Enlightened Empire

For the rest of the Year-End Meeting, nothing outrageous happened. Some good numbers were presented, some old laws were tweaked, but by and large, last year's determined direction for the kingdom's development over the next five years was only reaffirmed.

After the last war, they had temporarily removed most internal disruptions and external threats to the kingdom's stability. This year had been no more than a cleanup of the mess the rebels had made. Thus, their progress had been quite steady and smooth. Not only that, the many small advantages Corco had introduced years ago — like the standardized industrial system and compulsory education — were now starting to show their effects after years of slow improvement.

As a result, Corco didn't have to worry too much about his kingdom for now. Even if he didn't actively intervene anymore, their advantage in various fields would still be enough to maintain stable growth for years to come, and thus to maintain an advantage over their enemies.

As a result, instead of worrying about his kingdom all the time, he had the leisure to worry about his people for once. Ever since his return, he had noticed more and more problems which had developed among his high-ranking officials. He wouldn't let internal conflicts, prejudices, or private grudges derail their country's development, not when they had only just started to get going. Thus, he felt like he would have to play therapist for a while, starting with the most important figure, and the one closest at hand.

After the end of the meeting, Corco intended to retain Fadelio for a private one-on-one talk, to figure out just why he had been so irritable today. However, he didn't have to say anything in the first place. As all the other officials filed out of the king's office, the prime minister alone patiently stayed behind. Usually, this wasn't the case. At the very least, he would lead the guests outside, out of politeness alone. Clearly, his friend had something on his mind as well.

Once everyone had left, and before Corco could say anything, Fadelio spoke up by himself.

"Master, I need to ask for advice again," he said, much to the king's delight.

"Sure, whatever you need." Corco showed a magnanimous smile and motioned towards one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Please, sit down."

"Master, I don't want to be rude, but... your last guidance really didn't work at all," a hesitant Fadelio said as he took a seat.

"What guidance? Why can't I remember?" Corco's memory was excellent, so why didn't any of this make sense to him? The more he thought, the more confused he got.

"The courtship advice," Fadelio tried to help out.

"Oh, the dating tips!" Corco finally remembered. No wonder he couldn't think of it. Why would Fadelio call his casual advice 'guidance'? Though of course, the king wouldn't investigate that deeply. His friend had always been stiff with his words. Instead of worrying about the wording, he was more interested in starting his therapy session.

"Is that why you've been so irritable today?" he asked instead, an important question he needed answered anyways.

"I have to apologize once more." Rather than explain himself, Fadelio once again reverted back to his instincts and bowed his head to his master, much to the master's annoyance.

"Don't apologize," Corco said. "Just tell me what's going on, and then we can fix the problem together."

They were still friends after all, even if Fadelio always liked to overemphasize their difference in status. Though for once, the lower-status of the friends dropped the facade.

"It's just so frustrating, you know?" he said, as he aggressively scratched his head, a rude gesture in stark contrast to his previous servility. "I've always been good at things. How can I fail at something so simple?"

"I take it that 'courtship' of yours didn't go so well?" Corco said, while suppressing a grin. He wouldn't make fun of his friend, at least not until he had collected enough ammunition first.

"No, I have been roundly rejected," Fadelio replied as his frown deepened. "Even though I did exactly as you said."

"I didn't really say much though. I just gave you three words."

Confidence, sincerity, and patience, that's what I said, Corco dimly remembered. Back then, he just thought it would be a neat-sounding way to quickly end an uncomfortable conversation. However, apparently, his casual words had seemed like wisdom from the heavens for his friend.

"No," Fadelio insisted. "I understood you perfectly, and completely followed the instructions. First I showed the girl my confidence."

Despite his rapidly beating heart — forced into action through nervousness and embarrassment — Fadelio stood in the queen's palace, in front of Llamka, Sumaci's personal maid. Although his posture was a bit embarrassing, he was determined to follow his master's advice. Corco's words had never before led him astray after all.

Thus, he had taken off his upper wear, and was now flexing his muscles to show off his greatest confidence. However, despite showing himself from his best side in front of his target for courtship, the maid only returned a cold stare.

The longer this lasted, the more embarrassed he became. Still, he couldn't show weakness here, even with the strong deterrence of the woman's glare. If he gave up halfway through, all of his master's good advice would be wasted, and his courtship would fail.

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"Not to worry," he thus said to Llamka while suppressing a nervous jitter in his voice. He even forced a wink in an acted show of confidence. "No matter what you do, you'll be mine anyways."

For a second, the maid's eyes grew larger in response to the confident words. Fadelio was already convinced that his self-assured manner had touched her heart. However, in the end, she just clenched her teeth and stared for a few seconds longer, before she left the room without a word.

"When that didn't work, I showed her my sincerity."

"So now, you should understand why our marriage is mutually beneficial," Fadelio concluded his speech.

He had previously explained his aims for the marriage with Sumaci's maid already, and he had also laid out the benefits he would bring into the arrangement as well. This time however, he had taken the effort to really go into all the details, to show how sincere his efforts were to make amends with the queen's palace. Yet despite his great sincerity, the maid once again just sat there, as if she hadn't heard a word.

"Is that the reason you called this maid for a private meeting all the way out here, Prime Minister?" she finally asked. "I believed this was official business, which is the only reason I accepted the invitation."

As she spoke, the maid looked around the private room in the expensive restaurant Fadelio had reserved specifically for today. Despite his best efforts, she looked largely unimpressed.

"it is official business," he insisted, against the growing feeling that his show of sincerity also wasn't working. "As our union is important for the prime minister's reconciliation with the queen, which in itself is important for the stability of the kingdom, this business is as important as it gets."

Again, the maid just stared at him with that vicious glare of hers. She hadn't even looked at the food in front of her so far. Every time she showed that steely gaze, it only made Fadelio more nervous.

Confidence, confidence, he chanted in his head, as he did his best to suppress his shaking hands. In the meantime, the maid had stared enough. Finally, she deigned herself to explain her inexplicable rejection.

"Prime Minister Fadelio," she said in a voice a few notes lower and a few degrees colder than usual, "this maid has no interest in this kind of marriage. Queen Sumaci as well would not be happy to see her servants sacrifice their happiness in a diplomatic game. Thus, your attempts at reconciliation were doomed from the start. In addition, Prime Minister, I fail to see how I could ever benefit from such a cold, loveless arrangement."

For a second, Fadelio frowned as he stared at the girl. He had offered her so much, a position as the wife of the kingdom's prime minister, no more hard work as a made, and a powerful warrior husband who would grant her strong and healthy children. What else was she dissatisfied with? 'Cold and loveless'? Those words meant nothing. Surely, they would be able to come to a comfortable living arrangement with each other after some time, simply by communicating properly.

Although he realized the maid wasn't happy with his plans, he couldn't just give up like this. The kingdom's future could be on the line if he couldn't reconcile with Queen Sumaci. Even though it was embarrassing, and even though he felt bad for treating the maid poorly, his goals here were bigger than either of them. Thus, he soldiered on, against his better judgment. After all, Corco's advice had never steered him wrong before. Not to mention, he still had one final move left to play.

"Fine," he admitted, and took out his trump card. "As a show of my sincerity, I'm willing to reimburse you for your efforts."

As Fadelio held out the large bundle of bank notes, his shattered confidence from before finally returned. With such sincerity, surely the maid would accept that this was the best arrangement for the both of them and — more importantly — the kingdom.

Yet just when he thought Llamka was about to pick up her dowry, she rudely slapped the notes out of his hand. The valuable currency — all of Fadelio's savings over the years — went flying all throughout the private room. While a distressed and confused Fadelio still tried to recollect them, he only heard a huffed "unbelievable" from Llamka, before she stormed away.

"And finally, I showed patience and great restraint."

Inside Rapra Castle, a portion of the complex had been cordoned off as the Queen's Palace. At this moment, the maids Llamka and Puklla were coming up to one of the queen's personal servants, the one usually responsible for receiving surprise guests and messengers from the outside.

"How is it? Has the king's office finally replied?" an impatient Llamka asked. However, much to her dismay, the servant shook her head.

"Nothing so far, Lady Llamka," she said with a distressed look. "There have been no messages all day."

"Then what are the people of the King's Office doing?" she asked, while suppressing the desire to curse them for their incompetence. "We have asked for the yearly annuity of the Queen's Palace to be confirmed ten days ago. What will we do if we do not receive any reply at all? How will we plan next year's budget like this?"

"Maybe they are busy," the always careless Puklla suggested, to no one's help at all. Sometimes, Llamka really wanted to despair after she had been cursed with such a incompetent colleague. On most days, she would have harshly reprimanded her for her attitude. This time however, there was a more obvious target for her anger.

"It only takes a single stamp from that perverted prime minister to confirm our request," she finally explained through gritted teeth, while suppressing the growing fire in her stomach. "The requested figures are very reasonable, unchanged from last year. Rather than assume a mistake, I would guess that the pervert is angry because I will not be his private courtesan."

The confirmation of their yearly annuity was a standard procedure, but since the matter involved the kingdom's treasury, it still needed the official stamp from the king or the prime minister. This year however, the confirmation just wouldn't come. Clearly, this was blackmail from the man who would do anything to force her into an unhappy marriage.

"Don't worry too much, Llamka," Puklla said while patting her shoulder. "Even if you failed to win Prime Minister Fadelio's heart, the sun will still rise tomorrow. And even if he is angry with you, that too will pass. One day, you will also find a man who wants you."

As usual, Llamka just stared at her rude colleague, before she decided that the scolding wouldn't be worth the effort and just stormed off.

"You see, I've done everything you said," Fadelio concluded his explanation. "After attempts to impress her with my confidence failed, I first tried to show her my sincerity by presenting her with an enormous dowry. Finally, when even that showed no results, I ignored her to regain her attention and show her that she cannot take my devotion for granted. I understand that this was how it was meant to work, and that I should be on the path towards success... It's just been so frustrating, you know? After all that time, the maid still hasn't given me a positive reply. So, master, my question is: How much longer should I wait until I can expect a response?"

Faced with his friend's troubled look, a baffled Corco could really only return a wide-eyed stare. Of course, he had never given any advice like that. Rather, he was now seriously worried for Fadelio's mental health. Was his head alright?