Early next morning, Prince Rian and Earl Rosewood on the duelling field. Today, they weren’t fighting each other. Instead, they were silently coordinating their attacks and trying out several new combined attack and defence moves. Wind propelled knife-sharp ice; lightning travelled down water; shadows stretched from earth.
Many students gathered to watch, staring hard and trying to dissect every move.
Not only did they want to create such powerful moves with their duelling partner, they also wanted to figure out how to defeat Prince Rian and Earl Rosewood.
At the end of their practice, Ren Xiyang glanced at the spectators and then sent a thought to Rian: Why don’t we ask a few teams to duel against us, so that we can practice duelling with this telepathy link?
Duel? You want to duel? Yes! Rian strode over to the spectators and smiled.
“Would any of you be willing to practice team-duelling against us tomorrow morning?” he asked.
The students: !!!!!!!
It was so worth it to get up early to watch Prince Rian and Earl Rosewood!
“Yes!”
“My partner and I are ready, Your Highness!”
“We’re willing, Ayden!”
“Let’s do it this way,” Rian said. “Tomorrow, we’ll practice against two teams for fifteen minutes, and then another two teams. Other teams will have to wait to the day afterwards, is that acceptable?”
Fifteen minutes didn’t sound like much, but energy intensive attacks and defence quickly ate up magic.
The students quickly nodded their heads. That was very acceptable.
Rian brightened like the sun. He loved duelling!
Pollux was busy these days.
He had meetings and healing sessions with Ayden. He had afternoon teas with Prince Alexius. He worked on the new generation of floating chairs, and he worked on spells to liquefy metal. He often had dinner at the Rosewood house with Hadrian—if he was eating at the Angio embassy, then he’d either be eating by himself or with some polite and distant Angian ambassador. It was nice to be able to talk to Hadrian in Angian. Lately, they had also been talking about the restaurant idea—Hadrian had been trained to oversee the Terra fief and its industries, so he had a better grasp on what was needed than Pollux did.
And now, he had university lectures to attend too.
After three days of classes, Pollux was starting to settle into his new rhythm. The Angio embassy was located quite centrally, so it didn’t take him long to travel to the Sedaverian Imperial University. However, after his lectures were done, he still liked going to the Rosewood house, which was further away.
On this particular day, Pollux also had a healing session with Ayden. Although Ayden was careful not to go as far as to cause (more) pain, Pollux always felt a bit uncomfortable and strained afterwards. He was tired by the time his mirror connected with Aurelia’s for their weekly meeting.
“Pollux, how are you?” Aurelia’s face was calm, but she also showed traces to tiredness.
“Good evening, Aurelia. University lectures started a few days ago,” Pollux said.
“How are you finding it?”
“There have been introductory lectures, so they’re clear and simple enough to understand.”
One by one, Aurelia asked about different aspects of Pollux’s life—how he currently felt about living in the Sedaverian Capital, how his project with Ayden and Prince Alexius was going, how his research with Hadrian Terra was proceeding, and how his healing sessions were progressing.
Today, Pollux explained how his back felt stronger and how it was easier to sit up straighter. (He would never, ever talk to Aurelia about the increased sensation in his groin!)
“That’s good to hear,” Aurelia said. “The convoy of healers will be reaching the Angio-Sedaverian border soon.”
Pollux frowned. “Ayden is currently busy with the harvest season.”
“They should arrive afterwards. I’ve already put them in contact with the Sedaverian’s main hospital, so they won’t take up too much of Earl Rosewood’s time.”
“And how is the harvest in Angio this year?” This wasn’t a question that Pollux would have ever asked about previously, but Ayden had influenced him.
“The harvest has been passable, given the circumstances. I have decided that farmers are exempt from tax this year. The state will grow its own food and buy food from others to distribute to those areas in need,” Aurelia said.
“That would affect the treasury.”
“The treasury is not a problem for you to worry about. The sale of the magic crystals has been lucrative, and many noble families have lent or donated gold to help distribute food. However, if you need more gold, I’ll ask the embassy to give you more. There will also be more gold being delivered with the healer convoy.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Pollux was about to decline more gold, but then he remembered something else.
“Qtja lr la?” Cegfilj rjlv.
Ubiiez vfmlvfv ab yf j yla wbgf ilxf Cifzler jcv ags tlr iemx. “P’nf yffc ajixlcu klat Ljvgljc jcv Uglcmf Eljc jybea rfaalcu eq j gfrajegjca tfgf.” Vfflcu atja Cegfilj vlvc’a lwwfvljafis vlrwlrr tlw, tf mbcalcefv. “Ktfgf jgf rfnfgji Cculjc fjalcu frajyilrtwfcar lc Vfvjnfglj, tbkfnfg, atfs asqlmjiis rfgnf ragffa obbv bg mbwwbc vlrtfr. P kjca ab bqfc j gfrajegjca atja rfgnfr Pwqfglji-Cculjc melrlcf, rb atja atf Vfvjnfgljcr tfgf mjc tjnf j ajraf bo atf yfra kf mjc boofg. Uglcmf Eljc lr tfiqlcu wf klat atf ifuji wjaafgr jcv atf ibulralmr. Ktfgf jgf wjcs fifwfcar atja klii gfdelgf gfrbegmfr jcv qfgrbccfi—Dea sbe vbc’a cffv ab ulnf wf wbcfs. P mjc jrx Uglcmf Eljc bg Uglcmf Cifzler. P mbeiv jirb ufa jc jvnjcmfv qjswfca ogbw ws qgbpfma klat Csvfc jcv Uglcmf Cifzler…”
Pollux cut himself off, embarrassed. He had been talking and planning with Hadrian about this earlier, so these things were fresh in his mind.
“I’m willing to allocate you some gold,” Aurelia said. “Alternatively, I can provide an investment and take some percentage of profits going forward. You may choose the option that suits you best.”
Pollux nodded quickly. “I’ll prepare a plan.” Through his project work with Ayden and Prince Alexius, he was familiar with the idea of profit sharing and investment.
“Anything else?”
“Yes…” Pollux hesitated even more. He couldn’t look at Aurelia’s eyes as he said, “May I stay at the Rosewood house, at least for some nights of the week?”
Aurelia hadn’t expected the restaurant plan, but she hadn’t expected this even more. Through the mirror, she gazed at Pollux’s face.
Pollux looked a little tired, but not nearly as tired as Aurelia felt. His eyes were brighter. She didn’t know if he realised, but Pollux spoke in a livelier manner these days.
Aurelia could tell that he was happy being around Lord Hadrian Terra and Earl Ayden Rosewood and in Sedaveria in general.
“Provided that Earl Rosewood and the Rosewood house can demonstrate their security, you may.”
Pollux’s eyes brightened. He had an unconscious smile on his lips. “Thank you, Aurelia.”
The end of the scheduled meeting time was approaching, so Aurelia wrapped up the call and bid Pollux good night.
Aurelia put a cover of the mirror and sighed.
After she ascended the throne, the nobles had been obedient. However, of late, the nobles had started becoming rowdy again, especially after she told them they weren’t allowed to collect agricultural taxes from the farmers in their fiefs.
The ladies-in-waiting who contacted Lady Florence Sage wrote a small booklet of plant spells and Aurelia ‘thoughtfully’ had the booklet distributed.
Nobles complained about money the most, but there were other matters they came back to as well.
They wanted to know what Aurelia was planning to do with the underground tower, be it complete destruction, preservation as a lesson for future generations, or even turned into memorial to remember the victims.
They wanted to know whether—and when—Aurelia would send armies to reclaim the northern borderlands and to suppress Viscount Amethystus who was still declaring independence.
They wanted to know when Aurelia was going to marry a nobleman and start producing heirs.
These days, Aurelia’s ‘ladies-in-waiting’ included several young men with different types of handsomeness, willingness, and work ethic.
She had been queen for a few months, not even a year. Couldn’t those nobles be more obedient and useful?
Knock knock.
Aurelia spelled the door open.
Lady Iris Helios stepped through, carrying a tray. “Your Majesty.”
The guards standing outside closed the door.
Aurelia immediately got up. “Iris.”
“Your Majesty, please take a break.” Iris put the tray on the coffee table and served a hot drink for Aurelia, and then one for herself.
Aurelia sat down and took a sip. She frowned. “There’s no energy tonic in this.”
“Your Majesty—”
“We’re in private.”
“My lady—”
Aurelia frowned. “Iris.”
“You can’t keep using the energy tonic. You’ll be ruling for decades, not months,” Lady Iris said.
Aurelia briefly closed her eyes before opening them again. “I have several tasks that have been delayed—”
“Make the board work more. Make the ladies- and gentlemen-in-waiting work more. Make the nobles in court work more.”
“Do you want more work, chief executive?”
“The Queen’s Board is here to assist you.”
“Should I send some of those gentlemen-in-waiting to fields to grow crops?”
There was a brief flash in Lady Iris’s eyes. “Yes.”
Aurelia pursed her lips slightly. “You don’t like the gentlemen-in-waiting?”
Lady Iris’s lips tightened.
“Iris.”
“Those noblemen don’t have a fraction of your ability, yet they aspire to the throne,” Lady Iris said. “They see that you are more lenient than your father and so they dare.”
Aurelia felt wry inside. Oh, she had entertained the thought of silencing several nobles, especially during morning court. But she was weaker than her father; and the nobles knew it too. She had to govern in a different way. “Then what do you think I should do? Eventually, the best candidate must be chosen.”
Marriage had been historically used as a way to stabilise relationships, and Aurelia’s own marriage would be such a tool.
“Make them prove themselves,” Lady Iris said. “Let them grow crops. Let them go back to their fiefs and grow more crops. See which one can grow the most crops. Make them compete in paying the most taxes.”
Aurelia gave a short laugh despite herself. She must have been more tired than expected.
“Your Majesty, please get some rest.”
“I’ll assign the task of supervising them to you, Chief Executive,” Aurelia said.
Lady Iris nodded. “Consider it done.”
The room lapsed into silence as they sipped their drinks.
It was at times like these that Aurelia remembered that she still didn’t understand what Lady Iris Helios truly wanted.
Independence from her father, Duke Helios? That had been achieved years ago.
Power? Lady Iris was now the chief executive of the Queen’s Board. There were few higher positions than that.
Money? Lady Iris did not exploit her position to enrich the Helios family. Her strictness with both herself and others was a key factor in why Aurelia trusted her so much.
“How about you, Iris?” Aurelia broke the silence.
Lady Iris blinked. “Yes?”
“How about your marriage?”
“I’m here to negate my father’s marriage machinations,” Lady Iris said.
“Being my lady-in-waiting doesn’t stop you from getting married with the person you chose.”
“I have no interest in marrying a man who can’t work as hard as me,” Lady Iris said.
Aurelia rubbed her forehead. “Pollux tells me that Earl Rosewood works a lot.”
“I’ve also heard that Earl Rosewood meets with Prince Rian every evening and every morning.”
“Like we do.”
There was that unreadable look in Lady Iris’s eyes again. “Indeed.” She finished her drink and placed her cup on the tray. “Are you finished, Your Majesty? I’ll call in the maids.”
Aurelia put her cup down and stood up when Lady Iris stood up.
“Good night, Your Majesty. Let’s discuss how we can ease your schedule tomorrow morning,” Lady Iris said.
Aurelia nodded.
After Lady Iris left, Aurelia’s maids entered and helped her prepare for bed.
No matter how much Aurelia thought though, she couldn’t figure out Lady Iris’s meaning.
However, with the busyness of her days, she soon forgot about it once more.
On Friday morning, Ren Xiyang gave Rian a good-bye kiss went to the Parliament for the Imperial Council gathering. Somehow, it had been a month since the academy started—and a month since he had seen Baltasar Cordovan. The two met up outside the Parliament and entered together.
“…And now, the Minister of Education, Marquis Tyrian, would like to present a proposal of changes to the Imperial Magical Academy,” Deputy Prime Minister Marchioness Cloud said.
Ren Xiyang straightened in his seat.
The Minister of Education Marquis Tyrian stood. His gaze swept the hall, briefly pausing on Ren Xiyang.
“Dean Palatinate of the Imperial Magical Academy has submitted a proposal of changes to the academy board,” Marquis Tyrian said. “Dean Palatinate’s plan is thus: he wishes to introduce an alternative study scheme for high-achieving students. Through this scheme, high-achieving students have the opportunity to conduct research projects under the supervision of esteemed mages from the Imperial University and Capital Hospital and other distinguished institutions that wish to cooperate. These research study projects will be taken in place of the standard classes offered, under several conditions…” Marquis Tyrian articulated all the key points, and then said, “I open it to the Imperial Council to comment.”
Since the Imperial Council wasn’t on the academy board, there was no need to take a vote. Marquis Tyrian’s purpose was to gather some opinions before deciding on whether to pass the changes on his side.
Ren Xiyang raised his hand.
“Earl Rosewood, speak,” Marchioness Cloud said.
Ren Xiyang stood up. “Thank you to the Minister of Education Marquis Tyrian, thank you to Dean Palatinate of the Imperial Magical Academy. As a current student of the academy, I would welcome these changes that will invigorate students and raise the excellence of the academy graduates.”
Baltasar Cordovan quickly raised his hand next.
“Baron Cordovan, speak.”
Baltasar stood up. “I echo Earl Rosewood’s sentiments. If a student is capable of passing such exams, they should not waste their time in standard classes and should be able to pursue advanced education.”
One by one, various Imperial Councillors raised their hand and spoke. There were several dissidents, but the majority were in favour of the changes. For those Imperial Councillors who were parents with children they believed were extremely intelligent, supporting this change was in their best interest!
Ren Xiyang and Aurelia: Work work work work work—
Rian and Iris: You need to take a break!
Rian: Preferably with me, Yangyang~
Iris: *opens her mouth, but then closes it again*
website | tumblr | twitter | email newsletter
Come on Iris! I am rooting for you!!!
If Aurelia and Iris fall in love maybe Aurelia will dispose of direct descendants heirs and made all royal children possible heirs with the one that excells best in class or something to win the throne.
I dont see a true democracy as it feels like nobles would take over and run wild
With Aurelia and Iris, there is still the possibility of having their own biological …maybe they should fund research into that kind of thing 🤣🤣🤣 (there is research into this in real life!!!)
Yeah, a true democracy won’t come any time soon LOL
When those new marriage laws land I imagine that Aurelia would feel very enlightened when she hears the news 😂
Crack the whip Iris! Give those gentlemen in waiting a hard time! They’re the perfect targets to relieve your built up frustration.
She’ll definitely have a revelation eventually 🤣🤣
Iris is about to make some gentlemen’s lives very very painful 🤣🤣🤣
aureliaaa the answer is under your nose 🥲
Iris is very conflicted 😢
So Iris really likes Aurelia? 😶 didn’t catch it before….. And are Pollux and Hadrian going to be a pair too? 🤔
😆😆😆 I’ve made a decision so I’m now less subtle about it. As for Pollux and Hadrian… 😏😏
💚🌸💚
🥰🥰🥰
Poor Aurelia! And Iris.
Ren Xiyang is not poor, he’s fully enjoying himself. 🤣
Thank you for the chapter.
What Aurelia doesn’t know won’t hurt her (?) 😆😆
With Rian around, Ren Xiyang must have fun 😆😆
But she’s overworked! She needs a vacation. And someone to scare the nobles.
Aurelia and Iris are both overworked hahaha. But as long as I have a lot of work, they will too 😆
It’s so heart-warming to see Pollux doing so good (and like i’ve said before i can smell the ship between him ans Hadrian even more so than before) as for aurelia and lady iris it’s so obivious that lady iris is in love with aurelia and the poor lady cannot do anything because aurelia is so busy than she became dense, i just hope that these two will have an happy ending even if they do not end up being a couple
Again sorry if my english is bad and thank you for the chapter ^^
This story is hopefully going to be fullll of happy endings~~
Thank you for reading!!!!
Oh???? Yessss??? Iris please go kick out Aurelia’s suitors lmao make them work for it
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Iris seems to be kinda… don’t know what to call her…hardcore..? If she realized it was possible for her to be Aurelia’s lover, nothing’d ever stop her. She’s such a seme 💪🤣Also, Pollux and Hadrian, steer my ship well! 🥰
Iris is pretty intense 😏😏😏😏😏 Gotta get more scenes for Pollux and Hadrian, it seems!
I just had the mental image of Iris picking up a chibi Aurelia in front of the gentlemen in waiting and just saying “mine” 😂
OMG 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣