As the Emperor listened to the report, he frowned.
The endemic disease in the west coast had always been a long standing headache.
Until it was discovered that the Pharim herb could be a solution to it, the western region was only a vast land that was nearly neglected.
"How did he arrive at the conclusion that it's artificial?"
There was no one else in this continent who knew just how important it was to manage the endemic disease.
Nevertheless, it shouldn't be possible in any sensible way for it to be spread artificially.
"When the Captain arrived, the first thing he did was to obtain a map indicating where the epidemic was more intensive so that he may lead the transport of herbs more efficiently."
"Map?"
"Yes, sire. Here."
Then, the chancellor handed the map to him.
It would have been better if the captain was here to report directly, but he was quarantining himself for the time being since he had been in a dangerous area.
"It's definitely suspicious."
On the map, the area where the epidemic had spread prominently was separated at extremely uniform intervals.
As if someone had spread the illness evenly.
Looking at the suspicious marks on the map, the chancellor inwardly sweated.
Something huge was going on.
"Did the King of Garambell say anything else?"
"Most of the royal family members had suffered from the disease. As you can see, the royal palace was also an area where the disease had spread intensively."
"Hmm."
As the Emperor tapped on the throne at a regular tempo, the sound rang out through the throne room for a while.
Hex could only think that it was a sound that made people feel nervous even though they had no sin.
"It almost seems coincidental."
Emperor Alderuan recalled how the medicinal herbs that were headed to Garambell back then had been lost once.
And it was even at the opportune time just before the storm season began.
"Come to think of it, the Pharim herbs that were destroyed by the bandits had left later than usual."
"That's right, Your Majesty. Due to the circumstances of Marquis Parma while he was in charge of transporting the Pharim…"
The chancellor trailed off. There were too many coincidences surrounding the herbs.
When coincidences like these overlapped, it seemed inevitable.
"Even if something seems strange, this is a time when we can't move."
The officers in charge of the transport who raised such suspicions hurriedly left Garambell anyway because they had to return before the storm season began.
Even if they tried to investigate and delve into the matter deeper, it would be difficult to move within the empire for the next month.
And there would be ample enough time to destroy evidence.
"Look into Marquis Parma first."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Keep silent for now in case there are spies."
There might be someone inside the palace who had colluded with this conspiracy.
He went through the names of some households in his mind, but it wasn't easy to come up with suspects who had any motive to drive a distant kingdom close to ruin.
At that time, Chancellor Hex cautiously spoke to the Emperor who was irked, lost in thought.
"But the damage will not be as significant due to the timely arrival of the Pharim herbs."
"That's good."
"Isn't this all thanks to Your Majesty's insight for heeding Her Highness' request?"
At Hex's comment, Emperor Alderuan's lips, which had been distorted in displeasure since earlier, had instantly loosened.
Whatever they were planning, they failed this time.
"It's all thanks to my daughter."
And after hearing something like that, Hex could feel himself sweating.
He was also aware of the rumors circulating in the palace.
The princess' small action was being blown up in proportion little by little. Even if this was something related to the Imperial Family, the rate of how the rumors were spreading was a little excessive.
"She hasn't even started her formal education yet, but I can't believe she knows the importance of promises well. I'm so proud of her."
Some rumors were crossing the line, saying that the Emperor himself was being swayed by the princess.
The Emperor didn't care about it at all, even though he knew it.
Rather, they were busy praising the princess.
There were some things that Hex had a hard time agreeing with.
"As expected, my daughter has a good heart because she resembles this father. She bravely offered to save a kingdom that she didn't even know the position of in the map."
By staying silent, Hex wisely dealt with this absurd situation.
The rumors were mostly true about the Emperor.
Anyway, he already knew that the Emperor liked the princess, but Hex still couldn't believe how much his frosty personality would soften at the mere mention of her.
Hex was very good at keeping his shock hidden from his expression. Meanwhile, he interpreted the situation in his own way.
Since the princess was so very cute, it couldn't be helped.
The storm season had begun.
It was constantly cold in the northern region, but for the next month, it would be wracked with storms and blizzards.
The bitter weather would last for just a month, and after the season, it would still be cold but at least it would be bearable.
No one knew why the storms were concentrated only during this season.
'Right, it's almost my birthday.'
Siervian's birthday happened to be in the middle of the storm season, when the weather was the coldest and the most severe.
And in her previous life, her sixth birthday passed quietly without even a celebration.
'I wasn't in a situation to have a party back then.'
Public opinion of her wasn't good at that time because the food waste incident had broken out.
In addition, the news that Garambell was on the verge of destruction swept through the empire only after the storm season had begun. It was through magic communication that the Imperial Palace heard the news.
So the Empress came forward and suggested that they should let this time pass quietly.
'Mm, I don't remember much."
The Empress said that they could quietly celebrate Siervian's birthday later, pretending that it was for her sake.
She said that it was to manage the princess' reputation to protect her, and the Empress declared this as though she was showing off.
Siervian could still remember one thing clearly.
On her birthday, she sat in a cold, dark room and only looked out the window to watch the blizzard.
'This time, will it be a little different?'