“Yes. For starters, he offered me a promotion.”

“He told you to come over to Fersecta?”

There was laughter in his eyes. Carlos seemed to find all of this amusing. Even the problem of knights dying at the barrier and conscripting boy soldiers was merely a fun event for him.

“I don’t think it’s something to say on my first day here.”

“Whether on the first day or a week later, it doesn’t matter. Just the fact that the Kaletta Ambassador got promoted is a gain for the Emperor.”

“I didn’t know he would be so uncouth.”

“You were quite shocked, weren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Rustica Gennes nodded her head. Then she said something she thought was quite revolting.

“The only Emperor I have known is Your Majesty, so I thought based on that standard. I was honestly shocked by the Fersecta Emperor, who deviates greatly from that.”

As long as she was within the Fersecta Empire, she had to look good to the Kaletta Emperor, who was at least nominally her backer.

For now, it was better for Rustica Gennes to appear loyal to Carlos, as she used to be.

But it was cowardly, sly, and nauseating flattery. The weak had to grovel and flatter with all their might to survive.

“It was a rude offer. What did he say on the first day, and what did he do today?”

“I was dragged to the Imperial Palace again today.”

“Again?”

Carlos looked at Rustica Gennes as if that was unexpected.

“Fersecta is centered around social gatherings, and he called me under the excuse of having tea. Since it was sent by the Emperor, I couldn’t refuse.”

He didn’t find her exhausted words amusing this time.

“Who else did you see besides the Emperor?”

“I snubbed the Emperor.”

Carlos’s eyes twitched.

The next morning, Rustica Gennes got up dragging her extremely tired body.

Carlos, who had appeared in person, questioned her persistently about this and that, then vanished.

Hearing that she had to go to the Imperial Palace again, his persistent questioning reached its peak.

Whether he wanted to find out more about the Fersecta Emperor or not, his nearturquoise emerald eyes kept interrogating her, draining her energy.

‘Being harassed by my boss until late at night, at least I was exempted from writing a report because of yesterday’s event. How lucky.’

She was sorry for the report that she had already written more than half of, but it was fortunate that she didn’t have to write more.

Rustica Gennes splashed lukewarm water on her face. On her third day in Fersecta, the Kaletta embassy was still not fully adapted, creaking and turning.

Coming out of her room, she counted the number of newly broken windows.

‘Huh, no new ones broken…?’

Come to think of it, yesterday was somewhat quiet. Had something been done after she had openly protested to the Fersecta Emperor?

As she tilted her head and entered the dining room, the table was already set.

Of course, there was still no newspaper. Did she always have to go out and buy one? Just then, Eliza Barkova, the captain, appeared in the dining room, bringing the chilly morning air with her.

“Good morning.”

In response to Rustica Gennes’s greeting, she nodded curtly and took off her muffler, her side filled with bundles of newspapers.

“Where have you been?”

“To buy newspapers.”
Eliza put down the package on the dining table and spoke, all sorted out, identical to what Riga had brought.

“You can read it while having breakfast.”

“Oh, thanks.”

“I said I couldn’t deliver it to the Kalete embassy every morning.”

Riga was surprised and looked at Eliza. The embassy was being stoned, and today’s newspaper was full of curses about Kalete, and she dared to do such a courageous thing?

“She said she would do it, so from now on, there will be a delivery of this thickness every morning. I did exactly what Rustica Gennes brought yesterday. Monthly or weekly newspapers will be delivered as they are published.”

“She obediently agreed to do it?”

Eliza, who was taking off her coat and going to wash her hands, paused for a moment.

“I decided to pay a generous delivery fee.”

She had received an angry look, but she compromised with money, that’s it.

“You did well. You worked hard. There’s no need to leave early in the morning now.”

Picking up a newspaper that still smelled of ink, Riga began to read it excitedly from page one.

“There are many newspapers here, so it helps a lot to understand Perseita. Even the Emperor of Perseita receives a lot of criticism.”

Wiping her wet hands, Eliza turned around and just said that, sitting at the table. More words would be taboo to a citizen of the Kalete Empire, where there was only one newspaper.

But surely Eliza must have felt something too. Criticizing their emperor in a newspaper, that would be impossible in Kalete.

“Right. I find the obituaries and social columns interesting too.”

Riga moved on lightly. Eliza slightly frowned in response.

“This country is too noisy and gathers too much.”

Then, Aldwin Rochester appeared with a crashing sound.

“Oh, what’s this? Am I the last one today?”

“Just like him.”

Eliza’s words left Riga with no choice but to laugh.