Chapter 129 Wendall, The Minister Food And Agriculture

After settling the deal with Michael, Riz turns his attention to the former prime minister of Bagyarosia, Wendall who was sitting across from Michael.

Like Michael, the gaze he receives from Riz causes the old man to tense up. He has met a lot of young children of nobles in his life but the youngster in front of him seems different. Wendall wasn't sure exactly why but one thing for sure was it had nothing to do with age or demeanour.

Riz skim the papers in his file with his finger before stopping at the page he was looking for, "Wendall Winslow, a commoner born in the year 245 in the small farming village near Coreton. You are the brightest child among your five siblings. Your life started as a farmer, like your father was for a few years. Later, your father died during your teenage years. With all the inheritance going to your eldest, a second-born son like you receives nothing for yourself. To make matter worse, your eldest brother took his own initiative to kick you out. For fear that you would use your intelligent mind to scheme on his back. Fortunately, someone who has a rather close relationship with your father took pity on you. Under his tutelage, you become a travelling merchant until you reach adulthood, selling anything from agricultural products to wares."

Riz takes a quick glance at Wendall. As expected, the other party's face is already colourless.

However, he continues with his narrative.

"The next phase of your journey begins when you settle down in Napuna. Your resourcefulness gains you a reputation among the rich people and nobles. During this time, you realize how little these upper-class thoughts of commoners are. To cut the long story short, you are determined to improve the life of a lower class. However, you need the power to do so. You slowly but steadily made your way up through the hierarchy, defeating your opponents left and right through any means necessary before finally becoming the first common-born prime minister. Nicholas I granted you the family name of 'Winslow'. Did I get it all right?"

At this point, Wendall simply nods his head repeatedly. It appears to him that all steps he takes in his life become transparent in the eyes of the king.

He is pretty sure the king is aware of all the misdeeds he has done to get his position as well as how his heart changed after tasting the sweetness of power. He is sure that the king left the bad part out so as not to ruin his reputation.

"To be honest, your life story is interesting. It is worth writing as a novel. I'm sure my people would love to read this 'rags to riches' type of story. How about it? Do you want to turn it into a story and let my people read it?" Riz stares at Wendall intensely.

Wendall is not stupid to take Riz's word at face value. After being prime minister and involved in politics for decades, he understood the underlying meaning of those words.

'Do you want me to spread about misdeeds you've done to the public?' is the actual meaning of the king's word.

Doing so would not only smear his reputation but also destroy the facade he has created about himself to mask the bad deeds he had done in the back.

As the first common-born prime minister, he was an idol to many people. A source of hope and inspiration for them. If they know the things he has done, the backlash would be too strong to handle by himself.

Wendall replies with a humble tone, "Your Majesty, my life is not worth being recorded as a story. My achievement combined is just minuscule compared to yours. It shows how lacking my skills are."

Riz scoffed at Wendall's words, "Don't humble yourself. There's no way your skills are lacking if you're able to hold the position of prime minister for so long. I know so many nobles that try to bring you down but fail. Your skills are the reason why I seek you in the first place."

"What do you mean, Your Majesty?" Wendall cautiously asks. Others pick up their ears as well.

"You see...there's a position of Minister of Food and Agriculture that has been empty for so long. I couldn't give it to just anybody because my farmer isn't knowledgeable and educated enough to hold a high position and nobles on the other hand have management skills but no experience in regard to farming. Then, there's you. A commoner that has experience in farming and also skills for governance."

The offer was tempting for him and he will accept it immediately if this is another kingdom.

To his knowledge, Ryntum is different when it comes to governance.

First, there's no noble other than royalty. It means that all officials don't feel pressured when dealing with higher-ups as they are all commoners. They only need to display a proper amount of respect.

Also, the higher up doesn't have a special power to coerce them to do anything against their will like a noble can.

Moreover, this king is different from other kings. He doesn't hand over the task and lets people under him do the job free of supervision. He personally watches them from time to time.

Everything here has a properly established procedure that even ministers can't override. Meaning that Wendall can't siphon the money or practice favouritism like he always does. Based on Ryntum's capability to dig up his secret, he doesn't want to imagine his fate if he gets caught. Such thought caused a shiver down his spine.

Wendall was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He wants to reject the offer. He feels like he is putting a leash on himself. Needless to say, the consequences of rejecting this king would be even bigger. His fair share of bad deeds could cause him endless troubles.

"Wendall, I don't have all the time in this world. I need your answer." Riz said impatiently. His finger keeps tapping on the table.

Under the intense gaze of the king, Wendall gives in to the offer.

He tries to take it in a positive way, 'It might not be as bad as I think. I'll wait for a few years until the king finds a replacement for me before quitting.'