17 - The Crown I Will Take From You
Episode 17
“I would like you to create a residential area within the royal palace for retired soldiers. They need a new foundation where they can stay and live with their families.”
“Pardon?”
Marquis Gillifos asked again, doubting his ears.
“Why are you so surprised? Weren’t you the one who stopped my carriage to remind me of their existence?”
Medeia said with a faint smile. And she recalled.
Later, among the rebels who rose up in the capital, there were retired soldiers.
‘They framed Peleus, who suppressed them, calling him a king who was mad with slaughter and harmed even his own people and comrades.’
Medeia intended to leave them within the royal palace, pitting them against the rebels and eliminating their justification.
“…I assumed you wouldn’t know, as there are those by His Majesty’s side who do not welcome them.”
“Just because one’s eyes and ears are blocked doesn’t mean one should be ignorant of everything. The royal family has no spare resources, the nobles turn a blind eye claiming there’s no benefit, and the Regent Duke is trying to amplify their resentment. You, Marquis, are the only one I can entrust with this task.”
Gillifos’s eyelids fluttered.
“Knowing that there are no spare resources and no benefit, why do you try to do it?”
“As I said, I am the Princess of Baldina. I am simply doing what I must do as a Princess.”
Gillifos was surprised that the Princess properly understood the current internal situation of Baldina.
“I hope you’re not trying to reject me, saying it’s too late, Marquis.”
“….”
In truth, the matter of where to place the retired soldiers was a problem that Gillifos himself couldn’t properly handle.
Most of them were poor commoners.
Finding a way for them to live was a task that brought no honor but cost a lot of money.
The anger of those abandoned by the royal family was growing, but Gillifos, being retired, couldn’t step forward and address them.
So, he could only provide one-off support to barely cover their basic needs.
But the Princess was volunteering to create a residential area?
“If you happen to be short on funds, please let Neril know. I will help as much as I can.”
“Does Your Highness have any jewels left?”
Gillifos indirectly pointed out Medeia’s difficult situation, alluding to the rumors circulating about the Princess.
“That is not something for the Marquis to worry about. You should be concerned about how to control the retired soldiers without causing discord.”
The Princess’s remark was sharp.
“…For such a task, the Prime Minister would be more useful.”
Siseo Emil Regez.
The current young Prime Minister of Baldina, Siseo, was a god of administrative processing.
There were great concerns that Siseo, who inherited the position of Prime Minister after the sudden death of the old Prime Minister, was too young.
However, watching him fiercely organize the chaotic state affairs, the concerns soon subsided.
There was even a joke that Baldina was still standing strong, even with the Princess causing chaos inside and a decade-long war outside, only thanks to Siseo.
“But Lord Siseo doesn’t care for the soldiers as much as you do, Marquis.”
Medeia pointed out calmly.
“As someone who values efficiency, he would consider whether it’s worth bringing retired soldiers, who have outlived their usefulness, into the royal palace.”
“Even if I move, Siseo, that man, will not allow it. He will resist even more if it is an order from Your Highness. What will you do if the Prime Minister does not approve of this?”
Gillifos asked again.
“As always, Lord Siseo and I will find a way to compromise.”
Medeia placed the golden Seal on the table.
Gillifos couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
To talk about compromise while holding the King’s Seal, which the Prime Minister had no choice but to obey.
“Heh. The rumors that Your Highness raises his blood pressure were not false.”
However, the light laughter quickly disappeared into his beard.
“Your Highness, do you believe in God? What if I run away with all of Your Highness’s assets?”
Gillifos was curious.
Where did this young Princess’s boldness come from?
“Your Highness has no family or subordinates to recover the assets for you. Ah, perhaps Neril is different. But even that child is not very good with numbers…”
“No. I don’t trust anyone.”
Gillifos’s provocation couldn’t break Medeia’s composure.
“But I trust the Marquis’s sincerity towards the people.”
She tapped the pile of papers. Tap. Tap. The rough sound was deeper than ever.
“As long as their lives depend on this, you will carry out my request more faithfully than anyone else.”
“……”
“Did I misunderstand?”
The Marquis was momentarily speechless.
Tick-tock.
The sound of the clock’s ticking was unusually loud. Medeia waited quietly.
Soon, the Marquis shook his head.
“…You saw right through me.”
The rough voice, as if dragging along the floor, was hoarse, as if it had been hidden in the darkness for a long time.
“You have burdened God with the most cumbersome and difficult yoke of the people, how can I escape?”
Wrinkled, but still strong and large hands pulled the pile of documents Medeia had presented towards him.
“Additional funds will not be necessary. Now that Your Highness has stepped forward, a Marquis of the nation cannot simply stand by.”
Medeia nodded instead of answering.
‘That’s it. I succeeded.’
He values honor more than life. Once he has accepted the task, he will try to complete it no matter what obstacles he faces.
Neither the Regent Duke nor Siseo can withstand his tenacity.
“Ah, and.”
Medeia added before leaving, having finished her business.
“There is one thing I would like to ask of you, Marquis.”
As if it were a different story from before, Medeia’s eyes changed slightly.
“Please find out if there is anyone named Teo among the families of the retired soldiers.”
Upon hearing Medeia’s words, a moment of doubt crossed Gillifos’s face. However, he soon skillfully concealed his expression and asked Medeia.
“Is he an important person to Your Highness?”
Medeia nodded.
“Very important.”
The memories of her past life vividly flashed through her mind.
Teo was the second-in-command of the rebels who would soon storm the royal palace, and the mastermind who effectively controlled them.
‘His father was a retired soldier, I believe.’
“You killed them! My father, my brother, all because of Baldina, because of you royals!”
It was as if she could hear the cry of someone spitting blood.
However, Teo did not chase after Medeia as she fled in the last moment.
“Princess. Letting you go is not because I forgive your Baldina. It’s because it’s not… right.”
His roughly shaking gray-brown eyes and his voice, cracking with complex emotions, were still vivid.
The leader of the rebels, upon learning that Medeia had escaped, was enraged and stabbed Teo in the heart, killing him.
And around that time, Peleus, who had returned from the battlefield, suppressed the rebels and saved Medeia.
The rebels without Teo lost their momentum and collapsed.
This was partly because they were poorly gathered by her uncle’s money, but it was also proof that he was the center that held people together.
“Yes, I must find him.”
Medeia replied calmly.
He was the most necessary person for Medeia to prevent the upcoming rebellion of the traitors, and for the events that would follow.
Her eyes shone sharply.
\ \ *
“Your Highness!”
Neril greeted Medeia as she emerged from her private meeting with Marquis Gillifos.
Neril looked worried when the Marquis didn’t follow.
“Did things not go well?”
