[Interlude] Menexes Kingdom (9)
(Continental Year 584)
Two years after I became queen, we finally received word that the whereabouts of the king’s wife and child had been discovered.
For such a supposedly capable shadow division, it had taken quite a long time, but it seemed that the woman, who had apparently been a skilled adventurer, had continued traveling while carrying an infant, never settling in one place.
“It seems she was not moving as an adventurer would, which made her trail difficult to follow.
She is highly skilled as an apothecary, and it appears she traveled from place to place selling herbs and medicines. By the time her remedies gained a reputation, she would already be gone, which made her hard to track.”
“I see…”
I listened to the report while having tea with Father in the garden pavilion.
A private garden had been built just for me, and when I spent time here, all attendants were dismissed, so the only ones by my side now were Father and my personal maid, Meimi.
The maids waited in the antechamber at the garden’s entrance, ready to be called at any time, but there was enough distance from the pavilion that they would not be able to hear our voices.
To them, this likely appeared to be nothing more than a peaceful moment of conversation between parent and child.
The coup and the epidemic had dealt a devastating blow to our nation’s nobility. Those who had sided with Duke Raftara had their houses abolished, and the heads and those involved were executed.
As for those aligned with the king, many nobles had perished in the epidemic, and even now, some still suffered from lingering aftereffects.
Even so, the country had to be governed, and the reforms the king introduced at that time naturally drew strong opposition from the existing nobility.
After all, his policy was: “If one is capable, they shall be appointed to positions within the castle regardless of status.”
“In the neighboring Lizmoni Kingdom, students come from across the continent to study at the magic academy. I myself graduated from that academy. Within Lizmoni, even capable commoners can attend, and those with excellent results are seen as promising candidates to become attendants to nobles, civil officials in the castle, or magic instructors.
That country accepts not only humans but many different races. That is precisely why more people there are capable of flexible thinking, and why they have been able to carry out projects such as the flood control works now being used in our own country.
In our nation, while beastkin, dwarves, and elves exist among the populace, there are none among the key figures within the castle, are there? Discrimination against commoners is not as severe as in the Empire, but it still runs deep among the higher nobility.
I am not saying a class-based society is inherently wrong, but compared to nobles who lack ability and merely act important while drawing salaries, capable commoners who produce results for fair pay are far more valuable. If you do not wish to be told that, then demonstrate ability that surpasses that of commoners.”
When many nobles voiced their opposition during the council I attended, the king had said this, and I thought then that he truly held the mindset of someone who had grown up among commoners.
However, those reforms yielded results beyond expectations. A certain number of nobles began striving harder so as not to be outdone by commoners, and the commoners themselves also began to work diligently, believing that opportunity now existed for them as well.
I had not known this before, but it seems that at a place called the Adventurers’ Guild in the commoner district, people can learn basic skills such as reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Those who reached a certain level there were then able to attend schools established for commoners.
Merchants who wished for their children to attend in the future pooled their funds to create these schools, where instructors, former merchants or former tutors of noble households, taught highly practical knowledge.
Thanks to this, just two years after the reforms were announced, commoners began to be appointed. They handled administrative work, while nobles oversaw and managed them, allowing the nobles to maintain their pride, and more importantly, greatly improving efficiency. As a result, in just three years since the coup, most territories had already recovered.
And now, at such a time, the king’s wife has been found. If he learns of this, what will he do?
The king still seems uncomfortable around nobles, so he likely would not take her in as a secondary consort. In that case… would he leave?
No, Prince Shukran has not yet come of age. Then perhaps he intends to keep her hidden somewhere nearby.
“It seems she has been moving from place to place to evade pursuers sent by Argonas.”
“… What? Why would the Chancellor do such a thing?”
When Filehien Drei Menexes became king, the position of Chancellor was passed from Lionel to his son, Argonas.
Of course, Lord Lionel still assists with official duties as Chancellor’s aide, but it is Argonas who now acts as Chancellor.
It was he who brought Filehien to the castle in the first place, so I had never thought him to be someone who would betray the king.
“Ah, most likely he is plotting to bring her in as the king’s secondary consort.
However, since he was also the one who drove her out of this country, he cannot search for her openly. It seems he has been commissioning searches in secret, and as a result, the information has not been conveyed accurately.”
When the king was first found, he had been living together with his wife and child. If those two are no longer in this country, then Argonas must have said something, but to think he had driven them out.
As Father chuckled quietly, clearly amused, I asked what kind of information was being circulated.
“According to the shadow division, the request was to ‘find a female adventurer traveling with a child, with pink hair and the ability to use holy attribute magic.’
It seems he made the request to adventurers. Had it been done through the king’s connections, it would be another matter, but since it was carried out without the king’s knowledge, it appears that rather unsavory adventurers accepted the job. Because of that, she has been traveling in hiding, avoiding using her adventurer’s identification, which is why we were unable to locate her, but it makes things quite convenient for disposing of her, so we are letting things play out for now.”
My, what a situation this has become.
Though their objective differs from ours, this could turn into something quite interesting.
It seems she had been aiming for the Helazio Republic as an adventurer, but according to reports, she has caught the attention of a viscount of the Empire and is likely to settle there by opening an apothecary.
Her hair was no longer pink but brown, but it was assumed she had changed its color upon realizing she was being searched for based on that trait.
It was also said that her daughter had the same hair color, though the king’s hair is an ash-brown shade. She must have taken after her mother’s pink.
Several members of the shadow division would remain in place and gradually guide the adventurer in question.
If Argonas intends to take her in as a secondary consort, then I must ensure that does not happen.
READ CHAPTERS 98-137 IN ADVANCE ON PATREON (8$ TIER)
What do you think about this chapter?
