Just as Theresa anticipated, an imperial envoy arrived at Newfando a few years later. Erwin and Lia greeted the imperial envoy together at the Great Hansen Cathedral, and the imperial envoy didn't seem to have paid any heed to the fact that he hadn't been greeted by Duke Eru instead. As Erwin listened to the imperial envoy loudly reading out the imperial summons, it occurred to him that the emperor really didn't care whether the dukedoms of the Fulway Empire had changed rulers or not. Clearly, what the emperor valued the most was loyalty. As long as the ruler of a dukedom was loyal to him, he didn't care who it was.

After seeing off the imperial envoy, Erwin and Lia began to discuss what they were going to do next. Even though they couldn't figure out why the emperor had suddenly decided to release an imperial summons at a time like this, this was a serious matter that had to be treated with caution.

"Should I go, or do you want to go?" Erwin asked.

"I can tell that you're really eager. Are you going to volunteer to make the trip yourself?" Lia asked with an amused smile.

"Don't try to put words into my mouth," Erwin countered, but he also had a wide grin on his face.

"Even if you weren't eager to go, you're the only suitable candidate," Lia said with...