Chapter 197.

At the end of the first day of the conference, the first person to get out of their seat was Duke Asteria.

"Well, I think this concludes todays schedule, so let's get up first. I want to rest until the banquet. The duke insinuated and left the hall with me in tow.

When the duke said he wanted to rest, other nobles looked at him with complex and subtle gazes.

Those who wanted to borrow the dukes power through the agenda of the conference would probably be anxious, and those that wanted to build a connection with the duke, irrelevant to the agenda, were probably disappointed.

Leaving all those gazes behind, Duke Asteria headed to the room assigned to us, and when we were out of everybodys sight, he asked with a playful smile, "What do you think of today's conference?"

What he was asking about was probably the war of nerves between the prime minister and the nobles over the currency reform.

"I thought the prime minister was a very terrifying person, I said with a slight smile

The duke also smiled and nodded. "Kuhaha! Yes. Arthemius is a very scary person. Although people say that he had the Blood Emperors backing since he was a child, as soon as he became the prime minister, he suddenly abolished slavery saying that the nobles needed to be put in their place."

The prime minister's abolition of slavery was a very famous story. In fact, there was a rumor doing the round that the Blood Emperor manipulated the prime minister in abolishing slavery. But seeing the prime minister today, it was likely something led by the prime minister.

And? What about the other nobles?

Honestly, I was disappointed, I answered truthfully.

The duke smiled and waited for me to continue.

I sighed and continued. "Anyone can see that the currency reform is a sign that he will put a leash on the nobles. Ironically, however, the cooperation of the nobles is indispensable in reforming the currency. If they had kept that in mind and persisted on that point, they could have hindered currency reform."

The premise of the prime minister's currency reform was to create banks in various provinces of the empire. However, the provinces that the prime minister talked about were strictly the lands of the nobles. If the nobles interfered with this point, it was possible to overturn the currency reform.

"And at the end, I couldn't bear to watch him look triumphant about the alliance with the Crows and other tribes. It was ridiculous to think that someone like the prime minister wouldnt have taken that much into account."

The duke burst into laughter at my answer. "Kuhahahaha! That's right. It's ridiculous. But you're also still nave.

I looked at him curiously.

"To be honest, when I am speaking with you, I think that there isnt anyone as cunning as you, but now that I see it, you don't have enough experience. Well, since you've never been amid a political arena at your age, it makes sense that you didnt notice.

"Is there something I missed?"

"Yes, there is." He nodded confidently.

"Could you teach me?"

"Well, what should I do? Try acting cute. Now that I'm this old, I'm at an age where I want to play with my grandchildren. If I had a grandchild, he would be about your age."

I laughed freely at Duke Asteria's mischievous remarks.

"I will take you to your room. You must be tired, so it would be good to have a good rest," I said.

My acting cute was not cheap enough to be seen except when I wanted something badly or when I was provoking my opponent.

The duke grumbled. "Tch, youre mean, too. How could you refuse this old man's request? The more I see you, the more you resemble my daughter." He whined and grinned.

"Oh well. I'll especially give you the answer. You probably only focused on the words and actions of the prime minister who was unilaterally attacking. But you shouldn't do that. You should have also focused on the words and actions of Count Druval, who was being attacked."

"Count Druval?"

"Yes, you seem to think of this conference, or broadly, the whole of politics, as a battlefield."

Duke Asteria spoke as if he knew my thoughts.

I tilted my head and asked back, "Is it not?"

The duke grinned at my retort. "Not, if it isnt, and yes, if it is."

Seeing him answering in an ambiguous manner, I asked sullenly, "Do you mean like, if you put it on your nose, it is a nose ring, and if you put it on your ear, it is an earring?

The duke flicked his finger at my grumbling. "That's correct. You're smart enough to get the point immediately. That's politics."

I was dumbfounded by the praise.

"The political battle just now was like a well-organized puppet show. The prime minister has been secretly preparing for currency reform for years. To describe how well he kept it a secret in terms of information agencies, there wouldnt be any information agencies that could have done better other than Big Mama Information Agency. So, it was so much a secret that even Count Druval, who is proficient in gathering information, didn't know."

The duke, who had been talking for a long time, became thirsty and asked me for water. After wetting his throat, the duke continued his explanation.

"But even if it's been hidden under tight security, there's a gap before it's announced. Through that gap, Druval might have noticed the currency reform, but it would have been too late to do anything. So Count Druval probably gathered as much information as he