I’ll Handle It Myself
Having already shaken Chloe’s financial authority by turning the knights’ public opinion against her at the council meeting, it was time to win over the women’s hearts next.
There would be no shortage of noble ladies whose children were knights.
Meeting Regina’s bright, expectant gaze, Conrad could only smile. How could he dislike her when she supported him with such wholehearted devotion?
“If you move into the Empress’s Palace, we won’t be seeing each other as often.”
For now, she stayed in Conrad’s bedchamber, so few people came to see her. But once she moved into the Empress’s Palace, the situation would surely be entirely different.
Nobles who came out of curiosity to see Regina. Nobles who came with matters that truly needed to be settled. Even nobles who would swarm around her, trying every possible way to curry favor and carve out a place for themselves.
Conrad imagined Regina surrounded by all those people.
Even hidden away like this, she drew people in with her light. What would happen if he set her out in the open?
What is she thinking?
Setting aside his thoughts as they kept stretching farther and farther, Conrad said to Regina, “There’ll be talk if you enter the Empress’s Palace before it’s been properly sorted out.”
“That’s already been taken care of.”
At Regina’s confident expression, the corners of Conrad’s eyes lifted slightly. Curious, he waited, and Regina gave him her answer at once.
“The Grand Empress will handle it herself.”
***
After returning from the council meeting, Chloe was satisfied that she had delayed the handover of financial authority to Regina.
As for the forged ledgers, I can start on those now.
She had four months to half a year. Naturally, Regina would never be able to trace where the money had gone.
That’s enough.
Leaning back in a plush chair to rest, Chloe frowned deeply at the uproar coming from outside.
She was already exhausted from keeping herself on edge during the council meeting, and the noise was ruining her chance to recover, which made her irritation flare.
“What is it?”
“They say Her Majesty the Empress has sent someone.”
“…Show them in.”
Chloe straightened her back, the corner of her mouth twisting.
If they had come to protest and demand that she hand over financial authority immediately, then she would report the Empress for ignoring proper etiquette at the council meeting.
She had a rather pleased expression as she received the envoy, but that expression was thoroughly ruined a little later.
“What?”
“Her Majesty the Empress said she will be moving into the Empress’s Palace first thing tomorrow.”
“The replacement items aren’t even properly prepared yet…!”
“She also said that, to announce the Empress’s Palace renovated by the Grand Empress, she would be holding a tea party for the noble ladies.”
“What did you say?”
It was a bolt from the blue.
She needed to forge the accounting records and fill the coffers right away, and if they started refurbishing the Empress’s Palace on top of that, even more money would be needed.
That didn’t mean she could recover the money she had already siphoned off. It was long gone.
This can’t be happening.
For a moment, she had been congratulating herself, thinking her handling of the council meeting had been quite good, but that self-satisfaction lasted only briefly. Chloe felt dizzy.
As she swayed, the maids standing nearby hurried to her side.
“Grand Empress!”
“Then I shall take my leave.”
Glowering at the Empress’s Palace attendant, who bowed with stubborn composure despite the commotion, Chloe collapsed on the spot.
It was a fit of rage.
***
News that Chloe had fallen ill spread throughout the imperial palace. Since it was, in effect, proof that she was having trouble dealing with the new Empress, it naturally stirred the curiosity of the noble ladies.
“Did you hear? Her Majesty the Grand Empress actually collapsed.”
“S-she was said to have been very, very angry.”
“Oh my.”
Even if just two women gathered, the conversation naturally turned to Regina and Chloe. Although Chloe was a noble, she came from an obscure and insignificant house, and yet the Empress was boldly standing up to the Grand Empress. That alone was fascinating enough to keep everyone talking.
In noble society, where family determined everything, Regina was truly an astonishing person.
“His Majesty did well to bring such a wonderful person in as Empress.”
“Is it really wonderful? In the end, it’s the collapse of the hierarchy among nobles.”
“If someone has ability, they ought to be treated accordingly. Isn’t that the long history of our Fredericks Empire?”
As a knight empire that revered strength, the Fredericks Empire sometimes saw knights of exceptional skill appear out of nowhere despite their low rank or birth.
To help such people rise, the Fredericks Empire had established special systems.
“Her Majesty the Empress must be one of those special people.”
So it made sense that she had been able to sit beside the Emperor, one noble lady added.
“But the Madarin Barony? It’s a family that’s practically falling apart.”
“I know a little about the Madarin Barony.”
At the noble lady’s suddenly lowered voice, the others crowded around her.
Those exchanging subtle glances nodded to one another, signaling that they would not spread the words around.
Still, everyone there knew that anything spoken in this room would certainly find its way out sooner or later.
“There’s a rumor that the Madarin family has a few magical tools left. They might end up being an enormous help to our empire.”
“Really?”
“Yes! Isn’t that reassuring?”
The one who answered so brightly was the Countess of Ulysses.
She was recalling something her husband, Count Ulysses, had mentioned in passing and using it now.
Thinking this was information that ought to be shared far and wide, she spoke again.
“Isn’t it amazing? Ever since the Magic Barrier was created, magical tools have become scarce, but apparently the Madarin family had some stored away in their warehouse. Since they’re a family of mages and all….”
“If that’s true…!”
Someone raised her voice, saying that then even their children might be safe.
Having a child who was a knight was a source of pride, but parents were always on edge. The fact that one might have to give one’s life for the empire at any time was a sad but undeniable reality.
But if powerful mages were with them, perhaps the burden of danger on the knights could be reduced.
And if powerful magical tools were added on top of that… they might protect the knights even when no mage was present.
“I’d really love to meet Her Majesty.”
“Me too.”
A small seed of hope had taken root in the noble ladies’ hearts.
Rather than Chloe, who only pretended to be gentle in public while greedily seeking wealth behind the scenes, maybe the new Empress Regina was better. Such thoughts quietly spread.
“Up until now, we’ve only attended the tea parties hosted by the Grand Empress, but if Her Majesty the Empress sends us invitations this time, I’ll have to go.”
“I should do the same.”
The noble ladies chatting away now had hope in their eyes. The social world had always been a place soaked in grief, filled with mothers and husbands lost to monster exterminations.
At the thought that a new path might exist after all, their faces gradually brightened.
And so the anticipation directed toward the new Empress grew beyond anyone’s control.
***
After hearing the news from Limutan about the social world, Regina let out a dry laugh.
“Magic isn’t a cure-all.”
“Your Majesty the Empress.”
“People can die at any time, and I’m no different.”
At her cold words, Limutan pressed his lips together.
He had only relayed the news because he thought the mage’s greatness reflected well on Her Majesty the Empress as well, but when Regina turned sharp, his shoulders instinctively shrank.
“This isn’t something that should be exaggerated like this. Looks like the Grand Empress was the one who stirred them up.”
“Pardon?”
“If I don’t meet their standards, they’ll only become more dissatisfied.”
As Regina said, magic was not omnipotent. It could not satisfy everyone’s desires.
Monster exterminations would continue, and with them, people would continue to die.
She would take care to watch over things as carefully as possible so that fewer people died, but she could not protect everyone.
If that were possible, none of the mage corps would have died.
How many had she already lost?
As one by one their faces came to mind, Regina finally squeezed her eyes shut.
She had petitioned the Emperor to ensure sufficient compensation so that their deaths would not be in vain, but that promise had not been kept.
Those damned bastards…!
She had worked herself to the bone for the Ferman Empire, and what had come back to her? Nothing.
In the first place, she had done it for the empire, not for the imperial family. She had only wanted the people of the empire to suffer no more from losing those they loved, to live safely.
She had realized she was being used, but by then it was far too late.
Would the Fredericks Empire be any different?