As soon as Livyat arrived at the office, she noticed that the Civil Affairs Hall was in chaos; it seemed everyone was busy.
She walked straight in and headed to Julia’s office.
“Julia, are you there?”
Livyat saw that Julia’s expression didn’t look good.
“Livyat, you’re here. First of all, congratulations. I did the math—between the director’s and secretary’s salaries, you’ll be getting 700 Grosos a month. You’re a little rich lady now. But keep in mind, the secretary’s 300 Grosos comes out of my own pocket.”
“That’s not all you want to say, is it…” Livyat knew Julia was only sharing the good news, not the bad.
“Something not so good happened. You’d better have a look.”
Julia handed Livyat a piece of paper.
A few lines were written on it, very briefly—As Governor of the Republic, I hereby declare that the nation is entering a budget proposal freeze.
No one may submit any objections to budget proposals for this fiscal year.
Objections may be raised during the final audit at the end of the fiscal year.
At the end, the Governor’s name and seal were affixed.
“Julia, what’s going on?”
Livyat had never heard of a freeze state before.
“Yesterday, the King of Frostweave, Wadislaw, sent a state letter to our Governor. After I read it, I wrote an assessment report. My judgment is that Wadislaw will use every means short of military force to counter this budget proposal. In fact, this kind of interference probably began a while ago. I noticed something off with some families even before the vote.”
Julia obviously hadn’t slept well—the heavy dark circles under her eyes left a fragile mark on her still youthful and charming face.
“Is this about trade alternatives and patrolling the Great River?”
Livyat suddenly blurted out.
“I knew you were smart. Yes, I don’t need to explain to you how vital the Great River is to them, or the rivalry between their Flor Silk and Elven Silk. In any case, the Governor has now announced that the council is entering a budget freeze.”
This sounded a lot like declaring a state of emergency.
“How can the King counter us? We’re so far apart.”
Livyat asked.
“You heard about the crop disease in the Southern Isles recently, right? Since then, most of our wheat has been imported from the Kingdom of Frostweave. Not only that, their timber is so cheap that our merchants are buying it in huge quantities. Many long-term procurement contracts have already been signed up to ten years out.”
“Don’t we have any alternatives?”
Livyat was curious.
“We do. Whether it’s the Elven nation of Elindria or other human kingdoms, they all have the goods we need. But among the countries that can use Great River shipping or sea routes, Frostweave and Elindria are overall the most suitable. I know, you want to ask—then why did we choose to befriend Elindria and offend Frostweave?”
Uh, I hadn’t even asked that yet.
Honestly, I struggle with these life-or-death, either-or questions.
Livyat gripped the notice tightly, her cold fingers pressing the paper until it gradually warmed.
Julia leaned back in her chair, making no effort to hide her exhaustion, but she still patiently explained to Livyat, “Because maintaining upstream river trade is too expensive. We’re heavily dependent on the southeastern monsoon from May to September to blow our merchant ships upriver. And we have to pay miscellaneous taxes to the lords who control the Windshadow District.”
“Sometimes we even hire large numbers of towmen. Fortunately, Frostweave was willing to lower prices and help us cut costs. But now, Queen Larorvia has contacted us—they’re also willing to cut prices on their goods—on the condition that we withdraw our navy from the entire Great River, keeping only a few supply points and ports.”
Livyat had been about to ask whether this was a trick by the Queen to get the Hobrick Navy to withdraw from the neutral zone.
But she suddenly realized she had no standing to say such things.
Sooner or later, she would become an elf herself.
Now that she’d turned into a girl, she had no doubt.
“The truth is, even the navy can barely hold on anymore. This delay in building the flagship Ricardo Dandolo is a sign. In reality, Hobrick’s finances simply can’t support such a grand flagship anymore.”
Livyat looked past Julia, through the window at the port outside, where merchant ships were lined up bow to stern.
The dockworkers’ songs and banter drifted in—something Livyat never used to be able to hear from this far away.
“I understand. So, what needs to be done, Julia?”
Livyat asked worriedly, gazing at the exhausted Julia.
“Liv, I need you to get along well with Her Highness Tesvelan.”
Julia stated her thoughts directly.
Tesvelan, Her Highness?
Livyat stared at Julia in surprise, her silvery eyes, bright as pearl light, full of confusion.
“Uh, she’s never told you in all these days? Her full name is Tesvelan Windheiz. Her mother is Larorvia Windheiz, Her Majesty the Queen of Elindria.”
Julia watched as Livyat’s face turned pink with lightning speed, and it seemed as if vapor was faintly rising around her.