Make Sure to Guide Me Properly, Okay?

Despite the little incident leaving me flustered, I arrived safely at the castle.

Lady Anatia was quite the handful.

As a young woman, she really needed to be more cautious.

I'd gotten permission for Finn and Alexia to enter the castle too, so I brought them along.

When I entered Princess Tianis's office, she was working surrounded by stacks of documents.

"Yohane's here, so I'm taking a break. Go make some tea."

As soon as I entered, she finished her work and stood up, moving to the sofa looking exhausted.

"What are you doing? Sit down already. I had sofas added for the girls behind you too."

Apparently, she'd prepared sofas for Azu and the others who always stood waiting.

I nodded to them when they looked my way and gestured for them to sit.

Lady Anatia's maid prepared tea for everyone.

I gratefully accepted.

I added sugar and a lemon slice and took a sip.

The tea leaves must be good. It was delicious.

"I sent Kanon out on an errand since her injuries have been improving. She won't be back today."

"Already, after those serious injuries? That's good to hear."

"Thanks to your priestess. I was unconscious, but I heard it really could have been fatal."

"Yes, Elza's healing has saved me many times."

"Sorry for the wait."

As I was talking with Princess Tianis, Lady Anatia entered.

Looking at her hair, it still seemed slightly damp.

Her skin also appeared to have a bit more color than usual…

From that, I found myself imagining Lady Anatia in the shower, and I hurriedly thought about something else.

That would be too disrespectful.

She must have noticed my gaze.

Lady Anatia smiled at me.

"Yohane-san, what's the matter?"

"No, I was just thinking how beautiful you look today."

"My, that makes me happy."

"Ahem, enough of that, you two. Let's get to the main topic."

"Let's. It's about the coronation."

"Right. I want to discuss your impressions from attending the Empire's coronation and how we should handle mine."

I nodded at Princess Tianis's words.

The coronation would surely be bright news for the people of the capital who were still anxious.

But striking the right balance was difficult.

If it was too extravagant, people would complain about why that money wasn't being spent on them; but if it was too modest, they'd think the Kingdom was broke.

"What do the nobles say?"

"Those guys basically think the more extravagant, the better. Because that way they can let their pet merchants get a taste of the profits. The kickbacks alone would be substantial. Meanwhile, the Chancellor and the robe nobles are calling for minimal spending. More work for them and no benefits."

"I see, clashing over interests again."

"Exactly. I don't know what they're thinking. It's my coronation, but they're treating it as just another political tool."

Princess Tianis slumped over her desk with a sigh.

Even with Duke Baroba's backing, this was the situation.

If Princess Tianis had been alone, things would have been far worse.

She would surely have been made into a puppet.

The royal court was a terrifying place of schemes and machinations.

Show any weakness and you'd be devoured.

Just like Finance Minister Morman had tried to bring Yohane under his control.

"In the end, no conclusion was reached and Tianis had to take charge of it. If it succeeds, it adds to the royal family's prestige, but if it fails, the royal family falls."

"Convenient for the nobles."

"Right. Some of them were blatantly staring at me hoping I'd fail. It's infuriating… They're looking down on me. I won't let them get away with it."

"Fufu, let's work hard to seize power."

"… Anatia-nee, it's a little scary when you say that with a smile."

Princess Tianis seemed slightly intimidated by Lady Anatia.

The ones who are truly scary when angered are people like her, usually kind but with a strong core.

I'd already given a brief overview of the Imperial coronation before, so we discussed specifically how to incorporate elements from it.

Copying it exactly was impossible.

Since Emperor Kelves had gone all out, doing the same in the Kingdom would bankrupt the treasury.

"I think providing meals to the citizens is a good idea. Even though more people are finding work, there are still many who can't eat properly or are cutting back."

"Right. I think people would be clearly satisfied with that. I'd want to skip the alcohol due to security concerns, though."

"I think food alone would be more than enough. Many would be helped by just that. And if the ingredients are purchased from the market, the money circulates back too."

"As expected of a merchant. It prevents skimming and kills two birds with one stone. If we left it to the wrong people, they'd skim money off the top and provide rotten food, so let's do that."

"That… does that really happen?"

"You might not know, but it has happened. In a certain era, a famine occurred and starving masses descended on a noble's manor. The noble distributed food to them, but it was all rotten."

Just hearing about it gave me chills.

That went beyond mere insult.

The people must have felt their lives were in danger along with violent rage.

History has proven that once anger takes hold of the masses, they won't stop.

"That's too much. What happened to that noble?"

"I heard the enraged masses tore them apart, taking casualties in the process. Of course they would. Everyone is just trying to live. There are still nobles who don't understand that. Your job is to make sure I don't end up like that, okay?"

"Understood, Your Highness."

"I'm counting on you, Yohane-san. I've studied statecraft as well, but I can't say I understand the lives of common people."

Being Princess Tianis's advisor seemed troublesome at times, but depending on what I did, there was also the possibility of making citizens' lives better.

She trusted me because I'd saved her life.

Yohane's business mainly deals in consumer goods. In other words, the more prosperous everyone becomes, the more profit I make.