The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

His silence was deafening.

The Duke of Custer sighed softly, took out a handkerchief, wiped off the lipstick from his lips, picked up his cup, and took another sip of tea.

Then, her face returned to its serious and dignified expression.

"Let's get down to business."

"The Great Yan's Lungmen Coin project needs your support."

"What kind of conditions can they offer? The Duchy of Caest rules over the entire western part of Victoria, and the land routes to Columbia, Bolívar, and Sargon are all under my control."

"The Grand Duchy of Normandy is not the point, but the Duchy of Godottin is—and since Godottin has already explicitly refused, Da Yan must go through me to allow Lungmen currency to circulate in more western regions."

Compared to others, the Grand Duke of Custer clearly possessed a far greater economic acumen than his colleagues, as well as an equally accurate intelligence agency.

"what do you want?"

"I want it, but the Great Yan cannot give it to me."

A cold smile curled at the corner of the woman's lips.

“I don’t need to support the Lungmen Coin program because the areas surrounding the Duchy of Caesar have already begun to subtly use Victorian currency—I am well aware of the economic advantages that such a settlement method can bring, so I have been promoting this approach by taking advantage of the geographical location.”

“Unlike Duke Godotin’s reason for rejecting the Great Yan, which was that he failed to see the future trend, I saw the future trend clearly—but the Lungmen Coin Project is completely in conflict with my interests because we are essentially competitors.”

This is true.

Lungmen and the Duchy of Caesars are so similar.

The Dragon Gate is so important because it is the only way for western goods to enter the Great Yan Kingdom. The same applies to the Duchy of Caesar; eastern goods can only reach the three western countries through the Dragon Gate.

If you don't go through Victoria, you either have to travel overland and then by sea from Iberia to get to Sargon, or you have to go around from Letania in the north to Casimir and then back to Colombia—both of which would increase the time and cost many times over.

“You taught me all of this, teacher, how could I forget? But it really makes me sad—you chose Lungmen dollars instead of Costa pounds in the end.”

She sighed with a hint of resentment.

"If I had known your amnesia would be this bad, I should have kept you by my side back then."

Qiao Yelan remained silent for a while.

Even if he hadn't lost his memory, this plan would inevitably have ended up with the Great Yan—because the Great Yan really needed the money.

"You don't have enough power to protect this right."

He incisively punctured the bubble blown by the Archduke of Caesar.

"The limitations of the military, the nation, and the territory are so obvious that your policy of universal currency will ultimately only be a regional policy, not one that can be used throughout Terra—because not all nations are as fractured as Victoria."

This time, it was the woman's turn to remain silent.

If she doesn't split, she can't implement her unique monetary system; but if she splits, she can't support the development of that system.

"Lungmen currency gives you an excellent reason to promote it. Although the Great Yan will get a share of the profits, there is no doubt that the Duchy of Kester will be able to reap greater profits than the previous small-scale operations."

To put it simply, the Duke of Caesar used to eat small cakes, but now that Lungmen Dollars have arrived, although the cakes now need to be cut and divided, they are several times larger than before.

"—You're not really planning to get something for nothing from me, are you?"

Kester narrowed his eyes and stared at Qiao Yelan.

"Cough cough cough, my occupational hazard kicked in. After all, we always chat like this, and I just didn't switch back to it for a moment."

Qiao Yelan coughed awkwardly twice. He was used to selling crutches, and he always unconsciously made others thank him while working for him.

"When the Great Yan comes to negotiate, just try to get as many benefits as possible—now let's talk about some benefits that can't be brought up in public."

"Then if you stay with me for a few more years, I can reluctantly accept this offer."

The Duke of Caesar's eyes lit up.

Qiao Yelan: ?

“What I mean is, the next expansion plan for the Duchy of Caesar.”

"Expansion plans? There are other duchies or sanctuaries all around. Unless I start a war, I won't be able to acquire new territory—but starting a war now would easily make me a public enemy. I'm still quite wary of the fighting power of those two border dukes, Windermere and Wellington."

The woman looked disappointed and said listlessly.

"So the only way is to get others to voluntarily join your side."

"...Can that really be done? The remaining seven of us are all veteran dukes; they would never give up the honor of their families."

“It’s alright, I can help them maintain their dignity.”

Qiao Yelan said it casually.

Now the Duke of Caesar was truly interested.

"Where's the target?"

"The Duke of Stafford".

"That guy..."

Kester seemed to be deep in thought.

The Duke of Stafford's territory, like hers, was located in western Victoria. She controlled the border region, while Stafford's territory was closer to Lentinium—ever since the Grand Dukes' Treaty was signed, making Lentinium a neutral zone tacitly agreed upon by the seven Grand Dukes, he had longed to take control of Lentinium.

Therefore, he has always maintained a large number of troops around Londinium, and the reason why he has not made any rash moves is because the territory of the Duke of Cavendish is right across from him.

Both dukes' territories were closer to Lentinium, so they both regarded Lentinium as their own private domain—they amassed their respective armies on the border of Lentinium, eyeing it covetously yet wary of each other.

"Being close to the water tower, they always felt that Londinium would be theirs, so they continued to use their armies to increase their leverage—even though such armies could be described as militaristic and exceeded the capacity of their territories, these two dukes were still happy to do so."

"Enjoying it endlessly? Perhaps 'riding a tiger and unable to dismount' would be a more accurate description."

The woman gave a mocking smile.

At this point, whoever showed weakness first, whoever couldn't hold on first, would lose, so the two grand dukes had no choice but to hold on to the bitter end.

"At the end of last year, shortly after the Black Serpent of Ursus, Grand Duke Kosichä, was expelled from Lungmen, rumors began to circulate that [Wei Yanwu had a Dragon by his side]. Duke Stafford even sent a letter to Lungmen questioning this. Of course, this has been dismissed as a rumor—but His Majesty the Emperor will not let it go so easily."

Qiao Yelan spread out his hands.

"A mere Grand Duke dared to send a letter questioning the Great Yan. His Majesty the Emperor will not forget this incident. Therefore, the Great Yan will not visit the Duchy of Stafford for this Lungmen Coin project, nor will it agree to let him join voluntarily."

The woman fell into deep thought.

"So, will your visit include the Duchy of Cavendish?"

"include."

Qiao Yelan's voice carried a hint of amusement.

He always said that it's impossible for everyone he teaches to be char siu (barbecued pork).

"In that case, the Duke of Scafford will not be able to get a share of Lungmen dollars, and the economic gap between him and the Duke of Cavendish, who can openly and directly participate, will immediately widen."

The economic gap meant a gap in the number of troops. Grand Duke Cavendish didn't even need to increase his forces excessively. As long as he maintained a force comparable to that of Grand Duke Scafford, it would be Grand Duke Scafford who couldn't hold out.

The circulation of Lungmen coins brought prosperity to merchants and travelers, while a region where they were not allowed to circulate meant that it would be completely abandoned in the upcoming commercial boom.

While his opponents can circulate and benefit from it, he cannot – that will inevitably make Scafford even more uncomfortable.

After all, it's more painful to see others make money than to lose money yourself, let alone when others are actually making money while you are actually losing money.

Therefore, Duke Scafford will likely secretly allow the use of LMD for settlement within his territory, in order to attract some merchants to conduct undisclosed transactions—which would be even better news.

If a region prohibits the circulation of a certain common currency, but the government tacitly allows its circulation among the people, how prosperous would the black market become? It's obvious even to a fool.

The Duke of Custer, who was skilled at juicing, would not let such a good opportunity pass him by.

The secret decree by the Duke of Scafford allowing the circulation of Lungmen Dollars might bring him temporary benefits, but without a doubt, it's nothing more than a poisoned chalice to quench his thirst.

"What do you think Scafford will do if he eventually finds himself in a hopeless situation?"

"You've been his neighbor for so many years, don't you know what a gambler will do when he only has one chip left?"

Qiao Yelan's voice was incredibly gentle.

"Of course, he's eager to take this last chip to the gambling table and firmly believes he can turn things around with it—does he really intend to exchange this chip for cash and live a good life?"

Once the economy of his territory completely collapses, what will be the last bargaining chip that the Duke of Scafford holds in his hands?

—The army located on the outskirts of Londinium.

The best way to make up for the deficit and revitalize the economy and people's livelihood in their territory is naturally to conquer Lentinium.

As for how the situation in Victoria would change after the capture of Lentinium, how the other dukes would react, and what he should do—if he had considered these things, he wouldn't be in his current predicament.

Once someone has drunk the first cup of poisoned wine, they won't care what they drink next.

"The situation in Victoria has reached a stalemate. A strong storm is needed to really stir up the waves in this stagnant pool—the decisive battle between the two grand dukes on the outskirts of Londinium would be an excellent opportunity."

The Archduke of Caesar nodded slightly.

The most brilliant aspect of this plan is that she will inevitably gain enough benefit from it—and this benefit does not depend on the final battle.

Regardless of the outcome, Castor will inevitably be able to annex the entire Scafford territory and his power. Neither the victor nor the vanquished Grand Duke of Scafford will have the right to resist—because the previous economic offensive alone was enough for Castor to completely swallow him up.

By then, the name of Castells will be heard throughout the region west of Lentinium, and more than a third of Victoria's territory will be in her hands.

How familiar this feeling is...

Sure enough, even though the teacher had lost his memory, his methods remained perfect and artistic.

A blush rose on the woman's face, and she slightly tightened her legs, her two watery eyes looking at Qiao Yelan with increasing passion.