"I would like to create a residence for retired soldiers within the royal castle. We need a new home so they can stay and live with their families."
"Yes?"
Gilliforth couldn't believe his ears and asked again.
"Why are you surprised? You stopped my carriage to alert me to their presence?"
Medea said with a faint smile. And then she remembered.
Later, among the rebels rising up in the capital, there were retired soldiers.
'Peleus, who suppressed them, was stigmatized. A King who is crazy about slaughter and harms his people and even his comrades."
Medea planned to confront the rebels and eliminate their cause by leaving them in the royal castle.
"...I thought you wouldn't know that there are people by your side who don't welcome them."
"Just because you close your eyes and ears doesn't mean you don't know everything. The royal family does not have the resources right now, the nobles are turning a blind eye to it as it is not practical, and the Prince Regent is trying to intensify their resentment, so there is no one I can entrust with this task except the Marquis."
Gilliforth's eyelids fluttered.
"Why do you want to do this when you know that it is neither possible nor practical?"
"As you said, I am the Princess of Valdina. I just doing what I have to do as a Princess."
Gilliforth was surprised that the Princess had a good understanding of the current internal situation in Valdina.
"I hope you don't mean to reject me because I'm late."
"..."
In fact, the fate of retired soldiers was a problem that even Gilliforth could not properly address. Most of them were poor people. Finding a way for them to live was not honorable, but it only cost a lot of money.
The anger of those who were shunned by the royal family grew, but the retired Gilliforth could not come forward and mention them.
So, they could only provide one-time support by providing food, clothing, and shelter.
But the Princess would voluntarily create a residence?
"If you run out of funds, please let me know through Neril. I will help you as much as I can."
"Do you have any treasures left behind?"
Gilliforth indirectly pointed out Medea's difficult situation according to the rumors about the Princess that were circulating in the world.
"That is nothing for the Marquis to worry about. You should first think about how you can control retired soldiers without causing trouble."
The princess's point was sharp.
"... For something like this, the chancellor would be more useful."
Cissere Emile Legges.
The current young prime minister of Valdina, Cissere, was the God of administrative processes.
There was great concern that Cissere, who took over the position of Prime Minister after the previous Prime Minister suddenly passed away, was too young.
However, Medea's concerns soon subsided as she saw him neatly organizing the chaotic state affairs.
Inside, the Princess was making a fuss, and outside, there was a joke that the reason Valdina was still alive and well even after ten years of war was only thanks to Cissere.
"But Sir Cissere doesn't care for his soldiers as much as the Marquis does."
Medea pointed out calmly.
"As he is a person who values efficiency, he will first consider whether it is worth bringing retired soldiers who have served their usefulness into the castle."
"Even if I were to move, Cissere, he wouldn't allow it. If it were an order from Her Highness the Princess, he would be more inclined to refuse it. What will you do if the Prime Minister does not approve this?"
Gilliforth asked again.
"As always, Lord Cissere and I will find a way to compromise."
Medea placed the golden seal on the table.
Gilliforth couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.
How can you say that it is a compromise while holding the King's seal? which the Prime Minister has no choice but to obey?
"Tsk. It wasn't true that Your Highness was raising .y blood pressure."
However, the light laughter quickly disappeared into his beard.
"Your Highness, do you believe in me? What would you do if I were to carry away all of Your Highness's possessions?"
Gilliforth was curious.
Where does this pale young Princess's boldness come from?
"Your Highness, you probably have no family or subordinates to help you get your property back. Ah, would it be different if it were Neril? But if that child is also a number..."
"No. I don't trust anyone."
Even Gilliforth's provocation could not break Medea's composure.
"But I believe in the Marquis's sincerity toward the people."
She tapped a stack of papers.
Tuk. Tuk.
The rough sound was deeper than ever.
"As long as their lives depend on it, you will carry out my request more faithfully than anyone else."
"..."
"Did I think wrong?"
The Marquis was speechless for a moment.
Tick tock.
The sound of the clock ticking was unusually loud. Medea waited quietly.
Finally, the Marquis shook his head.
"You saw it right away."
The rough voice that seemed to drag the floor was hoarse as if it had been hidden in the dark for a long time.
"I have placed the most burdensome and difficult bond on the people, so how can we escape?"
A large, wrinkled, but still firm hand pulled the pile of papers held out by Medea towards him.
"No additional funding will be needed. The Princess has come forward, so a Marquis of a country cannot remain silent."
Medea nodded instead of answering.
'Done. I succeeded.'
He values honor more than life. Once he has accepted a task, he will try to complete it no matter what obstacles arise.
Even the regent or the mayor can't match his persistence.
"Oh, and... I have a favor to ask of you."
Medea added before leaving after finishing her errand.
As if this was a different story from before. Medea's eyes changed a little.
"Please find out if there is anyone in the retired soldier's family named Theo."
After hearing Medea's words, a moment of doubt crossed Gilliforth's face. However, he soon skillfully concealed his appearance and asked Medea.
"Is he important to Your Highness the Princess?"
Medea nodded.
"He's very important."
Memories of her past life emerge d vividly in her mind.
Theo was the second-in-command of the rebel army that would soon invade the capital and was the head who practically commanded them.
'He said his father was a retired soldier.'
"You killed it! My father, my brother, all because of Valdina and you royals!"
The cries of vomiting blood seemed to reach her ears.
However, Theo did not chase Medea who ran away at the last moment.
"Princess. I'm not letting you go because I forgive you, Valdina. Righ. Because it wasn't."
His grey-brown eyes, which were shaking wildly, and his voice, cracking with complex emotions, were still clear.
When the rebel leader learned that Medea had escaped, he became furious and stabbed Theo in the heart, killing him.
Around that time, Peleus, who returned from the battlefield, suppressed the rebels and saved Medea.
Without Theo, the rebel army lost its momentum and disintegrated.
This was partly because they were gathered clumsily after receiving money from her uncle, but it was also proof that he was the center of holding people together.
"Yes, you must find it."
Medea answered calmly.
He was the person Medea needed most to prevent the weight lifters' rebellion that would soon occur and for future events.
Her eyes shone sharply.
***
"Your Highness!"
Neril greeted Medea after finishing her private meeting with the Marquis of Gilliforth.
When the Marquis did not follow, Neril looked worried.
"Are things not going well?"
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