"I am even more grateful to hear such comfort from the young Lady."

  Deputy Lord Ivan spoke to me in a slightly dazed voice.

  "Not because she’s my granddaughter, also she’s just an adult, but she’s very broad-minded and smart."

  My grandfather secretly compliments me next to me.

  "This Lombardy delivery business is also her work."

  "Oh, is that so?"

  The eyes of Deputy Lord Ivan, who looks at me, have changed.

  I smiled and pointed to the spot where the tea was ready.

  “I have prepared a tea to help you sleep well. I’ll tell you while drinking."

  The tea I carefully selected myself is actually a calming tea rather than a good night’s sleeping tea.

  It certainly works, after sat down and drinking a few sips of tea, Deputy Lord Ivan’s complexion improved significantly.

  His face, which seemed to be frozen, melted warmly and became soft.

  It’s just good enough to poke and go down at will.

  "How is the damage situation?"

  As I had said before the arrival of Deputy Lord Ivan, Grandpa starts the words first.

  "Fortunately, so far, there aren’t that many casualties. But……"

  Deputy Lord Ivan unexpectedly candidly spoke of the situation.

  "At this rate, we’re not sure whether the people of the territory will be able to farm properly in the spring after winter."

  "What’s wrong with farming now? You’ll have to worry about getting through the winter right now. The winters in the North are harsh."

  "……That’s true."

  Deputy Lord Ivan’s shoulders drooped further down.

  And I could be sure when I saw it.

  He stopped by the Empress’s Palace early this morning, and his relationship with the Empress is not the same as before.

  If he still had a strong relationship with Angenas, Deputy Lord Ivan would have kept his eyes on me and grandpa until the end.

  Indeed, the Empress cannot continue to be faithful to Ivan, who can no longer provide Triva trees.

  What if we don’t fight each other with blood on our necks by blaming the landslide on each other right now?

  Anyway, what’s important now is that Ivan, the head of the North, is now in a kites-like position.

  "The Ivans were rash in this case. You should’ve done enough logging. They say the walls can be rebuilt, but what about those who have fallen victim to the landslide?"

  Grandfather said in a stern voice.

  I quickly sided with Deputy Lord Ivan.

  "Nobody knew it would rain so much, Grandpa."

  "But a Lord must be prepared for such a situation."

  It’s not really my grandfather and me at odds.

  Just stick to the role, according to the pre-arranged script.

  Instead of scaring and screaming on one side, cover and soothe the other.

  Then the target person naturally leans emotionally on the one who protects him and listens to him.

  Let’s cover up the past and come up with a solution.

  It’s a favorite word for people who have responsibility.

  Deputy Lord Ivan was no different.

  "Yes, families in the North are now focusing on damage recovery."

  "And to help you with that, I asked to meet Deputy Lord Ivan today."

  "Help me……"

  "The most necessary thing to make the North back to normal again is wood, right?"

  "Yes, that’s right."

  "But you can’t do active logging because you’re worried about another landslide, right?."

  "The roads to the undamaged logging grounds were blocked by landslides of course……"

  "Oh, my God……"

  I said it after I put in a twist.

  "Clerivan Pellet, the owner of Pellet Corporation, is my teacher who taught me from an early age. And fortunately, there is a large amount of Triva woods that was not used by Pellet Corporation. We’re thinking of selling the wood at a cost due to the dire circumstances of the North."

  Actually, it wasn’t Clerivan’s, but I wanted to do that.

  "Is that true? Do, as much as money. No, it’s a little hard right now, but if you give me time, I can pay for it!"

  Deputy Lord Ivan was delighted.

  Ivan is by no means a poor territory.

  But they can’t spend a lump sum of money right now when mining, agriculture, and forestry, which are central industries, are all closed.

  "You can let go of those worries a little. Half of that timber will be purchased by our Lombardy and sent to the north as relief supplies."

  "Oh, no, that’s wi cost lot of money……"

  Surprised by what I said, Deputy Lord Ivan quickly stopped talking.

  He realized that the people he’s facing now were none other than Lombardy.

  In fact, that amount doesn’t affect Lombardy’s finances even if we spend ten times.1

  Deputy Lord Ivan hesitated and lowered his head slightly.

  "It’s embarrassing, but Lombardy’s help…… I’ll take it. Thank you."

  And the voice that was continuing to speak was dull.

  "I’ve been asking for help from place to place all day long, but I’ve only been rejected…… How should I express this feeling?"

  Deputy Lord Ivan said facing my grandfather.

  Grandfather spoke in a relaxed voice to such a Ronchent Ivan.

  "What am I looking for? This child has full control over this work."

  "Ah……"

  Ronchent Ivan, who was about the same age as my father, looked at me and said.

  "Thank you, Lady Lombardy."

  "Natural disasters can happen to any of us. We should help each other at times like this."

  "If there’s anything that Ivan can do to repay you……"

  Yeah, that’s it!

  This is exactly what I wanted to hear!

  With a slight smile, I sneaked out the main points that I prepared for this occasion.

  "There’s one thing, then……"

  "What is that?"

  Deputy Lord Ivan asked as if to say anything.

  "I hope that tomorrow’s conference will take measures to make sure it doesn’t happen again. The best way would be for everyone responsible for this landslide to be properly punished."

  "If it’s punishment……"

  "Of course, the North has already paid the price of landslides, so now it’s time to focus on reconstruction."

  "Ah……"

  Deputy Lord Ivan’s gaze shook again.

  Help keep the Empress and Angenas in check.

  He understands what I’m saying.

  "I guess it’s my turn to talk."

  My grandfather, who had been listening quietly to the conversation between me and Deputy Lord Ivan, said.

  Grandfather then began to tell Deputy Lord Ivan what he had to say at the conference.

  The Deputy Lord Ivan, who was listening silently, nodded.

  Those words are not unreasonable at all, and as he heard, there were definitely words that Ivan could say.

  "See you tomorrow, then."

  Deputy Lord Ivan greeted my grandfather politely and left the office.

  Grandfather and I, who were left alone again, enjoyed the silence for a while.

  And my grandfather said to me with a grin.

  "That’s pretty good."

  I also told my grandfather.

  "And my grandfather."

  "What? Hahaha!"

  Grandfather’s laughter roared in his office.

  My grandfather, who smiled loudly to the point of making wrinkles on his face, patted my head.

  "Yes, you are my granddaughter. I can see that you’re roasting and boiling Deputy Lord Ivan today."

  The granddaughter of the grandfather.

  It makes me cry every time I hear it.

  I swallowed that mind and smiled instead.

  "I just took credit for Lombardy’s stuff, and I’m just saying."

  To my shrugging, my grandfather said with a curious look.

  "Well, what’s wrong with Lombardy taking credit of Lombardy’s."

  "Haha!"

  This time it was my turn to laugh out loud.

  Of course.

  My grandfather is cool.

  A conference was held to discuss Northern relief.

  Although some aristocrats were dissatisfied with it because it had already been a regular meeting a few days ago.

  No one had the guts to complain openly in the presence of the Emperor and even the two Princes.

  However, the hall was a little noisy because many of the nobles were talking to Astana on the excuse of the obituary of Angenas.

  "How heartbroken you are, Your Highness First Prince."

  "It’s a little sad, but I’m fine. But my mother is so heartbroken that she hasn’t been eating and drinking and can’t get up."

  Astana, who appeared in black mourning, spoke the same words.

  "Now let’s start the meeting."

  At the Emperor’s words, the nobles returned to their seats and exchanged glances.

  They were second to none because they were quick-witted.

  Angenas is aware of what they are trying to get at the risk of not attending the conference and is thinking about which line to take.

  After a while, the conference began and the emperor went straight to the point and gave his first words.

  "Tell me what you’ve been thinking."

  However, no one stood up to speak.

  In the midst of silence, an aide to Angenas, the Baraport family, spoke.

  "Like the last drought in the East, why don’t we cut taxes in the North?"

  "Ehm."

  Emperor Jovanes frowned disapprovingly.

  Less tax means less treasury after all.

  The aristocrats who actually gave their opinions had nothing to lose.

  "Is there anything else you can do?"

  There was silence in the hall again.

  At this rate, it really seemed to open the Imperial pocket and help the North.

  But that doesn’t mean they can’t pretend they don’t know the North.

  Emperor Jovanes was in a hurry when he saw Deputy Lord Ivan sitting there with a firm complexion.

  "What a disappointment to the Lords! Is this what’s best of you!"

  "Your Majesty."

  At the end of Jovanes’s angry rant, Lulak Lombardy slowly rose from his seat.

  "Oh, something from Lombardy."

  The Emperor welcomed Lulak with a big smile.

  Yeah, Lombardy can’t just ignore it.

  Jovanes’s eyes glistened with anticipation.

  Looking at the crowd with calm eyes, Lulak Lombardy said in a loud voice.

  "We, Lombardy, have spent a lot of time thinking about how the relief would be carried out because we can’t just wait to see the tragedy of the old friend and ally of the North."

  Old friends? Friend?

  The nobles looked at Deputy Lord Ivan with puzzled faces.

  Until the last conference, Ivan was a member of the Empress’s side.

  Perhaps the First Prince even tried to divert the Eastern subsidies to the North.

  But a few days later, the Northern part of the Empire, including Ivan, was saying Lombardy was an ally.

  What the hell was going on?

  The nobles looked at Lulak Lombardy with round eyes.

  "As a result, Lombardy will work with Pellet Corporation to provide large amounts of Triva wood for rapid reconstruction in the North, and we will send five technicians to the North to help with the reconstruction."

  Lombardy in the center moves so suddenly for the far North.

  The crowd roared at the unconventional remarks.

  But Lulak Lombardy went on regardless of that.

  "And the whole process will be managed and supervised directly in Lombardy by sending a person in charge to Ivan’s territory."

  "Oh, someone in charge. You’re going to do something very important. Who’s in charge, Lord Lombardy?"

  Jovanes asked in a curious voice, half-waisted from the backrest.

  Then Lulak, who smiled once more, said with a proud voice.

  "Yes, Your Majesty. The person in charge of this relief effort is Florentia Lombardy, the daughter of Gallahan Lombardy, the granddaughter of Lulak Lombardy."