as gold and silver were rarely used.

And this frugality was not limited to the imperial palace.

Rosebetta in the position of emperor

Her clothes were also neat, but far from luxurious, and her daily meals were simple compared to the monarchs of other countries who prepared and ate delicacies.

Even national events held at the same time as holidays are conducted with a maximum focus on parts such as relief and service rather than splendor.

In the past, there were often talks about the emperor’s excessive frugality among his servants and nobles, and in fact, no matter how much he thought about it, a servant had put on a gun and made a suggestion in this regard.

As the national power and territory are sufficiently strong and wide, and even the title of empire is used, it is said that a certain amount of luxury is not necessary to establish the dignity of the imperial family and empire.

Regarding this, Emperor Roseveta smiled softly and said the following.

“Rather than being dignified in that way. Putting smiles on the faces of the people would be a better way to show the authority of the empire.”

It was the emperor who dismissed the invitation of his subjects as simple reasoning, and after this anecdote, the nobles of the Dragona Empire had no choice but to behave themselves well.

Even though the emperor, who is currently in the highest position in the empire, is in this situation, if they, as subordinates, dress up in luxurious clothes and show off, it could lead to pointless comparisons and misunderstandings.

As a result, during the 60 years that Emperor Roseveta was in power, the culture of luxury almost disappeared in the Dragona Empire, and this naturally became the basis for high-ranking officials to focus only on improving national power without caring about other things.

The lords who compete only with pure territorial competence, not the flashy decorations that can be seen, and the emperor who leads them.

There was a reason why the country called Dragona, which was a border principality of the Turkic Empire, succeeded in rising to the ranks of the empire.

And, the existence that made this empire of today possible. A being who has sat in the seat of a monarch for a time that can never be called short, and will guard the throne for an even longer time after that.

Mina Rosebetta Dragona, the emperor, was slowly sipping strong black tea, virtually the only luxury she had granted herself.

“Sigh..”

A warm and fragrant sensation as if washing away a tiring day’s work.

As she savored it slowly, she began to recall the thing she had been thinking about all along.

‘Bahamut Fernandez and the Beden Merchant… they can be said to be the true winners of this great war.’

The Beden Merchant, which had previously secured enormous wealth and power base through Eastern trade and the merger of Sakiel.

Although they consumed a huge amount of funds through this war, in return, they succeeded in filling the chain of debt to the monarchs of the continent.

This means that from now on, even those in power, who are said to be the progenitors of the continent, will have no choice but to look at the Beden Merchant and Bahamut, whether they like it or not.

Of course, it was enough to pay off the debt as soon as possible, and since the monarchs of the continent are not fools, they paid off their debts with that thought in mind and started a war – to be precise, preparing for an invasion before unwillingly defending themselves.

However, considering the future situation, Emperor Roseveta thought that this would not be an easy task.

‘If a time of peace comes from this incident, there will be no problem… but considering the situation on the continent, this is absolutely not the case.’

The authority of the church and the pope is falling as time passes.

And the monarchs of each country begin to covet more and more territory and power.

Although this time, they joined forces with the occasion of an unignorable variable called external aggression… but Emperor Roseveta knew that this would not last that long.

‘The authority of the church. And whether you like it or not, the authority of the emperor, who has no choice but to use it as a background, will weaken as time goes by. As a result, big and small problems that have been suppressed all along will begin to arise. Maybe instead of repaying the debt, it just keeps accumulating more and more..’

As he pondered the future of the monarchs in such an unexpected way, Emperor Roseveta began to grow more and more interested in Bahamut.

‘I knew he was an unusual person from the beginning, but I really didn’t know that he would grow to this extent. From that point of view… it might have been a good thing to have 2700 talents in debt to such a person?’

Of course, it is by no means a small amount, but from the point of view of running an empire, it is practically equivalent to a small amount.

Through this, a light smile began to form on Emperor Roseveta’s lips as she recalled the story Bahamut had proposed to her.

‘It’s a deal.. If a person like that works for me, I’m sure there’s nothing to be afraid of. Are you looking forward to it?’

While thinking about that, the emperor started drinking black tea once again.

At that time, a familiar yet welcome voice began to be heard in her ears.

“your majesty!”

“Oh my.. this is true. At a time like this, to think that a welcome person would come..”

Emperor Roseveta greets guests with a smile on his lips.

Seeing her, a man slowly knelt down and bowed.

“Your Majesty the Emperor. We ask His Majesty, God Selib Ras, the door. Have you ever given a strong command?”

A young-looking man who greeted with a very polite voice.

In response, the emperor erased the smile from his lips and spoke to him.

“I feel it every time. That… it’s quite cheesy.”

“But I think it’s time to get used to it. is not it?”

“I’ve said it before, but it won’t happen forever, so please stop.”

The emperor’s words were extremely comfortable and lacked formality. In response, the man also erased his serious expression and smiled with a little playfulness.

Chancellor of the Dragona Empire, Duke of Selibras.

One of the founding creditors who founded this country along with Emperor Roseveta in the past, and an old friend of the emperor, he looked at the emperor and said in a tone that, as always, put aside honorifics lightly.

“I know the story roughly. I heard that Elios had a fight with the Holy Empire and came back after being broken?”

“To put it mildly, yes, but there are still quite a few benefits. Other regions had no choice but to give up, but Treviso, which had served as a border, was eventually acquired. And one more thing.”

The emperor speaks with sincerity.

At this, the Duke of Selibe began to show a little interest.

“Hoh.. Do you think there is something else interesting?”

“Yes, it is, but that will come later. I don’t really want to do it right now because it’s a part related to work. I’m still a little tired…”

“Well, that is also true. Then, since I came back from the estate after a while, shall we talk about our family history? Actually, not too long ago, my wife was pregnant with our third child..”

The Duke of Sellive shows off his pride and joy that cannot be hidden.

At this, the emperor said to him with a slightly surprised expression.

“Oh, is that so? Really congratulations. An unexpected slope has occurred.”

“It’s all because I’m so lucky. I’ll check sooner or later if it’s a son or a daughter, so I’ll let you know.”

In this way, regardless of the position of emperor and chancellor, the two exchanged extremely mundane stories from the standpoint of literally being a male friend and female friend without fault.

All of them are conversations that have nothing to do with politics, but at the same time you can laugh lightly.

Considering their power and position, it was only things that others could consider trivial, but in a way, to the two of them, this was more important than politics and power.

To run state affairs and protect the country.

The ultimate purpose of all of that is. It was because it was to protect the ‘daily life’ they were talking about.