Chapter 115: Dismantling the Rose Garden

She, looking at the Rose Garden, showed neither the euphoria of ascending to the throne she desired so much nor the resolve to eliminate everything left by the former King.

She just looked tired.

The red water mist profusely coloring the sky above the Rose Garden didn’t seem to be just a beautiful sight in her eyes either.

The new Queen, who was resting in a disheveled state, corrected her posture instantly upon discovering us. She straightened her drooping shoulders and hardened her chin firmly.

At her momentary change, Philius smiled.

“Should I have come a bit slower?”

“How rude.”

“Do you want respect for the King?”

As Philius retorted, the Queen frowned with one eye. The servants attending her were standing quite far away, and with their backs turned at that. It meant today’s appointment was very personal.

“I won’t serve you tea either, so courtesy isn’t needed.”

“That’s good. It means the talk won’t be long.”

Although she frowned with one eye again, she didn’t deny Philius’s words.

Although the coronation hasn’t been held yet, her schedule, already performing duties as King, must be formidable.

Having to uncover what the former King did and intended to do, and reverse them all. Besides that, she had to grasp the real health condition and inclination of members of parliament who are said to be sick due to the incident at the victory ceremony.

Now that the Prime Minister has physical restrictions, it was a golden opportunity for her. In the midst of that, having to proceed with preparations for her own coronation, even several bodies wouldn’t be enough.

Newspapers were scattered on the table where we took our seats. It was distinctly different from when they were clearly divided into two camps, the King and the Prime Minister, listing similar topics with similar tones depending on their stance. The King has fallen, and the Prime Minister is sick. As the giants who dominated them disappeared, newspapers started shouting their own stances.

Some newspapers denounced the misrule of the former King and wrote in fluent writing that the new King would return everything to normal and Henia would soar higher, words indistinguishable between sincerity and flattery. Other newspapers put articles on the front page saying the Prime Minister’s health turned to recovery. There were newspapers featuring the desolate appearance of the royal palace where the main palace disappeared on the front page, and newspapers serializing planned articles about what happened in the New Continent war albeit belatedly.

There is even a newspaper featuring my portrait on the entire front page.

“Impersonating a noble with a status not of nobility is a clear crime.”

The picture in the newspaper looked both like me and not like me. It seemed drawn listening to my features like a montage rather than seeing me directly. Looking down at that picture, the Queen said.

“But Jay never said with his own mouth that he is Liberalis Sella even once. Everyone just misunderstood so. Also, except for the victory ceremony, he never revealed his face. The invitation to the victory ceremony also didn’t come under the name Liberalis Sella. It was just an invitation to the Duke of Westell and his fiancé.”

As Philius said, I never said my name is Liberalis Sella with my own mouth directly. Although I spread rumors to make people think so, and those who heard the rumors believed without doubt that I am Liberalis Sella.

Still, if she, who became the new King, tries to find fault like the former King, she could drive me as a noble impersonator. Even if the result is innocent, she could make me suffer for quite a long time.

But she couldn’t.

Among the newspapers she put on the table was one carrying an article that only the one wearing accessories made by Jay, the King’s Brother’s jeweler, on the day of the victory ceremony didn’t fall even under the former King’s ruthless attack.

And now the citrine necklace was hanging around her neck.

While newspapers are each shouting following their lines and interests, nevertheless, there is a truth not made into an article.

A truth everyone knows but no one can speak of hastily.

The fact that the key symbolizing the King was destroyed on that day of the victory ceremony.

Duchess Mare didn’t go through the formal succession procedure. Therefore, she didn’t inherit things passed down to the heir to the throne.

The treasure that hasn’t been lost even once since Henia was founded, the location of the circle said to be somewhere in the royal palace, and the schematic of the magic circle to be engraved on the key were also not inherited.

Everyone knows now. That on that day, at that moment, the key had to be destroyed. People who cannot see magical power with eyes think the key was destroyed that day due to the former King’s excessive greed. That he destroyed not only himself but also the symbol of Henia by coveting power he shouldn’t covet.

But will everyone think the same even after time passes and the memory of that day fades?

A King who lost the power of the key, the symbol of the royal family, is bound to be weak.

She wouldn’t be unaware of that fact either.

That’s why she intends to make that citrine necklace her symbol. The necklace that withstood the power of the key.

The Queen’s gaze turned to me.

Her eyes directed at me, the jeweler who created her necklace and a dominant Omega, held a complex light.

“Innocent, indeed.”

When the verdict finally fell from her mouth, Philius chuckled.

“Of course.”

The Queen would be believing the promise shared with Philius. Unaware of the fact that Philius’s obligation is erased and only the Queen’s obligation remains.

Her gaze returned to a newspaper carrying a somewhat different article.

The newspaper named ‘Us of Today’ put the title ‘Our Demands’ as the headline on the front page.

The newspaper that started with one sheet has now transformed into a proper weekly magazine with 6 pages. That it could grow like this even though advertisements can hardly be found compared to other newspapers is thanks to donations gathered little by little.

It is also thanks to the Queen keeping her promise.

The very first task she did in the name of the King was paying the victory allowance to mercenaries. John succeeded in codifying the bank’s payment guarantee as I told him before, but the mercenaries actually didn’t trust the bank. As soon as they received the certificate for the victory allowance, they ran to the bank and withdrew money. If the Queen hadn’t discovered the former King’s secret funds, a default situation might have occurred.

Mercenaries who withdrew money headed to pubs just like that.

However, surprisingly few squandered all the money they received on alcohol and gambling. After chatting and drinking excitedly for a night, they returned to their hometowns or entered factories looking for jobs they wouldn’t have even glanced at before.

And a significant number of mercenaries sponsored the newspaper that told their stories to the world.

Countless people gathered that day didn’t disappear. ‘Us of Today,’ which became a newspaper representing Betas, carried demands for Betas’ voting rights and eligibility for election on the front page.

Now Betas learned the fact that they cannot trust even promises made by the King. And the fact that they also have the power to change something.

“I intend to grant their demands.”

The Queen was receiving support from Betas. The fact that power arises when they unite was recognized by her too.

Not that she came to have human compassion for Betas. She just realized the possibility that Betas can also become an axis of Henia. The possibility of Betas standing as the opposite of nobles.

It’s the same for nobles that they came to distrust the King’s promise. The sense of crisis they felt might be much stronger than Betas. Since it means the King can take back the authority they already shared.

As a King who lost the key, the Queen intends to make more people share the nobles’ authority. Like that, she wants to protect the King’s authority.

Now, when the Prime Minister is sick and about 1/3 of nobles have become idiots, is the right time for the Queen to intervene in the composition of the parliament. Since a pivot that can gather the remaining nobles into one doesn’t exist yet.

She made today’s occasion because she believes Betas cannot unite without Philius.

She can give authority to Betas because she considers that the authority shared with them will practically still be in her hands.

She probably can’t imagine right now. The fact that her decision now will eventually make the King an existence with only symbolism without real power.

Although not right tomorrow, such a day will come someday.

The song countless people sang that day, the torches they held gave me certainty. That the coming of that day won’t be that far.

Although a society where everyone is equal is an ideal that cannot exist, still, I know a world where the perception exists that discriminating by dividing people into types is shameful.

Henia was moving steps toward such a world.

“A generous King.”

At Philius’s words, the Queen burst into a chuckle. Interpreting his words as permission, the Queen turned her gaze to the Rose Garden. Snow was still falling.

“Do you really intend to get rid of this garden?”

At my question, she raised her eyebrows slightly.

“I intend to. I have to recover the rubies buried under the garden. Since a massive budget is needed to build a new main palace.”

The Rose Garden is also a trace of the former King. It’s for the purpose of erasing his trace which became a shame of the Henia royal family, and pressuring the parliament holding the budget voting rights.

“It is a beautiful garden though.”

“I don’t know well.”

“Doesn’t seem like words a person handling beauty should say.”

“I don’t know well about the beauty of flowers.”

She must be curious about from whom my blood, manifesting as a dominant Omega only after becoming an adult, originated. She might suspect a relationship with the Queen Consort confined in the spire.

“My father was a hunter, and in my childhood, I always wished for flowers to fall. Because only when flowers fall, fruits bear, and then I get something to eat.”

But there is no means to prove that suspicion. Just as no one remembers the fact that we went to and from the spire.

Hmm, she exhaled through her nose as if my story was very unexpected. Even if she recognized there are poor people as a King, she seemed not to have known the specific appearance of that life.

“Do you intend to recover rubies from the Queen Consort’s palace too?”

When she was about to fall into thought, Philius asked. He has no intention of keeping this meeting long.

“They are useless things.”

“Then I can take them.”

“Those? For what use?”

“I heard Betas decorate their bodies with gems that lost value too. Since those are the only gems they can have.”

The Queen scanned Philius. He passed over that gaze nonchalantly.

“If I have to go through cumbersome procedures, forget it.”

Philius stood up from his seat just like that. The Queen made a dumbfounded expression for a moment but soon nodded.

“I’ll send them to your mansion.”

As the Queen’s permission fell, Philius called my name immediately, “Jay.” At his urging, she scoffed.

“Is the work I asked for going well?”

“That is troublesome indeed, but.”

At the answer saying it’s quite bothersome, the Queen shook her head.

“Are you preparing for the wedding ceremony well?”

“Enough to be held after the coronation ends.”

Philius’s words mean he will receive the promise after she officially becomes King. Duchess Mare, already practically King, scoffed but eventually nodded.

That the Queen can be generous to Philius is probably because she completely understood that he really has no interest in the King’s position.

Since on that day of the victory ceremony, Philius deferred all decisions to her.

At her gaze directed at me again, I composed my expression. The words wedding ceremony with Philius inevitably made my heart beat faster.

“You aren’t trying to overwork yourself, right?”

As soon as the carriage left the palace gate, Philius asked me. It was words stopping me from trying to purify the contaminated rubies from the Queen Consort’s palace.

“I have no intention of overworking.”

Even if I purify that massive amount of rubies, I can’t release them to the market immediately.

I intend to store the purified rubies underground.

Digging the ground and storing money there isn’t only Betas’ doing. Actually, banks also store money in the same way. Just the scale and security devices are larger and more sophisticated.

Banks realized now. That what individual Betas have is small money, but when gathered, it becomes a huge amount.

The payment guarantee limited to mercenaries’ victory allowances is now expanding to all deposits of Betas. But Betas didn’t visit banks. Because they still can’t trust them.

The incident where banks almost fell into default gave alertness to the Queen too.

The work she asked Philius, really politely asked, was establishing a bank.

Because Betas would trust a bank owned by him.

It was an idea possible because it’s an era not yet knowing how powerful capital can exert force. Since the perception that handling money directly is vulgar is alive. Moreover, a bank where main customers are scheduled to be Betas.

The Queen even made a sorry expression asking Philius to establish a bank. She even showed intention that it can’t be helped even if Philius refuses.

Conversely, I thought Philius must own a bank. Why couldn’t I think of that idea earlier? She must have interpreted my self-reproaching expression differently.

“I will proceed with purification slowly. I haven’t decided yet in what way to work as a jeweler. It will keep me from getting bored while organizing my thoughts.”

The name Jay has become a brand. I haven’t decided yet how to operate that brand.

From a merchant’s perspective, it’s an undesirable situation. Since the stock price of my brand might be at its peak now.

However, I intend not to decide hastily.

Since money can be earned by other works too.

“Please don’t forget me absorbed in pastimes.”

I eventually ended up laughing. Actually, purifying rubies is quite a grand task to dismiss as a pastime. Those rubies will become the source of the bank’s payment ability. As long as the bank’s credit is alive, there will be almost no occasion for them to be actually traded.

The carriage repeated stop-and-go. I looked out the window. Snow shows no sign of stopping yet. The way back seemed still far.

I leaned my head on Philius’s shoulder. As if waiting, the scent of the forest wafted.

“I heard it’s good to be exposed to the partner’s pheromones frequently when pregnant.”

Is it because of the low voice?

It was hard to keep my eyes open.

“…Sleepy.”

At the words popping out, Philius let out laughter.

“Sleep.”

His hand swept my forehead. I closed my eyes.

The destination is set anyway. Even if a bit slow, the carriage will go to our home.

Our home where Philius and I will live together with our child.