Chapter Summaries

Prince Charlie’s newly equipped forces gave him the confidence to demand more territory, while in the Imperial Capital Tiona bonded with the children and List quietly gathered potential allies. The chapter ended with List planning a private meeting with Richard as his contingency plan advanced.

• Prince Charlie re-equipped four regiments and, emboldened by his growing strength, told Sanger they could demand more territory.
• Tiona grew fond of List, Elf, Michel, and the other children, then promised to invite them to Swan Castle and took Claire home.
• Elf and the others celebrated their meeting with Tiona and little Gwen, while List and Michel continued staying at List’s home and spending time at the club.
• Richard licensed Anti-inflammatory Powder technology to List, and List questioned Richard about his ambitions; Richard replied that people in their era could mainly make more money.
• List gained quiet support from several minor nobles and, after seeing someone stay behind, told Richard he would invite him alone next time.

List drew ambitious nobles into his network, then put Dust in charge of a fragmented logistics business. After two months of improving its profits, Dust investigated a connection to Benjamin and found irregularities in the factory’s transportation.

• After seeing Richard off, List welcomed five nobles who had stayed behind and invited them to help him serve the Empire.
• Dust pledged himself to List personally, and List assigned work to him and the other noble descendants.
• Dust consulted his Father, then took charge of several branches of List’s logistics business and consolidated its transport teams.
• After two months, Dust’s changes had increased monthly profits by fifty percent, though he still suspected List was testing him.
• Dust reviewed a year of records connected to Benjamin and discovered that the factory’s transport volume did not match its size and that it received unusual transport service once a month.

Dust found a suspicious closed loop in List’s transport businesses and replaced one convoy to draw List’s attention without alerting imperial authorities. When Benjamin halted a secret weapons shipment over the unannounced change, Dust arrived and recognized him as one of List’s men, suspecting List had been preparing for something.

• Dust noticed that transport teams connected to List’s businesses formed a closed loop and had military ties, but decided not to report his suspicions.
• Dust replaced the convoy that dealt directly with Benjamin, hoping to signal List while avoiding attention from imperial departments.
• Benjamin discovered that the replacement convoy was handling a shipment of weapons and canceled the transport until he could speak with its person in charge.
• The convoy leader refused to stop the mission, and the dispute reached Dust, who arrived prepared to use the previous convoy if necessary.
• Dust saw Benjamin at the scene and concluded that he was one of List’s men and that List had been making preparations for some time.

Dust encountered Benjamin at a warehouse used by Baron List’s smuggling operation and was drawn into its secrets. He left with a machine gun and chose to seek out List the next morning, unsure what the discovery meant for him.

• Dust met Benjamin, who recognized him as an ally and welcomed his convoy into the hidden warehouse.
• Benjamin opened a crate, revealed a machine gun, and gave it to Dust as a gift.
• Benjamin showed Dust the warehouse’s weapons, refurbished artillery, and armor, and revealed that Baron List had sold two warships to outsiders.
• Dust realized Baron List’s network was far larger than he had expected and decided not to report him.
• Dust and Benjamin struck up a friendly relationship while the convoy loaded its goods.
• Dust went to Baron List’s residence early the next morning, believing List already knew what had happened.

List confronted Dust about investigating the transport business and recruited him, while Michel considered drawing support from within the church. Elf revealed that she planned to become commander of a new Guard being formed for List.

• List invited Dust to breakfast, confronted him about confirming his suspicions, and told him he had no choice but to join.
• Dust asked about List’s plans, accepted his answer that he intended to make money, and left without receiving any assignments.
• Elf joined List for morning training, and Michel asked whether they should help List by drawing out opposition within the church.
• List gave Michel reasons the church strategy might fail, while Michel kept his own hopes of finding support there.
• Elf announced that she planned to become commander of the Guard their father was forming for List, and said Little Gwen had told her about it.

After learning about the New Continent, List realized that Father had arranged the Guard Army and the colonial war to prepare his sons for military careers. Meanwhile, Elf set out to join the Guard Army, and little Gwen hurried to meet her eldest brother about serious business.

• Elf proposed joining Count Augusta's Guard Army, and List suddenly demanded the latest intelligence from the New Continent.
• After reading the reports, List concluded that Father was arranging events behind the scenes and encouraged Elf to join the Guard Army.
• List explained to Michel that the colonial war would give Big Brother and his brothers a chance to earn military achievements.
• Little Gwen sneaked to Claire's residence to see her eldest brother, and Claire sent her to the study.

Qin rejected little Gwen’s request to make Elf Guard Commander but agreed to find her another position, while Sergei arrived to take command of the guards. Sergei recognized Elf as his niece and then reunited with Derek at the palace.

• Little Gwen asked Qin to appoint Elf Guard Commander, but Qin told her Sergei would hold that post and promised only to find Elf another position.
• Little Gwen told Elf that Sergei was Guard Commander and claimed she had secured Elf a good position.
• Sergei met Elf outside the palace, recognized her resemblance to his brother, and left after an awkward greeting.
• Sergei arrived at the palace, where Derek warmly welcomed his second brother and asked whether the journey had tired him.

Derek appointed Sergei to lead the guard force that would protect Qin during his planned trip to the New Continent. After joining the family dinner and meeting Claire, Sergei began organizing Qin’s protectors.

• Derek explained that Qin and several of his brothers would travel to the New Continent, and Sergei agreed to serve as their experienced protector.
• Derek told Sergei that Hans would also go and that the other young men were his children born outside the family.
• At a family dinner, Derek announced Sergei’s appointment and Qin’s planned mission after Claire gave birth.
• Claire accepted Qin’s duty calmly and asked Sergei to keep him safe during the campaign.
• After resting for a few days, Sergei began forming the guard force and chose the Augusta Knight Order as his first source of personal guards.

Sergei and Qin traveled to the Augusta Knight Order to choose recruits for Qin’s guard force, agreeing that stability and military command mattered more than individual combat skill. They selected three hundred trainees, and Sergei began building the force’s framework while requesting experienced junior officers.

• Sergei asked Qin what he expected from his guard force, and Qin said its foremost duty was to remain steady through the political spectacle of war.
• Sergei told Qin that he would eventually command troops himself and warned that martial prowess should not be the main criterion for selecting guards.
• Qin showed Sergei around the Augusta Knight Order, explaining that he had trained there and inspected it monthly since becoming Count Augusta.
• Sergei surveyed the Knight Order’s trainees and, with Qin’s help, selected three hundred recruits over half a month.
• Sergei moved the recruits to a temporary camp and requested outstanding junior officers from the Ministry of War, while Virut began to suspect the purpose of Sergei’s new post.

Virut invited Sergei to discuss the political meaning of his new post as Guard Commander, and Sergei answered by pointing him toward recent colonial coverage. Virut realized the reports were building a legal case for recovering the colonies, though he did not yet know the full connection to Qin.

• Virut invited Sergei to meet privately while helping him transfer personnel.
• Sergei brought recent Times Magazine newspapers and magazines to the meeting as evidence for Virut.
• When Virut could not see the significance of the publications, Sergei directed him to the colonial news.
• Virut connected the coverage to the Ministry of Army's plans to reclaim the colonies and noticed calls for legal unification under the Great Xia race.

Virut understood that Claire’s propaganda campaign was laying the groundwork for Great Xia to claim the colonies and for the Crown Prince to gain military merit. He agreed to support Sergei’s preparations for a large-scale colonial war, while Qin inspected the Hercules aircraft that would carry troops to the New Continent.

• Virut recognized that reports promoting the Great Xia race could legitimize the Empire’s claim to the former territories of the Four Nations and create an opportunity for the Crown Prince to earn military merit.
• Virut promised Sergei men, equipment, and other support for the colonial campaign.
• Virut proposed raising five to eight divisions on the New Continent and sending another ten to fifteen divisions from the homeland.
• Virut assured Sergei that locally recruited soldiers would be trained to standard and inspected before deployment.
• Sergei urged Virut to begin mobilizing troops and stockpiling supplies for the war.
• Qin inspected the first mass-produced Hercules transport aircraft, which the Imperial Guard planned to use to move troops to the New Continent.

Qin reviewed the Hercules and the Air Force’s preparations on the New Continent before returning to the palace, where Franz asked to fly there ahead of him. After Qin agreed to lend him an aircraft, Franz requested Blank Enfeoffment Documents, a request Qin could not decide on himself.

• Qin inspected the Hercules, limited production to twenty aircraft, and checked that ammunition stockpiles on the New Continent were forty percent complete.
• Qin read the Times Newspaper’s calls for solidarity and colonial human rights, then visited Claire and praised her support while she continued directing Times Magazine.
• Franz told Qin he wanted to fly to the New Continent to prepare for the coming expedition and save time.
• Qin agreed to lend Franz an aircraft and reassured him that flying was safe.
• Franz asked Qin for a batch of Blank Enfeoffment Documents, but Qin said the decision was beyond him.

Franz secured Derek’s approval to recommend noble enfeoffments and prepared a return to the New Continent. He arrived in Ganard and reunited with Hubble, who welcomed him and promised to keep him safe.

• Franz asked Derek for permission to issue enfeoffment documents, and Derek agreed on the condition that each title be promptly recorded.
• Franz gathered capable men, reconnected with Ganard’s contacts, shipped supplies, and requisitioned four Hercules aircraft.
• After a week of transfers, Franz arrived in Ganard, where Hubble personally helped him from the airplane.
• Franz and Hubble invoked their shared battlefield history and renewed their bond as comrades-in-arms.

Franz rewarded Hubble’s years of loyal service by presenting him with an Enfeoffment Document that made him a knight and granted him a hereditary fief. Hubble accepted the honor in tears and learned that his life was now pledged to His Highness.

• Franz waited until he had verified Hubble’s conduct before discussing his future with him.
• Franz explained Great Xia’s social ranks and told Hubble that becoming a court noble could give his family a chance to rise.
• Franz presented Hubble with an Enfeoffment Document and urged him to defend the honor granted by His Highness and His Majesty.
• Hubble discovered that the document included a village outside the City of Silver as a hereditary fief.
• Franz assured Hubble there was no mistake and reminded him that his life had already been pledged to His Highness.

Franz granted Hubble a hereditary title and the fief of Armstrong, then urged him to claim it publicly and make clear Franz had secured his position. Hubble arrived in the City of Silver to show off to Olyck, who questioned the unfamiliar Armstrong crest.

• Hubble swore loyalty to Your Highness and Augusta's bloodline, then thanked Franz for his title and fief.
• Franz told Hubble to prepare noble clothing, a crest, a banner, and knight's equipment, and to claim his fief in grand style.
• Hubble dressed as a noble and told his startled subordinates to call him Knight Hubble Armstrong; they joined him in a procession toward the City of Silver.
• Hubble went to Good's Trading Company to see his friend Olyck and spread news of his title.
• Olyck said he had never seen an Imperial knight named Armstrong, and Hubble explained that Armstrong was the place granted as his fief.

Hubble took possession of his fief in Armstrong, where his new noble status earned him immediate respect and he negotiated with the village chief over the transition. Witnessing the difference in how nobles were treated, Olyck resolved to become one himself.

• Hubble told Olyck that he had received a hereditary fief and invited him to see it.
• Hubble explained that Baron Franz had helped him obtain his title, leaving Olyck regretting that he had not joined their earlier venture.
• Hubble arrived in Armstrong, presented his Enfeoffment Document to the militia, and announced himself as Knight Armstrong.
• Olyck saw the villagers defer to Hubble and decided that he wanted to become a noble too.
• Hubble agreed to buy the village chief's land at a higher price, and offered low taxes to encourage residents to stay in Armstrong.

Good explored buying a passenger airplane for his trading company and arranged to fly to the New Continent aboard a military transport aircraft. After reaching it in a week, he concluded that air transport had enormous potential.

• Olyck supported Hubble's plans in Armstrong while ambition grew in Olyck and his brother Good received hints that major developments were coming.
• Good learned that the Royal Aircraft Manufacturing Plant could sell transport aircraft for civilian use and visited its Factory Director to discuss buying one.
• Good ordered a Hercules passenger aircraft, paid half the deposit, and arranged to travel to the New Continent aboard an air force transport aircraft.
• Good endured a week of stopovers and maintenance before arriving in the New Continent, where he declared that air transport had enormous potential.

After a flight convinced Good that aviation offered major commercial opportunities, he recognized the Empire’s industrial transformation and saw the coming war as a chance to advance his standing. In City of Silver, he ordered his company to stockpile supplies and prepare vehicles for special transport missions.

• Good recognized the potential of aviation and telegraphed the homeland to order more transport and passenger aircraft.
• On the drive to City of Silver, Good saw how far the New Continent lagged behind the homeland and realized the Empire was undergoing an industrial revolution.
• Good concluded that the coming war could help the Empire draw New Continent magnates into its ranks by offering some of them noble titles.
• Olyck told Good that Hubble had received a fief near City of Silver, but Good dismissed the news and ordered his company to gather supplies and prepare vehicles for wartime transport.

Good advised Olyck to prepare for future military opportunities rather than compete for a title through Hubble, while Franz organized local support for a new army on the New Continent. Back in the Imperial Capital, Claire gave birth to Qin’s son, and as the royal family welcomed its third generation, List prepared to leave for the New Continent.

• Good explained that Hubble’s offer was bait and urged Olyck to stockpile supplies and train riflemen, though Olyck still hoped to earn military merit.
• Franz received an order to form several infantry divisions on the New Continent, and local magnates contributed money and manpower.
• Sergei’s guard army was established, and Elf and List joined after impressing Sergei with their abilities.
• Claire went into labor and safely delivered Qin’s son in just over ten minutes, prompting celebrations across the Empire.
• List realized Qin would eventually go to the New Continent and prepared to leave first, then received Qin’s invitation to meet his nephew at the imperial palace.

List visited Qin’s newborn son, Elvis, at the imperial palace and celebrated with the Augusta family. He then announced he would leave for the New Continent the next day to claim and develop a remote fief, with Hans assigned to accompany him.

• List entered the imperial palace and met Smith and his wife before Qin introduced him to the family.
• List saw his newborn nephew, learned Qin had named him Elvis, and grew visibly moved.
• Elf and Michel arrived, and the family gathered for a simple dinner to celebrate Elvis’s birth.
• List announced that he would leave for the New Continent the next day and asked Qin to grant him a large stretch of land south of Gemstone Port.
• Qin agreed to give List the fief, and List refused to wait or travel with Qin, saying he would scout ahead.
• Elf insisted on joining List, but Qin assigned Hans to accompany him, and Derek tacitly approved the plan.