episode_0175
by fnovelpia“Your Majesty, are you here?”
“Yes. Let’s start the meeting today.”
So far, I have formed my own camp with talented people I have recruited from outside.
Savinelli, a talent whom he and Ioanes praised so much.
My maternal grandfather, Jans.
John, former Minister of Justice, who served my father for many years.
Cosimo, president of the Academy.
William, who is not here but is a great loyalist.
And even Representative Pompey and Chairman Charles are gathered.
It’s not just these.
Although they are not here, there are many members of the imperialist and neutral factions who support me.
“The agenda of this strategic meeting is about the Emperor’s Territory Regulation Act, which is currently pending in the National Assembly.”
Savinelli speaks on behalf of the representative.
“First of all, many members of the National Assembly expressed their dissatisfaction with the previous Grand Duke’s decision to arbitrarily bestow His Majesty’s fiefdoms, Epirus and Egypt, so it was decided by law that His Majesty the Emperor could also transfer or grant Epirus, Egypt, and Nicaea, which he gained in this civil war. It is a law that restricts this.”
When Savinelli glances at former Minister of Justice Johan, Johan clears his throat and answers.
“There is ambiguous language in the current bill. There is a phrase that says it belongs absolutely (plenárĭus) to the emperor. If we look at this phrase according to the legal terminology of the ancient empire, we can say that the right to rule is absolutely vested in His Majesty the Emperor.”
I was informed about this topic in advance… but legal terminology always seems difficult.
The interpretation varies depending on the meaning contained in the word or the purpose of the law.
To put it simply, it can be seen as a form in which local officials were dispatched to the three kingdoms, and the emperor directly ruled the kingdoms through the local officials.
Cosimo, an old man with gray hair, speaks as if he is curious about John’s words.
“Hmm… Wouldn’t the Archduke try to rule like before?”
“You don’t need to worry about that. The purpose of this bill is to blatantly attack the Archduke. He cannot appoint local governors and has no legal justification to intervene in the three kingdoms.”
At those words, the hall becomes quiet.
But will Debian really let it pass?
He is no different from the genius of the century.
His knowledge is so broad and wise that it is hard to imagine.
I speak out because I don’t think he will easily pass a bill that is nothing more than a play on words.
“What I’m curious about here is Jim. Will he really not exercise his veto? If the veto is exercised, won’t the bill become invalid?”
Savinelli steps forward and speaks.
“We have to stop it somehow. If he wants to rule the empire, he probably won’t be able to rule without us. We must listen to what he wants and pass this bill unconditionally.”
John comes forward and speaks.
“Hmm… I’m very sorry to say this, but… I don’t think the Archduke will notice the loopholes in this bill. These legal terms are difficult for the general public to understand. I don’t think there will be much suspicion.”
At those words, everyone except Savinelli nods.
“Of course, I found out about it because Minister Johan told me about it, but I never thought there was such a hidden meaning in this word.”
As Grandpa Jans nodded and spoke, Savinelli stroked his chin and fell into thought.
“Currently, the Archduke will not attempt to pass this bill. These three kingdoms are the most important regions except for the Roman Kingdom, and he will not allow them to escape from his control. So you have to catch him with the right bait.”
It’s bait… Is there such a thing?
That’s what I can give him.
For a moment, I remember what happened in the morning and my face gets hot.
no! Why does something like that come to mind in this situation?
I bow my head in shame as I am thinking dirty thoughts inside.
“Hmm… If there’s anything we can give, we need to make a big concession regarding the Archduke and the bill… Currently, there aren’t that many bills submitted by the anti-emperor faction. At best, it’s a matter of currency reform?”
Currency reform is a method of replacing gold coins with paper bills.
The gold that goes into gold coins is stored in the imperial treasury, and if someone wants to exchange it for gold, it is exchanged for gold equivalent to 1 gold.
“Even if you veto that bill, I think it would be difficult to exchange it for the emperor’s territory bill. Because the weight of the three kingdoms and the currency reform bill is different.”
Well… even if it were me, I don’t think we would pass a bill.
-Hmm…
As the room became heavier, Savinelli continued.
“First of all, this problem will not be resolved right away, so let’s talk about it again at the next meeting. The next item on the agenda is how to deal with the imperialists who are trying to assassinate His Majesty the Emperor.”
With those words, Chairman Charles steps forward and speaks.
“It’s not just that. They say Minister Anthony will retire soon. We need to push our personnel to the position of minister.”
And so the meeting continues.
***
“Your Highness… Who is the woman outside?”
I answer what Lucius said.
“Ah, it’s Sena, she’s the person who joined the Vatican to catch demon worshipers.”
As I spoke while taking off my coat, Lucius spoke with a surprised face.
“Church… The Vatican?”
When I see Lucius looking surprised, I add one more thing.
“Yes, the Vatican. But just in case you don’t know, if someone asks, just pretend you’re a newbie.”
The Pope gave Senna to the demon worshipers in preparation for possible curses or black magic.
“Ugh… Ugh… First of all, I understand.”
I was surprised to see Lucius making a grin on his face at my words, but I quickly ignored it and looked at the documents.
Retirement of the Minister of Justice.
I am worried about who to choose as my successor.
Last time I saw Müller, he caught my eye because he had brilliant qualities and was able to smoothly resolve the negotiations with the Kingdom of Sardinia…
He is a bit old and lacking in experience to sit in the position of minister.
“Hmm… What is it.”
It’s a bit disappointing that Müller continues to be at the Archdiocese.
Recently, Victor also seems to want to resign as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
He seems reluctant because he has a lot of work to do compared to when he was a member of the National Assembly before.
“First of all, we should put him in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then take the opportunity to appoint him as Minister of Foreign Affairs.”
With that in mind, a report on the Technology Investment Fund and Territory Development Fund catches my eye, so I pick up the report.
“Ha… I wonder how broken it was this time.”
When we first started operating the investment fund, there was a problem with having too much budget, but as soon as we created the development fund, we saw that the fund was depleting at an absurd rate.
In particular, the Kingdom of Eren, the Kingdom of Boheme, and the Kingdom of Nicaea are requesting huge amounts of investment.
In Nicaea, Adria and Dupol in particular were directly affected by the war, so they also plan to pay some amount…
“Isn’t this too much?”
I can only sigh at the thought that if this continues, the funds may soon run out.
“It’s complicated. To demon worshippers, to the aftereffects of war…”
Feeling frustrated, I take out a cigar from the cigar box.
okay. If I spread this out, my stomach will feel refreshed.
Cut off the end of the cigar with a cutter.
-Snip.
I light a cigar, hold the smoke in my mouth, and get lost in thought.
Now all we have to do is take care of the last thing.
All we have to do is stop the resurrection of the Demon King.
-Things…
My left eye is throbbing.
“Ugh…”
Did we go too far during the civil war? To be honest, I’m not in very good shape.
When I had a medical test recently.
I was told I needed some rest, but…
In addition, the movements of demon worshipers and the intrigues within the protesters are unusual, making it difficult to sleep.
As a result, I am under a lot of stress, to the point where I dream of the revolutionary army taking control of Roman and his head being hit by a guillotine.
Because the situation of Louis XVI or Nicholas II might happen to me.
“Phew…”
I exhale smoke and fall into thought.
First, we need to find other demon worshipers. And we also have to catch the Locust hiding somewhere…
The good news is that we can maintain a cooperative relationship with the Vatican through Amon.
And another agenda that clutters my mind.
We need to find out who was behind giving Theodora the aphrodisiac.
Fortunately, it was an aphrodisiac. If it had been a poison…
There would have been consequences so terrible that it was hard to imagine.
“Truly… I spent a huge amount of money to make it, but I still can’t pay for it.”
It is frustrating that with so much money being poured into the Ministry of Intelligence, we are unable to catch the forces that gave the emperor an aphrodisiac.
From what has been revealed so far, it is said that it appears to be from the mother-in-law’s side, but it is unlikely that he would have given his daughter an aphrodisiac, no matter how much he wanted a grandchild.
“Hmm…”
The means by which they were fed is also a mystery.
I guessed that there might have been an aphrodisiac in my glass at the time, so I asked for my glass to be inspected…
It is said that there is too little liquid remaining in the glass to confirm the presence or absence of an aphrodisiac.
in other words…
The possibility that the food was fed through a different route than the cup also arises, which makes my head spin.
This is why… I get scared when women get involved.
Although astronomical amounts of money are invested in intelligence agencies, even they are not perfect.
It will get better as time goes by, but right now, I think my spying skills within the imperial palace will fall behind my mother-in-law and Theodora.
Because there are many servants who follow the royal family.
If my mother-in-law, Theodora, or even Joey try to poison me…
I don’t think it’s absolutely impossible.
“No matter how much Mary’s maids do their job, they won’t be able to eat all the food.”
And doesn’t history prove it?
There is no one who cannot be killed.
This situation of not knowing when and where I will die brings great stress to me.
“I want to leave the imperial palace as soon as possible…”
I put a cigar in my mouth and review the remaining reports.
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