BGFV Chapter 101

Chapter 101

“What do you mean they’ve arrived?! What nonsense is this?”

“I mean exactly what I said.”

Winston was the duke governing the southern region.

The southern part of the Fastin Empire was the only area connected to the sea, making it a route for trade and foreign travelers.

“Are you saying that refugees tried to sneak in by ship?”

“Yes, and not just any ship—it was from the Kingdom of Serendia, not Novelli.”

“Such an important matter should have been reported to the imperial palace immediately!”

“My apologies. I only heard about it right before I left… And since there were only two families confirmed as illegal immigrants, I didn’t think it would become a major issue. I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

As Hestia bowed and apologized politely, some nobles looked uncomfortable.

“Then what is happening to those people now?”

Acid, who had been silently observing the situation, finally spoke.

For a moment, Hestia thought he looked nothing like Gabriel.

‘Something about his presence feels different…’

Even though she had never spoken with Chloe, she could sense that Chloe and Gabriel were similar. But Acid felt slightly different from them.

‘If anything, he resembles His Majesty more.’

His calm and honest demeanor reminded her of the emperor.

After a brief moment of thought, Hestia answered.

“We are currently investigating their identities and how they arrived here. All I know for now is that they are from Novelli, so I’ll need to go south to learn more details.”

“Hmm…”

“For now, they are staying in a facility that handles illegal immigrants. They haven’t been fully admitted into the empire, so there’s no need to worry.”

Since the southern region was a port area, more than a dozen illegal immigrants arrived daily.

There had even been occasional illegal immigrants from Novelli in the past.

But the situation was different now—there was a civil war in Novelli.

‘So this is when they first started discussing the refugee issue.’

Before her regression, Hestia had been too focused on preventing her family’s financial ruin to care about national affairs.

But she did remember that the refugee crisis later led to several major incidents.

“Indeed… if the refugees are already scattered across other countries, it would be difficult to predict which route they will take to enter the empire.”

“And they could keep coming by sea.”

“Either way, this situation is a problem.”

“You heard that, didn’t you? The refugees are already sneaking into our empire like rats! If we don’t take control now, things will only get worse!”

Those who were against accepting refugees pressed the issue, arguing that they had to prevent the refugees from entering the empire.

“Wait a moment, the discussion isn’t over yet.”

At that moment, Kenneth quieted the heated debate and turned to Hestia.

“You mentioned earlier that you believe we should accept the refugees. Do you have a plan? The southern region will be the first to face the impact.”

Unlike before, when they dismissed her, Kenneth now spoke to her as an equal.

Hestia smiled faintly at his unchanged demeanor.

“I haven’t had enough time to create a proper plan.”

“See? I knew it—”

“What does a young lady even know—”

“But if His Majesty allows it, I intend to prepare a space for the refugees.”

The nobles who had been dismissing her looked at her in disbelief.

“Accept the refugees?! Are you out of your mind?!”

“If we take them in once, more will come swarming like cockroaches!”

“And who’s going to feed and clothe them? Our finances will have to cover everything!”

“How do we know they won’t cause trouble in the empire?”

A wave of opposition erupted.

Hestia, understanding their concerns, calmly continued.

“We cannot treat them the same as other illegal immigrants. We must consider why they have come to our empire.”

The civil war in Novelli was caused by a power struggle for the throne.

The previous king had two sons.

By tradition, the first prince should inherit the throne, but he was notorious for being a reckless troublemaker.

He killed people for trivial reasons, had no interest in governing the kingdom, and spent his time drinking and indulging in pleasures.

The second prince, on the other hand, was born from a concubine. While he lacked the legitimacy of the queen’s son, he had the qualities of a wise ruler.

The former king struggled for years to decide between them.

However, when the king suddenly passed away due to illness, the throne was left vacant, and a battle for power erupted.

“And now, that power struggle has escalated into a full-scale civil war.”

The civil war in Novelli had been going on for nearly a year.

With their homeland destroyed, the people of Novelli had no choice but to flee in search of safety.

“The war will end within four years at most. Once it’s over, the refugees will return home.”

There were no religious conflicts between the empire and Novelli, nor had the refugees fled to another nation due to the collapse of their country’s economy.

Before the civil war, Novelli had been a prosperous nation.

“We’re not saying we should accept all the refugees. We’ll punish the illegal immigrants according to the law, but we should provide temporary shelter for those who lost their homes due to the throne dispute, like those from Novelli.”

She had no intention of offering free aid.

Instead, she planned to help the refugees become self-sufficient and contribute to society.

“Of course, anyone who disobeys the empire’s laws will face strict punishment. If they come to the empire, they must follow the empire’s rules.”

“I understand your reasoning, Lady Frost. But in the end, you’re saying we must support them until they can stand on their own. We barely have enough resources for our own people—why should we help them?”

“And how can you be so sure the war will end in four years? Power struggles can drag on for as long as 30 years.”

“The civil war in Novelli won’t last that long.”

At that moment, someone interrupted.

Hearing the familiar voice, Hestia turned around and saw Luciard standing there.

“My apologies for interrupting without permission. I overheard something I’m familiar with and couldn’t help myself.”

“Sir Luciard?”

Kenneth recognized him immediately.

It would have been strange not to—he looked almost identical to the late Duke Winston, except for his eye color.

“You seem to know a lot about the Novelli Kingdom.”

“I visited there briefly during my two years of traveling abroad,” Luciard replied.

Hestia hadn’t heard this before, so she paid close attention.

“Most of the Novelli people support the second prince,” he continued.

While some fled the country to survive, others joined the second prince’s army to fight for their homeland.

“The first prince does have some supporters, but they are nothing compared to the second prince’s followers. There’s no way this war will last five or ten years.”

“Hmm… So, the second prince has a strong chance of winning the throne.”

“Yes. And he is well-known for caring about his people. Once he takes the throne and stabilizes the kingdom, the refugees will return home. At that point, we could even negotiate for compensation in return for sheltering them.”

The nobles started whispering among themselves, clearly intrigued by Luciard’s reasoning.

However, Hestia, who knew the future, couldn’t fully agree.

‘Half of what he said is true, but the other half is wrong.’

During the war, the second prince did have the upper hand. But suddenly, he was assassinated, and the first prince took the throne.

Once in power, the first prince called back the scattered refugees and even engaged in secret negotiations with the empire.

‘I don’t remember the exact details, but…’

She clearly recalled a former Novelli citizen she once worked with being dragged away by imperial knights.

“She said she never wanted to return to a kingdom ruled by the first prince.”

Remembering how much that person had suffered left a bitter taste in Hestia’s mouth.

Of course, Hestia wasn’t proposing to take in refugees purely out of kindness.

‘The people of Novelli are quite valuable.’

Despite being a small kingdom, Novelli was prosperous due to its advanced technology and highly skilled individuals.

If they accepted these refugees and put their abilities to use, the empire could benefit significantly.

But if she spoke too openly about this, no one would believe her. So, she kept her thoughts to herself.

The nobles were still deep in discussion, with the opposition slightly weakened but not yet convinced.

Just as the debate reached a deadlock, a cheerful yet commanding voice interrupted.

“Then how about temporarily housing the refugees in the southern region?”

It was Sylvester.

“Your Majesty, are you saying we should accept the refugees?”

Acid looked displeased, but Sylvester continued.

“As Count and Lady Frost said, we can’t stop them all from entering. It may be better to keep them where we can monitor them.”

“However, Your Highness, that is not as easy as it sounds.”

 

“Grand Duke, it is time for me to start learning about state affairs as well.”

 

Asid pressed his lips together tightly.

 

“I may not be able to handle state affairs as skillfully as you do, but if I take things step by step, won’t it get better? Just this once, trust me.”

 

The longer Acid and Sylvester stared at each other, the more the nobles around them began to glance around anxiously.

 

The Emperor is rising.

 

The Emperor, who had been in the Grand Duke’s embrace, was now preparing to ascend.