The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

A young girl sat beside the Grand Duke, looking at Qiao Yelan with a wary and scrutinizing gaze. Beside her was a young man of similar age, whose attitude was more gentle than the girl's, but clearly, this gentleness was only superficial.

“This is my daughter, Amphilis Windermere, and her husband, Kent Windermere.”

"Hello."

"Hello, Mr. Qiao Yelan."

Qiao Yelan turned her gaze to Mr. Kent with great interest—generally speaking, in a noble marriage, neither party would change their surname, and Mr. Kent was probably not of noble birth.

“I used to think I was still healthy enough to support my daughter, so I didn’t want her love to become a victim of power struggles. I don’t regret my decision, but at this crucial time, it has undoubtedly deprived her of a lot of support.”

The Grand Duke spoke calmly; he truly did not regret his decision.

“Father, I believe in Kent’s abilities. Compared to those scheming nobles, my husband can offer me more and more genuine help.”

Anfelis's voice was very firm; like her father, she was someone who would never turn back once she made up her mind.

“I know, otherwise I wouldn’t have agreed to your marriage—but you need time. You and Kent both need more time and experience to grow, and I can’t buy you any more time.”

Grand Duke Windermere sighed and turned his gaze to Qiao Yelan.

“Doctor, I think you are already aware of the predicament I am facing—please state your terms.”

These people who are good at fighting don't seem to be good at negotiating. Like Helinmat, they come up and reveal all their cards, then ask you what you have to offer in exchange, like they're just giving up.

Even if they didn't uncover it, Qiao Yelan would already know.

"My current identity is the Vice Minister of Rites of the Great Yan Dynasty, acting as the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies. The main purpose of my visit is to discuss the Lungmen Coin Project. If Your Excellency is willing to show goodwill, that is certainly welcome. When negotiating with the Great Yan Dynasty later, we will proceed as usual, without having to give me face."

Qiao Yelan's words made Grand Duke Windermere frown slightly, and Kent's expression also became somewhat solemn.

Both of them understood that Qiao Yelan meant that they should not confuse the Lungmen Coin project with their private negotiations—they should keep things separate.

The Lungmen Coin plan had already been discussed when the Great Yan submitted its diplomatic application. For Windermere, this matter was actually of little concern—because of the Grand Duke Windermere's past actions, their relationship with the Elector of Letania, as well as with the other Grand Dukes of Victoria, was not good.

Therefore, commerce in Windermere Territory is not prosperous, either domestically or internationally. Its largest trading partner is even Kazimir – mainly because a company called Babel Tower sells very good medical products, and the feedback from frontline soldiers and officers is very positive.

What is Babel's attitude towards the LMD project?

Anfelis suddenly asked.

"I'm happy to see it happen."

Qiao Yelan answered.

"Then we are willing to join the Lungmen Coin project."

She answered decisively.

Grand Duke Windermere moved his lips slightly, but ultimately remained silent, though a hint of satisfaction flickered in his eyes.

At any time, having a decision is better than having no decision.

"Next, could we discuss whether Dr. Sir could increase his support for Windermere Territory?"

"No problem. I wonder what kind of support Miss Anfelis would like to receive—and what terms she is willing to pay?"

Qiao Yelan asked gently.

This Miss Anfelis has a surprisingly capable personality.

"We need funds to appease internal conflicts and, at the same time, to restore military strength as soon as possible and strive to regain military superiority over the nobles."

"Excuse my bluntness, but for military nobles, bribery is usually synonymous with weakness—if you think you can stabilize the internal situation through bribery, you've made a mistake."

Qiao Yelan waited until Anfelis finished speaking before slowly opening his mouth.

A hush fell over the room.

“I said I would restore the fighting capacity of the Windermere army as soon as possible.”

After a while, Anfelis said somewhat dryly.

“That won’t solve the problem. The current situation in Windermere should be a wake-up call for your father. If we continue to rely on the fighting power of these military nobles and allow them to expand their influence, the future of Windermere will visibly fall into division.”

"Just like Victoria today."

Qiao Yelan looked at old Windermere, but the other remained silent.

"The root cause of Victoria's division was the independence of a large number of colonies such as Columbia and Rembiton. The king could no longer recover enough money from the governors he sent out to support his army, and thus had to rely excessively on the armies of the grand dukes during the War of the Four Emperors."

Frederick III's original plan was to use the then-powerful Corsican I and his invincible Gallic army to wear down the armies of the grand dukes, after which he would regain control of the inhabitants of Victoria.

"But unfortunately, the outcome of this war was unexpected. Corsica I was defeated and killed in a very short time, while the destruction of Gaul made the grand dukes rich—including the Iron Duke, who was known as the 'Death Knell of the Empire.' The grand dukes who participated in the war made a fortune."

Old Windermere remained silent; he could not refute the fact that Windermere's army had indeed amassed an astonishing fortune from that war.

When his father returned, he invested the money in the construction of Windermere, which led to the prosperity of Windermere today. So, even a fool would know that the other dukes must have seized less profit than he had.

So he could only remain silent.

"The situation facing Windermere Territory today is just like that of Victoria before the Four Emperors War. The leader's position is teetering on the brink of collapse, and the pack of wolves below, though willing, still lack confidence in their own strength. And now, your idea is to give them a sum of money, strengthen them, and at the same time expose your own weakness?"

"They will only believe in your weakness, then take the money and convert it into fighting power more quickly, waiting for the opportunity to tear you apart—perhaps this transfer of power to the Duke of Windermere, or perhaps the next one."

Qiao Yelan's words always sounded so convincing.

Frederick III’s decision to declare war on Gaul earned him the title of “Destroyer of Gaul”—but it also put the final noose on his son’s gallows.

"So, are you going to walk up to the gallows yourself—or are you going to send your child up?"

Anfelis gripped the sword at her waist tightly, the veins on the back of her hand bulging.

It's hardened, the sword has hardened.

But anger couldn't solve the problem, and at this point, she could only fall into silence, just like her father.

“But what we lack most right now is time, because the Windermere army has not yet recovered to its peak. Once that time comes, we can naturally take whatever we want from these nobles—even if it's a poisoned chalice, at least we can buy enough time. In the end, even if we tear off all pretenses and go to war, the outcome will still be uncertain.”

The one who stood up to argue with Qiao Yelan was her husband. His voice was gentle, but it carried a rather iron-willed air.

"Or perhaps you have a better way?"

"For your consideration only—why don't you go and sign a defensive alliance treaty with the Duke of Wellington?"

Qiao Yelan spread out his hands.

"An alliance treaty that does not include domestic affairs and is only aimed at Letania, the contents of which can be summarized in one sentence: When Windermere and Wellington are at war with Letania, both sides can invite each other's troops to come to their aid."

The three men with the surname Windermere were stunned.

This is certainly a good idea—in Victoria, the name Wellington is an invincible symbol, and no one dares to underestimate the old man's influence.

But the problem is...

"Would the Duke of Wellington be willing to sign such a treaty?"

"Let's throw money at it."

Qiao Yelan shrugged.

"If you give money to the nobles under your command, they will only laugh at your weakness—then why not give the money to those who can truly hold their own?"

A silence.

"Use money to throw it at us?"

Anfelis asked blankly, finding the method so simple and brutal that she couldn't even imagine it being used on the Duke of Wellington.

That was the man who annihilated the main Gallic fleet, shattered the high-speed rail walls of Lingons, deterred Herhunzollon from advancing westward, and was praised by even the late Emperor of Ursus.

[The Death Knell of the Empire].

Did they pay money to make this bell ring?

"That's right, it's all about throwing money at it—is the Duchy of Wellington really that big?"

Anfelis shook her head.

"Is it because the duchy's territory is particularly rich in resources, or because commerce is extremely prosperous?"

Continue to shake your head.

"So, is the army under the Duke of Wellington the most elite and the most numerous in Victoria?"

Now I can nod in agreement.

"—Then why doesn't he lack money?"

...That seems to make a lot of sense.

"Even the Duke of Caesar, who controls almost the entire western part of Victoria, cannot support a military force as strong and large as that of the Grand Duke of Wellington. You can imagine how terrifyingly astronomical the annual military expenditure of the Duchy of Wellington must be."

The evidence presented by Qiao Yelan left none of the three with a refutation.

"So go ahead and just throw money at it until Wellington is satisfied, then he will naturally agree to sign the treaty."

"And once this treaty is signed, do you think those conspirators will believe that His Majesty the Death Knell of the Empire, who has not signed any treaty with any person or power for decades, would actually condescend to put his noble name on it just for a small alliance against Letania?"

The truth never matters—you just need to make things seem thought-provoking.

“The Tower of Babel will provide you with enough funds, enough to get the Duke of Wellington's approval, and enough to rebuild and even expand the Windermere army—so now it’s my turn to ask for your offer.”

Qiao Yelan interrupted their daydreaming, pulling them back from the future to reality.

“Anfelis, Kent—this is Windermere’s dinner party. The Windermere family can’t be absent for too long. You should go and show yourselves.”

Old Windermere spoke up.