The council chamber was filled with a tense silence, broken only by the sound of people swallowing nervously.

"……"

"……"

Everyone present, including Grand Duchess Arina, seemed utterly focused, as if committing to memory the subsidiaries of the Arad Group and the regions they would expand into.

‘If it were up to me, I’d expand into even more cities and territories… but given the current state of the North, even this is a stretch.’

The presentation detailed seven key cities and territories, including the High Citadel. Excluding my own domain, the Jin County, that left six regions of actual focus.