Chapter 196 : Ovinia’s “Princess” Great-Aunt
Chapter 196: Ovinia’s “Princess” Great-Aunt
Speaking of it, it was somewhat awkward. It wasn’t that the Seris Federation couldn’t participate in the war on the Main Continent, but rather that, for the time being, it wasn’t appropriate.
The plan Mitia had set for the Federation at present was to construct a railway network and excavate a canal network. Railways were manageable, but connecting the canals truly required the strength of the entire nation to blast through.
This wasn’t simply about dredging a section of river—it meant carving out a massive water conservancy project that ran across the Federation from west to east.
Due to the Subcontinent’s unique geography and the Federation’s vast territory, although there were many excellent deepwater ports along the far side, they were difficult to fully utilize.
For example, ships built at the Fendraldos Deepwater Port Shipyard, after launching, had to travel all the way around the coastline, circling the entire Federation before reaching Sendegas Port to dock. The same applied to most other shipyards.
Thus, having one or two waterways that ran through the territory and could support large warships was of utmost importance. Not only could it conceal part of the navy’s strength, but it would also allow rapid support to the Main Continent side—an investment beneficial for generations.
It was precisely this century-spanning project that consumed most of the Federation’s national strength and energy, leading Mitia to choose covert interference rather than direct engagement.
No one would be foolish enough to launch a war abroad while undertaking massive domestic construction. The last person who did something like that had already ranked among the top two most incompetent rulers in history.
Moreover, strictly speaking, judgments made when one’s own side was not directly involved were often the most accurate, as they were not influenced by entanglements of subjective interests.
Just like how the Federation was now selling arms to both the Dmitria Church and the Tsarist Nation of Roshek—whether either side won or lost had little to do with the Federation. No matter the outcome, it profited.
“Confirmed?!”
Mitia stood up and hurried from behind her desk to Tina, whose skin had tanned several shades darker.
‘Confirmed, Your Majesty! After multiple rounds of retrospective investigation, inquiries, and cross-verification, we have over a 98% probability that the result is true!’
‘Additionally, based on the descendant’s appearance, as well as her grandfather’s diary before his death, we can further verify the reliability of the source.’
“Appearance? Do you have an image?”
Tina handed over a magic crystal imbued with image projection. After activation, the preserved portrait appeared within.
Mitia examined it carefully. The absurdity she had felt upon first hearing the report gradually faded, and after seeing the face, she began to accept it.
It really did resemble her.
But not her awakened self—rather, her former self.
Witches were never ugly. Fundamentally, this was due to the elemental optimization of their bodies upon awakening.
She remembered her mother, Eliza, once saying that her eyes used to be sea-blue, just like her grandfather Ackerman and her father—traits of the family’s affinity with the water element. Her hair color, on the other hand, came from her mother.
The other person also had sea-blue eyes, and her facial features were very similar—especially the brows and nose, which Mitia herself had inherited more from her paternal side.
With a wave of her hand, the image dissipated. Mitia calmly asked, “Does the other party have any requests?”
Tina paused for a moment before explaining, ‘After learning of your family’s existence, they were extremely excited and wish to meet you or a relative to confirm it.’
At the end, Tina gave a detailed account of the entire process—how they discovered the place name New Astal, how they conducted the investigation, and all related steps.
Mitia crossed her arms and sat back on the sofa. “So they don’t know about my current situation?”
‘Yes, Your Majesty. We only disclosed the publicly available information about your father’s generation.’
Tina understood Mitia’s concerns. From the beginning, she had not revealed anything about the later development of Seris, nor any personal information about Mitia.
After receiving permission, she had first conducted investigations. Only after gaining sufficient confidence did she approach them for confirmation, gathering the final key pieces of evidence.
The other party’s identity and geographical location had made Tina keenly aware of the potential value and benefits involved, which was why she had stayed there for so long before returning.
Since Tina had not disclosed any of Mitia’s information without authorization, the initiative of whether to acknowledge the kinship still lay entirely in Mitia’s hands.
Looking at the report stating that the grandmother was still alive, Mitia rested her chin on her hand, somewhat troubled.
“This feels a bit troublesome. My second grand-uncle really had quite the life—he even managed to… with an Ovinia princess…”
Because of this person—suspected to be a cousin of the Empress—the grandmother bore the surname Ovinia, meaning the two families were connected by marriage.
Tina’s expression was also somewhat strange. From the trajectory, they could already infer most of the story.
After encountering the storm, their predecessors had not died—at least Mitia’s grand-uncle and the Ovinia princess had survived.
They were likely rescued later. In a foreign land for a long time, feelings naturally developed, and they became husband and wife.
They probably feared her father and brothers causing trouble, which led them to live under assumed names, never attempting to reconnect with Ovinia.
When Tina finally found them, the long-buried memories resurfaced, and the elderly woman began to long for home.
But now… there was no longer any Kingdom of Ovinia.
That made things rather complicated.
Mitia tapped her fingers lightly on the table. “Forget it. You’ve worked hard being away for so long—take a month off to rest. After that, you’ll accompany Deputy Minister Coy to bring their family back. It just so happens the new main battleship needs to undergo ocean trials.”
Avoiding it was impossible. If they could find her, then the other party could also find them. It was better to seize the initiative.
Besides, she wouldn’t be the one going to receive them—nor the one getting scolded. So there was nothing to worry about.
When Coy received the news, he could hardly believe it. After repeatedly confirming it with Mitia, he excitedly returned home to share the good news with his mother, Eliza.
Eliza had always been troubled by the issue of family succession and had often tugged at Coy’s ears, arranging blind dates for him—he was already terrified of it.
Now that there were collateral relatives, it perfectly suited his wishes. At the very least, his mother shouldn’t press him as hard anymore, right?
Mitia could easily guess his thoughts.
Without other relatives, Eliza could allow him to delay. After all, Coy had great talent and still had time to choose someone he truly liked.
But with family branches involved, she wouldn’t let him remain carefree. For a family, outsiders were far less threatening than internal branches.
Usurping inheritance and shifting family lines were entirely normal occurrences.
Even with Mitia suppressing everything from above, a sense of crisis wasn’t something that could be erased with just a few words.
She even had reason to believe that once Eliza’s excitement subsided, she would start calling her social network—and by evening, Coy would likely be dining with some beautiful lady.
Eliza wouldn’t force him to choose anyone outright, but she would continuously introduce various women, creating opportunities for them to get to know each other. She had even introduced dwarves before.
Mitia still remembered when she saw the profile—height listed as just over 1.3 meters. Compared to 1.85 meters, she couldn’t help but laugh. It could only be said that Eliza was truly desperate.
‘Thank you, Your Majesty. However, I have another matter to report.’
“Oh? What is it?”
Tina organized her thoughts. ‘When my fleet docked at Muller Naval Port for resupply, I noticed the atmosphere in the city was extremely tense. Moreover, many local residents showed strong hostility toward us.’
Mitia took a sip of tea. “Hmm. No shots were fired, right?”
‘No…’
“This matter wasn’t originally under your responsibility, yet you noticed it so keenly. I can’t tell you the specifics, but just understand—this is exactly what we want. You may go.”
‘Understood.’
Tina nodded, stepped back to the door, and only then turned to leave. As long as the Empress had things under control, she had nothing to worry about.