Redemption of the Blue Rose Princess - Chapter 8.1
T/N: I planned to do double, but I wasted my time simping over the Niji EN debuts instead, sorry.
Chapter 8.1 – The Proud Privy Council
The Privy Council, also known as the organization that advised the King’s directly. It was the organization that acted as the centerpiece of Heilland’s political scheme.
Once upon a time, a civil war broke out between two princes over the succession of the throne. The war divided the country into two for a long period of time. That was a time when no nobles were able to intervene between both princes, as both were young and talented, worthy of the throne, thus, the conflict between them only deepened over time.
As a result of that, they eventually recognized that this conflict couldn’t go on any longer and they need an organization that had the authority to support the royal family and at the same time, to watch over and control them if they were to make a great mistake that would plunge the country into great danger.
Thus, the Privy Council was formed.
And today, in accordance with the King’s summon, nobles from all over the kingdom passed through the gate of the castle as the member of the Privy Council.
Nizel Otto, the Head of the Chancery was assigned to lead the meeting.
Dan Dreyfus, the Head of the Regional Council was chosen as the representative of the various ministries that supported the kingdom.
Lastly, the heads of the noble families, including the families that were ranked higher than Marquis.
One of them, the Duke of Sherford, Lloyd Sutherland, could be seen, sitting inside a carriage. When the carriage’s door, which was painted black and coated with gold, opened, the figure of the man was revealed to the gatekeeper who received him. The man’s hair was white, his nose was sharp like an eagle, he carried an intimidating aura that made the said gatekeeper involuntarily cast his eyes down.
From behind Lloyd, who gazed at the castle with a cold stare, like that of a snake, a young man stepped out of the carriage. The young man, Riddhe Sutherland, then looked around toward the other carriages that were stopping all around them and spat in a voice low enough that only he and his father could hear.
“Seriously, I can’t believe the King would go out his way to summon the Privy Council over an idea proposed by a ten-year-old kid. Ridiculous.”
“Watch your mouth, Riddhe.”
In contrast to Riddhe, whose voice clearly expressed his annoyance, Lloyd’s voice when he admonished his son was cold without carrying any emotions.
“You’re partly responsible for this. Instead of working your way to earn the King’s trust, you got bested by that filthy Graham’s child instead. Shameful.”
“…Please pardon my mistake, father.”
While his mouth was apologizing, his gaze was shooting a flame of hatred toward the direction of the castle. If looks could kill, it probably could kill Clovis Cromwell who was currently inside the castle thousand times over.
“Calm down. Well, if the royal family had gone astray, it’s our job, the Privy Council’s job to set them back to the right path.”
Accompanied by his son, Lloyd made his way toward the gate of the castle, opening the path for other nobles around him who were still standing by their carriages. They walked over the red carpet on the ground as they approached the stairs.
“We will teach Her Highness the Princess a valuable lesson, about who in this country should she truly join hands with.”
With that sentence, the head of the Sutherland slammed his cane into the ground.
* * *
The meeting was held in a windowless room. It was to prevent the content of the meeting from needlessly leaking out to unconcerned parties. Though, the place felt suffocating to Alicia, who attended the meeting for the first time.
Alicia was seated at the end of the U-shaped table, right beside Otto. On the opposite side of her was the head of the Sutherland family, Lloyd, and next to him was Riddhe. The King himself was seated in the center, away from everyone else.
Various nobles who attended the meeting were patiently waiting for King James to make his greeting. Above their heads, chandeliers were shining brightly, yet the intensity of the atmosphere inside the room made the room look darker than it should have been.
Finally, the King spoke up while looking around at the group of nobles with his bright eyes.
“O Proud Privy Council, my comrades, the pillar of this nation! Firstly, let me thank you for listening to my request for us to gather here.”
After a moment’s pause, the King gestured toward Alicia with his hand.
“As I have already mentioned in my letter, the agenda of this meeting is to discuss a joint proposal by the Chancery and the Regional Council, which was submitted in the name of my daughter, Alicia, who is also sitting here with us. Hence, we’re having both her and her aide, Clovis, attend this meeting with us, I hope you wouldn’t mind their presence.”
As King James ended his explanation, the attention of the nobles shifted to Alicia and her aide. Aware of the attention she was given, Alicia straightened her back, trying to push away her nervousness.
“The establishment of the trading company they proposed will surely give the people of our country hope, that’s why, personally, I would love for everyone to give their support to make the Mercurius Trading Company a reality.”
But, said King James with a smile that made everyone who saw him feel relieved.
“Heilland does not belong to the Chester Family alone. It’s because of the people, including everyone here that this Heilland could even be called a country. That’s why I would love everyone to say express your opinion sincerely here, without holding anything back. That’s all I have to say.”
The King closed his greetings with those words.
Next, Advisor Otto, who was in charge of the meeting, explained his intention to the Privy Council once more. He explained in more detail the significance of establishing the Mercurius Trading Company and what kind of cooperation he would need from the nobles that would be involved.
While listening to Nizel’s words Alicia looked around at the faces of the nobles with a tense expression on her face.
TL: Iyo
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