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Unlike last year, we moved right on schedule for the memorial this year. I would have buried myself in the Prosecutors’ Office to pass the time if I were alone, but I had to restrain myself since I was traveling with the Mage Duchess.

Going to the Prosecutors’ Office would mean a duke’s surprise visit, while going to the Magic Tower would mean its Master coming. Meanwhile, going to my mansion would mean one of its prospective mistresses was coming. It was crazy either way.

“You finally made it. I thought you’d died.”

Thanks to this, the first words I heard upon meeting the Minister at the memorial was a survival check.

“For someone who cared, you didn’t bother to contact me.”

“I figured you’d resurrect somehow.”

Spitting out strange jokes and then smirking, he bowed to the Mage Duchess beside me.

“Deber Briad of Blotchen, Imperial Minister of the Ministry of Finance and the House of Briad, greets the esteemed Mage Duchess.”

“It’s been a while, Minister. I’m glad to see you’re well.”

“It’s thanks to Your Grace’s concern.”

The Minister flinched at the sight of the Mage Duchess politely responding to a mere count, but he quickly composed himself and continued naturally.

It was a wise response. The Mage Duchess was being polite because the Minister was my direct superior. If the Minister had shown discomfort in that situation, he would have been the one hurt. As expected, the quick-wittedness he showed on the battlefield hadn’t gone anywhere.

“The Invincible Duke is in the front row. Both the Executive Manager and I are seated there as well. Would you join us?”

The Mage Duchess nodded to the polite invitation, acknowledging that it wouldn’t look right for a duke to stand at the back.

It’s grander than last year.

As I walked to the front row, I checked out the attendees at the memorial. Like last year, the Minister of the Imperial Household and the Minister of War were present from the administration. But from the parliament, Count Vardon, the chairman, came in person. I even saw several high-ranking officials from the military.

I couldn’t help but smile slightly at the increasingly grand lineup year after year. At least it seemed like those guys wouldn’t become forgotten heroes.

***The memorial, which had been buzzing with greetings, fell silent as the Minister of the Imperial Household began reading the eulogy. No one dared to disturb this solemn occasion, especially when the Emperor’s words were being read.

“The Empire was not built in a day, nor by the hands of one person. It stands today because countless heroes carved its history with their blood.”

The content of the eulogy wasn’t much different from last year. Mourning for the heroes who died fighting for the Empire, and supreme praise that the Empire existed because of those heroes.

In fact, it would be stranger if the content changed every time when mentioning something that had already happened. Unless the imperial family chose to erase the Great Northern War from history as an inconvenient truth, the narrative would remain the same.

“The blood spilled by past generations and the legacy they left behind obligate us to pass on that glory and sacrifice. To do so, we must not fear bloodshed.”

—or so I thought.

“The Empire’s history is one of duty, sacrifice, and glory. We, too, are part of this history. To sever that chain in our time would be an unspeakable sin.

This bold proclamation sent ripples through the crowd of nobles. Blood, sacrifice, legacy—and the call not to fear bloodshed. The implications were clear to anyone listening.

Of course, not everyone reacted. The Minister of the Imperial Household maintained an unreadable poker face while reading the eulogy, and the Invincible Duke showed no reaction as if he had already been briefed. These bigwigs, the Emperor’s closest aide and the highest military commander, were just maintaining their positions and performing their roles.

Anyone with half a brain could see what this hinted at. When I glanced around to confirm who else might have known, I saw the Minister frowning and the Mage Duchess with a complicated expression.

That’s where it stops.

If the Finance Minister and a duke were left in the dark, there was no way anyone beneath them had been informed. This was a tightly guarded announcement, prepared after consulting only a select few—perhaps the Crown Prince or the Minister of the Special Service Agency.

And the fact that it was dropped at a gathering of high-ranking officials from the administration, Imperial Council, and military meant they intended to make it public soon.

“—The heroes’ sacrifice and will shall continue to future generations through any hardship.”

The reading ended amid the commotion, followed by a mechanical moment of silence.

Even my own thoughts were in chaos during that moment of silence.

***It was a gravestone I revisited after about a year—no, half a year—but I could only quickly pour some Boyar wine and leave. In the current situation, staying in front of the gravestone would only fill my head with other thoughts, so it’d be better to come and pay my respects another time.

“Executive Manager.”

“What?”

The 2nd Manager cautiously spoke up right after the Minister finished paying his respects and hurriedly left.

“I’ll go ahead, too. The information control should be lifted by now.”

I nodded since it made sense. Since it was publicly announced at the memorial, information would start trickling out one by one. The 2nd Manager would come back with quite useful information if he acted now.

“Go ahead. If you need anything, handle it first and then report.”

“Yes, sir.”

The 2nd Manager bowed and quickly disappeared. Watching his retreating figure, I let out a small sigh. It was already a day when my heart was bound to be complicated for various reasons, and now my head was complicated too. It was enough to drive me crazy.

After rubbing my face a few times, I turned to the managers who were still around. They had all heard the Emperor’s eulogy too, so they were likely grappling with their own troubles. Keeping them here longer would only worsen things. Like the 2nd Manager, it was better to send them off to focus on what mattered.

“You guys go ahead too. I’ll get some fresh air before going back.”

“Understood. We’ll report immediately if anything comes up.”

“Alright.”

Following the Senior Manager who spoke first, the other managers disappeared one after another.

Except for the 1st Manager.

“Executive Manager, do you want to sit down somewhere? You don’t look good.”

“It’s fine. Beatrix is waiting outside, so I should go quickly.”

I smiled slightly at the 1st Manager and started walking. I appreciated her concern, but my mind and heart were too chaotic to stay any longer. I’d rushed through the memorial for a reason.

Besides, there wasn’t really anywhere to sit. I couldn’t do something crazy like sitting on a gravestone.

“Um, Executive Manager. Do you want to stay in the capital until club time?”

At those words, I looked at the 1st Manager again. If it were any other time, I would have thought that she was just lonely and pestering me to stay.

She’s probably right.

Unfortunately, given the current situation, it was best to do as the 1st Manager said. The 2nd Manager would be frantically gathering the information that was about to pour out now that the information control was lifted, and the Senior Manager would find peculiarities in his own way, not to mention the Minister.

If I left for the academy now, I’d have to handle the flood of information via communication crystals instead of face-to-face briefings. That would be less efficient and more error-prone. Staying until later in the day, at least until club activities started, seemed best. After all, travel time wasn’t even a factor with the Mage Duchess’s teleportation.

In fact, I would have probably stayed to hang out with the 1st Manager even if it weren’t for this incident.

“...Let’s have a meal, the three of us. Is that okay?”

“Yes!”

For now, let’s avoid the Prosecutors’ Office. They’d just feel awkward if the Executive Manager was standing around while everyone was busy.

***I glanced at Beatrix unnie while watching the Executive Manager drink water with a stiff expression. She seemed to have a lot on her mind too, slowly cutting her steak.

It had been a while since I’d seen the Executive Manager and unnie, but the atmosphere was not good at all. And it wasn’t the kind of situation where we could force a cheerful mood, either.

Of all days, it had to be today.

I wanted to sigh, but I held back because of the atmosphere. Who could’ve predicted that a day meant for honoring fallen heroes would end with talk of another war?

Of course, the anniversary of the Great Northern War’s end was the perfect moment to emphasize the Empire’s stability, but... this felt sudden, even shocking.

If I feel this way, then the Executive Manager must...

I did attend the memorial with the Executive Manager, but I’d never actually seen the Six Swords. We were in different divisions and areas of activity, so I didn’t even know their names before the Great Northern War.

I only learned about their legendary deeds after the war, along with the fact that these team leaders were the Executive Manager’s close friends.

That was why I was worried about the Executive Manager. If just hearing their names made my chest tighten, how much worse must it be for the Executive Manager? He must’ve felt displeased that the day meant for the Six Swords was being overshadowed by this chaos, and worried at the same time about the anomaly that was the cause of such chaos. Those emotions must be eating him up inside.

The Executive Manager would never admit it out loud, but this noona had spent enough years by his side to know better.

“Unnie, there’s wine from Servette among the wines here.”

“Ah, yes. Servette’s wine is quite good, though not at the level of Boyar wine. That’s why it sells quite well in the capital region.”

I casually spoke to unnie while checking the Executive Manager’s expression. I should probably cheer up unnie first, and then the two of us could comfort the Executive Manager.

Fortunately, unnie seemed to understand my intention and responded with a gentle face.

“Well. Servette is close, so transportation is easy. The Gold Duke would be disappointed if he knew.”

“Fufu, the Gold Duke’s territory may be far, but it’s that much more fertile. If there’s a disadvantage, there’s usually an advantage too.”

As small talk became the topic, the Executive Manager’s expression started to soften. More accurately, he was pretending to be okay, but that was enough for no—

“Ah.”

Suddenly, a faint light leaked from the Executive Manager’s chest. It seemed that someone contacted the Executive Manager’s communication crystal.

We were so close...!

It was so frustrating. The Executive Manager’s expression was just about to soften, but someone had to be so tactless.

— Executive Manager, it’s me!

I gently bit my lip at the urgent voice as soon as the Executive Manager activated the communication crystal. So the 2nd Manager was the culprit.

“What is it? I told you to use what you need and report later.”

The Executive Manager responded indifferently to the 2nd Manager. Right, the Executive Manager had already given him autonomy. But didn’t that defeat the purpose of giving autonomy if he went to find information and contacted the Executive Manager so soon?

— Something urgent came up that I need to report!

I was a bit surprised. The 2nd Manager found information to report in less than an hour since he started? Even for him, that should be difficult.

“You found something already?”

— I didn’t find it, the Intelligence Department told us! They were just waiting for the control to be lifted and spread it all at once!

The Executive Manager frowned at those words. The Intelligence Department passing on information without another department requesting it first only happened when there was a critical matter that needed to be dealt with without wasting a single second, especially if it was a matter to be communicated to all departments.

The 2nd Manager, seeming to sense the gravity of the situation, blurted out the information roughly.

— The gap in supplies flowing into the North, the sudden appearance of remnants from tribes that participated in the Great Northern War... it was because of dungeons!

“What?”

— Those crazy bastards were using the dungeons like barracks! The Special Service Agency never even suspected it because no one would be as crazy as to approach a dungeon during routine patrols in the North. That’s why it’s stayed hidden until now!”

The room fell silent at this unexpected information. As the 2nd Manager said, there was no reason to touch the dungeons while searching the harsh North unless the Special Service Agency went mad. Moreover, the North was so huge that even the Empire wouldn’t know if strange dungeons appeared somewhere.

The number of dungeons scattered across the North was immeasurable. Proportionally, the supplies and troops that might be hidden in those dungeons were also unaccountable.