Published at 21st of November 2020 06:13:29 PM
Chapter 50: 50
The Imperial Council was busy welcoming the returned Emperor .
The rumors spread as if it had a foot, and the ladies were cautious enough to withdraw from private gatherings . It seemed that the prowess of the Lady Satin, the main pillar of the social world, had a big influence .
“It is not time to raise the tax rate on the boundaries of the territory . ”
“Your Majesty . They are also Empire’s people, and they must pay taxes . ”
“If I raise the tax rate right now, will they remain as my people? At least you have to give them time to settle down . ” Fabian gave a shot and pointed his finger at the Finance Minister . It indicated that the Minister needed to take care of the next issue .
“Your Majesty, regarding the compensation money in the ministry …”
Fabian’s expression was not very good when the Minister mentioned that issue . The fee referred to the expenses used by the Imperial family, and the main problem was his mother . The huge amount of money was spent as the cost of maintaining the Southern’s palace, the Empress’s Dowager residence .
The Minister had advised him a few times, but Fabian was so stubborn that there was no sign of a solution to the two problems .
“Solve the Southern’s Palace case by yourself . ”
As if he had gotten used to it, the Minister retreated politely . Fabian despised the statement even today . Luckily or unluckily, as the Emperor, he didn’t enjoy luxury, so the state treasury remained stable despite the leakage of money .
“Your Majesty, I’m going to talk to you about the issues that have been raised in Congress . ”
“I have already confirmed it with the documents . ”
Fabian hated to waste his time . As a result, public affairs were handled concisely and quickly . It wasn’t a very nice thing for the nobles because everything was done according to Fabian’s will, and he was a dogmatic person who didn’t want to listen to other people’s opinions .
“Except for the items previously approved by me, all are not allowed . Also, I won’t allow them to post repeated requests . ”
“…Yes, Your Majesty . ”
Fabian, who ascended to the throne at the age of 16, always struggled to build up his own Imperial power . In fact, the Imperial power was powerful enough since his father’s reign, but Fabian wanted more power than that .
It was to shut the nobility’s mouth and carry out efficient politics as it was now .
“I’ll check the documents tomorrow,” Fabian said . Actually, there were still many ministers waiting for their turn to submit a report, but no one dared to protest .
Recently, Fabian ended his official duties earlier than usual and disappeared somewhere . In fact, he didn’t do anything else in particular . And many noble had wondered what the Emperor, who had been known to dislike wasting his time, was doing .
“Ah, Your Majesty, we have received an official letter from the Kingdom of Felice . ”
“What?” Fabian, who was about to leave, suddenly stopped his feet . “You’re supposed to report it first . ”
The Minister of Finance bowed his head and gave him a handwritten letter with the seal of Felice Kingdom .
Then, Fabian took the letter and left the room .
“Serus,” Fabian called his name low, hastening his steps .
“Yes, I won’t follow you today,” Serus said in a calm, resigned manner . Well, if you give me permission, I’d like to meet the spy I sent to the Vatican . ”
“Is he back already?” asked Fabian .
“Yes, this morning . ”
Fabian nodded .
In certain cases, the two men went on their separate ways .
****
Fabian’s stopover at the afternoon break was none other than the masterless-Empress-Hall .
After meeting Duchess Perth, Fabian came here every single time to relax his heart when he was upset . Empress Hall was the quietest and most relaxing place in the Imperial Palace for him .
“Whoa, it’s an obvious seal . ”
The letter was sealed with the Kingdom official’s stamp . Perhaps it was King Felice’s apology for the unpleasant incident that happened at the banquet a while ago .
Fabian leaned his back on the couch by the window, where Evelyn had once looked out at the garden and ripped off the letter . A familiar, elegant handwriting caught his eye at once .
“…… . E-Evelyn…?”
He was happy with the writing at first, but as soon as he read line by line, Fabian’s eyebrows frowned deeply . “Huh?”
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Fabian doubted his eyes for a moment, but for sure, it was Evelyn’s unique handwriting that drew the endlong .
Besides, at the end of the letter, she confidently gave her signature . And the letter was officially concluded by writing down her role as Minister of Finance of Felice Kingdom .
“Why… . . ”
No other kingdom had ever received such a shameful letter . No one dared to send threatening letters to the Imperial Emperor over the trade agreement’s trivial matter .
Yeah, he wouldn’t have to step out if it wasn’t for his ex-wife .
“Finance? The Princess is the Finance Minister?” Fabian frowned and spat a foolish self-talk .
“You’re going to declare war on me directly? By the way, even if you’re out of your mind, you shouldn’t…… . Geez”
He did not know what terms might be used to describe this letter’s content, Insolent, vulgar, or just too absurd . To be sure, the current Evelyn was not the Empress he had ever known .
Fabian had no idea who he was married to . How did Evelyn, who used to smile shyly, treat him coldly, and even send him such a challenge? It was an act that he couldn’t think of as the same woman .
[ The countries and provinces in the south that signed trade agreements, led by the Felice Kingdom, had decided to stop witnessing the imperial Tyranny that almost exploited trade .
If the Empire had not signed a trade agreement, or if no precautions had been taken to fix it, all the Southern Region’s trade agreement members would have cut off trade relations with the Empire .
Evelyn Felice, the finance minister of the Felice Kingdom, head of the trade agreement . ]
Fabian reread the end of the letter carefully . His eyes weren’t wrong . It was this letter that was wrong .
“Tyranny? Exploitation? Are you treating me like a thief now?” Huh, it was so ridiculous that he burst out laughing .
“Stop trading? Yeah, there’s nothing you can’t do . ”
Fabian shot the last line of the letter . Evelyn’s face, when she wrote down her position and what she was in charge of, came to his mind . After the reunion, her cold expression that looked down upon him was clear .
“You’re gambling on me, thinking that I still have a feeling left for you? Don’t be stupid . ”
Above all, public affairs and private life had to be clear . What Fabian regretted was the loss of his Empress, not the Finance Minister of another Kingdom who sent such a threatening official letter .
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“Chief! Call the Congress again!”
He hated situations where he felt sorry for other people .
The gentle air that enveloped Fabian a moment ago immediately turned into suffocating steam .
***
Evelyn, who wasn’t aware of the ‘roar’ in the Imperial Parliament, spent her day watching Adrian running around the garden .
Since she took over the title of “Minister of Finance,” it was a time for her mind and body to take a break from reviewing the documents, meeting the nobles, and receiving their testimony .
“This job, it’s harder than I thought . ”
“But it’s wonderful . There’s already a lot of talk about your competence . ”
Rebecca also stayed in the palace and helped Evelyn in numerous ways . With open arms, Liam accepted the reason why Rebecca always came to the royal palace under the excuse of working . Because he was finally able to get rid of her annoying sister .
“If you set a precedent like this in the royal palace, you will also open up opportunities for other women . ”
“Is that so? Then my responsibility is heavier . ”
“You’ll do it well . At this rate, there may be a day when Liam will give me the keys to the Duke of Akshire’s safe . ”
Rebecca laughed coolly . If Liam had heard it, he would have freaked out . And Evelyn didn’t think such a day would come at all, after seeing the banquet’s cost, somehow, she understood Liam’s feelings .
“There will be a response from the Empire soon . Honestly, I’m scared . ” Evelyn said .
“Why? It’s an official document . Your majesty will take care of it publicly . ”
“Yes, the official part . ” Evelyn silently recalled her letter . She just felt it was too much after she had already sent the letter . “I think I’ve gone too far from the beginning . ”
“It’s all right . King Majesty thought it was all right, that’s why he sent it . ”
Evelyn’s face was slightly clouded .
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“… Wait, didn’t the King’s majesty see it? But you’re still …”
Suddenly, there was silence between the two . “How far have you written it?”
“A little bit . ”
“A little bit …” Rebecca wondered .
“If you don’t stop exploitation and tyranny, we’re going to stop trading …” Evelyn said softly .
Rebecca suddenly swallowed her dry saliva . No Kingdom had dared to say like that to Fabian . So she couldn’t predict what kind of reaction would come back .
“But I didn’t say anything wrong . ”
“Well, then, that’s it . And I don’t think there’s a need to trade with a tyrannical Empire . ” It was a problem that nobody had ever said, but they decided to skip that part .
“Yes, His Majesty is a sure person in public affairs . He won’t be too emotional when he makes a judge, so he’s going to make a wise decision in some way . ” Evelyn said calmly . As long as they were married, she had never seen Fabian go overboard or get too angry .
People were afraid of Fabian’s harsh impression, but he was a man who wasn’t easily overwhelmed by emotions .
But at the same time, the nobles’ thoughts who looked at Fabian in Congress were completely different .
“Today there’s something I need to clarify . ” A cold anger burned in the black eyes of the young Emperor .
“Did the Empire, my Empire, ever commit tyranny and exploitation?”
Fabian’s voice was so deep and calm that everyone in the meeting room stopped breathing .
“I will personally check and judge . ”
Fabian put Evelyn’s letter down with a loud voice . The chief palace took it like a sinner and handed it to the ministers .
“Where . ” Fabian exhaled a long breath . ” Let’s find out who blasphemed my honor . I, on behalf of the Emperor, won’t tolerate this humiliation . ” His icy words seemed to freeze the air in the room .
‘Will he declare a war with the former Empress?’
There was a lot of speculation, but no one dared to open their mouths . This Congress seemed wouldn’t be over in the meantime .