Ch.145Governance (4)

“Saint.”

“Jeanne? I was worried since I haven’t seen you around the palace lately. Where have you—huh?”

What’s this?

While walking down the corridor, I heard Jeanne’s voice behind me for the first time in a while. I turned around happily, but the appearance that met my eyes was completely different from the Jeanne in my memory.

Jeanne always wore either ordinary civilian clothes or the nun’s habit she received from Armand, except when working as a maid.

But the clothes Jeanne is wearing now are… um…

“A military uniform…? No, it’s a nun’s habit.”

It’s too… how should I put it… lacking in piety to be called a nun’s habit, but anyway, after looking closely at the overall shape, I could barely recognize it as one.

Typical nun’s habits are black and loose-fitting, but Jeanne’s is not. The once flowing fabric has been replaced with a very stiff material, and there’s no unnecessary waste of cloth.

Yet it’s still black, giving it the feel of a military dress uniform from my past life, making the religious symbols attached to the habit look almost like medals.

Above all, that sword-shaped cross decoration is… um…

“What is that outfit…?”

“Oh, this is the reformed nun’s habit that I proposed and got approved by the theology department. The existing nun’s habits and other religious garments were unnecessarily cumbersome without any divine mandate, weren’t they? Plus, they used too much fabric and were wasteful with decorations and other expenses, making them extravagant. So I proposed my idea… hehe, Lord Armand supported me.”

Jeanne excitedly turns her body this way and that.

She doesn’t forget to occasionally emphasize certain parts as if trying to appeal to me. She was already incredibly beautiful in the traditional loose-fitting habit, but now with this well-tailored reformed version and those movements… well… impressive. Very impressive.

‘…It’s been quite a while since Jeanne acted like this.’

She completely stopped this behavior after I scolded her severely before.

I think she said she would refrain until she graduated from university?

…Wait.

“Ah.”

I had forgotten because I’ve been so busy with everything I needed to do.

Before, when I asked if she was lonely, Jeanne said she would put aside our relationship until she graduated from university, as per my order. And the graduation ceremony for the first class of the theology department, which Jeanne was part of, ended a month ago.

That means I neglected Jeanne for a whole month after her graduation without doing anything.

Come to think of it, Jeanne disappeared shortly after graduation. I thought it was just a simple vacation at the time.

What a mistake… I wish she had at least asked if I had forgotten…!

“Jeanne, I’m sorry!!”

“W-what?”

“Now that you’ve graduated, my order to exert influence in the theology department is over, right? Yet I neglected you and let you wander around like this…”

Jeanne left the palace a month ago, right when the graduation ceremony took place.

I don’t know why she left, but if she made that decision thinking I had abandoned her, I feel terribly guilty.

Even though our intimate relationship was forcibly created by Jeanne, apart from that, we’ve generally maintained a smooth relationship both before and after.

“We should quickly find you a place in the palace—”

“No, no. I volunteered.”

“…Volunteered?”

But Jeanne suddenly says something strange.

Volunteered? For what?

“Yes, to assess the church situation in Caroling. Lord Armand said we needed to understand the church situation in Caroling, so he hired most of the Dijon theology graduates to investigate the Caroling churches. I applied for that.”

“So you’ve been touring Caroling all this time?”

“Hehe, not all of it, just a part. We each took assigned sections.”

Well, that’s surprising. You could have at least told me.

I can understand Jeanne, but I’m shocked that even Armand didn’t tell me.

Perhaps he felt no need to report to me since it concerned church matters? Because it’s his domain where I can’t interfere?

Hmm… I understand, but it’s still a bit annoying.

“So, how were the churches in Caroling?”

“Oh, terrible. Even worse than the corrupt churches in Lotharing that were all burned down by Your Holiness’s hand. If I didn’t believe they could all be purified, I would have done what I did before meeting you, Saint.”

“Oh… really? We need to respond quickly then.”

I flinched for a moment because Jeanne’s words were so frightening.

Saying she would have done what she did before meeting me if she didn’t believe the Caroling churches could be purified—that basically means she would have cut off all their heads and displayed them, right?

The situation in Caroling, where the privileged have united and corruption has become rampant over a long period, seems even more serious than I thought.

Come to think of it, the riots by Caroling nobles and clergy that happened before were for similar reasons. If we don’t quickly deal with not only the church forces but also the nobles in Caroling, things will get troublesome.

“Of course! I know you can handle it, Saint.”

“Thank you, Jeanne.”

Jeanne cheerfully smiles and encourages me.

I’ve felt this way for a while, but I don’t understand why Jeanne likes me this much.

…No, let’s just say it was love at first sight.

Human emotions are quite difficult to explain with reasons.

‘Well, love without reason is a common thing—’

“—mmph?!”

Suddenly everything goes dark before my eyes. At the same time, something soft presses firmly against my stomach, making it hard to breathe.

“Fuahh… Saint, do you know something?”

A moment later, Jeanne speaks with an expression beyond satisfaction—one of ecstasy. It’s impossible to see it as the face of a saint.

“…What is it?”

“I’m at an age where it wouldn’t be strange if I were walking around with a child.”

Jeanne’s breath and fingers, which seem to hold a slight resentment toward me, tickle my skin.

…Ouch.

……….

“Ugh… my back.”

My back has been hurting too much lately.

I already have to sit in a chair all day dealing with numerous tasks, and at night I have to attend to Chloe and Ines. On top of that, there’s Jeanne’s aggressive attitude, as if demanding compensation for four years without intimacy—it’s simply unbearable.

There’s a saying that you exercise to stay alive, and it’s not without reason. If I continue like this, I can only see a future of physical deterioration.

The problem is that I have absolutely no time to exercise.

I’d like to slack off and escape from the officials, but there are too many things I must handle personally—mediating disputes between vassals, distributing spoils of war according to merit, and so on.

Ah… I should have exercised when I had free time…

“…Is anyone outside?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I’m going for a short walk. If Leclerc or anyone else comes, let them know.”

“As you command.”

Time to escape.

I don’t care, how am I supposed to handle so much work?

The current massive workload arose suddenly due to the special situation with Caroling.

So eventually, as time passes, I’ll be able to return to my previous calm daily life, so there’s no need to push myself so hard right now, right? It seems better for both health and work efficiency to gradually reduce the workload rather than trying to eliminate it all at once.

Yes, this isn’t me running away—it’s for my health and work efficiency.

……….

“Ahhh… this is nice…”

Since Leclerc might find me if I stayed in the palace, I decided to go outside with a few guards in civilian clothes.

The citizens of Dijon don’t recognize my face since I haven’t been very active in public, and since I’m walking around openly without hiding my face, they don’t seem to realize I’m actually the king. I’m wearing fine clothes, but such attire has become common in Dijon now, so they don’t find it particularly strange.

Let’s see… where should I go…

‘I should visit the courthouse.’

Other places like the market or square probably haven’t changed much.

In contrast, the courthouse likely offers more to see, with dynamic cases happening daily. Moreover, as a public institution, it would be easier for my guards to protect me there.

“Halt. What is your purpose here?”

“Purpose… just a simple walk?”

“…We cannot permit entry to the courthouse for such a reason.”

The soldier guarding the courthouse refuses my entry with an incredulous tone despite my honest confession.

Um… it really is just a walk, but maybe I should have said it was an inspection to save face?

“…One moment, please.”

“And who are you people? If you keep this up, I’ll have to arrest—huh?”

That wasn’t necessary, it seems.

My guards, though in civilian clothes, carried everything needed to prove their identity, so showing those credentials solved the entry problem. Being a soldier stationed at the important central courthouse, he quickly recognized what the guard was holding.

“Carry on with your duties.”

“Ah, uh…”

I walk into the courthouse, leaving behind the pale-faced soldier.

Hmm… I’m worried that soldier might suffer some disadvantage or mental distress for daring to stop me, even though he was just doing his job excellently. I should put in a good word for him later, as he’s a commendable soldier.

‘Oh… it’s clean.’

The inside is cleaner than I expected.

The fact that the building is in such a clean state even during this surprise visit suggests they maintain cleanliness regularly, not just when they know I’m coming for an inspection.

It makes me feel oddly moved. It’s just cleaning, but seeing tax money being used appropriately like this really—

“You filthy commoners!!!”

“Your Majesty, let me see the King!!”

“…?”

What’s this commotion?