Ch.75University (1)

“Greetings, Your Majesty Rotaring. I am Andrea, here to oversee the construction of the church.”

“Welcome! I’m delighted that a Cardinal has come personally. This suggests we’ll have a magnificent church.”

Wow, a Cardinal came in person. Despite how busy he must be, for a Cardinal to come himself, this must be quite urgent.

The interests of the Holy See and Rotaring align perfectly.

The Holy See wants to persuade Rotaring not to interfere further in the holy war while gaining various benefits from establishing a metropolitan archdiocese, while Rotaring wants to restore its cooled diplomatic relations with the Holy See and suppress domestic church opposition by having them establish this archdiocese—a sweet deal in name only.

In reality, the domestic church forces, which had shown signs of rebellion after their lands were confiscated, immediately became docile with just one holy decree from the Holy See. That’s the power of the church’s headquarters for you.

“How do you plan to build the church? I’d prefer if you used only Rotaring’s craftsmen.”

“You needn’t worry about that. Where else could one find craftsmen of such high quality as in Rotaring?”

“Well, that’s true.”

Since the time when the Kingdom of Rotaring was the Duchy of Burgundy, even before my grandfather conquered numerous territories, this area was extremely wealthy due to its fertile farmland. As a result, Dijon became a paradise for countless craftsmen, and this Dijon Castle, though merely a duke’s residence, was built so massive and luxurious that it could rival the castles of other kingdoms. Of course, this applies not only to architecture but to other industries as well.

Though we suffered diplomatic isolation with closed borders and withering commerce, we managed to barely survive thanks to our substantial resources.

From then until now, Dijon’s craftsmen have developed daily and, as the Cardinal said, are of a much higher caliber compared to other nations. There’s nothing better than using domestic labor for large-scale civil engineering projects.

“Also, as per His Holiness’s command, the Rotaring Metropolitan Archdiocese to be built in Dijon will be larger, more splendid, and more magnificent than other metropolitan archdioceses. We must show the faithful who are anxious about the rise of heresy, and the heretics who have betrayed the Light, that the church remains steadfast and radiates brilliant light.”

“Is that so…? Well, since you’ve made that judgment, I have nothing more to say.”

How incredibly generous.

They’re building a structure with someone else’s money, employing domestic labor with someone else’s money, and even making the building more luxurious than expected.

Given that they must be severely short of funds due to the holy war, it’s surprising that they would squeeze themselves dry to make such a dedicated gesture.

‘That funding must come from selling indulgences.’

When I noticed the suddenly increased funds in the domestic church territories that had already been confiscated, I investigated and found they came from selling indulgences.

Given the circumstances, I left it alone without any response since the money would likely return as church construction costs anyway. But if the church being built is of the scale the Cardinal describes, then not just Rotaring’s funds but money from indulgences sold in other countries must have come here too.

To think we’re sucking up the wealth of neighboring countries without lifting a finger…

This is… hmm… good, but so sweet it feels like my teeth might rot.

That’s not just a metaphor.

Foreign rulers who realize their capital has gone to Rotaring via the Holy See will view Rotaring very uncomfortably, and reformists in particular might even look at Rotaring with hatred as accomplices in this exploitation.

Of course, sending mercenaries to the Imperial faction provides some defense, but there are plenty of heretics who aren’t part of the Imperial faction. If some of them harbor ill intentions, Rotaring, which shares a border with the Empire, could find itself in a difficult situation.

Sigh… I’ll need to deploy more guards at the borders and construction sites.

“Please convey my thanks to His Holiness for investing so much in church construction and for suppressing the church’s resistance.”

“Haha, His Holiness has already provided an answer to that. He said to tell you: ‘What do such minor faults matter when you are practicing good deeds for the faith? Please continue on the righteous path of faith.'”

“My, His Holiness certainly has great foresight, doesn’t he?”

“It is an honor.”

Such a person with great foresight declared the eradication of heretics, causing the Empire to split in two, and sells indulgences to gather funds to offer to me.

I momentarily lost control of my emotions and spoke sarcastically, but the Cardinal doesn’t seem to have noticed my sarcasm. That’s fortunate.

……….

“Yes, all the servants and attendants who were patrolling the corridors or outside reported seeing Your Majesty walking together with the prisoner. In particular, a servant who went to the dining hall to retrieve something they had left behind saw Your Majesty feeding the prisoner.”

“Hmm… is that so?”

She must really please our lord husband.

With a woman of such low background, alone at night, there’s only one thing they could be doing. They even went into the garden where there are few people.

So my husband had such tastes all along. It’s quite regrettable that I didn’t realize it until now.

‘And… he fed her? Wow… even I haven’t experienced that.’

Jeanne, being an orphan from the countryside, didn’t know how to use utensils, so Claude fed her instead, but there’s no need to consider such background details.

The important fact is that Claude cut bread and meat for Jeanne and fed her directly, even personally wiping soup from the corners of her mouth.

Ines, who hadn’t considered Jeanne a competitor even if she became a new concubine due to her lowly origins, now recognizes Jeanne as an enemy similar to Chloe.

“Is that… really true?”

“Yes, Lady Chloe.”

Chloe’s reaction upon hearing the same report from her underling is not much different from Ines’s.

Chloe feels great anger at having her unique privilege and experience of being fed taken away by this intruding bitch, while simultaneously feeling intense resentment toward her brother.

‘No wonder… he seemed to favor that woman particularly.’

Chloe finally begins to understand her brother’s behavior.

From the beginning, he gave Jeanne, who was imprisoned in the dungeon, high-quality bedding and all sorts of special treatment, and now he’s put her in what amounts to a villa called a prison.

Even that wasn’t enough for him, so he secretly took her out at night and hid in the garden to avoid being seen by others. Afterward, he even personally fed her in the dining hall.

“…My lord husband.”

“…Brother.”

Though the two have been like oil and water until now, at this moment they share the same emotion and the same thought.

They call out to the absent person with chillingly calm voices.

……….

“Ugh?!”

“Your Majesty?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Please continue.”

What was that just now?

It felt like cold ice starting at the nape of my neck and traveling down my spine.

It wasn’t just goosebumps—I felt an actual threat to my life.

Wow, look at how my forearms are covered in goosebumps.

“Ahem, so you were saying the administrative system construction work is almost complete?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Although there are still areas that need some adjustment, I believe we’ve successfully transplanted the sophisticated administrative system of our Venetian Republic onto Rotaring’s land. Now, even without me, the officials can pass on their acquired knowledge to their successors.”

“Thank you, Luca.”

“I only work as much as I’m paid, and Your Majesty has given me sufficient compensation. To receive thanks is an honor beyond my station.”

Just looking at the paperwork, the efficiency of all officials has increased by up to twice as much. As expected of someone from a commercial republic where ability matters more than bloodline for advancement—his skills are truly impressive.

Usually, when work efficiency increases this much, there’s surplus manpower. If this were a company, most of the surplus would be laid off or some kept as reserve, but what I’m managing is not a company but a country.

I can’t possibly fire high-quality officials. If there’s surplus manpower, we should just create more work.

“I’m thinking of establishing a university in Dijon. What do you think? I plan to start by teaching law, theology, medicine, magical alchemy, celestial physics, administration, and mechanical architecture.”

There are many things I’ve postponed due to lack of administrative capacity, such as strengthening local government offices and taxation, but among them, the establishment of a university is undoubtedly the most important.

No matter how much we strengthen local administration and improve tax collection, nothing is more important than education, which provides the greatest benefit with minimal risk.

I did consider basic education as well, but despite Rotaring’s financial abundance, such an undertaking would create an unmanageable fiscal deficit. Moreover, given Rotaring’s occupational distribution—with the majority in agriculture and a minority in commerce and industry—it wouldn’t be very efficient. I’ll address that gradually later; for now, I’ll focus on establishing a university first.

“A university… that’s excellent. Rotaring is a powerful nation, but the lack of an institution to cultivate talent has always been regrettable.”

After saying this, Luca looks directly into my eyes, which are filled with deep material desire.

With just his gaze, Luca is saying, “You wouldn’t bring this up without reason. My contract ends here, and if you want to extend it, you need to offer additional compensation.”

He’s certainly thorough in this regard.

“I’ll provide sufficient compensation if you can serve as a professor of administration at the school. After all, busy officials hardly have the leisure to teach others.”

Of course, if more personnel are needed, you can bring more verified high-quality talent from your homeland.

As I continue speaking, Luca finally smiles brightly and accepts my proposal.

For Luca, who has strong patriotism toward his homeland, this is an opportunity he couldn’t pass up—gaining personal benefit while also infiltrating Venetian Republic influence into Rotaring. Good, bring more new slaves—I mean, talented individuals.