Beneath the Surviving Princess's Joyful Facade - Chapter 155

“What do you think of Duke Salachez?” During a private meal, after sending away the others, Miesa asked the question lightly.

Grand Duke Hagail answered without much thought, “He’s amusing. It’s cute how he struggles to survive. He’s perceptive enough to be useful when given tasks.”

“He’s not someone who will submit easily.”

“He’s surprisingly timid. He won’t cause any major trouble. And the way his mind whirs is so loud, it echoes through the entire office.”

Grand Duke Hagail chuckled, but Miesa pressed on. “I’m planning to abdicate next spring. If you intend to keep Salachez around, I’m considering creating a new position for him. What do you think?”

“…Damn it. Things are just fine with him giving me advice from the sidelines.”

Grand Duke Hagail grimaced, but he didn’t refuse outright. He made his desires clear.

“In that case, we should hurry along my marriage to the daughter of Count Raviate. It would be best to cement her position as grand duchess first, then crown her as queen after the abdication, around autumn.”

Miesa couldn’t help but wonder if her desire to match the two was driven by selfishness to keep Gella by her side. Yet, to her dismay, the daughter of Count Raviate, Gella, had fallen head over heels for Grand Duke Hagail. Despite the eight-year age gap, they looked surprisingly good together now that the grand duke had regained his former beauty.

“When will you propose to Gella? You need to do it soon so I can start discussions.”

“Soon. I will.”

“Shall I do it for you? Send a formal proposal letter?”

“No, I’ll handle it myself. Don’t rush me.”

Grand Duke Hagail blushed deeply. Miesa, displeased at the sight of her cousin’s bashful expression, frowned and prodded him once more.

“Gella might be overwhelmed, so you’ll need to reassure her. Make sure she understands that she will eventually become the mistress of the Central Palace.”

“I fully intend to.”

“I’ll give you three days.”

“Five days, please.”

“Fine.”

Miesa narrowed her eyes at the grand duke. In five days, she would interrogate Gella to see if she truly understood the situation.

Grand Duke Hagail, feeling the sharp gaze, wiped his mouth with a napkin and subtly changed the subject. “By the way, I’ll handle creating Duke Salachez’s new position. To deal with someone like him, I need to keep the carrot[1] in my own pocket.”

[1] Refers to controlling rewards or incentives to manage or influence someone effectively. It comes from the “carrot and stick” metaphor, where the “carrot” represents a reward.

“…You’re right. Do as you see fit.”

Miesa agreed easily but didn’t forget what she wanted.

“After the New Year’s Festival, I’ll summon Count Fletty. Last summer, the reinforcements he sent from the Flamtia region were pathetically few, and his son wasn’t even sick, yet he avoided the war.”

“…The Flamtia region.”

“What other obligations do the local lords have besides paying their paltry taxes? The duty to provide troops is the most important, and he neglected it, so I’ll make him pay dearly.”

Flamtia, bordering Cladis, contained fertile farmland. Politically, no previous rulers had touched it, but Miesa was in a hurry to address it precisely because of that.

“How much will you take?”

“Well, I didn’t get a decent dowry, so I’ll give the land by Lake Flasci to the Cladnier family.”

Grand Duke Hagail visualized the map in his mind.

With the land reaching as far as Lake Flasci, the Cladis region would no longer face any food shortages, even in the event of a disaster.

“It seems Your Majesty is ready to sell the kingdom to hand over to Cladnier.”

“If not Cladnier, Count Fletty wouldn’t even have a decent house, let alone land.”

Previous rulers had allowed the Fletty family to get away with numerous issues to keep the Cladnier family in check. But if Sidate invaded again, they would certainly plant their flag in the fertile Flamtia region first.

“Then let’s settle the matter that way.”

Miesa made her decision clear, and Grand Duke Hagail, after a moment of thought, shook his head. “Cladnier will become too vulnerable. Take only half.”

“Quiet.”

Miesa refused to listen, but Grand Duke Hagail persisted. “First, if you suddenly give away half the land, it will attract attention. And all the resentment will fall on the Cladnier family, not you, Your Majesty.”

“……”

“Second, while this may seem fine now, what about a hundred years from now, when we’re all buried in the ground? The future ruler will see Cladnier as a thorn in their side. There’s no reason to invite unnecessary scrutiny.”

“Is that so?”

“Even if the Margraviate of Cladnier considers independence, Sidate’s conflicts will never cease. If Cladnier is left to fend for itself while Esquillir reaps all the cultural and industrial benefits, wouldn’t that be unfair?”

“That’s a fair point.” Miesa nodded. Despite his prickly nature, Grand Duke Hagail had an excellent long-term vision. There was no reason not to listen to him.

Moreover, though he could be irritable, whenever anyone dared speak ill of Miesa during council meetings, Grand Duke Hagail would repay them tenfold. In his own way, he was always looking out for her.

“Very well. I’ll take half, as you suggested.”

“My goodness. That’s still quite a lot. Now, even if Cladis faces a drought, they’ll have no reason to beg for help.”

Though he grumbled, Grand Duke Hagail’s gaze toward the young queen was soft.

From a young age, second in line to the throne, she had studied the art of kingship. Even for him, it was no easy task to rule. Yet Miesa handled state affairs day and night, keeping a close eye on the war and meticulously planning for the future after her abdication. Grand Duke couldn’t help but feel proud

Of course, what came out of his mouth was the complete opposite.

“Your Majesty, you sure know how to sneakily grab what belongs to my family.”

“Later, I’ll also snatch a few pieces of jewelry from the treasury, so keep that in mind.”

“Oh, let me join you for that. I’ll need to save some for Lady Raviate as well.”

After lunch, the two cousins bickered good-naturedly over the jewels in the treasury. Duke Salachez watched them with a satisfied smile.

Of course, it wasn’t because he hoped to receive a small trinket tossed his way by the queen or grand duke. To emphasize this, he occasionally made a show of refusing their generosity with polite gestures.

“Doid, grab a sword as well. Do you really hate it?”

“Well, it would be rude to decline Your Majesty’s generosity, so I’ll graciously accept.”

While Salachez spoke with Miesa, Grand Duke Hagail called out from the other side of the room.

“This must be an heirloom of the Salachez family. Did Vermel seize it?”

“Oh, that’s a different story. I’ll gratefully accept it.”

Salachez, thoroughly satisfied with his haul, showed a look of deep gratitude but didn’t forget to boast a little on his way out.

“It’s truly a blessing to see Your Majesty so cheerful after bringing Grand Duke Hagail to your side.”

“Me?”

“Yes. I’m forever grateful that you accepted my suggestion to visit the grand duke’s residence back then.”

Of course, Salachez’s gratitude wasn’t genuine, and Miesa was well aware of that by now.

“Oh, right. Yes. It was you who suggested we visit the grand duke’s residence back then.”

That simple reply was all it took to please Duke Salachez, who craved attention and recognition. Believing he had contributed to the kingdom, Miesa didn’t bother to correct him and nodded.

“Yes, thanks to you, many things have gone smoothly. It’s all because of you.”

“It’s all because Grand Duke Hagail has been such a good conversation partner for Your Majesty. I’m just glad to see it.”

Miesa didn’t bother responding this time. After all, she didn’t need a conversation partner.

“It seems the Grand Duke was right, so I’m only going to take a quarter of the Flamtia region.”

That was because Miesa already had an excellent conversational partner.

“Not a bad idea. As I mentioned before, I don’t want the Cladnier family to hold too much power or become a target of political attacks.”

Even in her imagination, Eirik only spoke reasonable words. It couldn’t be helped.

“But this was the right thing to do, wasn’t it?”

She closed her eyes and envisioned Eirik’s kind smile. He would surely answer like this:

“Thanks to this, one major worry—food—has been resolved, so it’s certainly the right decision.”

He wasn’t here. But when Miesa was alone at night, it felt as if Eirik were right there, breathing beside her.

There was still one year left before the effects of Finime would manifest. However, Miesa decided not to think about alternative plans just yet. After all, Eirik had promised to return with an antidote. To seek another solution would be the same as not trusting his promise or his abilities.

“There’s still time.”

Miesa was genuinely fine. She believed that he was safe somewhere and that, given his meticulous nature, he might have simply hidden himself while carrying out a plan. Yes, that had to be it.

So, she decided to wait without thinking of anything else until autumn when the abdication would take place. Of course, she intended to tidy up the things she could, ensuring that the courage and trust Eirik had instilled in her wouldn’t go to waste.

However, it seemed that her murmuring to herself had been overheard, as some of the guards had begun looking at her with pity in their eyes.

Eirik was surely safe, but she couldn’t stand seeing them at a loss. So, Miesa reduced the number of guards stationed outside her room and had them stand farther down the corridor instead.

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