This morning, Derick, who came unexpectedly almost at dawn, requested something unusual from him.

Although he was dressed as if he were leaving, it turned out to be this kind of request.

Currently, the empress is not Leona.

The sudden improvement in health was strange, and the selection trial for concubines was also ‘too excessive’ for Leona.

In other words, Derick didn’t believe at all that Leona had received a trust.

“I also felt that way at first. But if it’s not the will of the gods that she became so healthy, what else can it be?”

Historically, those who received the will of the gods never showed anything extraordinary.

About 300 years ago, there was a case where a young girl from a small rural village, who prayed every day, suddenly received the divine will and came to the emperor to request an army.
And the most representative case is when he led the army, suppressed the rebels, and achieved a great victory.

‘Those who receive the will of the gods go beyond the understanding of ordinary humans.’

The Duke, who had been smiling contentedly, wrinkled his face as if he knew why Derick had said that.

‘That it was not the gods but demons who intervened. There must be a reason for such nonsense. When it comes to the government, jealousy arises.’

The Duke clicked his tongue.

In his younger days, he had strong feelings of jealousy.

He wanted to kill all the men around the woman he loved, to the point where it seemed he might. Derick’s feelings were not incomprehensible, but this had definitely crossed a line.

‘When I go back, I’ll have to scold him severely. I won’t immediately kick him out due to his loyalty so far… tut. The Empress dealt with it wisely. He should be sent away for a while to cool his head.’

If he went to Kwan, some foolish ideas would surely be driven into him.

Tapping the window frame of St. Marc, the Duke erased thoughts about Derick from his mind.

Now, all that remained was the scene of my precious daughter with a red cloak on her shoulders, sitting on the dazzling golden throne.

Today, a fine rain fell.

Now that I had fully returned to the Empress’s duties, I was racking my brains while looking at the documents transferred from the Emperor’s side.

‘Is this true? Do I have to handle this?’

Eastern part of the Nix Empire.

Most of the territories bordering the 7 Kingdoms were designated as special foreign tourist zones.

This policy had been in place since the time of the previous emperor and had been ongoing for 25 years. Territories designated as tourist zones received many benefits.

Firstly, a large budget was allocated for the activation of tourist attractions, and the lords were allowed to use it freely. They didn’t have to report every use to the imperial family.

The cost of employing architects was also half-covered by the imperial family, and construction materials could be imported at a 20% cheaper price. It was a very advantageous deal.

However, every five years, they had to report on how many new buildings were constructed, what events were hosted, how many tourists visited the designated tourist zones, and how much foreign currency came in.

Naturally, there were figures for the number of tourists provided by the Imperial Finance Ministry, and if the set goals were not achieved, the designation of the special tourist zones would be canceled.

“The problem is, only two out of the nine territories have achieved it.”

Merem, who was standing by my side, frowned.

Pybel, who was listening to the story, also thumped his forehead.

“Originally, reporting every five years was a mistake. It should have been once a year! They probably didn’t even send the reports, right?”

“Yeah. Seems like they didn’t send them.”

“Ugh!”

Pybel tore at his hair.

Because the tasks at hand were right in front of us.

“The reason for designating special tourist zones wasn’t to easily exchange the currency used by the 7 Kingdoms and the Kaiton used by the empire?”
At that moment, Merem spoke sensibly.

“Yeah, that’s right. Additionally, the purpose was to maintain friendly relations with the 7 Kingdoms Union.”

“According to the data, there were territories that barely maintained special tourist zone status five years ago. Considering this, it seems like there haven’t been many tourists from the 7 Kingdoms in recent years. What’s the difference between the territories that achieved tourist attraction and those that didn’t?”

“Hmm. If there’s a comparative analysis available, we should request it; if not, we’ll need to dispatch an investigator.”