It could have been one among the hundreds of letters that flew in every day, but this one had a special aspect that allowed it to safely arrive in Henri’s office.

Because the seal of the letter was from the François family, the Empress’s family.

The letter was sent by Ermond, the surviving son of Count François, in other words, Ermedillin’s brother.

Inside the envelope were two notes without any further explanation.

One had the time when Ermedillin would visit the orphanage written on it, and the other was a warning to immediately kill the woman who had delivered the note, thus eliminating the evidence.

“Why would Ermond send a note like this?”

From Ermond’s perspective, the letter was sent out of resentment for his father’s death and implicated Valerier.

However, Ermond had overlooked one thing: handwriting.

The original Valerier was not someone who wrote neatly.

He had a strangely flowing handwriting, so he always hired someone to write important documents for him.

Fortunately for Henri, the large amount of material that the enthusiastic current Valerier produced was always written by someone who used to be Valerier’s scribe, so Henri did not notice the strangeness.

But still, Henri was wellacquainted with the handwriting of his lover.

If he had seen Valerier’s handwriting just once, he would have realized that it had completely changed.

Thanks to the many love letters they exchanged when Henri became Emperor and was briefly separated from Valerier.

Back then, Henri had endured his anxious and lonely palace life by reading Valerier’s letters.

He had read the same letters dozens of times, wearing out the paper, to the point where he had to make copies to preserve them.

So, it was quite natural that Henri could not think of Valerier while looking at the two notes.

Because he could not possibly think of Valerier from the cute, round handwriting.

After pondering with Henri for a long time, Count Halstein cautiously opened his mouth.
“It seems certain that this note was sent by the one who leaked information about Her Majesty the Empress to Duke Franshuar.”

“Must be. So, it would be why Ermond sent this letter. Is Ermond currently in the capital?”

“No. I checked the seal and asked around just in case, but no one seems to have seen him.”

“So, is he staying at the estate of Count Eshulan?”

“No, he left the Count’s castle two days ago.”

“And his wife?”

Henri felt a sense of foreboding upon hearing that Ermond, with nowhere else to go, had left his fatherinlaw’s castle.

“Yes. It appears he took his wife and children with him.”

“Hmm. He needs my approval to inherit the title, yet he didn’t send any requests?”

“Correct. All he sent was this single letter.”

“What about the territory? How are things in the Brunian region?”

“I had been keeping a close eye on it, and there have been some unusual activities lately.”

“Unusual activities?”

Henri’s bad feeling seemed to be confirmed as he waited for Count Halshtein to continue.

“Yes. You know the magical circle set up in the Duke’s castle? Therefore, the managers responsible for patrolling the area visit at least twice a week.”

“Yes, I ordered it, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did. However, the revenue from that region has been declining rapidly.”

“Revenue? Suddenly? Shouldn’t it have increased since Duke Franshuar is out of the picture?”

“Exactly. If the number of people living in the territory is the same, the revenue should be as well.”

“So, why?”

“Most of the nobles who followed the Franshuar family have left the castle. The commoners who had settled in the region are also leaving.”

Count Halshtein seemed remorseful as he reported that the citizens of the duchy were leaving, biting his lower lip and bowing his head.

“I see. So it has come to this.”

Henri felt burdened by the news he just received; it seemed the inevitable had happened.

With the unwelcome news, Henri clenched the seal attached to the envelope in his palm and crushed it.

“Do we have troops to send to the Brunian region?… No, are there any troops available for deployment?”

“We don’t have many to spare; there are a lot of deserters on the border.”

“Whether it’s Leopold’s case or Ermond’s, everyone seems to be abandoning me. I must not be a very good ruler.”

Henri gave a selfmocking laugh, applying more force to the hand that was clutching the seal.

He clenched it so hard that his neatly trimmed nails dug into his flesh.

“Wasn’t the Brunian region never really under imperial rule to begin with?”

“Exactly! I spared his life so he could live quietly, so why is he acting up for revenge?”

Frustrated from head to toe, Henri slammed his fist down on the table, resorting to a rare, coarse tone.

Since four generations ago, when Tribian became an empire, the Brunian region was incorporated.

Originally, the Franshuar family ruled the region.

They helped the thenking of Tribian ascend to the throne as Emperor using their family magic, and as a reward, they were granted the Franshuar Castle and became part of the empire.