Lord Aubrey, chancellor of the Handalieu Federation, was troubled. After the Federation had annexed the Principality, the former citizens of Inverey who’d fled to the Kingdom had been slow to return. Now, public order was deteriorating in the eastern part of Knightley.
Those who’d returned from Inverey during the war were accepted into the Kingdom as so-called refugees. Most of them had initially fled to the eastern part of Knightley, but public order had already been on the decline at that time. Therefore, many of them hadn’t stayed, instead opting to continue to the north, south, or the central region, where the capital was located. Even once the war in Inverey had ended, and it became possible for them to return, the poor security in the east made it difficult for them to return to their homeland.
“Only twenty percent of what we predicted,” Lamber reported.
Lord Aubrey sighed softly. “I sure as hell wouldn’t be keen on traveling through that part of Knightley to return to Inverey.”
“Agreed.”
Both men understood this fact intellectually, but even so, twenty percent was far too low.
“I wonder if this, too, is the emperor’s doing...”
“Surely you’re not suggesting that even this is part of Rupert’s scheme?”
“That’s what we should assume. At the very least, we can be certain that the Empire is pulling the strings and orchestrating the chaos in the eastern part of the Kingdom. If that is why the refugees can’t return, then wouldn’t it be natural to assume that we’re playing right into his hands?”
“But why would he devise a plan to keep Inverey’s refugees within Knightley’s borders?”
“That is the question of the hour, isn’t it?”
Even Lord Aubrey couldn’t answer it easily. While he came up with several hypotheses, he had too little information to arrive at a definitive conclusion. In such cases, it wasn’t a terrible idea to consider things from a different perspective. Not from the Federation’s point of view, but from the Kingdom’s, which had accepted Inverey’s citizens.
“Lamber, what is the biggest issue when a large number of refugees arrive?”
“I suppose...the deterioration of public order.”
An unavoidable problem, no matter how well-organized an administration is.
“But wouldn’t an increase in people improve the economy? I don’t think the Empire would benefit from the Kingdom’s economy improving.” Lamber sounded puzzled.
“Since our annexation of Inverey, has the Kingdom’s economy improved?”
“No... There are no trends to indicate it, at least.”
“Precisely. Simply accepting immigrants doesn’t improve a country’s economy. Unless they are properly integrated into the country’s trade and tax systems, the economy won’t improve. And with the Kingdom’s current capacity for governance, it seems unlikely that they can smoothly integrate the refugees into the national economy.”
Thinking that simply accepting immigrants would improve a country’s economy was the mark of a fool. Only when immigrants earned money, spent money, and paid taxes did they contribute to a country’s economy. Unless a country intentionally facilitates this integration, merely accepting immigrants wouldn’t make anyone happy; they’d simply become cheap economic slaves. But even immigrants are human beings with families. They wouldn’t accept such a situation indefinitely, and if the situation didn’t improve through legal means, they’d resort to violence and riots that would only further worsen public order.
How many people in the Kingdom’s central government understood this? Unfortunately, not nearly enough.
“The chaos in Knightley’s east will only worsen.”
“Unfortunate, but true...”
Lamber nodded, frowning at Lord Aubrey’s observation. Although the matter concerned another nation—a potential enemy to the Federation, at that—the thought of people suffering still unsettled him. Lord Aubrey understood this about him, and all he did was smile wryly with a slight shake of his head.
“Rupert aims to sow chaos in the Kingdom. After that...” Aubrey muttered.
“Do you mean to say that is only the first step?” Lamber prompted him, curious.
“If we consider this in simple terms, the Empire is trying to invade the Kingdom.”
“What?”
“Yet I don’t understand the meaning of the chaos in the eastern part of the Kingdom.”
“B-But this is the Kingdom we’re talking about, my lord! While the Royal Knights are still recovering from their losses, the northern nobles and their orders are still very much intact.”
“Yes, traditionally, they’ve been the most powerful in Knightley.” Lord Aubrey nodded. Since their lands bordered the Empire’s, those aristocrats would naturally want to ensure they had the military might to defend them. And they’d been doing just that for generations.
“Moreover, the Empire isn’t as unified as they’d like everyone else to think.”
“Indeed. Duke Moorgrund, who absorbed part of Duke Wilhelmsthal’s duchy, has amassed a great deal of power. He could even be considered part of the faction opposing Rupert. And then there’s Marquess Meusel, who belongs to yet another faction. Considering the number and strength of imperial nobles who support these two men...that is something even the emperor can’t ignore. He, too, would find it difficult to fight both at the same time. Now imagine them attacking on the flanks while he launches an expedition against the Kingdom.”
“You’re absolutely right, my lord.” Lamber nodded in vigorous agreement.
“Well, all we can do now is prepare ourselves to respond to whatever happens, since we can’t predict the enemy’s moves.” Lord Aubrey scoffed. “How infuriating!”
“The Empire has the upper hand, my lord, so it can’t be helped,” Lamber said, trying to comfort him.
“Ideally, the emperor, the imperial nobles, and the Kingdom all annihilate one another in a three-way battle.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Should that happen, the Federation will swarm into imperial territory.”
“Begging your pardon, my lord...but I believe it’s pointless to discuss something that will absolutely never happen.”
“You truly think so?” Lord Aubrey let out a crack of laughter, then paused to consider his next move. “Should we station Captain Odoacer’s unit on the western border? Perhaps the Third Federated Independent Battalion as well...”
“The Third? You mean the Flame Emperor and Lord Faust?”
“Yes. The area adjacent to Redpost, on the Inverey side. How far along is Rednall’s restoration?”
“Quite far, I hear. We shouldn’t have any issues deploying troops there.”
“Good. Then send a message to Odoacer and the Third. Tell them to head to Rednall and be ready to move at any time.”
Tremors of change were now spreading through the entirety of the Central Provinces.