Chapter 101
The stars in the night sky twinkle countlessly. Viola rested her chin and looked out the window. At this time, except for the soldiers for security, everyone starts to fall asleep and it is quiet. But suddenly someone knocked on the door of the carriage where she was.
“Sister.”
Viola wordlessly opened the door of the carriage. Jonathan in a cloak was standing outside. He smiled brightly when he saw Viola. But Viola looked down at Jonathan with her arms crossed.
“You’re not sleeping.”
“It’s the first day, so I couldn’t sleep, so I came to talk to you, Sister.”
“What if I have been sleeping?”
“How could I not know my sister. You’re usually awake at this time.”
“You guessed right. Come in, I was about to feel lonely.”
Viola moved out of the way, making the space easy for Jonathan to enter. Jonathan looked inside the carriage for a moment. A wine glass was placed near Viola. The cup was empty. You already had a drink.
Seeing that clear gaze, Viola let out a small laugh. It’s the joy of my life, she replied.
“So, why can’t our dear prince sleep? Did you have a nightmare?”
“What nightmare. Don’t treat me like a kid.”
“Well, Jonathan, you’re still a kid to me. It is an honor to know that this sister loves you.”
“You are loved more than me.”
“Are you jealous? I am the first child of the family. But stop being jealous because you, the youngest, are loved by many people.”
Jonathan let out a small sigh at Viola’s teasing. That was also true.
“What have you been thinking about late at night?” he asked.
“A business idea?”
“How many more businesses Sister hasn’t touched?”
“If there is a demand, I should take a look. That is the first asset you should have as an entrepreneur.”
Even before the battle for the throne broke out, Viola was managing the business owned by the imperial family. With her effortless business skills, she has made even the non-mainstream business a great success. Because of this, there were several nobles on Jonathan’s side who had been pushed by Viola and had their businesses ruined.
Besides, wasn’t she still terrifyingly overtaking the wool industry? Fortunately, the Avellins were in the wool industry, so he could still survive. And apart from that, the grain industry, which Avellin was holding tight to, was one of the fields where Viola was relatively weak.
“Even if this matter is resolved, do you intend to continue aiming at the wool industry?”
“Why? Did the Marquis tell you to ask me?”
“Don’t you know that when it comes to business, you shouldn’t play with Avellin. Same with the grain tax last time. Avellin will hate you.”
“That’s the problem. Everyone is trying to avoid Avellin like that, so they’re just getting bigger. Jonathan, business is where money moves. It’s a lot more important than you think. Do you know what happens when a mere servant has more money than their lord?”
“Are you saying that Avellin is starting a rebellion?”
“You are talking nonsense. That old Marquis?”
Viola snorted. The family has lived as a servant of the emperor all their life, and they swore obedience to the emperor. As a result, Avellin was able to live as the most deeply rooted family in the East. With that they were able to save enormous wealth, although not as much as the imperial family.
There’s no way that Avellin, who uses the information leaked by the emperor to save money, will betray the imperial family. They have no security for that. Of course, who will become the emperor will be a little different.
“Times are changing, Jonathan. After an era of peace, now an era of turbulence will come. What do you think will be the most powerful there?”
“…It must be money.”
“Yes. Money. Even if it’s not right now, in the future, money will allow people to buy peerage.”
“If you think about it, that kind of thing still happens often now.”
It was often the case that wealthy bourgeoisie married off their children to sons of wealthy nobles. Using that as a stepping stone, they dream of rising to a higher level of status. But Viola wasn’t worried about that.
“It will become more blatant. With the flow of money, the day may come when it is really easy to buy and sell identities. And we are the ones standing at that crossroad.”
Will they continue to choose a closed status system? Will they accept the trend of the times and give opportunities to a wider range of people? It’s not easy to choose between the former and the latter. Every choice had a price, and it could soon become a storm. Reality was not theory. They can get knowledge by looking into hundreds of books, but not the wisdom.
“Jonathan, do you dream of reform?”
“If necessary, I will.”
“How do you know if you need it? Even choosing a timing is reform. Can you accept that reform?”
“That’s why we can’t stay still. I think we have to accept it as much as you can.”
Viola smiled lightly at Jonathan’s answer. Her brother was more of an idealist rather than a realist. But because he was, maybe he could have been more suitable for the position of a master than she was. That was also the reason why the Empress was considering Jonathan, even though he was a bit of a step behind as Viola’s opponent.
“It’s good that you haven’t changed.”
“You are the one who hasn’t changed a bit. I am strong because I have you, Sister.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
Viola turned her head to look at the night sky. Accept it as far as you can accept it. Viola thought differently. Rather than trying as much as she can to accept it, she should let it be accepted, she thought. Just as her mother, the Empress, had killed her own siblings and decapitated her own father, she had compelled the people to accept her as the owner of the throne. So Viola thought she had to urge them to accept change as well.
And the first step to change was sacrifice.
“You must be tired. Jonathan, go back and rest.”
Viola turned her head back and looked at Jonathan. Jonathan nodded wordlessly. In fact, the night was getting deeper. They had to go to bed to wake up early tomorrow morning and move again.
Jonathan greeted Viola briefly and left the carriage door open. As Viola watched Jonathan turning to his quarters, someone approached her.
“Your Highness.”
“Sir Ephils.”
It was one of Viola’s direct subordinates. Viola turned her head at an angle and looked at the knight.
“What is going on?”
“An urgent letter has arrived from the operative in Morgennis.”
“Things got messed up.”
Viola peered into the quiet night sky.
Andra went out to the lake at midnight, just as she had promised Dustin. Dustin was already waiting for her there. As soon as Dustin saw Andra, he let out a light smile and hugged her tightly again.
She’s tired of resisting now. Feeling that he was hugging Andra to the fullest, she quietly stayed still.
“…….”
Then Dustin’s reaction was a little strange. Until just now, he was full of strength and confidence, but now he was moving passively. First of all, the strength in his body got weaker as proof. Of course, Andra took advantage of that opportunity to get out of Dustin’s arms. Because she can’t be held in his arms forever.
“Let’s start with the rules.”
Without even starting with an introduction, Andra went straight to the point. She walked where there were no people, but she couldn’t stay here all day. Because someone might come here. She had to quickly wrap this up and get back to where she should be.
“The rules that I’ll set are as follows.”
Andra looked up at Dustin and started her words.
“Apropos and non-apropos situations.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
Dustin asked in a weak voice. Andra answered, raising her head straight up as if to say, ‘You asked a good question’.
“When the wrist pattern isn’t glowing anymore or is worn out, it’s considered an apropos situation for us.”
“Then the opposite is the non-apropos situation?”
“Yes, you understood well. So I want to know what you think when I set up a rule based on this. Dustin?”
“I don’t care.”
Andra just nodded her head at Dustin’s reply. She had already expected his answer. Mostly because she thought Dustin would agree with her. What did he have to say in the first place? With a satisfied face, Andra decided to set the rules next.
“Then it’s a rule from now on. First of all, from my point of view, what I want you to pay attention to is not to come suddenly.”
“…Even in a wartime situation?”
“I’m not done explaining yet. Listen to the end then ask.”
Andra crossed her arms.
“First, the rule pertinent to the non-apropos situation— do not suddenly come to the other person without their permission. After unconditional consultation, we will designate a meeting place and time.”
“What if there is no time or opportunity to discuss?”
“Don’t worry about that. There will be plenty of opportunity and time. I will make it.”
In order to prevent Dustin from visiting her on his own, Andra was thinking of preparing various moves. She’s still a little awkward to use magic and it’s not easy to control, but the uses of magic are endless. This newfound ability of hers would make it easier for her to contact Dustin.
“The second rule about a non-apropos situation. Notify the other party in advance about how much light there’s left in the wrist pattern. This is something we have to check every time we meet. If the amount of light is significantly reduced or a little… we have to do it.”
She couldn’t be completely sure right now, but once they’re in Morgennis, they would start using their Awakened power. Then the amount of light will surely decrease. So, they should get into the habit of notifying each other sufficiently from time to time.
“I thought about it a bit more, and even if we are in the same space, there may inevitably be situations where we can’t speak, so I don’t think it’s a bad idea to create a password that only we can know. A password that allows us to easily communicate each other’s status.”
“I will think about it. The military also uses passwords.”
“Okay, then I’ll leave it to you. Do it as naturally as possible without being noticed. And the third, which is very basic, just in case. To be respectful and keep things normal with each other in front of others, as before, unless it is just the two of us.”
“Normal?”
Dustin narrowed his brows as if he couldn’t understand.
“The relationship we have that’s known to the public. Let’s keep treating each other that way. In front of people.”
“…Do I have to do that?”
“We used to fight whenever we met, but now we’re just suddenly acting calmly with each other. I’m sure some people will think suspiciously. And already…”
As the princess came to mind just in time, Andra blurted out her words. She then glanced at Dustin, she said. Yes, those eyes. That’s the biggest problem. Dustin’s gaze, which was looking at her with a sorrowful rather than a hostile gaze, was the problem that needed to be fixed as soon as possible.
“Above all, you! Do something with that attitude, will you? Because of you, everyone’s going to figure it out. What if you look at me like that in front of people?”
Dustin asks back in bewilderment as Andra lashed out at him.
“…How do I look at you?”
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