Chapter 62
Princess Muriela sat on the sofa, gently sipping the tea Patrick had given her and swinging her feet back and forth.
By now, the fact that her feet no longer reached the floor when she sat somewhere didn’t feel strange.
If anything, it felt more comfortable, since she could freely play around like this.
Of course, to Patrick and his wife—whose children had all grown and left the house—she looked simply adorable.
Even the wife, who had just been glaring at her foolish husband in suspicion, now had a smile at the corner of her lips.
Meanwhile, Solinor swirled the tea inside his mouth, evaluating its taste. What is he, a sommelier?
‘Hmm, not bad at all.’
In truth, he didn’t know much about tea. Solinor simply liked the sugary taste.
But the tea he drank as an adult in the past felt noticeably different from the one he was drinking now.
‘The tea I drank back then didn’t seem sweet at all. Has the era changed or something?’
Of course, it was just people’s way of being considerate toward the child, Princess Muriela.
There was no point in giving her bitter tea—it would only earn a scrunched-up face. So milk and sugar were added.
Naturally, it was the same for the other royal children like Adeline, Kasper, and Kaelen.
The only one who drank tea without sugar was Alfred. That’s the dignity of a crown prince for you.
Still, Solinor had never been a tea drinker, so he couldn’t have known any of this.
He only began properly drinking tea after ending up in Muriela’s body.
Back when he lived as himself, he drank wine exclusively.
But in the body of his granddaughter, that was obviously not allowed. Now, he had grown rather accustomed to the taste of tea.
The sweet snacks served alongside the tea were also quite tasty. Though, really, it was just all sugar flavor.
Yet there he was, puffing up his chest as if he understood the world of tea—despite not even knowing what real tea tasted like.
Patrick brought a cup of tea for himself and sat on the sofa opposite Muriela. Naturally, he hadn’t added sugar.
He waited for the princess to finish chewing her snack before speaking with a smile.
“Your Highness, the other officials in charge of budget evaluation are very different from me. Of course, I’m sure someone as wise as you already knows this, but I say it out of cautious concern.”
Hearing that, Solinor thought to himself—what an obvious thing to say.
“That goes without saying. You’re a loyal official who protects his post for the sake of the country, and they’re people who’ve forgotten their duties, swept up in the tides of the times.”
“I’m honored to hear you say that. But my colleagues are not all entirely wicked either.”
Patrick, of course, found the corruption of Silbrenoa’s officials deeply regrettable.
However, he didn’t believe it all stemmed purely from individual lack of virtue or cunning.
Of course, there were exceptions—some were such dreadful people he didn’t even want to associate with them.
But most had the mindset of, “Everyone else is doing it, so why can’t I?”
In other words, if the system were corrected, they could become officials who served properly.
Though for those who had already acquired a taste for the profits of corruption, there was no saving them.
‘If we cut down everyone just because they made a mistake, we’ll end up with no one left to do the work. I need to help the princess understand that.’
The only viable path forward was to keep the ones in good shape and retrain them to help govern.
Since King Eldric had abolished basic education and universities for the people, there had been a sharp drop in new talent.
If all the corrupt officials were fired, there’d be no one left to fill their positions.
That’s why education is said to be a hundred-year plan. Once broken, it can’t be restored quickly.
Of course, since the princess had yet to actually take power, no officials were in immediate danger of being dismissed.
But Patrick’s instincts told him that the day she seized power would come sooner than expected.
And so, having this conversation now would not be a bad idea.
What’s more, the people she was about to visit held some of the most important posts in the budgeting department.
She couldn’t fire or reform them right away—and unnecessarily earning their resentment would be unwise.
“They too, when they first entered public service decades ago, had noble ambitions to prove their worth through proper means. It’s just that the circumstances didn’t allow for that. I sincerely hope Your Highness will consider this.”
He was prepared to be misunderstood as defending his corrupt colleagues due to bias.
But it was a heartfelt warning from an aging official who didn’t spare himself.
Solinor, however, already knew all of that.
He hadn’t been a king for nothing, after all.
“Of course. Leading a country—or really, any large organization—means gathering imperfect pieces and letting them support each other to form a structure. If you remove every piece just because you dislike them, the whole thing is bound to collapse.”
It was cheat-code-level knowledge—born from someone who had once experienced founding a nation.
Solinor was, after all, the man who gathered power in a remote, backwater land at the edge of the continent and founded a nation.
If he had cut down everyone with slightly different ideals or questionable morals, nothing would have remained.
That was why he had even granted greedy local powers noble titles and autonomy.
Hearing the princess speak, Patrick could only be amazed once again.
Shock. Shock. Overwhelming shock.
That an eight-year-old princess could grasp such concepts—it wasn’t something mere intelligence could achieve.
He had come to truly believe that she was the final hope for the crumbling kingdom of Silbrenoa.
“…As expected of Your Highness. Such astounding insight. This foolish Patrick is ashamed for having dared to offer presumptuous advice.”
“No, it was a necessary conversation. Even the wisest ruler can do nothing without the counsel of her vassals. And I’m not that wise a person to begin with.”
Solinor meant every word.
Even the thoughts they just discussed weren’t entirely his own.
They were lessons gained through the wise advice and experiences of many loyal companions.
Back in the early days of adventuring, when he clung only to justice, he wouldn’t have been able to build a proper nation.
Some might say that being rounded down as a jagged stone rolls and smooths over obstacles is compromise.
But Solinor didn’t see it that way. He believed that yielding where necessary was also a form of strength.
And to have a subordinate who offered sincere advice like this was a great blessing.
While they were talking, a knock came at the door.
Patrick’s wife, still unaware of the situation, rushed to answer—but Patrick stopped her.
He went to the door himself and asked,
“Who is it?”
“It’s Hamilton. Is the guest well?”
“Of course. Come in.”
As the door opened, Sir Hamilton and the two maids entered, all disguised.
The disguises were Florina’s handiwork.
Rotten as things were, she was still a spymaster, so this much was easy.
Muriela burst into laughter upon seeing them.
“Hahaha! All your faces look weird!”
“Your Highness, I hope nothing happened to you.”
“Of course not, Sir Hamilton. Bianca, Florina. Now that we’re all here, let’s get started.”
They sat in the drawing room, discussing which official they should visit first.
Patrick, familiar with his colleagues, shared valuable information.
“This man, though currently swept up in politics and accepting bribes, was originally a conscientious fellow. From what I remember, he was fairly honest. But a few years ago, due to personal hardship, he gave in just once—and lost his way. Even now, he still lives quite modestly.”
“Then let’s visit him first. He might be easier to talk to.”
“Yes, I agree. He’s not someone who would be deaf to Your Highness’s words. He’s even donated part of the bribe money to help the poor. He has a conscience—just easily swayed.”
Solinor nodded. That was more than enough to be considered useful.
Isn’t there a saying? In a land of the one-eyed, the two-eyed are seen as fools.
Everyone was taking bribes and making secret requests—Patrick, who refused to do so, seemed like the odd one.
Of course, in any group of five people, there’s always one piece of trash. There were also irredeemable officials.
“…Sigh. This one… I’m ashamed to call him a colleague. But he likely won’t be home right now.”
“Huh? Why not? It’s a day off.”
“Yes, precisely because it’s a day off. He’s probably in a luxury bar, surrounded by hostesses and drinking heavily.”
“It’s the middle of the day!”
Even Solinor, who loved alcohol, was shocked at that.
He enjoyed drinking, but not in broad daylight.
“…To be honest, even on workdays, he leaves early to spend lavishly and party. As far as I know, he’s connected with several influential merchants and supports them from behind the scenes.”
In a world without a parliament, nobles and high-ranking officials who could meet with the king held immense power.
Especially with King Eldric, who was lazy in everything, the influence of those men was even greater.
As long as you proposed merchant-friendly policies and praised the king half-heartedly, he’d usually approve.
With that kind of system, how could bribery not run rampant?
But this particular official had gone too far.
Princess Muriela’s eyes burned with fiery determination.
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