What on earth is Roland up to?

Angelina sat in the office, her brows slightly furrowed, looking at the intelligence reports submitted by her subordinates. She remained silent for a long time, still unable to figure it out.

Her thoughts drifted far, carefully recalling the events of the past month or so.

The spring of 1792 arrived particularly early.

Aside from the peak of White Mountain, which was perpetually snow-capped, the snow in other places had almost completely melted.

Around Val City, there was already little snow during winter, and now everything was coming back to life, a scene of vibrant energy.

Angelina was appointed as the special representative stationed in Val City, fully responsible for the affairs around Val City and the oversight of the White Mountain Magic Crystal Ore Vein.

She was well aware that these were just basic tasks; doing them well only ensured no deductions, but wouldn't earn her any extra points. The Empress definitely expected more from her than just this.

She also had to expand the intelligence network here, assemble a flexible and mobile armed force, maintain good relations with representatives of other countries, and at the same time, use various means to gain benefits for the country.

Additionally, she needed to find a way to disperse the Val People in the territory, creating living space for Rurik immigrants.

Beyond the tasks assigned by the Empress, she also needed to restore face for the Shadow Sanctuary.

She had to test Roland's true strength and, if the opportunity arose, make him lose face severely.

She was full of confidence about this.

According to the chief of Sahalin, Roland's hard strength was not strong, far worse than hers after months of rigorous training at the Arctic Glacier.

Her actual strength now surpassed Camille's, ranking second within the Shadow Sanctuary.

Camille, after a humiliating failure, was demoted to the Eastern Wilderness to grow potatoes. His deputy position was filled by Angelina, indicating the Empress's trust in her.

Moreover, the Empress also gave her the Deep Blue Ring as her trump card.

No matter how capable Roland was, he couldn't withstand a full strike from the ring.

She couldn't imagine what Roland had to counter even one-tenth of the Empress's power.

She patiently awaited Roland's arrival in Val City, intending to give him a severe blow when he did.

Yet, she had waited for almost two months and still hadn't seen anything.

She certainly couldn't understand Roland.

Although many saw Roland as an arrogant pretty boy, he knew his position well.

The special representative of the Sussex Empire stationed in Val City was not him, but someone sent by the Cabinet.

Running to Val City all the time would be overstepping his boundaries.

The Empress and the Cabinet currently maintained a delicate balance of surface peace, which he did not wish to disrupt.

While inspecting the construction of the Great Cathedral as a Knight of Light was possible, he didn't want to go.

After all, he was a citizen of the Fengrao District; openly consorting with the Divine Court of Light would greatly annoy the Divine Court of Fengrao.

There's no need to offend people for no reason.

He had already offended the Goddess of Light; it wouldn't do to offend the Goddess of Fengrao as well.

Val City was a deep water now, and he wasn't inclined to enter at all.

What Angelina didn't know was that Roland, whom she anticipated might go to Val City at any moment, was actually staying put as the headmaster at Rodinia University, educating students.

Angelina put down the intelligence report and couldn't help asking, "Any recent movements from Roland?"

"According to the clues we've gathered, he really is assuming the role of headmaster, even teaching classes. He's promoting basic education in the Governor's Territory, building roads, starting factories, and constructing new docks."

Angelina was even more surprised. These were extensive investments with slow returns. She couldn't understand Roland's motives and mumbled to herself:

"Does he really plan to settle overseas for a long time? Wait, you mentioned based on clues we've gathered...you mean our intelligence personnel in Hansa Province have been expelled?"

"Yes, at least over forty intelligence personnel are missing."

The intelligence officer's face looked a bit grim.

If the other side found some clues, it's possible they dug up a few agents. However, this time the entire intelligence network was completely uprooted, a heavy loss.

The intelligence networks in Hansa and the other two provinces, overt or covert, were uprooted. Only a few unimportant peripheral members escaped back, while all core members were missing.

In this scenario, missing meant either death or capture.

Angelina's face was extremely displeased.

Planting spies in each other's countries was a common practice among nations, and during peacetime, all parties had an unspoken rule for dealing with such conflicts.

Captured intelligence personnel were generally exchanged for prisoners of equivalent value or redeemed with money if there were no equivalent prisoners.

Roland taking out so many people at once meant a redemption price that wasn't cheap.

Exchanging this number of intelligence personnel was not a decision she could easily make.

Thinking of this, Angelina reluctantly waved her hand, signaling the intelligence officer to withdraw.

Standing by the window, she looked northward, the countryside fields already lush with green, flowers and plants also beginning to bloom.

She still couldn't understand how Roland could remain so comfortably detached from the situation.

Every one of Roland's actions was precisely beyond her comprehension, differing completely from what a normal person would do.

During this time, there had been several minor and major skirmishes between various forces in Val City.

To fight for the city's population and commercial resources and to resolve grievances, there were people bleeding every day.

She couldn't understand why Roland would not attend such an occasion.

Of course, she couldn't fathom that Roland wasn't a born battle maniac and didn't enjoy combat as much as she did.

He was on the path of a scholar-profession, what kind of image would it be if he spent all day fighting?

One could increase strength by imparting knowledge; who would risk their life to go on adventures every day?

During this period, Roland's days were simply too comfortable.

After leaving Val City, he immediately convened true experts from various industries to gain a detailed understanding of the actual levels in each field.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.