“Your Highness, Grand Duchess. I heard you call me.”
Sergey, who had come to the office at Frey’s call, bowed his head.
Frey offered him a seat and asked Emma for tea.
The reason she called him was because of the news she heard from Lina the other day.
“I heard that the club was formed on the day when regular classes at the academy started.”
“Ah…This is a club for reading books and simply exchanging opinions. I made a quick decision because I thought it would be nice to have a conversation with people who have similar interests.” Sergey gave a standard answer.
But Frey knew what the ‘reading club’ was for.
The academy’s clubs have a great effect on forming a kind of personal network that connects seniors and juniors.
In particular, when a senior in a club gets a seat in a good place or is assigned an important task, the competition rate for joining the club tends to increase.
It was to share the know-how that led to the important position.
‘Even at the university I went to in my previous life, the club seniors gave me a lot of job information. It’s the same here.’
Frey asked after taking a sip of tea.
“Aren’t there already quite a few academic clubs at the academy?”
“I lost interest in clubs that had already been created because I heard that the ranks within the clubs were firm. It would be difficult to freely exchange opinions in such an atmosphere.” Sergey answered in a relaxed voice.
Frey’s eyes lit up like someone who had found something interesting.
“Really? I thought that Sergey created the club to create political colleagues to be with in the future.”
“……”
Sergey, who was hit hard, couldn’t take his lips off the teacup for a moment.
‘Of course, I will read books, but the biggest reason for creating a club was people.’
‘There’s no one I know in the capital.’
Sergey had a hunch that he would rise to a very high position.
At that time, he had to work at the academy in advance to hire smart young people.
He had only wrapped it in the clichéd theme of reading because he was afraid others would laugh at him saying that he dreamed in vain when they heard it.
‘But Grand Duchess Frey can clearly see this level of intention.’
Sergey felt a certain embarrassment.
‘Was it because I was trying to hide my intentions in front of the person with the strongest power in the empire?’
If not, then perhaps he had revealed a great ambition that he had kept to himself.
What was certain was the embarrassment he felt because his opponent was Grand Duchess Prause.
Frey gave a smile and continued.
“It would be nice to start slowly from the club, but since you seem to have a more impatient personality than you look, let me tell you a quick way.”
She handed Sergey a piece of paper with people’s names on it.
“Do you recognize the names?”
“Among the members of the council, these are the names of the lower nobles who are related to the Duke of Gelon.”
“That’s right. All of them have less than a year left on their terms. But these people have been wanting to step down for health reasons for the past few days.”
Frey put a piece of tea food into her mouth as if she didn’t understand why.
However, Sergey knows why the lower nobles suddenly resigned.
‘Since Her Highness started to take an interest in the council, those who interacted with Gelon must have thought that it was obvious that they would be fired.’
If they were fired while serving as a member of the council, their monthly pension would be over.
However, if they voluntarily resigned before they were fired, citing poor health, they would not have to suffer dishonor and their pension would be safe.
“If lawmakers with less than a year left in their terms step down…”
Frey answered Sergey’s question before he finished.
“That’s right. For efficiency, he has to recommend his own successor to the council to replace him for the remainder of his term.”
“In the end, won’t people with similar political inclinations come in as successors?”
“No, they won’t. I told them I’d make sure they got their pension, and thankfully they said they would nominate people I cared about as their successor.”
‘Is it really because of the pension?’
Sergey realized that the Grand Duchess had a knack for drying people’s blood with a calm face.
“Sergey. You and a few other scholarship students will have to fulfill both academy classes and council duties.”
“…..!”
Sergey’s eyes trembled greatly.
It’s a short period of time, but being able to experience the council before graduating from the academy is definitely a great opportunity.
‘I was worried too…’
However, those who were selected together, including himself, were also people who had studied politics for a long time, so it seemed that they could do better than the lower nobles playing around.
“Thank you for the opportunity, your Highness the Grand Duchess.”
“I would appreciate it if you would not forget this feeling even there.”
It was only days later that Sergey figured out exactly what Frey meant.
* * *
“The chairman of the Council, Rubel, meets Her Highness, Grand Duchess Prause.”
“Nice to meet you. Is this your first visit to the mansion?”
“That’s right. I just want to thank you for allowing me to have an audience with you.”
In the afternoon, the chairman of the Council and several members of the Council visited the Grand Duke Prause’s mansion.
It was a successful meeting when Frey responded positively to Rubel’s letter requesting an audience.
Sergey instinctively realized.
‘Looking at the people gathered here, important decisions will be made here.’
True to his suspicions, Frey had Lina bring her a copy of the Imperial law.
“Since the chairman is here, I want to ask you something. Who decides the next emperor of the empire?”
When the word next emperor came out, one of the members gasped.
Chairman Rubel calmly replied, wiping the sweat from his palms onto his knees.
“That is…After the decision is made by His Majesty the Emperor, who is the Father of the Empire and is more dignified than anyone else on earth, the members of the Council of Elders vote.”
In fact, the decision was made by the emperor, but it meant that obtaining consent from the Council was essential.
Frey’s eyes lit up and asked the next question.
“Then, what if the Council decides that the successor by the emperor is not enough to inherit the throne?”
At the word ‘not enough to inherit the throne’, one member of the Council began to break out in a cold sweat like a waterfall.
Rubel answered again, swallowing dry saliva.
“That, that… If the Council of Elders had Highness Tahar—”
“Oh, I never mentioned His Highness Tahar.”
Frey playfully corrects his mistakes, and Chairman Rubel is on the verge of crying.
“I, I made a mistake!”
“If there was someone who immediately came to your mind with the word insufficient successor, it could be confusing. I will forgive you.”
“…..”
Chairman Rubel remained silent for a moment before replying.
“Afterwards, if the qualifications of the successor are deemed insufficient, the Council may postpone the selection of the successor through a vote under Imperial Law and recheck the qualifications of the successor.”
“If two-thirds of the elders agree, we can challenge His Majesty’s decision, right?”
Frey summarized Rubel’s words with a nonchalant face.
In fact, it was something everyone knew.
‘Until now, Duke Gelon was holding the Council tightly, so my father had a lot of difficulties in managing state affairs. But now was the time to take advantage of it.’
“I’ll ask you one more question, Chairman Rubel.”
“…..”
Rubel, who was pale, could only nod in affirmation.
“Then, what if the people think that the emperor’s successor lacks the qualifications?”
“Oh, that’s it!”
Rubel’s complexion brightened.
It was because Frey’s question was standard in the academy law department exam.
“His Majesty, the first emperor who laid the foundations of the current imperial law, thought that the people also had the right not to be ruled by ignorant tyrants.”
“Okay…”
“That’s why we have commoner members in the Council. And, if two-thirds of all members agree, the member can ask the Emperor to review the qualifications of the successor….”
Rubel answered with relief that he had gotten off the hook, only then did he notice that the Grand Duchess’s eyes were shining significantly.
“So, if two-thirds of the council agrees, there will be a situation where we have to discuss the successor again.”
“……”
‘Oh, I wish someone would knock me out right now.’
Chairman Rubel would rather faint.
‘Don’t tell me you want to use the council’s authority to question the quality of Prince Tahar.’
‘Of course, The Council has that power, but…It’s a privilege that only appears in exam questions.’
Everyone in the Empire knows that the Council is not big enough to ask for something from the Council of Elders, which is made up of the highest-ranking nobles in the Empire.
Nevertheless, the Grand Duchess held out a document with a satisfied face.
“This is a list decided by those who have left their terms for less than one year among the members who quit this time.”
“…..”
“I was a little embarrassed because they were all sponsored by me. They haven’t even graduated from the academy yet.”
“haha…”
“They will meet you in Council as a Member of Council next week, so please teach them a lot.”
Looking at Frey, who seemed embarrassed, Sergey realized.
The reason why Frey Prouse gathered talented children from all over the country was beyond Gelon’s reach.
* * *
