With the Emperor's permission, a young man with a gun in his eyes entered the hall. He seemed quite nervous in front of such great nobles, but he did not look discouraged.
"Your Majesty the Emperor, the Sun of the Empire, I greet you. I am Christian Orlando, the second son of the Viscount Orlando, studying at the Pentium Academy."
Carson did not want to admit it because Ines was uncomfortable with him being so close to her. But Christian was a pretty good person. The woman he loved even had a good eye for people.
"So, what's going on?"
"Lord Mondrae is now in the palace."
Baron Mondrae was set to receive the title of Count immediately after the Mondrae Bank was designated as the central bank of the Empire. And the award ceremony for that title was just around the corner.
Baron Mondrae requested that the award ceremony be postponed for personal reasons, and Carson readily accepted.
Who is Mondrae? He was the one who brought the empire's economy back to normal in one breath, which had been ruined by all the high-ranking nobles and ministers.
No one was in a position to tell the head of the empire's central bank and the hero who saved the empire from the swamp what to do.
In the meantime, Carson had contacted the temple, and as soon as the imperial family approved, his name would be on the list. In fact, it was okay to call him a count right now.
"Really?"
The hall was in an uproar at his appearance. Carson tilted his head.
"Yes, Lord Mondrae thinks it is right to first greet His Majesty the Emperor and the ministers here before the awarding ceremony for the Count. Therefore, he apologizes for coming so suddenly, but he would like to ask for your permission."
Carson still tilted his head and smiled deeply.
"That is true..."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
He didn't know what the troublemaker Ines was up to, but Carson's hesitation didn't last long. When had she ever disappointed him?
No, now it didn’t matter if Ines was causing him trouble enough to embarrass him. No matter how big a problem she caused, there was no more trouble in this world that he couldn’t handle.
“What Emperor would refuse a subject who asked to greet him? Come in.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Christian left the hall with quicker steps than he had come in. And soon after, the doorkeeper’s attendant announced the arrival of Lord Mondrae.
The Emperor nodded, and the doors opened on both sides. Christian was the first to appear.
Then, what caught everyone’s attention was the delicate hem of a pale, sparkling ivory dress.
Carson covered his mouth to suppress his laughter as he watched.
The people looked at the owner of the dress with puzzled expressions. She was none other than the real Lord Mondrae, Ines, his woman.
“Where is Lord Mondrae?”
Bonifax asked in a surprised voice. Judging by his wide-open eyes, he also seemed to not know that Mondrae was Ines.
Ines walked only toward Carson without looking at anyone.
Standing among the dark men, Ines was unusually white. It was strange that a woman wearing a dress decorated with purple that only the royal family could wear could not feel so strange.
It was like a single violet blooming in a field covered only with dirt.
It was a spring leaf that broke through the gray-white wall.
The way she walked, fluttering, seemed pitiful as if she was swaying in the wind, which was only Carson’s impression.
It was understandable because the others’ eyes were filled with only confusion.
Ines walked to the center of the hall and stopped at an appropriate spot. Then she lifted her skirt slightly and bowed her head.
“I see the sun of the Keynes Empire.”
“Are you the maid?”
“Yes, I am Ines Swenden, maid of honor to the Emperor, the only daughter of the Count of Swenden, Lord of Landhill, and currently the head of the Central Bank.”
Carson closed his eyes for a moment, anticipating what was about to happen. As expected, Manisut jumped up from his seat.
“What on earth do you mean?”
“It is as you have heard.”
Ines answered without even turning her head to him.
“This, this... does not make sense.”
Only then did he realize that people did not even know the surname of Baron Mondrae, who was born a commoner.
When a commoner became a noble, the nobles did not usually ask about his surname. It was the result of narrow-mindedness born of arrogance. Ines continued, preventing Manisut from saying anything more.
“I apologize for not speaking out about it, Your Majesty, because there were only a few places where a woman could speak.”
Carson kept his lips tightly shut to hold back the laughter that was about to burst out. Ines did not waver at all as she watched his expression. She slightly lowered her eyes diagonally and looked at Manisut.
“One, I want you to remember that the empire was in chaos when the Mondrae Bank was established. If the bank had been established in the name of the Swenden family, it would have been very difficult to track down the former Empress and those who helped her.”
Carson swallowed hard and tried to make his voice sound as serious as possible.
“I understand, I understand. Yes, I understand.”
It was literally a civil war. Everyone knew that Mondrae in Landhill had helped Swenden catch the leader of the civil war.
It was also a fact that was later revealed to have played a great role in driving out the former Empress using the bank’s enormous funds.
“However, Your Majesty.”
Manisut glared at Ines and clenched his molars.
“I can’t believe everything this maid says, but even if it’s true, the name of the one who gave the title is not a mere woman, Ines Swenden. It’s Mondrae.”
It was funny that the name of someone whose last name he didn’t even know was important now, but Carson nodded.
“Yes, you have a point. But...”
While the Emperor was about to continue speaking, Ines was the first to answer Manisut’s words.
“Mondrae...”
“..."
“My father’s childhood name.”
Carson eventually put his large hand on his forehead to hide his laughter. He bit his lower lip and sank deeper into his chair.
Childhood names, childhood names.
Childhood names are not recorded anywhere in the family register, but they were often used when a person was doing business or when they could not inevitably reveal their existence.
This was because the current nobles tended to look down on nobles setting up banks, calling it a money game.
“So, my father’s name is Andrew Mondrae Swenden.”
Moreover, those who were attached to their nicknames did not want to abandon them and used them as middle names.
Since a nickname is originally unique to one person, even if the middle name Mondrae was not used in the previous generation, it was natural for the direct descendants after Andrew to receive that name.
“So Mondrae is your name.”
Manisut tilted his head back with a “ha” sound as if he were astonished. However, Ines did not respond to his attitude and calmly raised her hand and called Christian.
Christian brought a thick ledger to the Emperor. Carson tried to make a stern expression and looked through them.
“As you can see, these are the ledgers that my father has been trading under the name of Mondrae.”
While the Emperor was looking at them, Christian distributed a simple summary of the contents to each minister.
It had already been several years since Ines had established the Mondrae Bank. It meant that he had been conducting numerous transactions under that name for quite some time.
So it wouldn’t have been a big deal to go back a few years and leave three or four traces of transactions under the name of Mondrae in the family ledgers.
It seemed to be receipts for the wool business that the Ines family had been mainly engaged in.
“Yes, it definitely has the name Mondrae on it. So your name must be Ines Mondrae Swenden.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. However, my father’s childhood name is not written in the family register. Even so, that doesn’t mean it’s not mine.”
Manisut crumpled the document in front of him with his hand.
It was not something he should have done in front of the Emperor, but Carson had decided to be lenient on him today.
“I will concede a hundred times and admit that Count Swenden used a childhood name. However, that doesn’t change the fact that this maid standing in the hall is a woman. She is not worthy of being here.”
Ines couldn’t help but turn her gaze to Manisut.
“It seems that Your Highness only knows the adjective to describe a woman, 'a mere.’”
Her eyes were sharp and downcast, her arrogant tone was cold and slow, and her lips smiled leisurely as if she looked down on everyone.
Carson’s spine trembled with a pleasant thrill at seeing her again after such a long time.
“Your Highness is right. I am still a mere woman.”
When Ines winked at Christian again, he quickly took out another ledger from his briefcase.
It was a document containing cases in the history of the Keynes Empire where women had been granted titles.
Excluding cases where a husband died, there were no male members of the family, and the title was temporarily held to be passed on to a direct descendant, there were only four cases.
In that long time, only four women had died with a title.
There were certainly cases of women receiving titles throughout history, which were symbolic but complex and turbulent.
However, the history books that were written with a focus on men did not easily reveal the fact that women received titles.
Casey was a great help in finding this out.
She had to study the history of the empire rigorously to become a maid of honor. Her father, who wanted her to become a maid of honor to the Empress, especially emphasized the history of women.
However, Manisut did not hide his scorn when he saw the document.
“But aren’t they all imperial? How can they be like you, a sinner?”
“One, they are also women.”
“...”
“Of course, you can laugh at them. Of course, you can’t compare a sinner like me to them.”
"Your Majesty the Emperor, the Sun of the Empire, I greet you. I am Christian Orlando, the second son of the Viscount Orlando, studying at the Pentium Academy."
Carson did not want to admit it because Ines was uncomfortable with him being so close to her. But Christian was a pretty good person. The woman he loved even had a good eye for people.
"So, what's going on?"
"Lord Mondrae is now in the palace."
Baron Mondrae was set to receive the title of Count immediately after the Mondrae Bank was designated as the central bank of the Empire. And the award ceremony for that title was just around the corner.
Baron Mondrae requested that the award ceremony be postponed for personal reasons, and Carson readily accepted.
Who is Mondrae? He was the one who brought the empire's economy back to normal in one breath, which had been ruined by all the high-ranking nobles and ministers.
No one was in a position to tell the head of the empire's central bank and the hero who saved the empire from the swamp what to do.
In the meantime, Carson had contacted the temple, and as soon as the imperial family approved, his name would be on the list. In fact, it was okay to call him a count right now.
"Really?"
The hall was in an uproar at his appearance. Carson tilted his head.
"Yes, Lord Mondrae thinks it is right to first greet His Majesty the Emperor and the ministers here before the awarding ceremony for the Count. Therefore, he apologizes for coming so suddenly, but he would like to ask for your permission."
Carson still tilted his head and smiled deeply.
"That is true..."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
He didn't know what the troublemaker Ines was up to, but Carson's hesitation didn't last long. When had she ever disappointed him?
No, now it didn’t matter if Ines was causing him trouble enough to embarrass him. No matter how big a problem she caused, there was no more trouble in this world that he couldn’t handle.
“What Emperor would refuse a subject who asked to greet him? Come in.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Christian left the hall with quicker steps than he had come in. And soon after, the doorkeeper’s attendant announced the arrival of Lord Mondrae.
The Emperor nodded, and the doors opened on both sides. Christian was the first to appear.
Then, what caught everyone’s attention was the delicate hem of a pale, sparkling ivory dress.
Carson covered his mouth to suppress his laughter as he watched.
The people looked at the owner of the dress with puzzled expressions. She was none other than the real Lord Mondrae, Ines, his woman.
“Where is Lord Mondrae?”
Bonifax asked in a surprised voice. Judging by his wide-open eyes, he also seemed to not know that Mondrae was Ines.
Ines walked only toward Carson without looking at anyone.
Standing among the dark men, Ines was unusually white. It was strange that a woman wearing a dress decorated with purple that only the royal family could wear could not feel so strange.
It was like a single violet blooming in a field covered only with dirt.
It was a spring leaf that broke through the gray-white wall.
The way she walked, fluttering, seemed pitiful as if she was swaying in the wind, which was only Carson’s impression.
It was understandable because the others’ eyes were filled with only confusion.
Ines walked to the center of the hall and stopped at an appropriate spot. Then she lifted her skirt slightly and bowed her head.
“I see the sun of the Keynes Empire.”
“Are you the maid?”
“Yes, I am Ines Swenden, maid of honor to the Emperor, the only daughter of the Count of Swenden, Lord of Landhill, and currently the head of the Central Bank.”
Carson closed his eyes for a moment, anticipating what was about to happen. As expected, Manisut jumped up from his seat.
“What on earth do you mean?”
“It is as you have heard.”
Ines answered without even turning her head to him.
“This, this... does not make sense.”
Only then did he realize that people did not even know the surname of Baron Mondrae, who was born a commoner.
When a commoner became a noble, the nobles did not usually ask about his surname. It was the result of narrow-mindedness born of arrogance. Ines continued, preventing Manisut from saying anything more.
“I apologize for not speaking out about it, Your Majesty, because there were only a few places where a woman could speak.”
Carson kept his lips tightly shut to hold back the laughter that was about to burst out. Ines did not waver at all as she watched his expression. She slightly lowered her eyes diagonally and looked at Manisut.
“One, I want you to remember that the empire was in chaos when the Mondrae Bank was established. If the bank had been established in the name of the Swenden family, it would have been very difficult to track down the former Empress and those who helped her.”
Carson swallowed hard and tried to make his voice sound as serious as possible.
“I understand, I understand. Yes, I understand.”
It was literally a civil war. Everyone knew that Mondrae in Landhill had helped Swenden catch the leader of the civil war.
It was also a fact that was later revealed to have played a great role in driving out the former Empress using the bank’s enormous funds.
“However, Your Majesty.”
Manisut glared at Ines and clenched his molars.
“I can’t believe everything this maid says, but even if it’s true, the name of the one who gave the title is not a mere woman, Ines Swenden. It’s Mondrae.”
It was funny that the name of someone whose last name he didn’t even know was important now, but Carson nodded.
“Yes, you have a point. But...”
While the Emperor was about to continue speaking, Ines was the first to answer Manisut’s words.
“Mondrae...”
“..."
“My father’s childhood name.”
Carson eventually put his large hand on his forehead to hide his laughter. He bit his lower lip and sank deeper into his chair.
Childhood names, childhood names.
Childhood names are not recorded anywhere in the family register, but they were often used when a person was doing business or when they could not inevitably reveal their existence.
This was because the current nobles tended to look down on nobles setting up banks, calling it a money game.
“So, my father’s name is Andrew Mondrae Swenden.”
Moreover, those who were attached to their nicknames did not want to abandon them and used them as middle names.
Since a nickname is originally unique to one person, even if the middle name Mondrae was not used in the previous generation, it was natural for the direct descendants after Andrew to receive that name.
“So Mondrae is your name.”
Manisut tilted his head back with a “ha” sound as if he were astonished. However, Ines did not respond to his attitude and calmly raised her hand and called Christian.
Christian brought a thick ledger to the Emperor. Carson tried to make a stern expression and looked through them.
“As you can see, these are the ledgers that my father has been trading under the name of Mondrae.”
While the Emperor was looking at them, Christian distributed a simple summary of the contents to each minister.
It had already been several years since Ines had established the Mondrae Bank. It meant that he had been conducting numerous transactions under that name for quite some time.
So it wouldn’t have been a big deal to go back a few years and leave three or four traces of transactions under the name of Mondrae in the family ledgers.
It seemed to be receipts for the wool business that the Ines family had been mainly engaged in.
“Yes, it definitely has the name Mondrae on it. So your name must be Ines Mondrae Swenden.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. However, my father’s childhood name is not written in the family register. Even so, that doesn’t mean it’s not mine.”
Manisut crumpled the document in front of him with his hand.
It was not something he should have done in front of the Emperor, but Carson had decided to be lenient on him today.
“I will concede a hundred times and admit that Count Swenden used a childhood name. However, that doesn’t change the fact that this maid standing in the hall is a woman. She is not worthy of being here.”
Ines couldn’t help but turn her gaze to Manisut.
“It seems that Your Highness only knows the adjective to describe a woman, 'a mere.’”
Her eyes were sharp and downcast, her arrogant tone was cold and slow, and her lips smiled leisurely as if she looked down on everyone.
Carson’s spine trembled with a pleasant thrill at seeing her again after such a long time.
“Your Highness is right. I am still a mere woman.”
When Ines winked at Christian again, he quickly took out another ledger from his briefcase.
It was a document containing cases in the history of the Keynes Empire where women had been granted titles.
Excluding cases where a husband died, there were no male members of the family, and the title was temporarily held to be passed on to a direct descendant, there were only four cases.
In that long time, only four women had died with a title.
There were certainly cases of women receiving titles throughout history, which were symbolic but complex and turbulent.
However, the history books that were written with a focus on men did not easily reveal the fact that women received titles.
Casey was a great help in finding this out.
She had to study the history of the empire rigorously to become a maid of honor. Her father, who wanted her to become a maid of honor to the Empress, especially emphasized the history of women.
However, Manisut did not hide his scorn when he saw the document.
“But aren’t they all imperial? How can they be like you, a sinner?”
“One, they are also women.”
“...”
“Of course, you can laugh at them. Of course, you can’t compare a sinner like me to them.”
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