﹡ ⊹ ⊰ Chapter 240 ⊱ ⊹ ﹡
There were a total of four types of meetings leading the Empire.
The first is the Bureaucratic meeting held by officials from various ministries. The second is the Council meeting, which is held by aristocrats, and the third is the n.o.bles meeting where aristocrats and the Emperor gather in one place to discuss important issues of the Empire.
However, the last one is called the Parliamentary a.s.sembly meeting, which is held most often than the three meetings mentioned, and to discuss detailed agendas.
Seven representatives of the aristocracy attended this meeting to collect the results of all three meetings and make a summary report to the Emperor.
And today was Perez"s first parliamentary meeting as the Emperor Regent.
Chairman Killian and the others, who attended as representatives of the aristocracy, were sitting and waiting for Perez, the Second Prince, and soon-to-be Crown Prince, to arrive with his officials.
"The Deputy Head of Lombardy is also a little late." Chairman Killian said, looking at the still empty chair.
Sitting next to him, Lord Maimbert moved closer and told Chairman Killian.
"Don"t you think today"s meeting will end soon?"
"That"s what I was thinking. Let"s have a meal together after the meeting, shall we?"
"Let"s do it! Why don"t we all have a meal together?"
"That"s a great idea, hahaha!"
The n.o.bles laughed leisurely and talked lightly. Even at the last meeting held by Emperor Jovanes, this situation was unimaginable.
There was a reason why they were so relaxed.
"His Highness the Second Prince is proficient at his work, isn"t he?"
"That"s what they say. Also, don"t you know my third child is working in the finance department now?"
"Ah, I heard he"s been promoted recently! Congratulations!"
"Yes, thank you. But that"s not the point. Since His Highness began to perform as His Majesty"s regent, the faces of the officials have brightened."
"It is said that the burden of their workload has been cut in half."
"You mean that much?" Chairman Killian intervened with his eyes wide open.
"Indeed, it really has cut in half!"
The person who brought it up said with frustration.
"Does that mean that the officials of today had it easy for you to say that!"
Then he lowered his voice a little and said.
"My child attended the bureaucratic meeting a few days ago, and he said that it was as if His Highness can see through everything."
"See through everything?"
"Officials have to explain further and persuaded His Majesty of most of the agendas from previous bureaucratic meetings. This time, however, even before the officials told His Highness, he was not only familiar with all the issues, but he was capable enough to offer solutions that the officials could not come up with."
"Oh, that"s incredible!"
"And most of the agendas are already solved when His Highness gives separate instructions before even coming up to the meeting, so everyone pouring their hearts out saying that their work has become easier."
Upon hearing the story, Chairman Killian leaned over to the n.o.bleman next to him.
"Did it not seem like that yesterday?"
"Come to think of it..."
Yesterday, they held a n.o.bles meeting.
It was the first meeting in a long time, so everyone attended the meeting with an expectation that the meeting would be prolonged.
However, this time, their meeting was shorter than usual.
"Isn"t it because the Deputy Head of Lombardy organized the meeting well?" Chairman Killian spoke honestly.
Then everyone nodded and agreed.
"I felt that way too. Would it have seemed like Deputy Head Lombardy mediated at the right time, said a word or two, and then immediately solved the problem?"
"Yes, of course, it seems like that because there are no Angenas that used to be so confusing anymore."
"Hmm."
When the word Angenas came out, each of the n.o.bles coughed and wore uncomfortable looks.
Angenas, one of the families that lead the Empire not long ago, has now become one of the forbidden words that should not be mentioned.
"Anyway, today"s meeting is expected to end without a hitch, Chairman."
"Yes, His Highness the Second Prince will be present and the Deputy Head of Lombardy will also attend. Oh, here she is now."
Seeing Firentia after entering the conference hall, Chairman Killian stood up and said.
"Everyone has already arrived before you."
"Sit here, Deputy Head Lombardy."
"The venue is a little far from the Lombardy mansion. Thank you for your hard work, Deputy Head."
The att.i.tudes of the n.o.bles were completely different from when Firentia first became the representative.
Whether she was young or a woman, it didn"t matter now.
The Empire couldn"t exist without Lombardy, and Firentia was perfectly fulfilling the role of Lombardy"s deputy head.
After a while.
"His Highness the Second Prince has arrived."
Perez arrived at the conference hall and the parliamentary a.s.sembly meeting began.
"As expected, our prediction was correct."
The n.o.bles nodded with satisfaction as the meeting flowed quickly and easily as if it were sailing in the fair wind.
But as time went by, the satisfaction began to turn into surprise. It was because the same pattern was repeated on every agenda.
First, the officials reported their agendas.
"In other words..."
The Second Prince grasped the issues that emerged more clearly than the officials who were experts in the field.
"That"s the point in the ministry..."
"No, it"s better to seek advice from the superiors who actually do business rather than the related ministries..."
Both Perez and Firentia engaged in a quick conversation.
After that, the official, who suffered from a bottleneck brought by his agenda, nodded his head in gratification and exclaimed.
"I can do that! I"ll apply it quickly and sent a report!"
So it hasn"t been a few hours, but the meeting has already ended with Chairman Killian and the other aristocrats uttering not a single word.
"Oh, my G.o.d."
"I"m sorry I haven"t contributed once..."
The n.o.bles laughed sheepishly but were happy.
Everyone has years of experience as a central region aristocrat, but who knew they didn"t take that much attention.
"I have a previous engagement, so I"ll take my leave."
Having said that, the Prince immediately got up and left the conference hall.
Before leaving, Perez glanced at Tia, planning to greet her, but it seemed she was busy talking to Chairman Killian.
"Deputy Head Lombardy, do you have an appointment after this?"
"No, there"s none."
"Then why don"t you join us for a meal? We sometimes get together after a parliamentary meeting."
Although she was the same age as some of the aristocrats" granddaughters or daughters, the aristocrats gathered around her and waited for her answer.
"Ah..."
However, everyone was sullen by the sight of Firentia hesitating for a little.
They wondered if she didn"t want to share a table with the older ones.
"Have you already chosen a place?"
When asked instead of answering, Chairman Killian shook his head, a little embarra.s.sed.
"Then let"s go to a place that I know of. The owner of Caramel Avenue opened a new restaurant this time, and their menu is good."
"I"ve heard the news, too. But they said I have to wait a few weeks before I can get a seat..."
"It"ll be fine because I know the owner of the place personally. Let"s go there."
"Oh, as expected!"
The aristocrats, who were influential enough to attend the parliamentary meeting, walked behind Firentia.
No one had yet realized that the herd"s initiative had already been taken over by Firentia.
***
"I"m looking forward to it!"
"The person who suggested it told me about the place a few days ago. This... I"m going to be hated for being there first! Hahaha!"
As I slowly exited the conference hall and walked through the Imperial Palace, I was listening to the merry conversation behind me.
Even if they look like that now, they were still the people who rushed to kill each other at yesterday"s n.o.bles meeting.
Each family is thus completely at odds in public, but in private, they are quite close together.
Again, Bate"s information has excellent accuracy.
Anyway, there wasn"t a good place to collect information like the places Bate operated, so I offered them Bate"s place first.
Since the main customers of Caramel Avenue are n.o.blewomen, there was a limit to the type of information collected.
So this time, I rented another building to open a room-style restaurant that also sells alcohol.
I gave them free rent for life again, but don"t tell me I"m going to be kicked out of the door just because you"re busy.
As I was walking with that thought in mind, Chairman Killian spoke to me.
"I was really relieved."
"What do you mean?"
"It"s about Deputy Head Lombardy and His Highness the Second Prince."
I had a rough idea of what he was going to talk about.
I smiled adroitly and looked straight ahead, pretending to listen to Chairman Killian.
"It"s not easy to leave a political relationship once you"re engaged."
"Right." I answered mechanically.
"So, I was worried about whether the two of you would be able to work hand-in-hand as Head Lombardy and the Crown Prince in the future. Today, those worries have completely disappeared."
I didn"t know. Chairman Killian, it seems you were a talkative man.
I nodded my head superficially and replied in moderation. However, as soon as I saw a pair of a man and a woman in the distance, my heart sank.
Chairman Killian asked me at that exact time.
"You probably ended your engagement on a good note, right?"
Indeed. Have we cleared up the engagement?
At that moment, the people walking behind me found the man and woman I was looking at and said in amazement.
"Isn"t that the Second Prince and Lady Braun?"