“Your Majesty, the lady has arrived.”

The gazes of the high nobles, who had formed a circular formation at the front of the main hall, turned toward us as we approached Duke Siegfried.

I saw the corners of Parmes’s red lips curl upward.

We walked toward the front where Parmes and Siegfried were, leaving the crowd behind.

“Tch.”

As we walked, Duke Matzert passed by, twitching his eyebrows and turning away from me with a disgruntled expression.

“Ahem!”

“Ack!”

Meanwhile, Duke Guermont exhaled sharply upon seeing me. As he raised his hand to greet me with his yellow eyes gleaming, due to the crowded space, one noble was accidentally hit in the back of the head and fainted.

This caused a small commotion, but fortunately, it was quickly settled.

“Welcome, Arinel.”

We stood before Parmes.

I heard Parmes’s gentle voice directed at me.

“You look so adorable today too. It’s almost blinding!”

Several nobles inhaled sharply in surprise. According to Adam, Parmes’s attitude toward me was completely different from how he treated others.

He said there was a serious disconnect that was impossible to get used to.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

But regardless of how he is with others, to me he’s just kind Uncle Zimmer!

I brightly smiled back in response, unconcerned with the reactions around me.

“Oh dear, I don’t like that Arinel is getting busier. The more credit you deserve, the more worried I become. Yet I can’t help but praise you.”

Parmes rubbed his chin with his elegant hand while making a contemplative sound.

“Don’t you agree, Lord Siegfried?”

“I share Your Majesty’s thoughts. However, we cannot hide the achievements discovered through this geological survey. Especially since the results will be tremendously helpful for the Empire’s future.”

When I first reported the devastating results from the preliminary geological survey, I heard that Parmes ordered Siegfried to conduct formal geological examinations of the territories and construct food warehouses.

The geological examination was only meant to confirm the timing and scale of the great famine.

But… what kind of achievement could they have discovered to cause such a commotion!

“Yes, it can’t be helped. Arinel.”

Parmes said, looking at me with twinkling eyes.

“Since the geological survey began because of Arinel, half the credit for discovering these treasures buried in Acrelect’s abandoned garlic fields belongs to you.”

At that moment, the waiting servants pulled away the cloth covering something piled up like a mountain with a heave-ho.

And an enormous pile of treasures was revealed, gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight.

The stack of boxes, appearing to reach about 2 meters in height, was covered in dirt, but from several open boxes, sparkling light poured out.

The main hall, which had been buzzing with conversation, fell silent in amazement, and I too stared blankly at it for a long while with wide eyes.

The mountain of what appeared to be extraordinary treasures was truly an astonishing sight.

Hmm? But Acrelect…?

***

There was something like this in my diary entries:

[One of Parmes Aslet’s worst tyrannical acts – the Acrelect territory excavation project. As the Empire became increasingly impoverished due to the great famine, he mobilized tens of thousands of imperial citizens to excavate the legendary ancient treasures of Acrelect, which had been ignored until then due to lack of economic viability. Acrelect in the northwest was a region with severe temperature differences between day and night, and many casualties occurred due to the severe cold at night. In the end, the two-year excavation project ended in failure, leaving only worsened public sentiment without any gains.]

So the Acrelect excavation project was one of the many atrocities committed by Parmes in the original story.

It was an extremely vast granary region, and there were rumors about ancient treasures being buried there like in legends. They said it was the capital of an ancient fallen kingdom and the location of the dynasty’s treasure vault. But no one had seriously considered starting excavation work based on these legends.

Usually, when there are rumors about treasures in an area, those who cultivate the land tend to dig deep, and as the soil mixes, the land becomes fertile, so some people deliberately created such legends.

While reading the book, I had cursed at Parmes thinking, ‘Ugh, this madman… He’s finding ways to kill people through massacres like this too.’ But were there really treasures buried there?

And the treasures that were never found in the original story… did they find them during the geological survey?

“According to our investigation, these treasures and gold bars are at least two thousand years old.”

As Siegfried adjusted his glasses with his smooth-gloved hand, people gasped in surprise.

I couldn’t help but be shocked as well.

Two thousand years ago these treasures predated the Aslet Imperial family by far.

Ancient jewels were not only important historical artifacts that could reveal the life of that era but also held tremendous economic value.

Siegfried continued.

“In my opinion, the historically significant artifacts should be well preserved in the Imperial Palace, and some treasures should be exported to foreign countries to obtain materials needed for preparing for the upcoming famine. This is because, among the treasures we’ve excavated, there are items that neighboring countries would covet.”

“For instance.”

“If the Acrelect legend is true, Acrelect must have been a very powerful nation that received tributes from other countries. We can see this from the treasures that show the lifestyle of the Elvis ancestors.”

At Siegfried’s words, my heart started pounding.

The condition of the treasures was visibly excellent. Having obtained treasures that neighboring countries would covet, using these as leverage would be tremendously helpful in trade negotiations.

“The King of Elvis is known to have a great interest in artifacts. He’s someone who buys even insignificant relics for high prices, so when he sees what we have, he’ll be so shocked that he’ll offer hay and other materials.”

As I had mentioned to Duke Matzert when requesting trade with Elvis before, besides preparing food for people ahead of the famine, there was another worry.

That was the fact that during the four years of famine, even feed for livestock wouldn’t grow. In the original story, it wasn’t just humans who died of starvation.

Before humans starved to death, cows, horses, sheep, and even cute dogs would all die.

Moreover, even trees would wither, so basic materials including lumber would become scarce… The country would come to a complete standstill.

As Parmes nodded at Siegfried’s explanation, he called out to Duke Matzert, who was trying to turn away, startled by the mention of Elvis.

“Duke Matzert, how are things going with Elvis?”

“…Not well yet.”

Matzert replied while gesturing to his arm hidden under his uniform.

‘Huh? Did this uncle injure his arm?’

The arm under his coat looked unnatural, as if it was in a cast.

“When I met with them again to request material trade, that king beat me up, saying I had stolen his sister.”

Pfft, snickering sounds could be heard from nobles who knew about Matzert’s marriage story.

Clearing his throat with a ‘hmph’ and glancing at me with furrowed brows, Matzert continued.

“Still, since they’re a dynasty that really loves artifacts, they’ll agree to trade for the level of relics Duke Siegfried mentioned. Their emotions have calmed down as much as they beat me… Of course, they’ll only sell their surplus production since they can’t let their livestock starve either, but in our urgent situation, even that would be helpful.”

For Albreon, facing a great famine, even surplus production was truly fortunate.

Here’s our plan so far.

First, food for people. When activating emergency measures and building food warehouses, storing more than half of production, if we set the required amount for the famine period at 100, we can fill about 50 of the total.

Even if we maximize the prosperity of Mylar Shop’s red beetroot business, there’s a time limit, so my contribution can add about 20 more.

If we fill up to about 70 that way, although it would be less food than usual, it should be enough for the imperial citizens to endure the famine without major difficulties.

However, this only applies to food for human consumption. In normal times, we would store even low-quality food used for livestock feed without wasting any, but such things will become scarce. The same goes for various materials obtained from nature necessary for human life.

That’s why we need foreign trade!

This was what I had requested from Duke Matzert, who was the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

If we succeed in trading with Elvis and securing hay and materials, we’ll have the capacity to care for livestock beyond mere survival.

If we can care for livestock, we’ll naturally have meat products, which will further help the food situation. The market will also become more active.

‘This will greatly reduce the chances of imperial citizens suffering during the great famine!’

“Finding treasures in Acrelect is beyond imagination. It’s truly amazing!”

With this, we can protect not only people but also the livestock we were worried about and even strengthen the empire’s economic power!

I looked back and forth between Duke Siegfried and Parmes with a bright smile and happy expression.

Parmes, watching me, also showed a smile before speaking.