Tanya didn’t reply right away . I didn’t rush her . I just leaned on the door and waited for her answer . As I said, I needed her opinion . I wanted to know what she wanted . If she wanted to leave and I kept her, she’d only loathe herself more . If she wanted to stay, I wouldn’t tell her to leave .

I was thinking, “What does Tanya want, though? Does she want to stay or leave?”

As Lucia and Nier said, Tanya was an understanding and sensible kid . When she realised what her condition was, she’d definitely choose to leave so that she didn’t disturb and threaten us . The North was her only home, however . I wanted to know if Tanya really wanted to leave .

Tanya didn’t make a sound after a long wait . I straightened up and turned around to look at the door . I sincerely said, “Tanya, I’m not looking for you answer after you think about it carefully . I want to know what you’re thinking, but that’s precisely why I think your answer is meaningless . Tanya, I know what you’re thinking . You’re a child . Don’t think about risks, safety, not safe and whatnot . You just need to tell me if you want to leave or stay . Of course, even if you go further North, I’ll make sure to have Irina look after you . I won’t give you the cold shoulder; you’re welcome back anytime, and I’ll visit you . You’re at home, Tanya . We’re your family . Nier and Lucia may not be your biological mother, but we all treat you as our child and sister . We all care about you . Therefore, we care about your feelings . Tell me, do you want to stay or not?”

I chose to word my last question as “stay” as opposed to “leave” . I was sure that Tanya could notice the subtle difference . As long as she said she wanted to stay . I’d have a reason to keep her . To be honest, I didn’t want her to leave; unfortunately, I wasn’t the only person in the Imperial Palace . If the others in the palace evaluated her as a liability I forcibly kept, they’d most likely discriminate against her . That was why I need justification . If Tanya wanted to stay, then I’d have a legitimate reason to keep her .

Tanya gently pulled open the door . She was expressionless despite the situation . I truly couldn’t tell what she was thinking . Eventually, she solemnly answered, “Your Majesty, I wish to leave . ”

“Wh-…”

Tanya nodded: “I want to leave . It is not because I feel that I will bring you trouble or because others feel that I am a threat but because I want to leave . I was happy during my time with you . I can sacrifice anything for you, which is why I do not feel discontent with my current condition . To the contrary, I am honoured . Hence, please allow me to do something for my parents as a child, and let me leave . While I am at it, I will help you watch over those dragons . ”

“Tanya…”

“These are my heartfelt feelings,” a.s.serted Tanya, smiling very subtly, albeit bitterly .

I was sure that was Tanya’s genuine smile . She rarely smiled; she usually looked stoic . For that reason, I could tell how happy and blissful she felt despite how subtle her smile was .

I carefully touched her head and reciprocated the smile: “Yeah? You want to leave? I shall respect your decision, then . I’ll help you pack your luggage and inform Irina that you’ll be arriving there anytime . To be honest, I have plans for the North . I intend to establish a military in the North . Tanya, you should be ready and capable of handling things on your own now after Mommy Elizabeth mentored you . The rest will be on you to enact on it . Henceforward, actually, from the moment you leave the Imperial Capital, you will be the supreme commander of the entire North’s military . ”

“Your Majesty!”

“There’s no need to be emotional, Tanya . You don’t need to thank me yet . I’m looking forward to seeing your performance . As I said in the past, if you want to come back, you’re always welcome back . If possible, I’ll be sure to visit you . ”

I doubt that I’d go to the North as I didn’t want to go to Irina’s place . I was somewhat reluctant to accept Irina’s child despite him being my child . I was reluctant to recall how he came to be . I didn’t want to remember Irina and the dragons . As long as they didn’t harm the North, then I was fine with them residing further north .

Tanya still didn’t have any clothes on, so I didn’t let her come out of her room . I headed outside .

Tanya’s matter was settled . She chose to leave . That wasn’t what I expected, but I respected her wish . Since it was what she wanted, I could accept it .

According to Freya, it was time we built a military . I didn’t intend to form a military in the same format as Hilles City . Humanity could support so many armies with their large numbers, but that was pointless for the North . An army of ten thousand sufficed for the meantime .

Every factory had begun production . Cannons and rifles had filled every military warehouse . I felt the North, metaphorically speaking, was a big barrel of gun powder . We could pull out the gear for an entire army at the click of a finger . I needed to have the factories to turn their focus elsewhere for there were very few factories where the commoners worked at . Most of the factories were the Imperial Palace’s military factories . I figured I could have some of them focus on producing other stuff . At the very least, I needed to empower the North with more commercial products .

The North could be business driven in the future . We could purchase raw materials from Hilles City and Duargana . Then, we would produce commercial goods in the North to satisfy needs within the North and export them . It’d affect businesses in the elven lands and humanity’s; nevertheless, I was sure we could advance human society if we increased the range of available goods . I needed to produce lots of things internally .

I had Lorana and the dark elf, which made up the powerful duo of dark elves’ research and humanity’s technology . Next, I needed more scientists . I wasn’t after a system of a few individuals but an education system . It was to ensure the North was always the leader in science and technology .

The one benefit of Troy City being labelled as the City of Freedom was that everyone was willing to go there . The North? Same deal .