Chapter 105 Old Connections
She didn’t have anything concrete to go on. In fact, she couldn’t even guess at the moment, but she had a strong feeling that Jonathan was up to something behind the scenes.
‘What was it? What was Jonathan up to behind the scenes?’
Veronia sat still and began to recall the now-defunct plot of the original novel, piece by piece.
The plot had already been completely twisted, but knowing what the original Jonathan had done would give her an idea of what the current Jonathan was capable of.
‘In the original, he was just a Crown Prince, but now that he’s an Emperor, he’ll be able to do a lot more things… and be more intense than he was in the original.’
Veronia hid her expression and thought hard. She had to find the clue, it had to be somewhere in her memories.
***
Leaving the palace, the group headed for the nursery on the outskirts of the capital.
Fire extinguishers were installed in many of the nurseries and temples, and the reason they had chosen this one in particular for today’s visit was because of a small fire that had occurred a few days earlier.
The fire started in the kitchen, and fortunately, thanks to the newly installed fire suppression harnesses, it was able to pass without any major damage.
“It’s all thanks to the grace of His Majesty the Emperor!”
The director of the nursery school bowed low and thanked Jonathan. The nursery teachers and children standing behind the director bowed as well.
“Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty!”
“You saved our lives!”
“Thank you so much, Your Imperial Majesty!”
The crisp, clear voices of the children clearly moved everyone at the ceremony. Jonathan was too.
The fire extinguisher had saved the day in what could have been a major fire, Jonathan thought. It was truly a picture of heavenly help. He was looking forward to the headline in tomorrow morning’s paper.
The jovial atmosphere continued throughout the ceremony. The director led everyone to the scene of the fire. Charred marks were clearly visible on one wall of the kitchen.
“This is where the fire started, and the fire extinguisher immediately went off, spraying water all over the kitchen. If it had been any later, the whole building would have burned down, and I shudder to think about it.”
“Oh my God!”, “We could have been in trouble!”, “Heaven help us!”, and other exclamations came out of people’s mouths as they listened to his heartfelt explanation.
Later, the fire extinguishers were shown in action. A wooden hut was built in the front yard, surrounded by walls on three sides, with a fire extinguisher harness attached to the ceiling.
“His Majesty can light the hut on fire.”
Judith, who was presiding, handed Jonathan an arrow. An oil-soaked rag was wrapped around the arrowhead. Jonathan’s eyes sparkled with interest as he took the arrow. He immediately lit the shaft, pulled the string, and released the bowstring.
When the arrow was struck, the hut quickly burst into flames. But it was short-lived, as water began pouring from the ceiling and the flames were soon extinguished.
The onlookers cheered as water poured like rain from the hut’s ceiling.
“Oh, that’s how it works!” they exclaimed.
“It’s like it’s raining!”
“Look, the fire is already out!”
“This is such an excellent magic tool, I want to install it in my mansion!”
When the dwindling flames finally disappeared completely, everyone began to clap in unison. Snap, snap, the whole courtyard was filled with the smell of smoke and the sound of clapping.
And just like that, the day’s events were slowly coming to a close.
During a brief intermission, the director of the nursery approached Killion, lowering his voice to a whisper.
“Your Excellency, last time we spoke, you said you were working on the nationalization of the orphanage. Are you making any progress?”
“Certainly, sir. I expect to send out a full announcement in a month or two.”
“Oh, I’m glad to hear that!”
Killion’s answer brought a big smile to the director’s face. If the orphanage was chosen for nationalisation, he thought, it would mean a new chapter in the orphanage’s life, with all sorts of support from the Crown.
But then Jonathan interrupted, calling out to Killion.
“But, Lord Chancellor.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Killion bowed at Jonathan’s summons.
“Shouldn’t the Lord Chancellor be spending the next half year commercializing the magic tools?”
“That is correct, Your Majesty.”
“So he doesn’t have time to devote to such a huge undertaking as the nationalization of the nurseries right now?”
“…”
Killion was speechless for a moment, for Jonathan was not wrong.
Originally, he had planned to focus on the nationalization of the nurseries before leaving for the province.
He was inwardly worried that half a year would not be enough time, no matter how much time and effort he put into it, and then, just an hour ago, he had received a new assignment from the Emperor.
‘It will be difficult to lay the basic foundations for both the nationalization of the nursery and the commercialisation of horse tools in half a year.’
No matter how capable Killion was, and how easily he gave up, this was a different story. This was a matter of national importance, and the slightest mistake would be unacceptable.
Jonathan, looking serious, spoke up again.
“I’m hoping that the Lord Chancellor will put more effort into the commercialisation of the harnesses rather than the nationalization of the nursery.”
“…”
“I’m not saying we don’t need to nationalize the nurseries. I’m just saying that there needs to be a distinction between what should be prioritized and what shouldn’t.”
“Understood, Your Majesty. We’ll stabilize the commercialisation of the harnesses first, and then proceed with the nationalization of the nurseries when we’re fully prepared.”
“Very well.”
A satisfied grin spread across Jonathan’s face, as if he liked Killion’s answer.
‘There must be some connection between Jonathan and the nursery… and a very dark and scary… old connection at that!’
Veronia threw her arm around Killion’s shoulders, making plans to scrutinize the imperial newspaper articles she’d been clipping more closely when they got back to the manor.
***
On the carriage ride back to the palace, Tate had to ride alone.
In the silence of the carriage, Tate sat alone, staring out the window, his eyes burning.
‘To treat me like that in front of everyone, brother, you’ve made a mistake today!’
Andamun’s molars grinded together, and he wished he had a whisky to soothe his feverish chest. In truth, it wasn’t Jonathan who was irritating Tate now, but Killion.
‘Killion, I don’t like him… in a lot of ways.’
Tate was annoyed with Killion, who hadn’t left Jonathan’s side all day, his face impassive, as if he had no interest in power. The fact that she had brought her fiancé with her was unspeakable.
‘I had been reassured that being betrothed to a commoner would mean little in central politics, but… perhaps I was wrong.’
The Dukes of Drea were already a large and powerful family, and marrying someone who had no in-laws to add to their ranks seemed like a losing proposition, but judging by the way things were going, it wasn’t.
‘Perhaps that is what has won my brother’s favor.’
Jonathan had always been wary of Killion since childhood, especially after his betrothal to his sister Veronia, and was openly disliked and jealous of him.
‘But Killion, who is about to marry a commoner, is not to be feared? On the contrary, perhaps he sees it as an opportunity to keep his loyalty…’
Hmph, he sighed. Things were taking a strange turn. Suddenly, he remembered Sandra’s words, her eyes narrowing.
‘Don’t you think the Duke of Drea is the one who started the attack on Caspian?’
“When the Duke of Drea turned his back on Caspian, the world turned against him.’
‘And who do you think is next? You, Tate.’
‘So be careful, Tate. You’re going to have to save yourself.’
The words were full of hatred for Killion. There was also some concern for Tate thrown in there.
It was a little out of focus from what Sandra was worried about, but he had to agree that he should be careful with Killion.
‘Killion, if I don’t get him… away from his side, I’ll be a cold fish forever.’
It would be a good thing if he stayed a mere servant. If he lost his power, he might get caught up in a ridiculous feud and be swept away completely.
‘I have to do something…’
Tate’s brow furrowed as he realized that he would have to schedule a visit with Sandra soon.
