It seems like I’ve caused some huge misunderstanding, but I decided to just let it go.

At this point, it’s too late to correct it—well, I could correct it, but I’d invested too much effort to let it go to waste. It wouldn’t result in major losses if I did, but after all the trouble of persuading the Duke, I really didn’t want to start over with a different method. It would be too much of a hassle.

Besides, in the latter half of the story, the colonies will eventually start their independence movements anyway.

By that point, the Empire …