The unfair bet part 2
The Marquis' face darkened as he pondered.
“Yes, there's definitely a chance it could happen. If it does happen then it will be all over for the army.
Why didn’t I think of this?”
The Emperor and Crown Prince were also thinking the same thing.
It was a terrifying yet reasonable thought that could really happen.
After a long silence, the Emperor opened his mouth.
“Chancellor.”
“Yes, your majesty?”
“Tomorrow, as soon as possible, talk to the Minister of Military Affairs about this situation.”
“Yes, I will surely do so.”
“We don’t know if the Moncelle kingdom will invade, but we need to prepare ourselves against Elise’s scenario.
Prince, you need to talk to the intelligence team to survey the Moncelle Kingdom.”
“Yes, your majesty.”
The Emperor quickly ordered necessary countermeasures.
Then, he stared at Elise who was calmly drinking her tea, his eyes were filled with mixed feelings of astonishment and admiration.
‘How amazing. How did she come up with this?’
He couldn’t believe an idea like this could come from such a young girl who was as pretty as a doll.
Shouldn’t this idea have come from a brilliant strategist who could weave a policy about the operation of the army?
A person who could see through an international situation and of course understand the relationships with the Crimean Peninsula?
‘Have we been completely wrong about this child? How amazing.’
“Marquis.”
“Yes, your majesty?”
“When did you educate your daughter so amazingly?”
“Ha ha…”
The Marquis laughed awkwardly.
He had been surprised too.
It was true, she had changed a lot these past few days.
She seemed to be reading a lot of books lately… But to think she was a prodigy?
“Lady.”
“Yes, your Majesty?”
“Didn’t you say that there were two things to be wary of? What is the second one?”
“It is endemic disease, your majesty."
“Endemic?”
Elise respectfully nodded her head.
This was actually more serious than the Moncelle invasion.
In the end, the expedition was annihilated due to the disease.
She thought back to her past.
The army was isolated without any supplies and their supply line was cut off thanks to the Moncelle army.
Then, it was weakened and vulnerable to an epidemic disease outbreak and was completely annihilated.
‘I don’t know the exact disease that went around, but if we prepare for it we can reduce the number of victims.’
“The Crimean Peninsula has a different environment and temperature from ours.
Especially during the time of the battle, it will be at its most extreme, where it will be hot and humid. We must be wary of a possible endemic disease there.”
The Emperor nodded his head.
“Yes, everything you say is true. The men are not used to the Crimean Peninsula's extreme conditions yet.
There is a chance that an endemic will break out. What do you suggest to prepare for it?”
“First of all, we must prepare plenty of medical supplies, but the most important is to pay attention to proper hygiene.”
“Hygiene?”
The Emperor looked questioningly at her.
‘Ah.’
Elise realized her mistake.
‘This era doesn't know the importance of hygiene yet.’
Of course in this era, there were some people in the empire who knew the importance of hygiene.
They were the doctors who directly treated their patients, but it was not well known outside of their field. It was not common sense yet to ordinary people.
“Yes, that's right. There's a lot of talk about different kind of diseases coming from unhygienic environments,
therefore, if the empire pays some attention to hygiene it should help a bit in preventing the spread of infectious diseases.”
The Emperor once again showed a face full of awe.
“You are right. Amazing. Where did you learn this?”
Elise was forced to come up with a weak excuse.
“I recently gained an interest in medical studies so I read the books in the library. I am embarrassed by my weak knowledge on the subject.”
“It doesn't seem weak to me at all.”
Elise awkwardly tried to avoid his eyes.
She wondered if she came on too strong, but she inwardly shook her head at the thought.
It's not like she could allow the victims to grow just to throw suspicion off her, right?
The best solution was to avoid the war but since that was impossible she wanted to lessen the casualties as much as possible.
‘With this, I hope we can lessen the number of victims.’
The Emperor started speaking.
“I will take the suggestions you made today and discuss it with everyone.
Then we will strongly push your ideas forward. If your advice ends up helping in the war effort, I will bestow upon you the Brittian insignia of honor."
Elise was shocked speechless.
'The Brittian insignia of honor!'
That was the symbol of the greatest power in the empire.
Just by receiving this honor you automatically become an honorary Knight,
therefore receiving one was the peak of what a noble could wish for, and is the greatest honor in the empire.
“They were all foolish suggestions. It's too much for someone like me.”
“If you call your ideas foolish then who in the empire can hold up their head?
It is not too much at all. In fact, if your suggestions help prevent a disaster then, truthfully, this insignia is not enough.”
“...”
Elise had nothing to say.
It was at that moment, the Emperor asked her in a slightly nonsensical tone.
"By the way...”
“Yes?”
“What is that you brought with you by your side? Is that for me?”
“Ah-!”
It was the present she prepared for the Emperor through her butler.
She kept on trying to give it to him but couldn’t find the right timing as the conversations went on.
“It's a fragrant candle from the eastern land, Cheong.”
“Fragrant candle?”
“Yes, I heard that it's used by the nobles for its scent is deep and refreshing.
Apparently, it helps to relieve fatigue in the body and helps one feel re-energized; hence why I looked for it as a gift for you.”
The Emperor looked greatly delighted.
It was coincidental, but he was worn out from an unknown disease.
The Emperor gave a satisfied smile as he took a breath of the scented candle.
“Even slightly inhaling it clears my head. It's great. How did you get something I really needed?”
“I am glad that your majesty is happy.”
“Indeed, I was feeling exhausted and fatigued lately. I will use it gratefully.”
At this statement, Elise looked into the Emperor's eyes.
She could feel that his fatigue was deep into his very bones.
It was at that moment, a single thought struck her head.
'Could it be...?'
“Your majesty, do you feel tired even after sleeping?"
“Yes, that is true.”
“Do you end up drinking a lot of water several times a day?”
“Now that you mention it, yes, I do.”
“Do you still feel thirsty after drinking a lot of water?”
“That is right, I still feel thirsty after drinking a lot of water.”
“Then do you wake up in the middle of the night to go to the restroom?”
“Yes, that has happened before.”
The Emperor looked at her with a "How did you know" look.
Elise slapped her hand on the wall inwardly.
At the time, the Emperor was about to die, his blood pH dropped below average which led to acidosis,
then leading him to compensate for it with deep and fast breathing.
She remembered him breathing quickly before he died.
'That right's, the disease was "that"!'
A single conclusion came to mind.
‘He became that way because he wasn't getting proper treatment!’
She felt herself lose all strength in her body.
‘To think that the Emperor of Brittia died due to the fact that the empire couldn’t treat such a simple disease.'
It wasn’t a difficult disease either.
It was a common disease that you could survive with some treatment.
The unfair bet part 2
The Marquis' face darkened as he pondered.
“Yes, there's definitely a chance it could happen. If it does happen then it will be all over for the army.
Why didn’t I think of this?”
The Emperor and Crown Prince were also thinking the same thing.
It was a terrifying yet reasonable thought that could really happen.
After a long silence, the Emperor opened his mouth.
“Chancellor.”
“Yes, your majesty?”
“Tomorrow, as soon as possible, talk to the Minister of Military Affairs about this situation.”
“Yes, I will surely do so.”
“We don’t know if the Moncelle kingdom will invade, but we need to prepare ourselves against Elise’s scenario.
Prince, you need to talk to the intelligence team to survey the Moncelle Kingdom.”
“Yes, your majesty.”
The Emperor quickly ordered necessary countermeasures.
Then, he stared at Elise who was calmly drinking her tea, his eyes were filled with mixed feelings of astonishment and admiration.
‘How amazing. How did she come up with this?’
He couldn’t believe an idea like this could come from such a young girl who was as pretty as a doll.
Shouldn’t this idea have come from a brilliant strategist who could weave a policy about the operation of the army?
A person who could see through an international situation and of course understand the relationships with the Crimean Peninsula?
‘Have we been completely wrong about this child? How amazing.’
“Marquis.”
“Yes, your majesty?”
“When did you educate your daughter so amazingly?”
“Ha ha…”
The Marquis laughed awkwardly.
He had been surprised too.
It was true, she had changed a lot these past few days.
She seemed to be reading a lot of books lately… But to think she was a prodigy?
“Lady.”
“Yes, your Majesty?”
“Didn’t you say that there were two things to be wary of? What is the second one?”
“It is endemic disease, your majesty."
“Endemic?”
Elise respectfully nodded her head.
This was actually more serious than the Moncelle invasion.
In the end, the expedition was annihilated due to the disease.
She thought back to her past.
The army was isolated without any supplies and their supply line was cut off thanks to the Moncelle army.
Then, it was weakened and vulnerable to an epidemic disease outbreak and was completely annihilated.
‘I don’t know the exact disease that went around, but if we prepare for it we can reduce the number of victims.’
“The Crimean Peninsula has a different environment and temperature from ours.
Especially during the time of the battle, it will be at its most extreme, where it will be hot and humid. We must be wary of a possible endemic disease there.”
The Emperor nodded his head.
“Yes, everything you say is true. The men are not used to the Crimean Peninsula's extreme conditions yet.
There is a chance that an endemic will break out. What do you suggest to prepare for it?”
“First of all, we must prepare plenty of medical supplies, but the most important is to pay attention to proper hygiene.”
“Hygiene?”
The Emperor looked questioningly at her.
‘Ah.’
Elise realized her mistake.
‘This era doesn't know the importance of hygiene yet.’
Of course in this era, there were some people in the empire who knew the importance of hygiene.
They were the doctors who directly treated their patients, but it was not well known outside of their field. It was not common sense yet to ordinary people.
“Yes, that's right. There's a lot of talk about different kind of diseases coming from unhygienic environments,
therefore, if the empire pays some attention to hygiene it should help a bit in preventing the spread of infectious diseases.”
The Emperor once again showed a face full of awe.
“You are right. Amazing. Where did you learn this?”
Elise was forced to come up with a weak excuse.
“I recently gained an interest in medical studies so I read the books in the library. I am embarrassed by my weak knowledge on the subject.”
“It doesn't seem weak to me at all.”
Elise awkwardly tried to avoid his eyes.
She wondered if she came on too strong, but she inwardly shook her head at the thought.
It's not like she could allow the victims to grow just to throw suspicion off her, right?
The best solution was to avoid the war but since that was impossible she wanted to lessen the casualties as much as possible.
‘With this, I hope we can lessen the number of victims.’
The Emperor started speaking.
“I will take the suggestions you made today and discuss it with everyone.
Then we will strongly push your ideas forward. If your advice ends up helping in the war effort, I will bestow upon you the Brittian insignia of honor."
Elise was shocked speechless.
'The Brittian insignia of honor!'
That was the symbol of the greatest power in the empire.
Just by receiving this honor you automatically become an honorary Knight,
therefore receiving one was the peak of what a noble could wish for, and is the greatest honor in the empire.
“They were all foolish suggestions. It's too much for someone like me.”
“If you call your ideas foolish then who in the empire can hold up their head?
It is not too much at all. In fact, if your suggestions help prevent a disaster then, truthfully, this insignia is not enough.”
“...”
Elise had nothing to say.
It was at that moment, the Emperor asked her in a slightly nonsensical tone.
"By the way...”
“Yes?”
“What is that you brought with you by your side? Is that for me?”
“Ah-!”
It was the present she prepared for the Emperor through her butler.
She kept on trying to give it to him but couldn’t find the right timing as the conversations went on.
“It's a fragrant candle from the eastern land, Cheong.”
“Fragrant candle?”
“Yes, I heard that it's used by the nobles for its scent is deep and refreshing.
Apparently, it helps to relieve fatigue in the body and helps one feel re-energized; hence why I looked for it as a gift for you.”
The Emperor looked greatly delighted.
It was coincidental, but he was worn out from an unknown disease.
The Emperor gave a satisfied smile as he took a breath of the scented candle.
“Even slightly inhaling it clears my head. It's great. How did you get something I really needed?”
“I am glad that your majesty is happy.”
“Indeed, I was feeling exhausted and fatigued lately. I will use it gratefully.”
At this statement, Elise looked into the Emperor's eyes.
She could feel that his fatigue was deep into his very bones.
It was at that moment, a single thought struck her head.
'Could it be...?'
“Your majesty, do you feel tired even after sleeping?"
“Yes, that is true.”
“Do you end up drinking a lot of water several times a day?”
“Now that you mention it, yes, I do.”
“Do you still feel thirsty after drinking a lot of water?”
“That is right, I still feel thirsty after drinking a lot of water.”
“Then do you wake up in the middle of the night to go to the restroom?”
“Yes, that has happened before.”
The Emperor looked at her with a "How did you know" look.
Elise slapped her hand on the wall inwardly.
At the time, the Emperor was about to die, his blood pH dropped below average which led to acidosis,
then leading him to compensate for it with deep and fast breathing.
She remembered him breathing quickly before he died.
'That right's, the disease was "that"!'
A single conclusion came to mind.
‘He became that way because he wasn't getting proper treatment!’
She felt herself lose all strength in her body.
‘To think that the Emperor of Brittia died due to the fact that the empire couldn’t treat such a simple disease.'
It wasn’t a difficult disease either.
It was a common disease that you could survive with some treatment.
