Chapter 195

Chapter 195

***

Having work was better than having none. If one can maintain their own livelihood and further feed and provide for a family, there was nothing more to wish for.

The people employed by the King of Adelorn lived such lives. Waking up at dawn to catch chickens and prepare cooking, trim the garden, feed the livestock and clean the dung, sweep and mop every corner, and polish the weapons.

Cooks, gardeners, stable keepers, male servants and female servants, the Chief Butler Bremen who supervised all of that, each worked busily.

Also people assisting the King like the Court Physician, Warhorse Manager, Almoner, and Military Affairs Officer, Finance Officer, Chancellor, and even the people attached beneath them. Hundreds of people resided in the Adelorn Royal Castle, and each had work. And their families lived near the Royal Castle.

Just like a shining star gathering planets and asteroids with gravity, this many people were gathered centering around the King.

And these were precisely the heart of the Kingdom, and them working busily meant the heart was beating powerfully.

A King must traditionally be a heart, not a head. He must play the role of a bridge connecting the head and the limbs.

But the person who should actually play that bridge role was not in the Royal Castle. Instead, his companion was taking charge of that position.

"Now it's truly getting hotter gradually. Shouldn't you have a summer villa or something separate? Even for the sake of the baby."

Roy's sister Becca said while drawing the curtains. In a way the siblings were serving the King and Queen from the closest distance.

The morning sunlight reached the foot of the bed. But even though she wasn't receiving the light head-on, Marie who had gotten her body up and was sitting frowned her brow. Thereupon the baby in her belly reacted slightly. It was a full-term body.

"It's not a matter that works by simply moving myself alone. Many people have to follow along together, and then work becomes even more complicated. By the way must you draw the curtains?"

"It cannot be helped. You need to receive adequate sunlight to have energy. There is life's power in sunlight, you know."

"You believed in such things too......"

"It's not a belief it's wisdom, wisdom. Because you haven't been going outside at all lately and only working you are not like before. As for me I have to take care of both. And definitely, listen to the doctor's words."

"......"

There was no other nag like her. She was more extreme than the pregnant party Marie herself. But the one nagging wasn't only Becca but the wet nurse or other maids were similar too.

Although the retainers worried about her current condition, they seemed to place more importance on work. They hoped for quick approvals.

Adelorn had a strong royal authority on the side. However strong royal authority also meant the volume of work the King had to process was that much a lot.

Actually even when Rickart was there he only processed big and thick matters, and since Marie took full charge of all the miscellaneous duties the heavy workload was exactly the same as before.

Merely, what Marie had a hard time with was that all this was not fun. Boredom, that was truly not something to look at easily.

While nibbling away at a person from the inside little by little by little, ultimately it made them caught up in depression or emptiness.

Marie hadn't reached that degree yet, but she was gradually becoming short on strength.

But Becca who was opening the window and looking out the window opened her eyes round and said.

"Huh? It's the King."

Thereupon Marie's head sitting on the bed and reading documents turned quickly swoosh. Even though it was a heavy body she stood up abruptly springing up, then came to the window and looked outside.

From far away, a person riding a red horse was running across the field towards the Royal Castle.

Presently discovering the King from the watchtower of the Royal Castle too, they blew the horn loudly.

BBAM-BABA-AM-!

An enormously loud sound echoed throughout the entire Royal Castle. Not a drum sound or a bell sound, the horn sound meant the owner of the castle had come. The people working busily in the Royal Castle all looked back at the watchtower.

"The King has come!"

The horn blower shouted.

Presently Rickart running across the fields and field paths discovered himself from afar and entered exactly as if rushing toward the castle Gates opened in advance.

As he reached the inner courtyard and pulled the reins, hundreds of people had all gathered and were waiting for him. Rickart had washed his body but having a somewhat worn-out cloak and attire from roaming here and there for a while, he looked back at the people.

As the Horsemaster approached with a low posture, Rickart got off the horse and handed the reins to him. Around that time Marie pushed through the people and came out.

"You don't have to come out though. Everyone go see to your own work. What kind of fuss is this."

Being Rickart who wasn't obsessed with protocol or empty formalities, he didn't like them swarming rumbling without any particular reason.

Because the people also knew such Rickart well, they each scattered to their own places without particular replies. In fact even if the King told them not to doing it tactfully was the duty of underlings.

Rickart naturally held Marie's hand and said.

"How is your body a bit?"

"Apart from having no energy lately it's okay."

"Yeah......"

Actually Rickart came back because of work, but seeing Marie having a glad face it was hard to easily bring out the words.

For now he went to the room and unpacked his luggage, and after washing even if simply he heard a simple report regarding the public security or security, national defense parts. It was just standing in the corridor and listening to Raimund's talk.

It was a close story he didn't even report well to Marie, it was a work related to the gold mine or a movement report regarding the Duke of Frederia.

A whispering talk unable to be understood accurately echoed in the corridor of the Royal Castle. Rickart nodded his head and shook it back and forth.

"Fighting and winning is easy. The difficult thing is handling the problems afterward. Things you can't even swallow from the start shouldn't be put in your mouth at all. Initial actions you do if they cross the line. Before then don't stimulate them purposefully. From what I see the Duke of Frederia is a person who will self-destruct. We could provide the clue but if so we will do the trick and other people will see the profit."

"Understood."

Rickart nodded his head and patted thud thud Raimund's shoulders.

Other retainers waiting from afar, as the conversation of the two seemed to end they too approached to discuss problems with the King they couldn't dare report to the Queen.

The contents of the matters they couldn't dare report to the Queen was none other than problems related to assassination, intimidation, and stratagems.

It wasn't that Rickart didn't did work. He was doing all the unrevealed and dirty works himself. In Marie's case she was handling the official works.

But Rickart shook his head and expressed an intention of refusal putting out his hand. He meant he would hear the report not now but later.

Thereupon they bowed their waists from afar exactly as if they understood.

Among the works the King took care of there was no unimportant work. Merely, among those important things there was a thing called precedence. National defense and diplomacy were always first, and other works were okay to delay a little.

If so how important was the work related to the Master's Federation? Looking at the action he did just now, Rickart seemed to consider it next after national defense and diplomacy.

Because the place he went to find as soon as the conversation with Raimund ended was the bedroom.

Marie was sitting in front of the table wearing something like baggy pajamas. And right next to the table was the bed, and Rickart sat sticking his buttocks on the bed and stared at Marie working without any words for a while.

"Why? If you have something to say say it."

Marie asked her husband staring at her without even turning her gaze while looking at documents.

"You know about the matter related to the Federation right?"

"You and I drafted the charter. There is no way I wouldn't know. Why, is the work not going well?"

"No, the work is going well. The problem is that it has become a bit precarious now."

"What is?"

"The nobles seem to be slowly showing rejection reactions too. Maintaining public security is fine, but they noticed my influence is gradually getting bigger. That is uncomfortable."

"Is that so......? But didn't you decide not to infringe on the Lord's rights?"

"I didn't infringe. Merely, it is ambiguous. Having signed joining contracts with the villages or cities of the corresponding territory, we cannot withdraw the branch because the Lord says he doesn't like it."

"So what are you going to do?"

Marie put down her pen and looked back at Rickart.

"I step down from the Chairman position, and wanting you Marie to take charge a bit. Because you are a royal after all, and then the justification will live, and it will be a showing that I have no selfish motives. So I came to ask your intention. Since our talking among ourselves won't make it work. The party in question should know."

Rickart carefully brought out the main topic. Marie didn't seem to take the matter so seriously, as she tilted her head lightly and seemed to ponder for a moment.

Rickart added more words.

"The work is already on track. You Marie just have to guard the seat. The kids will handle tolerably everything."

"Then it's not fun?"

"Huh?"

"If I just stay perfectly still it's not fun. I want to move my body a bit."

At Marie's words Rickart lowered his gaze slowly and stared at her pregnant belly.

"Wouldn't it be okay if you wait about half a year and move?"

"Are you nagging Ricky too?"

"Is this nagging?"

"Who is more important between me and the baby to you?"

"......What do you mean?"

Rickart's eyes widened round exactly as if not understanding.

"The baby is important. But hearing the exact same words for months on end my existence seems to become faint. Giving birth to descendants and prospering the family is an important duty of mine. But my own self is important too."

"No one said you are not important."

"However everyone pours their attention only into the baby. Or only talks about work."

Rickart's expression was a little surprised, then changed to an absurd expression of what on earth was wrong with this woman. Since he hadn't experienced it himself he couldn't empathize.

"What do the kids say? You must have discussed it first."

"They don't oppose."

"They wouldn't. But what did they say. Tell me concretely."

"......Ice said don't we need to decide the route definitely."

"What route?"

Rickart couldn't bring himself to open his mouth well somehow. Because it was such a serious and important matter.

"Whether to aim for the Imperial Throne, or to stop here. Because to expand the business more the Emperor's authority is needed."

Thereupon Marie smiled grin and said.

"I told you right? That someday I might become the Emperor. That sounds fun."

"What are you going to do? You must consult with me first. Do not forget that we are in the middle of a war. If we get clumsily swept up while the two Princes are fighting Adelorn might not even be able to preserve itself."

"Who said anything? Ricky do you not trust me?"

"What are you saying since earlier. I trust you. Of course. However this kind of matter carefully and elaborately......"

"Do you trust me? Do you not trust me? Only say that. Don't say other things."

Rickart made an expression of truly what was wrong with this woman. Since he couldn't understand pregnancy stress, he likewise couldn't understand Marie who seemed somewhat going overboard.

"I trust you...... Considering you lived herding sheep following me for 4 years how could I not trust you."

"Added to that, when you were sick I spent money and bought medicine right. You know because of that I couldn't save a single penny right?"

"Uh......"

"I am not asking to give that back. I am asking you to trust me."

"No then let me ask just one thing. Marie do you want to become the true Emperor rather than simply just taking the Chairman position?"

"What is there to not be able to be? Do only you Ricky form strategies? I also form them, this is."

Marie was the uniquely person in this world who could corner Rickart. Such she had been a bit docile in the past but it didn't seem so now.

Because to become a mother, was transcending a woman. It might have been the prodrome symptoms of that.

"Then I will help too. Provide me my words in return too."

"Good. Do I just need to go right now?"

Marie stood up abruptly from her seat exactly as if this was finally liberation from this stifling place. And then walked to the rack and held her sword in her hand. Named Ricky.

"My baby, how bored holding it in were you. It is time to see the light of the world now."

Marie drew the sword in one breath holding it in her hand and examined it. Because Becca had maintained it pouring her heart and soul into it without resting a single day, the blade flashed exactly like new.

As she lowered the sword swish the light coming in from outside the window touched it. The sword made mixing True Silver scattered flashes of light. Marie didn't even frown her brow watching that flash, and smiled a pleasant smile.

Rickart had no words to say. Worries of was this really okay crept up creeping. Did I bring up the topic pointlessly?

Anyway due to the decision of the Council of Six Rickart stepped down from the Chairman position of the Federation, and Marie came to take charge of the Chairman position. And Marie expanded the business much more aggressively than Rickart.

Thereupon naturally, the Imperial Succession War began to flow in a shape exactly like a three-way battle.