Chapter 85

A few days after Aura confessed to Zenjiro about the deep and dark deeds she had kept secret until then.

Queen Aura was holding a meeting with the Marquis of Gazier in one of the rooms in the palace.

Of course, the Marquis of Gazier had also heard about the contents of the previous shocking meeting through his son, Xavier.

The fact that General Pujol and Xavier had proposed the marriage of General Pujol to the eldest daughter of the Gazier family, Lucinda Gazier.

The fact that when Aura announced that "Lucinda has caught Zenjiro's interest," General Pujol hastily changed the marriage proposal to his second daughter, Nilda.

However, Aura was unaware of Nilda's existence and stated that her name was not recorded in the royal family's 'register.'

This meeting request was made in light of these circumstances.

Therefore, Aura was very surprised. Because the words that came out of the Marquis of Gazier's mouth were, "I would like to postpone the summoning of my two daughters to the capital for a while."

"Do you mean to say that you want to call Lucinda and Nilda to the capital after the new year? Well, I would like to hear the reason for that."

The queen, showing her displeasure, deliberately furrowed her brow and urged the elderly noble sitting opposite her to explain in a slightly stern tone.

The Marquis of Gazier, who was subjected to the queen's intense gaze, bowed his head as if he were embarrassed, but answered in a completely unwavering low voice.

"Yes, as Your Majesty is aware, our Gazier territory has been without salt supply for some time due to the influence of the great dragon disturbance.

This matter was successfully resolved thanks to Your Majesty's glory and the assistance of General Pujol, and the crucial salt was delivered to our territory by the general's ingenuity during the hunt.

However, my son Xavier and a hundred soldiers from our territory are still in the capital for the subsequent procedures.

Given that I, the current lord, my son, the future lord, and the hundred soldiers led by my son are all in the capital, it is inevitable that the citizens will be alarmed if I were to call both of my daughters to the capital as well."

Aura nodded in understanding at the Marquis of Gazier's explanation.

No matter how much one might declare, "The problem has been resolved, there is no longer any issue," the soldiers who were supposed to have returned after resolving the problem are still in the capital, and the future Marquis of Gazier, who led them, has not returned either.

If Lucinda and Nilda were to go to the capital as well, it is highly likely that rumors would spread within the territory.

In the worst case, it would not be surprising if someone were to say, "The Gazier family has abandoned this territory and fled."

Of course, this is not a realistic scenario. Indeed, the salt road was blocked, and the Gazier territory was temporarily short of salt, which was a problem. However, it was only a temporary issue, and there is no way the lord's family would abandon their territory and flee over this.

However, in this case, the facts are irrelevant. The problem is how the citizens, who see the lord's family verbally declaring, "The problem has been resolved," while each of them has a plausible reason to leave the territory and head to the capital, will react.

"Indeed, that is a concern. For you, the local lords, the peace of your territory is the most important issue. Is that your top priority?"

Local lords, for better or worse, prioritize their own territories. Even if the eldest daughter Lucinda were to spend her life unmarried, or the second daughter Nilda were not officially recognized as a noble by the kingdom, the Gazier territory would still function. On the other hand, if there is even a one-in-ten-thousand chance that the citizens truly believe, "The lord's family has abandoned us and fled," it could lead to an irreparable situation.

"So, the arrival of Lucinda and Nilda in the capital will be after the new year, meaning they will replace Xavier, correct?"

The elderly noble nodded in response to the queen's confirmation.

"Yes. Although Xavier is still young, he is the heir to our family. If he returns to the territory with the soldiers who worked hard to defeat the dragons, the citizens' alarm will be alleviated even if the two daughters are summoned to the capital."

"Hmm. In that case, we will have to decide the rewards for the dragon hunt this year."

The queen said this and narrowed her reddish-brown eyes meaningfully.

"Yes, it would be fortunate if you could do so. Of course, regarding this matter, I will simply follow Your Majesty's decision."

The elderly noble answered straightforwardly and bowed his head.

"Hmm..."

Aura pondered for a moment.

Originally, the agreement was that the rewards for the 'dragon hunt' would be given directly to Xavier.

The reason for keeping Xavier in the capital for a long time was to gradually dye the young future Marquis of Gazier in the colors of the capital, thereby increasing the royal family's influence in the regions.

This was Aura's plan, but now only about a month is left in the year. It would be difficult to have a significant impact in just one month.

(Using the original agreement as leverage, I could refuse to allow Xavier's return. Or, if they want Xavier to return early, I could negotiate a reduction in the rewards...)

Aura briefly considered such pragmatic options but quickly discarded the idea.

The current situation involves the royal family's mistake, the 'partial loss of the register,' and the royal family's convenience, the 'summoning of Lucinda Gazier at Zenjiro's request.'

If I insist on the original agreement and refuse to acknowledge the Gazier family's change in plans, it would lead to a bad reputation.

Of course, as Queen Aura, she has the power to push through her decision without caring about the bad reputation, but if she were to use her authority so easily, it could increase the number of potential enemies of the royal family.

After quickly calculating in her mind, Aura let out a deliberate sigh.

"Given the circumstances, there is no other choice. I will try to find a way to decide the rewards by the end of the year and grant permission for Xavier and his soldiers to return home."

"Yes, thank you."

The elderly noble bowed his head in respect to his lord's words.

"However, since we are advancing the original schedule, first, provide an estimate of the expenses incurred during this expedition. Not only the actual funds and food consumed, but also the compensation for the bereaved families can be included. However, if the amount far exceeds our expectations, I will not allow any further input from the Gazier family regarding the reward amount. I will decide it on my own."

The queen declared this in a stern tone.

In simpler terms, she was saying, "Since we are accommodating your request to advance the decision on the rewards, do not be too picky about the details."

The Marquis of Gazier, understanding the queen's true intentions, bowed his head again.

"Yes, I understand. The final decision is up to Your Majesty."

"Hmm, I will not treat you unfairly."

As expected, the Marquis of Gazier gave a straightforward answer, and the queen nodded with a slightly relaxed expression.

The Marquis of Gazier, by the standards of a great noble, is a man who prefers straightforward speech. Therefore, when the other side acts reasonably, the conversation goes smoothly, making it a relatively stress-free interaction for Aura.

However, considering this, today's proposal from the Marquis of Gazier left some doubts.

Aura, who found it unusual for the Marquis of Gazier, who often takes a "situation-dependent" approach in daily administrative affairs, to show such consideration, directly asked her question.

"I understand the circumstances. However, to be frank, this is unusual for you, Marquis of Gazier. I did not honestly expect you to show such delicate consideration."

The elderly warrior, not taking offense at the queen's somewhat impolite compliment, scratched his head in an embarrassed manner.

"No, to be honest, it was not something I noticed myself. After hearing the series of events from Xavier, I immediately sent a small dragon to command my two daughters to come to the capital. However, my eldest daughter, Lucinda, sent a small dragon back, asking if it was really appropriate for us to go to the capital together, given the concerns I mentioned earlier."

"Hmm..."

The queen let out an impressed sound in response to the Marquis of Gazier's answer.

She had heard that while the Marquis of Gazier was serving in the capital, the territory was managed by his eldest daughter, Lucinda, not the future Marquis, Xavier. It seems that Lucinda has gained even more trust from her father than she had heard.

"Lucinda seems to be a more talented woman than the rumors suggest."

"Thank you. While I do not think she deserves such praise, I must admit that she has been a great help to me."

The queen's words made the Marquis of Gazier smile modestly and puff out his chest.

Continuing, the Marquis of Gazier made a suggestion.

"The daughters in the territory are probably anxious without knowing the detailed circumstances. It would not be appropriate to send detailed information via a small dragon. Therefore, I would like to send a detailed letter with one of my trusted men, and I would like to request Your Majesty's assistance to 'send' him to the capital. What do you think?"

Aura's 'sending' refers, of course, to 'teleportation.'

The queen tilted her head slightly in response to the Marquis of Gazier's request.

"Hmm. That is acceptable, but even in connection with this matter, I will consider it a formal request from the Gazier family to the royal family."

Aura deliberately made this point because the treatment of 'teleportation' used for the royal family's convenience and for a noble's convenience is clearly different.

When 'teleportation' is used for a noble's convenience, the royal family charges a significant fee from that noble. Moreover, in the current state where only Queen Aura can perform teleportation within the kingdom, the fee is even higher.

The Marquis of Gazier, of course, was aware of these circumstances.

"Yes, I understand. I intend to show my gratitude for Your Majesty's assistance in a tangible form."

So, he answered honestly and bowed deeply.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

When Queen Aura was having a meeting with the Marquis of Gazier, Zenjiro was searching through the problematic 'register' in the library located at the deepest part of the palace.

The thick stone walls had only very small windows for light, and the wooden shelves, which were designed only for practicality, were filled with countless books.

The room, which was almost dark even in the middle of the day, was cool and had a relatively low temperature, which seemed to be a good environment for books. However, the humidity was likely higher than in other rooms in the palace.

Zenjiro thought that the paper might absorb moisture and become problematic, but upon further consideration, he realized that there was no plant-based paper in the Kingdom of Carpia. The 'dragon skin paper' used here, made from the skin of dragons, might not be as sensitive to humidity as plant-based paper.

"However, it's interesting to see the evolution of books just by looking at them from the outside."

Zenjiro couldn't help but mutter as he looked at the dark bookshelves.

The register, which boasts of covering all the nobles of the Kingdom of Carpia, is somewhat exaggerated in its claim. However, the oldest books are several hundred years old. Among them, only a few are in the modern form of books bound with strings, while many are scrolls, or even written on cotton cloth or thin wooden boards tied together with string.

"Let's get the job done."

Zenjiro took the two most recent registers and went to the chair and desk set up in a corner of the library.

To read the books in this dim library, a light source is necessary. However, it goes without saying that lighting a fire in a library is a dangerous act.

Therefore, bringing in fire is strictly prohibited except for the candle holder on this desk.

In the thick stone library, Zenjiro read the dragon skin paper written by the kings of the past by the light of a candle. The inconvenience of this process even heightened the feeling of handling "extremely confidential information."

However, in Zenjiro's case, there was no reason to accept this inconvenience.

"Alright, this should be good enough."

Zenjiro spread the latest 'register' on the small work desk, stood up, and shone a hand-cranked LED flashlight from above.

After confirming that the entire opened page was clearly visible in the bright white light, Zenjiro took a photo of the 'register' page with the digital camera in his other hand.

"I think this will be fine... Yes, it's fine. This way, I can read it without any problems."

Zenjiro called up the still image he had just taken on the display of the digital camera and confirmed that the 'register' page was photographed in a readable state.

"Let's continue taking photos at this rate."

Zenjiro turned the page of the 'register' on the desk and, as before, shone the flashlight from above and took a photo with the digital camera.

Turn the page, take a photo. Turn the page, take a photo. Turn the page, take a photo...

"Ah, this is so troublesome. If I could bring the 'register' to the harem, I could just scan it and be done with it!"

Zenjiro let out a complaint as he grew tired of the monotonous task, but even this method of photographing pages with a digital camera is, by the standards of this world, an incredibly efficient way to make copies.

In this world, the only way to make copies of books is to read them and write them by hand.

Compared to that, taking a photo of a spread page in a matter of seconds to a dozen seconds with a digital camera is almost cheating in terms of speed.

While muttering complaints, Zenjiro completed the photography of the two recent registers as planned.

Some pages were a bit difficult to read with Zenjiro's photography skills, but if he couldn't read them, he could always retake the photos later.

"Alright, all I need to do now is input the content into a spreadsheet on my PC."

This was what Zenjiro was about to do.

The 'Nilda Gazier' incident, which revealed the 'register' loss, is scheduled to be officially announced by Aura soon.

Before that, he wanted to create a digital data version of the 'register' for the currently living nobles and prepare for a quick response.

Taking confidential documents like the 'register' into a computer without any protection would be quite vulnerable on Earth, but in this world, only Zenjiro has a computer, and only he can use it. In terms of confidentiality, it is more secure than keeping it in written form.

"It's a hassle to trace the dragon skin paper with my eyes every time I need to check the documents. If I input them into a spreadsheet, I can quickly find the information I need with a name search.

For future 'register' additions, it might be a good idea to scan and store the 'copies' given to the noble families in advance.

Ah, but if I keep increasing the data, even the hard drive of my PC will eventually run out of space. Ah, I should have bought an external hard drive. But, even the PC has a lifespan, so it might be dangerous to assume that the PC will always be available in the future."

Muttering to himself, Zenjiro returned the 'register' to its original position and left the library, illuminating his dark path with the flashlight.