Chapter 19

That afternoon, in the office where only she and Secretary Fabio were present, Aura took out the bundle of copy paper she had received from Zenjiro during lunch break.

Secretary Fabio, maintaining his poker face, raised one eyebrow slightly.

"Your Majesty, what is this?"

"These are the tax returns of prominent nobles from last year. I had Zenjiro look through them under the pretext of learning to read, to gauge his understanding of the country's politics. In just a few days, he not only recalculated them almost perfectly but also pointed out every discrepancy in the numbers."

"…I see."

As Aura spoke, a hint of caution crept into the secretary's narrow eyes. To the ever-vigilant Secretary Fabio, who had never let down his guard against Zenjiro, Aura said with a wry smile,

"You still don't trust Zenjiro, do you? I don't think he has the kind of ambition you're worried about."

While the secretary nodded in agreement, he remained stubborn in his response.

"Yes, I agree with your assessment. Based on Zenjiro-sama's words and actions over the past month, it seems unlikely that he has political ambitions. However, that doesn't mean he has none. His intelligence and education are so high that the lack of ambition seems unbalanced. It's possible that his well-behaved attitude over the past month is just a sophisticated disguise."

To Fabio, Zenjiro appeared extremely unnatural. A commoner wouldn't understand his position, and a noble would inevitably have ambitions matching their abilities and status.

Understanding the impact of being the queen's consort on himself and his surroundings, and carefully avoiding any damage to the queen's political power, such a 'man' seemed too convenient to exist.

Well, it's understandable that a person from another world might not fit our norms. Perhaps in his world, such people are common. However, as long as there's a possibility that he's just pretending to be harmless and cooperative while secretly sharpening his claws, at least one person needs to remain vigilant.

"Your Majesty, it might be better not to be overly cautious. It's extremely difficult to hide one's true feelings from someone you live and eat with. I'll keep an eye on Zenjiro-sama's words and actions."

"Understood. Thank you, Fabio."

"Yes, since I became your confidant, it's been a series of hard work."

The middle-aged secretary affirmed the queen's words of appreciation.

"…In such situations, wouldn't it be more appropriate to respond with something like, 'Not at all, it's an honor to serve you,' or 'This is nothing compared to serving you, Your Majesty'?"

With a wry smile, Aura asked. Fabio, maintaining his expressionless face, shrugged slightly.

"I believe it's my duty to speak the truth."

Indeed, Aura had no counterargument to Fabio's blunt but often helpful advice. She sighed and returned to the topic.

"However, I've seen the 'numbers' used in Zenjiro's world over the past few days, and they seem very convenient. I think it would be beneficial to incorporate them in some form."

While Zenjiro was learning the language and script of this world, Aura was also learning the reading and usage of Arabic numerals from him. Naturally, compared to Zenjiro, who had to learn the entire language and script, Aura, who only needed to learn ten digits from 0 to 9 and their usage, mastered the use of Arabic numerals much faster.

While she couldn't yet perform calculations with Arabic numerals, she could already understand the numbers written in them. The simplicity of Arabic numerals was evident from the tax returns Zenjiro had lent her. For example, a number that would be written as '2932' in Arabic numerals would be 'two thousand, nine hundred and thirty-two' in English, a much longer phrase.

The tax returns contained hundreds of such numbers. Even if the time spent writing or reading each one was negligible, the cumulative time saved by using Arabic numerals would be substantial. Introducing numbers would make tasks more efficient, and as Zenjiro had mentioned, it might even create a layer of the general populace who can't read but can understand numbers.

However, whether the benefits or drawbacks of increasing the number of literate commoners would be greater for the country and the royal family was unclear.

After some thought, Secretary Fabio responded to Aura's hopeful suggestion.

"Yes, I agree that numbers are beneficial, but I oppose a sudden, full-scale introduction. It would cause significant confusion in the field, and while Arabic numerals are easy to learn, learning something new is still a burden. If we force it, there will inevitably be resistance."

"Hmm, I see. You're right..."

Aura placed her hand on her chin, pondering Fabio's practical advice.

"Hmm, then how about distributing a list of number readings to the departments primarily dealing with calculations, and requiring all documents submitted to the royal family to include both the existing script and the numerical notation? We could observe the situation for a while."

"To do that, we would need to force the royal secretaries to learn the numbers, at the very least."

In response to Aura's suggestion, Fabio asked calmly.

"Is that not possible?"

After a moment of silence, Fabio nodded.

"No, that should be manageable. I'll make the necessary arrangements."

"Good, thank you."

Aura nodded in satisfaction. While it was frustrating not to implement the change immediately, such dynamic reforms often fail if rushed. It might be better to incorporate the learning of Arabic numerals into the initial training of future recruits and accept that the benefits would only be seen in the next generation.

For now, the efficiency gains from introducing numbers would not be immediately visible. If immediate benefits were desired, the content of the tax returns Zenjiro had calculated using numbers would be more impactful.

"Baron Velvides, Baron Cornuga, Lord Dabino, and Lord Gamos. The discrepancies in tax payments are particularly noticeable here."

As Aura read the names, she licked her lips with a red tongue, a predatory smile on her face. The middle-aged secretary, sensing the queen's intent, advised calmly,

"Your Majesty, even if these practices are illegal, they have been overlooked for a long time. Tightening the screws too quickly could lead to an explosive situation."

"I understand. I won't suddenly accuse them of crimes and take a hard line. This is just to hint at their misconduct and force them to make concessions."

Aura frowned slightly, frustrated.

People can be funny. Even if an illegal act is codified, if it has been left unchecked for decades, they might start to believe it's legitimate. If you suddenly start enforcing the law, they might protest, "Why now, after all these years?"

While this is an emotional response, if it's the majority opinion, the queen could face a backlash. The power of the royal family in the Kingdom of Carpia is overwhelming, but it can't ignore the combined strength of the nobles.

"Furthermore, the people you mentioned, Your Majesty, are all distinguished for their military service in the last great war."

"…That's true. Their contributions were a significant reason for our victory."

Aura nodded, acknowledging Fabio's point.

Most of the surviving nobles are veterans of the last great war. Incompetent nobles who imposed heavy taxes on their subjects or cheated the kingdom have mostly fallen into decline. The remaining nobles are thus a tricky bunch.

The nobles Aura had mentioned had used the taxes they had cheated to strengthen their military forces, which played a crucial role in defending the country during the war. In a sense, the unpaid taxes indirectly benefited the kingdom.

However, if those taxes had been paid properly, the kingdom's army could have been better organized and strengthened.

The royal family, advocating for the strengthening of the royal army through national taxes for military efficiency, and the local lords, who believed the royal army was too cumbersome and preferred to strengthen their own forces for local defense, were bound to have friction.

If such tax evasion were tolerated and the local lords continued to strengthen their forces, it would disrupt the power balance within the kingdom. In the worst case, if the local lords formed a coalition to rebel against the royal family, the kingdom's army would need to be strong enough to suppress them.

Currently, the prominent local nobles have no unrealistic ambitions against the royal family, but there's no guarantee that the next generation of successors will all be competent and discerning.

"But illegal acts are illegal. I will be lenient and consider their honor and dignity, but they will have to pay a price."

Firmly, Aura declared. Fabio pondered for a moment and then suggested a compromise.

"Perhaps we could inform them internally that the discrepancies in the documents have been discovered and request their 'voluntary cooperation' to prevent such issues in the future."

"Hmm, that seems reasonable. Understood, I'll leave the details to you."

"Understood, I'll take care of it."

With the matter settled, Aura brought up another topic.

"By the way, how is the selection of Zenjiro's tutors going? They should be finalized by now, right?"

Unfazed by Aura's sudden question, Fabio responded affirmatively.

"Yes, we have three self-nominated and thirty-one recommended candidates. The majority are unmarried women of marriageable age with high magical power."

High magical power, marriageable age, and unmarried. Aura couldn't help but laugh at the obvious ulterior motives behind the selections.

"Ah, if they're doing this without realizing our intentions, they're just incompetent. But if they know, it's a bit more troublesome. Do they really think I'm that naive?"

Ignoring the queen's intentions, sending potential concubines to the queen's consort is, in a sense, a challenge to the queen, even if it's under the guise of maintaining the bloodline.

"They probably feel that the risk is outweighed by the charm of sending someone close to Zenjiro-sama as a concubine."

Fabio's words made Aura snort in disgust.

"Hmph, I don't think Zenjiro is naive enough to be swayed by a concubine's influence."

"I agree, but that's because we know Zenjiro-sama's true nature."

"True. In that case, the best choice for Zenjiro's tutor might be the elderly Lady Pasquara."

Saying this, Aura stretched in her chair to relieve the tension in her body. Fabio, unusually hesitant, spoke up.

"Actually, there is one person we can't ignore. Marquis Marques has recommended his wife, Octavia."

"Octavia, that old lecher's wife…?"

Surprised by the unexpected turn of events, Aura let out a strained sound.

A knowledgeable, cultured, and skilled in magic, married woman. On the surface, it seemed to align with Aura's intentions. However, Octavia, though a wife, was a much younger second wife in her early twenties, known as the 'court's beauty' just a few years ago.

Incidentally, Raffaele Marques, Aura's former fiancé and the son of Marquis Marques, was a decade older than his stepmother Octavia.

"Could that old lecher be encouraging his wife to have an affair?"

Aura's speculation was met with a shake of Fabio's head.

"No, I don't think Marquis Marques is that calculating. However, Octavia is the 'ideal noblewoman' by this country's standards. She naturally elevates men, flatters them, and instills dynamic confidence in them."

If a modest beauty praises and respects a man, most men would feel good about themselves and think, "I can do this too." By guiding Zenjiro's mental state and fostering his political enthusiasm, he could become a useful tool for the nobles, a direct pipeline to the royal power.

In a sense, the goal is to "drag Zenjiro out from under the queen's thumb."

The tricky part is that while Marquis Marques's intentions are nefarious, Octavia herself has no ill will. If the character of Octavia that Aura has heard about is accurate, she would serve as a tutor with pure intentions.

"What do you think, Your Majesty? We can always decline with a suitable excuse."

Feeling slightly uncomfortable under the secretary's probing gaze, Aura shook her head.

"No, it wouldn't be wise to incur the marquis's displeasure over this. Zenjiro will eventually have to take on a public role. We can't say no to everything. As long as Octavia herself has no issues, she could be beneficial for Zenjiro. Accept her."

"Understood. I'll make the necessary arrangements."

With a polite bow, Fabio acknowledged Aura's decision.