Page 418 of Remarried Empress

Heinley blinked a few times and asked,

“What?”

This was the third time he repeated himself.

“It’s easy.”

And the third time I answered.

Nevertheless, Heinley still had a dumbfounded expression. He seemed to question whether the problem could be solved easily.

Yes, there is a simple way. But first…

“I need you to clarify some things.”

“Tell me, Queen.”

“Do you know why the water dragon always destroys the dam?”

Heinley shook his head helplessly.

“I don’t know. If I did, I would have already found a solution.”

After a few moments, Heinley seemed to realize something.

“Ah, you know what the reason is?”

“It would certainly be nice to know, but it doesn’t matter.”

“What?”

Heinley looked around in bewilderment, aimlessly. He didn’t seem to understand my words. However, I will explain later. I still had other questions to ask.

Dragons possess extraordinary intelligence. They were able to communicate perfectly well. I didn’t know why this dragon behaved with such violence.

Well. For the other party to be willing to talk, one must first show one’s good intentions.

“Have you ever asked the water dragon not to destroy the dam?”

“Of course.”

Heinley answered with a bitter smile.

“A shrine was built to implore it not to do so. And many jewels of the kind that dragons love were offered.”

“Didn’t that work?”

“No. It just came out of the water, turned into a human form and took the jewels. Then, it went back to destroy the dam.”

“For starters, it’s clear that the water dragon is angry because it just waits until the dam is finished to destroy it. No matter how we try to negotiate, it will tear the dam down.”

“Yes. I don’t know if its nest is affected by the dam, or if it hates how noisy the construction is, or if it just doesn’t like its presence.”

“So, basically the problem is that the water dragon hates the dam.”

“Exactly.”

“Then we’ll make a dam like it likes.”

“What?”

I had lost count of how many times Heinley had asked, ‘What?’

Heinley then asked in confusion.

“Is there any way to do it?”

“Yes, the next time the dam is built, it must be completely covered in jewels.”

With this simple solution, the town will not have to suffer anymore.

“… What?”

I’d like to know the number of times Heinley has said, ‘What?’

From his skeptical expression, he seemed to find it a far-fetched idea.

Did my words sound so absurd? My logic was not at all unsound.

“Heinley. Dragons love jewels, right?”

“That’s right.”

“While some dragons may be different, the water dragon in question does not present abnormal behavior, as it took all the jewels despite its anger. If we build a dam it likes, it won’t destroy it. And it will certainly love a Jewel Dam.”

“You’re right, My Queen. But wouldn’t it be too expensive?”

“It will be much less than the expense of building a new dam every year for decades.”

No one knows the exact life expectancy of the dragons, but it is said to be at least thousands of years.

That means that if the conflict continues, the townspeople will continue to suffer for generations.

Heinley looked at me in a daze and whispered, “Jewel Dam…”

***

The Chancellor, McKenna and the Minister of Finance all had similar reactions when Heinley shared Navier’s idea with them.

They stood open-mouthed, half-stunned and doubtful.

“It is evident that she was once the Empress of the Eastern Empire. Her idea is on a mind-boggling scale.”

“Her Majesty wants to cover the entire dam with jewels…”

“Oh my, wouldn’t that be too expensive…?”

It was a simple idea, easy for everyone to understand. Everyone knew that dragons were obsessed with jewels. Even children’s books told such tales.

However, who else would consider building a dam covered in jewels?

Even if someone else had thought of it no one would dare to try to carry it out. However, the Empress proposed it like it was no big deal.

The three aides of the Western Emperor clicked their tongues. The mood in the room was thoughtful and heavy.

The expression ‘the sky’s the limit’ was characteristic of the Eastern Empire, and it fit the current situation perfectly. Navier’s mentality that ‘nothing is impossible’ was evident.

Perhaps this attitude was due to the position the Eastern Empire had long occupied as the most powerful country.

But once the shock was over, everyone thought she was right.

“Dragons’ obsession with jewels is well known.”

“The water dragon is no different. It settled in a river near a gemstone mine. ”

“It is likely that if we build the Jewel Dam, the water dragon will claim it as its own…”

“What does it matter? The jewels embedded in the dam cannot be extracted in any way. It makes no difference whether the dragon claims the dam as its own or not, all we care about is that it doesn’t destroy it.”

It seemed like too much money to carry out, but this was the best way to deal with the dragon.

A dragon will happily accept an enormous quantity of jewels in exchange for its forgiveness for whatever transgression caused its anger. A normal dragon would most likely become engrossed in admiring a Jewel Dam and cast aside its resentment.

Then, it will protect the dam rather than destroy it. It would even defend it against anyone who tried to approach the dam with bad intentions, crushing them against the bottom of the river.

It would take a shocking amount of jewels, but it would certainly be beneficial in the long run. Much better than building a new dam every year.

Besides, the mining town produced a significant number of the jewels extracted in the Western Empire, so no matter how many years of mining output had to be poured into the dam, its construction was a necessity.

Heinley nodded and decided.

“We’ll do it.”