Duchess Mecklen’s Elegant Revolt - Chapter 4 Part 4

As soon as Eleanor and Brianna returned to the palace, they headed straight to the drawing room where the Empress Dowager was. The Empress Dowager, who was enjoying tea with Berenice, welcomed them warmly.

“You both look quite a mess,” the Empress Dowager remarked.

“My apologies, Your Majesty,” Brianna replied, her face flushing as she slightly bent her knee in a curtsy. The white color of her skirt made the dirt and stains even more noticeable, highlighting the evidence of her recent activities. Though she felt embarrassed, the Empress Dowager viewed it differently.

The fact that her dress was in such disarray suggested that Brianna had taken her involvement in the relief work seriously enough to get her hands dirty.

“You’ve worked hard. What did you do there?” the Empress Dowager asked, pretending not to know, even though she had already received a report from Priest Gran on what tasks they would be assigned.

Brianna took the lead in reporting. “We distributed soup to the poor.”

“How did the people look?”

“They all looked depressed. They were hungry and starving, so they were sensitive to the smallest things and very wary of each other. I realized that if we hadn’t rationed the soup, there was no telling what they might have done in their hunger.”

Though Brianna had complained while working, her demeanor was different when reporting to the Empress Dowager. She had observed the atmosphere among the poor while distributing the soup and even considered how they might change in the future.

The Empress Dowager nodded in satisfaction. “And what do you propose as a solution?”

“We should increase the number of volunteer organizations to facilitate smoother distribution. Additionally, we must strengthen security around the slums in case of any riots,” Brianna said confidently. “Hungry people can quickly turn into rioters.”

“Yes, that’s true,” the Empress Dowager agreed.

It wasn’t a wrong assessment. Starving crowds, when angered, could become unpredictable and dangerous. Countess Lorentz, who was sitting beside the Empress Dowager, praised Brianna, noting her keen observations.

Meanwhile, Berenice silently took notes, listening intently.

The Empress Dowager then turned her gaze to Eleanor. “Eleanor, what are your thoughts?”

“I believe we shouldn’t distribute food,” Eleanor said.

“What?” The shocked voice didn’t come from the Empress Dowager but from Brianna, who stood beside Eleanor.

This was the same Duchess who had gone around begging for food for a child, and now she was saying not to distribute food? Brianna couldn’t comprehend it.

“Madam, if we don’t distribute food, we won’t be able to help children like the one you aided earlier,” Brianna argued.

“Even so, it’s not the right solution,” Eleanor insisted.

“Unbelievable. Then why did you go through all that trouble earlier?” Brianna demanded, forgetting that they were standing before the Empress Dowager.

Surprisingly, the Empress Dowager didn’t reprimand Brianna for her rudeness. Instead, she looked at Eleanor with an expression that encouraged her to explain.

Eleanor, feeling the eyes on her, spoke confidently, “I met a child there. He had spilled his soup through fault of his own and was in desperate need of a new one.”

She couldn’t ask someone to sacrifice for the child.

In a calm voice, Eleanor explained the events that had transpired outside the palace, recalling the child’s pitch-black, desperate eyes.

“I walked around with the child, asking people for food. But by the time everyone had finished eating, the child’s bowl was still not full.”

Eleanor paused, looking around the room before continuing. “In that moment, the child and I both realized something important.”

“Realized what?” This time, it was Berenice who asked, having set aside her quill to listen more attentively to Eleanor’s story.

“Soup is a temporary solution. It’s a way to stave off hunger in the moment. But poverty is persistent and relentless. It’s not something that can be solved by simply giving food. The poor are forced to compete daily for limited resources, and if they can’t secure a meal, they face the possibility of a slow and powerless death,” Eleanor explained.

“But if we stop supporting them immediately, what are they supposed to do?” The Empress Dowager sighed deeply, her expression filled with genuine concern for the people of the nation.

Many policies had been implemented to aid the poor, but they had all failed, largely because the scale of poverty was much larger than anticipated. Additionally, the sheer number of impoverished people meant that providing jobs for all of them immediately was not feasible.

The Empress Dowager sighed deeply, her face reflected the true compassion of a mother worried for her people.

Eleanor glanced briefly at Brianna. “I do agree with parts of Lady Brianna’s opinion.”

“……!”

Brianna looked at Eleanor with surprise.

“If we leave them as they are, the resentment that has been building will inevitably explode. However, merely providing aid is a temporary measure and will not solve the underlying issues.”

The cold, the hunger—these were the things that drove the poor to desperation. If they were pushed to the extreme, these issues would eventually cause significant unrest if not addressed.

“Moreover, they need homes that can protect them from the elements and provide security from external conditions,” Eleanor continued.

The uncertainty of having no place to return to would only grow worse with the changing seasons, especially as winter approached. To truly help those trapped in such dire circumstances—

“Perhaps we should consider redeveloping the areas where the poor live,” Eleanor suggested.

“Redevelop?”

“The houses in the slums are barely worthy of being called homes. It’s rare to find a roof that can properly shield them from rain and wind. Most of the walls are just piles of stones, offering little protection,” Eleanor explained, sharing her observations from her visit to the slums.

She continued, “We could have the poor rebuild these homes themselves. They could work as laborers, repairing the houses, and in return, they would be provided with seeds and enough flour to last for a year.”

The Empress Dowager, quick to grasp Eleanor’s intention, smiled warmly. “So you’re suggesting that the poor not only rebuild their homes but also start farming.”

“Yes. I looked at the roads leading to the slums and saw that most of them were abandoned fields. If we distribute them, and require them to contribute a certain amount of their harvest each year, I think there’s enough potential for future value, even if it’s hard to break even on the immediate deficit.”

“It’s not a bad idea,” the Empress Dowager agreed, her smile growing wider.

This was precisely why the Empress Dowager had put Eleanor and Brianna to the test. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor had limits on what they could do directly, and they couldn’t fully grasp the situation without reports from their subordinates.

However, reports were never entirely objective; they always carried the personal biases of those who gave them. Even in the same situation, different perspectives emerged, just as they had from Brianna and Eleanor.

So the more opinions the leaders heard from their subordinates, the better the policy would be than what they had envisioned alone.

The results had turned out even better than expected. The Empress Dowager smiled in satisfaction at both Eleanor and Brianna.

“You’ve both done well.”

***

“Your Majesty,” Berenice called out softly, noticing the Empress Dowager deep in thought.

Despite Berenice’s call, the Empress Dowager didn’t immediately respond, lost in her own reflections. Eleanor and Brianna had just finished their reports and left the room, but it had been over ten minutes, and the Empress Dowager hadn’t moved. Berenice watched her with concern, noting the sharpness in the Empress Dowager’s green eyes—a look she hadn’t seen before.

Finally, after a long pause, the Empress Dowager spoke. “She’s a much more clever child than I expected.”

Berenice had a good idea who the Empress Dowager was referring to—Eleanor. It was almost embarrassing to think back to the time when Eleanor had been dismissed as an incompetent princess. From the interview to this moment, Eleanor had shown nothing but remarkable qualities.

Berenice nodded in agreement with the Empress Dowager’s assessment. “I think so too.”

“But there’s something I can’t quite figure out,” the Empress Dowager mused, tilting her head slightly.

“Why would a child like her want to leave the ducal household?”

Though Eleanor had never explicitly said so, the Empress Dowager had long since noticed her desire to leave. Representatives from the Mecklen family had visited several times, only for Eleanor to personally turn them away each time. It was clear that she didn’t want to return, and the Empress Dowager couldn’t help but wonder why.

“Does it have anything to do with Caroline?” Berenice asked cautiously.

The Empress Dowager nodded. “It’s not good for that child to be pushed out of the family. She doesn’t have a strong foundation among the nobility, and she lacks allies who can protect her. It would be easy for her to become prey for the hyenas.”

The term “hyenas” referred to the most unscrupulous members of the nobility. Eleanor might not fully understand this yet, sheltered under the Empress Dowager’s protection, but she would inevitably encounter them in the palace.

The Empress Dowager couldn’t understand why Eleanor had chosen such a difficult path. She considered various possibilities and murmured to herself, “It seems Caroline must be holding onto something.”

She tapped her fingers rhythmically on the desk, a habit that reminded Berenice of the Emperor. He, too, would tap on something when deep in thought.

“Is the investigation into Caroline still ongoing?” the Empress Dowager asked.

“I apologize, Your Majesty. It’s taking longer than expected,” Berenice admitted. Since Eleanor had entered the palace, Caroline had tightened her grip on her household, making it much harder for Berenice to uncover anything.

Seeing Berenice’s troubled expression, the Empress Dowager chuckled softly. “So even you find this difficult. She’s certainly no ordinary woman.”

“Is there anything you know, Your Majesty? Even a small clue could help us refocus our investigation.”

“Hmm,” the Empress Dowager sighed, thinking back.

A clue…

Her eyes seemed to grow distant as she recalled the past. “I didn’t have many opportunities to speak with her. Caroline was strangely reluctant to visit the palace.”

“Then…”

“But once was enough,” the Empress Dowager said, her voice now filled with certainty.

Berenice leaned in, listening intently.

“The truth is, Caroline…” 

Few nobles would know this now. Most of the older generation had either passed away or retired, and those few who were contemporaries of the Empress Dowager kept this information to themselves, often out of mutual agreement.

“She was the second wife of the late Duke of Mecklen.”

“……?”

Berenice’s eyes widened.

***

Back in her room, the first thing Eleanor did was place the flower she received from Lennoch the child in a cool, well-ventilated spot. She remembered the regret she felt when she had to discard the first flower Lennoch had given her. This time, she wanted to dry the flower properly and keep it as a cherished memento.

After changing into indoor clothes with the help of a maid, Eleanor found that she didn’t feel like lying down. Instead, she sat at her desk and opened a book, something she hadn’t done in a while. As she read, her eyes drifted to the sunset outside her window, and her thoughts turned to Becky, who was still at the Mecklen estate.

‘I left in such a hurry that I didn’t even get to say goodbye.’

Caught up in her confrontation with Caroline, she hadn’t even exchanged a glance with Becky, who had stood nearby with a worried expression. Eleanor remembered the way Becky had looked at her with concern, mixed in with the others who had come to see her off. She could only imagine how much more tense and hostile the atmosphere at the estate had become after her departure.

Eleanor hoped Caroline hadn’t taken out her frustrations on Becky. This thought reinforced Eleanor’s determination. She had a clear goal in mind: to divorce Ernst and—

‘And I must secure a title.’