“Your Highness, Miss Winnidith has won.”
As the Deputy Commander of the Royal Knights, Arns had the privilege of not participating in this duel—actually, Aaron had the privilege as well, but Theodore had forcibly dragged him away for a match.
Thus, Arns went to the highest point of the fortress to accompany the Princess as they watched the mages’ competition.
Since he was not a mage himself, Arns did not fully grasp the mysteries of the duel.
However, he was still shocked to see Winnidith, a 5th-tier Mage, defeat a 7th-tier Mage.
Only the Trenton family would pamper Winnidith like a fragile jewel; in any other family, Winnidith would undoubtedly be the next head of the house!
“Of course. That is my Wendy.”
Pride seeped through Isabella’s words, and her eyes were full of tenderness as she gazed at the silver figure.
‘How radiant you are, Wendy. Even if it was just to stay by your side, I had to come to the Natural Forest this time.’
The Water Element in the air gradually thickened, causing the temperature of the fortress to drop.
The physically delicate Isabella was particularly sensitive to this.
“Let us return to the room.”
Isabella let out a breath, the rising white mist gradually turning into something resembling the curling smoke of an incense burner.
In front of her, a middle-aged man wearing light armor with a terrifying scar on his face respectfully placed a stack of documents on the table.
“Your Highness, these are the records for the Wind Whisper Fortress this year. Please take a look.”
The three major fortresses of the Empire had to record their activities daily for the Emperor’s inspection.
Since the Empire’s diplomatic mission was passing through the Wind Whisper Fortress, Isabella had requested General Tyron Hawke to bring the files for her review.
Thanks to the Empire’s burgeoning economy and strength, the Wind Whisper Fortress did not have many conflicts to handle.
The records were mostly daily trivialities.
These included daily training conditions, personnel changes, the use of military funds, and so on.
Isabella was quite patient, reviewing these mundane details page by page and asking General Tyron, who stood by her side, whenever she had a question.
“Starting from this day, isn’t the number of Orc slaves fleeing from their tribes into the Empire a bit too high?”
Isabella pointed to a specific date.
The number of refugees recorded in the files alone was in the thousands.
It was difficult to imagine how large the scale of the Orcs who had escaped the guards must be.
Due to the backward systems of the Orc tribes and the Empire’s acceptance of foreign races, Orc slaves often fled the tribes into imperial territory.
However, this frequency and quantity were clearly abnormal—unless something was wrong within the Orc tribes.
“To answer Your Highness: four months ago, the Red Wolf Tribe joined forces with the Shadow Snake Tribe and the Falcon Tribe to launch a campaign against the Spirit Cat Tribe. The chief of the Spirit Cat Tribe died in battle, and his people were divided as slaves among the three tribes.”
“However, the Spirit Cat Tribe was, after all, one of the most powerful tribes among the Orcs. Even if they lost, they caused significant damage to the alliance of the three tribes. The Alandin Kingdom saw this opportunity and sent troops to fight the Orcs, seizing three of the Spirit Cat Tribe’s cities.”
“The alliance of the three tribes fell into chaos, and the slaves originally belonging to the Spirit Cat Tribe took the opportunity to flee toward the Empire.”
“Your Highness, look. Starting from this point, the number of Spirit Cat slaves escaping into the Empire decreased significantly.”
Tyron pointed to another date for Isabella.
Sure enough, from that day on, the number of Orc refugees entering the Empire plummeted until it reached single digits.
“His Majesty is merciful and allows foreigners to enter the Empire and become citizens, but at the very least, they need to undergo identity registration.”
Isabella’s casual words fell on Tyron with the weight of a mountain.
But because he was prepared, he did not feel nervous.
“Your Highness, the Spirit Cat Tribe has always been known for their flexibility and agility. During that month, countless members of the tribe fled across the border. Our border personnel are limited, so it was truly difficult to catch them all.”
“That is understandable.”
Isabella twirled a strand of long hair by her cheek and suddenly looked up to ask a question.
“Did you report this matter to my father?”
“To answer Your Highness, I wrote a letter to His Majesty to report this situation at the beginning of the incident, but His Majesty never replied… I ask for Your Highness’s forgiveness.”
The General of the Empire knelt, quietly waiting for judgment from the Imperial Family.
However, Isabella was in no hurry to respond.
From his words, she suddenly realized something—why had her father already designated her as the person in charge of this operation even before she learned the news and volunteered?
‘Heh… It seems you haven’t given up on me yet, Father.’
At this thought, Isabella’s mood brightened considerably.
As for Tyron’s punishment, it would naturally not be very severe.
If nothing else, this loyal 9th-tier Warrior was an indispensable force at the border.
She pondered for a moment before deciding on Tyron’s guilt.
“The Wind Whisper Fortress allowed Orc refugees to enter the Empire. As the person in charge, Tyron Hawke should have his official rank stripped and be sent to the Silent Prison according to Imperial law.”
Tyron Hawke listened to the punishment with an expressionless face.
When he heard “Silent Prison,” the hand holding his sword tightened suddenly before slowly relaxing.
His small movement did not escape Isabella’s eyes.
The Imperial Princess suddenly changed her tone.
“However, General Tyron has been at the border for a long time and has earned countless merits. Today, his merits and faults offset each other. I, Isabella Robert, proclaim in the name of the Imperial Family that General Tyron’s salary will be reduced by half. Furthermore, a portion of the border guards will be selected to form the Emerald Army to monitor him. If there is any further dereliction of duty, Imperial law will be strictly enforced.”
After speaking, Isabella gave a playful wink, looking every bit like a young girl.
“Since this matter is urgent and the mission still bears the heavy responsibility of my father, we cannot stay at the fortress for long. Therefore, I will personally select the members of the Emerald Army, and they will report directly to me until I receive further instructions from His Majesty.”
Hearing his final judgment, a look of astonishment gradually appeared on Tyron’s face.
His matter, if viewed lightly, was a case of helplessness; if viewed seriously, it was a dereliction of duty that endangered the peace of the Empire.
Even if his rank was truly stripped and he was thrown into the Silent Prison, it would not have been excessive.
But now… half his salary?
Who cared about that!
The salary he had earned over the years was enough for his family to live a worry-free life for the rest of their days.
As for picking guards to form the Emerald Army to monitor him, that was even more ridiculous.
He was loyal to the Empire and stood straight and tall; he had no reason to fear any Emerald Army… Wait, Emerald Army?
Tyron finally noticed something unusual in the name of this army.
Wasn’t Princess Isabella’s residence known as the Emerald Palace?
This…
Clap!
“That is all I have to say as a Princess.”
Isabella clapped her hands and stood up with a radiant smile.
She grabbed Tyron’s hand and pulled him toward the nearby sofa to sit down.
“What I have to say next is as Isabella.”
“Uncle Tyron… My father is getting older now and intends to decide on an heir to the throne. When that time comes, the new heir will surely carry out a purge of the old guard. As the General of the Wind Whisper Fortress, you hold a very important vote. So, you must be very, very careful in your support of an heir.”
“If you make the wrong choice, the fame and merits of your lifetime might all go to waste.”
Tyron looked at the smiling blonde girl beside him.
Even though she appeared so sweet and cute, he felt an inexplicable chill.
The descendants of the Imperial Family were indeed not to be trifled with; they were all standard political creatures!