Duke Diarob went on to explain how many resources Snowfel had and how powerful its mobilizable workforce was.

Casius’s expression remained motionless as he listened.

More precisely, it was so coldly subdued that it instilled fear in those who saw it.

Unable to discern what he was thinking, Diarob’s anxiety was maximized.

As he signaled with his eyes to the nobles who were his subordinates, they spoke in unison.

“Please reconsider, Your Majesty!”

Meanwhile, the nobles other than Diarob’s subordinates were busy reading the room.

It was a crucial moment when a new emperor would take the throne and the power structure would be reorganized.

The nobles were gauging whether to side with Casius Wolfdor or Diarob Snowfel.

Casius didn’t seem like someone who would use violence for his own power, but he was certainly a demanding ruler.

Still, those who had seen him taking good care of Count Siron Rosemary recently reevaluated him.

As someone from the rigid imperial family who takes good care of his own people.

But there was also a paradoxical irony here.

If Casius continued to keep Siron Rosemary close, it would clearly be he who would be in charge of arranging the power structure of the imperial faction nobles.

While Count Siron was highly respected among the commoners, the nobles’ view of him was not necessarily favorable.

His uncompromising and straightforward nature made him a difficult person among the nobles.

His previous remarks concerning the lives of commoners, which led to increased taxes in noble territories, was enough to make him disliked by the great nobles.

The nobles also doubted whether there would be any scraps properly falling to them with his straightforward character.

At least in that aspect, Duke Diarob was certainly someone who took care of their interests.

Above all, the fact that someone who wasn’t originally a great noble had risen in status was an eyesore among them.

Bowing to someone who was to be subjugated from the beginning and bowing to someone who was below oneself were issues of different dimensions.

If the eldest daughter of the Rosemary family were alive, the situation would have been different, but she was dead.

Seven years was enough time to be certain of her death.

The nobles one by one stood on Duke Diarob’s side and added their words.

“Your Majesty, please reconsider.”

Watching the storm unfold, Siron fell into deep thought.

He wished that Casius would not suffer any harm because of him.

Confirming Rachel’s life or death was more urgent than ever, but he was well aware of the great sacrifice Casius was enduring to make this exception.

Siron recalled what he had heard from Tikan when his daughter was by his side.

That Casius pushing Rachel away was all an act. That he was actually terminally ill.

Casius, who had been the worst person in the world for breaking his daughter’s heart with a change of heart, was now a lord he had to protect with his life.

In the end, Siron stepped forward.

Casius, who had been observing all this from the imperial throne, finally opened his mouth.

“I heard that the Snowfel family is currently carrying out a massive port project. Do you have the funds to lead a tourism autonomous region?”

“Of course.”

“I heard that just half a year ago, you were in debt to the treasury of Macquil territory. Have you acquired so much funds since then?”

“Of course… What?”

Diarob’s body trembled slightly at the unexpected words.

“Is there a vein of funds flowing in Snowfel territory that I don’t know about?”

Diarob was on the verge of getting goosebumps at Casius’s words, which seemed to penetrate Snowfel thoroughly.

A year ago, a passage that produced holy water was indeed discovered in Snowfel territory.

Holy water was a huge source of funds that could be sold at an incredible price.

Such an incredible fact should have been reported to the country, and a certain amount of the profits should have been paid as tax.

However, at that time, Snowfel was in a tight financial situation due to the port project.

In the end, Diarob did not report the discovery of the holy water passage.

‘How did that prince know about the holy water passage?’

It was Diarob’s mistake to let his guard down, thinking it would be fine if only the ghost-like aide, Rachel Rosemary, was gone.

Many of that information was left behind by Rachel, but there was no way Duke Snowfel could have known that.

Rachel was never one to solve everything at once.

Her temperament was different from her father, who would sternly unravel events and solve them.

She was the type to set a solid and flawless trap and then wait for the most necessary moment to take her prey.

The holy water passage was used once again like this for her family.

Duke Snowfel had no choice but to take a step back this time.

“My thoughts were short-sighted.”

But he was not the type to give up and retreat with just this much.

To leave room for Diarob to make his territory an autonomous tourism region in the future, he had to withdraw the approval given to Rosemary territory.

There was no way such a major national project would be carried out simultaneously in two places.

“However, please withdraw your declaration of Rosemary territory as an autonomous region.”

Casius spoke heavily, not even trying to hide his furrowed face.

“What is it this time?”

“Your Majesty, my daughter had a horse-riding accident in the Rosemary hunting ground.”

It was indeed like Duke Diarob to immediately bring up Rosemary.

“How can you proceed with the empire’s representative project in a territory with such an ominous energy?”

Casius’s insides turned cold as he looked at Diarob, but his outward appearance remained as calm as ever, showing no sign of it.

“Are you now disparaging Rosemary territory as having an ominous energy?”

“My daughter has never fallen from a horse since she learned to ride.”

His skill in picking a fight was truly excellent.

Diarob quickly pulled the atmosphere of the hall to his side and then dropped a bomb.

“This accident was due to the remaining monsters in Rosemary.”

Rosemary territory had long been known as a clean zone without monsters.

There were once ominous rumors after Lady Lianne Rosemary died, but that was only for a moment.

The heroic tale of Rachel, who in her anger, eliminated all monsters with her brilliantly shining magic sword like a whirlwind, instantly put an end to all rumors.

The value of Rosemary territory, known to have returned to a clean zone, rose unprecedentedly.

‘But suddenly talking about monsters? Could he be bringing this up to talk about the trap?’

Although Vivian had clearly said she wouldn’t tell anyone, Casius still couldn’t quite trust her.

Perhaps he had made a foolish choice this time.

Casius swallowed dryly, but outwardly he tried hard to maintain a calm mask.

“Talk sense. Rosemary territory is where Count Rachel swept away the monsters long ago.”

As the confrontation intensified, the nobles couldn’t decide which side to take and kept reading the situation.

It was a different matter to express one’s opinion by joining the crowd and to stand alone.

It was something to be especially careful about at times like this.

At that moment, for the first time, a noble supporting the crown prince stepped forward.

It was Duke Bashuvir Winterdell.

“Your Majesty’s words are correct. Everyone in the empire knows about Count Rachel’s achievements, how can Duke Diarob make such a false accusation?”

The Winterdell family was an old noble family, but their power had weakened after siding with the powerless imperial faction a few times in the previous generation.

However, in the current generation of Duke Bashuvir, their influence had risen to the rank of major ducal families, but no one considered it to be due to his meticulous skills.

They just thought such luck followed him because of the duke’s thick network of connections.

The nobles thought that his stepping forward this time also corresponded with what he often said at the club.

He often spoke words of sympathy for the Rosemary family.

“How can others even imagine the sorrow of losing a daughter?”

When nobles showed pure goodwill to words without particular gain or loss, he would very slowly drop words.

“It wasn’t pleasant to see Duke Snowfel scolding such a count.”

People naturally cursed Duke Diarob, and couldn’t even remember who had brought up the story.

At such times, he would subtly add words and quickly withdraw.

“Of course, Duke Diarob’s love for his daughter is famous, so he must have been momentarily blinded by the pain of His Highness’s wound.”

No one doubted Duke Bashuvir’s sincerity.

Although he was an imperial faction noble, there was no clear benefit to be gained by slandering Duke Diarob.

Rather, most people thought that the Winterdell family’s loyalty to the imperial family was extreme.

Since it had actually been so in the previous generation, no one doubted Duke Bashuvir’s true intentions.

That he was hiding ambitions to make his daughter the empress through a deal with the previous emperor was known only to three people in this meeting hall.

Duke Bashuvir himself, Casius, and Duke Diarob.

Diarob glared at Bashuvir, who hid his pitch-black insides behind a pure white face, grinding his teeth.

But he was also a formidable old hand, not easily showing his expressions.

Diarob faced Bashuvir with an unwavering, upright posture.

“A top-tier monster called Birlof was once discovered there, wasn’t it? But its corpse hasn’t been found yet, has it?”

This time, it was Casius who picked a fight with Diarob.

“You’re not basing your argument on a monster that only appears in legends, are you, Duke? No matter how urgent Snowfel’s interests are, I cannot tolerate slandering another noble’s territory.”

“Slander? I heard that my daughter’s fall during this hunting festival was also due to a monster.”

“Who’s spreading such baseless rumors?”

At Casius’s strong tone, explicitly calling it a baseless rumor, everyone seemed to hold their breath in tension.

The nobles’ gazes naturally turned to Duke Diarob.

But the person in question maintained a calm face without any change in expression, as before.

“It’s a story I heard directly from my daughter.”

‘Vivian?’

Casius’s face visibly distorted.