CH 26

The chilly atmosphere didn’t end there. Edith was dragged to the solemn conference hall at the Crown Prince’s order.

The National Assembly, the highest decision-making body of the Empire.

In a space as large as the auditorium, there were ministerial figures including the Minister of State and recognized royals. Edith had already visited several times and was always standing at the end of the line.

Clyde was the only one sitting in the chair, and the atmosphere was very solemn because it was a place where everyone stood to report and share opinions.

The subject of discussion today was the standing army issue.

The aristocracy who insisted on reducing the military spoke enthusiastically, citing the cost issue.

“Your Highness, there is no immediate danger of war, but there are too many soldiers. What’s the use of the army surrounding the capital. It’s all cost and waste.”

Rebuttals poured from the bureaucracy.

“The army is like His Majesty’s power. It doesn’t make sense if His Majesty the Emperor, the ruler of this empire, has an army on the same level as a nobleman. The standing army is not just soldiers with guns, but as a means of governance….”

Clyde raised his fingertips lightly as the speech-like words seemed to continue for a long time. Both sides, which had been engaged in heated arguments, calmed down at the same time.

His mood was very subdued because he entered the National Assembly with the gloomy conversation in his office intact. There was no generosity left to endure the sharp atmosphere of the hall.

He looked around the aristocrats and bureaucrats lined up on the left and right sides of the imperial throne with a flash of gold.

As soon as the crown prince’s eyes soared, the person who felt the cold eyes flinched.

His mean expression was notorious even among the high-ranking officials. If they lifted their head, in nine out of ten cases, they would end up suffering.

The stern fingertips flicked toward the chief attendant.

“Did you bring the report that I ordered?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Read it for me. You can skip the present situation and read out the evaluation section.”

The chief attendant, also called the butler, was a person who supported the policies promoted by the Crown Prince at the forefront. He was waiting with a bag full of documents and found the report Clyde had requested.

After clearing his voice with a cough, he began to read the report.

“Duke Allen has 500 men, Count Smith has 400 men, and the rest of the family has more than a hundred men, which is not small. On the other hand, the emperor’s standing army numbered 2,000 men, significantly less than the total number of aristocrats soldiers.”

Edith widened her eyes hearing the report. What he read was the written opinion that she had organized and reported.

It didn’t fit the formal format and was almost like a diary, but when did he organize it and put the Crown Prince’s seal on it? While writing that, she remembered dozing off and hitting her head on the desk.

Then Duke Alan suddenly stepped forward.

“It’s false! There are only a few dozen guards in my family.”

Ignoring the rebuttal, the chief attendant continued reading.

“The closer the aristocratic territory is to the capital, the greater threat the imperial family must accept. This is because foreign mercenaries are bought to create a private army in the name of managing the territory’s security.”

More and more people opened their mouths without getting the right to speak. Everyone claimed their innocence.

“Therefore, the current standing army should be increased by at least 1.5 times. It takes up to twice as much to be safe from treason.”

He even didn’t skip the word ‘treason’ she wrote. It was a powerful word.

Edith’s bewildered eyes rolled through the conference room, which was becoming a mess.

She had no idea that the opinions she wrote would be used in this way.

While reading the vast amount of material filled in the special room, she guessed that Clyde wanted to refer to it personally. She wasn’t particularly asked to write systematically, and the report given as a result was only a crude piece of paper.

Clyde used to emphasize that all she had to do was be faithful to the content. He only asked that the material be used appropriately and judged fairly, but he didn’t care whether her handwriting was crooked enough or saliva was smeared in the middle, which made her handwriting hard to read.

He read the title and findings of the report, along with Edith’s comments at the end.

The external form was no match compared to a decent official document. Among them, she couldn’t believe one opinion piece of paper was read at the National Assembly. On the other hand, Clyde’s intention was unexpected.

The documents written by the Imperial Government Department must also actively reflect the Crown Prince’s intention, but why was the discussion mainly focused on the opinion papers filled with Edith’s analysis?

‘Does he think my perspective is objective?’

It was unclear what was going on inside Clyde’s brain.

When the bureaucrats and the aristocrats were on the verge of a battle like a gang fight of a street vendor on the street, he raised his hand and silenced the crowd.

“The next item on the agenda is….”

He made it this way and changed the subject refreshingly.

“The Pillars of the Earth that supports the empire has put a lot of hard work, so I thought it would be nice to have an event hosted by the imperial family.”

“An event…?”

The chief attendant also asked back as if he had never heard of it before. There was a faint line of wrinkles on Clyde’s firm forehead.

He leaned his chin against the arms that were resting on the throne’s armrest and stared coldly at Edith, who was standing behind his attendants.

It’s clear that he’s still upset.

The conversation between them in the office was a bit sensitive to dismiss. It was a bit too sensitive.

“It would be nice if it was an event that both the minister and the aristocracy could enjoy.”

“Then…”

The chief attendant’s voice trembled faintly.

“Are we finally holding a banquet?”

The atmosphere on both sides, who had been fighting back and forth, suddenly changed. While it became quiet as if stagnant water had been poured, someone even looked thrilled.

Needless to say, there hasn’t been a single banquet since Clyde had a proxy clean-up. The imperial family organized no events, let alone banquets. It was in the name of ‘how dare we laugh and talk when His Majesty is ill’.

Clyde, whose sullen look seemed to have not shown any sign of going away, responded impatiently with his chin resting on his hand.

“I didn’t say there was a banquet in the hall.”

“Then…?”

“I’m thinking of holding a hunting competition to nurture talented gunners.”

The aristocratic side had a different complexion, but couldn’t hastily express their opposition. They have been arguing about the issue of soldiers and the standing army. If they made a mistake here, they could be swept away by the talk of treason.

Some were disappointed that it wasn’t a banquet, but many people still looked forward to the event organized by the imperial family.

A touch of excitement floated in the conference room.

A quick-witted count carefully flattered Clyde.

“It’s a wise decision. All the people of the empire will be delighted with this long-awaited event.”

“And one more thing.”

Everyone looked at Clyde, wondering what kind of bombshell he would drop.

“I will be directly involved in the competition.”

There was a commotion in the hall.

From the beginning, not everyone guessed that the Crown Prince would only receive reports from his subordinates. It was a matter of how much he would handle the event himself if he declared at the meeting.

“Your Highness, may I ask how you want to hold the competition?”

“Let’s proceed as usual for now. I’m just trying to tell you in advance that there might be a situation that goes beyond your expectations.”

People standing on the left and right in the large conference room divided into bureaucrats and aristocrats were busy looking at each other.

In particular, the Crown Prince’s hand and foot, the chief attendant, also made a face that said he had never heard of before, adding to the tension in the audience. It was fully expected that it was not for the purpose of holding an exciting festival.

“The banquet that you strongly desire… I’ll think about it. We’ll focus on the hunting competition, but we’ll decide to hold a banquet based on the progress.”

Clyde half-allowed the banquet with a tone that seemed to ignore the people’s wishes.

“I’ll take your orders, Your Highness.”

People at the meeting were obedient, but they were terrified because they didn’t know the Crown Prince’s hidden intentions.

❋ ❋ ❋

Under the guidance of the courtier, Edith moved to an area she had never seen before.

There were only a few places where she worked because she didn’t have to go around the vast palace. But this time she went to somewhere far away from her special room out of the blue.

It was a place where you could see ivy growing green through an open window, leaving a flowerpot in the hallway. The small gallery with thin curtains flying in the air was like a new world.

It was different from the office, where restless daily life continues like the gears of a clock.

In the space where large and small landscape paintings were hung, the center was empty and a voice echoed.

“Welcome, Edith.”

There was only one half-hearted person.

“Your Highness, what brings you here?”

The chandelier and the candlestick on the wall were turned off because it was broad daylight, so it was rather dim inside without light.

Click. The court lady who brought her closed the door outside.

Clyde, with his broad shoulder wrapped a shadow all over her body, approached her.

“Wh–why?”

She stuttered and stumbled back.

Pfft, a wicked laugh erupted from him.

“Now you’re talking to me freely. Well, that’s good. Then you can just call me by my name.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“Clyde.”

“Yes?”

“Try it. Clyde.”

In her heart, she had the experience of swearing at this guy more than 100 times, but she couldn’t call his name to his face. This was a fictional world, not reality, and Clyde was the Crown Prince.

“I was just surprised for a moment. I didn’t mean to serve Your Highness thoughtlessly.”

“Thoughtlessly… it doesn’t matter either.”

He strode up, muttering with regret. Edith’s feet was locked at the end of her skirt.

Because she was called while suffering from overworked in the special room, Edith wasn’t very talkative.

The dress was neat and simple because she was working alone. She wasn’t wearing corset to tighten her body or inflate her skirt. She was writing report as usual, so she would grab her hair in anguish and threw way all of her accessories.

Their shoes collided in an instant.

Thelarge man’s hand motion around her waist was natural. It was wrong to feel this way, but her body remembered his touch.

A flash of gold enchanted Edith.

At some point, she put her hand over his outstretched hand as if fascinated. She couldn’t figure out why she was attracted to Clyde without any resistance.

“If you look so pretty like that, I can’t stand it either….”

Hug, the pull was intense.

“Ugh.”

Clyde flinched in response to her short groan.