Section 132 Secret Letter 2

Dear General,

At this very moment, I am writing this second letter to you in Eagle City. Like the previous letter, this letter should be delivered to you in absolute seal, not through magical communication.

First of all, I would like to tell you what I saw and heard on my journey from Fornoros to Eagle Falcon. Judging from what I saw on this stretch of the road, Gruni was far calmer than I expected. In fact, if I hadn't known so much about the situation in this country, I wouldn't even believe that I am now in a country where there is a civil war.

The roads are very smooth, and the basic order in all places is well maintained. Caravans of all sizes on the road are constant. From what I learned along the way, there doesn't seem to be the inevitable change and chaos not only in this area, but also in the rest of the country. On the contrary, in the early days, the trend of people hoarding food and daily necessities has decreased.

General, I have to make a special note to you. This civil war, this coup d'état, and all the things that happened, are like a farce, one that happened at the top, and can be regarded as a legend by ordinary people. After such a long delay, without any action being taken on all sides, the tension of ordinary people in the country, ordinary farmers, merchants, artisans, etc., has calmed down. Many of them believe that the change will eventually be resolved through negotiations. As said before, there is indeed such a possibility (although this possibility exists only in theory), and the little queen and Byron can reconcile. A marriage can bring everything to a perfect end.

Of course, I personally disagree with this view at all. From what I know, the current situation is entirely a temporary calm before the storm. As you said before, if our little queen inherits the warrior bloodline of the Makremiz family, she will never be able to compromise with these traitors. This struggle must end when one side is completely defeated and completely destroyed.

Of course, on the other hand, the same is true of Byron. What he wanted was not to merge his bloodline and royal family into one family, but to claim the throne himself.

It seems to me that the reason for this calm is entirely due to the fact that all sides have taken different actions according to their own strengths, and this action has finally produced such an accident as it is now. Byron wants to drag it out, and if he drags it out, he'll win. The little queen should want to act but can't—and as you might expect, I'm afraid she'll have a hard time solving her huge financial difficulties. The last Rafa, still retains the bewildering silence of the past. What was he waiting for?

I don't know if you have an answer there now, at least I haven't found it on Byron's side. Even if Byron knew it, he hid it well.

By the way, I followed Byron's eldest son, Bairheim (as everyone called him). The reason for this is because Byron sent his son to the falcon city to do a dangerous and important job. As for me, I don't mind having more travel companions, especially since they can keep me safe on the one hand and let me know more about it on the other. I may not have heard enough from Byron, but that didn't stop me from trying again from his son.

From this point of view, perhaps the General's assessment of Byron is not so accurate. At least he had the courage to let his eldest son venture to Eagle Castle. Well, maybe it's not courage, but at least it shows that he will still come up with the capital when he needs it.

However, neither of my goals was actually accomplished. Because on the one hand, the journey was safe, and on the other hand, there was no special news about Beyer. If anything, the Duke of Byron, the former regent, was also puzzled by the financial situation of Eagle Falcon City at this time. The only possibility is that there was some kind of force that no one expected, or maybe Garunas a hundred years ago was so powerful that he left a considerable fortune for future generations.

As I mentioned to you last time, this time I came to Eagle Falcon City not to reveal my actual identity, but to observe everything here from the perspective of an ordinary traveler. Although I was prepared for the worst, it was actually much better than I expected. I will report on the general situation as follows.

Eagle Falcon City is indeed our little queen at the moment. After that upheaval, the little queen did not let a second person regent, but chose to rule herself. She had given power to the Ishrufat (who had become a count due to her previous actions in the turmoil), but quickly regained it. I remember your previous assessment, which is indeed a shocking thing, especially since she is only twelve years old now.

I'm sure some people will interpret this as the whims of a child who has power but doesn't know how to function properly. Indeed, on the surface, what can a twelve-year-old girl do? But in reality, based on what I have inquired in Eagle City, it seems to be the exact other way around. The truth is that the little queen may still be in a difficult situation, but at least she must not be seen as an ordinary little girl. According to the rumors of Eagle City, this little queen is wise and resolute, and her majesty is very strict and terrifying. She is still immature in some ways, but in others she is impressed by even the most seasoned politician. In particular, I would like to point out that the incident itself is also regarded as a miracle and has become a topic of conversation in Eagle Falcon City.

According to you, the little queen has made a surprising achievement precisely when no one expects anything from her.

The Count of Ashrufat (the details of which I will describe in detail below) have now been able to determine that he is not in control of the political situation in Eagle Castle. He is now Chancellor of the Exchequer, an important, illustrious, but not decisive position. From this, it can also be seen that the falcon city is indeed in the hands of the little queen at the moment (although I myself think it is incredible).

The financial problems of the Eagle City—the Achilles' heel of the little queen, whom you have mentioned to me many times, and the mystery that the Duke of Byron is puzzled by—are indeed serious. The reason why I say this is entirely because even the ordinary residents of Eagle Falcon City know about it now. You know, when Duke Byron borrowed a huge amount of money in arrears, he didn't even think about his ability to pay. Whenever a loan matured, the Duke of Byron used a proven method of converting it into a loan with interest. I think that at that time, our Lord Duke made up his mind to change the dynasty instead of marrying.

For if he had married his son to the little queen, he would have to pay for the terrible debt himself.

But before that failed coup, things were completely different. When Byron was the regent, when the country appeared to be stable and normal, merchants would be happy to borrow, or at least not rush to collect it. But after the coup d'état, this possibility was completely gone. Every creditor is desperate to get back the money and keep himself. In the eyes of many people, it is completely incredible that our little queen has supported it until now. In order to reduce court expenses, the little queen even temporarily closed the palace and instead worked in the regent's mansion.

Still, when a debt matures, the creditors can still get real money from the little queen's coffers. It seems that the little queen is very clear-headed, she knows that it is difficult to impose a commercial blockade on a country, but it is easy for a city, so she has no intention of defaulting on her debts.

According to the information I have received from all sides, the little queen now has a tight eye on her purse. Even when she held meetings, she did not discuss financial issues. According to a fairly reliable source, when a minister proposes a certain expense at a meeting, the little queen will turn her head to look at her chancellor of the exchequer (i.e., Ashrufat), who never gives an account of the state of the treasury, but only nods or shakes his head.

Therefore, now how much money the little queen has in hand is already a secret, and the only people who know this secret should be the little queen herself and her chancellor. Many people are asking about this secret, but the little queen is very well defended in this regard, and has heard that if anyone asks too much about this secret, it will be noticed and arrested.

However, the fact that such a thing has become classified is a clear proof in itself. I think the financial situation of our little queen is not optimistic, and it is very unoptimistic. It's just that I don't know how long Duke Byron will have to wait.

In addition, I would like to mention two wonders. The first is that someone is auctioning off the trade license with the elves in Eagle Falcon City. You have heard about it, and I remember that you mentioned it to me, and envied that the Turanians had received a river of gold. But now, there is a small and emerging chamber of commerce in Eagle City, which is actually auctioning off a trade license signed by the ruler of Iribo, the elven prince Eshurufat, allowing the purchase and sale of all goods. The number of trade licenses is unknown, but there are many large chambers of commerce that actively participate in the auction.

I heard that the license period is only one year, but as long as there are enough funds, it is probably not too difficult to make a net profit of several million gold in a year. Not to mention anything else, as long as you buy a few hundred elven war horses and transport them to the Seven Kingdoms to sell, it is enough.

I really don't know if it's that mysterious person with so much power that he actually got this thing. I'm a little curious about what the final sale price will be, but it certainly won't be a problem to auction a million gold for a license.

Another thing is that Eagle Falcon City is building a large foundry on the outskirts of the city. This wasn't strange (I told you about it last time), but it was the dwarves who were in charge of the construction. It is said that our little queen hired a large number of dwarves to help her build this factory at a great price. It was surprising, but unfortunately it was very well guarded, and no idle people were allowed to approach, so although I saw some dwarven craftsmen working from a distance, I couldn't learn more.

The last thing to do is about the new earl named Aerufat. I don't know if it's luck, but when I was on the street, I saw him unexpectedly.

General, I swear I'm right. What I saw was the man we had seen in Mill City. Vampire Aerufat. His appearance barely changed, except that he was dressed in aristocratic clothes. In the middle of his face, on the bridge of his nose, there was a conspicuous scar. I believe it's a disguise, though.

Either he had forgotten me, or as I got older, he didn't recognize me. Anyway, he just looked at me, but it passed without any reaction.

The vampire is trying to find a way to control Gruni, and he's here himself to do so. With his intervention, then all the mysteries, all the unsolvable mysteries have the best answers at once. It is only natural that the little queen can support it until now.

Luckily, it looks like he hasn't been able to control the little queen yet. You decided before you left that you would never intervene now, but I really think ...... Maybe it's not a good idea. In case a vampire is in control of the big picture, things can get out of hand.