Common Sense of a Duke’s Daughter 186

Return

The sounds of the bells ring…

The entire scene was filled with people clad in black.

As I had anticipated, the king’s funeral was to be held immediately after it was made public.

Preparations must have been underway, far in advance… You might almost wonder. That was how quick and efficient the preparations seemed.

Queen Ellia shed tears as she clung to the casket.

The other members of the royal family stood close by as if to surround her.

Even Yuri, who was only a fiance, was among them as if it were the most natural thing.

She shed bitter tears as she looked at the remains of the king.

Prince Edward was looking at her worriedly and kept close by.

The queen dowager’s firm attitude did not waver, but there were colors of sadness within her eyes.

As for the first prince, he was nowhere to be seen.

Is he still out of the country? Or perhaps…

His actions could not be followed, even with Tanya, they remained unknown.

I stole a glance at the other attendees. Most of them had expressions full of sadness.

Were they grieving the death of the true king? Or were they just pretending? Perhaps they were dreading what would come of this country.

The rest were just staring blankly as if this had nothing to do with them.

When the funeral was finished, I immediately left the royal capital and headed for the Armelia territories.

I had already told mother and Bern on the same day that I heard news of the king’s death.

I had also finished my goodbyes.

Though, I did feel regret over father’s health not improving. …No, there were a lot of things I felt regret over.

Mimosa, and what would happen to the power relationships between the noble families.

Well… As far as Mimosa, as long as there is a need to be mourning over the king, it was unlikely that anything could happen for quite some time. And even if something did happen, Priest Ralph would stop it.

As long as there was time left, the investigation should continue, and plans could be made in the meantime.

As for the power relations between nobles…it was not something that I could do anything about.

In any case, remaining in the royal capital now would just make me ammunition to attack Queen Ellia or Yuri.

And so I quickly returned to my lands.

When I arrived in the mansion, the servants all came out to greet me as usual.

“Welcome back, my lady.”

Sebastian greeted me as a representative for the others.

“I’m back.”

I look at the others and greet them before entering the mansion.

“Sebastian. Please tell me what happened while I was away. Also, have the heads of the Finance and Public Affairs departments put together a report. Also, please contact Moneda. I want to hear what happened while I was away and also talk about the future.”

Sebastian listened to the rapid-fire commands without flinching.

“Dida. I’m sorry to ask this so soon after my return, but I need you to gather reports from the garrison and bring them to me. I am especially curious to know if there are issues with security at the bank, also prioritize news of the towns public order after switching to paper currency.”

“Yes, princess.”

“Ryle, I want you to see if there are any issues with personnel, resources or facilities at all our locations. Considering the future of this country, it is vital that we ensure our security. It will be most miserable for us if when the time comes, it turns out that we were not prepared enough.”

“As you command.”

I gave out orders as I walked until I reached the office.

Reports from Sebastian were brought in one after another just as I took my seat.

As far as reports while I was away, Sebastian had made is a daily habit to leave them for me as written documents.

I was grateful for that, as it was much easier than hearing it all from someone’s mouth at once.

And so I picked them up in order to read them before he arrived.

As I read them, I divided the documents into separate piles of what needed to be addressed immediately and what did not.

It was then that Sebastian entered, almost as if he were waiting for the perfect timing to enter.

Rather than lending an ear to what he had to say, I mostly asked questions and confirmed details from the reports I read.

Sebastian’s role was to coordinate and adjust everything.

In other words, I was able to get a good grasp of the situation by listening to him.

Perhaps he was used to the role of butler, or it was his nature, but he was very good at making adjustments.

It was because he could act as a lubricating oil for matters that extended past departments, that I was able to confidently leave him in charge while I was gone.

“…It seems there are no great issues, with the exception of the introduction of paper currency.”

“Yes. Aside from the urgent approval that was sent to the royal capital, things have gone smoothly. As for the matter that has been set in motion, there have been no issues to suggest any alterations are needed. If I had to voice a worry, then it would be the splitting of personnel that was necessary to deal with the introduction of paper currency.”

“Indeed. …Still, we were not in a position to act slowly. Unfortunately, this situation will have to continue for a while until things settle. While it is still early, I think that I might have to bring in some students for internships.”

We had regularly hired students for a set period as part-time workers ever since my excommunication incident.

It was supposed to be a good experience for the students to have.

“I think that is a good plan.”

“It won’t do if you and the others fall ill. …However, I will not have them involved in the matter of the paper currency. I want you to be very clear about that.”

“Understood.”

Phew, I sighed.