When money overflowed into the system, the people cheered at first. However, they soon realized that it was very wrong. They could not buy anything with the money they had. They had an abundance of money, but they did not have enough goods. So even if they gave them money by the bag, they could not buy even a loaf of meat or a piece of bread.
Nevertheless, the landowners and the nobles who employed the imperial people continued to pay the people with money. The people who were angry because of this initially raided the nobles' mansions.
However, they soon realized that the root cause of their poverty was the imperial family.
Rumors about the atrocities committed by the Empress began to spread among the people. The rumors reached a point where they could no longer be controlled. Now even the children were making fun of the Empress's name by making fun of her.
Carson sat down and waited for Noah to return.
Just as the trail of people disappeared into the darkness, Noah returned to his office.
Carson sat down on the sofa and tilted his head to indicate that he should sit across from him.
“What’s the situation?”
“People have been burning money in the square since noon. The procession you just saw is an additional number.”
“And the people who were arrested?”
“They should have all been released by now.”
As the disgruntled citizens of the empire gathered and protested here and there, the Empress shook her hand.
Up until then, Carson had not organized the citizens of the empire into an organized group to resist. They had not taken any political action.
They had simply asked to be given proper food. They had not taken any violent action. Nevertheless, the Empress arrested some of them as the leaders of the group.
The number reached over a hundred.
A few days after arresting them, the Empress made another bad choice. She carried out a public execution, which has now disappeared from the empire, claiming to be an example. The scene of more than thirty people dying was shown to the citizens of the empire without any filtering. They were not even subject to the fair and just judgment of the law that Keynes had been proud of. The public sentiment began to gather properly.
“The fact that the lord tried to free them has also spread secretly.”
The first riot broke out in Harleybin. Carson secretly helped them and in the process, he learned something new.
“It was Lady Swenden who delivered grain to Harleybin in the Prince’s name.”
Carson could only chuckle.
“She said she wasn’t planning on making me the Emperor.”
“That’s not all.”
“What else?”
“The one who is providing all the funds for the protests throughout the empire is none other than Lord Mondrae.”
Mondrae was a fictional character created by Ines. He was also the head of the now-bankrupt Mondrae Bank.
“What about Count Grandel?”
“He has disappeared.”
“We don’t know where he went, so track him and find out his location. If we’ve found out this much, Grandel must have known that he was stabbed in the back by Mondrae.”
“But we can’t move rashly right now. It seems that we have not yet found out who Mondrae is.”
Among the nobles, the arrows of public sentiment were first directed at Count Grandel. They thought that he was the cause of the civil war. Many voices were calling for him to be caught and executed.
“But he is not the kind of person to just sit still. He has been a Margrave in Monstera for a long time. He will probably show his true colors if he is pushed back. Besides, he has secured quite a lot of military supplies.”
“Understood. I will expand the search area.”
“How is the imperial family responding now?”
“As soon as people began to gather in the square, they closed the gates tightly and set up camp on each street.”
“Not suppressing them right away?”
“The knights came to suppress them, but it seems that they are too enthusiastic to do anything.”
Carson rubbed his lips and let out a wry laugh.
“What will the Empress do now?”
“She already announced that she would drastically reduce the taxes paid by the peasants, but it was useless.”
He was lost in thought. He closed his eyes and began to think back from the beginning to see if he had missed anything. He knew the Empress’s methods so well that it was almost disgusting. So what would the Empress offer as a sacrifice in this situation?
Whenever Carson was lost in thoughts like that, Noah couldn’t even breathe deeply and stayed by his side.
“Noah.”
Noah tensed up at the lowered voice.
“Go ahead.”
“Perhaps the Empress... will throw a temple to the people of the empire.”
“A temple?”
“Yes, because you know better than anyone that supporting a temple is too much of a burden for the people of the empire.”
Although he hadn’t thought about it that far, Noah sympathized greatly. Documents detailing the wealth of all the nobles, including the family registers and land registers of each noble, as well as the ownership of the lord’s castle, were well-kept in each temple.
“They could blame the temples for all the misfortunes, and if possible, they could take advantage of the chaos to confiscate the wealth that had been given to the nobles.”
“Is that possible, given the laws of the empire?”
“Possible?”
Carson smiled bitterly.
“You don’t know the imperial family at all. The imperial family is more cruel and simple than anywhere else. It’s a place where how to turn a crisis into an opportunity is the key.”
No matter how sacred the promise, no wealth could not be put down in front of power.
“They could divide up the temple assets and sell them, and it would be good for making a fool of themselves by returning some of them to the people.”
“Then what should we do?”
If the empress had properly given up just one temple to the people of the empire, as Carson had said, the angry public sentiment would have subsided. The temple was literally the essence of aristocratic culture, the blood and sweat of the people of the empire.
“Noah, should I become Emperor?”
“Of course.”
There was no turning back now. If he did not become Emperor, everyone connected to him would be left with nothing to do.
“There is absolutely no way to become Emperor in the Keynes Empire by abandoning the temple. Of course, there is no royal family that would turn the temple into an enemy and maintain the position of Empress.”
“...”
“So I will split my current force in half and send it to the temple closest to the capital. We must protect the temple.”
“Will that be enough defense?”
“Showing off is also important. There are knights in the temple itself.”
Although they were now mere namesakes, the guardian knights who protected the temple certainly existed.
“However, they could easily be seen as going against the people’s wishes.”
“Of course. So we should throw something else at them.”
“What do you mean?”
“Wolluming.”
“Huh?”
The Wolluming Palace was the innermost castle in the imperial palace. How can you throw that secret and solid place to the citizens?
“It’s time for me to step forward myself.”
“In person?”
“It’s hard to become Emperor with just the image of standing on the side of the imperial people and distributing grain to the people.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
“Isn’t the gun I received from Ines still usable?”
“...?
“I’ll lead a few captains of the guards and personally storm the castle.”
“Your Highness!”
Carson furrowed his brows and shrugged his shoulders as if his ears really hurt.
“My ears aren’t blocked.”
“Are you saying that you’re going to personally pick up a gun and attack the imperial family in a situation like this? How is that any different from treason?”
“Why are you saying such harsh things? I’m the Crown Prince appointed by the Emperor himself. Does that count as treason if someone like that enters the imperial family with a gun?”
Noah, who was breathing heavily, calmed his throbbing heart thanks to Carson’s consistently calm attitude. As he said, either he would die as a traitor, or he would be pushed to the end of the empire and killed without becoming the Emperor.
“Then is there any other way? I hate being suffocated. Besides, we have a gatekeeper who will open the door for us.”
“Is that gatekeeper talking about His Majesty the Emperor?”
“That’s not all.”
“What else?”
“The one who is providing all the funds for the protests throughout the empire is none other than Lord Mondrae.”
Mondrae was a fictional character created by Ines. He was also the head of the now-bankrupt Mondrae Bank.
“What about Count Grandel?”
“He has disappeared.”
“We don’t know where he went, so track him and find out his location. If we’ve found out this much, Grandel must have known that he was stabbed in the back by Mondrae.”
“But we can’t move rashly right now. It seems that we have not yet found out who Mondrae is.”
Among the nobles, the arrows of public sentiment were first directed at Count Grandel. They thought that he was the cause of the civil war. Many voices were calling for him to be caught and executed.
“But he is not the kind of person to just sit still. He has been a Margrave in Monstera for a long time. He will probably show his true colors if he is pushed back. Besides, he has secured quite a lot of military supplies.”
“Understood. I will expand the search area.”
“How is the imperial family responding now?”
“As soon as people began to gather in the square, they closed the gates tightly and set up camp on each street.”
“Not suppressing them right away?”
“The knights came to suppress them, but it seems that they are too enthusiastic to do anything.”
Carson rubbed his lips and let out a wry laugh.
“What will the Empress do now?”
“She already announced that she would drastically reduce the taxes paid by the peasants, but it was useless.”
He was lost in thought. He closed his eyes and began to think back from the beginning to see if he had missed anything. He knew the Empress’s methods so well that it was almost disgusting. So what would the Empress offer as a sacrifice in this situation?
Whenever Carson was lost in thoughts like that, Noah couldn’t even breathe deeply and stayed by his side.
“Noah.”
Noah tensed up at the lowered voice.
“Go ahead.”
“Perhaps the Empress... will throw a temple to the people of the empire.”
“A temple?”
“Yes, because you know better than anyone that supporting a temple is too much of a burden for the people of the empire.”
Although he hadn’t thought about it that far, Noah sympathized greatly. Documents detailing the wealth of all the nobles, including the family registers and land registers of each noble, as well as the ownership of the lord’s castle, were well-kept in each temple.
“They could blame the temples for all the misfortunes, and if possible, they could take advantage of the chaos to confiscate the wealth that had been given to the nobles.”
“Is that possible, given the laws of the empire?”
“Possible?”
Carson smiled bitterly.
“You don’t know the imperial family at all. The imperial family is more cruel and simple than anywhere else. It’s a place where how to turn a crisis into an opportunity is the key.”
No matter how sacred the promise, no wealth could not be put down in front of power.
“They could divide up the temple assets and sell them, and it would be good for making a fool of themselves by returning some of them to the people.”
“Then what should we do?”
If the empress had properly given up just one temple to the people of the empire, as Carson had said, the angry public sentiment would have subsided. The temple was literally the essence of aristocratic culture, the blood and sweat of the people of the empire.
“Noah, should I become Emperor?”
“Of course.”
There was no turning back now. If he did not become Emperor, everyone connected to him would be left with nothing to do.
“There is absolutely no way to become Emperor in the Keynes Empire by abandoning the temple. Of course, there is no royal family that would turn the temple into an enemy and maintain the position of Empress.”
“...”
“So I will split my current force in half and send it to the temple closest to the capital. We must protect the temple.”
“Will that be enough defense?”
“Showing off is also important. There are knights in the temple itself.”
Although they were now mere namesakes, the guardian knights who protected the temple certainly existed.
“However, they could easily be seen as going against the people’s wishes.”
“Of course. So we should throw something else at them.”
“What do you mean?”
“Wolluming.”
“Huh?”
The Wolluming Palace was the innermost castle in the imperial palace. How can you throw that secret and solid place to the citizens?
“It’s time for me to step forward myself.”
“In person?”
“It’s hard to become Emperor with just the image of standing on the side of the imperial people and distributing grain to the people.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
“Isn’t the gun I received from Ines still usable?”
“...?
“I’ll lead a few captains of the guards and personally storm the castle.”
“Your Highness!”
Carson furrowed his brows and shrugged his shoulders as if his ears really hurt.
“My ears aren’t blocked.”
“Are you saying that you’re going to personally pick up a gun and attack the imperial family in a situation like this? How is that any different from treason?”
“Why are you saying such harsh things? I’m the Crown Prince appointed by the Emperor himself. Does that count as treason if someone like that enters the imperial family with a gun?”
Noah, who was breathing heavily, calmed his throbbing heart thanks to Carson’s consistently calm attitude. As he said, either he would die as a traitor, or he would be pushed to the end of the empire and killed without becoming the Emperor.
“Then is there any other way? I hate being suffocated. Besides, we have a gatekeeper who will open the door for us.”
“Is that gatekeeper talking about His Majesty the Emperor?”
“Yes, now the commoners should also take a look at the Wolluming Castle. There’s no law that only the nobles should see beautiful works of art, right?”
Today’s riot was on a grand scale, but it wasn’t enough. The numerous nobles who supported the empress wouldn’t just sit back and watch.
“However...”
When Carson trailed off for a moment, Noah tensed up.
“I made a promise to Ines...”
“Huh?”
“I said I’ll wait quietly and not cause trouble. I won’t go anywhere dangerous.”
Noah was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t answer.
“Keep it a secret.”
Carson laughed like a boy about to be pranked. Then he went back to the window and stood. Now that he had made his decision, all Noah had to do was prepare the way for Carson.
And just two days later, the Empress did as Carson had said, and the temple was touched.
The imperial council, following the Empress’s wishes, made a groundbreaking statement that the temple lands and properties would be administered by the state. This also meant that the temple would not be able to collect taxes independently.
The Empress did not stop there but declared that the priests would be designated as moral officials and that the imperial family would pay their salaries directly.
The imperial people, who had been paying double taxes, thought they had won.
In the end, she temporarily quelled the uprising by throwing the temple to the angry people.
Naturally, the priests were strongly opposed.
They were confined to the framework of a feudal system where they had to swear allegiance to the imperial family, not the temple. The priests throughout the empire began to strongly oppose the imperial family because they could not serve the Empress, not the goddess Heclesia. And at the moment when they needed it most, Carson became the absolute supporter of the temple.
Ines sat in the backyard as before. And just like when she was at the temple of Monstera, she placed the portraits of Carson and the goddess Heclesia side by side on the table and prayed.
When she finished praying, Susan came over with tea.
“It’s cold tea today.”
Ines finished praying and lightly wiped the water droplets on the glass with her hand. It was a weather where the cold sensation was pleasant. It had already been three months since she had returned to Landhill.
Today’s riot was on a grand scale, but it wasn’t enough. The numerous nobles who supported the empress wouldn’t just sit back and watch.
“However...”
When Carson trailed off for a moment, Noah tensed up.
“I made a promise to Ines...”
“Huh?”
“I said I’ll wait quietly and not cause trouble. I won’t go anywhere dangerous.”
Noah was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t answer.
“Keep it a secret.”
Carson laughed like a boy about to be pranked. Then he went back to the window and stood. Now that he had made his decision, all Noah had to do was prepare the way for Carson.
And just two days later, the Empress did as Carson had said, and the temple was touched.
The imperial council, following the Empress’s wishes, made a groundbreaking statement that the temple lands and properties would be administered by the state. This also meant that the temple would not be able to collect taxes independently.
The Empress did not stop there but declared that the priests would be designated as moral officials and that the imperial family would pay their salaries directly.
The imperial people, who had been paying double taxes, thought they had won.
In the end, she temporarily quelled the uprising by throwing the temple to the angry people.
Naturally, the priests were strongly opposed.
They were confined to the framework of a feudal system where they had to swear allegiance to the imperial family, not the temple. The priests throughout the empire began to strongly oppose the imperial family because they could not serve the Empress, not the goddess Heclesia. And at the moment when they needed it most, Carson became the absolute supporter of the temple.
***
Ines sat in the backyard as before. And just like when she was at the temple of Monstera, she placed the portraits of Carson and the goddess Heclesia side by side on the table and prayed.
When she finished praying, Susan came over with tea.
“It’s cold tea today.”
Ines finished praying and lightly wiped the water droplets on the glass with her hand. It was a weather where the cold sensation was pleasant. It had already been three months since she had returned to Landhill.
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