In the Raguanse family’s villa, the servants all held their breath, terrified of disturbing the conversation between the two most important people in the household.
“I heard that a couple days ago, you had dinner with Her Highness Tesvelan Windheiz?”
“Yes.”
“It wasn’t just Her Highness Tesvelan, was it? I heard there was also an elf, your externally hired secretary.”
“Yes. She’s a member of the Elf Royalty.”
“Oh? Don’t be nervous, that’s a good thing. Julia, you did well.”
The father and daughter’s conversation was as brief as an official report.
Domenico didn’t look at Julia as he watered several pots of violets that had just been delivered.
He was used to speaking with his daughter in this way.
“King Wladyslaw’s prairie cavalry has approached the northern border of the Grand Duchy of Tyro. This has made the Governor very anxious.”
“Father, I’ve told you, Karlos is a coward…”
The sound of watering flowers came to an abrupt stop.
“Do not judge the Governor like that.”
“I understand, Father. How did the Grand Duchy of Tyro respond?”
“The Grand Duke has sent the Governor over ten letters begging for help. In the last one, he said the prairie cavalry contacted him and promised not to keep heading south. But he still hopes we’ll persuade the Republic to end its betrayal by blockading the continent, and to stop dealing with the elves.”
Julia laughed, crossing her legs carelessly as she said, “As if their cavalry could cross mountains and valleys and come right onto Hobrick’s territory. Shameless. Still, it seems you were right to support renewing the mercenary contract. I was shortsighted.”
“Of course your father is right. Julia, we have no reliable army to protect our northern border, only the Grand Duchy of Tyro. But if the Grand Duchy simply puts up a token resistance and then lets the prairie cavalry through, what can we do? In any case, the Karl Mercenary Corps has already been stationed at the southern border of the Grand Duchy of Tyro. At the first sign of trouble, they’ll head to Tyroburg and take over everything there.”
“Have our disputes with the Kingdom become so serious?”
Julia was surprised.
“No, not nearly. The King is even planning to send his brother, Prince Jagellon, for a state visit. It’s almost funny—the opposition always accuses me of colluding with the elves, but they’re arranging for Prince Jagellon to give a speech in the Council. We’re all just looking for backers and moneybags for the Republic, so why are they so hypocritical?”
Domenico cut off a wilted violet and tossed it out the window, then—unusually—looked at Julia.
“I know you don’t like men. So I’ve never forced you to go on dates with those young gentlemen. As for the matter of an heir, your brother can handle it. If you fall for a noble lady, or even that young lady from the Elf Royalty, do as you please. Don’t worry about my opinion.”
…
Livyat sneezed, feeling as if someone was talking about her behind her back.
But right now, as an experienced secretary, she was rarely troubled by work she couldn’t handle.
Today Julia hadn’t come to the Shipbuilding Hall, but sent word for Livyat to handle all internal affairs as her acting secretary.
The deputy chief, Antonroni, who came from a commoner background, had no objections and brought his subordinates to consult her frequently.
All documents had to go through her for signing before they could pass.
Today, the title she was called most often was Acting General Affairs Officer.
So this is what it’s like to be in charge.
She suddenly found herself wondering what it would feel like to be Queen.
But at the same time, she was bothered by just how specialized the work of the Shipbuilding Hall was.
When she saw a factory application about “whether to approve the interim measurement exemption for the starboard collision test of the Governor Dandolo, since it could never reach the highest standard,” she could no longer hold back a wail.
So she decided to summon the technical chief of the Shipbuilding Hall.
“This, the interim measurement exemption for the collision test… is a big issue. What’s your view?”
Livyat asked seriously.
“Oh, this…”
The technician immediately launched into an impassioned explanation, from the whiteprint to the blueprint, from material properties to inspection standards, from construction steps to the midterm acceptance.
Funny enough, she couldn’t understand a word.
Livyat had to interrupt: “So, should I approve it?”
“Forgive my candor, Acting General Affairs Officer, but I don’t think you should. It would create a major safety risk for the ship,” the technician answered honestly.
“But the application says the factory has already spent several thousand ducats on this issue. We can’t just keep dragging it out, can we?”
Livyat knew shipbuilding was expensive, but she didn’t know it was this expensive.
Even the compensation she’d paid for her lost male dignity, converted to ducats, wouldn’t be enough to build a ship for a few days!
The technician looked straight at Livyat, took a deep breath, and said, “Yes. From project approval to now, it’s already cost one and a half times what a main battleship used to cost. Even so, it’s nowhere near finished. The blueprint specs are too long and too tall, with too many gun positions crammed in. Even though we’ve worked out a viable construction method, there’s simply not enough money.”
He didn’t seem to know that this warship had already been leased to the elves in exchange for funding.
Livyat sighed and gestured for the technician to return to work.
Before leaving, the technician turned back to Livyat and said, “Acting General Affairs Officer, we’ve all been wondering—there must be a reason Lady Julia allowed an elf to be her secretary, right? The warship is our pride, we watched it grow. If possible, please keep the warship here in the Republic.”
Keep it, in Hobrick?
Livyat no longer tormented herself with such thoughts.
She no longer questioned why, as an elf, she could openly be Julia’s personal secretary and take part in the Republic’s affairs, or why she was allowed to read so many shipbuilding documents.
This ship is my ship! My ship—I’ll read all the documents, learn everything I need to know. Why should I need anyone’s permission?
Livyat had figured it all out.
She straightened her back and continued going through the documents that needed her signature.
At noon, Julia returned.
She didn’t review the documents Livyat had already signed, but listened directly to her report on the unsigned ones.
After everything was handled, Julia decided to share some information with Livyat.
“The King sent his prairie cavalry to scare poor Grand Duke Tyro.”
Livyat’s thoughts matched Julia’s that morning: “Are we about to fall out with the Kingdom?”
“Not for now. The King’s brother, Prince Jagellon, will be visiting Landinset, and has been allowed to give a speech in the Council. He’s sure to make some remarks hostile to the elves.”
“But they do business with the Elven Kingdom too, don’t they?” Livyat asked.
Julia nodded.
“Yes. But they don’t want us to do business with the Elven Kingdom. That’s the contradiction. They just need to cross the river to trade with the Elves. But for us, there’s much more to consider.”
“For example, if substitutes can all be sourced from the Elven Kingdom, we won’t have to spend so much on the navy to cross the river, maintain a presence, and protect the trade routes with the river’s upper reaches, including the Kingdom of Frostweave. This time, as soon as Her Highness Tesvelan arrived in Landinset, she signed several large trade orders with us.”
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