“Here’s your tea, Mr. Santana… I mean, honey.”
“Thank you, Cazerose… um, um, wife.”
As we exchanged titles as a couple, Cazerose and I felt our faces heat up slightly.
Even though it had been a few months since we got married, we still felt a bit awkward using these kinds of terms.
“To be honest, I still can’t fully grasp it.”
Maybe it was because we had gone through so much to get married, but sometimes I found it hard to believe she was my wife.
When I woke up in the morning and saw her face, I thought, “This woman is my wife,” but that moment felt like a dream.
We were literally living in a newlywed bubble.
I wasn’t really dissatisfied with that because it meant I was incredibly happy to share every moment with her, but I thought it was about time to accept this situation more naturally.
“Newlywed bliss is nice, but I need to start worrying about other things…”
During this time, I had been seated in the Dragona Empire, receiving reports on what had been going on and managing the massive funds we had secured from our ‘transactions,’ using them to buy food and supplies in Dragona Empire.
However, despite how smoothly things were going, I was starting to think it was time to head back to Bohemia.
“After all, as the successor of Bohemia, I can’t be away forever. I also need to formally introduce Cazerose to my family.”
If my family knew Cazerose’s face, they would probably have a hard time believing the situation we were in now.
However, since we had already had our wedding and the ink on the marriage certificate had dried perfectly, there were no issues whatsoever.
Moreover, more than anything, I had plenty of things to handle back in Bohemia, aside from revealing the truth.
“No matter what, there are limits to controlling situations from far away…”
The Sacred Empire was rapidly deteriorating due to famine.
And there we were, just a step away, making profits off selling food.
Even at this very moment, huge sums of money obtained through ‘legitimate transactions’ were piling up from the Empire’s forces to our Bohemia and the Heretic Alliance.
But what was truly important was how we would utilize this massive fund now that it was in our hands.
Previously, Cazerose had asked me, the one who practically orchestrated everything, a question.
“Of course, I think it’s good to help the needy while gaining profit. But… in a situation like this, wouldn’t it be strategically better to step back and wait for things to worsen instead of selling them food?”
That was a rather extreme statement for her, and Cazerose herself acknowledged that.
Yet, given that she was now in the same boat with me, her words did have some merit.
From our perspective, the nobles and people of the Sacred Empire were clear enemies.
Although things had calmed down for now, there was no doubt they would soon charge at us with weapons once they got back on their feet.
While it was nice to have gained substantial commercial benefits, it might be better for national interest to let them starve to death rather than giving them food.
However, I had to disagree and responded with the following.
“Of course, it would be ideal if they fell apart without our aid. But, my lady, you should be aware that the Sacred Empire won’t collapse just from a famine like this.”
“Really?”
Cazerose looked puzzled by my words.
I couldn’t help but find her expression pretty cute, so I continued.
“I mean it. Although the Sacred Empire is indeed suffering greatly from the famine right now, there is still a fair amount of power sleeping within them. While a good number of people will surely die due to the famine, it is almost impossible for the empire itself to just fall apart.”
Although starving citizens could deal a heavy blow to the state, that did not necessarily mean the country’s destruction would follow.
Humans have a much more tenacious will to live than one might expect; there wouldn’t be total extinction simply because drought hit.
Sure, a few percentage points of the population might decline, but that could easily be reversed with time.
In fact, back in the world I originally lived in, due to the reckless actions of a deranged country leader, 50 million citizens starved, yet that alone did not lead to the nation’s ruin.
And the same held true for the Sacred Empire suffering from famine.
Although it might seem hopeless right now, if the emperor recognized the seriousness of the situation and took action, there were surprisingly many ways to mitigate the impact.
They could procure food from areas unaffected by the famine or trade with other countries to import food…
If they put their minds to it, they could alleviate the suffering their empire was experiencing, but fortunately, the current emperor had not shown any proactive desire to resolve this issue.
Instead, he seemed intent on exploiting the situation politically.
Regardless, even in this situation, it was quite unlikely we could inflict significant damage on them, even if we offered no assistance.
Considering the fundamental disparity in power, it was very likely that once the famine passed, they would swiftly recover from any damage sustained.
Ultimately, it was less about watching the enemies’ misfortunes and more about maximizing what we could gain from this situation.
As a result, my plan was to attract the overall wealth of the Sacred Empire to our side during this famine.
Of course, eventually, they would catch up, but at least we could prepare a springboard for the reversal of the situation to come.
“And I need to use this amassed wealth appropriately. For victory…”
The most basic thing was to strengthen the military of Bohemia and the Heretic Alliance.
Training mages and training common soldiers, recruiting capable talents as well.
If we managed to earn vast sums of money through this, that would be the first thing to focus on.
And another important matter was… to grease the wheels with foreign relations.
As mentioned earlier, the power disparity between us and the Sacred Empire was enormous, and fighting them with our own strength alone was insufficient.
To make up for that, it was essential to draw on and utilize the powers of foreign nations, and I was currently considering the powerful forces positioned in the northern region.
“With that much funding, unlike in the original work, we won’t need to rely on the Franz Kingdom; we can call upon them solely ourselves… that way, we could minimize any future damage.”
Thinking this, I automatically began to envision that person.
The king of the Kalmar United States, a being renowned throughout the continent for bravery and strength.
The northern lion.
The figure of Gustav Adolf.
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