The Prince’s Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 328
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Side Story 4. The Queen of the New Nation, Her Special Skill Is… (1)
“Then let’s conclude this agenda item with that decision…”
Riette, the Prime Minister of Adamant, was a noble from the fallen Kingdom of Lionel.
Though Lionel had fallen to Kaiden, called the Wolf King, he was able to secure an important position despite the change of dynasty thanks to his excellent administrative skills and natural political sense.
“The next agenda item is.”
The newly founded kingdom of Adamant, now only in its fifth year since establishment, faced various challenges in many areas.
“Regarding the illegal slave markets.”
The slave problem was also one of them.
“Our nation fundamentally prohibits slave trading, but recently we have detected numerous cases of unidentified criminals systematically kidnapping women and children to sell them to other countries.”
This wasn’t originally an agenda item for the state council meeting, but it had come this far due to the frequent occurrence of related incidents.
“Slaves.”
The sound of fingers lightly tapping on the round table echoed.
At that sound, the faces of all the nobles sitting around the round table turned slightly pale.
“Despite being prohibited by national law, there are still those conducting slave trade in this country?”
The young king of Adamant was still young but looked much more seasoned than before.
“It’s unavoidable. As long as slavery isn’t completely abolished, there will always be those who trade secretly no matter how much we prohibit it.”
Labor is money.
People want to buy labor cheaply to save money.
However, truly demanding labor could be replaced by existing workers and magic.
“Unless human desire is completely eliminated.”
The reason most slaves were women and children wasn’t because they were essential labor, but because they had more value as expendable commodities that could be replaced at any time.
“This was all foreseeable, wasn’t it.”
Then a certain noble spoke up with a sarcastic tone.
“This was the predetermined course from the moment we decided to accept people of unknown origins without any restrictions.”
“Count Hadon, what do you mean by…”
“Did I say something wrong?”
Count Hadon glanced at Kaiden.
He immediately averted his eyes as if intimidated by the king’s intense gaze, but his mouth didn’t stop.
“When His Majesty declared that he would accept foreigners, other races, and even criminals as citizens of Adamant, I opposed it. Because I knew this would happen.”
“That was to show that the Kingdom of Adamant is a great nation that can embrace all people. You know this well, Count…”
“Who can’t say such fine-sounding words?”
Count Hadon frowned and crossed his arms.
“Foreigners, other races, and criminals who couldn’t live in their own countries and drifted here all have their reasons and circumstances. Yet you declared you’d give permanent residency to anyone except death row inmates—how could you be so reckless?”
To dare call the king reckless.
Prime Minister Riette cleared his throat and raised his hand.
“Count Hadon, that’s enough. You’re the one being reckless right now…”
“It was also His Majesty who made the rule that anyone can speak freely in state council meetings regardless of status.”
At Count Hadon’s response, Riette closed his mouth.
The other nobles also showed little reaction, seemingly thinking the count’s words weren’t wrong.
“Right.”
Kaiden, who had been silent, slowly opened his mouth.
“…I understand Count Hadon’s point well.”
“Y-Your Majesty?”
“Yes, this agenda item likely has considerable weight from the reason you pointed out.”
Tension appeared on the faces of the nobles, including Prime Minister Riette.
‘He’s acknowledging it so readily?’
King Kaiden wasn’t a tyrant, but he also wasn’t a benevolent ruler who was generous to his subjects. If anything, he was closer to a hegemon. That’s what the first king to establish this nation was like.
“Ahem, to think you’d listen properly to my loyal advice without misunderstanding—this is quite an honor…”
“So?”
“…Pardon?”
“If you’ve pointed out the problem, you must have thought of corresponding solutions, right?”
“Pardon? Well…”
“You must have at least a few methods to defeat the groups systematically engaging in kidnapping and slave trading in this country, right?”
He’d rather just tell him to shut up.
Count Hadon closed his mouth tightly with a displeased expression.
“Prime Minister.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Strengthen border inspections and tell the regional lords to track and monitor those suspected of being slave traders or involved in human trafficking.”
The Prime Minister nodded, then hesitated for a moment.
“Should I tell them to only monitor?”
“Yes. Slave traders usually operate in cells. If we can’t eliminate them all at once, we’ll only catch the lizard’s tail, so tell them not to act rashly.”
“Understood.”
The nobles exchanged subtle glances among themselves at Kaiden’s words.
‘I can clearly see they’ll gossip behind my back about how mercenary origins are different.’
Their reactions were so transparent that he wasn’t even annoyed anymore.
“Then for the next agenda item…”
Kaiden rested his chin on his hand and looked out the window.
Governing state affairs was the king’s most important duty, but dealing with old, greedy nobles was still a tedious task.
‘What is she doing right now.’
Though he was listening to the meeting agenda, the young king’s heart seemed to be elsewhere.
‘Rachel.’
His mind was already filled entirely with his bride’s face.
* * *
“Good grief, you’re really stirring up trouble.”
“Hmph, what do you mean?”
“When the slave trader topic came up.”
Outside the meeting room.
The nobles who had just attended the state council meeting were gathered in small groups, talking among themselves.
“Why did you have to provoke His Majesty?”
“Provoke?”
Count Hadon snorted at his fellow noble who was scolding him.
“I didn’t say anything wrong, and provoke is too strong a word…”
“You didn’t ask because you didn’t know why His Majesty generously accepted outsiders, did you, Count Hadon?”
Prime Minister Riette approached Count Hadon with a bundle of documents under one arm.
“Did you forget that you shouldn’t touch that particular subject, regardless of anything else?”
“Ahaha! This really isn’t funny at all.”
At the Prime Minister’s point, Count Hadon let out a soulless laugh.
“I’ve disliked it from the beginning. I couldn’t understand why he enacted such ridiculous laws just to bring some foreign lover to his side.”
The Kingdom of Adamant had an ideology established at its founding.
Thanks to the king’s insistence, this ideology was firmly inscribed in Adamant’s legal code, though it was somewhat difficult for the nobles to accept.
“‘Adamant recognizes as citizens all those who truly wish to become Adamant’s people, regardless of gender, age, or status.'”
Even criminals could enjoy everything available to Adamant’s citizens if they could just prove they had truly repented!
“It sounds absurd just hearing it, but even more absurd is that this ridiculous law…”
Was actually created because of just one person.
Count Hadon clicked his tongue and turned his head away.
“Honestly, I don’t think Count Hadon’s words are wrong.”
One noble sided with him.
“The first queen being a woman from another country. She’s not even royalty, nor a proper noble.”
Rachel, Adamant’s first queen.
The nobles spoke the name of a woman they found neither noble nor special, questioning her qualifications.
Crack.
Little did they know that the person in question was hiding in a nearby tree, listening to their entire conversation.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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