CH 117

The Prime Minister's resignation

Translated by SoundDestiny

Edited by Zil

“It’s a problem……isn’t it……?”

Meanwhile, in the royal chambers, the Prime Minister, Lockwood Marcell, was mumbling to himself.

He was sitting at his desk with a pile of papers in front of him. It’s not only the papers that Lockwood as Prime Minister has to deal with, but also the ones that the King has to deal with.

This has been the scene every day since King Granard took refuge in his bedchamber.

Lockwood’s eyes are darkened by the daily work. Recently, he has not been able to return to his mansion in the noble quarter, and has been staying at the royal palace all night to complete his work.

He has been sitting in a chair since the early hours of the morning, and his body aches from every part. When he stretches his back, his spine makes an ominous cracking sound.

“This country is …… His Majesty Granard may not be useful.”

Lockwood sighed in resignation at the sheer volume of papers piled in front of him.

At present, there are two factions within the royal court of Zain.

One is the faction that supports King Granard. A faction that aims to stay in power, with Lockwood as its leader.

The other faction supports his brother Prince Raidorl. The other faction, led by the Lord Justice, Ave Macbeth, aims to overthrow the current government and innovate.

A few weeks ago, the former had the upper hand in the internal strife of the royal court, but now the tables have turned.

A dueling peace deal from the Imperial side. Those who saw Granard’s opportunistic attitude as a sign of weakness were switching to the Raidorl faction one by one.

Macbeth, the head of the faction, Neimilia and Mertina, who were working behind his back, did not want to miss this opportunity to cut down the Granard faction.

The witch, Neimilia, uses the shadow messenger to gain the weakness of the nobles, and Macbeth and Mertina use it to take in people from rival factions. The tide had already turned, and it was now completely in Raidorl’s favour.

Once the tide has turned, no one can stop it. Locked away in his bedroom, Granard has become a refugee from reality as the power structure he has created is being painted over.

In the midst of all this, Lockwood, alone in the midst of a turbulent change of government, senses the impending doom of the monarch he serves.

“I don’t think Granard is unfit to be king. Nor that he is inferior to His Highness Prince Raidorl. But …… the gained momentum as of right now, can no longer be helped.”

When the news of the duel reached him from Fortress Blaine, Granard was unable to make a decision and left the matter hanging.

When Granard heard the sudden news, he must have felt two emotions.

He hoped that Raidorl would win the duel and drive the Empire back. And he wanted Raidorl to lose the duel and die.

The conflicting and never-ending emotions deprived Granard of his calm judgment, and he left the problem to Raidorl to solve.

And – in the end – it was a fatal blow to Granard.

Raidorl had lost the duel, but had survived, and driven the Empire back.

This was the worst possible outcome for Granard.

He was happy to have escaped from Imperial threat, but the credit did not belong to Granard the king. The credit goes to Raidorl, who went to the duel, negotiated with the Emperor Zacharias and won him a direct concession.

Although unconfirmed, Zacharias has even declared that he will wed his daughter to Raidorl.

Chosen by the Holy Sword.

Win a war.

Save the people as an adventurer.

Build an army in the East.

In addition, he was recognised by the emperor and even acquired Imperial connections.

No one can stop the momentum of Raidorl any longer.

Even if Raidorl were to rebel and take the throne by force, many of the nobility and people would welcome a new king.

“And the king, who has fled to his room to escape reality, no longer seems to have the will to fight. He has completely lost his mind. It’s a dead end indeed……”

Lockwood was convinced that in the not too distant future Raidorl would launch a conquest.

He was prepared to follow Granard to his grave, and the least he could do was to try to prevent a little bloodshed.

“…… Well, it doesn’t matter. The house of Marcell is a loyal house. I will only die for my loyalty”

Lockwood had a smile on his face and was ready to become a sacrifice.

“I have done all I can do.”

If he had any regrets, it was that he had wanted to see and speak to the girl he had sacrificed to politics, Mertina Marcell, for the last time.

“I know she doesn’t want to see me anymore. She’s the one who’s going to take over Marcell’s loyalty. I pray that you will serve His Highness Raidorl with all your life.”

Once that’s decided, there’s no time to lose. It was time to get the rest of the work done.

Lockwood was about to start work on the papers on his desk when a voice from outside the door stopped him.

“Excuse me. Your Excellency.”

“Hmm?　What’s the matter?”

“There’s a guest here to see you.”

“A visitor……?　At this hour?”

It was the knight who was standing guard in front of the room who called out to Lockwood.

Lockwood glanced at his watch and saw that it was already nearly half past midnight. Who would be visiting his office at this hour?

“Who in the world ……?”

Before Lockwood could ask, the door to his office was opened from the outside.

Lockwood frowned at the rudeness of the action, but his eyes widened when he saw the face of the person who had entered the room.

“Sorry to disturb you at this hour, Prime Minister.”

“Well, well,…………my queen.”

The person who walked into the office was the second most powerful person in the kingdom of Zain after the king.

Queen Shanoar Zain

She is the wife of King Granard and the mother of Prince Strauss.