novelraw Chapter 164 : Chapter 164
Chapter 164 : Chapter 164
Chapter : 164
Whether Magician Agpiel teased me like that or not, I focused on what I had to do.
“Hahaha. You people, really. Calm down. I am always on your side. Even if I say something a little disappointing, do not be discouraged. I will support you from behind, after all.”
“Oh…. Your Excellency. How could we possibly doubt Your Excellency?”
“That is right. Even if uncomfortable talk comes up, we will trust you and wait.”
Before the Estates-General began, I soothed these wailing merchants and firmly got them under control.
Given what was on the agenda for the Estates-General, it would be troublesome in many ways if the merchants misunderstood.
Thinking about what I was going to do going forward, I needed to manage the favorability of the merchants who were scattered across each region and governing cities.
And it seemed my intentions worked well.
“Do you perhaps…. know this, Your Excellency?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Before the Estates-General, those clergy bastards are not normal….”
“Especially, according to rumors, within the Crusader Knight Order….”
The merchants, each and every one of them, looked around with cautious attitudes and told me secret information.
Even though I had not even said anything!
Truly, a person had to use their heart kindly.
“The clergy and the Crusader Knight Order?”
“Yes. I do not know if internal power struggles broke out between them, but it is unsettled. Especially, the Crusader Knight Order is fiercely opposing this Estates-General. I do not know the details, but just in case, it seems best for you to be careful, Your Excellency.”
‘Ho.’
At the merchant’s words, I admired inwardly. They said merchant guilds were the best at information in the medieval era, and it seemed [Pangea Universalise] was the same.
Wasn’t he making an inference that came very close to the truth?
“I will take your words to heart. If I did not have this information, I would have suffered greatly at the Estates-General! Thank you very much.”
“Hahaha. No, Your Excellency! It is my small but sincere token.”
“Oh, come now. Not at all. It was truly great.”
As I spoke, I shouted toward the back.
“Is anyone outside? Bring me the list of gifts that have come to me at once.”
“Why the list of gifts all of a sudden…?”
“It is a gift for you. You gave me such precious information, so how could I just send you away? I will give you the right to choose one item you want from the gift list.”
“Y, Your Excellency!”
At my words, the merchant once again became completely cowed and teary-eyed.
Usually, high nobles would shut their mouths the moment they heard information, but to reward it like this.
The merchant realized that this young noble was a benevolent and outstanding(?) great lord beyond compare.
He was truly a model for all nobles.
-DING-DING!
[Favorability has reached the maximum.]
[Merchant Bedro will prioritize believing and following anything you say.]
‘Hehehe? What a windfall?’
Of course, my inner thoughts were very black at the sight of that merchant, but still.
Anyway, I spent a long time like this, meeting people from all walks of life and staying busy. The people I had to take care of were not only merchants, but also nobles and clergy.
And as I was spending that hectic time, at last.
“The Estates-General will begin. All participants, please come to the kingdom’s hall at once.”
The Estates-General, the main character that shook the Elang Kingdom, opened.
---
The hall where the Estates-General was held was not some special place.
If the king of the Elang Kingdom designated a place to hold the Estates-General, then from that moment, it became the hall.
Of course, that did not mean just any place was used as the hall.
It was the highest executive body where all the powerful houses of the Elang Kingdom gathered, so it had to keep up appearances.
That was why the hall for this Estates-General was, fittingly, an extremely splendid space.
It was the summer annex palace outside the capital, where the king of the Elang Kingdom supposedly came to rest every summer.
“It is very splendid.”
“It seems the king put quite a lot of effort into it, Magician Agpiel.”
“How long has it been since he held an Estates-General? Of course he could not help but care. Just the fact that he held the Estates-General already hurt the king’s pride, so he must have wanted to make up for it somehow.”
It was the Estates-General after a full eight years.
It was a council meant to advise the king and decide key policies, but in truth it existed to restrain the king’s power.
That was why, generation after generation, the kings of the Elang Kingdom hated holding the Estates-General.
Because it was simply intolerable that the kingdom’s policies would not be decided by the king alone, but would be decided by reflecting even the opinions of those beneath him—nobles, clergy, and even the bourgeoisie.
Of course, that too had changed because of the [The Great Famine] that had arrived this time.
“By the way, when will this meeting end…. According to old records, there was even a time they debated for nearly a full month. Their opinions differed so much.”
As we entered the hall, Magician Agpiel whispered softly, sounding worried.
Even if it was not unanimous like the medieval Polish Sejm system, it still had to pass a majority.
So Magician Agpiel’s concern had its own logic.
But I thought a little differently.
“Well. I think it will end quickly.”
“Quickly?”
“Yes. Even if there is backlash from merchants and some clergy, isn’t what matters most the nobles?”
What was interesting was that in [Pangea Universalise], where social estates were clear, the Estates-General was not one person, one vote, but weighted.
The votes of nobles who held domains were far more valuable than the votes of other classes.
In reality, the clergy and bourgeoisie were nothing more than opinion-gathering hands to raise. Of course, because nobles strongly supported the clergy and bourgeoisie according to various interests, their votes could not be completely ignored, but still.
“No matter how favorable the policy is for nobles, for the Duke of Bourgogne it will be uncomfortable, won’t it?”
“Well, even so, the noble faction nobles will not cross over to the royal faction, will they? And this policy benefits both sides.”
“That is true, but….”
“The king is taking the lead and receiving the merchants’ resentment, so they will rather clap for him. They will not speak actively, but they also will not interfere, Magician Agpiel.”
“Hmmm.”
Magician Agpiel trailed off, sounding slightly skeptical.
I understood.
This bill strongly guaranteed the nobles’ interests, so it could steady the king of the Elang Kingdom’s power, which had been wavering.
‘If it is the Duke of Bourgogne I know, he will not be like that.’
The Duke of Bourgogne, a sly, cunning old fox of a character. Rather, he was the type who would take this opportunity and do his best to change the board as advantageously as possible for himself.
“So do not worry, and just watch. I am probably right.”
That was why I said this and grinned. Before long, Magician Agpiel would clearly see with his own eyes why I thought this way.
And not long after, when the Estates-General meeting began and proceeded.
“Then we will hear opinions on the proposal His Majesty the King has made this time. Is there anyone who opposes? What do you think, Your Grace the Duke of Bourgogne?”
“I approve.”
“Ah, yes. You approve…. yes?”
“?!?!”
Sure enough, the Duke of Bourgogne approved immediately, just as I expected.
He overturned everyone’s expectations—no, everyone’s but mine.
---
There is no food at a famous feast.
This old proverb from my original hometown fit this perfectly.
For something that shook the Elang Kingdom, the convening of the Estates-General ended too anticlimactically.
When the head of the noble faction, the Duke of Bourgogne, approved, and when I, the newly rising dominant power of the southern region, approved, there was no one who dared oppose.
Thanks to that, there was fierce backlash from the bourgeoisie class made up of merchants, but they were still not even a handful.
In the end, though there was some discord, the agenda of the Estates-General passed without any real issue.
“Haha…. He is shrinking the punishment provisions and essentially letting it slide?”
“Isn’t it truly an ingenious thought? Anyway, he really does have a good head for petty tricks. Magician Agpiel.”
On the road back to my domain, I heard the Duke of Bourgogne’s countermeasure that I had heard from the merchants, and I said that in disbelief.
He was saying that since they were the ones who ultimately enforced the law anyway.
If they weakened punishment for illegal acts to an extreme degree, like paying a fine, people would simply pay the fine and act willingly.
He had rendered it meaningless.
It was a political maneuver you might see from time to time in modern times, but to see it in the era of [Pangea Universalise].
“I can see why you were wary of the Duke of Bourgogne.”
“If he becomes your enemy, he definitely becomes exhausting.”
“So that is why you roughly smoothed things over and joined hands during the last rebellion incident?”
“Yes.”
During the rebellion of the feudal vassal and Juana, I could have held the Duke of Bourgogne responsible, but then the one who benefited would have been the king of the Elang Kingdom.
There was no need to do something that benefited someone else.
“Hm. Choosing reason over such emotions. That is very excellent. Revenge can be taken later and it is not too late.”
Magician Agpiel stroked his beard with a satisfied expression.
Hot-blooded nobles put their emotions first and screamed about honor, but to see him calmly weigh practical gain instead! This young noble was, in many ways, different from other nobles, making it enjoyable to watch him from the side.
Of course….
‘He does not look very noble-like, though…. Hem hem.’
Sometimes, there was also worry that he was calculating profit and loss too much like a merchant.
If you focus too much on profit, you might fail to see the big picture and lose something big while trying to gain something small.
‘Still, he also does relief work for the poor and his faith seems fairly deep(?), so it is not like he only pursues profit.’
Thinking of the miracles(?) he had seen while traveling together, it did not seem like he was heading only in a bad direction.
“Mm… why are you staring at me like that?”
“Huh? No. Hem hem.”
“?”
‘Did this old man badmouth me or something?’
I tilted my head.
His flustered, waving-hands reaction looked a little strange.
Magician Agpiel was not the type to act like that.
Well, it was not like he would badmouth me. And even if he did, so what.
“By the way, I hope nothing unusual happens when we return.”
“Hah…. You have done so many things, and you say that?”
“Oh, come on! What do you mean I have done anything? It was simply the basic work one should naturally do if one governs a domain. Magician Agpiel. Ahem, ahem.”
“…….”
At my words, Magician Agpiel looked at me as if I were pathetic.
I forced myself to avoid his gaze and quickly spurred my horse onward.
I was not joking. I truly hoped so.
It felt like something related to the Crusader Knight Order was about to blow up, and I only wanted to prepare quietly.
I hated mess.
Of course….
“My lord!!! This is terrible.”
“?”
“The jurists and judges have started fighting each other. Please mediate at once…!”
It seemed God was not granting that wish of mine.
“…….”
“…….”